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diff --git a/1860-h/1860-h.htm b/1860-h/1860-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a87ec7b --- /dev/null +++ b/1860-h/1860-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,32327 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Westward Ho!, by Charles Kingsley + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Westward Ho!, by Charles Kingsley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Westward Ho! + +Author: Charles Kingsley + +Release Date: May 13, 2006 [EBook #1860] +Last Updated: March 15, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WESTWARD HO! *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + WESTWARD HO! + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Charles Kingsley + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + TO <br /><br /> THE RAJAH SIR JAMES BROOKE, K.C.B. <br /><br /> AND <br /><br /> + GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN, D.D. <br /><br /> BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND <br /><br /> + THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + By one who (unknown to them) has no other method of expressing his + admiration and reverence for their characters. + </p> + <p> + That type of English virtue, at once manful and godly, practical and + enthusiastic, prudent and self-sacrificing, which he has tried to depict + in these pages, they have exhibited in a form even purer and more heroic + than that in which he has drest it, and than that in which it was + exhibited by the worthies whom Elizabeth, without distinction of rank or + age, gathered round her in the ever glorious wars of her great reign. + </p> + <p> + C. K. FEBRUARY, 1855. <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>WESTWARD HO!</b></big> </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0002"> + CHAPTER II </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> + CHAPTER VI </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> + CHAPTER X </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> + CHAPTER XIV </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> + CHAPTER XVIII </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0022"> + CHAPTER XXII </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0026"> + CHAPTER XXVI </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0030"> + CHAPTER XXX </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER XXXI </a><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER XXXII </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER XXXIII </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + WESTWARD HO! + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <p> + HOW MR. OXENHAM SAW THE WHITE BIRD + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The hollow oak our palace is, + Our heritage the sea.” + </pre> + <p> + All who have travelled through the delicious scenery of North Devon must + needs know the little white town of Bideford, which slopes upwards from + its broad tide-river paved with yellow sands, and many-arched old bridge + where salmon wait for autumn floods, toward the pleasant upland on the + west. Above the town the hills close in, cushioned with deep oak woods, + through which juts here and there a crag of fern-fringed slate; below they + lower, and open more and more in softly rounded knolls, and fertile + squares of red and green, till they sink into the wide expanse of hazy + flats, rich salt-marshes, and rolling sand-hills, where Torridge joins her + sister Taw, and both together flow quietly toward the broad surges of the + bar, and the everlasting thunder of the long Atlantic swell. Pleasantly + the old town stands there, beneath its soft Italian sky, fanned day and + night by the fresh ocean breeze, which forbids alike the keen winter + frosts, and the fierce thunder heats of the midland; and pleasantly it has + stood there for now, perhaps, eight hundred years since the first + Grenville, cousin of the Conqueror, returning from the conquest of South + Wales, drew round him trusty Saxon serfs, and free Norse rovers with their + golden curls, and dark Silurian Britons from the Swansea shore, and all + the mingled blood which still gives to the seaward folk of the next county + their strength and intellect, and, even in these levelling days, their + peculiar beauty of face and form. + </p> + <p> + But at the time whereof I write, Bideford was not merely a pleasant + country town, whose quay was haunted by a few coasting craft. It was one + of the chief ports of England; it furnished seven ships to fight the + Armada: even more than a century afterwards, say the chroniclers, “it sent + more vessels to the northern trade than any port in England, saving + (strange juxtaposition!) London and Topsham,” and was the centre of a + local civilization and enterprise, small perhaps compared with the vast + efforts of the present day: but who dare despise the day of small things, + if it has proved to be the dawn of mighty ones? And it is to the sea-life + and labor of Bideford, and Dartmouth, and Topsham, and Plymouth (then a + petty place), and many another little western town, that England owes the + foundation of her naval and commercial glory. It was the men of Devon, the + Drakes and Hawkins', Gilberts and Raleighs, Grenvilles and Oxenhams, and a + host more of “forgotten worthies,” whom we shall learn one day to honor as + they deserve, to whom she owes her commerce, her colonies, her very + existence. For had they not first crippled, by their West Indian raids, + the ill-gotten resources of the Spaniard, and then crushed his last huge + effort in Britain's Salamis, the glorious fight of 1588, what had we been + by now but a popish appanage of a world-tyranny as cruel as heathen Rome + itself, and far more devilish? + </p> + <p> + It is in memory of these men, their voyages and their battles, their faith + and their valor, their heroic lives and no less heroic deaths, that I + write this book; and if now and then I shall seem to warm into a style + somewhat too stilted and pompous, let me be excused for my subject's sake, + fit rather to have been sung than said, and to have proclaimed to all true + English hearts, not as a novel but as an epic (which some man may yet gird + himself to write), the same great message which the songs of Troy, and the + Persian wars, and the trophies of Marathon and Salamis, spoke to the + hearts of all true Greeks of old. + </p> + <p> + One bright summer's afternoon, in the year of grace 1575, a tall and fair + boy came lingering along Bideford quay, in his scholar's gown, with + satchel and slate in hand, watching wistfully the shipping and the + sailors, till, just after he had passed the bottom of the High Street, he + came opposite to one of the many taverns which looked out upon the river. + In the open bay window sat merchants and gentlemen, discoursing over their + afternoon's draught of sack; and outside the door was gathered a group of + sailors, listening earnestly to some one who stood in the midst. The boy, + all alive for any sea-news, must needs go up to them, and take his place + among the sailor-lads who were peeping and whispering under the elbows of + the men; and so came in for the following speech, delivered in a loud bold + voice, with a strong Devonshire accent, and a fair sprinkling of oaths. + </p> + <p> + “If you don't believe me, go and see, or stay here and grow all over blue + mould. I tell you, as I am a gentleman, I saw it with these eyes, and so + did Salvation Yeo there, through a window in the lower room; and we + measured the heap, as I am a christened man, seventy foot long, ten foot + broad, and twelve foot high, of silver bars, and each bar between a thirty + and forty pound weight. And says Captain Drake: 'There, my lads of Devon, + I've brought you to the mouth of the world's treasure-house, and it's your + own fault now if you don't sweep it out as empty as a stock-fish.'” + </p> + <p> + “Why didn't you bring some of they home, then, Mr. Oxenham?” + </p> + <p> + “Why weren't you there to help to carry them? We would have brought 'em + away, safe enough, and young Drake and I had broke the door abroad + already, but Captain Drake goes off in a dead faint; and when we came to + look, he had a wound in his leg you might have laid three fingers in, and + his boots were full of blood, and had been for an hour or more; but the + heart of him was that, that he never knew it till he dropped, and then his + brother and I got him away to the boats, he kicking and struggling, and + bidding us let him go on with the fight, though every step he took in the + sand was in a pool of blood; and so we got off. And tell me, ye sons of + shotten herrings, wasn't it worth more to save him than the dirty silver? + for silver we can get again, brave boys: there's more fish in the sea than + ever came out of it, and more silver in Nombre de Dios than would pave all + the streets in the west country: but of such captains as Franky Drake, + Heaven never makes but one at a time; and if we lose him, good-bye to + England's luck, say I, and who don't agree, let him choose his weapons, + and I'm his man.” + </p> + <p> + He who delivered this harangue was a tall and sturdy personage, with a + florid black-bearded face, and bold restless dark eyes, who leaned, with + crossed legs and arms akimbo, against the wall of the house; and seemed in + the eyes of the schoolboy a very magnifico, some prince or duke at least. + He was dressed (contrary to all sumptuary laws of the time) in a suit of + crimson velvet, a little the worse, perhaps, for wear; by his side were a + long Spanish rapier and a brace of daggers, gaudy enough about the hilts; + his fingers sparkled with rings; he had two or three gold chains about his + neck, and large earrings in his ears, behind one of which a red rose was + stuck jauntily enough among the glossy black curls; on his head was a + broad velvet Spanish hat, in which instead of a feather was fastened with + a great gold clasp a whole Quezal bird, whose gorgeous plumage of fretted + golden green shone like one entire precious stone. As he finished his + speech, he took off the said hat, and looking at the bird in it— + </p> + <p> + “Look ye, my lads, did you ever see such a fowl as that before? That's the + bird which the old Indian kings of Mexico let no one wear but their own + selves; and therefore I wear it,—I, John Oxenham of South Tawton, + for a sign to all brave lads of Devon, that as the Spaniards are the + masters of the Indians, we're the masters of the Spaniards:” and he + replaced his hat. + </p> + <p> + A murmur of applause followed: but one hinted that he “doubted the + Spaniards were too many for them.” + </p> + <p> + “Too many? How many men did we take Nombre de Dios with? Seventy-three + were we, and no more when we sailed out of Plymouth Sound; and before we + saw the Spanish Main, half were gastados, used up, as the Dons say, with + the scurvy; and in Port Pheasant Captain Rawse of Cowes fell in with us, + and that gave us some thirty hands more; and with that handful, my lads, + only fifty-three in all, we picked the lock of the new world! And whom did + we lose but our trumpeter, who stood braying like an ass in the middle of + the square, instead of taking care of his neck like a Christian? I tell + you, those Spaniards are rank cowards, as all bullies are. They pray to a + woman, the idolatrous rascals! and no wonder they fight like women.” + </p> + <p> + “You'm right, captain,” sang out a tall gaunt fellow who stood close to + him; “one westcountry-man can fight two easterlings, and an easterling can + beat three Dons any day. Eh! my lads of Devon? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “For O! it's the herrings and the good brown beef, + And the cider and the cream so white; + O! they are the making of the jolly Devon lads, + For to play, and eke to fight.” + </pre> + <p> + “Come,” said Oxenham, “come along! Who lists? who lists? who'll make his + fortune? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Oh, who will join, jolly mariners all? + And who will join, says he, O! + To fill his pockets with the good red goold, + By sailing on the sea, O!” + </pre> + <p> + “Who'll list?” cried the gaunt man again; “now's your time! We've got + forty men to Plymouth now, ready to sail the minute we get back, and we + want a dozen out of you Bideford men, and just a boy or two, and then we'm + off and away, and make our fortunes, or go to heaven. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Our bodies in the sea so deep, + Our souls in heaven to rest! + Where valiant seamen, one and all, + Hereafter shall be blest!” + </pre> + <p> + “Now,” said Oxenham, “you won't let the Plymouth men say that the Bideford + men daren't follow them? North Devon against South, it is. Who'll join? + who'll join? It is but a step of a way, after all, and sailing as smooth + as a duck-pond as soon as you're past Cape Finisterre. I'll run a Clovelly + herring-boat there and back for a wager of twenty pound, and never ship a + bucketful all the way. Who'll join? Don't think you're buying a pig in a + poke. I know the road, and Salvation Yeo, here, too, who was the gunner's + mate, as well as I do the narrow seas, and better. You ask him to show you + the chart of it, now, and see if he don't tell you over the ruttier as + well as Drake himself.” + </p> + <p> + On which the gaunt man pulled from under his arm a great white buffalo + horn covered with rough etchings of land and sea, and held it up to the + admiring ring. + </p> + <p> + “See here, boys all, and behold the pictur of the place, dra'ed out so + natural as ever was life. I got mun from a Portingal, down to the Azores; + and he'd pricked mun out, and pricked mun out, wheresoever he'd sailed, + and whatsoever he'd seen. Take mun in your hands now, Simon Evans, take + mun in your hands; look mun over, and I'll warrant you'll know the way in + five minutes so well as ever a shark in the seas.” + </p> + <p> + And the horn was passed from hand to hand; while Oxenham, who saw that his + hearers were becoming moved, called through the open window for a great + tankard of sack, and passed that from hand to hand, after the horn. + </p> + <p> + The school-boy, who had been devouring with eyes and ears all which + passed, and had contrived by this time to edge himself into the inner + ring, now stood face to face with the hero of the emerald crest, and got + as many peeps as he could at the wonder. But when he saw the sailors, one + after another, having turned it over a while, come forward and offer to + join Mr. Oxenham, his soul burned within him for a nearer view of that + wondrous horn, as magical in its effects as that of Tristrem, or the + enchanter's in Ariosto; and when the group had somewhat broken up, and + Oxenham was going into the tavern with his recruits, he asked boldly for a + nearer sight of the marvel, which was granted at once. + </p> + <p> + And now to his astonished gaze displayed themselves cities and harbors, + dragons and elephants, whales which fought with sharks, plate ships of + Spain, islands with apes and palm-trees, each with its name over-written, + and here and there, “Here is gold;” and again, “Much gold and silver;” + inserted most probably, as the words were in English, by the hands of Mr. + Oxenham himself. Lingeringly and longingly the boy turned it round and + round, and thought the owner of it more fortunate than Khan or Kaiser. Oh, + if he could but possess that horn, what needed he on earth beside to make + him blest! + </p> + <p> + “I say, will you sell this?” + </p> + <p> + “Yea, marry, or my own soul, if I can get the worth of it.” + </p> + <p> + “I want the horn,—I don't want your soul; it's somewhat of a stale + sole, for aught I know; and there are plenty of fresh ones in the bay.” + </p> + <p> + And therewith, after much fumbling, he pulled out a tester (the only one + he had), and asked if that would buy it? + </p> + <p> + “That! no, nor twenty of them.” + </p> + <p> + The boy thought over what a good knight-errant would do in such case, and + then answered, “Tell you what: I'll fight you for it.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank 'ee, sir! + </p> + <p> + “Break the jackanapes's head for him, Yeo,” said Oxenham. + </p> + <p> + “Call me jackanapes again, and I break yours, sir.” And the boy lifted his + fist fiercely. + </p> + <p> + Oxenham looked at him a minute smilingly. “Tut! tut! my man, hit one of + your own size, if you will, and spare little folk like me!” + </p> + <p> + “If I have a boy's age, sir, I have a man's fist. I shall be fifteen years + old this month, and know how to answer any one who insults me.” + </p> + <p> + “Fifteen, my young cockerel? you look liker twenty,” said Oxenham, with an + admiring glance at the lad's broad limbs, keen blue eyes, curling golden + locks, and round honest face. “Fifteen? If I had half-a-dozen such lads as + you, I would make knights of them before I died. Eh, Yeo?” + </p> + <p> + “He'll do,” said Yeo; “he will make a brave gamecock in a year or two, if + he dares ruffle up so early at a tough old hen-master like the captain.” + </p> + <p> + At which there was a general laugh, in which Oxenham joined as loudly as + any, and then bade the lad tell him why he was so keen after the horn. + </p> + <p> + “Because,” said he, looking up boldly, “I want to go to sea. I want to see + the Indies. I want to fight the Spaniards. Though I am a gentleman's son, + I'd a deal liever be a cabin-boy on board your ship.” And the lad, having + hurried out his say fiercely enough, dropped his head again. + </p> + <p> + “And you shall,” cried Oxenham, with a great oath; “and take a galloon, + and dine off carbonadoed Dons. Whose son are you, my gallant fellow?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Leigh's, of Burrough Court.” + </p> + <p> + “Bless his soul! I know him as well as I do the Eddystone, and his kitchen + too. Who sups with him to-night?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Richard Grenville.” + </p> + <p> + “Dick Grenville? I did not know he was in town. Go home and tell your + father John Oxenham will come and keep him company. There, off with you! + I'll make all straight with the good gentleman, and you shall have your + venture with me; and as for the horn, let him have the horn, Yeo, and I'll + give you a noble for it.” + </p> + <p> + “Not a penny, noble captain. If young master will take a poor mariner's + gift, there it is, for the sake of his love to the calling, and Heaven + send him luck therein.” And the good fellow, with the impulsive generosity + of a true sailor, thrust the horn into the boy's hands, and walked away to + escape thanks. + </p> + <p> + “And now,” quoth Oxenham, “my merry men all, make up your minds what + mannered men you be minded to be before you take your bounties. I want + none of your rascally lurching longshore vermin, who get five pounds out + of this captain, and ten out of that, and let him sail without them after + all, while they are stowed away under women's mufflers, and in tavern + cellars. If any man is of that humor, he had better to cut himself up, and + salt himself down in a barrel for pork, before he meets me again; for by + this light, let me catch him, be it seven years hence, and if I do not cut + his throat upon the streets, it's a pity! But if any man will be true + brother to me, true brother to him I'll be, come wreck or prize, storm or + calm, salt water or fresh, victuals or none, share and fare alike; and + here's my hand upon it, for every man and all! and so— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Westward ho! with a rumbelow, + And hurra for the Spanish Main, O!” + </pre> + <p> + After which oration Mr. Oxenham swaggered into the tavern, followed by his + new men; and the boy took his way homewards, nursing his precious horn, + trembling between hope and fear, and blushing with maidenly shame, and a + half-sense of wrong-doing at having revealed suddenly to a stranger the + darling wish which he had hidden from his father and mother ever since he + was ten years old. + </p> + <p> + Now this young gentleman, Amyas Leigh, though come of as good blood as any + in Devon, and having lived all his life in what we should even now call + the very best society, and being (on account of the valor, courtesy, and + truly noble qualities which he showed forth in his most eventful life) + chosen by me as the hero and centre of this story, was not, saving for his + good looks, by any means what would be called now-a-days an “interesting” + youth, still less a “highly educated” one; for, with the exception of a + little Latin, which had been driven into him by repeated blows, as if it + had been a nail, he knew no books whatsoever, save his Bible, his + Prayer-book, the old “Mort d'Arthur” of Caxton's edition, which lay in the + great bay window in the hall, and the translation of “Las Casas' History + of the West Indies,” which lay beside it, lately done into English under + the title of “The Cruelties of the Spaniards.” He devoutly believed in + fairies, whom he called pixies; and held that they changed babies, and + made the mushroom rings on the downs to dance in. When he had warts or + burns, he went to the white witch at Northam to charm them away; he + thought that the sun moved round the earth, and that the moon had some + kindred with a Cheshire cheese. He held that the swallows slept all the + winter at the bottom of the horse-pond; talked, like Raleigh, Grenville, + and other low persons, with a broad Devonshire accent; and was in many + other respects so very ignorant a youth, that any pert monitor in a + national school might have had a hearty laugh at him. Nevertheless, this + ignorant young savage, vacant of the glorious gains of the nineteenth + century, children's literature and science made easy, and, worst of all, + of those improved views of English history now current among our railway + essayists, which consist in believing all persons, male and female, before + the year 1688, and nearly all after it, to have been either hypocrites or + fools, had learnt certain things which he would hardly have been taught + just now in any school in England; for his training had been that of the + old Persians, “to speak the truth and to draw the bow,” both of which + savage virtues he had acquired to perfection, as well as the equally + savage ones of enduring pain cheerfully, and of believing it to be the + finest thing in the world to be a gentleman; by which word he had been + taught to understand the careful habit of causing needless pain to no + human being, poor or rich, and of taking pride in giving up his own + pleasure for the sake of those who were weaker than himself. Moreover, + having been entrusted for the last year with the breaking of a colt, and + the care of a cast of young hawks which his father had received from Lundy + Isle, he had been profiting much, by the means of those coarse and + frivolous amusements, in perseverance, thoughtfulness, and the habit of + keeping his temper; and though he had never had a single “object lesson,” + or been taught to “use his intellectual powers,” he knew the names and + ways of every bird, and fish, and fly, and could read, as cunningly as the + oldest sailor, the meaning of every drift of cloud which crossed the + heavens. Lastly, he had been for some time past, on account of his + extraordinary size and strength, undisputed cock of the school, and the + most terrible fighter among all Bideford boys; in which brutal habit he + took much delight, and contrived, strange as it may seem, to extract from + it good, not only for himself but for others, doing justice among his + school-fellows with a heavy hand, and succoring the oppressed and + afflicted; so that he was the terror of all the sailor-lads, and the pride + and stay of all the town's boys and girls, and hardly considered that he + had done his duty in his calling if he went home without beating a big lad + for bullying a little one. For the rest, he never thought about thinking, + or felt about feeling; and had no ambition whatsoever beyond pleasing his + father and mother, getting by honest means the maximum of “red + quarrenders” and mazard cherries, and going to sea when he was big enough. + Neither was he what would be now-a-days called by many a pious child; for + though he said his Creed and Lord's Prayer night and morning, and went to + the service at the church every forenoon, and read the day's Psalms with + his mother every evening, and had learnt from her and from his father (as + he proved well in after life) that it was infinitely noble to do right and + infinitely base to do wrong, yet (the age of children's religious books + not having yet dawned on the world) he knew nothing more of theology, or + of his own soul, than is contained in the Church Catechism. It is a + question, however, on the whole, whether, though grossly ignorant + (according to our modern notions) in science and religion, he was + altogether untrained in manhood, virtue, and godliness; and whether the + barbaric narrowness of his information was not somewhat counterbalanced + both in him and in the rest of his generation by the depth, and breadth, + and healthiness of his education. + </p> + <p> + So let us watch him up the hill as he goes hugging his horn, to tell all + that has passed to his mother, from whom he had never hidden anything in + his life, save only that sea-fever; and that only because he foreknew that + it would give her pain; and because, moreover, being a prudent and + sensible lad, he knew that he was not yet old enough to go, and that, as + he expressed it to her that afternoon, “there was no use hollaing till he + was out of the wood.” + </p> + <p> + So he goes up between the rich lane-banks, heavy with drooping ferns and + honeysuckle; out upon the windy down toward the old Court, nestled amid + its ring of wind-clipt oaks; through the gray gateway into the homeclose; + and then he pauses a moment to look around; first at the wide bay to the + westward, with its southern wall of purple cliffs; then at the dim Isle of + Lundy far away at sea; then at the cliffs and downs of Morte and Braunton, + right in front of him; then at the vast yellow sheet of rolling sand-hill, + and green alluvial plain dotted with red cattle, at his feet, through + which the silver estuary winds onward toward the sea. Beneath him, on his + right, the Torridge, like a land-locked lake, sleeps broad and bright + between the old park of Tapeley and the charmed rock of the Hubbastone, + where, seven hundred years ago, the Norse rovers landed to lay siege to + Kenwith Castle, a mile away on his left hand; and not three fields away, + are the old stones of “The Bloody Corner,” where the retreating Danes, cut + off from their ships, made their last fruitless stand against the Saxon + sheriff and the valiant men of Devon. Within that charmed rock, so + Torridge boatmen tell, sleeps now the old Norse Viking in his leaden + coffin, with all his fairy treasure and his crown of gold; and as the boy + looks at the spot, he fancies, and almost hopes, that the day may come + when he shall have to do his duty against the invader as boldly as the men + of Devon did then. And past him, far below, upon the soft southeastern + breeze, the stately ships go sliding out to sea. When shall he sail in + them, and see the wonders of the deep? And as he stands there with beating + heart and kindling eye, the cool breeze whistling through his long fair + curls, he is a symbol, though he knows it not, of brave young England + longing to wing its way out of its island prison, to discover and to + traffic, to colonize and to civilize, until no wind can sweep the earth + which does not bear the echoes of an English voice. Patience, young Amyas! + Thou too shalt forth, and westward ho, beyond thy wildest dreams; and see + brave sights, and do brave deeds, which no man has since the foundation of + the world. Thou too shalt face invaders stronger and more cruel far than + Dane or Norman, and bear thy part in that great Titan strife before the + renown of which the name of Salamis shall fade away! + </p> + <p> + Mr. Oxenham came that evening to supper as he had promised: but as people + supped in those days in much the same manner as they do now, we may drop + the thread of the story for a few hours, and take it up again after supper + is over. + </p> + <p> + “Come now, Dick Grenville, do thou talk the good man round, and I'll + warrant myself to talk round the good wife.” + </p> + <p> + The personage whom Oxenham addressed thus familiarly answered by a + somewhat sarcastic smile, and, “Mr. Oxenham gives Dick Grenville” (with + just enough emphasis on the “Mr.” and the “Dick,” to hint that a liberty + had been taken with him) “overmuch credit with the men. Mr. Oxenham's + credit with fair ladies, none can doubt. Friend Leigh, is Heard's great + ship home yet from the Straits?” + </p> + <p> + The speaker, known well in those days as Sir Richard Grenville, Granville, + Greenvil, Greenfield, with two or three other variations, was one of those + truly heroical personages whom Providence, fitting always the men to their + age and their work, had sent upon the earth whereof it takes right good + care, not in England only, but in Spain and Italy, in Germany and the + Netherlands, and wherever, in short, great men and great deeds were needed + to lift the mediaeval world into the modern. + </p> + <p> + And, among all the heroic faces which the painters of that age have + preserved, none, perhaps, hardly excepting Shakespeare's or Spenser's, + Alva's or Farina's, is more heroic than that of Richard Grenville, as it + stands in Prince's “Worthies of Devon;” of a Spanish type, perhaps (or + more truly speaking, a Cornish), rather than an English, with just enough + of the British element in it to give delicacy to its massiveness. The + forehead and whole brain are of extraordinary loftiness, and perfectly + upright; the nose long, aquiline, and delicately pointed; the mouth + fringed with a short silky beard, small and ripe, yet firm as granite, + with just pout enough of the lower lip to give hint of that capacity of + noble indignation which lay hid under its usual courtly calm and + sweetness; if there be a defect in the face, it is that the eyes are + somewhat small, and close together, and the eyebrows, though delicately + arched, and, without a trace of peevishness, too closely pressed down upon + them, the complexion is dark, the figure tall and graceful; altogether the + likeness of a wise and gallant gentleman, lovely to all good men, awful to + all bad men; in whose presence none dare say or do a mean or a ribald + thing; whom brave men left, feeling themselves nerved to do their duty + better, while cowards slipped away, as bats and owls before the sun. So he + lived and moved, whether in the Court of Elizabeth, giving his counsel + among the wisest; or in the streets of Bideford, capped alike by squire + and merchant, shopkeeper and sailor; or riding along the moorland roads + between his houses of Stow and Bideford, while every woman ran out to her + door to look at the great Sir Richard, the pride of North Devon; or, + sitting there in the low mullioned window at Burrough, with his cup of + malmsey before him, and the lute to which he had just been singing laid + across his knees, while the red western sun streamed in upon his high, + bland forehead, and soft curling locks; ever the same steadfast, + God-fearing, chivalrous man, conscious (as far as a soul so healthy could + be conscious) of the pride of beauty, and strength, and valor, and wisdom, + and a race and name which claimed direct descent from the grandfather of + the Conqueror, and was tracked down the centuries by valiant deeds and + noble benefits to his native shire, himself the noblest of his race. Men + said that he was proud; but he could not look round him without having + something to be proud of; that he was stern and harsh to his sailors: but + it was only when he saw in them any taint of cowardice or falsehood; that + he was subject, at moments, to such fearful fits of rage, that he had been + seen to snatch the glasses from the table, grind them to pieces in his + teeth, and swallow them: but that was only when his indignation had been + aroused by some tale of cruelty or oppression, and, above all, by those + West Indian devilries of the Spaniards, whom he regarded (and in those + days rightly enough) as the enemies of God and man. Of this last fact + Oxenham was well aware, and therefore felt somewhat puzzled and nettled, + when, after having asked Mr. Leigh's leave to take young Amyas with him + and set forth in glowing colors the purpose of his voyage, he found Sir + Richard utterly unwilling to help him with his suit. + </p> + <p> + “Heyday, Sir Richard! You are not surely gone over to the side of those + canting fellows (Spanish Jesuits in disguise, every one of them, they + are), who pretended to turn up their noses at Franky Drake, as a pirate, + and be hanged to them?” + </p> + <p> + “My friend Oxenham,” answered he, in the sententious and measured style of + the day, “I have always held, as you should know by this, that Mr. Drake's + booty, as well as my good friend Captain Hawkins's, is lawful prize, as + being taken from the Spaniard, who is not only hostis humani generis, but + has no right to the same, having robbed it violently, by torture and + extreme iniquity, from the poor Indian, whom God avenge, as He surely + will.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen,” said Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “I say Amen, too,” quoth Oxenham, “especially if it please Him to avenge + them by English hands.” + </p> + <p> + “And I also,” went on Sir Richard; “for the rightful owners of the said + goods being either miserably dead, or incapable, by reason of their + servitude, of ever recovering any share thereof, the treasure, falsely + called Spanish, cannot be better bestowed than in building up the state of + England against them, our natural enemies; and thereby, in building up the + weal of the Reformed Churches throughout the world, and the liberties of + all nations, against a tyranny more foul and rapacious than that of Nero + or Caligula; which, if it be not the cause of God, I, for one, know not + what God's cause is!” And, as he warmed in his speech, his eyes flashed + very fire. + </p> + <p> + “Hark now!” said Oxenham, “who can speak more boldly than he? and yet he + will not help this lad to so noble an adventure.” + </p> + <p> + “You have asked his father and mother; what is their answer?” + </p> + <p> + “Mine is this,” said Mr. Leigh; “if it be God's will that my boy should + become, hereafter, such a mariner as Sir Richard Grenville, let him go, + and God be with him; but let him first bide here at home and be trained, + if God give me grace, to become such a gentleman as Sir Richard + Grenville.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard bowed low, and Mrs. Leigh catching up the last word— + </p> + <p> + “There, Mr. Oxenham, you cannot gainsay that, unless you will be + discourteous to his worship. And for me—though it be a weak woman's + reason, yet it is a mother's: he is my only child. His elder brother is + far away. God only knows whether I shall see him again; and what are all + reports of his virtues and his learning to me, compared to that sweet + presence which I daily miss? Ah! Mr. Oxenham, my beautiful Joseph is gone; + and though he be lord of Pharaoh's household, yet he is far away in Egypt; + and you will take Benjamm also! Ah! Mr. Oxenham, you have no child, or you + would not ask for mine!” + </p> + <p> + “And how do you know that, my sweet madam!” said the adventurer, turning + first deadly pale, and then glowing red. Her last words had touched him to + the quick in some unexpected place; and rising, he courteously laid her + hand to his lips, and said—“I say no more. Farewell, sweet madam, + and God send all men such wives as you.” + </p> + <p> + “And all wives,” said she, smiling, “such husbands as mine.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I will not say that,” answered he, with a half sneer—and then, + “Farewell, friend Leigh—farewell, gallant Dick Grenville. God send I + see thee Lord High Admiral when I come home. And yet, why should I come + home? Will you pray for poor Jack, gentles?” + </p> + <p> + “Tut, tut, man! good words,” said Leigh; “let us drink to our merry + meeting before you go.” And rising, and putting the tankard of malmsey to + his lips, he passed it to Sir Richard, who rose, and saying, “To the + fortune of a bold mariner and a gallant gentleman,” drank, and put the cup + into Oxenham's hand. + </p> + <p> + The adventurer's face was flushed, and his eye wild. Whether from the + liquor he had drunk during the day, or whether from Mrs. Leigh's last + speech, he had not been himself for a few minutes. He lifted the cup, and + was in act to pledge them, when he suddenly dropped it on the table, and + pointed, staring and trembling, up and down, and round the room, as if + following some fluttering object. + </p> + <p> + “There! Do you see it? The bird!—the bird with the white breast!” + </p> + <p> + Each looked at the other; but Leigh, who was a quick-witted man and an old + courtier, forced a laugh instantly, and cried—“Nonsense, brave Jack + Oxenham! Leave white birds for men who will show the white feather. Mrs. + Leigh waits to pledge you.” + </p> + <p> + Oxenham recovered himself in a moment, pledged them all round, drinking + deep and fiercely; and after hearty farewells, departed, never hinting + again at his strange exclamation. + </p> + <p> + After he was gone, and while Leigh was attending him to the door, Mrs. + Leigh and Grenville kept a few minutes' dead silence. At last—“God + help him!” said she. + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said Grenville, “for he never needed it more. But, indeed, madam, + I put no faith in such omens.” + </p> + <p> + “But, Sir Richard, that bird has been seen for generations before the + death of any of his family. I know those who were at South Tawton when his + mother died, and his brother also; and they both saw it. God help him! + for, after all, he is a proper man.” + </p> + <p> + “So many a lady has thought before now, Mrs. Leigh, and well for him if + they had not. But, indeed, I make no account of omens. When God is ready + for each man, then he must go; and when can he go better?” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said Mr. Leigh, who entered, “I have seen, and especially when I + was in Italy, omens and prophecies before now beget their own fulfilment, + by driving men into recklessness, and making them run headlong upon that + very ruin which, as they fancied, was running upon them.” + </p> + <p> + “And which,” said Sir Richard, “they might have avoided, if, instead of + trusting in I know not what dumb and dark destiny, they had trusted in the + living God, by faith in whom men may remove mountains, and quench the + fire, and put to flight the armies of the alien. I too know, and know not + how I know, that I shall never die in my bed.” + </p> + <p> + “God forfend!” cried Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “And why, fair madam, if I die doing my duty to my God and my queen? The + thought never moves me: nay, to tell the truth, I pray often enough that I + may be spared the miseries of imbecile old age, and that end which the old + Northmen rightly called 'a cow's death' rather than a man's. But enough of + this. Mr. Leigh, you have done wisely to-night. Poor Oxenham does not go + on his voyage with a single eye. I have talked about him with Drake and + Hawkins; and I guess why Mrs. Leigh touched him so home when she told him + that he had no child.” + </p> + <p> + “Has he one, then, in the West Indies?” cried the good lady. + </p> + <p> + “God knows; and God grant we may not hear of shame and sorrow fallen upon + an ancient and honorable house of Devon. My brother Stukely is woe enough + to North Devon for this generation.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor braggadocio!” said Mr. Leigh; “and yet not altogether that too, for + he can fight at least.” + </p> + <p> + “So can every mastiff and boar, much more an Englishman. And now come + hither to me, my adventurous godson, and don't look in such doleful dumps. + I hear you have broken all the sailor-boys' heads already.” + </p> + <p> + “Nearly all,” said young Amyas, with due modesty.. “But am I not to go to + sea?” + </p> + <p> + “All things in their time, my boy, and God forbid that either I or your + worthy parents should keep you from that noble calling which is the + safeguard of this England and her queen. But you do not wish to live and + die the master of a trawler?” + </p> + <p> + “I should like to be a brave adventurer, like Mr. Oxenham.” + </p> + <p> + “God grant you become a braver man than he! for, as I think, to be bold + against the enemy is common to the brutes; but the prerogative of a man is + to be bold against himself.” + </p> + <p> + “How, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “To conquer our own fancies, Amyas, and our own lusts, and our ambition, + in the sacred name of duty; this it is to be truly brave, and truly + strong; for he who cannot rule himself, how can he rule his crew or his + fortunes? Come, now, I will make you a promise. If you will bide quietly + at home, and learn from your father and mother all which befits a + gentleman and a Christian, as well as a seaman, the day shall come when + you shall sail with Richard Grenville himself, or with better men than he, + on a nobler errand than gold-hunting on the Spanish Main.” + </p> + <p> + “O my boy, my boy!” said Mrs. Leigh, “hear what the good Sir Richard + promises you. Many an earl's son would be glad to be in your place.” + </p> + <p> + “And many an earl's son will be glad to be in his place a score years + hence, if he will but learn what I know you two can teach him. And now, + Amyas, my lad, I will tell you for a warning the history of that Sir + Thomas Stukely of whom I spoke just now, and who was, as all men know, a + gallant and courtly knight, of an ancient and worshipful family in + Ilfracombe, well practised in the wars, and well beloved at first by our + incomparable queen, the friend of all true virtue, as I trust she will be + of yours some day; who wanted but one step to greatness, and that was + this, that in his hurry to rule all the world, he forgot to rule himself. + At first, he wasted his estate in show and luxury, always intending to be + famous, and destroying his own fame all the while by his vainglory and + haste. Then, to retrieve his losses, he hit upon the peopling of Florida, + which thou and I will see done some day, by God's blessing; for I and some + good friends of mine have an errand there as well as he. But he did not go + about it as a loyal man, to advance the honor of his queen, but his own + honor only, dreaming that he too should be a king; and was not ashamed to + tell her majesty that he had rather be sovereign of a molehill than the + highest subject of an emperor.” + </p> + <p> + “They say,” said Mr. Leigh, “that he told her plainly he should be a + prince before he died, and that she gave him one of her pretty quips in + return.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know that her majesty had the best of it. A fool is many times + too strong for a wise man, by virtue of his thick hide. For when she said + that she hoped she should hear from him in his new principality, 'Yes, + sooth,' says he, graciously enough. 'And in what style?' asks she. 'To our + dear sister,' says Stukely: to which her clemency had nothing to reply, + but turned away, as Mr. Burleigh told me, laughing.” + </p> + <p> + “Alas for him!” said gentle Mrs. Leigh. “Such self-conceit—and + Heaven knows we have the root of it in ourselves also—is the very + daughter of self-will, and of that loud crying out about I, and me, and + mine, which is the very bird-call for all devils, and the broad road which + leads to death.” + </p> + <p> + “It will lead him to his,” said Sir Richard; “God grant it be not upon + Tower-hill! for since that Florida plot, and after that his hopes of Irish + preferment came to naught, he who could not help himself by fair means has + taken to foul ones, and gone over to Italy to the Pope, whose + infallibility has not been proof against Stukely's wit; for he was soon + his Holiness's closet counsellor, and, they say, his bosom friend; and + made him give credit to his boasts that, with three thousand soldiers he + would beat the English out of Ireland, and make the Pope's son king of + it.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, but,” said Mr. Leigh, “I suppose the Italians have the same fetch now + as they had when I was there, to explain such ugly cases; namely, that the + Pope is infallible only in doctrine, and quoad Pope; while quoad hominem, + he is even as others, or indeed, in general, a deal worse, so that the + office, and not the man, may be glorified thereby. But where is Stukely + now?” + </p> + <p> + “At Rome when last I heard of him, ruffling it up and down the Vatican as + Baron Ross, Viscount Murrough, Earl Wexford, Marquis Leinster, and a title + or two more, which have cost the Pope little, seeing that they never were + his to give; and plotting, they say, some hare-brained expedition against + Ireland by the help of the Spanish king, which must end in nothing but his + shame and ruin. And now, my sweet hosts, I must call for serving-boy and + lantern, and home to my bed in Bideford.” + </p> + <p> + And so Amyas Leigh went back to school, and Mr. Oxenham went his way to + Plymouth again, and sailed for the Spanish Main. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <h3> + HOW AMYAS CAME HOME THE FIRST TIME + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Si taceant homines, facient te sidera notum, + Sol nescit comitis immemor esse sui.” + + Old Epigram on Drake. +</pre> + <p> + Five years are past and gone. It is nine of the clock on a still, bright + November morning; but the bells of Bideford church are still ringing for + the daily service two hours after the usual time; and instead of going + soberly according to wont, cannot help breaking forth every five minutes + into a jocund peal, and tumbling head over heels in ecstasies of joy. + Bideford streets are a very flower-garden of all the colors, swarming with + seamen and burghers, and burghers' wives and daughters, all in their + holiday attire. Garlands are hung across the streets, and tapestries from + every window. The ships in the pool are dressed in all their flags, and + give tumultuous vent to their feelings by peals of ordnance of every size. + Every stable is crammed with horses; and Sir Richard Grenville's house is + like a very tavern, with eating and drinking, and unsaddling, and running + to and fro of grooms and serving-men. Along the little churchyard, packed + full with women, streams all the gentle blood of North Devon,—tall + and stately men, and fair ladies, worthy of the days when the gentry of + England were by due right the leaders of the people, by personal prowess + and beauty, as well as by intellect and education. And first, there is my + lady Countess of Bath, whom Sir Richard Grenville is escorting, cap in + hand (for her good Earl Bourchier is in London with the queen); and there + are Bassets from beautiful Umberleigh, and Carys from more beautiful + Clovelly, and Fortescues of Wear, and Fortescues of Buckland, and + Fortescues from all quarters, and Coles from Slade, and Stukelys from + Affton, and St. Legers from Annery, and Coffins from Portledge, and even + Coplestones from Eggesford, thirty miles away: and last, but not least + (for almost all stop to give them place), Sir John Chichester of Ralegh, + followed in single file, after the good old patriarchal fashion, by his + eight daughters, and three of his five famous sons (one, to avenge his + murdered brother, is fighting valiantly in Ireland, hereafter to rule + there wisely also, as Lord Deputy and Baron of Belfast); and he meets at + the gate his cousin of Arlington, and behind him a train of four daughters + and nineteen sons, the last of whom has not yet passed the town-hall, + while the first is at the Lychgate, who, laughing, make way for the elder + though shorter branch of that most fruitful tree; and so on into the + church, where all are placed according to their degrees, or at least as + near as may be, not without a few sour looks, and shovings, and + whisperings, from one high-born matron and another; till the churchwardens + and sidesmen, who never had before so goodly a company to arrange, have + bustled themselves hot, and red, and frantic, and end by imploring + abjectly the help of the great Sir Richard himself to tell them who + everybody is, and which is the elder branch, and which is the younger, and + who carries eight quarterings in their arms, and who only four, and so + prevent their setting at deadly feud half the fine ladies of North Devon; + for the old men are all safe packed away in the corporation pews, and the + young ones care only to get a place whence they may eye the ladies. And at + last there is a silence, and a looking toward the door, and then distant + music, flutes and hautboys, drums and trumpets, which come braying, and + screaming, and thundering merrily up to the very church doors, and then + cease; and the churchwardens and sidesmen bustle down to the entrance, + rods in hand, and there is a general whisper and rustle, not without glad + tears and blessings from many a woman, and from some men also, as the + wonder of the day enters, and the rector begins, not the morning service, + but the good old thanksgiving after a victory at sea. + </p> + <p> + And what is it which has thus sent old Bideford wild with that “goodly joy + and pious mirth,” of which we now only retain traditions in our + translation of the Psalms? Why are all eyes fixed, with greedy admiration, + on those four weather-beaten mariners, decked out with knots and ribbons + by loving hands; and yet more on that gigantic figure who walks before + them, a beardless boy, and yet with the frame and stature of a Hercules, + towering, like Saul of old, a head and shoulders above all the + congregation, with his golden locks flowing down over his shoulders? And + why, as the five go instinctively up to the altar, and there fall on their + knees before the rails, are all eyes turned to the pew where Mrs. Leigh of + Burrough has hid her face between her hands, and her hood rustles and + shakes to her joyful sobs? Because there was fellow-feeling of old in + merry England, in county and in town; and these are Devon men, and men of + Bideford, whose names are Amyas Leigh of Burrough, John Staveley, Michael + Heard, and Jonas Marshall of Bideford, and Thomas Braund of Clovelly: and + they, the first of all English mariners, have sailed round the world with + Francis Drake, and are come hither to give God thanks. + </p> + <p> + It is a long story. To explain how it happened we must go back for a page + or two, almost to the point from whence we started in the last chapter. + </p> + <p> + For somewhat more than a twelvemonth after Mr. Oxenham's departure, young + Amyas had gone on quietly enough, according to promise, with the exception + of certain occasional outbursts of fierceness common to all young male + animals, and especially to boys of any strength of character. His + scholarship, indeed, progressed no better than before; but his home + education went on healthily enough; and he was fast becoming, young as he + was, a right good archer, and rider, and swordsman (after the old school + of buckler practice), when his father, having gone down on business to the + Exeter Assizes, caught (as was too common in those days) the gaol-fever + from the prisoners; sickened in the very court; and died within a week. + </p> + <p> + And now Mrs. Leigh was left to God and her own soul, with this young + lion-cub in leash, to tame and train for this life and the life to come. + She had loved her husband fervently and holily. He had been often peevish, + often melancholy; for he was a disappointed man, with an estate + impoverished by his father's folly, and his own youthful ambition, which + had led him up to Court, and made him waste his heart and his purse in + following a vain shadow. He was one of those men, moreover, who possess + almost every gift except the gift of the power to use them; and though a + scholar, a courtier, and a soldier, he had found himself, when he was past + forty, without settled employment or aim in life, by reason of a certain + shyness, pride, or delicate honor (call it which you will), which had + always kept him from playing a winning game in that very world after whose + prizes he hankered to the last, and on which he revenged himself by + continual grumbling. At last, by his good luck, he met with a fair young + Miss Foljambe, of Derbyshire, then about Queen Elizabeth's Court, who was + as tired as he of the sins of the world, though she had seen less of them; + and the two contrived to please each other so well, that though the queen + grumbled a little, as usual, at the lady for marrying, and at the + gentleman for adoring any one but her royal self, they got leave to vanish + from the little Babylon at Whitehall, and settle in peace at Burrough. In + her he found a treasure, and he knew what he had found. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh was, and had been from her youth, one of those noble old + English churchwomen, without superstition, and without severity, who are + among the fairest features of that heroic time. There was a certain + melancholy about her, nevertheless; for the recollections of her childhood + carried her back to times when it was an awful thing to be a Protestant. + She could remember among them, five-and-twenty years ago, the burning of + poor blind Joan Waste at Derby, and of Mistress Joyce Lewis, too, like + herself, a lady born; and sometimes even now, in her nightly dreams, rang + in her ears her mother's bitter cries to God, either to spare her that + fiery torment, or to give her strength to bear it, as she whom she loved + had borne it before her. For her mother, who was of a good family in + Yorkshire, had been one of Queen Catherine's bedchamber women, and the + bosom friend and disciple of Anne Askew. And she had sat in Smithfield, + with blood curdled by horror, to see the hapless Court beauty, a month + before the paragon of Henry's Court, carried in a chair (so crippled was + she by the rack) to her fiery doom at the stake, beside her + fellow-courtier, Mr. Lascelles, while the very heavens seemed to the + shuddering mob around to speak their wrath and grief in solemn thunder + peals, and heavy drops which hissed upon the crackling pile. + </p> + <p> + Therefore a sadness hung upon her all her life, and deepened in the days + of Queen Mary, when, as a notorious Protestant and heretic, she had had to + hide for her life among the hills and caverns of the Peak, and was only + saved, by the love which her husband's tenants bore her, and by his bold + declaration that, good Catholic as he was, he would run through the body + any constable, justice, or priest, yea, bishop or cardinal, who dared to + serve the queen's warrant upon his wife. + </p> + <p> + So she escaped: but, as I said, a sadness hung upon her all her life; and + the skirt of that dark mantle fell upon the young girl who had been the + partner of her wanderings and hidings among the lonely hills; and who, + after she was married, gave herself utterly up to God. + </p> + <p> + And yet in giving herself to God, Mrs. Leigh gave herself to her husband, + her children, and the poor of Northam Town, and was none the less welcome + to the Grenvilles, and Fortescues, and Chichesters, and all the gentle + families round, who honored her husband's talents, and enjoyed his wit. + She accustomed herself to austerities, which often called forth the kindly + rebukes of her husband; and yet she did so without one superstitious + thought of appeasing the fancied wrath of God, or of giving Him pleasure + (base thought) by any pain of hers; for her spirit had been trained in the + freest and loftiest doctrines of Luther's school; and that little mystic + “Alt-Deutsch Theologie” (to which the great Reformer said that he owed + more than to any book, save the Bible, and St. Augustine) was her + counsellor and comforter by day and night. + </p> + <p> + And now, at little past forty, she was left a widow: lovely still in face + and figure; and still more lovely from the divine calm which brooded, like + the dove of peace and the Holy Spirit of God (which indeed it was), over + every look, and word, and gesture; a sweetness which had been ripened by + storm, as well as by sunshine; which this world had not given, and could + not take away. No wonder that Sir Richard and Lady Grenville loved her; no + wonder that her children worshipped her; no wonder that the young Amyas, + when the first burst of grief was over, and he knew again where he stood, + felt that a new life had begun for him; that his mother was no more to + think and act for him only, but that he must think and act for his mother. + And so it was, that on the very day after his father's funeral, when + school-hours were over, instead of coming straight home, he walked boldly + into Sir Richard Grenville's house, and asked to see his godfather. + </p> + <p> + “You must be my father now, sir,” said he, firmly. + </p> + <p> + And Sir Richard looked at the boy's broad strong face, and swore a great + and holy oath, like Glasgerion's, “by oak, and ash, and thorn,” that he + would be a father to him, and a brother to his mother, for Christ's sake. + And Lady Grenville took the boy by the hand, and walked home with him to + Burrough; and there the two fair women fell on each other's necks, and + wept together; the one for the loss which had been, the other, as by a + prophetic instinct, for the like loss which was to come to her also. For + the sweet St. Leger knew well that her husband's fiery spirit would never + leave his body on a peaceful bed; but that death (as he prayed almost + nightly that it might) would find him sword in hand, upon the field of + duty and of fame. And there those two vowed everlasting sisterhood, and + kept their vow; and after that all things went on at Burrough as before; + and Amyas rode, and shot, and boxed, and wandered on the quay at Sir + Richard's side; for Mrs. Leigh was too wise a woman to alter one tittle of + the training which her husband had thought best for his younger boy. It + was enough that her elder son had of his own accord taken to that form of + life in which she in her secret heart would fain have moulded both her + children. For Frank, God's wedding gift to that pure love of hers, had won + himself honor at home and abroad; first at the school at Bideford; then at + Exeter College, where he had become a friend of Sir Philip Sidney's, and + many another young man of rank and promise; and next, in the summer of + 1572, on his way to the University of Heidelberg, he had gone to Paris, + with (luckily for him) letters of recommendation to Walsingham, at the + English Embassy: by which letters he not only fell in a second time with + Philip Sidney, but saved his own life (as Sidney did his) in the Massacre + of St. Bartholomew's Day. At Heidelberg he had stayed two years, winning + fresh honor from all who knew him, and resisting all Sidney's entreaties + to follow him into Italy. For, scorning to be a burden to his parents, he + had become at Heidelberg tutor to two young German princes, whom, after + living with them at their father's house for a year or more, he at last, + to his own great delight, took with him down to Padua, “to perfect them,” + as he wrote home, “according to his insufficiency, in all princely + studies.” Sidney was now returned to England; but Frank found friends + enough without him, such letters of recommendation and diplomas did he + carry from I know not how many princes, magnificos, and learned doctors, + who had fallen in love with the learning, modesty, and virtue of the fair + young Englishman. And ere Frank returned to Germany he had satiated his + soul with all the wonders of that wondrous land. He had talked over the + art of sonneteering with Tasso, the art of history with Sarpi; he had + listened, between awe and incredulity, to the daring theories of Galileo; + he had taken his pupils to Venice, that their portraits might be painted + by Paul Veronese; he had seen the palaces of Palladio, and the merchant + princes on the Rialto, and the argosies of Ragusa, and all the wonders of + that meeting-point of east and west; he had watched Tintoretto's mighty + hand “hurling tempestuous glories o'er the scene;” and even, by dint of + private intercession in high places, had been admitted to that sacred room + where, with long silver beard and undimmed eye, amid a pantheon of his own + creations, the ancient Titian, patriarch of art, still lingered upon + earth, and told old tales of the Bellinis, and Raffaelle, and Michael + Angelo, and the building of St. Peter's, and the fire at Venice, and the + sack of Rome, and of kings and warriors, statesmen and poets, long since + gone to their account, and showed the sacred brush which Francis the First + had stooped to pick up for him. And (license forbidden to Sidney by his + friend Languet) he had been to Rome, and seen (much to the scandal of good + Protestants at home) that “right good fellow,” as Sidney calls him, who + had not yet eaten himself to death, the Pope for the time being. And he + had seen the frescos of the Vatican, and heard Palestrina preside as + chapel-master over the performance of his own music beneath the dome of + St. Peter's, and fallen half in love with those luscious strains, till he + was awakened from his dream by the recollection that beneath that same + dome had gone up thanksgivings to the God of heaven for those + blood-stained streets, and shrieking women, and heaps of insulted corpses, + which he had beheld in Paris on the night of St. Bartholomew. At last, a + few months before his father died, he had taken back his pupils to their + home in Germany, from whence he was dismissed, as he wrote, with rich + gifts; and then Mrs. Leigh's heart beat high, at the thought that the + wanderer would return: but, alas! within a month after his father's death, + came a long letter from Frank, describing the Alps, and the valleys of the + Waldenses (with whose Barbes he had had much talk about the late horrible + persecutions), and setting forth how at Padua he had made the acquaintance + of that illustrious scholar and light of the age, Stephanus Parmenius + (commonly called from his native place, Budaeus), who had visited Geneva + with him, and heard the disputations of their most learned doctors, which + both he and Budaeus disliked for their hard judgments both of God and man, + as much as they admired them for their subtlety, being themselves, as + became Italian students, Platonists of the school of Ficinus and Picus + Mirandolensis. So wrote Master Frank, in a long sententious letter, full + of Latin quotations: but the letter never reached the eyes of him for + whose delight it had been penned: and the widow had to weep over it alone, + and to weep more bitterly than ever at the conclusion, in which, with many + excuses, Frank said that he had, at the special entreaty of the said + Budaeus, set out with him down the Danube stream to Buda, that he might, + before finishing his travels, make experience of that learning for which + the Hungarians were famous throughout Europe. And after that, though he + wrote again and again to the father whom he fancied living, no letter in + return reached him from home for nearly two years; till, fearing some + mishap, he hurried back to England, to find his mother a widow, and his + brother Amyas gone to the South Seas with Captain Drake of Plymouth. And + yet, even then, after years of absence, he was not allowed to remain at + home. For Sir Richard, to whom idleness was a thing horrible and + unrighteous, would have him up and doing again before six months were + over, and sent him off to Court to Lord Hunsdon. + </p> + <p> + There, being as delicately beautiful as his brother was huge and strong, + he had speedily, by Carew's interest and that of Sidney and his Uncle + Leicester, found entrance into some office in the queen's household; and + he was now basking in the full sunshine of Court favor, and fair ladies' + eyes, and all the chivalries and euphuisms of Gloriana's fairyland, and + the fast friendship of that bright meteor Sidney, who had returned with + honor in 1577, from the delicate mission on behalf of the German and + Belgian Protestants, on which he had been sent to the Court of Vienna, + under color of condoling with the new Emperor Rodolph on his father's + death. Frank found him when he himself came to Court in 1579 as lovely and + loving as ever; and, at the early age of twenty-five, acknowledged as one + of the most remarkable men of Europe, the patron of all men of letters, + the counsellor of warriors and statesmen, and the confidant and advocate + of William of Orange, Languet, Plessis du Mornay, and all the Protestant + leaders on the Continent; and found, moreover, that the son of the poor + Devon squire was as welcome as ever to the friendship of nature's and + fortune's most favored, yet most unspoilt, minion. + </p> + <p> + Poor Mrs. Leigh, as one who had long since learned to have no self, and to + live not only for her children but in them, submitted without a murmur, + and only said, smiling, to her stern friend—“You took away my + mastiff-pup, and now you must needs have my fair greyhound also.” + </p> + <p> + “Would you have your fair greyhound, dear lady, grow up a tall and true + Cotswold dog, that can pull down a stag of ten, or one of those + smooth-skinned poppets which the Florence ladies lead about with a ring of + bells round its neck, and a flannel farthingale over its loins?” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh submitted; and was rewarded after a few months by a letter, + sent through Sir Richard, from none other than Gloriana herself, in which + she thanked her for “the loan of that most delicate and flawless crystal, + the soul of her excellent son,” with more praises of him than I have room + to insert, and finished by exalting the poor mother above the famed + Cornelia; “for those sons, whom she called her jewels, she only showed, + yet kept them to herself: but you, madam, having two as precious, I doubt + not, as were ever that Roman dame's, have, beyond her courage, lent them + both to your country and to your queen, who therein holds herself indebted + to you for that which, if God give her grace, she will repay as becomes + both her and you.” Which epistle the sweet mother bedewed with holy tears, + and laid by in the cedar-box which held her household gods, by the side of + Frank's innumerable diplomas and letters of recommendation, the Latin + whereof she was always spelling over (although she understood not a word + of it), in hopes of finding, here and there, that precious + excellentissimus Noster Franciscus Leighius Anglus, which was all in all + to the mother's heart. + </p> + <p> + But why did Amyas go to the South Seas? Amyas went to the South Seas for + two causes, each of which has, before now, sent many a lad to far worse + places: first, because of an old schoolmaster; secondly, because of a + young beauty. I will take them in order and explain. + </p> + <p> + Vindex Brimblecombe, whilom servitor of Exeter College, Oxford (commonly + called Sir Vindex, after the fashion of the times), was, in those days, + master of the grammar-school of Bideford. He was, at root, a godly and + kind-hearted pedant enough; but, like most schoolmasters in the old + flogging days, had his heart pretty well hardened by long, baneful license + to inflict pain at will on those weaker than himself; a power healthful + enough for the victim (for, doubtless, flogging is the best of all + punishments, being not only the shortest, but also a mere bodily and + animal, and not, like most of our new-fangled “humane” punishments, a + spiritual and fiendish torture), but for the executioner pretty certain to + eradicate, from all but the noblest spirits, every trace of chivalry and + tenderness for the weak, as well, often, as all self-control and command + of temper. Be that as it may, old Sir Vindex had heart enough to feel that + it was now his duty to take especial care of the fatherless boy to whom he + tried to teach his qui, quae, quod: but the only outcome of that new sense + of responsibility was a rapid increase in the number of floggings, which + rose from about two a week to one per diem, not without consequences to + the pedagogue himself. + </p> + <p> + For all this while, Amyas had never for a moment lost sight of his darling + desire for a sea-life; and when he could not wander on the quay and stare + at the shipping, or go down to the pebble-ridge at Northam, and there sit, + devouring, with hungry eyes, the great expanse of ocean, which seemed to + woo him outward into boundless space, he used to console himself, in + school-hours, by drawing ships and imaginary charts upon his slate, + instead of minding his “humanities.” + </p> + <p> + Now it befell, upon an afternoon, that he was very busy at a map, or + bird's-eye view of an island, whereon was a great castle, and at the gate + thereof a dragon, terrible to see; while in the foreground came that which + was meant for a gallant ship, with a great flag aloft, but which, by + reason of the forest of lances with which it was crowded, looked much more + like a porcupine carrying a sign-post; and, at the roots of those lances, + many little round o's, whereby was signified the heads of Amyas and his + schoolfellows, who were about to slay that dragon, and rescue the + beautiful princess who dwelt in that enchanted tower. To behold which + marvel of art, all the other boys at the same desk must needs club their + heads together, and with the more security, because Sir Vindex, as was his + custom after dinner, was lying back in his chair, and slept the sleep of + the just. + </p> + <p> + But when Amyas, by special instigation of the evil spirit who haunts + successful artists, proceeded further to introduce, heedless of + perspective, a rock, on which stood the lively portraiture of Sir Vindex—nose, + spectacles, gown, and all; and in his hand a brandished rod, while out of + his mouth a label shrieked after the runaways, “You come back!” while a + similar label replied from the gallant bark, “Good-bye, master!” the + shoving and tittering rose to such a pitch that Cerberus awoke, and + demanded sternly what the noise was about. To which, of course, there was + no answer. + </p> + <p> + “You, of course, Leigh! Come up, sir, and show me your exercitation.” + </p> + <p> + Now of Amyas's exercitation not a word was written; and, moreover, he was + in the very article of putting the last touches to Mr. Brimblecombe's + portrait. Whereon, to the astonishment of all hearers, he made answer— + </p> + <p> + “All in good time, sir!” and went on drawing. + </p> + <p> + “In good time, sir! Insolent, veni et vapula!” + </p> + <p> + But Amyas went on drawing. + </p> + <p> + “Come hither, sirrah, or I'll flay you alive!” + </p> + <p> + “Wait a bit!” answered Amyas. + </p> + <p> + The old gentleman jumped up, ferula in hand, and darted across the school, + and saw himself upon the fatal slate. + </p> + <p> + “Proh flagitium! what have we here, villain?” and clutching at his victim, + he raised the cane. Whereupon, with a serene and cheerful countenance, up + rose the mighty form of Amyas Leigh, a head and shoulders above his + tormentor, and that slate descended on the bald coxcomb of Sir Vindex + Brimblecombe, with so shrewd a blow that slate and pate cracked at the + same instant, and the poor pedagogue dropped to the floor, and lay for + dead. + </p> + <p> + After which Amyas arose, and walked out of the school, and so quietly + home; and having taken counsel with himself, went to his mother, and said, + “Please, mother, I've broken schoolmaster's head.” + </p> + <p> + “Broken his head, thou wicked boy!” shrieked the poor widow; “what didst + do that for?” + </p> + <p> + “I can't tell,” said Amyas, penitently; “I couldn't help it. It looked so + smooth, and bald, and round, and—you know?” + </p> + <p> + “I know? Oh, wicked boy! thou hast given place to the devil; and now, + perhaps, thou hast killed him.” + </p> + <p> + “Killed the devil?” asked Amyas, hopefully but doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + “No, killed the schoolmaster, sirrah! Is he dead?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't think he's dead; his coxcomb sounded too hard for that. But had + not I better go and tell Sir Richard?” + </p> + <p> + The poor mother could hardly help laughing, in spite of her terror, at + Amyas's perfect coolness (which was not in the least meant for insolence), + and being at her wits' end, sent him, as usual, to his godfather. + </p> + <p> + Amyas rehearsed his story again, with pretty nearly the same exclamations, + to which he gave pretty nearly the same answers; and then—“What was + he going to do to you, then, sirrah?” + </p> + <p> + “Flog me, because I could not write my exercise, and so drew a picture of + him instead.” + </p> + <p> + “What! art afraid of being flogged?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a bit; besides, I'm too much accustomed to it; but I was busy, and he + was in such a desperate hurry; and, oh, sir, if you had but seen his bald + head, you would have broken it yourself!” + </p> + <p> + Now Sir Richard had, twenty years ago, in like place, and very much in + like manner, broken the head of Vindex Brimblecombe's father, schoolmaster + in his day, and therefore had a precedent to direct him; and he answered—“Amyas, + sirrah! those who cannot obey will never be fit to rule. If thou canst not + keep discipline now, thou wilt never make a company or a crew keep it when + thou art grown. Dost mind that, sirrah?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Then go back to school this moment, sir, and be flogged.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said Amyas, considering that he had got off very cheaply; + while Sir Richard, as soon as he was out of the room, lay back in his + chair, and laughed till he cried again. + </p> + <p> + So Amyas went back, and said that he was come to be flogged; whereon the + old schoolmaster, whose pate had been plastered meanwhile, wept tears of + joy over the returning prodigal, and then gave him such a switching as he + did not forget for eight-and-forty hours. + </p> + <p> + But that evening Sir Richard sent for old Vindex, who entered, trembling, + cap in hand; and having primed him with a cup of sack, said—“Well, + Mr. Schoolmaster! My godson has been somewhat too much for you to-day. + There are a couple of nobles to pay the doctor.” + </p> + <p> + “O Sir Richard, gratias tibi et Domino! but the boy hits shrewdly hard. + Nevertheless I have repaid him in inverse kind, and set him an imposition, + to learn me one of Phaedrus his fables, Sir Richard, if you do not think + it too much.” + </p> + <p> + “Which, then? The one about the man who brought up a lion's cub, and was + eaten by him in play at last?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Sir Richard! you have always a merry wit. But, indeed, the boy is a + brave boy, and a quick boy, Sir Richard, but more forgetful than Lethe; + and—sapienti loquor—it were well if he were away, for I shall + never see him again without my head aching. Moreover, he put my son Jack + upon the fire last Wednesday, as you would put a football, though he is a + year older, your worship, because, he said, he looked so like a roasting + pig, Sir Richard.” + </p> + <p> + “Alas, poor Jack!” + </p> + <p> + “And what's more, your worship, he is pugnax, bellicosus, gladiator, a + fire-eater and swash-buckler, beyond all Christian measure; a very sucking + Entellus, Sir Richard, and will do to death some of her majesty's lieges + erelong, if he be not wisely curbed. It was but a month agone that he + bemoaned himself, I hear, as Alexander did, because there were no more + worlds to conquer, saying that it was a pity he was so strong; for, now he + had thrashed all the Bideford lads, he had no sport left; and so, as my + Jack tells me, last Tuesday week he fell upon a young man of Barnstaple, + Sir Richard, a hosier's man, sir, and plebeius (which I consider unfit for + one of his blood), and, moreover, a man full grown, and as big as either + of us (Vindex stood five feet four in his high-heeled shoes), and smote + him clean over the quay into the mud, because he said that there was a + prettier maid in Barnstaple (your worship will forgive my speaking of such + toys, to which my fidelity compels me) than ever Bideford could show; and + then offered to do the same to any man who dare say that Mistress Rose + Salterne, his worship the mayor's daughter, was not the fairest lass in + all Devon.” + </p> + <p> + “Eh? Say that over again, my good sir,” quoth Sir Richard, who had thus + arrived, as we have seen, at the second count of the indictment. “I say, + good sir, whence dost thou hear all these pretty stories?” + </p> + <p> + “My son Jack, Sir Richard, my son Jack, ingenui vultus puer.” + </p> + <p> + “But not, it seems, ingenui pudoris. Tell thee what, Mr. Schoolmaster, no + wonder if thy son gets put on the fire, if thou employ him as a + tale-bearer. But that is the way of all pedagogues and their sons, by + which they train the lads up eavesdroppers and favor-curriers, and prepare + them—sirrah, do you hear?—for a much more lasting and hotter + fire than that which has scorched thy son Jack's nether-tackle. Do you + mark me, sir?” + </p> + <p> + The poor pedagogue, thus cunningly caught in his own trap, stood trembling + before his patron, who, as hereditary head of the Bridge Trust, which + endowed the school and the rest of the Bideford charities, could, by a + turn of his finger, sweep him forth with the besom of destruction; and he + gasped with terror as Sir Richard went on—“Therefore, mind you, Sir + Schoolmaster, unless you shall promise me never to hint word of what has + passed between us two, and that neither you nor yours shall henceforth + carry tales of my godson, or speak his name within a day's march of + Mistress Salterne's, look to it, if I do not—” + </p> + <p> + What was to be done in default was not spoken; for down went poor old + Vindex on his knees:— + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Sir Richard! Excellentissime, immo praecelsissime Domine et Senator, + I promise! O sir, Miles et Eques of the Garter, Bath, and Golden Fleece, + consider your dignities, and my old age—and my great family—nine + children—oh, Sir Richard, and eight of them girls!—Do eagles + war with mice? says the ancient!” + </p> + <p> + “Thy large family, eh? How old is that fat-witted son of thine?” + </p> + <p> + “Sixteen, Sir Richard; but that is not his fault, indeed!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I suppose he would be still sucking his thumb if he dared—get + up, man—get up and seat yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Heaven forbid!” murmured poor Vindex, with deep humility. + </p> + <p> + “Why is not the rogue at Oxford, with a murrain on him, instead of + lurching about here carrying tales and ogling the maidens?” + </p> + <p> + “I had hoped, Sir Richard—and therefore I said it was not his fault—but + there was never a servitorship at Exeter open.” + </p> + <p> + “Go to, man—go to! I will speak to my brethren of the Trust, and to + Oxford he shall go this autumn, or else to Exeter gaol, for a strong + rogue, and a masterless man. Do you hear?” + </p> + <p> + “Hear?—oh, sir, yes! and return thanks. Jack shall go, Sir Richard, + doubt it not—I were mad else; and, Sir Richard, may I go too?” + </p> + <p> + And therewith Vindex vanished, and Sir Richard enjoyed a second mighty + laugh, which brought in Lady Grenville, who possibly had overheard the + whole; for the first words she said were— + </p> + <p> + “I think, my sweet life, we had better go up to Burrough.” + </p> + <p> + So to Burrough they went; and after much talk, and many tears, matters + were so concluded that Amyas Leigh found himself riding joyfully towards + Plymouth, by the side of Sir Richard, and being handed over to Captain + Drake, vanished for three years from the good town of Bideford. + </p> + <p> + And now he is returned in triumph, and the observed of all observers; and + looks round and round, and sees all faces whom he expects, except one; and + that the one which he had rather see than his mother's? He is not quite + sure. Shame on himself! + </p> + <p> + And now the prayers being ended, the rector ascends the pulpit, and begins + his sermon on the text:— + </p> + <p> + “The heaven and the heaven of heavens are the Lord's; the whole earth hath + he given to the children of men;” deducing therefrom craftily, to the + exceeding pleasure of his hearers, the iniquity of the Spaniards in + dispossessing the Indians, and in arrogating to themselves the sovereignty + of the tropic seas; the vanity of the Pope of Rome in pretending to bestow + on them the new countries of America; and the justice, valor, and glory of + Mr. Drake and his expedition, as testified by God's miraculous protection + of him and his, both in the Straits of Magellan, and in his battle with + the Galleon; and last, but not least, upon the rock by Celebes, when the + Pelican lay for hours firmly fixed, and was floated off unhurt, as it were + by miracle, by a sudden shift of wind. + </p> + <p> + Ay, smile, reader, if you will; and, perhaps, there was matter for a smile + in that honest sermon, interlarded, as it was, with scraps of Greek and + Hebrew, which no one understood, but every one expected as their right + (for a preacher was nothing then who could not prove himself “a good + Latiner”); and graced, moreover, by a somewhat pedantic and lengthy + refutation from Scripture of Dan Horace's cockney horror of the sea— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Illi robur et aes triplex,” etc. +</pre> + <p> + and his infidel and ungodly slander against the impias rates, and their + crews. + </p> + <p> + Smile, if you will: but those were days (and there were never less + superstitious ones) in which Englishmen believed in the living God, and + were not ashamed to acknowledge, as a matter of course, His help and + providence, and calling, in the matters of daily life, which we now in our + covert atheism term “secular and carnal;” and when, the sermon ended, the + communion service had begun, and the bread and the wine were given to + those five mariners, every gallant gentleman who stood near them (for the + press would not allow of more) knelt and received the elements with them + as a thing of course, and then rose to join with heart and voice not + merely in the Gloria in Excelsis, but in the Te Deum, which was the + closing act of all. And no sooner had the clerk given out the first verse + of that great hymn, than it was taken up by five hundred voices within the + church, in bass and tenor, treble and alto (for every one could sing in + those days, and the west-country folk, as now, were fuller than any of + music), the chant was caught up by the crowd outside, and rang away over + roof and river, up to the woods of Annery, and down to the marshes of the + Taw, in wave on wave of harmony. And as it died away, the shipping in the + river made answer with their thunder, and the crowd streamed out again + toward the Bridge Head, whither Sir Richard Grenville, and Sir John + Chichester, and Mr. Salterne, the Mayor, led the five heroes of the day to + await the pageant which had been prepared in honor of them. And as they + went by, there were few in the crowd who did not press forward to shake + them by the hand, and not only them, but their parents and kinsfolk who + walked behind, till Mrs. Leigh, her stately joy quite broken down at last, + could only answer between her sobs, “Go along, good people—God a + mercy, go along—and God send you all such sons!” + </p> + <p> + “God give me back mine!” cried an old red-cloaked dame in the crowd; and + then, struck by some hidden impulse, she sprang forward, and catching hold + of young Amyas's sleeve— + </p> + <p> + “Kind sir! dear sir! For Christ his sake answer a poor old widow woman!” + </p> + <p> + “What is it, dame?” quoth Amyas, gently enough. + </p> + <p> + “Did you see my son to the Indies?—my son Salvation?” + </p> + <p> + “Salvation?” replied he, with the air of one who recollected the name. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sure, Salvation Yeo, of Clovelly. A tall man and black, and sweareth + awfully in his talk, the Lord forgive him!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas recollected now. It was the name of the sailor who had given him the + wondrous horn five years ago. + </p> + <p> + “My good dame,” said he, “the Indies are a very large place, and your son + may be safe and sound enough there, without my having seen him. I knew one + Salvation Yeo. But he must have come with—By the by, godfather, has + Mr. Oxenham come home?” + </p> + <p> + There was a dead silence for a moment among the gentlemen round; and then + Sir Richard said solemnly, and in a low voice, turning away from the old + dame,— + </p> + <p> + “Amyas, Mr. Oxenham has not come home; and from the day he sailed, no word + has been heard of him and all his crew.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Sir Richard! and you kept me from sailing with him! Had I known this + before I went into church, I had had one mercy more to thank God for.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank Him all the more in thy life, my child!” whispered his mother. + </p> + <p> + “And no news of him whatsoever?” + </p> + <p> + “None; but that the year after he sailed, a ship belonging to Andrew + Barker, of Bristol, took out of a Spanish caravel, somewhere off the + Honduras, his two brass guns; but whence they came the Spaniard knew not, + having bought them at Nombre de Dios.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes!” cried the old woman; “they brought home the guns, and never brought + home my boy!” + </p> + <p> + “They never saw your boy, mother,” said Sir Richard. + </p> + <p> + “But I've seen him! I saw him in a dream four years last Whitsuntide, as + plain as I see you now, gentles, a-lying upon a rock, calling for a drop + of water to cool his tongue, like Dives to the torment! Oh! dear me!” and + the old dame wept bitterly. + </p> + <p> + “There is a rose noble for you!” said Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “And there another!” said Sir Richard. And in a few minutes four or five + gold coins were in her hand. But the old dame did but look wonderingly at + the gold a moment, and then— + </p> + <p> + “Ah! dear gentles, God's blessing on you, and Mr. Cary's mighty good to me + already; but gold won't buy back childer! O! young gentleman! young + gentleman! make me a promise; if you want God's blessing on you this day, + bring me back my boy, if you find him sailing on the seas! Bring him back, + and an old widow's blessing be on you!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas promised—what else could he do?—and the group hurried + on; but the lad's heart was heavy in the midst of joy, with the thought of + John Oxenham, as he walked through the churchyard, and down the short + street which led between the ancient school and still more ancient + town-house, to the head of the long bridge, across which the pageant, + having arranged “east-the-water,” was to defile, and then turn to the + right along the quay. + </p> + <p> + However, he was bound in all courtesy to turn his attention now to the + show which had been prepared in his honor, and which was really well + enough worth seeing and hearing. The English were, in those days, an + altogether dramatic people; ready and able, as in Bideford that day, to + extemporize a pageant, a masque, or any effort of the Thespian art short + of the regular drama. For they were, in the first place, even down to the + very poorest, a well-fed people, with fewer luxuries than we, but more + abundant necessaries; and while beef, ale, and good woollen clothes could + be obtained in plenty, without overworking either body or soul, men had + time to amuse themselves in something more intellectual than mere toping + in pot-houses. Moreover, the half century after the Reformation in England + was one not merely of new intellectual freedom, but of immense animal good + spirits. After years of dumb confusion and cruel persecution, a breathing + time had come: Mary and the fires of Smithfield had vanished together like + a hideous dream, and the mighty shout of joy which greeted Elizabeth's + entry into London, was the key-note of fifty glorious years; the + expression of a new-found strength and freedom, which vented itself at + home in drama and in song; abroad in mighty conquests, achieved with the + laughing recklessness of boys at play. + </p> + <p> + So first, preceded by the waits, came along the bridge toward the + town-hall a device prepared by the good rector, who, standing by, acted as + showman, and explained anxiously to the bystanders the import of a certain + “allegory” wherein on a great banner was depicted Queen Elizabeth herself, + who, in ample ruff and farthingale, a Bible in one hand and a sword in the + other, stood triumphant upon the necks of two sufficiently abject + personages, whose triple tiara and imperial crown proclaimed them the Pope + and the King of Spain; while a label, issuing from her royal mouth, + informed the world that— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “By land and sea a virgin queen I reign, + And spurn to dust both Antichrist and Spain.” + </pre> + <p> + Which, having been received with due applause, a well-bedizened lad, + having in his cap as a posy “Loyalty,” stepped forward, and delivered + himself of the following verses:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Oh, great Eliza! oh, world-famous crew! + Which shall I hail more blest, your queen or you? + While without other either falls to wrack, + And light must eyes, or eyes their light must lack. + She without you, a diamond sunk in mine, + Its worth unprized, to self alone must shine; + You without her, like hands bereft of head, + Like Ajax rage, by blindfold lust misled. + She light, you eyes; she head, and you the hands, + In fair proportion knit by heavenly hands; + Servants in queen, and queen in servants blest; + Your only glory, how to serve her best; + And hers how best the adventurous might to guide, + Which knows no check of foemen, wind, or tide, + So fair Eliza's spotless fame may fly + Triumphant round the globe, and shake th' astounded sky!” + </pre> + <p> + With which sufficiently bad verses Loyalty passed on, while my Lady Bath + hinted to Sir Richard, not without reason, that the poet, in trying to + exalt both parties, had very sufficiently snubbed both, and intimated that + it was “hardly safe for country wits to attempt that euphuistic, + antithetical, and delicately conceited vein, whose proper fountain was in + Whitehall.” However, on went Loyalty, very well pleased with himself, and + next, amid much cheering, two great tinsel fish, a salmon and a trout, + symbolical of the wealth of Torridge, waddled along, by means of two human + legs and a staff apiece, which protruded from the fishes' stomachs. They + drew (or seemed to draw, for half the 'prentices in the town were shoving + it behind, and cheering on the panting monarchs of the flood) a car + wherein sate, amid reeds and river-flags, three or four pretty girls in + robes of gray-blue spangled with gold, their heads wreathed one with a + crown of the sweet bog-myrtle, another with hops and white convolvulus, + the third with pale heather and golden fern. They stopped opposite Amyas; + and she of the myrtle wreath, rising and bowing to him and the company, + began with a pretty blush to say her say:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Hither from my moorland home, + Nymph of Torridge, proud I come; + Leaving fen and furzy brake, + Haunt of eft and spotted snake, + Where to fill mine urns I use, + Daily with Atlantic dews; + While beside the reedy flood + Wild duck leads her paddling brood. + For this morn, as Phoebus gay + Chased through heaven the night mist gray, + Close beside me, prankt in pride, + Sister Tamar rose, and cried, + 'Sluggard, up! 'Tis holiday, + In the lowlands far away. + Hark! how jocund Plymouth bells, + Wandering up through mazy dells, + Call me down, with smiles to hail, + My daring Drake's returning sail.' + 'Thine alone?' I answer'd. 'Nay; + Mine as well the joy to-day. + Heroes train'd on Northern wave, + To that Argo new I gave; + Lent to thee, they roam'd the main; + Give me, nymph, my sons again.' + 'Go, they wait Thee,' Tamar cried, + Southward bounding from my side. + Glad I rose, and at my call, + Came my Naiads, one and all. + Nursling of the mountain sky, + Leaving Dian's choir on high, + Down her cataracts laughing loud, + Ockment leapt from crag and cloud, + Leading many a nymph, who dwells + Where wild deer drink in ferny dells; + While the Oreads as they past + Peep'd from Druid Tors aghast. + By alder copses sliding slow, + Knee-deep in flowers came gentler Yeo + And paused awhile her locks to twine + With musky hops and white woodbine, + Then joined the silver-footed band, + Which circled down my golden sand, + By dappled park, and harbor shady, + Haunt of love-lorn knight and lady, + My thrice-renowned sons to greet, + With rustic song and pageant meet. + For joy! the girdled robe around + Eliza's name henceforth shall sound, + Whose venturous fleets to conquest start, + Where ended once the seaman's chart, + While circling Sol his steps shall count + Henceforth from Thule's western mount, + And lead new rulers round the seas + From furthest Cassiterides. + For found is now the golden tree, + Solv'd th' Atlantic mystery, + Pluck'd the dragon-guarded fruit; + While around the charmed root, + Wailing loud, the Hesperids + Watch their warder's drooping lids. + Low he lies with grisly wound, + While the sorceress triple-crown'd + In her scarlet robe doth shield him, + Till her cunning spells have heal'd him. + Ye, meanwhile, around the earth + Bear the prize of manful worth. + Yet a nobler meed than gold + Waits for Albion's children bold; + Great Eliza's virgin hand + Welcomes you to Fairy-land, + While your native Naiads bring + Native wreaths as offering. + Simple though their show may be, + Britain's worship in them see. + 'Tis not price, nor outward fairness, + Gives the victor's palm its rareness; + Simplest tokens can impart + Noble throb to noble heart: + Graecia, prize thy parsley crown, + Boast thy laurel, Caesar's town; + Moorland myrtle still shall be + Badge of Devon's Chivalry!” + </pre> + <p> + And so ending, she took the wreath of fragrant gale from her own head, and + stooping from the car, placed it on the head of Amyas Leigh, who made + answer— + </p> + <p> + “There is no place like home, my fair mistress and no scent to my taste + like this old home-scent in all the spice-islands that I ever sailed by!” + </p> + <p> + “Her song was not so bad,” said Sir Richard to Lady Bath—“but how + came she to hear Plymouth bells at Tamar-head, full fifty miles away? + That's too much of a poet's license, is it not?” + </p> + <p> + “The river-nymphs, as daughters of Oceanus, and thus of immortal + parentage, are bound to possess organs of more than mortal keenness; but, + as you say, the song was not so bad—erudite, as well as prettily + conceived—and, saving for a certain rustical simplicity and + monosyllabic baldness, smacks rather of the forests of Castaly than those + of Torridge.” + </p> + <p> + So spake my Lady Bath; whom Sir Richard wisely answered not; for she was a + terribly learned member of the college of critics, and disputed even with + Sidney's sister the chieftaincy of the Euphuists; so Sir Richard answered + not, but answer was made for him. + </p> + <p> + “Since the whole choir of Muses, madam, have migrated to the Court of + Whitehall, no wonder if some dews of Parnassus should fertilize at times + even our Devon moors.” + </p> + <p> + The speaker was a tall and slim young man, some five-and-twenty years old, + of so rare and delicate a beauty, that it seemed that some Greek statue, + or rather one of those pensive and pious knights whom the old German + artists took delight to paint, had condescended to tread awhile this + work-day earth in living flesh and blood. The forehead was very lofty and + smooth, the eyebrows thin and greatly arched (the envious gallants + whispered that something at least of their curve was due to art, as was + also the exceeding smoothness of those delicate cheeks). The face was + somewhat long and thin; the nose aquiline; and the languid mouth showed, + perhaps, too much of the ivory upper teeth; but the most striking point of + the speaker's appearance was the extraordinary brilliancy of his + complexion, which shamed with its whiteness that of all fair ladies round, + save where open on each cheek a bright red spot gave warning, as did the + long thin neck and the taper hands, of sad possibilities, perhaps not far + off; possibilities which all saw with an inward sigh, except she whose + doting glances, as well as her resemblance to the fair youth, proclaimed + her at once his mother, Mrs. Leigh herself. + </p> + <p> + Master Frank, for he it was, was dressed in the very extravagance of the + fashion,—not so much from vanity, as from that delicate instinct of + self-respect which would keep some men spruce and spotless from one year's + end to another upon a desert island; “for,” as Frank used to say in his + sententious way, “Mr. Frank Leigh at least beholds me, though none else be + by; and why should I be more discourteous to him than I permit others to + be? Be sure that he who is a Grobian in his own company, will, sooner or + later, become a Grobian in that of his friends.” + </p> + <p> + So Mr. Frank was arrayed spotlessly; but after the latest fashion of + Milan, not in trunk hose and slashed sleeves, nor in “French standing + collar, treble quadruple daedalian ruff, or stiff-necked rabato, that had + more arches for pride, propped up with wire and timber, than five London + Bridges;” but in a close-fitting and perfectly plain suit of dove-color, + which set off cunningly the delicate proportions of his figure, and the + delicate hue of his complexion, which was shaded from the sun by a broad + dove-colored Spanish hat, with feather to match, looped up over the right + ear with a pearl brooch, and therein a crowned E, supposed by the damsels + of Bideford to stand for Elizabeth, which was whispered to be the gift of + some most illustrious hand. This same looping up was not without good + reason and purpose prepense; thereby all the world had full view of a + beautiful little ear, which looked as if it had been cut of cameo, and + made, as my Lady Rich once told him, “to hearken only to the music of the + spheres, or to the chants of cherubim.” Behind the said ear was stuck a + fresh rose; and the golden hair was all drawn smoothly back and round to + the left temple, whence, tied with a pink ribbon in a great true lover's + knot, a mighty love-lock, “curled as it had been laid in press,” rolled + down low upon his bosom. Oh, Frank! Frank! have you come out on purpose to + break the hearts of all Bideford burghers' daughters? And if so, did you + expect to further that triumph by dyeing that pretty little pointed beard + (with shame I report it) of a bright vermilion? But we know you better, + Frank, and so does your mother; and you are but a masquerading angel after + all, in spite of your knots and your perfumes, and the gold chain round + your neck which a German princess gave you; and the emerald ring on your + right fore-finger which Hatton gave you; and the pair of perfumed gloves + in your left which Sidney's sister gave you; and the silver-hilted Toledo + which an Italian marquis gave you on a certain occasion of which you never + choose to talk, like a prudent and modest gentleman as you are; but of + which the gossips talk, of course, all the more, and whisper that you + saved his life from bravoes—a dozen, at the least; and had that + sword for your reward, and might have had his beautiful sister's hand + beside, and I know not what else; but that you had so many lady-loves + already that you were loath to burden yourself with a fresh one. That, at + least, we know to be a lie, fair Frank; for your heart is as pure this day + as when you knelt in your little crib at Burrough, and said— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Four corners to my bed + Four angels round my head; + Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, + Bless the bed that I lie on.” + </pre> + <p> + And who could doubt it (if being pure themselves, they have instinctive + sympathy with what is pure), who ever looked into those great deep blue + eyes of yours, “the black fringed curtains of whose azure lids,” usually + down-dropt as if in deepest thought, you raise slowly, almost wonderingly + each time you speak, as if awakening from some fair dream whose home is + rather in your platonical “eternal world of supra-sensible forms,” than on + that work-day earth wherein you nevertheless acquit yourself so well? + There—I must stop describing you, or I shall catch the infection of + your own euphuism, and talk of you as you would have talked of Sidney or + of Spenser, or of that Swan of Avon, whose song had just begun when yours—but + I will not anticipate; my Lady Bath is waiting to give you her rejoinder. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my silver-tongued scholar! and are you, then, the poet? or have you + been drawing on the inexhaustible bank of your friend Raleigh, or my + cousin Sidney? or has our new Cygnet Immerito lent you a few unpublished + leaves from some fresh Shepherd's Calendar?” + </p> + <p> + “Had either, madam, of that cynosural triad been within call of my most + humble importunities, your ears had been delectate with far nobler + melody.” + </p> + <p> + “But not our eyes with fairer faces, eh? Well, you have chosen your + nymphs, and had good store from whence to pick, I doubt not. Few young + Dulcineas round but must have been glad to take service under so renowned + a captain?” + </p> + <p> + “The only difficulty, gracious countess, has been to know where to fix the + wandering choice of my bewildered eyes, where all alike are fair, and all + alike facund.” + </p> + <p> + “We understand,” said she, smiling;— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Dan Cupid, choosing 'midst his mother's graces, + Himself more fair, made scorn of fairest faces.” + </pre> + <p> + The young scholar capped her distich forthwith, and bowing to her with a + meaning look, + </p> + <p> + “'Then, Goddess, turn,' he cried, 'and veil thy light; Blinded by thine, + what eyes can choose aright?'” + </p> + <p> + “Go, saucy sir,” said my lady, in high glee: “the pageant stays your + supreme pleasure.” + </p> + <p> + And away went Mr. Frank as master of the revels, to bring up the + 'prentices' pageant; while, for his sake, the nymph of Torridge was + forgotten for awhile by all young dames, and most young gentlemen: and his + mother heaved a deep sigh, which Lady Bath overhearing— + </p> + <p> + “What? in the dumps, good madam, while all are rejoicing in your joy? Are + you afraid that we court-dames shall turn your Adonis's brain for him?” + </p> + <p> + “I do, indeed, fear lest your condescension should make him forget that he + is only a poor squire's orphan.” + </p> + <p> + “I will warrant him never to forget aught that he should recollect,” said + my Lady Bath. + </p> + <p> + And she spoke truly. But soon Frank's silver voice was heard calling out— + </p> + <p> + “Room there, good people, for the gallant 'prentice lads!” + </p> + <p> + And on they came, headed by a giant of buckram and pasteboard armor, forth + of whose stomach looked, like a clock-face in a steeple, a human visage, + to be greeted, as was the fashion then, by a volley of quips and puns from + high and low. + </p> + <p> + Young Mr. William Cary, of Clovelly, who was the wit of those parts, + opened the fire by asking him whether he were Goliath, Gogmagog, or + Grantorto in the romance; for giants' names always began with a G. To + which the giant's stomach answered pretty surlily— + </p> + <p> + “Mine don't; I begin with an O.” + </p> + <p> + “Then thou criest out before thou art hurt, O cowardly giant!” + </p> + <p> + “Let me out, lads,” quoth the irascible visage, struggling in his buckram + prison, “and I soon show him whether I be a coward.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, if thou gettest out of thyself, thou wouldst be beside thyself, and + so wert but a mad giant.” + </p> + <p> + “And that were pity,” said Lady Bath; “for by the romances, giants have + never overmuch wit to spare.” + </p> + <p> + “Mercy, dear lady!” said Frank, “and let the giant begin with an O.” + </p> + <p> + “A ——” + </p> + <p> + “A false start, giant! you were to begin with an O.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll make you end with an O, Mr. William Cary!” roared the testy tower of + buckram. + </p> + <p> + “And so I do, for I end with 'Fico!'” + </p> + <p> + “Be mollified, sweet giant,” said Frank, “and spare the rash youth of yon + foolish knight. Shall elephants catch flies, or Hurlo-Thrumbo stain his + club with brains of Dagonet the jester? Be mollified; leave thy caverned + grumblings, like Etna when its windy wrath is past, and discourse + eloquence from thy central omphalos, like Pythoness ventriloquizing.” + </p> + <p> + “If you do begin laughing at me too, Mr. Leigh ——” said the + giant's clock-face, in a piteous tone. + </p> + <p> + “I laugh not. Art thou not Ordulf the earl, and I thy humblest squire? + Speak up, my lord; your cousin, my Lady Bath, commands you.” + </p> + <p> + And at last the giant began:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “A giant I, Earl Ordulf men me call,— + 'Gainst Paynim foes Devonia's champion tall; + In single fight six thousand Turks I slew; + Pull'd off a lion's head, and ate it too: + With one shrewd blow, to let St. Edward in, + I smote the gates of Exeter in twain; + Till aged grown, by angels warn'd in dream, + I built an abbey fair by Tavy stream. + But treacherous time hath tripped my glories up, + The stanch old hound must yield to stancher pup; + Here's one so tall as I, and twice so bold, + Where I took only cuffs, takes good red gold. + From pole to pole resound his wondrous works, + Who slew more Spaniards than I e'er slew Turks; + I strode across the Tavy stream: but he + Strode round the world and back; and here 'a be!” + </pre> + <p> + “Oh, bathos!” said Lady Bath, while the 'prentices shouted applause. “Is + this hedge-bantling to be fathered on you, Mr. Frank?” + </p> + <p> + “It is necessary, by all laws of the drama, madam,” said Frank, with a sly + smile, “that the speech and the speaker shall fit each other. Pass on, + Earl Ordulf; a more learned worthy waits.” + </p> + <p> + Whereon, up came a fresh member of the procession; namely, no less a + person than Vindex Brimblecombe, the ancient schoolmaster, with + five-and-forty boys at his heels, who halting, pulled out his spectacles, + and thus signified his forgiveness of his whilom broken head:— + </p> + <p> + “That the world should have been circumnavigated, ladies and gentles, were + matter enough of jubilation to the student of Herodotus and Plato, Plinius + and —— ahem! much more when the circumnavigators are Britons; + more, again, when Damnonians.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't swear, master,” said young Will Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Gulielme Cary, Gulielme Cary, hast thou forgotten thy—” + </p> + <p> + “Whippings? Never, old lad! Go on; but let not the license of the scholar + overtop the modesty of the Christian.” + </p> + <p> + “More again, as I said, when, incolae, inhabitants of Devon; but, most of + all, men of Bideford school. Oh renowned school! Oh schoolboys ennobled by + fellowship with him! Oh most happy pedagogue, to whom it has befallen to + have chastised a circumnavigator, and, like another Chiron, trained + another Hercules: yet more than Hercules, for he placed his pillars on the + ocean shore, and then returned; but my scholar's voyage—” + </p> + <p> + “Hark how the old fox is praising himself all along on the sly,” said + Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. William, Mr. William, peace;—silentium, my graceless pupil. + Urge the foaming steed, and strike terror into the rapid stag, but meddle + not with matters too high for thee.” + </p> + <p> + “He has given you the dor now, sir,” said Lady Bath; “let the old man say + his say.” + </p> + <p> + “I bring, therefore, as my small contribution to this day's feast; first a + Latin epigram, as thus—” + </p> + <p> + “Latin? Let us hear it forthwith,” cried my lady. + </p> + <p> + And the old pedant mouthed out— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Torriguiam Tamaris ne spernat; Leighius addet + Mox terras terris, inclyte Drake, tuis.” + </pre> + <p> + “Neat, i' faith, la!” Whereon all the rest, as in duty bound, approved + also. + </p> + <p> + “This for the erudite: for vulgar ears the vernacular is more consonant, + sympathetic, instructive; as thus:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Famed Argo ship, that noble chip, by doughty Jason's steering, + Brought back to Greece the golden fleece, from Colchis home + careering; + But now her fame is put to shame, while new Devonian Argo, + Round earth doth run in wake of sun, and brings wealthier cargo.” + </pre> + <p> + “Runs with a right fa-lal-la,” observed Cary; “and would go nobly to a + fiddle and a big drum.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Ye Spaniards, quake! our doughty Drake a royal swan is tested, + On wing and oar, from shore to shore, the raging main who + breasted:— + But never needs to chant his deeds, like swan that lies a-dying, + So far his name, by trump of fame, around the sphere is flying.” + </pre> + <p> + “Hillo ho! schoolmaster!” shouted a voice from behind; “move on, and make + way for Father Neptune!” Whereon a whole storm of raillery fell upon the + hapless pedagogue. + </p> + <p> + “We waited for the parson's alligator, but we wain't for yourn.” + </p> + <p> + “Allegory! my children, allegory!” shrieked the man of letters. + </p> + <p> + “What do ye call he an alligator for? He is but a poor little starved + evat!” + </p> + <p> + “Out of the road, old Custis! March on, Don Palmado!” + </p> + <p> + These allusions to the usual instrument of torture in West-country schools + made the old gentleman wince; especially when they were followed home by— + </p> + <p> + “Who stole Admiral Grenville's brooms, because birch rods were dear?” + </p> + <p> + But proudly he shook his bald head, as a bull shakes off the flies, and + returned to the charge once more. + </p> + <p> + “Great Alexander, famed commander, wept and made a pother, At conquering + only half the world, but Drake had conquer'd t'other; And Hercules to + brink of seas!—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh—!” + </p> + <p> + And clapping both hands to the back of his neck, the schoolmaster began + dancing frantically about, while his boys broke out tittering, “O! the + ochidore! look to the blue ochidore! Who've put ochidore to maister's + poll!” + </p> + <p> + It was too true: neatly inserted, as he stooped forward, between his neck + and his collar, was a large live shore-crab, holding on tight with both + hands. + </p> + <p> + “Gentles! good Christians! save me! I am mare-rode! Incubo, vel ab incubo, + opprimor! Satanas has me by the poll! Help! he tears my jugular; he wrings + my neck, as he does to Dr. Faustus in the play. Confiteor!—I + confess! Satan, I defy thee! Good people, I confess! [Greek text]! The + truth will out. Mr. Francis Leigh wrote the epigram!” And diving through + the crowd, the pedagogue vanished howling, while Father Neptune, crowned + with sea-weeds, a trident in one hand, and a live dog-fish in the other, + swaggered up the street surrounded by a tall bodyguard of mariners, and + followed by a great banner, on which was depicted a globe, with Drake's + ship sailing thereon upside down, and overwritten— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “See every man the Pelican, + Which round the world did go, + While her stern-post was uppermost, + And topmasts down below. + And by the way she lost a day, + Out of her log was stole: + But Neptune kind, with favoring wind, + Hath brought her safe and whole.” + </pre> + <p> + “Now, lads!” cried Neptune; “hand me my parable that's writ for me, and + here goeth!” + </p> + <p> + And at the top of his bull-voice, he began roaring— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I am King Neptune bold, + The ruler of the seas + I don't understand much singing upon land, + But I hope what I say will please. + + “Here be five Bideford men, + Which have sail'd the world around, + And I watch'd them well, as they all can tell, + And brought them home safe and sound. + + “For it is the men of Devon. + To see them I take delight, + Both to tack and to hull, and to heave and to pull, + And to prove themselves in fight. + + “Where be those Spaniards proud, + That make their valiant boasts; + And think for to keep the poor Indians for their sheep, + And to farm my golden coasts? + + “'Twas the devil and the Pope gave them + My kingdom for their own: + But my nephew Francis Drake, he caused them to quake, + And he pick'd them to the bone. + + “For the sea my realm it is, + As good Queen Bess's is the land; + So freely come again, all merry Devon men, + And there's old Neptune's hand.” + </pre> + <p> + “Holla, boys! holla! Blow up, Triton, and bring forward the freedom of the + seas.” + </p> + <p> + Triton, roaring through a conch, brought forward a cockle-shell full of + salt-water, and delivered it solemnly to Amyas, who, of course, put a + noble into it, and returned it after Grenville had done the same. + </p> + <p> + “Holla, Dick Admiral!” cried neptune, who was pretty far gone in liquor; + “we knew thou hadst a right English heart in thee, for all thou standest + there as taut as a Don who has swallowed his rapier.” + </p> + <p> + “Grammercy, stop thy bellowing, fellow, and on; for thou smellest vilely + of fish.” + </p> + <p> + “Everything smells sweet in its right place. I'm going home.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought thou wert there all along, being already half-seas over,” said + Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, right Upsee-Dutch; and that's more than thou ever wilt be, thou + 'long-shore stay-at-home. Why wast making sheep's eyes at Mistress + Salterne here, while my pretty little chuck of Burrough there was playing + at shove-groat with Spanish doubloons?” + </p> + <p> + “Go to the devil, sirrah!” said Cary. Neptune had touched on a sore + subject; and more cheeks than Amyas Leigh's reddened at the hint. + </p> + <p> + “Amen, if Heaven so please!” and on rolled the monarch of the seas; and so + the pageant ended. + </p> + <p> + The moment Amyas had an opportunity, he asked his brother Frank, somewhat + peevishly, where Rose Salterne was. + </p> + <p> + “What! the mayor's daughter? With her uncle by Kilkhampton, I believe.” + </p> + <p> + Now cunning Master Frank, whose daily wish was to “seek peace and ensue + it,” told Amyas this, because he must needs speak the truth: but he was + purposed at the same time to speak as little truth as he could, for fear + of accidents; and, therefore, omitted to tell his brother how that he, two + days before, had entreated Rose Salterne herself to appear as the nymph of + Torridge; which honor she, who had no objection either to exhibit her + pretty face, to recite pretty poetry, or to be trained thereto by the + cynosure of North Devon, would have assented willingly, but that her + father stopped the pretty project by a peremptory countermove, and packed + her off, in spite of her tears, to the said uncle on the Atlantic cliffs; + after which he went up to Burrough, and laughed over the whole matter with + Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “I am but a burgher, Mrs. Leigh, and you a lady of blood; but I am too + proud to let any man say that Simon Salterne threw his daughter at your + son's head;—no; not if you were an empress!” + </p> + <p> + “And to speak truth, Mr. Salterne, there are young gallants enough in the + country quarrelling about her pretty face every day, without making her a + tourney-queen to tilt about.” + </p> + <p> + Which was very true; for during the three years of Amyas's absence, Rose + Salterne had grown into so beautiful a girl of eighteen, that half North + Devon was mad about the “Rose of Torridge,” as she was called; and there + was not a young gallant for ten miles round (not to speak of her father's + clerks and 'prentices, who moped about after her like so many Malvolios, + and treasured up the very parings of her nails) who would not have gone to + Jerusalem to win her. So that all along the vales of Torridge and of Taw, + and even away to Clovelly (for young Mr. Cary was one of the sick), not a + gay bachelor but was frowning on his fellows, and vying with them in the + fashion of his clothes, the set of his ruffs, the harness of his horse, + the carriage of his hawks, the pattern of his sword-hilt; and those were + golden days for all tailors and armorers, from Exmoor to Okehampton town. + But of all those foolish young lads not one would speak to the other, + either out hunting, or at the archery butts, or in the tilt-yard; and my + Lady Bath (who confessed that there was no use in bringing out her + daughters where Rose Salterne was in the way) prophesied in her classical + fashion that Rose's wedding bid fair to be a very bridal of Atalanta, and + feast of the Lapithae; and poor Mr. Will Cary (who always blurted out the + truth), when old Salterne once asked him angrily in Bideford Market, “What + a plague business had he making sheep's eyes at his daughter?” broke out + before all bystanders, “And what a plague business had you, old boy, to + throw such an apple of discord into our merry meetings hereabouts? If you + choose to have such a daughter, you must take the consequences, and be + hanged to you.” To which Mr. Salterne answered with some truth, “That she + was none of his choosing, nor of Mr. Cary's neither.” And so the dor being + given, the belligerents parted laughing, but the war remained in statu + quo; and not a week passed but, by mysterious hands, some nosegay, or + languishing sonnet, was conveyed into The Rose's chamber, all which she + stowed away, with the simplicity of a country girl, finding it mighty + pleasant; and took all compliments quietly enough, probably because, on + the authority of her mirror, she considered them no more than her due. + </p> + <p> + And now, to add to the general confusion, home was come young Amyas Leigh, + more desperately in love with her than ever. For, as is the way with + sailors (who after all are the truest lovers, as they are the finest + fellows, God bless them, upon earth), his lonely ship-watches had been + spent in imprinting on his imagination, month after month, year after + year, every feature and gesture and tone of the fair lass whom he had left + behind him; and that all the more intensely, because, beside his mother, + he had no one else to think of, and was as pure as the day he was born, + having been trained as many a brave young man was then, to look upon + profligacy not as a proof of manhood, but as what the old Germans, and + those Gortyneans who crowned the offender with wool, knew it to be, a + cowardly and effeminate sin. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <p> + OF TWO GENTLEMEN OF WALES, AND HOW THEY HUNTED WITH THE HOUNDS, AND YET + RAN WITH THE DEER + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I know that Deformed; he has been a vile thief this seven years; + he goes up and down like a gentleman: I remember his name.”—Much + Ado About Nothing. +</pre> + <p> + Amyas slept that night a tired and yet a troubled sleep; and his mother + and Frank, as they bent over his pillow, could see that his brain was busy + with many dreams. + </p> + <p> + And no wonder; for over and above all the excitement of the day, the + recollection of John Oxenham had taken strange possession of his mind; and + all that evening, as he sat in the bay-windowed room where he had seen him + last, Amyas was recalling to himself every look and gesture of the lost + adventurer, and wondering at himself for so doing, till he retired to + sleep, only to renew the fancy in his dreams. At last he found himself, he + knew not how, sailing westward ever, up the wake of the setting sun, in + chase of a tiny sail which was John Oxenham's. Upon him was a painful + sense that, unless he came up with her in time, something fearful would + come to pass; but the ship would not sail. All around floated the sargasso + beds, clogging her bows with their long snaky coils of weed; and still he + tried to sail, and tried to fancy that he was sailing, till the sun went + down and all was utter dark. And then the moon arose, and in a moment John + Oxenham's ship was close aboard; her sails were torn and fluttering; the + pitch was streaming from her sides; her bulwarks were rotting to decay. + And what was that line of dark objects dangling along the mainyard?—A + line of hanged men! And, horror of horrors, from the yard-arm close above + him, John Oxenham's corpse looked down with grave-light eyes, and beckoned + and pointed, as if to show him his way, and strove to speak, and could + not, and pointed still, not forward, but back along their course. And when + Amyas looked back, behold, behind him was the snow range of the Andes + glittering in the moon, and he knew that he was in the South Seas once + more, and that all America was between him and home. And still the corpse + kept pointing back, and back, and looking at him with yearning eyes of + agony, and lips which longed to tell some awful secret; till he sprang up, + and woke with a shout of terror, and found himself lying in the little + coved chamber in dear old Burrough, with the gray autumn morning already + stealing in. + </p> + <p> + Feverish and excited, he tried in vain to sleep again; and after an hour's + tossing, rose and dressed, and started for a bathe on his beloved old + pebble ridge. As he passed his mother's door, he could not help looking + in. The dim light of morning showed him the bed; but its pillow had not + been pressed that night. His mother, in her long white night-dress, was + kneeling at the other end of the chamber at her prie-dieu, absorbed in + devotion. Gently he slipped in without a word, and knelt down at her side. + She turned, smiled, passed her arm around him, and went on silently with + her prayers. Why not? They were for him, and he knew it, and prayed also; + and his prayers were for her, and for poor lost John Oxenham, and all his + vanished crew. + </p> + <p> + At last she rose, and standing above him, parted the yellow locks from off + his brow, and looked long and lovingly into his face. There was nothing to + be spoken, for there was nothing to be concealed between these two souls + as clear as glass. Each knew all which the other meant; each knew that its + own thoughts were known. At last the mutual gaze was over; she stooped and + kissed him on the brow, and was in the act to turn away, as a tear dropped + on his forehead. Her little bare feet were peeping out from under her + dress. He bent down and kissed them again and again; and then looking up, + as if to excuse himself,— + </p> + <p> + “You have such pretty feet, mother!” + </p> + <p> + Instantly, with a woman's instinct, she had hidden them. She had been a + beauty once, as I said; and though her hair was gray, and her roses had + faded long ago, she was beautiful still, in all eyes which saw deeper than + the mere outward red and white. + </p> + <p> + “Your dear father used to say so thirty years ago.” + </p> + <p> + “And I say so still: you always were beautiful; you are beautiful now.” + </p> + <p> + “What is that to you, silly boy? Will you play the lover with an old + mother? Go and take your walk, and think of younger ladies, if you can + find any worthy of you.” + </p> + <p> + And so the son went forth, and the mother returned to her prayers. + </p> + <p> + He walked down to the pebble ridge, where the surges of the bay have + defeated their own fury, by rolling up in the course of ages a rampart of + gray boulder-stones, some two miles long, as cunningly curved, and + smoothed, and fitted, as if the work had been done by human hands, which + protects from the high tides of spring and autumn a fertile sheet of + smooth, alluvial turf. Sniffing the keen salt air like a young sea-dog, he + stripped and plunged into the breakers, and dived, and rolled, and tossed + about the foam with stalwart arms, till he heard himself hailed from off + the shore, and looking up, saw standing on the top of the rampart the tall + figure of his cousin Eustace. + </p> + <p> + Amyas was half-disappointed at his coming; for, love-lorn rascal, he had + been dreaming all the way thither of Rose Salterne, and had no wish for a + companion who would prevent his dreaming of her all the way back. + Nevertheless, not having seen Eustace for three years, it was but civil to + scramble out and dress, while his cousin walked up and down upon the turf + inside. + </p> + <p> + Eustace Leigh was the son of a younger brother of Leigh of Burrough, who + had more or less cut himself off from his family, and indeed from his + countrymen, by remaining a Papist. True, though born a Papist, he had not + always been one; for, like many of the gentry, he had become a Protestant + under Edward the Sixth, and then a Papist again under Mary. But, to his + honor be it said, at that point he had stopped, having too much honesty to + turn Protestant a second time, as hundreds did, at Elizabeth's accession. + So a Papist he remained, living out of the way of the world in a great, + rambling, dark house, still called “Chapel,” on the Atlantic cliffs, in + Moorwinstow parish, not far from Sir Richard Grenville's house of Stow. + The penal laws never troubled him; for, in the first place, they never + troubled any one who did not make conspiracy and rebellion an integral + doctrine of his religious creed; and next, they seldom troubled even them, + unless, fired with the glory of martyrdom, they bullied the long-suffering + of Elizabeth and her council into giving them their deserts, and, like + poor Father Southwell in after years, insisted on being hanged, whether + Burleigh liked or not. Moreover, in such a no-man's-land and + end-of-all-the-earth was that old house at Moorwinstow, that a dozen + conspiracies might have been hatched there without any one hearing of it; + and Jesuits and seminary priests skulked in and out all the year round, + unquestioned though unblest; and found a sort of piquant pleasure, like + naughty boys who have crept into the store-closet, in living in mysterious + little dens in a lonely turret, and going up through a trap-door to + celebrate mass in a secret chamber in the roof, where they were allowed by + the powers that were to play as much as they chose at persecuted saints, + and preach about hiding in dens and caves of the earth. For once, when the + zealous parson of Moorwinstow, having discovered (what everybody knew + already) the existence of “mass priests and their idolatry” at Chapel + House, made formal complaint thereof to Sir Richard, and called on him, as + the nearest justice of the peace, to put in force the act of the + fourteenth of Elizabeth, that worthy knight only rated him soundly for a + fantastical Puritan, and bade him mind his own business, if he wished not + to make the place too hot for him; whereon (for the temporal authorities, + happily for the peace of England, kept in those days a somewhat tight hand + upon the spiritual ones) the worthy parson subsided,—for, after all, + Mr. Thomas Leigh paid his tithes regularly enough,—and was content, + as he expressed it, to bow his head in the house of Rimmon like Naaman of + old, by eating Mr. Leigh's dinners as often as he was invited, and + ignoring the vocation of old Father Francis, who sat opposite to him, + dressed as a layman, and calling himself the young gentleman's pedagogue. + </p> + <p> + But the said birds of ill-omen had a very considerable lien on the + conscience of poor Mr. Thomas Leigh, the father of Eustace, in the form of + certain lands once belonging to the Abbey of Hartland. He more than half + believed that he should be lost for holding those lands; but he did not + believe it wholly, and, therefore, he did not give them up; which was the + case, as poor Mary Tudor found to her sorrow, with most of her “Catholic” + subjects, whose consciences, while they compelled them to return to the + only safe fold of Mother Church (extra quam nulla salus), by no means + compelled them to disgorge the wealth of which they had plundered that + only hope of their salvation. Most of them, however, like poor Tom Leigh, + felt the abbey rents burn in their purses; and, as John Bull generally + does in a difficulty, compromised the matter by a second folly (as if two + wrong things made one right one), and petted foreign priests, and + listened, or pretended not to listen, to their plottings and their + practisings; and gave up a son here, and a son there, as a sort of a + sin-offering and scapegoat, to be carried off to Douay, or Rheims, or + Rome, and trained as a seminary priest; in plain English, to be taught the + science of villainy, on the motive of superstition. One of such hapless + scapegoats, and children who had been cast into the fire to Moloch, was + Eustace Leigh, whom his father had sent, giving the fruit of his body for + the sin of his soul, to be made a liar of at Rheims. + </p> + <p> + And a very fair liar he had become. Not that the lad was a bad fellow at + heart; but he had been chosen by the harpies at home, on account of his + “peculiar vocation;” in plain English, because the wily priests had seen + in him certain capacities of vague hysterical fear of the unseen (the + religious sentiment, we call it now-a-days), and with them that tendency + to be a rogue, which superstitious men always have. He was now a tall, + handsome, light-complexioned man, with a huge upright forehead, a very + small mouth, and a dry and set expression of face, which was always trying + to get free, or rather to seem free, and indulge in smiles and dimples + which were proper; for one ought to have Christian love, and if one had + love one ought to be cheerful, and when people were cheerful they smiled; + and therefore he would smile, and tried to do so; but his charity prepense + looked no more alluring than malice prepense would have done; and, had he + not been really a handsome fellow, many a woman who raved about his + sweetness would have likened his frankness to that of a skeleton dancing + in fetters, and his smiles to the grins thereof. + </p> + <p> + He had returned to England about a month before, in obedience to the + proclamation which had been set forth for that purpose (and certainly not + before it was needed), that, “whosoever had children, wards, etc., in the + parts beyond the seas, should send in their names to the ordinary, and + within four months call them home again.” So Eustace was now staying with + his father at Chapel, having, nevertheless, his private matters to + transact on behalf of the virtuous society by whom he had been brought up; + one of which private matters had brought him to Bideford the night before. + </p> + <p> + So he sat down beside Amyas on the pebbles, and looked at him all over out + of the corners of his eyes very gently, as if he did not wish to hurt him, + or even the flies on his back; and Amyas faced right round, and looked him + full in the face with the heartiest of smiles, and held out a lion's paw, + which Eustace took rapturously, and a great shaking of hands ensued; Amyas + gripping with a great round fist, and a quiet quiver thereof, as much as + to say, “I AM glad to see you;” and Eustace pinching hard with white, + straight fingers, and sawing the air violently up and down, as much as to + say, “DON'T YOU SEE how glad I am to see you?” A very different greeting + from the former. + </p> + <p> + “Hold hard, old lad,” said Amyas, “before you break my elbow. And where do + you come from?” + </p> + <p> + “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it,” + said he, with a little smile and nod of mysterious self-importance. + </p> + <p> + “Like the devil, eh? Well, every man has his pattern. How is my uncle?” + </p> + <p> + Now, if there was one man on earth above another, of whom Eustace Leigh + stood in dread, it was his cousin Amyas. In the first place, he knew Amyas + could have killed him with a blow; and there are natures, who, instead of + rejoicing in the strength of men of greater prowess than themselves, look + at such with irritation, dread, at last, spite; expecting, perhaps, that + the stronger will do to them what they feel they might have done in his + place. Every one, perhaps, has the same envious, cowardly devil haunting + about his heart; but the brave men, though they be very sparrows, kick him + out; the cowards keep him, and foster him; and so did poor Eustace Leigh. + </p> + <p> + Next, he could not help feeling that Amyas despised him. They had not met + for three years; but before Amyas went, Eustace never could argue with + him, simply because Amyas treated him as beneath argument. No doubt he was + often rude and unfair enough; but the whole mass of questions concerning + the unseen world, which the priests had stimulated in his cousin's mind + into an unhealthy fungus crop, were to Amyas simply, as he expressed it, + “wind and moonshine;” and he treated his cousin as a sort of harmless + lunatic, and, as they say in Devon, “half-baked.” And Eustace knew it; and + knew, too, that his cousin did him an injustice. “He used to undervalue + me,” said he to himself; “let us see whether he does not find me a match + for him now.” And then went off into an agony of secret contrition for his + self-seeking and his forgetting that “the glory of God, and not his own + exaltation,” was the object of his existence. + </p> + <p> + There, dear readers, Ex pede Herculem; I cannot tire myself or you + (especially in this book) with any wire-drawn soul-dissections. I have + tried to hint to you two opposite sorts of men,—the one trying to be + good with all his might and main, according to certain approved methods + and rules, which he has got by heart, and like a weak oarsman, feeling and + fingering his spiritual muscles over all day, to see if they are growing; + the other not even knowing whether he is good or not, but just doing the + right thing without thinking about it, as simply as a little child, + because the Spirit of God is with him. If you cannot see the great gulf + fixed between the two, I trust that you will discover it some day. + </p> + <p> + But in justice be it said, all this came upon Eustace, not because he was + a Romanist, but because he was educated by the Jesuits. Had he been saved + from them, he might have lived and died as simple and honest a gentleman + as his brothers, who turned out like true Englishmen (as did all the + Romish laity) to face the great Armada, and one of whom was fighting at + that very minute under St. Leger in Ireland, and as brave and loyal a + soldier as those Roman Catholics whose noble blood has stained every + Crimean battlefield; but his fate was appointed otherwise; and the + Upas-shadow which has blighted the whole Romish Church, blighted him also. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my dearest cousin!” said Eustace, “how disappointed I was this + morning at finding I had arrived just a day too late to witness your + triumph! But I hastened to your home as soon as I could, and learning from + your mother that I should find you here, hurried down to bid you welcome + again to Devon.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, old lad, it does look very natural to see you. I often used to + think of you walking the deck o' nights. Uncle and the girls are all + right, then? But is the old pony dead yet? And how's Dick the smith, and + Nancy? Grown a fine maid by now, I warrant. 'Slid, it seems half a life + that I've been away. + </p> + <p> + “And you really thought of your poor cousin? Be sure that he, too, thought + of you, and offered up nightly his weak prayers for your safety + (doubtless, not without avail) to those saints, to whom would that you—” + </p> + <p> + “Halt there, coz. If they are half as good fellows as you and I take them + for, they'll help me without asking.” + </p> + <p> + “They have helped you, Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + “Maybe; I'd have done as much, I'm sure, for them, if I 'd been in their + place.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you not feel, then, that you owe a debt of gratitude to them; and, + above all, to her, whose intercessions have, I doubt not, availed for your + preservation? Her, the star of the sea, the all-compassionate guide of the + mariner?” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Amyas. “Here's Frank; let him answer.” + </p> + <p> + And, as he spoke, up came Frank, and after due greetings, sat down beside + them on the ridge. + </p> + <p> + “I say, brother, here's Eustace trying already to convert me; and telling + me that I owe all my luck to the Blessed Virgin's prayers for me. + </p> + <p> + “It may be so,” said Frank; “at least you owe it to the prayers of that + most pure and peerless virgin by whose commands you sailed; the sweet + incense of whose orisons has gone up for you daily, and for whose sake you + were preserved from flood and foe, that you might spread the fame and + advance the power of the spotless championess of truth, and right, and + freedom,—Elizabeth, your queen.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas answered this rhapsody, which would have been then both fashionable + and sincere, by a loyal chuckle. Eustace smiled meekly, but answered + somewhat venomously nevertheless— + </p> + <p> + “I, at least, am certain that I speak the truth, when I call my patroness + a virgin undefiled.” + </p> + <p> + Both the brothers' brows clouded at once. Amyas, as he lay on his back on + the pebbles, said quietly to the gulls over his head—“I wonder what + the Frenchman whose head I cut off at the Azores, thinks by now about all + that.” + </p> + <p> + “Cut off a Frenchman's head?” said Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, faith; and so fleshed my maiden sword. I'll tell you. It was in some + tavern; I and George Drake had gone in, and there sat this Frenchman, with + his sword on the table, ready for a quarrel (I found afterwards he was a + noted bully), and begins with us loudly enough about this and that; but, + after awhile, by the instigation of the devil, what does he vent but a + dozen slanders against her majesty's honor, one atop of the other? I was + ashamed to hear them, and I should be more ashamed to repeat them.” + </p> + <p> + “I have heard enough of such,” said Frank. “They come mostly through lewd + rascals about the French ambassador, who have been bred (God help them) + among the filthy vices of that Medicean Court in which the Queen of Scots + had her schooling; and can only perceive in a virtuous freedom a cloak for + licentiousness like their own. Let the curs bark; Honi soit qui mal y + pense is our motto, and shall be forever.” + </p> + <p> + “But I didn't let the cur bark; for I took him by the ears, to show him + out into the street. Whereon he got to his sword, and I to mine; and a + very near chance I had of never bathing on the pebble ridge more; for the + fellow did not fight with edge and buckler, like a Christian, but had some + newfangled French devil's device of scryming and foining with his point, + ha'ing and stamping, and tracing at me, that I expected to be full of + eyelet holes ere I could close with him.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank God that you are safe, then!” said Frank. “I know that play well + enough, and dangerous enough it is.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course you know it; but I didn't, more's the pity.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I'll teach it thee, lad, as well as Rowland Yorke himself, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Thy fincture, carricade, and sly passata, + Thy stramazon, and resolute stoccata, + Wiping maudritta, closing embrocata, + And all the cant of the honorable fencing mystery.'” + </pre> + <p> + “Rowland Yorke? Who's he, then?” + </p> + <p> + “A very roystering rascal, who is making good profit in London just now by + teaching this very art of fence; and is as likely to have his mortal + thread clipt in a tavern brawl, as thy Frenchman. But how did you escape + his pinking iron?” + </p> + <p> + “How? Had it through my left arm before I could look round; and at that I + got mad, and leapt upon him, and caught him by the wrist, and then had a + fair side-blow; and, as fortune would have it, off tumbled his head on to + the table, and there was an end of his slanders.” + </p> + <p> + “So perish all her enemies!” said Frank; and Eustace, who had been trying + not to listen, rose and said— + </p> + <p> + “I trust that you do not number me among them?” + </p> + <p> + “As you speak, I do, coz,” said Frank. “But for your own sake, let me + advise you to put faith in the true report of those who have daily + experience of their mistress's excellent virtue, as they have of the sun's + shining, and of the earth's bringing forth fruit, and not in the tattle of + a few cowardly back-stair rogues, who wish to curry favor with the Guises. + Come, we will say no more. Walk round with us by Appledore, and then home + to breakfast.” + </p> + <p> + But Eustace declined, having immediate business, he said, in Northam town, + and then in Bideford; and so left them to lounge for another half-hour on + the beach, and then walk across the smooth sheet of turf to the little + white fishing village, which stands some two miles above the bar, at the + meeting of the Torridge and the Taw. + </p> + <p> + Now it came to pass, that Eustace Leigh, as we have seen, told his cousins + that he was going to Northam: but he did not tell them that his point was + really the same as their own, namely, Appledore; and, therefore, after + having satisfied his conscience by going as far as the very nearest house + in Northam village, he struck away sharp to the left across the fields, + repeating I know not what to the Blessed Virgin all the way; whereby he + went several miles out of his road; and also, as is the wont of crooked + spirits, Jesuits especially (as three centuries sufficiently testify), + only outwitted himself. For his cousins going merrily, like honest men, + along the straight road across the turf, arrived in Appledore, opposite + the little “Mariner's Rest” Inn, just in time to see what Eustace had + taken so much trouble to hide from them, namely, four of Mr. Thomas + Leigh's horses standing at the door, held by his groom, saddles and + mail-bags on back, and mounting three of them, Eustace Leigh and two + strange gentlemen. + </p> + <p> + “There's one lie already this morning,” growled Amyas; “he told us he was + going to Northam.” + </p> + <p> + “And we do not know that he has not been there,” blandly suggested Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Why, you are as bad a Jesuit as he, to help him out with such a fetch.” + </p> + <p> + “He may have changed his mind.” + </p> + <p> + “Bless your pure imagination, my sweet boy,” said Amyas, laying his great + hand on Frank's head, and mimicking his mother's manner. “I say, dear + Frank, let's step into this shop and buy a penny-worth of whipcord.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you want with whipcord, man?” + </p> + <p> + “To spin my top, to be sure.” + </p> + <p> + “Top? how long hast had a top?” + </p> + <p> + “I'll buy one, then, and save my conscience; but the upshot of this sport + I must see. Why may not I have an excuse ready made as well as Master + Eustace?” + </p> + <p> + So saying, he pulled Frank into the little shop, unobserved by the party + at the inn-door. + </p> + <p> + “What strange cattle has he been importing now? Look at that three-legged + fellow, trying to get aloft on the wrong side. How he claws at his horse's + ribs, like a cat scratching an elder stem!” + </p> + <p> + The three-legged man was a tall, meek-looking person, who had bedizened + himself with gorgeous garments, a great feather, and a sword so long and + broad, that it differed little in size from the very thin and stiff shanks + between which it wandered uncomfortably. + </p> + <p> + “Young David in Saul's weapons,” said Frank. “He had better not go in + them, for he certainly has not proved them.” + </p> + <p> + “Look, if his third leg is not turned into a tail! Why does not some one + in charity haul in half-a-yard of his belt for him?” + </p> + <p> + It was too true; the sword, after being kicked out three or four times + from its uncomfortable post between his legs, had returned unconquered; + and the hilt getting a little too far back by reason of the too great + length of the belt, the weapon took up its post triumphantly behind, + standing out point in air, a tail confest, amid the tittering of the + ostlers, and the cheers of the sailors. + </p> + <p> + At last the poor man, by dint of a chair, was mounted safely, while his + fellow-stranger, a burly, coarse-looking man, equally gay, and rather more + handy, made so fierce a rush at his saddle, that, like “vaulting ambition + who o'erleaps his selle,” he “fell on t'other side:” or would have fallen, + had he not been brought up short by the shoulders of the ostler at his + off-stirrup. In which shock off came hat and feather. + </p> + <p> + “Pardie, the bulldog-faced one is a fighting man. Dost see, Frank? he has + had his head broken.” + </p> + <p> + “That scar came not, my son, but by a pair of most Catholic and apostolic + scissors. My gentle buzzard, that is a priest's tonsure.” + </p> + <p> + “Hang the dog! O, that the sailors may but see it, and put him over the + quay head. I've a half mind to go and do it myself.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Amyas,” said Frank, laying two fingers on his arm, “these men, + whosoever they are, are the guests of our uncle, and therefore the guests + of our family. Ham gained little by publishing Noah's shame; neither shall + we, by publishing our uncle's.” + </p> + <p> + “Murrain on you, old Franky, you never let a man speak his mind, and shame + the devil.” + </p> + <p> + “I have lived long enough in courts, old Amyas, without a murrain on you, + to have found out, first, that it is not so easy to shame the devil; and + secondly, that it is better to outwit him; and the only way to do that, + sweet chuck, is very often not to speak your mind at all. We will go down + and visit them at Chapel in a day or two, and see if we cannot serve these + reynards as the badger did the fox, when he found him in his hole, and + could not get him out by evil savors.” + </p> + <p> + “How then?” + </p> + <p> + “Stuck a sweet nosegay in the door, which turned reynard's stomach at + once; and so overcame evil with good.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, thou art too good for this world, that's certain; so we will go + home to breakfast. Those rogues are out of sight by now.” + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, Amyas was not proof against the temptation of going over to + the inn-door, and asking who were the gentlemen who went with Mr. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen of Wales,” said the ostler, “who came last night in a pinnace + from Milford-haven, and their names, Mr. Morgan Evans and Mr. Evan + Morgans.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Judas Iscariot and Mr. Iscariot Judas,” said Amyas between his teeth, + and then observed aloud, that the Welsh gentlemen seemed rather poor + horsemen. + </p> + <p> + “So I said to Mr. Leigh's groom, your worship. But he says that those + parts be so uncommon rough and mountainous, that the poor gentlemen, you + see, being enforced to hunt on foot, have no such opportunities as young + gentlemen hereabout, like your worship; whom God preserve, and send a + virtuous lady, and one worthy of you.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou hast a villainously glib tongue, fellow!” said Amyas, who was + thoroughly out of humor; “and a sneaking down visage too, when I come to + look at you. I doubt but you are a Papist too, I do!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir! and what if I am! I trust I don't break the queen's laws by + that. If I don't attend Northam church, I pay my month's shilling for the + use of the poor, as the act directs; and beyond that, neither you nor any + man dare demand of me.” + </p> + <p> + “Dare! act directs! You rascally lawyer, you! and whence does an ostler + like you get your shilling to pay withal? Answer me.” The examinate found + it so difficult to answer the question, that he suddenly became afflicted + with deafness. + </p> + <p> + “Do you hear?” roared Amyas, catching at him with his lion's paw. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, missus; anon, anon, missus!” quoth he to an imaginary landlady + inside, and twisting under Amyas's hand like an eel, vanished into the + house, while Frank got the hot-headed youth away. + </p> + <p> + “What a plague is one to do, then? That fellow was a Papist spy!” + </p> + <p> + “Of course he was!” said Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Then, what is one to do, if the whole country is full of them?” + </p> + <p> + “Not to make fools of ourselves about them, and so leave them to make + fools of themselves.” + </p> + <p> + “That's all very fine: but—well, I shall remember the villain's face + if I see him again.” + </p> + <p> + “There is no harm in that,” said Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Glad you think so.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't quarrel with me, Amyas, the first day.” + </p> + <p> + “Quarrel with thee, my darling old fellow! I had sooner kiss the dust off + thy feet, if I were worthy of it. So now away home; my inside cries + cupboard.” + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile Messrs. Evans and Morgans were riding away, as fast as + the rough by-lanes would let them, along the fresh coast of the bay, + steering carefully clear of Northam town on the one hand, and on the + other, of Portledge, where dwelt that most Protestant justice of the + peace, Mr. Coffin. And it was well for them that neither Amyas Leigh, nor + indeed any other loyal Englishman, was by when they entered, as they + shortly did, the lonely woods which stretch along the southern wall of the + bay. For there Eustace Leigh pulled up short; and both he and his groom, + leaping from their horses, knelt down humbly in the wet grass, and + implored the blessing of the two valiant gentlemen of Wales, who, having + graciously bestowed it with three fingers apiece, became thenceforth no + longer Morgan Evans and Evan Morgans, Welshmen and gentlemen; but Father + Parsons and Father Gampian, Jesuits, and gentlemen in no sense in which + that word is applied in this book. + </p> + <p> + After a few minutes, the party were again in motion, ambling steadily and + cautiously along the high table-land, towards Moorwinstow in the west; + while beneath them on the right, at the mouth of rich-wooded glens, opened + vistas of the bright blue bay, and beyond it the sandhills of Braunton, + and the ragged rocks of Morte; while far away to the north and west the + lonely isle of Lundy hung like a soft gray cloud. + </p> + <p> + But they were not destined to reach their point as peaceably as they could + have wished. For just as they got opposite Clovelly dike, the huge old + Roman encampment which stands about midway in their journey, they heard a + halloo from the valley below, answered by a fainter one far ahead. At + which, like a couple of rogues (as indeed they were), Father Campian and + Father Parsons looked at each other, and then both stared round at the + wild, desolate, open pasture (for the country was then all unenclosed), + and the great dark furze-grown banks above their heads; and Campian + remarked gently to Parsons, that this was a very dreary spot, and likely + enough for robbers. + </p> + <p> + “A likelier spot for us, Father,” said Eustace, punning. “The old Romans + knew what they were about when they put their legions up aloft here to + overlook land and sea for miles away; and we may thank them some day for + their leavings. The banks are all sound; there is plenty of good water + inside; and” (added he in Latin), “in case our Spanish friends—you + understand?” + </p> + <p> + “Pauca verba, my son!” said Campian: but as he spoke, up from the ditch + close beside him, as if rising out of the earth, burst through the + furze-bushes an armed cavalier. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon, gentlemen!” shouted he, as the Jesuit and his horse recoiled + against the groom. “Stand, for your lives!” + </p> + <p> + “Mater caelorum!” moaned Campian; while Parsons, who, as all the world + knows, was a blustering bully enough (at least with his tongue), asked: + What a murrain right had he to stop honest folks on the queen's highway? + confirming the same with a mighty oath, which he set down as peccatum + veniale, on account of the sudden necessity; nay, indeed fraus pia, as + proper to support the character of that valiant gentleman of Wales, Mr. + Evan Morgans. But the horseman, taking no notice of his hint, dashed + across the nose of Eustace Leigh's horse, with a “Hillo, old lad! where + ridest so early?” and peering down for a moment into the ruts of the + narrow track-way, struck spurs into his horse, shouting, “A fresh slot! + right away for Hartland! Forward, gentlemen all! follow, follow, follow!” + </p> + <p> + “Who is this roysterer?” asked Parsons, loftily. + </p> + <p> + “Will Cary, of Clovelly; an awful heretic: and here come more behind.” + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke four or five more mounted gallants plunged in and out of + the great dikes, and thundered on behind the party; whose horses, quite + understanding what game was up, burst into full gallop, neighing and + squealing; and in another minute the hapless Jesuits were hurling along + over moor and moss after a “hart of grease.” + </p> + <p> + Parsons, who, though a vulgar bully, was no coward, supported the + character of Mr. Evan Morgans well enough; and he would have really + enjoyed himself, had he not been in agonies of fear lest those precious + saddle-bags in front of him should break from their lashings, and rolling + to the earth, expose to the hoofs of heretic horses, perhaps to the gaze + of heretic eyes, such a cargo of bulls, dispensations, secret + correspondences, seditious tracts, and so forth, that at the very thought + of their being seen, his head felt loose upon his shoulders. But the + future martyr behind him, Mr. Morgan Evans, gave himself up at once to + abject despair, and as he bumped and rolled along, sought vainly for + comfort in professional ejaculations in the Latin tongue. + </p> + <p> + “Mater intemerata! Eripe me e—Ugh! I am down! Adhaesit pavimento + venter!—No! I am not! El dilectum tuum e potestate canis—Ah! + Audisti me inter cornua unicornium! Put this, too, down in—ugh!—thy + account in favor of my poor—oh, sharpness of this saddle! Oh, + whither, barbarous islanders!” + </p> + <p> + Now riding on his quarter, not in the rough track-way like a cockney, but + through the soft heather like a sportsman, was a very gallant knight whom + we all know well by this time, Richard Grenville by name; who had made Mr. + Cary and the rest his guests the night before, and then ridden out with + them at five o'clock that morning, after the wholesome early ways of the + time, to rouse a well-known stag in the glens at Buckish, by help of Mr. + Coffin's hounds from Portledge. Who being as good a Latiner as Campian's + self, and overhearing both the scraps of psalm and the “barbarous + islanders,” pushed his horse alongside of Mr. Eustace Leigh, and at the + first check said, with two low bows towards the two strangers— + </p> + <p> + “I hope Mr. Leigh will do me the honor of introducing me to his guests. I + should be sorry, and Mr. Cary also, that any gentle strangers should + become neighbors of ours, even for a day, without our knowing who they are + who honor our western Thule with a visit; and showing them ourselves all + due requital for the compliment of their presence.” + </p> + <p> + After which, the only thing which poor Eustace could do (especially as it + was spoken loud enough for all bystanders), was to introduce in due form + Mr. Evan Morgans and Mr. Morgan Evans, who, hearing the name, and, what + was worse, seeing the terrible face with its quiet searching eye, felt + like a brace of partridge-poults cowering in the stubble, with a hawk + hanging ten feet over their heads. + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen,” said Sir Richard blandly, cap in hand, “I fear that your + mails must have been somewhat in your way in this unexpected gallop. If + you will permit my groom, who is behind, to disencumber you of them and + carry them to Chapel, you will both confer an honor on me, and be enabled + yourselves to see the mort more pleasantly.” + </p> + <p> + A twinkle of fun, in spite of all his efforts, played about good Sir + Richard's eye as he gave this searching hint. The two Welsh gentlemen + stammered out clumsy thanks; and pleading great haste and fatigue from a + long journey, contrived to fall to the rear and vanish with their guides, + as soon as the slot had been recovered. + </p> + <p> + “Will!” said Sir Richard, pushing alongside of young Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Your worship?” + </p> + <p> + “Jesuits, Will!” + </p> + <p> + “May the father of lies fly away with them over the nearest cliff!” + </p> + <p> + “He will not do that while this Irish trouble is about. Those fellows are + come to practise here for Saunders and Desmond.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps they have a consecrated banner in their bag, the scoundrels! + Shall I and young Coffin on and stop them? Hard if the honest men may not + rob the thieves once in a way.” + </p> + <p> + “No; give the devil rope, and he will hang himself. Keep thy tongue at + home, and thine eyes too, Will.” + </p> + <p> + “How then?” + </p> + <p> + “Let Clovelly beach be watched night and day like any mousehole. No one + can land round Harty Point with these south-westers. Stop every fellow who + has the ghost of an Irish brogue, come he in or go he out, and send him + over to me.” + </p> + <p> + “Some one should guard Bude-haven, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave that to me. Now then, forward, gentlemen all, or the stag will take + the sea at the Abbey.” + </p> + <p> + And on they crashed down the Hartland glens, through the oak-scrub and the + great crown-ferns; and the baying of the slow-hound and the tantaras of + the horn died away farther and fainter toward the blue Atlantic, while the + conspirators, with lightened hearts, pricked fast across Bursdon upon + their evil errand. But Eustace Leigh had other thoughts and other cares + than the safety of his father's two mysterious guests, important as that + was in his eyes; for he was one of the many who had drunk in sweet poison + (though in his case it could hardly be called sweet) from the magic + glances of the Rose of Torridge. He had seen her in the town, and for the + first time in his life fallen utterly in love; and now that she had come + down close to his father's house, he looked on her as a lamb fallen + unawares into the jaws of the greedy wolf, which he felt himself to be. + For Eustace's love had little or nothing of chivalry, self-sacrifice, or + purity in it; those were virtues which were not taught at Rheims. Careful + as the Jesuits were over the practical morality of their pupils, this + severe restraint had little effect in producing real habits of + self-control. What little Eustace had learnt of women from them, was as + base and vulgar as the rest of their teaching. What could it be else, if + instilled by men educated in the schools of Italy and France, in the age + which produced the foul novels of Cinthio and Bandello, and compelled + Rabelais in order to escape the rack and stake, to hide the light of his + great wisdom, not beneath a bushel, but beneath a dunghill; the age in + which the Romish Church had made marriage a legalized tyranny, and the + laity, by a natural and pardonable revulsion, had exalted adultery into a + virtue and a science? That all love was lust; that all women had their + price; that profligacy, though an ecclesiastical sin, was so pardonable, + if not necessary, as to be hardly a moral sin, were notions which Eustace + must needs have gathered from the hints of his preceptors; for their + written works bear to this day fullest and foulest testimony that such was + their opinion; and that their conception of the relation of the sexes was + really not a whit higher than that of the profligate laity who confessed + to them. He longed to marry Rose Salterne, with a wild selfish fury; but + only that he might be able to claim her as his own property, and keep all + others from her. Of her as a co-equal and ennobling helpmate; as one in + whose honor, glory, growth of heart and soul, his own were inextricably + wrapt up, he had never dreamed. Marriage would prevent God from being + angry with that, with which otherwise He might be angry; and therefore the + sanction of the Church was the more “probable and safe” course. But as yet + his suit was in very embryo. He could not even tell whether Rose knew of + his love; and he wasted miserable hours in maddening thoughts, and tost + all night upon his sleepless bed, and rose next morning fierce and pale, + to invent fresh excuses for going over to her uncle's house, and lingering + about the fruit which he dared not snatch. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <h3> + THE TWO WAYS OF BEING CROST IN LOVE + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I could not love thee, dear, so much, + Loved I not honor more.”—LOVELACE. +</pre> + <p> + And what all this while has become of the fair breaker of so many hearts, + to whom I have not yet even introduced my readers? + </p> + <p> + She was sitting in the little farm-house beside the mill, buried in the + green depths of the valley of Combe, half-way between Stow and Chapel, + sulking as much as her sweet nature would let her, at being thus shut out + from all the grand doings at Bideford, and forced to keep a Martinmas Lent + in that far western glen. So lonely was she, in fact, that though she + regarded Eustace Leigh with somewhat of aversion, and (being a good + Protestant) with a great deal of suspicion, she could not find it in her + heart to avoid a chat with him whenever he came down to the farm and to + its mill, which he contrived to do, on I know not what would-be errand, + almost every day. Her uncle and aunt at first looked stiff enough at these + visits, and the latter took care always to make a third in every + conversation; but still Mr. Leigh was a gentleman's son, and it would not + do to be rude to a neighboring squire and a good customer; and Rose was + the rich man's daughter and they poor cousins, so it would not do either + to quarrel with her; and besides, the pretty maid, half by wilfulness, and + half by her sweet winning tricks, generally contrived to get her own way + wheresoever she went; and she herself had been wise enough to beg her aunt + never to leave them alone,—for she “could not a-bear the sight of + Mr. Eustace, only she must have some one to talk with down here.” On which + her aunt considered, that she herself was but a simple country-woman; and + that townsfolks' ways of course must be very different from hers; and that + people knew their own business best; and so forth, and let things go on + their own way. Eustace, in the meanwhile, who knew well that the + difference in creed between him and Rose was likely to be the very hardest + obstacle in the way of his love, took care to keep his private opinions + well in the background; and instead of trying to convert the folk at the + mill, daily bought milk or flour from them, and gave it away to the old + women in Moorwinstow (who agreed that after all, for a Papist, he was a + godly young man enough); and at last, having taken counsel with Campian + and Parsons on certain political plots then on foot, came with them to the + conclusion that they would all three go to church the next Sunday. Where + Messrs. Evan Morgans and Morgan Evans, having crammed up the rubrics + beforehand, behaved themselves in a most orthodox and unexceptionable + manner; as did also poor Eustace, to the great wonder of all good folks, + and then went home flattering himself that he had taken in parson, clerk, + and people; not knowing in his simple unsimplicity, and cunning + foolishness, that each good wife in the parish was saying to the other, + “He turned Protestant? The devil turned monk! He's only after Mistress + Salterne, the young hypocrite.” + </p> + <p> + But if the two Jesuits found it expedient, for the holy cause in which + they were embarked, to reconcile themselves outwardly to the powers that + were, they were none the less busy in private in plotting their overthrow. + </p> + <p> + Ever since April last they had been playing at hide-and-seek through the + length and breadth of England, and now they were only lying quiet till + expected news from Ireland should give them their cue, and a great “rising + of the West” should sweep from her throne that stiff-necked, persecuting, + excommunicate, reprobate, illegitimate, and profligate usurper, who + falsely called herself the Queen of England. + </p> + <p> + For they had as stoutly persuaded themselves in those days, as they have + in these (with a real Baconian contempt of the results of sensible + experience), that the heart of England was really with them, and that the + British nation was on the point of returning to the bosom of the Catholic + Church, and giving up Elizabeth to be led in chains to the feet of the + rightful Lord of Creation, the Old Man of the Seven Hills. And this fair + hope, which has been skipping just in front of them for centuries, always + a step farther off, like the place where the rainbow touches the ground, + they used to announce at times, in language which terrified old Mr. Leigh. + One day, indeed, as Eustace entered his father's private room, after his + usual visit to the mill, he could hear voices high in dispute; Parsons as + usual, blustering; Mr. Leigh peevishly deprecating, and Campian, who was + really the sweetest-natured of men, trying to pour oil on the troubled + waters. Whereat Eustace (for the good of the cause, of course) stopped + outside and listened. + </p> + <p> + “My excellent sir,” said Mr. Leigh, “does not your very presence here show + how I am affected toward the holy cause of the Catholic faith? But I + cannot in the meanwhile forget that I am an Englishman.” + </p> + <p> + “And what is England?” said Parsons: “A heretic and schismatic Babylon, + whereof it is written, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you be partaker + of her plagues.' Yea, what is a country? An arbitrary division of + territory by the princes of this world, who are naught, and come to + naught. They are created by the people's will; their existence depends on + the sanction of him to whom all power is given in heaven and earth—our + Holy Father the Pope. Take away the latter, and what is a king?—the + people who have made him may unmake him.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear sir, recollect that I have sworn allegiance to Queen Elizabeth!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, you have, sir; and, as I have shown at large in my writings, + you were absolved from that allegiance from the moment that the bull of + Pius the Fifth declared her a heretic and excommunicate, and thereby to + have forfeited all dominion whatsoever. I tell you, sir, what I thought + you should have known already, that since the year 1569, England has had + no queen, no magistrates, no laws, no lawful authority whatsoever; and + that to own allegiance to any English magistrate, sir, or to plead in an + English court of law, is to disobey the apostolic precept, 'How dare you + go to law before the unbelievers?' I tell you, sir, rebellion is now not + merely permitted, it is a duty.” + </p> + <p> + “Take care, sir; for God's sake, take care!” said Mr. Leigh. “Right or + wrong, I cannot have such language used in my house. For the sake of my + wife and children, I cannot!” + </p> + <p> + “My dear brother Parsons, deal more gently with the flock,” interposed + Campian. “Your opinion, though probable, as I well know, in the eyes of + most of our order, is hardly safe enough here; the opposite is at least so + safe that Mr. Leigh may well excuse his conscience for accepting it. After + all, are we not sent hither to proclaim this very thing, and to relieve + the souls of good Catholics from a burden which has seemed to them too + heavy?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Parsons, half-sulkily, “to allow all Balaams who will to + sacrifice to Baal, while they call themselves by the name of the Lord.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear brother, have I not often reminded you that Naaman was allowed to + bow himself in the house of Rimmon? And can we therefore complain of the + office to which the Holy Father has appointed us, to declare to such as + Mr. Leigh his especial grace, by which the bull of Pius the Fifth (on + whose soul God have mercy!) shall henceforth bind the queen and the + heretics only; but in no ways the Catholics, at least as long as the + present tyranny prevents the pious purposes of the bull?” + </p> + <p> + “Be it so, sir; be it so. Only observe this, Mr. Leigh, that our brother + Campian confesses this to be a tyranny. Observe, sir, that the bull does + still bind the so-called queen, and that she and her magistrates are still + none the less usurpers, nonentities, and shadows of a shade. And observe + this, sir, that when that which is lawful is excused to the weak, it + remains no less lawful to the strong. The seven thousand who had not bowed + the knee to Baal did not slay his priests; but Elijah did, and won to + himself a good reward. And if the rest of the children of Israel sinned + not in not slaying Eglon, yet Ehud's deed was none the less justified by + all laws human and divine.” + </p> + <p> + “For Heaven's sake, do not talk so, sir! or I must leave the room. What + have I to do with Ehud and Eglon, and slaughters, and tyrannies? Our queen + is a very good queen, if Heaven would but grant her repentance, and turn + her to the true faith. I have never been troubled about religion, nor any + one else that I know of in the West country.” + </p> + <p> + “You forget Mr. Trudgeon of Launceston, father, and poor Father Mayne,” + interposed Eustace, who had by this time slipped in; and Campian added + softly— + </p> + <p> + “Yes, your West of England also has been honored by its martyrs, as well + as my London by the precious blood of Story.” + </p> + <p> + “What, young malapert?” cried poor Leigh, facing round upon his son, glad + to find any one on whom he might vent his ill-humor; “are you too against + me, with a murrain on you? And pray, what the devil brought Cuthbert Mayne + to the gallows, and turned Mr. Trudgeon (he was always a foolish hot-head) + out of house and home, but just such treasonable talk as Mr. Parsons must + needs hold in my house, to make a beggar of me and my children, as he will + before he has done.” + </p> + <p> + “The Blessed Virgin forbid!” said Campian. + </p> + <p> + “The Blessed Virgin forbid? But you must help her to forbid it, Mr. + Campian. We should never have had the law of 1571, against bulls, and + Agnus Deis, and blessed grains, if the Pope's bull of 1569 had not made + them matter of treason, by preventing a poor creature's saving his soul in + the true Church without putting his neck into a halter by denying the + queen's authority.” + </p> + <p> + “What, sir?” almost roared Parsons, “do you dare to speak evil of the + edicts of the Vicar of Christ?” + </p> + <p> + “I? No. I didn't. Who says I did? All I meant was, I am sure—Mr. + Campian, you are a reasonable man, speak for me.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Leigh only meant, I am sure, that the Holy Father's prudent + intentions have been so far defeated by the perverseness and invincible + misunderstanding of the heretics, that that which was in itself meant for + the good of the oppressed English Catholics has been perverted to their + harm.” + </p> + <p> + “And thus, reverend sir,” said Eustace, glad to get into his father's good + graces again, “my father attaches blame, not to the Pope—Heaven + forbid!—but to the pravity of his enemies.” + </p> + <p> + “And it is for this very reason,” said Campian, “that we have brought with + us the present merciful explanation of the bull.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll tell you what, gentlemen,” said Mr. Leigh, who, like other weak men, + grew in valor as his opponent seemed inclined to make peace, “I don't + think the declaration was needed. After the new law of 1571 was made, it + was never put in force till Mayne and Trudgeon made fools of themselves, + and that was full six years. There were a few offenders, they say, who + were brought up and admonished, and let go; but even that did not happen + down here, and need not happen now, unless you put my son here (for you + shall never put me, I warrant you) upon some deed which had better be left + alone, and so bring us all to shame.” + </p> + <p> + “Your son, sir, if not openly vowed to God, has, I hope, a due sense of + that inward vocation which we have seen in him, and reverences his + spiritual fathers too well to listen to the temptations of his earthly + father.” + </p> + <p> + “What, sir, will you teach my son to disobey me?” + </p> + <p> + “Your son is ours also, sir. This is strange language in one who owes a + debt to the Church, which it was charitably fancied he meant to pay in the + person of his child.” + </p> + <p> + These last words touched poor Mr. Leigh in a sore point, and breaking all + bounds, he swore roundly at Parsons, who stood foaming with rage. + </p> + <p> + “A plague upon you, sir, and a black assizes for you, for you will come to + the gallows yet! Do you mean to taunt me in my own house with that + Hartland land? You had better go back and ask those who sent you where the + dispensation to hold the land is, which they promised to get me years ago, + and have gone on putting me off, till they have got my money, and my son, + and my conscience, and I vow before all the saints, seem now to want my + head over and above. God help me!”—and the poor man's eyes fairly + filled with tears. + </p> + <p> + Now was Eustace's turn to be roused; for, after all, he was an Englishman + and a gentleman; and he said kindly enough, but firmly— + </p> + <p> + “Courage, my dearest father. Remember that I am still your son, and not a + Jesuit yet; and whether I ever become one, I promise you, will depend + mainly on the treatment which you meet with at the hands of these reverend + gentlemen, for whom I, as having brought them hither, must consider myself + as surety to you.” + </p> + <p> + If a powder-barrel had exploded in the Jesuits' faces, they could not have + been more amazed. Campian looked blank at Parsons, and Parsons at Campian; + till the stouter-hearted of the two, recovering his breath at last— + </p> + <p> + “Sir! do you know, sir, the curse pronounced on those who, after putting + their hand to the plough, look back?” + </p> + <p> + Eustace was one of those impulsive men, with a lack of moral courage, who + dare raise the devil, but never dare fight him after he has been raised; + and he now tried to pass off his speech by winking and making signs in the + direction of his father, as much as to say that he was only trying to + quiet the old man's fears. But Campian was too frightened, Parsons too + angry, to take his hints: and he had to carry his part through. + </p> + <p> + “All I read is, Father Parsons, that such are not fit for the kingdom of + God; of which high honor I have for some time past felt myself unworthy. I + have much doubt just now as to my vocation; and in the meanwhile have not + forgotten that I am a citizen of a free country.” And so saying, he took + his father's arm, and walked out. + </p> + <p> + His last words had hit the Jesuits hard. They had put the poor + cobweb-spinners in mind of the humiliating fact, which they have had + thrust on them daily from that time till now, and yet have never learnt + the lesson, that all their scholastic cunning, plotting, intriguing, + bulls, pardons, indulgences, and the rest of it, are, on this side the + Channel, a mere enchanter's cloud-castle and Fata Morgana, which vanishes + into empty air by one touch of that magic wand, the constable's staff. “A + citizen of a free country!”—there was the rub; and they looked at + each other in more utter perplexity than ever. At last Parsons spoke. + </p> + <p> + “There's a woman in the wind. I'll lay my life on it. I saw him blush up + crimson yesterday when his mother asked him whether some Rose Salterne or + other was still in the neighborhood.” + </p> + <p> + “A woman! Well, the spirit may be willing, though the flesh be weak. We + will inquire into this. The youth may do us good service as a layman; and + if anything should happen to his elder brother (whom the saints protect!) + he is heir to some wealth. In the meanwhile, our dear brother Parsons will + perhaps see the expediency of altering our tactics somewhat while we are + here.” + </p> + <p> + And thereupon a long conversation began between the two, who had been sent + together, after the wise method of their order, in obedience to the + precept, “Two are better than one,” in order that Campian might restrain + Parsons' vehemence, and Parsons spur on Campian's gentleness, and so each + act as the supplement of the other, and each also, it must be confessed, + gave advice pretty nearly contradictory to his fellow's if occasion should + require, “without the danger,” as their writers have it, “of seeming + changeable and inconsistent.” + </p> + <p> + The upshot of this conversation was, that in a day or two (during which + time Mr. Leigh and Eustace also had made the amende honorable, and matters + went smoothly enough) Father Campian asked Father Francis, the household + chaplain, to allow him, as an especial favor, to hear Eustace's usual + confession on the ensuing Friday. + </p> + <p> + Poor Father Francis dared not refuse so great a man; and assented with an + inward groan, knowing well that the intent was to worm out some family + secrets, whereby his power would be diminished, and the Jesuits' + increased. For the regular priesthood and the Jesuits throughout England + were toward each other in a state of armed neutrality, which wanted but + little at any moment to become open war, as it did in James the First's + time, when those meek missionaries, by their gentle moral tortures, + literally hunted to death the poor Popish bishop of Hippopotamus (that is + to say, London) for the time being. + </p> + <p> + However, Campian heard Eustace's confession; and by putting to him such + questions as may be easily conceived by those who know anything about the + confessional, discovered satisfactorily enough, that he was what Campian + would have called “in love:” though I should question much the propriety + of the term as applied to any facts which poor prurient Campian + discovered, or indeed knew how to discover, seeing that a swine has no eye + for pearls. But he had found out enough: he smiled, and set to work next + vigorously to discover who the lady might be. + </p> + <p> + If he had frankly said to Eustace, “I feel for you; and if your desires + are reasonable, or lawful, or possible, I will help you with all my heart + and soul,” he might have had the young man's secret heart, and saved + himself an hour's trouble; but, of course, he took instinctively the + crooked and suspicious method, expected to find the case the worst + possible,—as a man was bound to do who had been trained to take the + lowest possible view of human nature, and to consider the basest motives + as the mainspring of all human action,—and began his moral torture + accordingly by a series of delicate questions, which poor Eustace dodged + in every possible way, though he knew that the good father was too cunning + for him, and that he must give in at last. Nevertheless, like a rabbit who + runs squealing round and round before the weasel, into whose jaws it knows + that it must jump at last by force of fascination, he parried and parried, + and pretended to be stupid, and surprised, and honorably scrupulous, and + even angry; while every question as to her being married or single, + Catholic or heretic, English or foreign, brought his tormentor a step + nearer the goal. At last, when Campian, finding the business not such a + very bad one, had asked something about her worldly wealth, Eustace saw a + door of escape and sprang at it. + </p> + <p> + “Even if she be a heretic, she is heiress to one of the wealthiest + merchants in Devon.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Campian, thoughtfully. “And she is but eighteen, you say?” + </p> + <p> + “Only eighteen.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! well, my son, there is time. She may be reconciled to the Church: or + you may change.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall die first.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, poor lad! Well; she may be reconciled, and her wealth may be of use + to the cause of Heaven.” + </p> + <p> + “And it shall be of use. Only absolve me, and let me be at peace. Let me + have but her,” he cried piteously. “I do not want her wealth,—not I! + Let me have but her, and that but for one year, one month, one day!—and + all the rest—money, fame, talents, yea, my life itself, hers if it + be needed—are at the service of Holy Church. Ay, I shall glory in + showing my devotion by some special sacrifice,—some desperate deed. + Prove me now, and see what there is I will not do!” + </p> + <p> + And so Eustace was absolved; after which Campian added,— + </p> + <p> + “This is indeed well, my son: for there is a thing to be done now, but it + may be at the risk of life.” + </p> + <p> + “Prove me!” cried Eustace, impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “Here is a letter which was brought me last night; no matter from whence; + you can understand it better than I, and I longed to have shown it you, + but that I feared my son had become—” + </p> + <p> + “You feared wrongly, then, my dear Father Campian.” + </p> + <p> + So Campian translated to him the cipher of the letter. + </p> + <p> + “This to Evan Morgans, gentleman, at Mr. Leigh's house in Moorwinstow, + Devonshire. News may be had by one who will go to the shore of Clovelly, + any evening after the 25th of November, at dead low tide, and there watch + for a boat, rowed by one with a red beard, and a Portugal by his speech. + If he be asked, 'How many?' he will answer, 'Eight hundred and one.' Take + his letters and read them. If the shore be watched, let him who comes show + a light three times in a safe place under the cliff above the town; below + is dangerous landing. Farewell, and expect great things!” + </p> + <p> + “I will go,” said Eustace; “to-morrow is the 25th, and I know a sure and + easy place. Your friend seems to know these shores well.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! what is it we do not know?” said Campian, with a mysterious smile. + “And now?” + </p> + <p> + “And now, to prove to you how I trust to you, you shall come with me, and + see this—the lady of whom I spoke, and judge for yourself whether my + fault is not a venial one.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my son, have I not absolved you already? What have I to do with fair + faces? Nevertheless, I will come, both to show you that I trust you, and + it may be to help towards reclaiming a heretic, and saving a lost soul: + who knows?” + </p> + <p> + So the two set out together; and, as it was appointed, they had just got + to the top of the hill between Chapel and Stow mill, when up the lane came + none other than Mistress Rose Salterne herself, in all the glories of a + new scarlet hood, from under which her large dark languid eyes gleamed + soft lightnings through poor Eustace's heart and marrow. Up to them she + tripped on delicate ankles and tiny feet, tall, lithe, and graceful, a + true West-country lass; and as she passed them with a pretty blush and + courtesy, even Campian looked back at the fair innocent creature, whose + long dark curls, after the then country fashion, rolled down from beneath + the hood below her waist, entangling the soul of Eustace Leigh within + their glossy nets. + </p> + <p> + “There!” whispered he, trembling from head to foot. “Can you excuse me + now?” + </p> + <p> + “I had excused you long ago;” said the kindhearted father. “Alas, that so + much fair red and white should have been created only as a feast for + worms!” + </p> + <p> + “A feast for gods, you mean!” cried Eustace, on whose common sense the + naive absurdity of the last speech struck keenly; and then, as if to + escape the scolding which he deserved for his heathenry— + </p> + <p> + “Will you let me return for a moment? I will follow you: let me go!” + </p> + <p> + Campian saw that it was of no use to say no, and nodded. Eustace darted + from his side, and running across a field, met Rose full at the next turn + of the road. + </p> + <p> + She started, and gave a pretty little shriek. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Leigh! I thought you had gone forward.” + </p> + <p> + “I came back to speak to you, Rose—Mistress Salterne, I mean.” + </p> + <p> + “To me?” + </p> + <p> + “To you I must speak, tell you all, or die!” And he pressed up close to + her. She shrank back, somewhat frightened. + </p> + <p> + “Do not stir; do not go, I implore you! Rose, only hear me!” And fiercely + and passionately seizing her by the hand, he poured out the whole story of + his love, heaping her with every fantastic epithet of admiration which he + could devise. + </p> + <p> + There was little, perhaps, of all his words which Rose had not heard many + a time before; but there was a quiver in his voice, and a fire in his eye, + from which she shrank by instinct. + </p> + <p> + “Let me go!” she said; “you are too rough, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “Ay!” he said, seizing now both her hands, “rougher, perhaps, than the gay + gallants of Bideford, who serenade you, and write sonnets to you, and send + you posies. Rougher, but more loving, Rose! Do not turn away! I shall die + if you take your eyes off me! Tell me,—tell me, now here—this + moment—before we part—if I may love you!” + </p> + <p> + “Go away!” she answered, struggling, and bursting into tears. “This is too + rude. If I am but a merchant's daughter. I am God's child. Remember that I + am alone. Leave me; go! or I will call for help!” + </p> + <p> + Eustace had heard or read somewhere that such expressions in a woman's + mouth were mere facons de parler, and on the whole signs that she had no + objection to be alone, and did not intend to call for help; and he only + grasped her hands the more fiercely, and looked into her face with keen + and hungry eyes; but she was in earnest, nevertheless, and a loud shriek + made him aware that, if he wished to save his own good name, he must go: + but there was one question, for an answer to which he would risk his very + life. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, proud woman! I thought so! Some one of those gay gallants has been + beforehand with me. Tell me who—” + </p> + <p> + But she broke from him, and passed him, and fled down the lane. + </p> + <p> + “Mark it!” cried he, after her. “You shall rue the day when you despised + Eustace Leigh! Mark it, proud beauty!” And he turned back to join Campian, + who stood in some trepidation. + </p> + <p> + “You have not hurt the maiden, my son? I thought I heard a scream.” + </p> + <p> + “Hurt her! No. Would God that she were dead, nevertheless, and I by her! + Say no more to me, father. We will home.” Even Campian knew enough of the + world to guess what had happened, and they both hurried home in silence. + </p> + <p> + And so Eustace Leigh played his move, and lost it. + </p> + <p> + Poor little Rose, having run nearly to Chapel, stopped for very shame, and + walked quietly by the cottages which stood opposite the gate, and then + turned up the lane towards Moorwinstow village, whither she was bound. But + on second thoughts, she felt herself so “red and flustered,” that she was + afraid of going into the village, for fear (as she said to herself) of + making people talk, and so, turning into a by-path, struck away toward the + cliffs, to cool her blushes in the sea-breeze. And there finding a quiet + grassy nook beneath the crest of the rocks, she sat down on the turf, and + fell into a great meditation. + </p> + <p> + Rose Salterne was a thorough specimen of a West-coast maiden, full of + passionate impulsive affections, and wild dreamy imaginations, a fit + subject, as the North-Devon women are still, for all romantic and gentle + superstitions. Left early without mother's care, she had fed her fancy + upon the legends and ballads of her native land, till she believed—what + did she not believe?—of mermaids and pixies, charms and witches, + dreams and omens, and all that world of magic in which most of the + countrywomen, and countrymen too, believed firmly enough but twenty years + ago. Then her father's house was seldom without some merchant, or + sea-captain from foreign parts, who, like Othello, had his tales of— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Antres vast, and deserts idle, + Of rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads reach heaven.” + </pre> + <p> + And,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “And of the cannibals that each other eat, + The anthropophagi, and men whose heads + Do grow beneath their shoulders.” + </pre> + <p> + All which tales, she, like Desdemona, devoured with greedy ears, whenever + she could “the house affairs with haste despatch.” And when these failed, + there was still boundless store of wonders open to her in old romances + which were then to be found in every English house of the better class. + The Legend of King Arthur, Florice and Blancheflour, Sir Ysumbras, Sir Guy + of Warwick, Palamon and Arcite, and the Romaunt of the Rose, were with her + text-books and canonical authorities. And lucky it was, perhaps, for her + that Sidney's Arcadia was still in petto, or Mr. Frank (who had already + seen the first book or two in manuscript, and extolled it above all books + past, present, or to come) would have surely brought a copy down for Rose, + and thereby have turned her poor little flighty brains upside down + forever. And with her head full of these, it was no wonder if she had + likened herself of late more than once to some of those peerless + princesses of old, for whose fair hand paladins and kaisers thundered + against each other in tilted field; and perhaps she would not have been + sorry (provided, of course, no one was killed) if duels, and passages of + arms in honor of her, as her father reasonably dreaded, had actually taken + place. + </p> + <p> + For Rose was not only well aware that she was wooed, but found the said + wooing (and little shame to her) a very pleasant process. Not that she had + any wish to break hearts: she did not break her heart for any of her + admirers, and why should they break theirs for her? They were all very + charming, each in his way (the gentlemen, at least; for she had long since + learnt to turn up her nose at merchants and burghers); but one of them was + not so very much better than the other. + </p> + <p> + Of course, Mr. Frank Leigh was the most charming; but then, as a courtier + and squire of dames, he had never given her a sign of real love, nothing + but sonnets and compliments, and there was no trusting such things from a + gallant, who was said (though, by the by, most scandalously) to have a + lady love at Milan, and another at Vienna, and half-a-dozen in the Court, + and half-a-dozen more in the city. + </p> + <p> + And very charming was Mr. William Cary, with his quips and his jests, and + his galliards and lavoltas; over and above his rich inheritance; but then, + charming also Mr. Coffin of Portledge, though he were a little proud and + stately; but which of the two should she choose? It would be very pleasant + to be mistress of Clovelly Court; but just as pleasant to find herself + lady of Portledge, where the Coffins had lived ever since Noah's flood + (if, indeed, they had not merely returned thither after that temporary + displacement), and to bring her wealth into a family which was as proud of + its antiquity as any nobleman in Devon, and might have made a fourth to + that famous trio of Devonshire Cs, of which it is written,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Crocker, Cruwys, and Copplestone, + When the Conqueror came were all at home.” + </pre> + <p> + And Mr. Hugh Fortescue, too—people said that he was certain to + become a great soldier—perhaps as great as his brother Arthur—and + that would be pleasant enough, too, though he was but the younger son of + an innumerable family: but then, so was Amyas Leigh. Ah, poor Amyas! Her + girl's fancy for him had vanished, or rather, perhaps, it was very much + what it always had been, only that four or five more girl's fancies beside + it had entered in, and kept it in due subjection. But still, she could not + help thinking a good deal about him, and his voyage, and the reports of + his great strength, and beauty, and valor, which had already reached her + in that out-of-the-way corner; and though she was not in the least in love + with him, she could not help hoping that he had at least (to put her + pretty little thought in the mildest shape) not altogether forgotten her; + and was hungering, too, with all her fancy, to give him no peace till he + had told her all the wonderful things which he had seen and done in this + ever-memorable voyage. So that, altogether, it was no wonder, if in her + last night's dream the figure of Amyas had been even more forward and + troublesome than that of Frank or the rest. + </p> + <p> + But, moreover, another figure had been forward and troublesome enough in + last night's sleep-world; and forward and troublesome enough, too, now in + to-day's waking-world, namely, Eustace, the rejected. How strange that she + should have dreamt of him the night before! and dreamt, too, of his + fighting with Mr. Frank and Mr. Amyas! It must be a warning—see, she + had met him the very next day in this strange way; so the first half of + her dream had come true; and after what had past, she only had to breathe + a whisper, and the second part of the dream would come true also. If she + wished for a passage of arms in her own honor, she could easily enough + compass one: not that she would do it for worlds! And after all, though + Mr. Eustace had been very rude and naughty, yet still it was not his own + fault; he could not help being in love with her. And—and, in short, + the poor little maid felt herself one of the most important personages on + earth, with all the cares (or hearts) of the country in her keeping, and + as much perplexed with matters of weight as ever was any Cleophila, or + Dianeme, Fiordispina or Flourdeluce, in verse run tame, or prose run mad. + </p> + <p> + Poor little Rose! Had she but had a mother! But she was to learn her + lesson, such as it was, in another school. She was too shy (too proud + perhaps) to tell her aunt her mighty troubles; but a counsellor she must + have; and after sitting with her head in her hands, for half-an-hour or + more, she arose suddenly, and started off along the cliffs towards + Marsland. She would go and see Lucy Passmore, the white witch; Lucy knew + everything; Lucy would tell her what to do; perhaps even whom to marry. + </p> + <p> + Lucy was a fat, jolly woman of fifty, with little pig-eyes, which twinkled + like sparks of fire, and eyebrows which sloped upwards and outwards, like + those of a satyr, as if she had been (as indeed she had) all her life + looking out of the corners of her eyes. Her qualifications as white witch + were boundless cunning, equally boundless good nature, considerable + knowledge of human weaknesses, some mesmeric power, some skill in “yarbs,” + as she called her simples, a firm faith in the virtue of her own + incantations, and the faculty of holding her tongue. By dint of these she + contrived to gain a fair share of money, and also (which she liked even + better) of power, among the simple folk for many miles round. If a child + was scalded, a tooth ached, a piece of silver was stolen, a heifer + shrew-struck, a pig bewitched, a young damsel crost in love, Lucy was + called in, and Lucy found a remedy, especially for the latter complaint. + Now and then she found herself on ticklish ground, for the + kind-heartedness which compelled her to help all distressed damsels out of + a scrape, sometimes compelled her also to help them into one; whereon + enraged fathers called Lucy ugly names, and threatened to send her into + Exeter gaol for a witch, and she smiled quietly, and hinted that if she + were “like some that were ready to return evil for evil, such talk as that + would bring no blessing on them that spoke it;” which being translated + into plain English, meant, “If you trouble me, I will overlook (i. e. + fascinate) you, and then your pigs will die, your horses stray, your cream + turn sour, your barns be fired, your son have St. Vitus's dance, your + daughter fits, and so on, woe on woe, till you are very probably starved + to death in a ditch, by virtue of this terrible little eye of mine, at + which, in spite of all your swearing and bullying, you know you are now + shaking in your shoes for fear. So you had much better hold your tongue, + give me a drink of cider, and leave ill alone, lest you make it worse.” + </p> + <p> + Not that Lucy ever proceeded to any such fearful extremities. On the + contrary, her boast, and her belief too, was, that she was sent into the + world to make poor souls as happy as she could, by lawful means, of + course, if possible, but if not—why, unlawful ones were better than + none; for she “couldn't a-bear to see the poor creatures taking on; she + was too, too tender-hearted.” And so she was, to every one but her + husband, a tall, simple-hearted rabbit-faced man, a good deal older than + herself. Fully agreeing with Sir Richard Grenville's great axiom, that he + who cannot obey cannot rule, Lucy had been for the last five-and-twenty + years training him pretty smartly to obey her, with the intention, it is + to be charitably hoped, of letting him rule her in turn when his lesson + was perfected. He bore his honors, however, meekly enough, having a + boundless respect for his wife's wisdom, and a firm belief in her + supernatural powers, and let her go her own way and earn her own money, + while he got a little more in a truly pastoral method (not extinct yet + along those lonely cliffs), by feeding a herd of some dozen donkeys and + twenty goats. The donkeys fetched, at each low-tide, white shell-sand + which was to be sold for manure to the neighboring farmers; the goats + furnished milk and “kiddy-pies;” and when there was neither milking nor + sand-carrying to be done, old Will Passmore just sat under a sunny rock + and watched the buck-goats rattle their horns together, thinking about + nothing at all, and taking very good care all the while neither to inquire + nor to see who came in and out of his little cottage in the glen. + </p> + <p> + The prophetess, when Rose approached her oracular cave, was seated on a + tripod in front of the fire, distilling strong waters out of penny-royal. + But no sooner did her distinguished visitor appear at the hatch, than the + still was left to take care of itself, and a clean apron and mutch having + been slipt on, Lucy welcomed Rose with endless courtesies, and—“Bless + my dear soul alive, who ever would have thought to see the Rose of + Torridge to my poor little place!” + </p> + <p> + Rose sat down: and then? How to begin was more than she knew, and she + stayed silent a full five minutes, looking earnestly at the point of her + shoe, till Lucy, who was an adept in such cases, thought it best to + proceed to business at once, and save Rose the delicate operation of + opening the ball herself; and so, in her own way, half fawning, half + familiar— + </p> + <p> + “Well, my dear young lady, and what is it I can do for ye? For I guess you + want a bit of old Lucy's help, eh? Though I'm most mazed to see ye here, + surely. I should have supposed that pretty face could manage they sort of + matters for itself. Eh?” + </p> + <p> + Rose, thus bluntly charged, confessed at once, and with many blushes and + hesitations, made her soon understand that what she wanted was “To have + her fortune told.” + </p> + <p> + “Eh? Oh! I see. The pretty face has managed it a bit too well already, eh? + Tu many o' mun, pure fellows? Well, 'tain't every mayden has her pick and + choose, like some I know of, as be blest in love by stars above. So you + hain't made up your mind, then?” + </p> + <p> + Rose shook her head. + </p> + <p> + “Ah—well,” she went on, in a half-bantering tone. “Not so asy, is + it, then? One's gude for one thing, and one for another, eh? One has the + blood, and another the money.” + </p> + <p> + And so the “cunning woman” (as she truly was), talking half to herself, + ran over all the names which she thought likely, peering at Rose all the + while out of the corners of her foxy bright eyes, while Rose stirred the + peat ashes steadfastly with the point of her little shoe, half angry, half + ashamed, half frightened, to find that “the cunning woman” had guessed so + well both her suitors and her thoughts about them, and tried to look + unconcerned at each name as it came out. + </p> + <p> + “Well, well,” said Lucy, who took nothing by her move, simply because + there was nothing to take; “think over it—think over it, my dear + life; and if you did set your mind on any one—why, then—then + maybe I might help you to a sight of him.” + </p> + <p> + “A sight of him?” + </p> + <p> + “His sperrit, dear life, his sperrit only, I mane. I 'udn't have no + keeping company in my house, no, not for gowld untowld, I 'udn't; but the + sperrit of mun—to see whether mun would be true or not, you'd like + to know that, now, 'udn't you, my darling?” + </p> + <p> + Rose sighed, and stirred the ashes about vehemently. + </p> + <p> + “I must first know who it is to be. If you could show me that—now—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I can show ye that, tu, I can. Ben there's a way to 't, a sure way; + but 'tis mortal cold for the time o' year, you zee.” + </p> + <p> + “But what is it, then?” said Rose, who had in her heart been longing for + something of that very kind, and had half made up her mind to ask for a + charm. + </p> + <p> + “Why, you'm not afraid to goo into the say by night for a minute, are you? + And to-morrow night would serve, too; 't will be just low tide to + midnight.” + </p> + <p> + “If you would come with me perhaps—” + </p> + <p> + “I'll come, I'll come, and stand within call, to be sure. Only do ye mind + this, dear soul alive, not to goo telling a crumb about mun, noo, not for + the world, or yu'll see naught at all, indeed, now. And beside, there's a + noxious business grow'd up against me up to Chapel there; and I hear tell + how Mr. Leigh saith I shall to Exeter gaol for a witch—did ye ever + hear the likes?—because his groom Jan saith I overlooked mun—the + Papist dog! And now never he nor th' owld Father Francis goo by me without + a spetting, and saying of their Ayes and Malificas—I do know what + their Rooman Latin do mane, zo well as ever they, I du!—and a making + o' their charms and incantations to their saints and idols! They be mortal + feared of witches, they Papists, and mortal hard on 'em, even on a pure + body like me, that doth a bit in the white way; 'case why you see, dear + life,” said she, with one of her humorous twinkles, “tu to a trade do + never agree. Do ye try my bit of a charm, now; do ye!” + </p> + <p> + Rose could not resist the temptation; and between them both the charm was + agreed on, and the next night was fixed for its trial, on the payment of + certain current coins of the realm (for Lucy, of course, must live by her + trade); and slipping a tester into the dame's hand as earnest, Rose went + away home, and got there in safety. + </p> + <p> + But in the meanwhile, at the very hour that Eustace had been prosecuting + his suit in the lane at Moorwinstow, a very different scene was being + enacted in Mrs. Leigh's room at Burrough. + </p> + <p> + For the night before, Amyas, as he was going to bed, heard his brother + Frank in the next room tune his lute, and then begin to sing. And both + their windows being open, and only a thin partition between the chambers, + Amyas's admiring ears came in for every word of the following canzonet, + sung in that delicate and mellow tenor voice for which Frank was famed + among all fair ladies:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Ah, tyrant Love, Megaera's serpents bearing, + Why thus requite my sighs with venom'd smart? + Ah, ruthless dove, the vulture's talons wearing, + Why flesh them, traitress, in this faithful heart? + Is this my meed? Must dragons' teeth alone + In Venus' lawns by lovers' hands be sown? + + “Nay, gentlest Cupid; 'twas my pride undid me. + Nay, guiltless dove; by mine own wound I fell. + To worship, not to wed, Celestials bid me: + I dreamt to mate in heaven, and wake in hell; + Forever doom'd, Ixion-like, to reel + On mine own passions' ever-burning wheel.” + </pre> + <p> + At which the simple sailor sighed, and longed that he could write such + neat verses, and sing them so sweetly. How he would besiege the ear of + Rose Salterne with amorous ditties! But still, he could not be everything; + and if he had the bone and muscle of the family, it was but fair that + Frank should have the brains and voice; and, after all, he was bone of his + bone and flesh of his flesh, and it was just the same as if he himself + could do all the fine things which Frank could do; for as long as one of + the family won honor, what matter which of them it was? Whereon he shouted + through the wall, “Good night, old song-thrush; I suppose I need not pay + the musicians.” + </p> + <p> + “What, awake?” answered Frank. “Come in here, and lull me to sleep with a + sea-song.” + </p> + <p> + So Amyas went in, and found Frank laid on the outside of his bed not yet + undrest. + </p> + <p> + “I am a bad sleeper,” said he; “I spend more time, I fear, in burning the + midnight oil than prudent men should. Come and be my jongleur, my + minnesinger, and tell me about Andes, and cannibals, and the ice-regions, + and the fire-regions, and the paradises of the West.” + </p> + <p> + So Amyas sat down, and told: but somehow, every story which he tried to + tell came round, by crooked paths, yet sure, to none other point than Rose + Salterne, and how he thought of her here and thought of her there, and how + he wondered what she would say if she had seen him in this adventure, and + how he longed to have had her with him to show her that glorious sight, + till Frank let him have his own way, and then out came the whole story of + the simple fellow's daily and hourly devotion to her, through those three + long years of world-wide wanderings. + </p> + <p> + “And oh, Frank, I could hardly think of anything but her in the church the + other day, God forgive me! and it did seem so hard for her to be the only + face which I did not see—and have not seen her yet, either.” + </p> + <p> + “So I thought, dear lad,” said Frank, with one of his sweetest smiles; + “and tried to get her father to let her impersonate the nymph of + Torridge.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you, you dear kind fellow? That would have been too delicious.” + </p> + <p> + “Just so, too delicious; wherefore, I suppose, it was ordained not to be, + that which was being delicious enough.” + </p> + <p> + “And is she as pretty as ever?” + </p> + <p> + “Ten times as pretty, dear lad, as half the young fellows round have + discovered. If you mean to win her and wear her (and God grant you may + fare no worse!) you will have rivals enough to get rid of.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Amyas, “I hope I shall not have to make short work with some + of them.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope not,” said Frank, laughing. “Now go to bed, and to-morrow morning + give your sword to mother to keep, lest you should be tempted to draw it + on any of her majesty's lieges.” + </p> + <p> + “No fear of that, Frank; I am no swash-buckler, thank God; but if any one + gets in my way, I'll serve him as the mastiff did the terrier, and just + drop him over the quay into the river, to cool himself, or my name's not + Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + And the giant swung himself laughing out of the room, and slept all night + like a seal, not without dreams, of course, of Rose Salterne. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, according to his wont, he went into his mother's room, + whom he was sure to find up and at her prayers; for he liked to say his + prayers, too, by her side, as he used to do when he was a little boy. It + seemed so homelike, he said, after three years' knocking up and down in + no-man's land. But coming gently to the door, for fear of disturbing her, + and entering unperceived, beheld a sight which stopped him short. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh was sitting in her chair, with her face bowed fondly down upon + the head of his brother Frank, who knelt before her, his face buried in + her lap. Amyas could see that his whole form was quivering with stifled + emotion. Their mother was just finishing the last words of a well-known + text,—“for my sake, and the Gospel's, shall receive a hundred-fold + in this present life, fathers, and mothers, and brothers, and sisters.” + </p> + <p> + “But not a wife!” interrupted Frank, with a voice stifled with sobs; “that + was too precious a gift for even Him to promise to those who gave up a + first love for His sake!” + </p> + <p> + “And yet,” said he, after a moment's silence, “has He not heaped me with + blessings enough already, that I must repine and rage at His refusing me + one more, even though that one be—No, mother! I am your son, and + God's; and you shall know it, even though Amyas never does!” And he looked + up with his clear blue eyes and white forehead; and his face was as the + face of an angel. + </p> + <p> + Both of them saw that Amyas was present, and started and blushed. His + mother motioned him away with her eyes, and he went quietly out, as one + stunned. Why had his name been mentioned? + </p> + <p> + Love, cunning love, told him all at once. This was the meaning of last + night's canzonet! This was why its words had seemed to fit his own heart + so well! His brother was his rival. And he had been telling him all his + love last night. What a stupid brute he was! How it must have made poor + Frank wince! And then Frank had listened so kindly; even bid him God speed + in his suit. What a gentleman old Frank was, to be sure! No wonder the + queen was so fond of him, and all the Court ladies!—Why, if it came + to that, what wonder if Rose Salterne should be fond of him too? Hey-day! + “That would be a pretty fish to find in my net when I come to haul it!” + quoth Amyas to himself, as he paced the garden; and clutching desperately + hold of his locks with both hands, as if to hold his poor confused head on + its shoulders, he strode and tramped up and down the shell-paved garden + walks for a full half hour, till Frank's voice (as cheerful as ever, + though he more than suspected all) called him. + </p> + <p> + “Come in to breakfast, lad; and stop grinding and creaking upon those + miserable limpets, before thou hast set every tooth in my head on edge!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas, whether by dint of holding his head straight, or by higher means, + had got the thoughts of the said head straight enough by this time; and in + he came, and fell to upon the broiled fish and strong ale, with a sort of + fury, as determined to do his duty to the utmost in all matters that day, + and therefore, of course, in that most important matter of bodily + sustenance; while his mother and Frank looked at him, not without anxiety + and even terror, doubting what turn his fancy might have taken in so new a + case; at last— + </p> + <p> + “My dear Amyas, you will really heat your blood with all that strong ale! + Remember, those who drink beer, think beer.” + </p> + <p> + “Then they think right good thoughts, mother. And in the meanwhile, those + who drink water, think water. Eh, old Frank? and here's your health.” + </p> + <p> + “And clouds are water,” said his mother, somewhat reassured by his genuine + good humor; “and so are rainbows; and clouds are angels' thrones, and + rainbows the sign of God's peace on earth.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas understood the hint, and laughed. “Then I'll pledge Frank out of the + next ditch, if it please you and him. But first—I say—he must + hearken to a parable; a manner mystery, miracle play, I have got in my + head, like what they have at Easter, to the town-hall. Now then, hearken, + madam, and I and Frank will act.” And up rose Amyas, and shoved back his + chair, and put on a solemn face. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh looked up, trembling; and Frank, he scarce knew why, rose. + </p> + <p> + “No; you pitch again. You are King David, and sit still upon your throne. + David was a great singer, you know, and a player on the viols; and ruddy, + too, and of a fair countenance; so that will fit. Now, then, mother, don't + look so frightened. I am not going to play Goliath, for all my cubits; I + am to present Nathan the prophet. Now, David, hearken, for I have a + message unto thee, O King! + </p> + <p> + “There were two men in one city, one rich, and the other poor: and the + rich man had many flocks and herds, and all the fine ladies in Whitehall + to court if he liked; and the poor man had nothing but—” + </p> + <p> + And in spite of his broad honest smile, Amyas's deep voice began to + tremble and choke. + </p> + <p> + Frank sprang up, and burst into tears: “Oh! Amyas, my brother, my brother! + stop! I cannot endure this. Oh, God! was it not enough to have entangled + myself in this fatal fancy, but over and above, I must meet the shame of + my brother's discovering it?” + </p> + <p> + “What shame, then, I'd like to know?” said Amyas, recovering himself. + “Look here, brother Frank! I've thought it all over in the garden; and I + was an ass and a braggart for talking to you as I did last night. Of + course you love her! Everybody must; and I was a fool for not recollecting + that; and if you love her, your taste and mine agree, and what can be + better? I think you are a sensible fellow for loving her, and you think me + one. And as for who has her, why, you're the eldest; and first come first + served is the rule, and best to keep to it. Besides, brother Frank, though + I'm no scholar, yet I'm not so blind but that I tell the difference + between you and me; and of course your chance against mine, for a hundred + to one; and I am not going to be fool enough to row against wind and tide + too. I'm good enough for her, I hope; but if I am, you are better, and the + good dog may run, but it's the best that takes the hare; and so I have + nothing more to do with the matter at all; and if you marry her, why, it + will set the old house on its legs again, and that's the first thing to be + thought of, and you may just as well do it as I, and better too. Not but + that it's a plague, a horrible plague!” went on Amyas, with a ludicrously + doleful visage; “but so are other things too, by the dozen; it's all in + the day's work, as the huntsman said when the lion ate him. One would + never get through the furze-croft if one stopped to pull out the prickles. + The pig didn't scramble out of the ditch by squeaking; and the less said + the sooner mended; nobody was sent into the world only to suck honey-pots. + What must be must, man is but dust; if you can't get crumb, you must fain + eat crust. So I'll go and join the army in Ireland, and get it out of my + head, for cannon balls fright away love as well as poverty does; and + that's all I've got to say.” Wherewith Amyas sat down, and returned to the + beer; while Mrs. Leigh wept tears of joy. + </p> + <p> + “Amyas! Amyas!” said Frank; “you must not throw away the hopes of years, + and for me, too! Oh, how just was your parable! Ah! mother mine! to what + use is all my scholarship and my philosophy, when this dear simple + sailor-lad outdoes me at the first trial of courtesy!” + </p> + <p> + “My children, my children, which of you shall I love best? Which of you is + the more noble? I thanked God this morning for having given me one such + son; but to have found that I possess two!” And Mrs. Leigh laid her head + on the table, and buried her face in her hands, while the generous battle + went on. + </p> + <p> + “But, dearest Amyas!—” + </p> + <p> + “But, Frank! if you don't hold your tongue, I must go forth. It was quite + trouble enough to make up one's mind, without having you afterwards trying + to unmake it again.” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas! if you give her up to me, God do so to me, and more also, if I do + not hereby give her up to you!” + </p> + <p> + “He had done it already—this morning!” said Mrs. Leigh, looking up + through her tears. “He renounced her forever on his knees before me! only + he is too noble to tell you so.” + </p> + <p> + “The more reason I should copy him,” said Amyas, setting his lips, and + trying to look desperately determined, and then suddenly jumping up, he + leaped upon Frank, and throwing his arms round his neck, sobbed out, + “There, there, now! For God's sake, let us forget all, and think about our + mother, and the old house, and how we may win her honor before we die! and + that will be enough to keep our hands full, without fretting about this + woman and that.—What an ass I have been for years! instead of + learning my calling, dreaming about her, and don't know at this minute + whether she cares more for me than she does for her father's 'prentices!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Amyas! every word of yours puts me to fresh shame! Will you believe + that I know as little of her likings as you do?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't tell me that, and play the devil's game by putting fresh hopes into + me, when I am trying to kick them out. I won't believe it. If she is not a + fool, she must love you; and if she don't, why, be hanged if she is worth + loving!” + </p> + <p> + “My dearest Amyas! I must ask you too to make no more such speeches to me. + All those thoughts I have forsworn.” + </p> + <p> + “Only this morning; so there is time to catch them again before they are + gone too far.” + </p> + <p> + “Only this morning,” said Frank, with a quiet smile: “but centuries have + passed since then.” + </p> + <p> + “Centuries? I don't see many gray hairs yet.” + </p> + <p> + “I should not have been surprised if you had, though,” answered Frank, in + so sad and meaning a tone that Amyas could only answer— + </p> + <p> + “Well, you are an angel!” + </p> + <p> + “You, at least, are something even more to the purpose, for you are a + man!” + </p> + <p> + And both spoke truth, and so the battle ended; and Frank went to his + books, while Amyas, who must needs be doing, if he was not to dream, + started off to the dockyard to potter about a new ship of Sir Richard's, + and forget his woes, in the capacity of Sir Oracle among the sailors. And + so he had played his move for Rose, even as Eustace had, and lost her: but + not as Eustace had. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V + </h2> + <h3> + CLOVELLY COURT IN THE OLDEN TIME + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It was among the ways of good Queen Bess, + Who ruled as well as ever mortal can, sir, + When she was stogg'd, and the country in a mess, + She was wont to send for a Devon man, sir.” + + West Country Song. +</pre> + <p> + The next morning Amyas Leigh was not to be found. Not that he had gone out + to drown himself in despair, or even to bemoan himself “down by the + Torridge side.” He had simply ridden off, Frank found, to Sir Richard + Grenville at Stow: his mother at once divined the truth, that he was gone + to try for a post in the Irish army, and sent off Frank after him to bring + him home again, and make him at least reconsider himself. + </p> + <p> + So Frank took horse and rode thereon ten miles or more: and then, as there + were no inns on the road in those days, or indeed in these, and he had + some ten miles more of hilly road before him, he turned down the hill + towards Clovelly Court, to obtain, after the hospitable humane fashion of + those days, good entertainment for man and horse from Mr. Cary the squire. + </p> + <p> + And when he walked self-invited, like the loud-shouting Menelaus, into the + long dark wainscoted hall of the court, the first object he beheld was the + mighty form of Amyas, who, seated at the long table, was alternately + burying his face in a pasty, and the pasty in his face, his sorrows + having, as it seemed, only sharpened his appetite, while young Will Cary, + kneeling on the opposite bench, with his elbows on the table, was in that + graceful attitude laying down the law fiercely to him in a low voice. + </p> + <p> + “Hillo! lad,” cried Amyas; “come hither and deliver me out of the hands of + this fire-eater, who I verily believe will kill me, if I do not let him + kill some one else.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Mr. Frank,” said Will Cary, who, like all other young gentlemen of + these parts, held Frank in high honor, and considered him a very oracle + and cynosure of fashion and chivalry, “welcome here: I was just longing + for you, too; I wanted your advice on half-a-dozen matters. Sit down, and + eat. There is the ale.” + </p> + <p> + “None so early, thank you.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah no!” said Amyas, burying his head in the tankard, and then mimicking + Frank, “avoid strong ale o' mornings. It heats the blood, thickens the + animal spirits, and obfuscates the cerebrum with frenetical and lymphatic + idols, which cloud the quintessential light of the pure reason. Eh? young + Plato, young Daniel, come hither to judgment! And yet, though I cannot see + through the bottom of the tankard already, I can see plain enough still to + see this, that Will shall not fight.” + </p> + <p> + “Shall I not, eh? who says that? Mr. Frank, I appeal to you, now; only + hear.” + </p> + <p> + “We are in the judgment-seat,” said Frank, settling to the pasty. + “Proceed, appellant.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I was telling Amyas, that Tom Coffin, of Portledge; I will stand + him no longer.” + </p> + <p> + “Let him be, then,” said Amyas; “he could stand very well by himself, when + I saw him last.” + </p> + <p> + “Plague on you, hold your tongue. Has he any right to look at me as he + does, whenever I pass him?” + </p> + <p> + “That depends on how he looks; a cat may look at a king, provided she + don't take him for a mouse.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I know how he looks, and what he means too, and he shall stop, or I + will stop him. And the other day, when I spoke of Rose Salterne”—“Ah!” + groaned Frank, “Ate's apple again!”—“(never mind what I said) he + burst out laughing in my face; and is not that a fair quarrel? And what is + more, I know that he wrote a sonnet, and sent it to her to Stow by a + market woman. What right has he to write sonnets when I can't? It's not + fair play, Mr. Frank, or I am a Jew, and a Spaniard, and a Papist; it's + not!” And Will smote the table till the plates danced again. + </p> + <p> + “My dear knight of the burning pestle, I have a plan, a device, a + disentanglement, according to most approved rules of chivalry. Let us fix + a day, and summon by tuck of drum all young gentlemen under the age of + thirty, dwelling within fifteen miles of the habitation of that peerless + Oriana.” + </p> + <p> + “And all 'prentice-boys too,” cried Amyas, out of the pasty. + </p> + <p> + “And all 'prentice-boys. The bold lads shall fight first, with good + quarterstaves, in Bideford Market, till all heads are broken; and the head + which is not broken, let the back belonging to it pay the penalty of the + noble member's cowardice. After which grand tournament, to which that of + Tottenham shall be but a flea-bite and a batrachomyomachy—” + </p> + <p> + “Confound you, and your long words, sir,” said poor Will, “I know you are + flouting me.” + </p> + <p> + “Pazienza, Signor Cavaliere; that which is to come is no flouting, but + bloody and warlike earnest. For afterwards all the young gentlemen shall + adjourn into a convenient field, sand, or bog—which last will be + better, as no man will be able to run away, if he be up to his knees in + soft peat: and there stripping to our shirts, with rapiers of equal length + and keenest temper, each shall slay his man, catch who catch can, and the + conquerors fight again, like a most valiant main of gamecocks as we are, + till all be dead, and out of their woes; after which the survivor, + bewailing before heaven and earth the cruelty of our Fair Oriana, and the + slaughter which her basiliscine eyes have caused, shall fall gracefully + upon his sword, and so end the woes of this our lovelorn generation. + Placetne Domini? as they used to ask in the Senate at Oxford.” + </p> + <p> + “Really,” said Cary, “this is too bad.” + </p> + <p> + “So is, pardon me, your fighting Mr. Coffin with anything longer than a + bodkin.” + </p> + <p> + “Bodkins are too short for such fierce Bobadils,” said Amyas; “they would + close in so near, that we should have them falling to fisticuffs after the + first bout.” + </p> + <p> + “Then let them fight with squirts across the market-place; for by heaven + and the queen's laws, they shall fight with nothing else.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Mr. Cary,” went on Frank, suddenly changing his bantering tone to + one of the most winning sweetness, “do not fancy that I cannot feel for + you, or that I, as well as you, have not known the stings of love and the + bitterer stings of jealousy. But oh, Mr. Cary, does it not seem to you an + awful thing to waste selfishly upon your own quarrel that divine wrath + which, as Plato says, is the very root of all virtues, and which has been + given you, like all else which you have, that you may spend it in the + service of her whom all bad souls fear, and all virtuous souls adore,—our + peerless queen? Who dares, while she rules England, call his sword or his + courage his own, or any one's but hers? Are there no Spaniards to conquer, + no wild Irish to deliver from their oppressors, that two gentlemen of + Devon can find no better place to flesh their blades than in each other's + valiant and honorable hearts?” + </p> + <p> + “By heaven!” cried Amyas, “Frank speaks like a book; and for me, I do + think that Christian gentlemen may leave love quarrels to bulls and rams.” + </p> + <p> + “And that the heir of Clovelly,” said Frank, smiling, “may find more noble + examples to copy than the stags in his own deer-park.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Will, penitently, “you are a great scholar, Mr. Frank, and + you speak like one; but gentlemen must fight sometimes, or where would be + their honor?” + </p> + <p> + “I speak,” said Frank, a little proudly, “not merely as a scholar, but as + a gentleman, and one who has fought ere now, and to whom it has happened, + Mr. Cary, to kill his man (on whose soul may God have mercy); but it is my + pride to remember that I have never yet fought in my own quarrel, and my + trust in God that I never shall. For as there is nothing more noble and + blessed than to fight in behalf of those whom we love, so to fight in our + own private behalf is a thing not to be allowed to a Christian man, unless + refusal imports utter loss of life or honor; and even then, it may be + (though I would not lay a burden on any man's conscience), it is better + not to resist evil, but to overcome it with good.” + </p> + <p> + “And I can tell you, Will,” said Amyas, “I am not troubled with fear of + ghosts; but when I cut off the Frenchman's head, I said to myself, 'If + that braggart had been slandering me instead of her gracious majesty, I + should expect to see that head lying on my pillow every time I went to bed + at night.'” + </p> + <p> + “God forbid!” said Will, with a shudder. “But what shall I do? for to the + market tomorrow I will go, if it were choke-full of Coffins, and a ghost + in each coffin of the lot.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave the matter to me,” said Amyas. “I have my device, as well as + scholar Frank here; and if there be, as I suppose there must be, a quarrel + in the market to-morrow, see if I do not—” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you are two good fellows,” said Will. “Let us have another tankard + in.” + </p> + <p> + “And drink the health of Mr. Coffin, and all gallant lads of the North,” + said Frank; “and now to my business. I have to take this runaway youth + here home to his mother; and if he will not go quietly, I have orders to + carry him across my saddle.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope your nag has a strong back, then,” said Amyas; “but I must go on + and see Sir Richard, Frank. It is all very well to jest as we have been + doing, but my mind is made up.” + </p> + <p> + “Stop,” said Cary. “You must stay here tonight; first, for good + fellowship's sake; and next, because I want the advice of our Phoenix + here, our oracle, our paragon. There, Mr. Frank, can you construe that for + me? Speak low, though, gentlemen both; there comes my father; you had + better give me the letter again. Well, father, whence this morning?” + </p> + <p> + “Eh, company here? Young men, you are always welcome, and such as you. + Would there were more of your sort in these dirty times! How is your good + mother, Frank, eh? Where have I been, Will? Round the house-farm, to look + at the beeves. That sheeted heifer of Prowse's is all wrong; her coat + stares like a hedgepig's. Tell Jewell to go up and bring her in before + night. And then up the forty acres; sprang two coveys, and picked a leash + out of them. The Irish hawk flies as wild as any haggard still, and will + never make a bird. I had to hand her to Tom, and take the little + peregrine. Give me a Clovelly hawk against the world, after all; and—heigh + ho, I am very hungry! Half-past twelve, and dinner not served? What, + Master Amyas, spoiling your appetite with strong ale? Better have tried + sack, lad; have some now with me.” + </p> + <p> + And the worthy old gentleman, having finished his oration, settled himself + on a great bench inside the chimney, and put his hawk on a perch over his + head, while his cockers coiled themselves up close to the warm peat-ashes, + and his son set to work to pull off his father's boots, amid sundry + warnings to take care of his corns. + </p> + <p> + “Come, Master Amyas, a pint of white wine and sugar, and a bit of a + shoeing-horn to it ere we dine. Some pickled prawns, now, or a rasher off + the coals, to whet you?” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” quoth Amyas; “but I have drunk a mort of outlandish liquors, + better and worse, in the last three years, and yet never found aught to + come up to good ale, which needs neither shoeing-horn before nor after, + but takes care of itself, and of all honest stomachs too, I think.” + </p> + <p> + “You speak like a book, boy,” said old Cary; “and after all, what a plague + comes of these newfangled hot wines, and aqua vitaes, which have come in + since the wars, but maddening of the brains, and fever of the blood?” + </p> + <p> + “I fear we have not seen the end of that yet,” said Frank. “My friends + write me from the Netherlands that our men are falling into a swinish + trick of swilling like the Hollanders. Heaven grant that they may not + bring home the fashion with them.” + </p> + <p> + “A man must drink, they say, or die of the ague, in those vile swamps,” + said Amyas. “When they get home here, they will not need it.” + </p> + <p> + “Heaven grant it,” said Frank; “I should be sorry to see Devonshire a + drunken county; and there are many of our men out there with Mr. + Champernoun.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said Cary, “there, as in Ireland, we are proving her majesty's + saying true, that Devonshire is her right hand, and the young children + thereof like the arrows in the hand of the giant.” + </p> + <p> + “They may well be,” said his son, “when some of them are giants + themselves, like my tall school-fellow opposite.” + </p> + <p> + “He will be up and doing again presently, I'll warrant him,” said old + Cary. + </p> + <p> + “And that I shall,” quoth Amyas. “I have been devising brave deeds; and + see in the distance enchanters to be bound, dragons choked, empires + conquered, though not in Holland.” + </p> + <p> + “You do?” asked Will, a little sharply; for he had had a half suspicion + that more was meant than met the ear. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Amyas, turning off his jest again, “I go to what Raleigh calls + the Land of the Nymphs. Another month, I hope, will see me abroad in + Ireland.” + </p> + <p> + “Abroad? Call it rather at home,” said old Cary; “for it is full of Devon + men from end to end, and you will be among friends all day long. George + Bourchier from Tawstock has the army now in Munster, and Warham St. Leger + is marshal; George Carew is with Lord Grey of Wilton (Poor Peter Carew was + killed at Glendalough); and after the defeat last year, when that villain + Desmond cut off Herbert and Price, the companies were made up with six + hundred Devon men, and Arthur Fortescue at their head; so that the old + county holds her head as proudly in the Land of Ire as she does in the Low + Countries and the Spanish Main.” + </p> + <p> + “And where,” asked Amyas, “is Davils of Marsland, who used to teach me how + to catch trout, when I was staying down at Stow? He is in Ireland, too, is + he not?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my lad,” said Mr. Cary, “that is a sad story. I thought all England + had known it.” + </p> + <p> + “You forget, sir, I am a stranger. Surely he is not dead?” + </p> + <p> + “Murdered foully, lad! Murdered like a dog, and by the man whom he had + treated as his son, and who pretended, the false knave! to call him + father.” + </p> + <p> + “His blood is avenged?” said Amyas, fiercely. + </p> + <p> + “No, by heaven, not yet! Stay, don't cry out again. I am getting old—I + must tell my story my own way. It was last July,—was it not, Will?—Over + comes to Ireland Saunders, one of those Jesuit foxes, as the Pope's + legate, with money and bulls, and a banner hallowed by the Pope, and the + devil knows what beside; and with him James Fitzmaurice, the same fellow + who had sworn on his knees to Perrott, in the church at Kilmallock, to be + a true liegeman to Queen Elizabeth, and confirmed it by all his saints, + and such a world of his Irish howling, that Perrott told me he was fain to + stop his own ears. Well, he had been practising with the King of France, + but got nothing but laughter for his pains, and so went over to the Most + Catholic King, and promises him to join Ireland to Spain, and set up + Popery again, and what not. And he, I suppose, thinking it better that + Ireland should belong to him than to the Pope's bastard, fits him out, and + sends him off on such another errand as Stukely's,—though I will + say, for the honor of Devon, if Stukely lived like a fool, he died like an + honest man.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Thomas Stukely dead too?” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Wait a while, lad, and you shall have that tragedy afterwards. Well, + where was I? Oh, Fitzmaurice and the Jesuits land at Smerwick, with three + ships, choose a place for a fort, bless it with their holy water, and + their moppings and their scourings, and the rest of it, to purify it from + the stain of heretic dominion; but in the meanwhile one of the Courtenays,—a + Courtenay of Haccombe, was it?—or a Courtenay of Boconnock? Silence, + Will, I shall have it in a minute—yes, a Courtenay of Haccombe it + was, lying at anchor near by, in a ship of war of his, cuts out the three + ships, and cuts off the Dons from the sea. John and James Desmond, with + some small rabble, go over to the Spaniards. Earl Desmond will not join + them, but will not fight them, and stands by to take the winning side; and + then in comes poor Davils, sent down by the Lord Deputy to charge Desmond + and his brothers, in the queen's name, to assault the Spaniards. Folks say + it was rash of his lordship: but I say, what could be better done? Every + one knows that there never was a stouter or shrewder soldier than Davils; + and the young Desmonds, I have heard him say many a time, used to look on + him as their father. But he found out what it was to trust Englishmen + turned Irish. Well, the Desmonds found out on a sudden that the Dons were + such desperate Paladins, that it was madness to meddle, though they were + five to one; and poor Davils, seeing that there was no fight in them, goes + back for help, and sleeps that night at some place called Tralee. Arthur + Carter of Bideford, St. Leger's lieutenant, as stout an old soldier as + Davils himself, sleeps in the same bed with him; the lacquey-boy, who is + now with Sir Richard at Stow, on the floor at their feet. But in the dead + of night, who should come in but James Desmond, sword in hand, with a + dozen of his ruffians at his heels, each with his glib over his ugly face, + and his skene in his hand. Davils springs up in bed, and asks but this, + 'What is the matter, my son?' whereon the treacherous villain, without + giving him time to say a prayer, strikes at him, naked as he was, crying, + 'Thou shalt be my father no longer, nor I thy son! Thou shalt die!' and at + that all the rest fall on him. The poor little lad (so he says) leaps up + to cover his master with his naked body, gets three or four stabs of + skenes, and so falls for dead; with his master and Captain Carter, who + were dead indeed—God reward them! After that the ruffians ransacked + the house, till they had murdered every Englishman in it, the lacquey-boy + only excepted, who crawled out, wounded as he was, through a window; while + Desmond, if you will believe it, went back, up to his elbows in blood, and + vaunted his deeds to the Spaniards, and asked them—'There! Will you + take that as a pledge that I am faithful to you?' And that, my lad, was + the end of Henry Davils, and will be of all who trust to the faith of wild + savages.” + </p> + <p> + “I would go a hundred miles to see that Desmond hanged!” said Amyas, while + great tears ran down his face. “Poor Mr. Davils! And now, what is the + story of Sir Thomas?” + </p> + <p> + “Your brother must tell you that, lad; I am somewhat out of breath.” + </p> + <p> + “And I have a right to tell it,” said Frank, with a smile. “Do you know + that I was very near being Earl of the bog of Allen, and one of the peers + of the realm to King Buoncompagna, son and heir to his holiness Pope + Gregory the Thirteenth?” + </p> + <p> + “No, surely!” + </p> + <p> + “As I am a gentleman. When I was at Rome I saw poor Stukely often; and + this and more he offered me on the part (as he said) of the Pope, if I + would just oblige him in the two little matters of being reconciled to the + Catholic Church, and joining the invasion of Ireland.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor deluded heretic,” said Will Cary, “to have lost an earldom for your + family by such silly scruples of loyalty!” + </p> + <p> + “It is not a matter for jesting, after all,” said Frank; “but I saw Sir + Thomas often, and I cannot believe he was in his senses, so frantic was + his vanity and his ambition; and all the while, in private matters as + honorable a gentleman as ever. However, he sailed at last for Ireland, + with his eight hundred Spaniards and Italians; and what is more, I know + that the King of Spain paid their charges. Marquis Vinola—James + Buoncompagna, that is—stayed quietly at Rome, preferring that + Stukely should conquer his paternal heritage of Ireland for him while he + took care of the bona robas at home. I went down to Civita Vecchia to see + him off; and though his younger by many years, I could not but take the + liberty of entreating him, as a gentleman and a man of Devon, to consider + his faith to his queen and the honor of his country. There were high words + between us; God forgive me if I spoke too fiercely, for I never saw him + again.” + </p> + <p> + “Too fiercely to an open traitor, Frank? Why not have run him through?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, I had no clean life for Sundays, Amyas; so I could not throw away my + week-day one; and as for the weal of England, I knew that it was little he + would damage it, and told him so. And at that he waxed utterly mad, for it + touched his pride, and swore that if the wind had not been fair for + sailing, he would have fought me there and then; to which I could only + answer, that I was ready to meet him when he would; and he parted from me, + saying, 'It is a pity, sir, I cannot fight you now; when next we meet, it + will be beneath my dignity to measure swords with you.' + </p> + <p> + “I suppose he expected to come back a prince at least—Heaven knows; + I owe him no ill-will, nor I hope does any man. He has paid all debts now + in full, and got his receipt for them.” + </p> + <p> + “How did he die, then, after all?” + </p> + <p> + “On his voyage he touched in Portugal. King Sebastian was just sailing for + Africa with his new ally, Mohammed the Prince of Fez, to help King + Abdallah, and conquer what he could. He persuaded Stukely to go with him. + There were those who thought that he, as well as the Spaniards, had no + stomach for seeing the Pope's son King of Ireland. Others used to say that + he thought an island too small for his ambition, and must needs conquer a + continent—I know not why it was, but he went. They had heavy weather + in the passage; and when they landed, many of their soldiers were + sea-sick. Stukely, reasonably enough, counselled that they should wait two + or three days and recruit; but Don Sebastian was so mad for the assault + that he must needs have his veni, vidi, vici; and so ended with a veni, + vidi, perii; for he Abdallah, and his son Mohammed, all perished in the + first battle at Alcasar; and Stukely, surrounded and overpowered, fought + till he could fight no more, and then died like a hero with all his wounds + in front; and may God have mercy on his soul!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Amyas, “we heard of that battle off Lima, but nothing about + poor Stukely.” + </p> + <p> + “That last was a Popish prayer, Master Frank,” said old Mr. Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Most worshipful sir, you surely would not wish God not to have mercy on + his soul?” + </p> + <p> + “No—eh? Of course not: but that's all settled by now, for he is + dead, poor fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly, my dear sir. And you cannot help being a little fond of him + still.” + </p> + <p> + “Eh? why, I should be a brute if I were not. He and I were schoolfellows, + though he was somewhat the younger; and many a good thrashing have I given + him, and one cannot help having a tenderness for a man after that. Beside, + we used to hunt together in Exmoor, and have royal nights afterward into + Ilfracombe, when we were a couple of mad young blades. Fond of him? Why, I + would have sooner given my forefinger than that he should have gone to the + dogs thus.” + </p> + <p> + “Then, my dear sir, if you feel for him still, in spite of all his faults, + how do you know that God may not feel for him still, in spite of all his + faults? For my part,” quoth Frank, in his fanciful way, “without believing + in that Popish Purgatory, I cannot help holding with Plato, that such + heroical souls, who have wanted but little of true greatness, are + hereafter by some strait discipline brought to a better mind; perhaps, as + many ancients have held with the Indian Gymnosophists, by transmigration + into the bodies of those animals whom they have resembled in their + passions; and indeed, if Sir Thomas Stukely's soul should now animate the + body of a lion, all I can say is that he would be a very valiant and royal + lion; and also doubtless become in due time heartily ashamed and penitent + for having been nothing better than a lion.” + </p> + <p> + “What now, Master Frank? I don't trouble my head with such matters—I + say Stukely was a right good-hearted fellow at bottom; and if you plague + my head with any of your dialectics, and propositions, and college quips + and quiddities, you sha'n't have any more sack, sir. But here come the + knaves, and I hear the cook knock to dinner.” + </p> + <p> + After a madrigal or two, and an Italian song of Master Frank's, all which + went sweetly enough, the ladies rose, and went. Whereon Will Cary, drawing + his chair close to Frank's, put quietly into his hand a dirty letter. + </p> + <p> + “This was the letter left for me,” whispered he, “by a country fellow this + morning. Look at it and tell me what I am to do.” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Frank opened, and read— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Mister Cary, be you wary + By deer park end to-night. + Yf Irish ffoxe com out of rocks + Grip and hold hym tight.” + </pre> + <p> + “I would have showed it my father,” said Will, “but—” + </p> + <p> + “I verily believe it to be a blind. See now, this is the handwriting of a + man who has been trying to write vilely, and yet cannot. Look at that B, + and that G; their formae formativae never were begotten in a hedge-school. + And what is more, this is no Devon man's handiwork. We say 'to' and not + 'by,' Will, eh? in the West country?” + </p> + <p> + “Of course.” + </p> + <p> + “And 'man,' instead of 'him'?” + </p> + <p> + “True, O Daniel! But am I to do nothing therefore?” + </p> + <p> + “On that matter I am no judge. Let us ask much-enduring Ulysses here; + perhaps he has not sailed round the world without bringing home a device + or two.” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Amyas was called to counsel, as soon as Mr. Cary could be stopped + in a long cross-examination of him as to Mr. Doughty's famous trial and + execution. + </p> + <p> + Amyas pondered awhile, thrusting his hands into his long curls; and then— + </p> + <p> + “Will, my lad, have you been watching at the Deer Park End of late?” + </p> + <p> + “Never.” + </p> + <p> + “Where, then?” + </p> + <p> + “At the town-beach.” + </p> + <p> + “Where else? + </p> + <p> + “At the town-head.” + </p> + <p> + “Where else?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, the fellow is turned lawyer! Above Freshwater.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is Freshwater?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, where the water-fall comes over the cliff, half-a-mile from the + town. There is a path there up into the forest.” + </p> + <p> + “I know. I'll watch there to-night. Do you keep all your old haunts safe, + of course, and send a couple of stout knaves to the mill, to watch the + beach at the Deer Park End, on the chance; for your poet may be a true + man, after all. But my heart's faith is, that this comes just to draw you + off from some old beat of yours, upon a wild-goose chase. If they shoot + the miller by mistake, I suppose it don't much matter?” + </p> + <p> + “Marry, no.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “'When a miller's knock'd on the head, + The less of flour makes the more of bread.'” + </pre> + <p> + “Or, again,” chimed in old Mr. Cary, “as they say in the North— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “'Find a miller that will not steal, + Or a webster that is leal, + Or a priest that is not greedy, + And lay them three a dead corpse by; + And by the virtue of them three, + The said dead corpse shall quicken'd be.'” + </pre> + <p> + “But why are you so ready to watch Freshwater to-night, Master Amyas?” + </p> + <p> + “Because, sir, those who come, if they come, will never land at Mouthmill; + if they are strangers, they dare not; and if they are bay's-men, they are + too wise, as long as the westerly swell sets in. As for landing at the + town, that would be too great a risk; but Freshwater is as lonely as the + Bermudas; and they can beach a boat up under the cliff at all tides, and + in all weathers, except north and nor'west. I have done it many a time, + when I was a boy.” + </p> + <p> + “And give us the fruit of your experience now in your old age, eh? Well, + you have a gray head on green shoulders, my lad; and I verily believe you + are right. Who will you take with you to watch?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said Frank, “I will go with my brother; and that will be enough.” + </p> + <p> + “Enough? He is big enough, and you brave enough, for ten; but still, the + more the merrier.” + </p> + <p> + “But the fewer, the better fare. If I might ask a first and last favor, + worshipful sir,” said Frank, very earnestly, “you would grant me two + things: that you would let none go to Freshwater but me and my brother; + and that whatsoever we shall bring you back shall be kept as secret as the + commonweal and your loyalty shall permit. I trust that we are not so + unknown to you, or to others, that you can doubt for a moment but that + whatsoever we may do will satisfy at once your honor and our own.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear young gentleman, there is no need of so many courtier's words. I + am your father's friend, and yours. And God forbid that a Cary—for I + guess your drift—should ever wish to make a head or a heart ache; + that is, more than—” + </p> + <p> + “Those of whom it is written, 'Though thou bray a fool in a mortar, yet + will not his folly depart from him,'” interposed Frank, in so sad a tone + that no one at the table replied; and few more words were exchanged, till + the two brothers were safe outside the house; and then— + </p> + <p> + “Amyas,” said Frank, “that was a Devon man's handiwork, nevertheless; it + was Eustace's handwriting.” + </p> + <p> + “Impossible!” + </p> + <p> + “No, lad. I have been secretary to a prince, and learnt to interpret + cipher, and to watch every pen-stroke; and, young as I am, I think that I + am not easily deceived. Would God I were! Come on, lad; and strike no man + hastily, lest thou cut off thine own flesh.” + </p> + <p> + So forth the two went, along the park to the eastward, and past the head + of the little wood-embosomed fishing-town, a steep stair of houses + clinging to the cliff far below them, the bright slate roofs and white + walls glittering in the moonlight; and on some half-mile farther, along + the steep hill-side, fenced with oak wood down to the water's edge, by a + narrow forest path, to a point where two glens meet and pour their + streamlets over a cascade some hundred feet in height into the sea below. + By the side of this waterfall a narrow path climbs upward from the beach; + and here it was that the two brothers expected to meet the messenger. + </p> + <p> + Frank insisted on taking his station below Amyas. He said that he was + certain that Eustace himself would make his appearance, and that he was + more fit than Amyas to bring him to reason by parley; that if Amyas would + keep watch some twenty yards above, the escape of the messenger would be + impossible. Moreover, he was the elder brother, and the post of honor was + his right. So Amyas obeyed him, after making him promise that if more than + one man came up the path, he would let them pass him before he challenged, + so that both might bring them to bay at the same time. + </p> + <p> + So Amyas took his station under a high marl bank, and, bedded in luxuriant + crown-ferns, kept his eye steadily on Frank, who sat down on a little + knoll of rock (where is now a garden on the cliff-edge) which parts the + path and the dark chasm down which the stream rushes to its final leap + over the cliff. + </p> + <p> + There Amyas sat a full half-hour, and glanced at whiles from Frank to look + upon the scene around. Outside the southwest wind blew fresh and strong, + and the moonlight danced upon a thousand crests of foam; but within the + black jagged point which sheltered the town, the sea did but heave, in + long oily swells of rolling silver, onward into the black shadow of the + hills, within which the town and pier lay invisible, save where a + twinkling light gave token of some lonely fisher's wife, watching the + weary night through for the boat which would return with dawn. Here and + there upon the sea, a black speck marked a herring-boat, drifting with its + line of nets; and right off the mouth of the glen, Amyas saw, with a + beating heart, a large two-masted vessel lying-to—that must be the + “Portugal”! Eagerly he looked up the glen, and listened; but he heard + nothing but the sweeping of the wind across the downs five hundred feet + above, and the sough of the waterfall upon the rocks below; he saw nothing + but the vast black sheets of oak-wood sloping up to the narrow blue sky + above, and the broad bright hunter's moon, and the woodcocks, which, + chuckling to each other, hawked to and fro, like swallows, between the + tree-tops and the sky. + </p> + <p> + At last he heard a rustle of the fallen leaves; he shrank closer and + closer into the darkness of the bank. Then swift light steps—not + down the path, from above, but upward, from below; his heart beat quick + and loud. And in another half-minute a man came in sight, within three + yards of Frank's hiding-place. + </p> + <p> + Frank sprang out instantly. Amyas saw his bright blade glance in the clear + October moonlight. + </p> + <p> + “Stand in the queen's name!” + </p> + <p> + The man drew a pistol from under his cloak, and fired full in his face. + Had it happened in these days of detonators, Frank's chance had been + small; but to get a ponderous wheel-lock under weigh was a longer + business, and before the fizzing of the flint had ceased, Frank had struck + up the pistol with his rapier, and it exploded harmlessly over his head. + The man instantly dashed the weapon in his face and closed. + </p> + <p> + The blow, luckily, did not take effect on that delicate forehead, but + struck him on the shoulder: nevertheless, Frank, who with all his grace + and agility was as fragile as a lily, and a very bubble of the earth, + staggered, and lost his guard, and before he could recover himself, Amyas + saw a dagger gleam, and one, two, three blows fiercely repeated. + </p> + <p> + Mad with fury, he was with them in an instant. They were scuffling + together so closely in the shade that he was afraid to use his sword + point; but with the hilt he dealt a single blow full on the ruffian's + cheek. It was enough; with a hideous shriek, the fellow rolled over at his + feet, and Amyas set his foot on him, in act to run him through. + </p> + <p> + “Stop! stay!” almost screamed Frank; “it is Eustace! our cousin Eustace!” + and he leant against a tree. + </p> + <p> + Amyas sprang towards him: but Frank waved him off. + </p> + <p> + “It is nothing—a scratch. He has papers: I am sure of it. Take them; + and for God's sake let him go!” + </p> + <p> + “Villain! give me your papers!” cried Amyas, setting his foot once more on + the writhing Eustace, whose jaw was broken across. + </p> + <p> + “You struck me foully from behind,” moaned he, his vanity and envy even + then coming out, in that faint and foolish attempt to prove Amyas not so + very much better a man. + </p> + <p> + “Hound, do you think that I dare not strike you in front? Give me your + papers, letters, whatever Popish devilry you carry; or as I live, I will + cut off your head, and take them myself, even if it cost me the shame of + stripping your corpse. Give them up! Traitor, murderer! give them, I say!” + And setting his foot on him afresh, he raised his sword. + </p> + <p> + Eustace was usually no craven: but he was cowed. Between agony and shame, + he had no heart to resist. Martyrdom, which looked so splendid when + consummated selon les regles on Tower Hill or Tyburn, before pitying, or + (still better) scoffing multitudes, looked a confused, dirty, ugly + business there in the dark forest; and as he lay, a stream of moonlight + bathed his mighty cousin's broad clear forehead, and his long golden + locks, and his white terrible blade, till he seemed, to Eustace's + superstitious eye, like one of those fair young St. Michaels trampling on + the fiend, which he had seen abroad in old German pictures. He shuddered; + pulled a packet from his bosom, and threw it from him, murmuring, “I have + not given it.” + </p> + <p> + “Swear to me that these are all the papers which you have in cipher or out + of cipher. Swear on your soul, or you die!” + </p> + <p> + Eustace swore. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me, who are your accomplices?” + </p> + <p> + “Never!” said Eustace. “Cruel! have you not degraded me enough already?” + and the wretched young man burst into tears, and hid his bleeding face in + his hands. + </p> + <p> + One hint of honor made Amyas as gentle as a lamb. He lifted Eustace up, + and bade him run for his life. + </p> + <p> + “I am to owe my life, then, to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Not in the least; only to your being a Leigh. Go, or it will be worse for + you!” And Eustace went; while Amyas, catching up the precious packet, + hurried to Frank. He had fainted already, and his brother had to carry him + as far as the park before he could find any of the other watchers. The + blind, as far as they were concerned, was complete. They had heard and + seen nothing. Whosoever had brought the packet had landed they knew not + where; and so all returned to the court, carrying Frank, who recovered + gradually, having rather bruises than wounds; for his foe had struck + wildly, and with a trembling hand. + </p> + <p> + Half-an-hour after, Amyas, Mr. Cary, and his son Will were in deep + consultation over the following epistle, the only paper in the packet + which was not in cipher:— + </p> + <p> + “'DEAR BROTHER N. S. in Chto. et Ecclesia. + </p> + <p> + “This is to inform you and the friends of the cause, that S. Josephus has + landed in Smerwick, with eight hundred valiant Crusaders, burning with + holy zeal to imitate last year's martyrs of Carrigfolium, and to expiate + their offences (which I fear may have been many) by the propagation of our + most holy faith. I have purified the fort (which they are strenuously + rebuilding) with prayer and holy water, from the stain of heretical + footsteps, and consecrated it afresh to the service of Heaven, as the + first-fruits of the isle of saints; and having displayed the consecrated + banner to the adoration of the faithful, have returned to Earl Desmond, + that I may establish his faith, weak as yet, by reason of the allurements + of this world: though since, by the valor of his brother James, he that + hindered was taken out of the way (I mean Davils the heretic, sacrifice + well-pleasing in the eyes of Heaven!), the young man has lent a more + obedient ear to my counsels. If you can do anything, do it quickly, for a + great door and effectual is opened, and there are many adversaries. But be + swift, for so do the poor lambs of the Church tremble at the fury of the + heretics, that a hundred will flee before one Englishman. And, indeed, + were it not for that divine charity toward the Church (which covers the + multitude of sins) with which they are resplendent, neither they nor their + country would be, by the carnal judgment, counted worthy of so great labor + in their behalf. For they themselves are given much to lying, theft, and + drunkenness, vain babbling, and profane dancing and singing; and are + still, as S. Gildas reports of them, 'more careful to shroud their + villainous faces in bushy hair, than decently to cover their bodies; while + their land (by reason of the tyranny of their chieftains, and the + continual wars and plunderings among their tribes, which leave them weak + and divided, an easy prey to the myrmidons of the excommunicate and + usurping Englishwoman) lies utterly waste with fire, and defaced with + corpses of the starved and slain. But what are these things, while the + holy virtue of Catholic obedience still flourishes in their hearts? The + Church cares not for the conservation of body and goods, but of immortal + souls. + </p> + <p> + “If any devout lady shall so will, you may obtain from her liberality a + shirt for this worthless tabernacle, and also a pair of hose; for I am + unsavory to myself and to others, and of such luxuries none here has + superfluity; for all live in holy poverty, except the fleas, who have that + consolation in this world for which this unhappy nation, and those who + labor among them, must wait till the world to come.* + </p> + <p> + “Your loving brother, + </p> + <p> + “N. S.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See note at end of chapter. +</pre> + <p> + “Sir Richard must know of this before daybreak,” cried old Cary. “Eight + hundred men landed! We must call out the Posse Comitatus, and sail with + them bodily. I will go myself, old as I am. Spaniards in Ireland? not a + dog of them must go home again.” + </p> + <p> + “Not a dog of them,” answered Will; “but where is Mr. Winter and his + squadron?” + </p> + <p> + “Safe in Milford Haven; a messenger must be sent to him too.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll go,” said Amyas: “but Mr. Cary is right. Sir Richard must know all + first.” + </p> + <p> + “And we must have those Jesuits.” + </p> + <p> + “What? Mr. Evans and Mr. Morgans? God help us—they are at my + uncle's! Consider the honor of our family!” + </p> + <p> + “Judge for yourself, my dear boy,” said old Mr. Cary, gently: “would it + not be rank treason to let these foxes escape, while we have this damning + proof against them?” + </p> + <p> + “I will go myself, then.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not? You may keep all straight, and Will shall go with you. Call a + groom, Will, and get your horse saddled, and my Yorkshire gray; he will + make better play with this big fellow on his back, than the little pony + astride of which Mr. Leigh came walking in (as I hear) this morning. As + for Frank, the ladies will see to him well enough, and glad enough, too, + to have so fine a bird in their cage for a week or two.” + </p> + <p> + “And my mother?” + </p> + <p> + “We'll send to her to-morrow by daybreak. Come, a stirrup cup to start + with, hot and hot. Now, boots, cloaks, swords, a deep pull and a warm one, + and away!” + </p> + <p> + And the jolly old man bustled them out of the house and into their + saddles, under the broad bright winter's moon. + </p> + <p> + “You must make your pace, lads, or the moon will be down before you are + over the moors.” And so away they went. + </p> + <p> + Neither of them spoke for many a mile. Amyas, because his mind was fixed + firmly on the one object of saving the honor of his house; and Will, + because he was hesitating between Ireland and the wars, and Rose Salterne + and love-making. At last he spoke suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “I'll go, Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” + </p> + <p> + “To Ireland with you, old man. I have dragged my anchor at last.” + </p> + <p> + “What anchor, my lad of parables?” + </p> + <p> + “See, here am I, a tall and gallant ship.” + </p> + <p> + “Modest even if not true.” + </p> + <p> + “Inclination, like an anchor, holds me tight.” + </p> + <p> + “To the mud.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, to a bed of roses—not without their thorns.” + </p> + <p> + “Hillo! I have seen oysters grow on fruit-trees before now, but never an + anchor in a rose-garden.” + </p> + <p> + “Silence, or my allegory will go to noggin-staves.” + </p> + <p> + “Against the rocks of my flinty discernment.” + </p> + <p> + “Pooh—well. Up comes duty like a jolly breeze, blowing dead from the + northeast, and as bitter and cross as a northeaster too, and tugs me away + toward Ireland. I hold on by the rosebed—any ground in a storm—till + every strand is parted, and off I go, westward ho! to get my throat cut in + a bog-hole with Amyas Leigh.” + </p> + <p> + “Earnest, Will?” + </p> + <p> + “As I am a sinful man.” + </p> + <p> + “Well done, young hawk of the White Cliff!” + </p> + <p> + “I had rather have called it Gallantry Bower still, though,” said Will, + punning on the double name of the noble precipice which forms the highest + point of the deer park. + </p> + <p> + “Well, as long as you are on land, you know it is Gallantry Bower still: + but we always call it White Cliff when you see it from the sea-board, as + you and I shall do, I hope, to-morrow evening.” + </p> + <p> + “What, so soon?” + </p> + <p> + “Dare we lose a day?” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose not: heigh-ho!” + </p> + <p> + And they rode on again in silence, Amyas in the meanwhile being not a + little content (in spite of his late self-renunciation) to find that one + of his rivals at least was going to raise the siege of the Rose garden for + a few months, and withdraw his forces to the coast of Kerry. + </p> + <p> + As they went over Bursdon, Amyas pulled up suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “Did you not hear a horse's step on our left?” + </p> + <p> + “On our left—coming up from Welsford moor? Impossible at this time + of night. It must have been a stag, or a sownder of wild swine: or may be + only an old cow.” + </p> + <p> + “It was the ring of iron, friend. Let us stand and watch.” + </p> + <p> + Bursdon and Welsford were then, as now, a rolling range of dreary moors, + unbroken by tor or tree, or anything save few and far between a world-old + furze-bank which marked the common rights of some distant cattle farm, and + crossed then, not as now, by a decent road, but by a rough confused + track-way, the remnant of an old Roman road from Clovelly dikes to + Launceston. To the left it trended down towards a lower range of moors, + which form the watershed of the heads of Torridge; and thither the two + young men peered down over the expanse of bog and furze, which glittered + for miles beneath the moon, one sheet of frosted silver, in the heavy + autumn dew. + </p> + <p> + “If any of Eustace's party are trying to get home from Freshwater, they + might save a couple of miles by coming across Welsford, instead of going + by the main track, as we have done.” So said Amyas, who though (luckily + for him) no “genius,” was cunning as a fox in all matters of tactic and + practic, and would have in these days proved his right to be considered an + intellectual person by being a thorough man of business. + </p> + <p> + “If any of his party are mad, they'll try it, and be stogged till the day + of judgment. There are bogs in the bottom twenty feet deep. Plague on the + fellow, whoever he is, he has dodged us! Look there!” + </p> + <p> + It was too true. The unknown horseman had evidently dismounted below, and + led his horse up on the other side of a long furze-dike; till coming to + the point where it turned away again from his intended course, he appeared + against the sky, in the act of leading his nag over a gap. + </p> + <p> + “Ride like the wind!” and both youths galloped across furze and heather at + him; but ere they were within a hundred yards of him, he had leapt again + on his horse, and was away far ahead. + </p> + <p> + “There is the dor to us, with a vengeance,” cried Cary, putting in the + spurs. + </p> + <p> + “It is but a lad; we shall never catch him.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll try, though; and do you lumber after as you can, old heavysides;” + and Cary pushed forward. + </p> + <p> + Amyas lost sight of him for ten minutes, and then came up with him + dismounted, and feeling disconsolately at his horse's knees. + </p> + <p> + “Look for my head. It lies somewhere about among the furze there; and oh! + I am as full of needles as ever was a pin-cushion.” + </p> + <p> + “Are his knees broken?” + </p> + <p> + “I daren't look. No, I believe not. Come along, and make the best of a bad + matter. The fellow is a mile ahead, and to the right, too.” + </p> + <p> + “He is going for Moorwinstow, then; but where is my cousin?” + </p> + <p> + “Behind us, I dare say. We shall nab him at least.” + </p> + <p> + “Cary, promise me that if we do, you will keep out of sight, and let me + manage him.” + </p> + <p> + “My boy, I only want Evan Morgans and Morgan Evans. He is but the cat's + paw, and we are after the cats themselves.” + </p> + <p> + And so they went on another dreary six miles, till the land trended + downwards, showing dark glens and masses of woodland far below. + </p> + <p> + “Now, then, straight to Chapel, and stop the foxes' earth? Or through the + King's Park to Stow, and get out Sir Richard's hounds, hue and cry, and + queen's warrant in proper form?” + </p> + <p> + “Let us see Sir Richard first; and whatsoever he decides about my uncle, I + will endure as a loyal subject must.” + </p> + <p> + So they rode through the King's Park, while Sir Richard's colts came + whinnying and staring round the intruders, and down through a rich + woodland lane five hundred feet into the valley, till they could hear the + brawling of the little trout-stream, and beyond, the everlasting thunder + of the ocean surf. + </p> + <p> + Down through warm woods, all fragrant with dying autumn flowers, leaving + far above the keen Atlantic breeze, into one of those delicious Western + combes, and so past the mill, and the little knot of flower-clad cottages. + In the window of one of them a light was still burning. The two young men + knew well whose window that was; and both hearts beat fast; for Rose + Salterne slept, or rather seemed to wake, in that chamber. + </p> + <p> + “Folks are late in Combe to-night,” said Amyas, as carelessly as he could. + </p> + <p> + Cary looked earnestly at the window, and then sharply enough at Amyas; but + Amyas was busy settling his stirrup; and Cary rode on, unconscious that + every fibre in his companion's huge frame was trembling like his own. + </p> + <p> + “Muggy and close down here,” said Amyas, who, in reality, was quite faint + with his own inward struggles. + </p> + <p> + “We shall be at Stow gate in five minutes,” said Cary, looking back and + down longingly as his horse climbed the opposite hill; but a turn of the + zigzag road hid the cottage, and the next thought was, how to effect an + entrance into Stow at three in the morning without being eaten by the + ban-dogs, who were already howling and growling at the sound of the + horse-hoofs. + </p> + <p> + However, they got safely in, after much knocking and calling, through the + postern gate in the high west wall, into a mansion, the description + whereof I must defer to the next chapter, seeing that the moon has already + sunk into the Atlantic, and there is darkness over land and sea. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard, in his long gown, was soon downstairs in the hall; the letter + read, and the story told; but ere it was half finished— + </p> + <p> + “Anthony, call up a groom, and let him bring me a horse round. Gentlemen, + if you will excuse me five minutes, I shall be at your service.” + </p> + <p> + “You will not go alone, Richard?” asked Lady Grenville, putting her + beautiful face in its nightcoif out of an adjoining door. + </p> + <p> + “Surely, sweet chuck, we three are enough to take two poor polecats of + Jesuits. Go in, and help me to boot and gird.” + </p> + <p> + In half an hour they were down and up across the valley again, under the + few low ashes clipt flat by the sea-breeze which stood round the lonely + gate of Chapel. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Cary, there is a back path across the downs to Marsland; go and guard + that.” Cary rode off; and Sir Richard, as he knocked loudly at the gate— + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Leigh, you see that I have consulted your honor, and that of your + poor uncle, by adventuring thus alone. What will you have me do now, which + may not be unfit for me and you?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sir!” said Amyas, with tears in his honest eyes, “you have shown + yourself once more what you always have been—my dear and beloved + master on earth, not second even to my admiral Sir Francis Drake.” + </p> + <p> + “Or the queen, I hope,” said Grenville, smiling, “but pocas palabras. What + will you do?” + </p> + <p> + “My wretched cousin, sir, may not have returned—and if I might watch + for him on the main road—unless you want me with you.” + </p> + <p> + “Richard Grenville can walk alone, lad. But what will you do with your + cousin?” + </p> + <p> + “Send him out of the country, never to return; or if he refuses, run him + through on the spot.” + </p> + <p> + “Go, lad.” And as he spoke, a sleepy voice asked inside the gate, “Who was + there?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Richard Grenville. Open, in the queen's name?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Richard? He is in bed, and be hanged to you. No honest folk come at + this hour of night.” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas!” shouted Sir Richard. Amyas rode back. + </p> + <p> + “Burst that gate for me, while I hold your horse.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas leaped down, took up a rock from the roadside, such as Homer's + heroes used to send at each other's heads, and in an instant the door was + flat on the ground, and the serving-man on his back inside, while Sir + Richard quietly entering over it, like Una into the hut, told the fellow + to get up and hold his horse for him (which the clod, who knew well enough + that terrible voice, did without further murmurs), and then strode + straight to the front door. It was already opened. The household had been + up and about all along, or the noise at the entry had aroused them. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard knocked, however, at the open door; and, to his astonishment, + his knock was answered by Mr. Leigh himself, fully dressed, and candle in + hand. + </p> + <p> + “Sir Richard Grenville! What, sir! is this neighborly, not to say gentle, + to break into my house in the dead of night?” + </p> + <p> + “I broke your outer door, sir, because I was refused entrance when I asked + in the queen's name. I knocked at your inner one, as I should have knocked + at the poorest cottager's in the parish, because I found it open. You have + two Jesuits here, sir! and here is the queen's warrant for apprehending + them. I have signed it with my own hand, and, moreover, serve it now, with + my own hand, in order to save you scandal—and it may be, worse. I + must have these men, Mr. Leigh.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Sir Richard—!” + </p> + <p> + “I must have them, or I must search the house; and you would not put + either yourself or me to so shameful a necessity?” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Sir Richard!—” + </p> + <p> + “Must I, then, ask you to stand back from your own doorway, my dear sir?” + said Grenville. And then changing his voice to that fearful lion's roar, + for which he was famous, and which it seemed impossible that lips so + delicate could utter, he thundered, “Knaves, behind there! Back!” + </p> + <p> + This was spoken to half-a-dozen grooms and serving-men, who, well armed, + were clustered in the passage. + </p> + <p> + “What? swords out, you sons of cliff rabbits?” And in a moment, Sir + Richard's long blade flashed out also, and putting Mr. Leigh gently aside, + as if he had been a child, he walked up to the party, who vanished right + and left; having expected a cur dog, in the shape of a parish constable, + and come upon a lion instead. They were stout fellows enough, no doubt, in + a fair fight: but they had no stomach to be hanged in a row at Launceston + Castle, after a preliminary running through the body by that redoubted + admiral and most unpeaceful justice of the peace. + </p> + <p> + “And now, my dear Mr. Leigh,” said Sir Richard, as blandly as ever, “where + are my men? The night is cold; and you, as well as I, need to be in our + beds.” + </p> + <p> + “The men, Sir Richard—the Jesuits—they are not here, indeed.” + </p> + <p> + “Not here, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “On the word of a gentleman, they left my house an hour ago. Believe me, + sir, they did. I will swear to you if you need.” + </p> + <p> + “I believe Mr. Leigh of Chapel's word without oaths. Whither are they + gone?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, sir—how can I tell? They are—they are, as I may say, + fled, sir; escaped.” + </p> + <p> + “With your connivance; at least with your son's. Where are they gone?” + </p> + <p> + “As I live, I do not know.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Leigh—is this possible? Can you add untruth to that treason + from the punishment of which I am trying to shield you?” + </p> + <p> + Poor Mr. Leigh burst into tears. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! my God! my God! is it come to this? Over and above having the fear + and anxiety of keeping these black rascals in my house, and having to stop + their villainous mouths every minute, for fear they should hang me and + themselves, I am to be called a traitor and a liar in my old age, and + that, too, by Richard Grenville! Would God I had never been born! Would + God I had no soul to be saved, and I'd just go and drown care in drink, + and let the queen and the Pope fight it out their own way!” And the poor + old man sank into a chair, and covered his face with his hands, and then + leaped up again. + </p> + <p> + “Bless my heart! Excuse me, Sir Richard—to sit down and leave you + standing. 'S life, sir, sorrow is making a hawbuck of me. Sit down, my + dear sir! my worshipful sir! or rather come with me into my room, and hear + a poor wretched man's story, for I swear before God the men are fled; and + my poor boy Eustace is not home either, and the groom tells me that his + devil of a cousin has broken his jaw for him; and his mother is all but + mad this hour past. Good lack! good lack!” + </p> + <p> + “He nearly murdered his angel of a cousin, sir!” said Sir Richard, + severely. + </p> + <p> + “What, sir? They never told me.” + </p> + <p> + “He had stabbed his cousin Frank three times, sir, before Amyas, who is as + noble a lad as walks God's earth, struck him down. And in defence of what, + forsooth, did he play the ruffian and the swashbuckler, but to bring home + to your house this letter, sir, which you shall hear at your leisure, the + moment I have taken order about your priests.” And walking out of the + house he went round and called to Cary to come to him. + </p> + <p> + “The birds are flown, Will,” whispered he. “There is but one chance for + us, and that is Marsland Mouth. If they are trying to take boat there, you + may be yet in time. If they are gone inland we can do nothing till we + raise the hue and cry to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + And Will galloped off over the downs toward Marsland, while Sir Richard + ceremoniously walked in again, and professed himself ready and happy to + have the honor of an audience in Mr. Leigh's private chamber. And as we + know pretty well already what was to be discussed therein, we had better + go over to Marsland Mouth, and, if possible, arrive there before Will + Cary: seeing that he arrived hot and swearing, half an hour too late. + </p> + <p> + Note.—I have shrunk somewhat from giving these and other sketches + (true and accurate as I believe them to be) of Ireland during Elizabeth's + reign, when the tyranny and lawlessness of the feudal chiefs had reduced + the island to such a state of weakness and barbarism, that it was + absolutely necessary for England either to crush the Norman-Irish + nobility, and organize some sort of law and order, or to leave Ireland an + easy prey to the Spaniards, or any other nation which should go to war + with us. The work was done—clumsily rather than cruelly; but wrongs + were inflicted, and avenged by fresh wrongs, and those by fresh again. May + the memory of them perish forever! It has been reserved for this age, and + for the liberal policy of this age, to see the last ebullitions of Celtic + excitability die out harmless and ashamed of itself, and to find that the + Irishman, when he is brought as a soldier under the regenerative influence + of law, discipline, self-respect, and loyalty, can prove himself a worthy + rival of the more stern Norse-Saxon warrior. God grant that the military + brotherhood between Irish and English, which is the special glory of the + present war, may be the germ of a brotherhood industrial, political, and + hereafter, perhaps, religious also; and that not merely the corpses of + heroes, but the feuds and wrongs which have parted them for centuries, may + lie buried, once and forever, in the noble graves of Alma and Inkerman. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI + </h2> + <h3> + THE COMBES OF THE FAR WEST + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Far, far from hence + The Adriatic breaks in a warm bay + Among the green Illyrian hills, and there + The sunshine in the happy glens is fair, + And by the sea and in the brakes + The grass is cool, the sea-side air + Buoyant and fresh, the mountain flowers + More virginal and sweet than ours.” + + MATTHEW ARNOLD. +</pre> + <p> + And even such are those delightful glens, which cut the high table-land of + the confines of Devon and Cornwall, and opening each through its gorge of + down and rock, towards the boundless Western Ocean. Each is like the + other, and each is like no other English scenery. Each has its upright + walls, inland of rich oak-wood, nearer the sea of dark green furze, then + of smooth turf, then of weird black cliffs which range out right and left + far into the deep sea, in castles, spires, and wings of jagged iron-stone. + Each has its narrow strip of fertile meadow, its crystal trout stream + winding across and across from one hill-foot to the other; its gray stone + mill, with the water sparkling and humming round the dripping wheel; its + dark, rock pools above the tide mark, where the salmon-trout gather in + from their Atlantic wanderings, after each autumn flood: its ridge of + blown sand, bright with golden trefoil and crimson lady's finger; its gray + bank of polished pebbles, down which the stream rattles toward the sea + below. Each has its black field of jagged shark's-tooth rock which paves + the cove from side to side, streaked with here and there a pink line of + shell sand, and laced with white foam from the eternal surge, stretching + in parallel lines out to the westward, in strata set upright on edge, or + tilted towards each other at strange angles by primeval earthquakes;—such + is the “mouth”—as those coves are called; and such the jaw of teeth + which they display, one rasp of which would grind abroad the timbers of + the stoutest ship. To landward, all richness, softness, and peace; to + seaward, a waste and howling wilderness of rock and roller, barren to the + fisherman, and hopeless to the shipwrecked mariner. + </p> + <p> + In only one of these “mouths” is a landing for boats, made possible by a + long sea-wall of rock, which protects it from the rollers of the Atlantic; + and that mouth is Marsland, the abode of the White Witch, Lucy Passmore; + whither, as Sir Richard Grenville rightly judged, the Jesuits were gone. + But before the Jesuits came, two other persons were standing on that + lonely beach, under the bright October moon, namely, Rose Salterne and the + White Witch herself; for Rose, fevered with curiosity and superstition, + and allured by the very wildness and possible danger of the spell, had + kept her appointment; and, a few minutes before midnight, stood on the + gray shingle beach with her counsellor. + </p> + <p> + “You be safe enough here to-night, miss. My old man is snoring sound abed, + and there's no other soul ever sets foot here o' nights, except it be the + mermaids now and then. Goodness, Father, where's our boat? It ought to be + up here on the pebbles.” + </p> + <p> + Rose pointed to a strip of sand some forty yards nearer the sea, where the + boat lay. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, the lazy old villain! he's been round the rocks after pollock this + evening, and never taken the trouble to hale the boat up. I'll trounce him + for it when I get home. I only hope he's made her fast where she is, + that's all! He's more plague to me than ever my money will be. O deary + me!” + </p> + <p> + And the goodwife bustled down toward the boat, with Rose behind her. + </p> + <p> + “Iss, 'tis fast, sure enough: and the oars aboard too! Well, I never! Oh, + the lazy thief, to leave they here to be stole! I'll just sit in the boat, + dear, and watch mun, while you go down to the say; for you must be all + alone to yourself, you know, or you'll see nothing. There's the + looking-glass; now go, and dip your head three times, and mind you don't + look to land or sea before you've said the words, and looked upon the + glass. Now, be quick, it's just upon midnight.” + </p> + <p> + And she coiled herself up in the boat, while Rose went faltering down the + strip of sand, some twenty yards farther, and there slipping off her + clothes, stood shivering and trembling for a moment before she entered the + sea. + </p> + <p> + She was between two walls of rock: that on her left hand, some twenty feet + high, hid her in deepest shade; that on her right, though much lower, took + the whole blaze of the midnight moon. Great festoons of live and purple + sea-weed hung from it, shading dark cracks and crevices, fit haunts for + all the goblins of the sea. On her left hand, the peaks of the rock + frowned down ghastly black; on her right hand, far aloft, the downs slept + bright and cold. + </p> + <p> + The breeze had died away; not even a roller broke the perfect stillness of + the cove. The gulls were all asleep upon the ledges. Over all was a true + autumn silence; a silence which may be heard. She stood awed, and listened + in hope of a sound which might tell her that any living thing beside + herself existed. + </p> + <p> + There was a faint bleat, as of a new-born lamb, high above her head; she + started and looked up. Then a wail from the cliffs, as of a child in pain, + answered by another from the opposite rocks. They were but the passing + snipe, and the otter calling to her brood; but to her they were + mysterious, supernatural goblins, come to answer to her call. + Nevertheless, they only quickened her expectation; and the witch had told + her not to fear them. If she performed the rite duly, nothing would harm + her: but she could hear the beating of her own heart, as she stepped, + mirror in hand, into the cold water, waded hastily, as far as she dare, + and then stopped aghast. + </p> + <p> + A ring of flame was round her waist; every limb was bathed in lambent + light; all the multitudinous life of the autumn sea, stirred by her + approach, had flashed suddenly into glory;— + </p> + <p> + “And around her the lamps of the sea nymphs, Myriad fiery globes, swam + heaving and panting, and rainbows, Crimson and azure and emerald, were + broken in star-showers, lighting Far through the wine-dark depths of the + crystal, the gardens of Nereus, Coral and sea-fan and tangle, the blooms + and the palms of the ocean.” + </p> + <p> + She could see every shell which crawled on the white sand at her feet, + every rock-fish which played in and out of the crannies, and stared at her + with its broad bright eyes; while the great palmate oarweeds which waved + along the chasm, half-seen in the glimmering water, seemed to beckon her + down with long brown hands to a grave amid their chilly bowers. She turned + to flee; but she had gone too far now to retreat; hastily dipping her head + three times, she hurried out to the sea-marge, and looking through her + dripping locks at the magic mirror, pronounced the incantation— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “A maiden pure, here I stand, + Neither on sea, nor yet on land; + Angels watch me on either hand. + If you be landsman, come down the strand; + If you be sailor, come up the sand; + If you be angel, come from the sky, + Look in my glass, and pass me by; + Look in my glass, and go from the shore; + Leave me, but love me for evermore.” + </pre> + <p> + The incantation was hardly finished, her eyes were straining into the + mirror, where, as may be supposed, nothing appeared but the sparkle of the + drops from her own tresses, when she heard rattling down the pebbles the + hasty feet of men and horses. + </p> + <p> + She darted into a cavern of the high rock, and hastily dressed herself: + the steps held on right to the boat. Peeping out, half-dead with terror, + she saw there four men, two of whom had just leaped from their horses, and + turning them adrift, began to help the other two in running the boat down. + </p> + <p> + Whereon, out of the stern sheets, arose, like an angry ghost, the portly + figure of Lucy Passmore, and shrieked in shrillest treble— + </p> + <p> + “Eh! ye villains, ye roogs, what do ye want staling poor folks' boats by + night like this?” + </p> + <p> + The whole party recoiled in terror, and one turned to run up the beach, + shouting at the top of his voice, “'Tis a marmaiden—a marmaiden + asleep in Willy Passmore's boat!” + </p> + <p> + “I wish it were any sich good luck,” she could hear Will say; “'tis my + wife, oh dear!” and he cowered down, expecting the hearty cuff which he + received duly, as the White Witch, leaping out of the boat, dared any man + to touch it, and thundered to her husband to go home to bed. + </p> + <p> + The wily dame, as Rose well guessed, was keeping up this delay chiefly to + gain time for her pupil: but she had also more solid reasons for making + the fight as hard as possible; for she, as well as Rose, had already + discerned in the ungainly figure of one of the party the same suspicious + Welsh gentleman, on whose calling she had divined long ago; and she was so + loyal a subject as to hold in extreme horror her husband's meddling with + such “Popish skulkers” (as she called the whole party roundly to their + face)—unless on consideration of a very handsome sum of money. In + vain Parsons thundered, Campian entreated, Mr. Leigh's groom swore, and + her husband danced round in an agony of mingled fear and covetousness. + </p> + <p> + “No,” she cried, “as I am an honest woman and loyal! This is why you left + the boat down to the shoore, you old traitor, you, is it? To help off sich + noxious trade as this out of the hands of her majesty's quorum and + rotulorum? Eh? Stand back, cowards! Will you strike a woman?” + </p> + <p> + This last speech (as usual) was merely indicative of her intention to + strike the men; for, getting out one of the oars, she swung it round and + round fiercely, and at last caught Father Parsons such a crack across the + shins, that he retreated with a howl. + </p> + <p> + “Lucy, Lucy!” shrieked her husband, in shrillest Devon falsetto, “be you + mazed? Be you mazed, lass? They promised me two gold nobles before I'd + lend them the boot!” + </p> + <p> + “Tu?” shrieked the matron, with a tone of ineffable scorn. “And do yu call + yourself a man?” + </p> + <p> + “Tu nobles! tu nobles!” shrieked he again, hopping about at oar's length. + </p> + <p> + “Tu? And would you sell your soul under ten?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, if that is it,” cried poor Campian, “give her ten, give her ten, + brother Pars—Morgans, I mean; and take care of your shins, Offa + Cerbero, you know—Oh, virago! Furens quid faemina possit! Certainly + she is some Lamia, some Gorgon, some—” + </p> + <p> + “Take that, for your Lamys and Gorgons to an honest woman!” and in a + moment poor Campian's thin legs were cut from under him, while the virago, + “mounting on his trunk astride,” like that more famous one on Hudibras, + cried, “Ten nobles, or I'll kep ye here till morning!” And the ten nobles + were paid into her hand. + </p> + <p> + And now the boat, its dragon guardian being pacified, was run down to the + sea, and close past the nook where poor little Rose was squeezing herself + into the farthest and darkest corner, among wet sea-weed and rough + barnacles, holding her breath as they approached. + </p> + <p> + They passed her, and the boat's keel was already in the water; Lucy had + followed them close, for reasons of her own, and perceiving close to the + water's edge a dark cavern, cunningly surmised that it contained Rose, and + planted her ample person right across its mouth, while she grumbled at her + husband, the strangers, and above all at Mr. Leigh's groom, to whom she + prophesied pretty plainly Launceston gaol and the gallows; while the + wretched serving-man, who would as soon have dared to leap off Welcombe + Cliff as to return railing for railing to the White Witch, in vain + entreated her mercy, and tried, by all possible dodging, to keep one of + the party between himself and her, lest her redoubted eye should + “overlook” him once more to his ruin. + </p> + <p> + But the night's adventures were not ended yet; for just as the boat was + launched, a faint halloo was heard upon the beach, and a minute after, a + horseman plunged down the pebbles, and along the sand, and pulling his + horse up on its haunches close to the terrified group, dropped, rather + than leaped, from the saddle. + </p> + <p> + The serving-man, though he dared not tackle a witch, knew well enough how + to deal with a swordsman; and drawing, sprang upon the newcomer, and then + recoiled— + </p> + <p> + “God forgive me, it's Mr. Eustace! Oh, dear sir, I took you for one of Sir + Richard's men! Oh, sir, you're hurt!” + </p> + <p> + “A scratch, a scratch!” almost moaned Eustace. “Help me into the boat, + Jack. Gentlemen, I must with you.” + </p> + <p> + “Not with us, surely, my dear son, vagabonds upon the face of the earth?” + said kind-hearted Campian. + </p> + <p> + “With you, forever. All is over here. Whither God and the cause lead”—and + he staggered toward the boat. + </p> + <p> + As he passed Rose, she saw his ghastly bleeding face, half bound up with a + handkerchief, which could not conceal the convulsions of rage, shame, and + despair, which twisted it from all its usual beauty. His eyes glared + wildly round—and once, right into the cavern. They met hers, so + full, and keen, and dreadful, that forgetting she was utterly invisible, + the terrified girl was on the point of shrieking aloud. + </p> + <p> + “He has overlooked me!” said she, shuddering to herself, as she + recollected his threat of yesterday. + </p> + <p> + “Who has wounded you?” asked Campian. + </p> + <p> + “My cousin—Amyas—and taken the letter!” + </p> + <p> + “The devil take him, then!” cried Parsons, stamping up and down upon the + sand in fury. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, curse him—you may! I dare not! He saved me—sent me here!”—and + with a groan, he made an effort to enter the boat. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my dear young gentleman,” cried Lucy Passmore, her woman's heart + bursting out at the sight of pain, “you must not goo forth with a grane + wound like to that. Do ye let me just bind mun up—do ye now!” and + she advanced. + </p> + <p> + Eustace thrust her back. + </p> + <p> + “No! better bear it, I deserve it—devils! I deserve it! On board, or + we shall all be lost—William Cary is close behind me!” + </p> + <p> + And at that news the boat was thrust into the sea, faster than ever it + went before, and only in time; for it was but just round the rocks, and + out of sight, when the rattle of Cary's horsehoofs was heard above. + </p> + <p> + “That rascal of Mr. Leigh's will catch it now, the Popish villain!” said + Lucy Passmore, aloud. “You lie still there, dear life, and settle your + sperrits; you'm so safe as ever was rabbit to burrow. I'll see what + happens, if I die for it!” And so saying, she squeezed herself up through + a cleft to a higher ledge, from whence she could see what passed in the + valley. + </p> + <p> + “There mun is! in the meadow, trying to catch the horses! There comes Mr. + Cary! Goodness, Father, how a rid'th! he's over wall already! Ron, Jack! + ron then! A'll get to the river! No, a wain't! Goodness, Father! There's + Mr. Cary cotched mun! A's down, a's down!” + </p> + <p> + “Is he dead?” asked Rose, shuddering. + </p> + <p> + “Iss, fegs, dead as nits! and Mr. Cary off his horse, standing overthwart + mun! No, a bain't! A's up now. Suspose he was hit wi' the flat. Whatever + is Mr. Cary tu? Telling wi' mun, a bit. Oh dear, dear, dear!” + </p> + <p> + “Has he killed him?” cried poor Rose. + </p> + <p> + “No, fegs, no! kecking mun, kecking mun, so hard as ever was futeball! + Goodness, Father, who did ever? If a haven't kecked mun right into river, + and got on mun's horse and rod away!” + </p> + <p> + And so saying, down she came again. + </p> + <p> + “And now then, my dear life, us be better to goo hoom and get you sommat + warm. You'm mortal cold, I rackon, by now. I was cruel fear'd for ye: but + I kept mun off clever, didn't I, now?” + </p> + <p> + “I wish—I wish I had not seen Mr. Leigh's face!” + </p> + <p> + “Iss, dreadful, weren't it, poor young soul; a sad night for his poor + mother!” + </p> + <p> + “Lucy, I can't get his face out of my mind. I'm sure he overlooked me.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh then! who ever heard the like o' that? When young gentlemen do + overlook young ladies, tain't thikketheor aways, I knoo. Never you think + on it.” + </p> + <p> + “But I can't help thinking of it,” said Rose. “Stop. Shall we go home yet? + Where's that servant?” + </p> + <p> + “Never mind, he wain't see us, here under the hill. I'd much sooner to + know where my old man was. I've a sort of a forecasting in my inwards, + like, as I always has when aught's gwain to happen, as though I shuldn't + zee mun again, like, I have, miss. Well—he was a bedient old soul, + after all, he was. Goodness, Father! and all this while us have forgot the + very thing us come about! Who did you see?” + </p> + <p> + “Only that face!” said Rose, shuddering. + </p> + <p> + “Not in the glass, maid? Say then, not in the glass?” + </p> + <p> + “Would to heaven it had been! Lucy, what if he were the man I was fated to—” + </p> + <p> + “He? Why, he's a praste, a Popish praste, that can't marry if he would, + poor wratch.” + </p> + <p> + “He is none; and I have cause enough to know it!” And, for want of a + better confidant, Rose poured into the willing ears of her companion the + whole story of yesterday's meeting. + </p> + <p> + “He's a pretty wooer!” said Lucy at last, contemptuously. “Be a brave + maid, then, be a brave maid, and never terrify yourself with his unlucky + face. It's because there was none here worthy of ye, that ye seed none in + glass. Maybe he's to be a foreigner, from over seas, and that's why his + sperit was so long a coming. A duke, or a prince to the least, I'll + warrant, he'll be, that carries off the Rose of Bideford.” + </p> + <p> + But in spite of all the good dame's flattery, Rose could not wipe that + fierce face away from her eyeballs. She reached home safely, and crept to + bed undiscovered: and when the next morning, as was to be expected, found + her laid up with something very like a fever, from excitement, terror, and + cold, the phantom grew stronger and stronger before her, and it required + all her woman's tact and self-restraint to avoid betraying by her + exclamations what had happened on that fantastic night. After a + fortnight's weakness, however, she recovered and went back to Bideford: + but ere she arrived there, Amyas was far across the seas on his way to + Milford Haven, as shall be told in the ensuing chapters. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII + </h2> + <h3> + THE TRUE AND TRAGICAL HISTORY OF MR. JOHN OXENHAM OF PLYMOUTH + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew; + The furrow follow'd free; + We were the first that ever burst + Into that silent sea.” + + The Ancient Mariner. +</pre> + <p> + It was too late and too dark last night to see the old house at Stow. We + will look round us, then, this bright October day, while Sir Richard and + Amyas, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, are pacing up and down the + terraced garden to the south. Amyas has slept till luncheon, i. e. till an + hour ago: but Sir Richard, in spite of the bustle of last night, was up + and in the valley by six o'clock, recreating the valiant souls of himself + and two terrier dogs by the chase of sundry badgers. + </p> + <p> + Old Stow House stands, or rather stood, some four miles beyond the Cornish + border, on the northern slope of the largest and loveliest of those combes + of which I spoke in the last chapter. Eighty years after Sir Richard's + time there arose there a huge Palladian pile, bedizened with every + monstrosity of bad taste, which was built, so the story runs, by Charles + the Second, for Sir Richard's great-grandson, the heir of that famous Sir + Bevil who defeated the Parliamentary troops at Stratton, and died soon + after, fighting valiantly at Lansdowne over Bath. But, like most other + things which owed their existence to the Stuarts, it rose only to fall + again. An old man who had seen, as a boy, the foundation of the new house + laid, lived to see it pulled down again, and the very bricks and timber + sold upon the spot; and since then the stables have become a farm-house, + the tennis-court a sheep-cote, the great quadrangle a rick-yard; and + civilization, spreading wave on wave so fast elsewhere, has surged back + from that lonely corner of the land—let us hope, only for a while. + </p> + <p> + But I am not writing of that great new Stow House, of the past glories + whereof quaint pictures still hang in the neighboring houses; nor of that + famed Sir Bevil, most beautiful and gallant of his generation, on whom, + with his grandfather Sir Richard, old Prince has his pompous epigram— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Where next shall famous Grenvil's ashes stand? + Thy grandsire fills the sea, and thou the land.” + </pre> + <p> + I have to deal with a simpler age, and a sterner generation; and with the + old house, which had stood there, in part at least, from gray and mythic + ages, when the first Sir Richard, son of Hamon Dentatus, Lord of Carboyle, + the grandson of Duke Robert, son of Rou, settled at Bideford, after + slaying the Prince of South-Galis, and the Lord of Glamorgan, and gave to + the Cistercian monks of Neath all his conquests in South Wales. It was a + huge rambling building, half castle, half dwelling-house, such as may be + seen still (almost an unique specimen) in Compton Castle near Torquay, the + dwelling-place of Humphrey Gilbert, Walter Raleigh's half-brother, and + Richard Grenville's bosom friend, of whom more hereafter. On three sides, + to the north, west, and south, the lofty walls of the old ballium still + stood, with their machicolated turrets, loopholes, and dark downward + crannies for dropping stones and fire on the besiegers, the relics of a + more unsettled age: but the southern court of the ballium had become a + flower-garden, with quaint terraces, statues, knots of flowers, clipped + yews and hollies, and all the pedantries of the topiarian art. And toward + the east, where the vista of the valley opened, the old walls were gone, + and the frowning Norman keep, ruined in the Wars of the Roses, had been + replaced by the rich and stately architecture of the Tudors. Altogether, + the house, like the time, was in a transitionary state, and represented + faithfully enough the passage of the old middle age into the new life + which had just burst into blossom throughout Europe, never, let us pray, + to see its autumn or its winter. + </p> + <p> + From the house on three sides, the hill sloped steeply down, and the + garden where Sir Richard and Amyas were walking gave a truly English + prospect. At one turn they could catch, over the western walls, a glimpse + of the blue ocean flecked with passing sails; and at the next, spread far + below them, range on range of fertile park, stately avenue, yellow autumn + woodland, and purple heather moors, lapping over and over each other up + the valley to the old British earthwork, which stood black and furze-grown + on its conical peak; and standing out against the sky on the highest bank + of hill which closed the valley to the east, the lofty tower of + Kilkhampton church, rich with the monuments and offerings of five + centuries of Grenvilles. A yellow eastern haze hung soft over park, and + wood, and moor; the red cattle lowed to each other as they stood brushing + away the flies in the rivulet far below; the colts in the horse-park close + on their right whinnied as they played together, and their sires from the + Queen's Park, on the opposite hill, answered them in fuller though fainter + voices. A rutting stag made the still woodland rattle with his hoarse + thunder, and a rival far up the valley gave back a trumpet note of + defiance, and was himself defied from heathery brows which quivered far + away above, half seen through the veil of eastern mist. And close at home, + upon the terrace before the house, amid romping spaniels and golden-haired + children, sat Lady Grenville herself, the beautiful St. Leger of Annery, + the central jewel of all that glorious place, and looked down at her noble + children, and then up at her more noble husband, and round at that broad + paradise of the West, till life seemed too full of happiness, and heaven + of light. + </p> + <p> + And all the while up and down paced Amyas and Sir Richard, talking long, + earnestly, and slow; for they both knew that the turning point of the + boy's life was come. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said Sir Richard, after Amyas, in his blunt simple way, had told + him the whole story about Rose Salterne and his brother,—“yes, sweet + lad, thou hast chosen the better part, thou and thy brother also, and it + shall not be taken from you. Only be strong, lad, and trust in God that He + will make a man of you.” + </p> + <p> + “I do trust,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Thank God,” said Sir Richard, “that you have yourself taken from my heart + that which was my great anxiety for you, from the day that your good + father, who sleeps in peace, committed you to my hands. For all best + things, Amyas, become, when misused, the very worst; and the love of + woman, because it is able to lift man's soul to the heavens, is also able + to drag him down to hell. But you have learnt better, Amyas; and know, + with our old German forefathers, that, as Tacitus saith, Sera juvenum + Venus, ideoque inexhausta pubertas. And not only that, Amyas; but trust + me, that silly fashion of the French and Italians, to be hanging ever at + some woman's apron string, so that no boy shall count himself a man unless + he can vagghezziare le donne, whether maids or wives, alas! matters + little; that fashion, I say, is little less hurtful to the soul than open + sin; for by it are bred vanity and expense, envy and heart-burning, yea, + hatred and murder often; and even if that be escaped, yet the rich + treasure of a manly worship, which should be kept for one alone, is + squandered and parted upon many, and the bride at last comes in for + nothing but the very last leavings and caput mortuum of her bridegroom's + heart, and becomes a mere ornament for his table, and a means whereby he + may obtain a progeny. May God, who has saved me from that death in life, + save you also!” And as he spoke, he looked down toward his wife upon the + terrace below; and she, as if guessing instinctively that he was talking + of her, looked up with so sweet a smile, that Sir Richard's stern face + melted into a very glory of spiritual sunshine. + </p> + <p> + Amyas looked at them both and sighed; and then turning the conversation + suddenly— + </p> + <p> + “And I may go to Ireland to-morrow?” + </p> + <p> + “You shall sail in the 'Mary' for Milford Haven, with these letters to + Winter. If the wind serves, you may bid the master drop down the river + tonight, and be off; for we must lose no time.” + </p> + <p> + “Winter?” said Amyas. “He is no friend of mine, since he left Drake and us + so cowardly at the Straits of Magellan.” + </p> + <p> + “Duty must not wait for private quarrels, even though they be just ones, + lad: but he will not be your general. When you come to the marshal, or the + Lord Deputy, give either of them this letter, and they will set you work,—and + hard work too, I warrant. + </p> + <p> + “I want nothing better.” + </p> + <p> + “Right, lad; the best reward for having wrought well already, is to have + more to do; and he that has been faithful over a few things, must find his + account in being made ruler over many things. That is the true and + heroical rest, which only is worthy of gentlemen and sons of God. As for + those who, either in this world or the world to come, look for idleness, + and hope that God shall feed them with pleasant things, as it were with a + spoon, Amyas, I count them cowards and base, even though they call + themselves saints and elect.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish you could persuade my poor cousin of that.” + </p> + <p> + “He has yet to learn what losing his life to save it means, Amyas. Bad men + have taught him (and I fear these Anabaptists and Puritans at home teach + little else), that it is the one great business of every one to save his + own soul after he dies; every one for himself; and that that, and not + divine self-sacrifice, is the one thing needful, and the better part which + Mary chose.” + </p> + <p> + “I think men are inclined enough already to be selfish, without being + taught that.” + </p> + <p> + “Right, lad. For me, if I could hang up such a teacher on high as an enemy + of mankind, and a corrupter of youth, I would do it gladly. Is there not + cowardice and self-seeking enough about the hearts of us fallen sons of + Adam, that these false prophets, with their baits of heaven, and their + terrors of hell, must exalt our dirtiest vices into heavenly virtues and + the means of bliss? Farewell to chivalry and to desperate valor, farewell + to patriotism and loyalty, farewell to England and to the manhood of + England, if once it shall become the fashion of our preachers to bid every + man, as the Jesuits do, take care first of what they call the safety of + his soul. Every man will be afraid to die at his post, because he will be + afraid that he is not fit to die. Amyas, do thou do thy duty like a man, + to thy country, thy queen, and thy God; and count thy life a worthless + thing, as did the holy men of old. Do thy work, lad; and leave thy soul to + the care of Him who is just and merciful in this, that He rewards every + man according to his work. Is there respect of persons with God? Now come + in, and take the letters, and to horse. And if I hear of thee dead there + at Smerwick fort, with all thy wounds in front, I shall weep for thy + mother, lad; but I shall have never a sigh for thee.” + </p> + <p> + If any one shall be startled at hearing a fine gentleman and a warrior + like Sir Richard quote Scripture, and think Scripture also, they must be + referred to the writings of the time; which they may read not without + profit to themselves, if they discover therefrom how it was possible then + for men of the world to be thoroughly ingrained with the Gospel, and yet + to be free from any taint of superstitious fear, or false devoutness. The + religion of those days was such as no soldier need have been ashamed of + confessing. At least, Sir Richard died as he lived, without a shudder, and + without a whine; and these were his last words, fifteen years after that, + as he lay shot through and through, a captive among Popish Spaniards, + priests, crucifixes, confession, extreme unction, and all other means and + appliances for delivering men out of the hands of a God of love:— + </p> + <p> + “Here die I, Richard Grenville, with a joyful and quiet mind; for that I + have ended my life as a true soldier ought, fighting for his country, + queen, religion, and honor: my soul willingly departing from this body, + leaving behind the lasting fame of having behaved as every valiant soldier + is in his duty bound to do.” + </p> + <p> + Those were the last words of Richard Grenville. The pulpits of those days + had taught them to him. + </p> + <p> + But to return. That day's events were not over yet. For, when they went + down into the house, the first person whom they met was the old steward, + in search of his master. + </p> + <p> + “There is a manner of roog, Sir Richard, a masterless man, at the door; a + very forward fellow, and must needs speak with you.” + </p> + <p> + “A masterless man? He had better not to speak to me, unless he is in love + with gaol and gallows.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, your worship,” said the steward, “I expect that is what he does + want, for he swears he will not leave the gate till he has seen you.” + </p> + <p> + “Seen me? Halidame! he shall see me, here and at Launceston too, if he + likes. Bring him in.” + </p> + <p> + “Fegs, Sir Richard, we are half afeard. With your good leave—” + </p> + <p> + “Hillo, Tony,” cried Amyas, “who was ever afeard yet with Sir Richard's + good leave?” + </p> + <p> + “What, has the fellow a tail or horns?” + </p> + <p> + “Massy no: but I be afeard of treason for your honor; for the fellow is + pinked all over in heathen patterns, and as brown as a filbert; and a tall + roog, a very strong roog, sir, and a foreigner too, and a mighty staff + with him. I expect him to be a manner of Jesuit, or wild Irish, sir; and + indeed the grooms have no stomach to handle him, nor the dogs neither, or + he had been under the pump before now, for they that saw him coming up the + hill swear that he had fire coming out of his mouth.” + </p> + <p> + “Fire out of his mouth?” said Sir Richard. “The men are drunk.” + </p> + <p> + “Pinked all over? He must be a sailor,” said Amyas; “let me out and see + the fellow, and if he needs putting forth—” + </p> + <p> + “Why, I dare say he is not so big but what he will go into thy pocket. So + go, lad, while I finish my writing.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas went out, and at the back door, leaning on his staff, stood a tall, + raw-boned, ragged man, “pinked all over,” as the steward had said. + </p> + <p> + “Hillo, lad!” quoth Amyas. “Before we come to talk, thou wilt please to + lay down that Plymouth cloak of thine.” And he pointed to the cudgel, + which among West-country mariners usually bore that name. + </p> + <p> + “I'll warrant,” said the old steward, “that where he found his cloak he + found purse not far off.” + </p> + <p> + “But not hose or doublet; so the magical virtue of his staff has not + helped him much. But put down thy staff, man, and speak like a Christian, + if thou be one.” + </p> + <p> + “I am a Christian, though I look like a heathen; and no rogue, though a + masterless man, alas! But I want nothing, deserving nothing, and only ask + to speak with Sir Richard, before I go on my way.” + </p> + <p> + There was something stately and yet humble about the man's tone and manner + which attracted Amyas, and he asked more gently where he was going and + whence he came. + </p> + <p> + “From Padstow Port, sir, to Clovelly town, to see my old mother, if indeed + she be yet alive, which God knoweth.” + </p> + <p> + “Clovally man! why didn't thee say thee was Clovally man?” asked all the + grooms at once, to whom a West-countryman was of course a brother. The old + steward asked— + </p> + <p> + “What's thy mother's name, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Susan Yeo.” + </p> + <p> + “What, that lived under the archway?” asked a groom. + </p> + <p> + “Lived?” said the man. + </p> + <p> + “Iss, sure; her died three days since, so we heard, poor soul.” + </p> + <p> + The man stood quite silent and unmoved for a minute or two; and then said + quietly to himself, in Spanish, “That which is, is best.” + </p> + <p> + “You speak Spanish?” asked Amyas, more and more interested. + </p> + <p> + “I had need to do so, young sir; I have been five years in the Spanish + Main, and only set foot on shore two days ago; and if you will let me have + speech of Sir Richard, I will tell him that at which both the ears of him + that heareth it shall tingle; and if not, I can but go on to Mr. Cary of + Clovelly, if he be yet alive, and there disburden my soul; but I would + sooner have spoken with one that is a mariner like to myself.” + </p> + <p> + “And you shall,” said Amyas. “Steward, we will have this man in; for all + his rags, he is a man of wit.” And he led him in. + </p> + <p> + “I only hope he ben't one of those Popish murderers,” said the old + steward, keeping at a safe distance from him as they entered the hall. + </p> + <p> + “Popish, old master? There's little fear of my being that. Look here!” And + drawing back his rags, he showed a ghastly scar, which encircled his wrist + and wound round and up his fore-arm. + </p> + <p> + “I got that on the rack,” said he, quietly, “in the Inquisition at Lima.” + </p> + <p> + “O Father! Father! why didn't you tell us that you were a poor Christian?” + asked the penitent steward. + </p> + <p> + “Because I have had naught but my deserts; and but a taste of them either, + as the Lord knoweth who delivered me; and I wasn't going to make myself a + beggar and a show on their account.” + </p> + <p> + “By heaven, you are a brave fellow!” said Amyas. “Come along straight to + Sir Richard's room.” + </p> + <p> + So in they went, where Sir Richard sat in his library among books, + despatches, state-papers, and warrants; for though he was not yet, as in + after times (after the fashion of those days) admiral, general, member of + parliament, privy councillor, justice of the peace, and so forth, all at + once, yet there were few great men with whom he did not correspond, or + great matters with which he was not cognizant. + </p> + <p> + “Hillo, Amyas, have you bound the wild man already, and brought him in to + swear allegiance?” + </p> + <p> + But before Amyas could answer, the man looked earnestly on him—“Amyas?” + said he; “is that your name, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas Leigh is my name, at your service, good fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “Of Burrough by Bideford?” + </p> + <p> + “Why then? What do you know of me?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh sir, sir! young brains and happy ones have short memories; but old and + sad brains too long ones often! Do you mind one that was with Mr. Oxenham, + sir? A swearing reprobate he was, God forgive him, and hath forgiven him + too, for His dear Son's sake—one, sir, that gave you a horn, a toy + with a chart on it?” + </p> + <p> + “Soul alive!” cried Amyas, catching him by the hand; “and are you he? The + horn? why, I have it still, and will keep it to my dying day, too. But + where is Mr. Oxenham?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, my good fellow, where is Mr. Oxenham?” asked Sir Richard, rising. + “You are somewhat over-hasty in welcoming your old acquaintance, Amyas, + before we have heard from him whether he can give honest account of + himself and of his captain. For there is more than one way by which + sailors may come home without their captains, as poor Mr. Barker of + Bristol found to his cost. God grant that there may have been no such + traitorous dealing here.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Richard Grenville, if I had been a guilty man to my noble captain, as + I have to God, I had not come here this day to you, from whom villainy has + never found favor, nor ever will; for I know your conditions well, sir; + and trust in the Lord, that if you will be pleased to hear me, you shall + know mine.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a well-spoken knave. We shall see.” + </p> + <p> + “My dear sir,” said Amyas, in a whisper, “I will warrant this man + guiltless.” + </p> + <p> + “I verily believe him to be; but this is too serious a matter to be left + on guess. If he will be sworn—” + </p> + <p> + Whereon the man, humbly enough, said, that if it would please Sir Richard, + he would rather not be sworn. + </p> + <p> + “But it does not please me, rascal! Did I not warn thee, Amyas?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said the man, proudly, “God forbid that my word should not be as + good as my oath: but it is against my conscience to be sworn.” + </p> + <p> + “What have we here? some fantastical Anabaptist, who is wiser than his + teachers.” + </p> + <p> + “My conscience, sir—” + </p> + <p> + “The devil take it and thee! I never heard a man yet begin to prate of his + conscience, but I knew that he was about to do something more than + ordinarily cruel or false.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said the man, coolly enough, “do you sit here to judge me according + to law, and yet contrary to the law swear profane oaths, for which a fine + is provided?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas expected an explosion: but Sir Richard pulled a shilling out and put + it on the table. “There—my fine is paid, sirrah, to the poor of + Kilkhampton: but hearken thou all the same. If thou wilt not speak an + oath, thou shalt speak on compulsion; for to Launceston gaol thou goest, + there to answer for Mr. Oxenham's death, on suspicion whereof, and of + mutiny causing it, I will attach thee and every soul of his crew that + comes home. We have lost too many gallant captains of late by treachery of + their crews, and he that will not clear himself on oath, must be held for + guilty, and self-condemned.” + </p> + <p> + “My good fellow,” said Amyas, who could not give up his belief in the + man's honesty, “why, for such fantastical scruples, peril not only your + life, but your honor, and Mr. Oxenham's also? For if you be examined by + question, you may be forced by torment to say that which is not true.” + </p> + <p> + “Little fear of that, young sir!” answered he, with a grim smile; “I have + had too much of the rack already, and the strappado too, to care much what + man can do unto me. I would heartily that I thought it lawful to be sworn: + but not so thinking, I can but submit to the cruelty of man; though I did + expect more merciful things, as a most miserable and wrecked mariner, at + the hands of one who hath himself seen God's ways in the sea, and His + wonders in the great deep. Sir Richard Grenville, if you will hear my + story, may God avenge on my head all my sins from my youth up until now, + and cut me off from the blood of Christ, and, if it were possible, from + the number of His elect, if I tell you one whit more or less than truth; + and if not, I commend myself into the hands of God.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard smiled. “Well, thou art a brave ass, and valiant, though an + ass manifest. Dost thou not see, fellow, how thou hast sworn a ten-times + bigger oath than ever I should have asked of thee? But this is the way + with your Anabaptists, who by their very hatred of forms and ceremonies, + show of how much account they think them, and then bind themselves out of + their own fantastical self-will with far heavier burdens than ever the + lawful authorities have laid on them for the sake of the commonweal. But + what do they care for the commonweal, as long as they can save, as they + fancy, each man his own dirty soul for himself? However, thou art sworn + now with a vengeance; go on with thy tale: and first, who art thou, and + whence?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir,” said the man, quite unmoved by this last explosion; “my name + is Salvation Yeo, born in Clovelly Street, in the year 1526, where my + father exercised the mystery of a barber surgeon, and a preacher of the + people since called Anabaptists, for which I return humble thanks to God.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—Fie! thou naughty knave; return thanks that thy father + was an ass? + </p> + <p> + Yeo.—Nay, but because he was a barber surgeon; for I myself learnt a + touch of that trade, and thereby saved my life, as I will tell presently. + And I do think that a good mariner ought to have all knowledge of carnal + and worldly cunning, even to tailoring and shoemaking, that he may be able + to turn his hand to whatsoever may hap. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—Well spoken, fellow: but let us have thy text without + thy comments. Forwards! + </p> + <p> + Yeo.—Well, sir. I was bred to the sea from my youth, and was with + Captain Hawkins in his three voyages, which he made to Guinea for negro + slaves, and thence to the West Indies. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—Then thrice thou wentest to a bad end, though Captain + Hawkins be my good friend; and the last time to a bad end thou camest. + </p> + <p> + Yeo.—No denying that last, your worship: but as for the former, I + doubt—about the unlawfulness, I mean; being the negroes are of the + children of Ham, who are cursed and reprobate, as Scripture declares, and + their blackness testifies, being Satan's own livery; among whom therefore + there can be none of the elect, wherefore the elect are not required to + treat them as brethren. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—What a plague of a pragmatical sea-lawyer have we here? + And I doubt not, thou hypocrite, that though thou wilt call the negroes' + black skin Satan's livery, when it serves thy turn to steal them, thou + wilt find out sables to be Heaven's livery every Sunday, and up with a + godly howl unless a parson shall preach in a black gown, Geneva fashion. + Out upon thee! Go on with thy tale, lest thou finish thy sermon at + Launceston after all. + </p> + <p> + Yeo.—The Lord's people were always a reviled people and a persecuted + people: but I will go forward, sir; for Heaven forbid but that I should + declare what God has done for me. For till lately, from my youth up, I was + given over to all wretchlessness and unclean living, and was by nature a + child of the devil, and to every good work reprobate, even as others. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—Hark to his “even as others”! Thou new-whelped + Pharisee, canst not confess thine own villainies without making out others + as bad as thyself, and so thyself no worse than others? I only hope that + thou hast shown none of thy devil's doings to Mr. Oxenham. + </p> + <p> + Yeo.—On the word of a Christian man, sir, as I said before, I kept + true faith with him, and would have been a better friend to him, sir, what + is more, than ever he was to himself. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—Alas! that might easily be. + </p> + <p> + Yeo.—I think, sir, and will make good against any man, that Mr. + Oxenham was a noble and valiant gentleman; true of his word, stout of his + sword, skilful by sea and land, and worthy to have been Lord High Admiral + of England (saving your worship's presence), but that through two great + sins, wrath and avarice, he was cast away miserably or ever his soul was + brought to the knowledge of the truth. Ah, sir, he was a captain worth + sailing under! + </p> + <p> + And Yeo heaved a deep sigh. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard.—Steady, steady, good fellow! If thou wouldst quit + preaching, thou art no fool after all. But tell us the story without more + bush-beating. + </p> + <p> + So at last Yeo settled himself to his tale:— + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, I went, as Mr. Leigh knows, to Nombre de Dios, with Mr. Drake + and Mr. Oxenham, in 1572, where what we saw and did, your worship, I + suppose, knows as well as I; and there was, as you've heard maybe, a + covenant between Mr. Oxenham and Mr. Drake to sail the South Seas + together, which they made, your worship, in my hearing, under the tree + over Panama. For when Mr. Drake came down from the tree, after seeing the + sea afar off, Mr. Oxenham and I went up and saw it too; and when we came + down, Drake says, 'John, I have made a vow to God that I will sail that + water, if I live and God gives me grace;' which he had done, sir, upon his + bended knees, like a godly man as he always was, and would I had taken + after him! and Mr. O. says, 'I am with you, Drake, to live or die, and I + think I know some one there already, so we shall not be quite among + strangers;' and laughed withal. Well, sirs, that voyage, as you know, + never came off, because Captain Drake was fighting in Ireland; so Mr. + Oxenham, who must be up and doing, sailed for himself, and I, who loved + him, God knows, like a brother (saving the difference in our ranks), + helped him to get the crew together, and went as his gunner. That was in + 1575; as you know, he had a 140-ton ship, sir, and seventy men out of + Plymouth and Fowey and Dartmouth, and many of them old hands of Drake's, + beside a dozen or so from Bideford that I picked up when I saw young + Master here.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank God that you did not pick me up too.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen, amen!” said Yeo, clasping his hands on his breast. “Those seventy + men, sir,—seventy gallant men, sir, with every one of them an + immortal soul within him,—where are they now? Gone, like the spray!” + And he swept his hands abroad with a wild and solemn gesture. “And their + blood is upon my head!” + </p> + <p> + Both Sir Richard and Amyas began to suspect that the man's brain was not + altogether sound. + </p> + <p> + “God forbid, my man,” said the knight, kindly. + </p> + <p> + “Thirteen men I persuaded to join in Bideford town, beside William + Penberthy of Marazion, my good comrade. And what if it be said to me at + the day of judgment, 'Salvation Yeo, where are those fourteen whom thou + didst tempt to their deaths by covetousness and lust of gold?' Not that I + was alone in my sin, if the truth must be told. For all the way out Mr. + Oxenham was making loud speech, after his pleasant way, that he would make + all their fortunes, and take them to such a Paradise, that they should + have no lust to come home again. And I—God knows why—for every + one boast of his would make two, even to lying and empty fables, and + anything to keep up the men's hearts. For I had really persuaded myself + that we should all find treasures beyond Solomon his temple, and Mr. + Oxenham would surely show us how to conquer some golden city or discover + some island all made of precious stones. And one day, as the captain and I + were talking after our fashion, I said, 'And you shall be our king, + captain.' To which he, 'If I be, I shall not be long without a queen, and + that no Indian one either.' And after that he often jested about the + Spanish ladies, saying that none could show us the way to their hearts + better than he. Which speeches I took no count of then, sirs: but after I + minded them, whether I would or not. Well, sirs, we came to the shore of + New Spain, near to the old place—that's Nombre de Dios; and there + Mr. Oxenham went ashore into the woods with a boat's crew, to find the + negroes who helped us three years before. Those are the Cimaroons, + gentles, negro slaves who have fled from those devils incarnate, their + Spanish masters, and live wild, like the beasts that perish; men of great + stature, sirs, and fierce as wolves in the onslaught, but poor jabbering + mazed fellows if they be but a bit dismayed: and have many Indian women + with them, who take to these negroes a deal better than to their own kin, + which breeds war enough, as you may guess. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, after three days the captain comes back, looking heavy + enough, and says, 'We played our trick once too often, when we played it + once. There is no chance of stopping another reco (that is, a mule-train, + sirs) now. The Cimaroons say that since our last visit they never move + without plenty of soldiers, two hundred shot at least. Therefore,' he + said, 'my gallants, we must either return empty-handed from this, the very + market and treasury of the whole Indies, or do such a deed as men never + did before, which I shall like all the better for that very reason.' And + we, asking his meaning, 'Why,' he said, 'if Drake will not sail the South + Seas, we will;' adding profanely that Drake was like Moses, who beheld the + promised land afar; but he was Joshua, who would enter into it, and smite + the inhabitants thereof. And, for our confirmation, showed me and the rest + the superscription of a letter: and said, 'How I came by this is none of + your business: but I have had it in my bosom ever since I left Plymouth; + and I tell you now, what I forbore to tell you at first, that the South + Seas have been my mark all along! such news have I herein of plate-ships, + and gold-ships, and what not, which will come up from Quito and Lima this + very month, all which, with the pearls of the Gulf of Panama, and other + wealth unspeakable, will be ours, if we have but true English hearts + within us.' + </p> + <p> + “At which, gentles, we were like madmen for lust of that gold, and + cheerfully undertook a toil incredible; for first we run our ship aground + in a great wood which grew in the very sea itself, and then took out her + masts, and covered her in boughs, with her four cast pieces of great + ordnance (of which more hereafter), and leaving no man in her, started for + the South Seas across the neck of Panama, with two small pieces of + ordnance and our culverins, and good store of victuals, and with us six of + those negroes for a guide, and so twelve leagues to a river which runs + into the South Sea. + </p> + <p> + “And there, having cut wood, we made a pinnace (and work enough we had at + it) of five-and-forty foot in the keel; and in her down the stream, and to + the Isle of Pearls in the Gulf of Panama.” + </p> + <p> + “Into the South Sea? Impossible!” said Sir Richard. “Have a care what you + say, my man; for there is that about you which would make me sorry to find + you out a liar.” + </p> + <p> + “Impossible or not, liar or none, we went there, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Question him, Amyas, lest he turn out to have been beforehand with you.” + </p> + <p> + The man looked inquiringly at Amyas, who said— + </p> + <p> + “Well, my man, of the Gulf of Panama I cannot ask you, for I never was + inside it, but what other parts of the coast do you know?” + </p> + <p> + “Every inch, sir, from Cabo San Francisco to Lima; more is my sorrow, for + I was a galley-slave there for two years and more.” + </p> + <p> + “You know Lima?” + </p> + <p> + “I was there three times, worshipful gentlemen, and the last was February + come two years; and there I helped lade a great plate-ship, the + Cacafuogo,' they called her.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas started. Sir Richard nodded to him gently to be silent, and then— + </p> + <p> + “And what became of her, my lad?” + </p> + <p> + “God knows, who knows all, and the devil who freighted her. I broke prison + six weeks afterwards, and never heard but that she got safe into Panama.” + </p> + <p> + “You never heard, then, that she was taken?” + </p> + <p> + “Taken, your worships? Who should take her?” + </p> + <p> + “Why should not a good English ship take her as well as another?” said + Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Lord love you, sir; yes, faith, if they had but been there. Many's the + time that I thought to myself, as we went alongside, 'Oh, if Captain Drake + was but here, well to windward, and our old crew of the “Dragon”!' Ask + your pardon, gentles: but how is Captain Drake, if I may make so bold?” + </p> + <p> + Neither could hold out longer. + </p> + <p> + “Fellow, fellow!” cried Sir Richard, springing up, “either thou art the + cunningest liar that ever earned a halter, or thou hast done a deed the + like of which never man adventured. Dost thou not know that Captain Drake + took that 'Cacafuogo' and all her freight, in February come two years?” + </p> + <p> + “Captain Drake! God forgive me, sir; but—Captain Drake in the South + Seas? He saw them, sir, from the tree-top over Panama, when I was with + him, and I too; but sailed them, sir?—sailed them?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and round the world too,” said Amyas, “and I with him; and took that + very 'Cacafuogo' off Cape San Francisco, as she came up to Panama.” + </p> + <p> + One glance at the man's face was enough to prove his sincerity. The great + stern Anabaptist, who had not winced at the news of his mother's death, + dropt right on his knees on the floor, and burst into violent sobs. + </p> + <p> + “Glory to God! Glory to God! O Lord, I thank thee! Captain Drake in the + South Seas! The blood of thy innocents avenged, O Lord! The spoiler + spoiled, and the proud robbed; and all they whose hands were mighty have + found nothing. Glory, glory! Oh, tell me, sir, did she fight?” + </p> + <p> + “We gave her three pieces of ordnance only, and struck down her + mizzenmast, and then boarded sword in hand, but never had need to strike a + blow; and before we left her, one of her own boys had changed her name, + and rechristened her the 'Cacaplata.'” + </p> + <p> + “Glory, glory! Cowards they are, as I told them. I told them they never + could stand the Devon mastiffs, and well they flogged me for saying it; + but they could not stop my mouth. O sir, tell me, did you get the ship + that came up after her?” + </p> + <p> + “What was that?” + </p> + <p> + “A long race-ship, sir, from Guayaquil, with an old gentleman on board,—Don + Francisco de Xararte was his name, and by token, he had a gold falcon + hanging to a chain round his neck, and a green stone in the breast of it. + I saw it as we rowed him aboard. O tell me, sir, tell me for the love of + God, did you take that ship?” + </p> + <p> + “We did take that ship, and the jewel too, and her majesty has it at this + very hour.” + </p> + <p> + “Then tell me, sir,” said he slowly, as if he dreaded an answer; “tell me, + sir, and oh, try and mind—was there a little maid aboard with the + old gentleman?” + </p> + <p> + “A little maid? Let me think. No; I saw none.” + </p> + <p> + The man settled his features again sadly. + </p> + <p> + “I thought not. I never saw her come aboard. Still I hoped, like; I hoped. + Alackaday! God help me, Salvation Yeo!” + </p> + <p> + “What have you to do with this little maid, then, good fellow!” asked + Grenville. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sir, before I tell you that, I must go back and finish the story of + Mr. Oxenham, if you will believe me enough to hear it.” + </p> + <p> + “I do believe thee, good fellow, and honor thee too.” + </p> + <p> + “Then, sir, I can speak with a free tongue. Where was I?” + </p> + <p> + “Where was he, Amyas?” + </p> + <p> + “At the Isle of Pearls.” + </p> + <p> + “And yet, O gentles, tell me first, how Captain Drake came into the South + Seas:—over the neck, as we did?” + </p> + <p> + “Through the Straits, good fellow, like any Spaniard: but go on with thy + story, and thou shalt have Mr. Leigh's after.” + </p> + <p> + “Through the Straits! O glory! But I'll tell my tale. Well, sirs both—To + the Island of Pearls we came, we and some of the negroes. We found many + huts, and Indians fishing for pearls, and also a fair house, with porches; + but no Spaniard therein, save one man; at which Mr. Oxenham was like a man + transported, and fell on that Spaniard, crying, 'Perro, where is your + mistress? Where is the bark from Lima?' To which he boldly enough, 'What + was his mistress to the Englishman?' But Mr. O. threatened to twine a cord + round his head till his eyes burst out; and the Spaniard, being terrified, + said that the ship from Lima was expected in a fortnight's time. So for + ten days we lay quiet, letting neither negro nor Spaniard leave the + island, and took good store of pearls, feeding sumptuously on wild cattle + and hogs until the tenth day, when there came by a small bark; her we + took, and found her from Quito, and on board 60,000 pezos of gold and + other store. With which if we had been content, gentlemen, all had gone + well. And some were willing to go back at once, having both treasure and + pearls in plenty; but Mr. O., he waxed right mad, and swore to slay any + one who made that motion again, assuring us that the Lima ship of which he + had news was far greater and richer, and would make princes of us all; + which bark came in sight on the sixteenth day, and was taken without shot + or slaughter. The taking of which bark, I verily believe, was the ruin of + every mother's son of us.” + </p> + <p> + And being asked why, he answered, “First, because of the discontent which + was bred thereby; for on board was found no gold, but only 100,000 pezos + of silver.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard Grenville.—Thou greedy fellow; and was not that enough + to stay your stomachs? + </p> + <p> + Yeo answered that he would to God it had been; and that, moreover, the + weight of that silver was afterwards a hindrance to them, and fresh cause + of discontent, as he would afterwards declare. “So that it had been well + for us, sirs, if we had left it behind, as Mr. Drake left his three years + before, and carried away the gold only. In which I do see the evident hand + of God, and His just punishment for our greediness of gain; who caused Mr. + Oxenham, by whom we had hoped to attain great wealth, to be a snare to us, + and a cause of utter ruin.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you think, then,” said Sir Richard, “that Mr. Oxenham deceived you + wilfully?” + </p> + <p> + “I will never believe that, sir: Mr. Oxenham had his private reasons for + waiting for that ship, for the sake of one on board, whose face would that + he had never seen, though he saw it then, as I fear, not for the first + time by many a one.” And so was silent. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” said both his hearers, “you have brought us thus far, and you must + go on.” + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen, I have concealed this matter from all men, both on my voyage + home and since; and I hope you will be secret in the matter, for the honor + of my noble captain, and the comfort of his friends who are alive. For I + think it shame to publish harm of a gallant gentleman, and of an ancient + and worshipful family, and to me a true and kind captain, when what is + done cannot be undone, and least said soonest mended. Neither now would I + have spoken of it, but that I was inwardly moved to it for the sake of + that young gentleman there” (looking at Amyas), “that he might be warned + in time of God's wrath against the crying sin of adultery, and flee + youthful lusts, which war against the soul.” + </p> + <p> + “Thou hast done wisely enough, then,” said Sir Richard; “and look to it if + I do not reward thee: but the young gentleman here, thank God, needs no + such warnings, having got them already both by precept and example, where + thou and poor Oxenham might have had them also.” + </p> + <p> + “You mean Captain Drake, your worship?” + </p> + <p> + “I do, sirrah. If all men were as clean livers as he, the world would be + spared one half the tears that are shed in it.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen, sir. At least there would have been many a tear spared to us and + ours. For—as all must out—in that bark of Lima he took a young + lady, as fair as the sunshine, sir, and seemingly about two or + three-and-twenty years of age, having with her a tall young lad of + sixteen, and a little girl, a marvellously pretty child, of about a six or + seven. And the lady herself was of an excellent beauty, like a whale's + tooth for whiteness, so that all the crew wondered at her, and could not + be satisfied with looking upon her. And, gentlemen, this was strange, that + the lady seemed in no wise afraid or mournful, and bid her little girl + fear naught, as did also Mr. Oxenham: but the lad kept a very sour + countenance, and the more when he saw the lady and Mr. Oxenham speaking + together apart. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir, after this good luck we were minded to have gone straight back + to the river whence we came, and so home to England with all speed. But + Mr. Oxenham persuaded us to return to the island, and get a few more + pearls. To which foolishness (which after caused the mishap) I verily + believe he was moved by the instigation of the devil and of that lady. For + as we were about to go ashore, I, going down into the cabin of the prize, + saw Mr. Oxenham and that lady making great cheer of each other with, 'My + life,' and 'My king,' and 'Light of my eyes,' and such toys; and being + bidden by Mr. Oxenham to fetch out the lady's mails, and take them ashore, + heard how the two laughed together about the old ape of Panama (which ape, + or devil rather, I saw afterwards to my cost), and also how she said that + she had been dead for five years, and now that Mr. Oxenham was come, she + was alive again, and so forth. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Oxenham bade take the little maid ashore, kissing her and playing + with her, and saying to the lady, 'What is yours is mine, and what is mine + is yours.' And she asking whether the lad should come ashore, he answered, + 'He is neither yours nor mine; let the spawn of Beelzebub stay on shore.' + After which I, coming on deck again, stumbled over that very lad, upon the + hatchway ladder, who bore so black and despiteful a face, that I verily + believe he had overheard their speech, and so thrust him upon deck; and + going below again, told Mr. Oxenham what I thought, and said that it were + better to put a dagger into him at once, professing to be ready so to do. + For which grievous sin, seeing that it was committed in my unregenerate + days, I hope I have obtained the grace of forgiveness, as I have that of + hearty repentance. But the lady cried out, 'Though he be none of mine, I + have sin enough already on my soul;' and so laid her hand on Mr. Oxenham's + mouth, entreating pitifully. And Mr. Oxenham answered laughing, when she + would let him, 'What care we? let the young monkey go and howl to the old + one;' and so went ashore with the lady to that house, whence for three + days he never came forth, and would have remained longer, but that the + men, finding but few pearls, and being wearied with the watching and + warding so many Spaniards, and negroes came clamoring to him, and swore + that they would return or leave him there with the lady. So all went on + board the pinnace again, every one in ill humor with the captain, and he + with them. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, we came back to the mouth of the river, and there began our + troubles; for the negroes, as soon as we were on shore, called on Mr. + Oxenham to fulfil the bargain he had made with them. And now it came out + (what few of us knew till then) that he had agreed with the Cimaroons that + they should have all the prisoners which were taken, save the gold. And + he, though loath, was about to give up the Spaniards to them, near forty + in all, supposing that they intended to use them as slaves: but as we all + stood talking, one of the Spaniards, understanding what was forward, threw + himself on his knees before Mr. Oxenham, and shrieking like a madman, + entreated not to be given up into the hands of 'those devils,' said he, + 'who never take a Spanish prisoner, but they roast him alive, and then eat + his heart among them.' We asked the negroes if this was possible? To which + some answered, What was that to us? But others said boldly, that it was + true enough, and that revenge made the best sauce, and nothing was so + sweet as Spanish blood; and one, pointing to the lady, said such foul and + devilish things as I should be ashamed either for me to speak, or you to + hear. At this we were like men amazed for very horror; and Mr. Oxenham + said, 'You incarnate fiends, if you had taken these fellows for slaves, it + had been fair enough; for you were once slaves to them, and I doubt not + cruelly used enough: but as for this abomination,' says he, 'God do so to + me, and more also, if I let one of them come into your murderous hands.' + So there was a great quarrel; but Mr. Oxenham stoutly bade put the + prisoners on board the ships again, and so let the prizes go, taking with + him only the treasure, and the lady and the little maid. And so the lad + went on to Panama, God's wrath having gone out against us. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, the Cimaroons after that went away from us, swearing revenge + (for which we cared little enough), and we rowed up the river to a place + where three streams met, and then up the least of the three, some four + days' journey, till it grew all shoal and swift; and there we hauled the + pinnace upon the sands, and Mr. Oxenham asked the men whether they were + willing to carry the gold and silver over the mountains to the North Sea. + Some of them at first were loath to do it, and I and others advised that + we should leave the plate behind, and take the gold only, for it would + have cost us three or four journeys at the least. But Mr. Oxenham promised + every man 100 pezos of silver over and above his wages, which made them + content enough, and we were all to start the morrow morning. But, sirs, + that night, as God had ordained, came a mishap by some rash speeches of + Mr. Oxenham's, which threw all abroad again; for when we had carried the + treasure about half a league inland, and hidden it away in a house which + we made of boughs, Mr. O. being always full of that his fair lady, spoke + to me and William Penberthy of Marazion, my good comrade, and a few more, + saying, 'That we had no need to return to England, seeing that we were + already in the very garden of Eden, and wanted for nothing, but could live + without labor or toil; and that it was better, when we got over to the + North Sea, to go and seek out some fair island, and there dwell in joy and + pleasure till our lives' end. And we two,' he said, 'will be king and + queen, and you, whom I can trust, my officers; and for servants we will + have the Indians, who, I warrant, will be more fain to serve honest and + merry masters like us than those Spanish devils,' and much more of the + like; which words I liked well,—my mind, alas! being given + altogether to carnal pleasure and vanity,—as did William Penberthy, + my good comrade, on whom I trust God has had mercy. But the rest, sirs, + took the matter all across, and began murmuring against the captain, + saying that poor honest mariners like them had always the labor and the + pain, while he took his delight with his lady; and that they would have at + least one merry night before they were slain by the Cimaroons, or eaten by + panthers and lagartos; and so got out of the pinnace two great skins of + Canary wine, which were taken in the Lima prize, and sat themselves down + to drink. Moreover, there were in the pinnace a great sight of hens, which + came from the same prize, by which Mr. O. set great store, keeping them + for the lady and the little maid; and falling upon these, the men began to + blaspheme, saying, 'What a plague had the captain to fill the boat with + dirty live lumber for that giglet's sake? They had a better right to a + good supper than ever she had, and might fast awhile to cool her hot + blood;' and so cooked and ate those hens, plucking them on board the + pinnace, and letting the feathers fall into the stream. But when William + Penberthy, my good comrade, saw the feathers floating away down, he asked + them if they were mad, to lay a trail by which the Spaniards would surely + track them out, if they came after them, as without doubt they would. But + they laughed him to scorn, and said that no Spanish cur dared follow on + the heels of true English mastiffs as they were, and other boastful + speeches; and at last, being heated with wine, began afresh to murmur at + the captain. And one speaking of his counsel about the island, the rest + altogether took it amiss and out of the way; and some sprang up crying + treason, and others that he meant to defraud them of the plate which he + had promised, and others that he meant to desert them in a strange land, + and so forth, till Mr. O., hearing the hubbub, came out to them from the + house, when they reviled him foully, swearing that he meant to cheat them; + and one Edward Stiles, a Wapping man, mad with drink, dared to say that he + was a fool for not giving up the prisoners to the negroes, and what was it + to him if the lady roasted? the negroes should have her yet; and drawing + his sword, ran upon the captain: for which I was about to strike him + through the body; but the captain, not caring to waste steel on such a + ribald, with his fist caught him such a buffet behind the ear, that he + fell down stark dead, and all the rest stood amazed. Then Mr. Oxenham + called out, 'All honest men who know me, and can trust me, stand by your + lawful captain against these ruffians.' Whereon, sirs, I, and Penberthy my + good comrade, and four Plymouth men, who had sailed with Mr. O. in Mr. + Drake's ship, and knew his trusty and valiant conditions, came over to + him, and swore before God to stand by him and the lady. Then said Mr. O. + to the rest, 'Will you carry this treasure, knaves, or will you not? Give + me an answer here.' And they refused, unless he would, before they + started, give each man his share. So Mr. O. waxed very mad, and swore that + he would never be served by men who did not trust him, and so went in + again; and that night was spent in great disquiet, I and those five others + keeping watch about the house of boughs till the rest fell asleep, in + their drink. And next morning, when the wine was gone out of them, Mr. O. + asked them whether they would go to the hills with him, and find those + negroes, and persuade them after all to carry the treasure. To which they + agreed after awhile, thinking that so they should save themselves labor; + and went off with Mr. Oxenham, leaving us six who had stood by him to + watch the lady and the treasure, after he had taken an oath of us that we + would deal justly and obediently by him and by her, which God knows, + gentlemen, we did. So he parted with much weeping and wailing of the lady, + and was gone seven days; and all that time we kept that lady faithfully + and honestly, bringing her the best we could find, and serving her upon + our bended knees, both for her admirable beauty, and for her excellent + conditions, for she was certainly of some noble kin, and courteous, and + without fear, as if she had been a very princess. But she kept always + within the house, which the little maid (God bless her!) did not, but soon + learned to play with us and we with her, so that we made great cheer of + her, gentlemen, sailor fashion—for you know we must always have our + minions aboard to pet and amuse us—maybe a monkey, or a little dog, + or a singing bird, ay, or mice and spiders, if we have nothing better to + play withal. And she was wonderful sharp, sirs, was the little maid, and + picked up her English from us fast, calling us jolly mariners, which I + doubt but she has forgotten by now, but I hope in God it be not so;” and + therewith the good fellow began wiping his eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir, on the seventh day we six were down by the pinnace clearing + her out, and the little maid with us gathering of flowers, and William + Penberthy fishing on the bank, about a hundred yards below, when on a + sudden he leaps up and runs toward us, crying, 'Here come our hens' + feathers back again with a vengeance!' and so bade catch up the little + maid, and run for the house, for the Spaniards were upon us. + </p> + <p> + “Which was too true; for before we could win the house, there were full + eighty shot at our heels, but could not overtake us; nevertheless, some of + them stopping, fixed their calivers and let fly, killing one of the + Plymouth men. The rest of us escaped to the house, and catching up the + lady, fled forth, not knowing whither we went, while the Spaniards, + finding the house and treasure, pursued us no farther. + </p> + <p> + “For all that day and the next we wandered in great misery, the lady + weeping continually, and calling for Mr. Oxenham most piteously, and the + little maid likewise, till with much ado we found the track of our + comrades, and went up that as best we might: but at nightfall, by good + hap, we met the whole crew coming back, and with them 200 negroes or more, + with bows and arrows. At which sight was great joy and embracing, and it + was a strange thing, sirs, to see the lady; for before that she was + altogether desperate: and yet she was now a very lioness, as soon as she + had got her love again; and prayed him earnestly not to care for that + gold, but to go forward to the North Sea, vowing to him in my hearing that + she cared no more for poverty than she had cared for her good name, and + then—they being a little apart from the rest—pointed round to + the green forest, and said in Spanish—which I suppose they knew not + that I understood,—'See, all round us is Paradise. Were it not + enough for you and me to stay here forever, and let them take the gold or + leave it as they will?' + </p> + <p> + “To which Mr. Oxenham—'Those who lived in Paradise had not sinned as + we have, and would never have grown old or sick, as we shall.' + </p> + <p> + “And she—'If we do that, there are poisons enough in these woods, by + which we may die in each other's arms, as would to Heaven we had died + seven years agone!' + </p> + <p> + “But he—'No, no, my life. It stands upon my honor both to fulfil my + bond with these men, whom I have brought hither, and to take home to + England at least something of my prize as a proof of my own valor.' + </p> + <p> + “Then she smiling—'Am I not prize enough, and proof enough?' But he + would not be so tempted, and turning to us offered us the half of that + treasure, if we would go back with him, and rescue it from the Spaniard. + At which the lady wept and wailed much; but I took upon myself to comfort + her, though I was but a simple mariner, telling her that it stood upon Mr. + Oxenham's honor; and that in England nothing was esteemed so foul as + cowardice, or breaking word and troth betwixt man and man; and that better + was it for him to die seven times by the Spaniards, than to face at home + the scorn of all who sailed the seas. So, after much ado, back they went + again; I and Penberthy, and the three Plymouth men which escaped from the + pinnace, keeping the lady as before. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, we waited five days, having made houses of boughs as before, + without hearing aught; and on the sixth we saw coming afar off Mr. + Oxenham, and with him fifteen or twenty men, who seemed very weary and + wounded; and when we looked for the rest to be behind them, behold there + were no more; at which, sirs, as you may well think, our hearts sank + within us. + </p> + <p> + “And Mr. O., coming nearer, cried out afar off, 'All is lost!' and so + walked into the camp without a word, and sat himself down at the foot of a + great tree with his head between his hands, speaking neither to the lady + or to any one, till she very pitifully kneeling before him, cursing + herself for the cause of all his mischief, and praying him to avenge + himself upon that her tender body, won him hardly to look once upon her, + after which (as is the way of vain and unstable man) all between them was + as before. + </p> + <p> + “But the men were full of curses against the negroes, for their cowardice + and treachery; yea, and against high Heaven itself, which had put the most + part of their ammunition into the Spaniards' hands; and told me, and I + believe truly, how they forced the enemy awaiting them in a little copse + of great trees, well fortified with barricades of boughs, and having with + them our two falcons, which they had taken out of the pinnace. And how Mr. + Oxenham divided both the English and the negroes into two bands, that one + might attack the enemy in front, and the other in the rear, and so set + upon them with great fury, and would have utterly driven them out, but + that the negroes, who had come on with much howling, like very wild + beasts, being suddenly scared with the shot and noise of the ordnance, + turned and fled, leaving the Englishmen alone; in which evil strait Mr. O. + fought like a very Guy of Warwick, and I verily believe every man of them + likewise; for there was none of them who had not his shrewd scratch to + show. And indeed, Mr. Oxenham's party had once gotten within the + barricades, but the Spaniards being sheltered by the tree trunks (and + especially by one mighty tree, which stood as I remembered it, and + remember it now, borne up two fathoms high upon its own roots, as it were + upon arches and pillars), shot at them with such advantage, that they had + several slain, and seven more taken alive, only among the roots of that + tree. So seeing that they could prevail nothing, having little but their + pikes and swords, they were fain to give back; though Mr. Oxenham swore he + would not stir a foot, and making at the Spanish captain was borne down + with pikes, and hardly pulled away by some, who at last reminding him of + his lady, persuaded him to come away with the rest. Whereon the other + party fled also; but what had become of them they knew not, for they took + another way. And so they miserably drew off, having lost in men eleven + killed and seven taken alive, besides five of the rascal negroes who were + killed before they had time to run; and there was an end of the matter.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * In the documents from which I have drawn this veracious + history, a note is appended to this point of Yeo's story, + which seems to me to smack sufficiently of the old + Elizabethan seaman, to be inserted at length. + + “All so far, and most after, agreeth with Lopez Vaz his + tale, taken from his pocket by my Lord Cumberland's mariners + at the river Plate, in the year 1586. But note here his + vainglory and falsehood, or else fear of the Spaniard. + + “First, lest it should be seen how great an advantage the + Spaniards had, he maketh no mention of the English calivers, + nor those two pieces of ordnance which were in the pinnace. + + “Second, he saith nothing of the flight of the Cimaroons: + though it was evidently to be gathered from that which he + himself saith, that of less than seventy English were slain + eleven, and of the negroes but five. And while of the + English seven were taken alive, yet of the negroes none. + And why, but because the rascals ran? + + “Thirdly, it is a thing incredible, and out of experience, + that eleven English should be slain and seven taken, with + loss only of two Spaniards killed. + + “Search now, and see (for I will not speak of mine own small + doings), in all those memorable voyages, which the worthy + and learned Mr. Hakluyt hath so painfully collected, and + which are to my old age next only to my Bible, whether in + all the fights which we have endured with the Spaniards, + their loss, even in victory, hath not far exceeded ours. + For we are both bigger of body and fiercer of spirit, being + even to the poorest of us (thanks so the care of our + illustrious princes), the best fed men of Europe, the most + trained to feats of strength and use of weapons, and put our + trust also not in any Virgin or saints, dead rags and bones, + painted idols which have no breath in their mouths, or St. + Bartholomew medals and such devil's remembrancers; but in + the only true God and our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom + whosoever trusteth, one of them shall chase a thousand. So + I hold, having had good experience; and say, if they have + done it once, let them do it again, and kill their eleven to + our two, with any weapon they will, save paper bullets blown + out of Fame's lying trumpet. Yet I have no quarrel with the + poor Portugal; for I doubt not but friend Lopez Vaz had + looking over his shoulder as he wrote some mighty black + velvet Don, with a name as long as that Don Bernaldino + Delgadillo de Avellaneda who set forth lately his + vainglorious libel of lies concerning the last and fatal + voyage of my dear friends Sir F. Drake and Sir John Hawkins, + who rest in peace, having finished their labors, as would + God I rested. To whose shameless and unspeakable lying my + good friend Mr. Henry Savile of this county did most pithily + and wittily reply, stripping the ass out of his lion's skin; + and Sir Thomas Baskerville, general of the fleet, by my + advice, send him a cartel of defiance, offering to meet him + with choice of weapons, in any indifferent kingdom of equal + distance from this realm; which challenge he hath prudently + put in his pipe, or rather rolled it up for one of his + Spanish cigarros, and smoked it, and I doubt not, found it + foul in the mouth.” + </pre> + <p> + “But the next day, gentlemen, in came some five-and-twenty more, being the + wreck of the other party, and with them a few negroes; and these last + proved themselves no honester men than they were brave, for there being + great misery among us English, and every one of us straggling where he + could to get food, every day one or more who went out never came back, and + that caused a suspicion that the negroes had betrayed them to the + Spaniards, or, maybe, slain and eaten them. So these fellows being + upbraided, with that altogether left us, telling us boldly, that if they + had eaten our fellows, we owed them a debt instead of the Spanish + prisoners; and we, in great terror and hunger, went forward and over the + mountains till we came to a little river which ran northward, which seemed + to lead into the Northern Sea; and there Mr. O.—who, sirs, I will + say, after his first rage was over, behaved himself all through like a + valiant and skilful commander—bade us cut down trees and make + canoes, to go down to the sea; which we began to do, with great labor and + little profit, hewing down trees with our swords, and burning them out + with fire, which, after much labor, we kindled; but as we were a-burning + out of the first tree, and cutting down of another, a great party of + negroes came upon us, and with much friendly show bade us flee for our + lives, for the Spaniards were upon us in great force. And so we were up + and away again, hardly able to drag our legs after us for hunger and + weariness, and the broiling heat. And some were taken (God help them!) and + some fled with the negroes, of whom what became God alone knoweth; but + eight or ten held on with the captain, among whom was I, and fled downward + toward the sea for one day; but afterwards finding, by the noise in the + woods, that the Spaniards were on the track of us, we turned up again + toward the inland, and coming to a cliff, climbed up over it, drawing up + the lady and the little maid with cords of liana (which hang from those + trees as honeysuckle does here, but exceeding stout and long, even to + fifty fathoms); and so breaking the track, hoped to be out of the way of + the enemy. + </p> + <p> + “By which, nevertheless, we only increased our misery. For two fell from + that cliff, as men asleep for very weariness, and miserably broke their + bones; and others, whether by the great toil, or sunstrokes, or eating of + strange berries, fell sick of fluxes and fevers; where was no drop of + water, but rock of pumice stone as bare as the back of my hand, and full, + moreover, of great cracks, black and without bottom, over which we had not + strength to lift the sick, but were fain to leave them there aloft, in the + sunshine, like Dives in his torments, crying aloud for a drop of water to + cool their tongues; and every man a great stinking vulture or two sitting + by him, like an ugly black fiend out of the pit, waiting till the poor + soul should depart out of the corpse: but nothing could avail, and for the + dear life we must down again and into the woods, or be burned up alive + upon those rocks. + </p> + <p> + “So getting down the slope on the farther side, we came into the woods + once more, and there wandered for many days, I know not how many; our + shoes being gone, and our clothes all rent off us with brakes and briars. + And yet how the lady endured all was a marvel to see; for she went + barefoot many days, and for clothes was fain to wrap herself in Mr. + Oxenham's cloak; while the little maid went all but naked: but ever she + looked still on Mr. Oxenham, and seemed to take no care as long as he was + by, comforting and cheering us all with pleasant words; yea, and once + sitting down under a great fig-tree, sang us all to sleep with very sweet + music; yet, waking about midnight, I saw her sitting still upright, + weeping very bitterly; on whom, sirs, God have mercy; for she was a fair + and a brave jewel. + </p> + <p> + “And so, to make few words of a sad matter, at last there were none left + but Mr. Oxenham and the lady and the little maid, together with me and + William Penberthy of Marazion, my good comrade. And Mr. Oxenham always led + the lady, and Penberthy and I carried the little maid. And for food we had + fruits, such as we could find, and water we got from the leaves of certain + lilies which grew on the bark of trees, which I found by seeing the + monkeys drink at them; and the little maid called them monkey-cups, and + asked for them continually, making me climb for them. And so we wandered + on, and upward into very high mountains, always fearing lest the Spaniards + should track us with dogs, which made the lady leap up often in her sleep, + crying that the bloodhounds were upon her. And it befell upon a day, that + we came into a great wood of ferns (which grew not on the ground like + ours, but on stems as big as a pinnace's mast, and the bark of them was + like a fine meshed net, very strange to see), where was very pleasant + shade, cool and green; and there, gentlemen, we sat down on a bank of + moss, like folk desperate and fordone, and every one looked the other in + the face for a long while. After which I took off the bark of those ferns, + for I must needs be doing something to drive away thought, and began to + plait slippers for the little maid. + </p> + <p> + “And as I was plaiting, Mr. Oxenham said, 'What hinders us from dying like + men, every man falling on his own sword?' To which I answered that I dare + not; for a wise woman had prophesied of me, sirs, that I should die at + sea, and yet neither by water or battle, wherefore I did not think right + to meddle with the Lord's purposes. And William Penberthy said, 'That he + would sell his life, and that dear, but never give it away.' But the lady + said, 'Ah, how gladly would I die! but then la paouvre garse,' which is in + French 'the poor maid,' meaning the little one. Then Mr. Oxenham fell into + a very great weeping, a weakness I never saw him in before or since; and + with many tears besought me never to desert that little maid, whatever + might befall; which I promised, swearing to it like a heathen, but would, + if I had been able, have kept it like a Christian. But on a sudden there + was a great cry in the wood, and coming through the trees on all sides + Spanish arquebusiers, a hundred strong at least, and negroes with them, + who bade us stand or they would shoot. William Penberthy leapt up, crying + 'Treason!' and running upon the nearest negro ran him through, and then + another, and then falling on the Spaniards, fought manfully till he was + borne down with pikes, and so died. But I, seeing no thing better to do, + sate still and finished my plaiting. And so we were all taken, and I and + Mr. Oxenham bound with cords; but the soldiers made a litter for the lady + and child, by commandment of Senor Diego de Trees, their commander, a very + courteous gentleman. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, we were brought down to the place where the house of boughs + had been by the river-side; there we went over in boats, and found waiting + for us certain Spanish gentlemen, and among others one old and ill-favored + man, gray-bearded and bent, in a suit of black velvet, who seemed to be a + great man among them. And if you will believe me, Mr. Leigh, that was none + other than the old man with the gold falcon at his breast, Don Francisco + Xararte by name, whom you found aboard of the Lima ship. And had you known + as much of him as I do, or as Mr. Oxenham did either, you had cut him up + for shark's bait, or ever you let the cur ashore again. + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, as soon as the lady came to shore, that old man ran upon her + sword in hand, and would have slain her, but some there held him back. On + which he turned to, and reviled with every foul and spiteful word which he + could think of, so that some there bade him be silent for shame; and Mr. + Oxenham said, 'It is worthy of you, Don Francisco, thus to trumpet abroad + your own disgrace. Did I not tell you years ago that you were a cur; and + are you not proving my words for me?' + </p> + <p> + “He answered, 'English dog, would to Heaven I had never seen you!' + </p> + <p> + “And Mr. Oxenham, 'Spanish ape, would to Heaven that I had sent my dagger + through your herring-ribs when you passed me behind St. Ildegonde's + church, eight years last Easter-eve.' At which the old man turned pale, + and then began again to upbraid the lady, vowing that he would have her + burnt alive, and other devilish words, to which she answered at last— + </p> + <p> + “'Would that you had burnt me alive on my wedding morning, and spared me + eight years of misery!' And he— + </p> + <p> + “'Misery? Hear the witch, senors! Oh, have I not pampered her, heaped with + jewels, clothes, coaches, what not? The saints alone know what 'I have + spent on her. What more would she have of me?' + </p> + <p> + “To which she answered only but this one word, 'Fool!' but in so terrible + a voice, though low, that they who were about to laugh at the old + pantaloon, were more minded to weep for her. + </p> + <p> + “'Fool!' she said again, after a while, 'I will waste no words upon you. I + would have driven a dagger to your heart months ago, but that I was loath + to set you free so soon from your gout and your rheumatism. Selfish and + stupid, know when you bought my body from my parents, you did not buy my + soul! Farewell, my love, my life! and farewell, senors! May you be more + merciful to your daughters than my parents were to me!' And so, catching a + dagger from the girdle of one of the soldiers, smote herself to the heart, + and fell dead before them all. + </p> + <p> + “At which Mr. Oxenham smiled, and said, 'That was worthy of us both. If + you will unbind my hands, senors, I shall be most happy to copy so fair a + schoolmistress.' + </p> + <p> + “But Don Diego shook his head, and said— + </p> + <p> + “'It were well for you, valiant senor, were I at liberty to do so; but on + questioning those of your sailors whom I have already taken, I cannot hear + that you have any letters of license, either from the queen of England, or + any other potentate. I am compelled, therefore, to ask you whether this is + so; for it is a matter of life and death.' + </p> + <p> + “To which Mr. Oxenham answered merrily, that so it was: but that he was + not aware that any potentate's license was required to permit a + gentleman's meeting his lady love; and that as for the gold which they had + taken, if they had never allowed that fresh and fair young May to be + forced into marrying that old January, he should never have meddled with + their gold; so that was rather their fault than his. And added, that if he + was to be hanged, as he supposed, the only favor which he asked for was a + long drop and no priests. And all the while, gentlemen, he still kept his + eyes fixed on the lady's corpse, till he was led away with me, while all + that stood by, God reward them for it, lamented openly the tragical end of + those two sinful lovers. + </p> + <p> + “And now, sirs, what befell me after that matters little; for I never saw + Captain Oxenham again, nor ever shall in this life.” + </p> + <p> + “He was hanged, then?” + </p> + <p> + “So I heard for certain the next year, and with him the gunner and sundry + more: but some were given away for slaves to the Spaniards, and may be + alive now, unless, like me, they have fallen into the cruel clutches of + the Inquisition. For the Inquisition now, gentlemen, claims the bodies and + souls of all heretics all over the world (as the devils told me with their + own lips, when I pleaded that I was no Spanish subject); and none that it + catches, whether peaceable merchants or shipwrecked mariners, but must + turn or burn.” + </p> + <p> + “But how did you get into the Inquisition?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, sir, after we were taken, we set forth to go down the river again; + and the old Don took the little maid with him in one boat (and bitterly + she screeched at parting from us and from the poor dead corpse), and Mr. + Oxenham with Don Diego de Trees in another, and I in a third. And from the + Spaniards I learnt that we were to be taken down to Lima, to the Viceroy; + but that the old man lived hard by Panama, and was going straight back to + Panama forthwith with the little maid. But they said, 'It will be well for + her if she ever gets there, for the old man swears she is none of his, and + would have left her behind him in the woods, now, if Don Diego had not + shamed him out of it.' And when I heard that, seeing that there was + nothing but death before me, I made up my mind to escape; and the very + first night, sirs, by God's help, I did it, and went southward away into + the forest, avoiding the tracks of the Cimaroons, till I came to an Indian + town. And there, gentlemen, I got more mercy from heathens than ever I had + from Christians; for when they found that I was no Spaniard, they fed me + and gave me a house, and a wife (and a good wife she was to me), and + painted me all over in patterns, as you see; and because I had some + knowledge of surgery and blood-letting, and my fleams in my pocket, which + were worth to me a fortune, I rose to great honor among them, though they + taught me more of simples than ever I taught them of surgery. So I lived + with them merrily enough, being a very heathen like them, or indeed worse, + for they worshipped their Xemes, but I nothing. And in time my wife bare + me a child; in looking at whose sweet face, gentlemen, I forgot Mr. + Oxenham and his little maid, and my oath, ay, and my native land also. + Wherefore it was taken from me, else had I lived and died as the beasts + which perish; for one night, after we were all lain down, came a noise + outside the town, and I starting up saw armed men and calivers shining in + the moonlight, and heard one read in Spanish, with a loud voice, some + fool's sermon, after their custom when they hunt the poor Indians, how God + had given to St. Peter the dominion of the whole earth, and St. Peter + again the Indies to the Catholic king; wherefore, if they would all be + baptized and serve the Spaniard, they should have some monkey's allowance + or other of more kicks than pence; and if not, then have at them with fire + and sword; but I dare say your worships know that devilish trick of theirs + better than I.” + </p> + <p> + “I know it, man. Go on.” + </p> + <p> + “Well—no sooner were the words spoken than, without waiting to hear + what the poor innocents within would answer (though that mattered little, + for they understood not one word of it), what do the villains but let fly + right into the town with their calivers, and then rush in, sword in hand, + killing pell-mell all they met, one of which shots, gentlemen, passing + through the doorway, and close by me, struck my poor wife to the heart, + that she never spoke word more. I, catching up the babe from her breast, + tried to run: but when I saw the town full of them, and their dogs with + them in leashes, which was yet worse, I knew all was lost, and sat down + again by the corpse with the babe on my knees, waiting the end, like one + stunned and in a dream; for now I thought God from whom I had fled had + surely found me out, as He did Jonah, and the punishment of all my sins + was come. Well, gentlemen, they dragged me out, and all the young men and + women, and chained us together by the neck; and one, catching the pretty + babe out of my arms, calls for water and a priest (for they had their + shavelings with them), and no sooner was it christened than, catching the + babe by the heels, he dashed out its brains,—oh! gentlemen, + gentlemen!—against the ground, as if it had been a kitten; and so + did they to several more innocents that night, after they had christened + them; saying it was best for them to go to heaven while they were still + sure thereof; and so marched us all for slaves, leaving the old folk and + the wounded to die at leisure. But when morning came, and they knew by my + skin that I was no Indian, and by my speech that I was no Spaniard, they + began threatening me with torments, till I confessed that I was an + Englishman, and one of Oxenham's crew. At that says the leader, 'Then you + shall to Lima, to hang by the side of your captain the pirate;' by which I + first knew that my poor captain was certainly gone; but alas for me! the + priest steps in and claims me for his booty, calling me Lutheran, heretic, + and enemy of God; and so, to make short a sad story, to the Inquisition at + Cartagena I went, where what I suffered, gentlemen, were as disgustful for + you to hear, as unmanly for me to complain of; but so it was, that being + twice racked, and having endured the water-torment as best I could, I was + put to the scarpines, whereof I am, as you see, somewhat lame of one leg + to this day. At which I could abide no more, and so, wretch that I am! + denied my God, in hope to save my life; which indeed I did, but little it + profited me; for though I had turned to their superstition, I must have + two hundred stripes in the public place, and then go to the galleys for + seven years. And there, gentlemen, ofttimes I thought that it had been + better for me to have been burned at once and for all: but you know as + well as I what a floating hell of heat and cold, hunger and thirst, + stripes and toil, is every one of those accursed craft. In which hell, + nevertheless, gentlemen, I found the road to heaven,—I had almost + said heaven itself. For it fell out, by God's mercy, that my next comrade + was an Englishman like myself, a young man of Bristol, who, as he told me, + had been some manner of factor on board poor Captain Barker's ship, and + had been a preacher among the Anabaptists here in England. And, oh! Sir + Richard Grenville, if that man had done for you what he did for me, you + would never say a word against those who serve the same Lord, because they + don't altogether hold with you. For from time to time, sir, seeing me + altogether despairing and furious, like a wild beast in a pit, he set + before me in secret earnestly the sweet promises of God in Christ,—who + says, 'Come to me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will refresh you; + and though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,—till + all that past sinful life of mine looked like a dream when one awaketh, + and I forgot all my bodily miseries in the misery of my soul, so did I + loathe and hate myself for my rebellion against that loving God who had + chosen me before the foundation of the world, and come to seek and save me + when I was lost; and falling into very despair at the burden of my heinous + sins, knew no peace until I gained sweet assurance that my Lord had hanged + my burden upon His cross, and washed my sinful soul in His most sinless + blood, Amen!” + </p> + <p> + And Sir Richard Grenville said Amen also. + </p> + <p> + “But, gentlemen, if that sweet youth won a soul to Christ, he paid as + dearly for it as ever did saint of God. For after a three or four months, + when I had been all that while in sweet converse with him, and I may say + in heaven in the midst of hell, there came one night to the barranco at + Lima, where we were kept when on shore, three black devils of the Holy + Office, and carried him off without a word, only saying to me, 'Look that + your turn come not next, for we hear that you have had much talk with the + villain.' And at these words I was so struck cold with terror that I + swooned right away, and verily, if they had taken me there and then, I + should have denied my God again, for my faith was but young and weak: but + instead, they left me aboard the galley for a few months more (that was a + whole voyage to Panama and back), in daily dread lest I should find myself + in their cruel claws again—and then nothing for me, but to burn as a + relapsed heretic. But when we came back to Lima, the officers came on + board again, and said to me, 'That heretic has confessed naught against + you, so we will leave you for this time: but because you have been seen + talking with him so much, and the Holy Office suspects your conversion to + be but a rotten one, you are adjudged to the galleys for the rest of your + life in perpetual servitude.'” + </p> + <p> + “But what became of him?” asked Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “He was burned, sir, a day or two before we got to Lima, and five others + with him at the same stake, of whom two were Englishmen; old comrades of + mine, as I guess.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Amyas, “we heard of that when we were off Lima; and they said, + too, that there were six more lying still in prison, to be burnt in a few + days. If we had had our fleet with us (as we should have had if it had not + been for John Winter) we would have gone in and rescued them all, poor + wretches, and sacked the town to boot: but what could we do with one + ship?” + </p> + <p> + “Would to God you had, sir; for the story was true enough; and among them, + I heard, were two young ladies of quality and their confessor, who came to + their ends for reproving out of Scripture the filthy and loathsome living + of those parts, which, as I saw well enough and too well, is liker to + Sodom than to a Christian town; but God will avenge His saints, and their + sins. Amen.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen,” said Sir Richard: “but on with thy tale, for it is as strange as + ever man heard.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, gentlemen, when I heard that I must end my days in that galley, I + was for awhile like a madman: but in a day or two there came over me, I + know not how, a full assurance of salvation, both for this life and the + life to come, such as I had never had before; and it was revealed to me (I + speak the truth, gentlemen, before Heaven) that now I had been tried to + the uttermost, and that my deliverance was at hand. + </p> + <p> + “And all the way up to Panama (that was after we had laden the + 'Cacafuogo') I cast in my mind how to escape, and found no way: but just + as I was beginning to lose heart again, a door was opened by the Lord's + own hand; for (I know not why) we were marched across from Panama to + Nombre, which had never happened before, and there put all together into a + great barranco close by the quay-side, shackled, as is the fashion, to one + long bar that ran the whole length of the house. And the very first night + that we were there, I, looking out of the window, spied, lying close + aboard of the quay, a good-sized caravel well armed and just loading for + sea; and the land breeze blew off very strong, so that the sailors were + laying out a fresh warp to hold her to the shore. And it came into my + mind, that if we were aboard of her, we should be at sea in five minutes; + and looking at the quay, I saw all the soldiers who had guarded us + scattered about drinking and gambling, and some going into taverns to + refresh themselves after their journey. That was just at sundown; and half + an hour after, in comes the gaoler to take a last look at us for the + night, and his keys at his girdle. Whereon, sirs (whether by madness, or + whether by the spirit which gave Samson strength to rend the lion), I rose + against him as he passed me, without forethought or treachery of any kind, + chained though I was, caught him by the head, and threw him there and then + against the wall, that he never spoke word after; and then with his keys + freed myself and every soul in that room, and bid them follow me, vowing + to kill any man who disobeyed my commands. They followed, as men astounded + and leaping out of night into day, and death into life, and so aboard that + caravel and out of the harbor (the Lord only knows how, who blinded the + eyes of the idolaters), 'with no more hurt than a few chance-shot from the + soldiers on the quay. But my tale has been over-long already, gentlemen—” + </p> + <p> + “Go on till midnight, my good fellow, if you will.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, sirs, they chose me for captain, and a certain Genoese for + lieutenant, and away to go. I would fain have gone ashore after all, and + back to Panama to hear news of the little maid: but that would have been + but a fool's errand. Some wanted to turn pirates: but I, and the Genoese + too, who was a prudent man, though an evil one, persuaded them to run for + England and get employment in the Netherland wars, assuring them that + there would be no safety in the Spanish Main, when once our escape got + wind. And the more part being of one mind, for England we sailed, watering + at the Barbadoes because it was desolate; and so eastward toward the + Canaries. In which voyage what we endured (being taken by long calms), by + scurvy, calentures, hunger, and thirst, no tongue can tell. Many a time + were we glad to lay out sheets at night to catch the dew, and suck them in + the morning; and he that had a noggin of rain-water out of the scuppers + was as much sought to as if he had been Adelantado of all the Indies; till + of a hundred and forty poor wretches a hundred and ten were dead, + blaspheming God and man, and above all me and the Genoese, for taking the + Europe voyage, as if I had not sins enough of my own already. And last of + all, when we thought ourselves safe, we were wrecked by southwesters on + the coast of Brittany, near to Cape Race, from which but nine souls of us + came ashore with their lives; and so to Brest, where I found a Flushinger + who carried me to Falmouth and so ends my tale, in which if I have said + one word more or less than truth, I can wish myself no worse, than to have + it all to undergo a second time.” + </p> + <p> + And his voice, as he finished, sank from very weariness of soul; while Sir + Richard sat opposite him in silence, his elbows on the table, his cheeks + on his doubled fists, looking him through and through with kindling eyes. + No one spoke for several minutes; and then— + </p> + <p> + “Amyas, you have heard this story. You believe it?” + </p> + <p> + “Every word, sir, or I should not have the heart of a Christian man.” + </p> + <p> + “So do I. Anthony!” + </p> + <p> + The butler entered. + </p> + <p> + “Take this man to the buttery; clothe him comfortably, and feed him with + the best; and bid the knaves treat him as if he were their own father.” + </p> + <p> + But Yeo lingered. + </p> + <p> + “If I might be so bold as to ask your worship a favor?—” + </p> + <p> + “Anything in reason, my brave fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “If your worship could put me in the way of another adventure to the + Indies?” + </p> + <p> + “Another! Hast not had enough of the Spaniards already?” + </p> + <p> + “Never enough, sir, while one of the idolatrous tyrants is left unhanged,” + said he, with a right bitter smile. “But it's not for that only, sir: but + my little maid—Oh, sir! my little maid, that I swore to Mr. Oxenham + to look to, and never saw her from that day to this! I must find her, sir, + or I shall go mad, I believe. Not a night but she comes and calls to me in + my dreams, the poor darling; and not a morning but when I wake there is my + oath lying on my soul, like a great black cloud, and I no nearer the + keeping of it. I told that poor young minister of it when we were in the + galleys together; and he said oaths were oaths, and keep it I must; and + keep it I will, sir, if you'll but help me.” + </p> + <p> + “Have patience, man. God will take as good care of thy little maid as ever + thou wilt.” + </p> + <p> + “I know it, sir. I know it: but faith's weak, sir! and oh! if she were + bred up a Papist and an idolater; wouldn't her blood be on my head then, + sir? Sooner than that, sooner than that, I'd be in the Inquisition again + to-morrow, I would!” + </p> + <p> + “My good fellow, there are no adventures to the Indies forward now: but if + you want to fight Spaniards, here is a gentleman will show you the way. + Amyas, take him with you to Ireland. If he has learnt half the lessons God + has set him to learn, he ought to stand you in good stead.” + </p> + <p> + Yeo looked eagerly at the young giant. + </p> + <p> + “Will you have me, sir? There's few matters I can't turn my hand to: and + maybe you'll be going to the Indies again, some day, eh? and take me with + you? I'd serve your turn well, though I say it, either for gunner or for + pilot. I know every stone and tree from Nombre to Panama, and all the + ports of both the seas. You'll never be content, I'll warrant, till you've + had another turn along the gold coasts, will you now?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas laughed, and nodded; and the bargain was concluded. + </p> + <p> + So out went Yeo to eat, and Amyas having received his despatches, got + ready for his journey home. + </p> + <p> + “Go the short way over the moors, lad; and send back Cary's gray when you + can. You must not lose an hour, but be ready to sail the moment the wind + goes about.” + </p> + <p> + So they started: but as Amyas was getting into the saddle, he saw that + there was some stir among the servants, who seemed to keep carefully out + of Yeo's way, whispering and nodding mysteriously; and just as his foot + was in the stirrup, Anthony, the old butler, plucked him back. + </p> + <p> + “Dear father alive, Mr. Amyas!” whispered he: “and you ben't going by the + moor road all alone with that chap?” + </p> + <p> + “Why not, then? I'm too big for him to eat, I reckon.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mr. Amyas! he's not right, I tell you; not company for a Christian—to + go forth with creatures as has flames of fire in their inwards; 'tis + temptation of Providence, indeed, then, it is.” + </p> + <p> + “Tale of a tub.” + </p> + <p> + “Tale of a Christian, sir. There was two boys pig-minding, seed him at it + down the hill, beside a maiden that was taken mazed (and no wonder, poor + soul!) and lying in screeching asterisks now down to the mill—you + ask as you go by—and saw the flames come out of the mouth of mun, + and the smoke out of mun's nose like a vire-drake, and the roaring of mun + like the roaring of ten thousand bulls. Oh, sir! and to go with he after + dark over moor! 'Tis the devil's devices, sir, against you, because you'm + going against his sarvants the Pope of Room and the Spaniard; and you'll + be Pixy-led, sure as life, and locked into a bog, you will, and see mun + vanish away to fire and brimstone, like a jack-o'-lantern. Oh, have a + care, then, have a care!” + </p> + <p> + And the old man wrung his hands, while Amyas, bursting with laughter, rode + off down the park, with the unconscious Yeo at his stirrup, chatting away + about the Indies, and delighting Amyas more and more by his shrewdness, + high spirit, and rough eloquence. + </p> + <p> + They had gone ten miles or more; the day began to draw in, and the western + wind to sweep more cold and cheerless every moment, when Amyas, knowing + that there was not an inn hard by around for many a mile ahead, took a + pull at a certain bottle which Lady Grenville had put into his holster, + and then offered Yeo a pull also. + </p> + <p> + He declined; he had meat and drink too about him, Heaven be praised! + </p> + <p> + “Meat and drink? Fall to, then, man, and don't stand on manners.” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Yeo, seeing an old decayed willow by a brook, went to it, and took + therefrom some touchwood, to which he set a light with his knife and a + stone, while Amyas watched, a little puzzled and startled, as Yeo's fiery + reputation came into his mind. Was he really a salamander-sprite, and + going to warm his inside by a meal of burning tinder? But now Yeo, in his + solemn methodical way, pulled out of his bosom a brown leaf, and began + rolling a piece of it up neatly to the size of his little finger; and + then, putting the one end into his mouth and the other on the tinder, + sucked at it till it was a-light; and drinking down the smoke, began + puffing it out again at his nostrils with a grunt of deepest satisfaction, + and resumed his dog-trot by Amyas's side, as if he had been a walking + chimney. + </p> + <p> + On which Amyas burst into a loud laugh, and cried— + </p> + <p> + “Why, no wonder they said you breathed fire? Is not that the Indians' + tobacco?” + </p> + <p> + “Yea, verily, Heaven be praised! but did you never see it before?” + </p> + <p> + “Never, though we heard talk of it along the coast; but we took it for one + more Spanish lie. Humph—well, live and learn!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sir, no lie, but a blessed truth, as I can tell, who have ere now + gone in the strength of this weed three days and nights without eating; + and therefore, sir, the Indians always carry it with them on their + war-parties: and no wonder; for when all things were made none was made + better than this; to be a lone man's companion, a bachelor's friend, a + hungry man's food, a sad man's cordial, a wakeful man's sleep, and a + chilly man's fire, sir; while for stanching of wounds, purging of rheum, + and settling of the stomach, there's no herb like unto it under the canopy + of heaven.” + </p> + <p> + The truth of which eulogium Amyas tested in after years, as shall be fully + set forth in due place and time. But “Mark in the meanwhile,” says one of + the veracious chroniclers from whom I draw these facts, writing seemingly + in the palmy days of good Queen Anne, and “not having” (as he says) + “before his eyes the fear of that misocapnic Solomon James I. or of any + other lying Stuart,” “that not to South Devon, but to North; not to Sir + Walter Raleigh, but to Sir Amyas Leigh; not to the banks of Dart, but to + the banks of Torridge, does Europe owe the day-spring of the latter age, + that age of smoke which shall endure and thrive, when the age of brass + shall have vanished like those of iron and of gold; for whereas Mr. Lane + is said to have brought home that divine weed (as Spenser well names it) + from Virginia, in the year 1584, it is hereby indisputable that full four + years earlier, by the bridge of Putford in the Torridge moors (which all + true smokers shall hereafter visit as a hallowed spot and point of + pilgrimage) first twinkled that fiery beacon and beneficent lodestar of + Bidefordian commerce, to spread hereafter from port to port and peak to + peak, like the watch-fires which proclaimed the coming of the Armada or + the fall of Troy, even to the shores of the Bosphorus, the peaks of the + Caucasus, and the farthest isles of the Malayan sea, while Bideford, + metropolis of tobacco, saw her Pool choked with Virginian traders, and the + pavement of her Bridgeland Street groaning beneath the savory bales of + roll Trinadado, leaf, and pudding; and her grave burghers, bolstered and + blocked out of their own houses by the scarce less savory stock-fish casks + which filled cellar, parlor, and attic, were fain to sit outside the door, + a silver pipe in every strong right hand, and each left hand chinking + cheerfully the doubloons deep lodged in the auriferous caverns of their + trunk-hose; while in those fairy-rings of fragrant mist, which circled + round their contemplative brows, flitted most pleasant visions of + Wiltshire farmers jogging into Sherborne fair, their heaviest shillings in + their pockets, to buy (unless old Aubrey lies) the lotus-leaf of Torridge + for its weight in silver, and draw from thence, after the example of the + Caciques of Dariena, supplies of inspiration much needed, then as now, in + those Gothamite regions. And yet did these improve, as Englishmen, upon + the method of those heathen savages; for the latter (so Salvation Yeo + reported as a truth, and Dampier's surgeon Mr. Wafer after him), when they + will deliberate of war or policy, sit round in the hut of the chief; where + being placed, enter to them a small boy with a cigarro of the bigness of a + rolling-pin and puffs the smoke thereof into the face of each warrior, + from the eldest to the youngest; while they, putting their hand + funnel-wise round their mouths, draw into the sinuosities of the brain + that more than Delphic vapor of prophecy; which boy presently falls down + in a swoon, and being dragged out by the heels and laid by to sober, enter + another to puff at the sacred cigarro, till he is dragged out likewise; + and so on till the tobacco is finished, and the seed of wisdom has + sprouted in every soul into the tree of meditation, bearing the flowers of + eloquence, and in due time the fruit of valiant action.” With which quaint + fact (for fact it is, in spite of the bombast) I end the present chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THE NOBLE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE WAS FOUNDED + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It is virtue, yea virtue, gentlemen, that maketh gentlemen; that + maketh the poor rich, the base-born noble, the subject a sovereign, + the deformed beautiful, the sick whole, the weak strong, the most + miserable most happy. There are two principal and peculiar gifts + in the nature of man, knowledge and reason; the one commandeth, and + the other obeyeth: these things neither the whirling wheel of + fortune can change, neither the deceitful cavillings of worldlings + separate, neither sickness abate, neither age abolish.”—LILLY's + Euphues, 1586. +</pre> + <p> + It now falls to my lot to write of the foundation of that most chivalrous + brotherhood of the Rose, which after a few years made itself not only + famous in its native country of Devon, but formidable, as will be related + hereafter, both in Ireland and in the Netherlands, in the Spanish Main and + the heart of South America. And if this chapter shall seem to any Quixotic + and fantastical, let them recollect that the generation who spoke and + acted thus in matters of love and honor were, nevertheless, practised and + valiant soldiers, and prudent and crafty politicians; that he who wrote + the “Arcadia” was at the same time, in spite of his youth, one of the + subtlest diplomatists of Europe; that the poet of the “Faerie Queene” was + also the author of “The State of Ireland;” and if they shall quote against + me with a sneer Lilly's “Euphues” itself, I shall only answer by asking—Have + they ever read it? For if they have done so, I pity them if they have not + found it, in spite of occasional tediousness and pedantry, as brave, + righteous, and pious a book as man need look into: and wish for no better + proof of the nobleness and virtue of the Elizabethan age, than the fact + that “Euphues” and the “Arcadia” were the two popular romances of the day. + It may have suited the purposes of Sir Walter Scott, in his cleverly drawn + Sir Piercie Shafton, to ridicule the Euphuists, and that affectatam + comitatem of the travelled English of which Languet complains; but over + and above the anachronism of the whole character (for, to give but one + instance, the Euphuist knight talks of Sidney's quarrel with Lord Oxford + at least ten years before it happened), we do deny that Lilly's book + could, if read by any man of common sense, produce such a coxcomb, whose + spiritual ancestors would rather have been Gabriel Harvey and Lord Oxford,—if + indeed the former has not maligned the latter, and ill-tempered Tom Nash + maligned the maligner in his turn. + </p> + <p> + But, indeed, there is a double anachronism in Sir Piercie; for he does not + even belong to the days of Sidney, but to those worse times which began in + the latter years of Elizabeth, and after breaking her mighty heart, had + full license to bear their crop of fools' heads in the profligate days of + James. Of them, perhaps, hereafter. And in the meanwhile, let those who + have not read “Euphues” believe that, if they could train a son after the + fashion of his Ephoebus, to the great saving of their own money and his + virtue, all fathers, even in these money-making days, would rise up and + call them blessed. Let us rather open our eyes, and see in these old + Elizabeth gallants our own ancestors, showing forth with the luxuriant + wildness of youth all the virtues which still go to the making of a true + Englishman. Let us not only see in their commercial and military daring, + in their political astuteness, in their deep reverence for law, and in + their solemn sense of the great calling of the English nation, the + antitypes or rather the examples of our own: but let us confess that their + chivalry is only another garb of that beautiful tenderness and mercy which + is now, as it was then, the twin sister of English valor; and even in + their extravagant fondness for Continental manners and literature, let us + recognize that old Anglo-Norman teachableness and wide-heartedness, which + has enabled us to profit by the wisdom and civilization of all ages and of + all lands, without prejudice to our own distinctive national character. + </p> + <p> + And so I go to my story, which, if any one dislikes, he has but to turn + the leaf till he finds pasturage which suits him better. + </p> + <p> + Amyas could not sail the next day, or the day after; for the southwester + freshened, and blew three parts of a gale dead into the bay. So having got + the “Mary Grenville” down the river into Appledore pool, ready to start + with the first shift of wind, he went quietly home; and when his mother + started on a pillion behind the old serving-man to ride to Clovelly, where + Frank lay wounded, he went in with her as far as Bideford, and there met, + coming down the High Street, a procession of horsemen headed by Will Cary, + who, clad cap-a-pie in a shining armor, sword on thigh, and helmet at + saddle-bow, looked as gallant a young gentleman as ever Bideford dames + peeped at from door and window. Behind him, upon country ponies, came four + or five stout serving-men, carrying his lances and baggage, and their own + long-bows, swords, and bucklers; and behind all, in a horse-litter, to + Mrs. Leigh's great joy, Master Frank himself. He deposed that his wounds + were only flesh-wounds, the dagger having turned against his ribs; that he + must see the last of his brother; and that with her good leave he would + not come home to Burrough, but take up his abode with Cary in the Ship + Tavern, close to the Bridge-foot. This he did forthwith, and settling + himself on a couch, held his levee there in state, mobbed by all the + gossips of the town, not without white fibs as to who had brought him into + that sorry plight. + </p> + <p> + But in the meanwhile he and Amyas concocted a scheme, which was put into + effect the next day (being market-day); first by the innkeeper, who began + under Amyas's orders a bustle of roasting, boiling, and frying, + unparalleled in the annals of the Ship Tavern; and next by Amyas himself, + who, going out into the market, invited as many of his old schoolfellows, + one by one apart, as Frank had pointed out to him, to a merry supper and a + “rowse” thereon consequent; by which crafty scheme, in came each of Rose + Salterne's gentle admirers, and found himself, to his considerable + disgust, seated at the same table with six rivals, to none of whom had he + spoken for the last six months. However, all were too well bred to let the + Leighs discern as much; and they (though, of course, they knew all) + settled their guests, Frank on his couch lying at the head of the table, + and Amyas taking the bottom: and contrived, by filling all mouths with + good things, to save them the pain of speaking to each other till the wine + should have loosened their tongues and warmed their hearts. In the + meanwhile both Amyas and Frank, ignoring the silence of their guests with + the most provoking good-humor, chatted, and joked, and told stories, and + made themselves such good company, that Will Cary, who always found + merriment infectious, melted into a jest, and then into another, and + finding good-humor far more pleasant than bad, tried to make Mr. Coffin + laugh, and only made him bow, and to make Mr. Fortescue laugh, and only + made him frown; and unabashed nevertheless, began playing his light + artillery upon the waiters, till he drove them out of the room bursting + with laughter. + </p> + <p> + So far so good. And when the cloth was drawn, and sack and sugar became + the order of the day, and “Queen and Bible” had been duly drunk with all + the honors, Frank tried a fresh move, and— + </p> + <p> + “I have a toast, gentlemen—here it is. 'The gentlemen of the Irish + wars; and may Ireland never be without a St. Leger to stand by a + Fortescue, a Fortescue to stand by a St. Leger, and a Chichester to stand + by both.'” + </p> + <p> + Which toast of course involved the drinking the healths of the three + representatives of those families, and their returning thanks, and paying + a compliment each to the other's house: and so the ice cracked a little + further; and young Fortescue proposed the health of “Amyas Leigh and all + bold mariners;” to which Amyas replied by a few blunt kindly words, “that + he wished to know no better fortune than to sail round the world again + with the present company as fellow-adventurers, and so give the Spaniards + another taste of the men of Devon.” + </p> + <p> + And by this time, the wine going down sweetly, caused the lips of them + that were asleep to speak; till the ice broke up altogether, and every man + began talking like a rational Englishman to the man who sat next him. + </p> + <p> + “And now, gentlemen,” said Frank, who saw that it was the fit moment for + the grand assault which he had planned all along; “let me give you a + health which none of you, I dare say, will refuse to drink with heart and + soul as well as with lips;—the health of one whom beauty and virtue + have so ennobled, that in their light the shadow of lowly birth is unseen;—the + health of one whom I would proclaim as peerless in loveliness, were it not + that every gentleman here has sisters, who might well challenge from her + the girdle of Venus: and yet what else dare I say, while those same lovely + ladies who, if they but use their own mirrors, must needs be far better + judges of beauty than I can be, have in my own hearing again and again + assigned the palm to her? Surely, if the goddesses decide among themselves + the question of the golden apple, Paris himself must vacate the + judgment-seat. Gentlemen, your hearts, I doubt not, have already bid you, + as my unworthy lips do now, to drink 'The Rose of Torridge.'” + </p> + <p> + If the Rose of Torridge herself had walked into the room, she could hardly + have caused more blank astonishment than Frank's bold speech. Every guest + turned red, and pale, and red again, and looked at the other as much as to + say, “What right has any one but I to drink her? Lift your glass, and I + will dash it out of your hand;” but Frank, with sweet effrontery, drank + “The health of the Rose of Torridge, and a double health to that worthy + gentleman, whosoever he may be, whom she is fated to honor with her love!” + </p> + <p> + “Well done, cunning Frank Leigh!” cried blunt Will Cary; “none of us dare + quarrel with you now, however much we may sulk at each other. For there's + none of us, I'll warrant, but thinks that she likes him the best of all; + and so we are bound to believe that you have drunk our healths all round.” + </p> + <p> + “And so I have: and what better thing can you do, gentlemen, than to drink + each other's healths all round likewise: and so show yourselves true + gentlemen, true Christians, ay, and true lovers? For what is love (let me + speak freely to you, gentlemen and guests), what is love, but the very + inspiration of that Deity whose name is Love? Be sure that not without + reason did the ancients feign Eros to be the eldest of the gods, by whom + the jarring elements of chaos were attuned into harmony and order. How, + then, shall lovers make him the father of strife? Shall Psyche wed with + Cupid, to bring forth a cockatrice's egg? or the soul be filled with love, + the likeness of the immortals, to burn with envy and jealousy, division + and distrust? True, the rose has its thorn: but it leaves poison and + stings to the nettle. Cupid has his arrow: but he hurls no scorpions. + Venus is awful when despised, as the daughters of Proetus found: but her + handmaids are the Graces, not the Furies. Surely he who loves aright will + not only find love lovely, but become himself lovely also. I speak not to + reprehend you, gentlemen; for to you (as your piercing wits have already + perceived, to judge by your honorable blushes) my discourse tends; but to + point you, if you will but permit me, to that rock which I myself have, I + know not by what Divine good hap, attained; if, indeed, I have attained + it, and am not about to be washed off again by the next tide.” + </p> + <p> + Frank's rapid and fantastic oratory, utterly unexpected as it was, had as + yet left their wits no time to set their tempers on fire; but when, weak + from his wounds, he paused for breath, there was a haughty murmur from + more than one young gentleman, who took his speech as an impertinent + interference with each man's right to make a fool of himself; and Mr. + Coffin, who had sat quietly bolt upright, and looking at the opposite + wall, now rose as quietly, and with a face which tried to look utterly + unconcerned, was walking out of the room: another minute, and Lady Bath's + prophecy about the feast of the Lapithae might have come true. + </p> + <p> + But Frank's heart and head never failed him. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Coffin!” said he, in a tone which compelled that gentleman to turn + round, and so brought him under the power of a face which none could have + beheld for five minutes and borne malice, so imploring, tender, earnest + was it. “My dear Mr. Coffin! If my earnestness has made me forget even for + a moment the bounds of courtesy, let me entreat you to forgive me. Do not + add to my heavy griefs, heavy enough already, the grief of losing a + friend. Only hear me patiently to the end (generously, I know, you will + hear me); and then, if you are still incensed, I can but again entreat + your forgiveness a second time.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Coffin, to tell the truth, had at that time never been to Court; and + he was therefore somewhat jealous of Frank, and his Court talk, and his + Court clothes, and his Court company; and moreover, being the eldest of + the guests, and only two years younger than Frank himself, he was a little + nettled at being classed in the same category with some who were scarce + eighteen. And if Frank had given the least hint which seemed to assume his + own superiority, all had been lost: but when, instead thereof, he sued in + forma pauperis, and threw himself upon Coffin's mercy, the latter, who was + a true-hearted man enough, and after all had known Frank ever since either + of them could walk, had nothing to do but to sit down again and submit, + while Frank went on more earnestly than ever. + </p> + <p> + “Believe me; believe me, Mr. Coffin, and gentlemen all, I no more arrogate + to myself a superiority over you than does the sailor hurled on shore by + the surge fancy himself better than his comrade who is still battling with + the foam. For I too, gentlemen,—let me confess it, that by confiding + in you I may, perhaps, win you to confide in me,—have loved, ay and + do love, where you love also. Do not start. Is it a matter of wonder that + the sun which has dazzled you has dazzled me; that the lodestone which has + drawn you has drawn me? Do not frown, either, gentlemen. I have learnt to + love you for loving what I love, and to admire you for admiring that which + I admire. Will you not try the same lesson: so easy, and, when learnt, so + blissful? What breeds more close communion between subjects than + allegiance to the same queen? between brothers, than duty to the same + father? between the devout, than adoration for the same Deity? And shall + not worship for the same beauty be likewise a bond of love between the + worshippers? and each lover see in his rival not an enemy, but a + fellow-sufferer? You smile and say in your hearts, that though all may + worship, but one can enjoy; and that one man's meat must be the poison of + the rest. Be it so, though I deny it. Shall we anticipate our own doom, + and slay ourselves for fear of dying? Shall we make ourselves unworthy of + her from our very eagerness to win her, and show ourselves her faithful + knights, by cherishing envy,—most unknightly of all sins? Shall we + dream with the Italian or the Spaniard that we can become more amiable in + a lady's eyes, by becoming hateful in the eyes of God and of each other? + Will she love us the better, if we come to her with hands stained in the + blood of him whom she loves better than us? Let us recollect ourselves + rather, gentlemen; and be sure that our only chance of winning her, if she + be worth winning, is to will what she wills, honor whom she honors, love + whom she loves. If there is to be rivalry among us, let it be a rivalry in + nobleness, an emulation in virtue. Let each try to outstrip the other in + loyalty to his queen, in valor against her foes, in deeds of courtesy and + mercy to the afflicted and oppressed; and thus our love will indeed prove + its own divine origin, by raising us nearer to those gods whose gift it + is. But yet I show you a more excellent way, and that is charity. Why + should we not make this common love to her, whom I am unworthy to name, + the sacrament of a common love to each other? Why should we not follow the + heroical examples of those ancient knights, who having but one grief, one + desire, one goddess, held that one heart was enough to contain that grief, + to nourish that desire, to worship that divinity; and so uniting + themselves in friendship till they became but one soul in two bodies, + lived only for each other in living only for her, vowing as faithful + worshippers to abide by her decision, to find their own bliss in hers, and + whomsoever she esteemed most worthy of her love, to esteem most worthy + also, and count themselves, by that her choice, the bounden servants of + him whom their mistress had condescended to advance to the dignity of her + master?—as I (not without hope that I shall be outdone in generous + strife) do here promise to be the faithful friend, and, to my ability, the + hearty servant, of him who shall be honored with the love of the Rose of + Torridge.” + </p> + <p> + He ceased, and there was a pause. + </p> + <p> + At last young Fortescue spoke. + </p> + <p> + “I may be paying you a left-handed compliment, sir: but it seems to me + that you are so likely, in that case, to become your own faithful friend + and hearty servant (even if you have not borne off the bell already while + we have been asleep), that the bargain is hardly fair between such a gay + Italianist and us country swains.” + </p> + <p> + “You undervalue yourself and your country, my dear sir. But set your mind + at rest. I know no more of that lady's mind than you do: nor shall I know. + For the sake of my own peace, I have made a vow neither to see her, nor to + hear, if possible, tidings of her, till three full years are past. Dixi?” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Coffin rose. + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen, I may submit to be outdone by Mr. Leigh in eloquence, but not + in generosity; if he leaves these parts for three years, I do so also.” + </p> + <p> + “And go in charity with all mankind,” said Cary. “Give us your hand, old + fellow. If you are a Coffin, you were sawn out of no wishy-washy + elm-board, but right heart-of-oak. I am going, too, as Amyas here can + tell, to Ireland away, to cool my hot liver in a bog, like a Jack-hare in + March. Come, give us thy neif, and let us part in peace. I was minded to + have fought thee this day—” + </p> + <p> + “I should have been most happy, sir,” said Coffin. + </p> + <p> + —“But now I am all love and charity to mankind. Can I have the + pleasure of begging pardon of the world in general, and thee in + particular? Does any one wish to pull my nose; send me an errand; make me + lend him five pounds; ay, make me buy a horse of him, which will be as + good as giving him ten? Come along! Join hands all round, and swear + eternal friendship, as brothers of the sacred order of the—of what. + Frank Leigh? Open thy mouth, Daniel, and christen us!” + </p> + <p> + “The Rose!” said Frank quietly, seeing that his new love-philtre was + working well, and determined to strike while the iron was hot, and carry + the matter too far to carry it back again. + </p> + <p> + “The Rose!” cried Cary, catching hold of Coffin's hand with his right, and + Fortescue's with his left. “Come, Mr. Coffin! Bend, sturdy oak! 'Woe to + the stiffnecked and stout-hearted!' says Scripture.” + </p> + <p> + And somehow or other, whether it was Frank's chivalrous speech, or Cary's + fun, or Amyas's good wine, or the nobleness which lies in every young + lad's heart, if their elders will take the trouble to call it out, the + whole party came in to terms one by one, shook hands all round, and vowed + on the hilt of Amyas's sword to make fools of themselves no more, at least + by jealousy: but to stand by each other and by their lady-love, and + neither grudge nor grumble, let her dance with, flirt with, or marry with + whom she would; and in order that the honor of their peerless dame, and + the brotherhood which was named after her, might be spread through all + lands, and equal that of Angelica or Isonde of Brittany, they would each + go home, and ask their fathers' leave (easy enough to obtain in those + brave times) to go abroad wheresoever there were “good wars,” to emulate + there the courage and the courtesy of Walter Manny and Gonzalo Fernandes, + Bayard and Gaston de Foix. Why not? Sidney was the hero of Europe at + five-and-twenty; and why not they? + </p> + <p> + And Frank watched and listened with one of his quiet smiles (his eyes, as + some folks' do, smiled even when his lips were still), and only said: + “Gentlemen, be sure that you will never repent this day.” + </p> + <p> + “Repent?” said Cary. “I feel already as angelical as thou lookest, Saint + Silvertongue. What was it that sneezed?—the cat?” + </p> + <p> + “The lion, rather, by the roar of it,” said Amyas, making a dash at the + arras behind him. “Why, here is a doorway here! and—” + </p> + <p> + And rushing under the arras, through an open door behind, he returned, + dragging out by the head Mr. John Brimblecombe. + </p> + <p> + Who was Mr. John Brimblecombe? + </p> + <p> + If you have forgotten him, you have done pretty nearly what every one else + in the room had done. But you recollect a certain fat lad, son of the + schoolmaster, whom Sir Richard punished for tale-bearing three years + before, by sending him, not to Coventry, but to Oxford. That was the man. + He was now one-and-twenty, and a bachelor of Oxford, where he had learnt + such things as were taught in those days, with more or less success; and + he was now hanging about Bideford once more, intending to return after + Christmas and read divinity, that he might become a parson, and a shepherd + of souls in his native land. + </p> + <p> + Jack was in person exceedingly like a pig: but not like every pig: not in + the least like the Devon pigs of those days, which, I am sorry to say, + were no more shapely than the true Irish greyhound who pays Pat's “rint” + for him; or than the lanky monsters who wallow in German rivulets, while + the village swineherd, beneath a shady lime, forgets his fleas in the + melody of a Jew's harp—strange mud-colored creatures, four feet high + and four inches thick, which look as if they had passed their lives, as a + collar of Oxford brawn is said to do, between two tight boards. Such were + then the pigs of Devon: not to be compared with the true wild descendant + of Noah's stock, high-withered, furry, grizzled, game-flavored little + rooklers, whereof many a sownder still grunted about Swinley down and + Braunton woods, Clovelly glens and Bursdon moor. Not like these, nor like + the tame abomination of those barbarous times, was Jack: but prophetic in + face, figure, and complexion, of Fisher Hobbs and the triumphs of science. + A Fisher Hobbs' pig of twelve stone, on his hind-legs—that was what + he was, and nothing else; and if you do not know, reader, what a Fisher + Hobbs is, you know nothing about pigs, and deserve no bacon for breakfast. + But such was Jack. The same plump mulberry complexion, garnished with a + few scattered black bristles; the same sleek skin, looking always as if it + was upon the point of bursting; the same little toddling legs; the same + dapper bend in the small of the back; the same cracked squeak; the same + low upright forehead, and tiny eyes; the same round self-satisfied jowl; + the same charming sensitive little cocked nose, always on the look-out for + a savory smell,—and yet while watching for the best, contented with + the worst; a pig of self-helpful and serene spirit, as Jack was, and + therefore, like him, fatting fast while other pigs' ribs are staring + through their skins. + </p> + <p> + Such was Jack; and lucky it was for him that such he was; for it was + little that he got to fat him at Oxford, in days when a servitor meant + really a servant-student; and wistfully that day did his eyes, led by his + nose, survey at the end of the Ship Inn passage the preparations for + Amyas's supper. The innkeeper was a friend of his; for, in the first + place, they had lived within three doors of each other all their lives; + and next, Jack was quite pleasant company enough, beside being a learned + man and an Oxford scholar, to be asked in now and then to the innkeeper's + private parlor, when there were no gentlemen there, to crack his little + joke and tell his little story, sip the leavings of the guests' sack, and + sometimes help the host to eat the leavings of their supper. And it was, + perhaps, with some such hope that Jack trotted off round the corner to the + Ship that very afternoon; for that faithful little nose of his, as it + sniffed out of a back window of the school, had given him warning of + Sabean gales, and scents of Paradise, from the inn kitchen below; so he + went round, and asked for his pot of small ale (his only luxury), and + stood at the bar to drink it; and looked inward with his little twinkling + right eye, and sniffed inward with his little curling right nostril, and + beheld, in the kitchen beyond, salad in stacks and fagots: salad of + lettuce, salad of cress and endive, salad of boiled coleworts, salad of + pickled coleworts, salad of angelica, salad of scurvy-wort, and seven + salads more; for potatoes were not as yet, and salads were during eight + months of the year the only vegetable. And on the dresser, and before the + fire, whole hecatombs of fragrant victims, which needed neither + frankincense nor myrrh; Clovelly herrings and Torridge salmon, Exmoor + mutton and Stow venison, stubble geese and woodcocks, curlew and snipe, + hams of Hampshire, chitterlings of Taunton, and botargos of Cadiz, such as + Pantagruel himself might have devoured. And Jack eyed them, as a ragged + boy eyes the cakes in a pastrycook's window; and thought of the scraps + from the commoners' dinner, which were his wages for cleaning out the + hall; and meditated deeply on the unequal distribution of human bliss. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Mr. Brimblecombe!” said the host, bustling out with knife and apron + to cool himself in the passage. “Here are doings! Nine gentlemen to + supper!” + </p> + <p> + “Nine! Are they going to eat all that?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I can't say—that Mr. Amyas is as good as three to his + trencher: but still there's crumbs, Mr. Brimblecombe, crumbs; and waste + not want not is my doctrine; so you and I may have a somewhat to stay our + stomachs, about an eight o'clock.” + </p> + <p> + “Eight?” said Jack, looking wistfully at the clock. “It's but four now. + Well, it's kind of you, and perhaps I'll look in.” + </p> + <p> + “Just you step in now, and look to this venison. There's a breast! you may + lay your two fingers into the say there, and not get to the bottom of the + fat. That's Sir Richard's sending. He's all for them Leighs, and no + wonder, they'm brave lads, surely; and there's a saddle-o'-mutton! I rode + twenty miles for mun yesterday, I did, over beyond Barnstaple; and five + year old, Mr. John, it is, if ever five years was; and not a tooth to + mun's head, for I looked to that; and smelt all the way home like any + apple; and if it don't ate so soft as ever was scald cream, never you call + me Thomas Burman.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Jack. “And that's their dinner. Well, some are born with a + silver spoon in their mouth.” + </p> + <p> + “Some be born with roast beef in their mouths, and plum-pudding in their + pocket to take away the taste o' mun; and that's better than empty spunes, + eh?” + </p> + <p> + “For them that get it,” said Jack. “But for them that don't—” And + with a sigh he returned to his small ale, and then lingered in and out of + the inn, watching the dinner as it went into the best room, where the + guests were assembled. + </p> + <p> + And as he lounged there, Amyas went in, and saw him, and held out his + hand, and said— + </p> + <p> + “Hillo, Jack! how goes the world? How you've grown!” and passed on;—what + had Jack Brimblecombe to do with Rose Salterne? + </p> + <p> + So Jack lingered on, hovering around the fragrant smell like a fly round a + honey-pot, till he found himself invisibly attracted, and as it were led + by the nose out of the passage into the adjoining room, and to that side + of the room where there was a door; and once there he could not help + hearing what passed inside; till Rose Salterne's name fell on his ear. So, + as it was ordained, he was taken in the fact. And now behold him brought + in red-hand to judgment, not without a kick or two from the wrathful foot + of Amyas Leigh. Whereat there fell on him a storm of abuse, which, for the + honor of that gallant company, I shall not give in detail; but which + abuse, strange to say, seemed to have no effect on the impenitent and + unabashed Jack, who, as soon as he could get his breath, made answer + fiercely, amid much puffing and blowing. + </p> + <p> + “What business have I here? As much as any of you. If you had asked me in, + I would have come: but as you didn't, I came without asking.” + </p> + <p> + “You shameless rascal!” said Cary. “Come if you were asked, where there + was good wine? I'll warrant you for that!” + </p> + <p> + “Why,” said Amyas, “no lad ever had a cake at school but he would dog him + up one street and down another all day for the crumbs, the + trencher-scraping spaniel!” + </p> + <p> + “Patience, masters!” said Frank. “That Jack's is somewhat of a gnathonic + and parasitic soul, or stomach, all Bideford apple-women know; but I + suspect more than Deus Venter has brought him hither.” + </p> + <p> + “Deus eavesdropping, then. We shall have the whole story over the town by + to-morrow,” said another; beginning at that thought to feel somewhat + ashamed of his late enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Mr. Frank! You were always the only one that would stand up for me! + Deus Venter, quotha? 'Twas Deus Cupid, it was!” + </p> + <p> + A roar of laughter followed this announcement. + </p> + <p> + “What?” asked Frank; “was it Cupid, then, who sneezed approval to our + love, Jack, as he did to that of Dido and Aeneas?” + </p> + <p> + But Jack went on desperately. + </p> + <p> + “I was in the next room, drinking of my beer. I couldn't help that, could + I? And then I heard her name; and I couldn't help listening then. Flesh + and blood couldn't.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor fat either!” + </p> + <p> + “No, nor fat, Mr. Cary. Do you suppose fat men haven't souls to be saved + as well as thin ones, and hearts to burst, too, as well as stomachs? Fat! + Fat can feel, I reckon, as well as lean. Do you suppose there's naught + inside here but beer?” + </p> + <p> + And he laid his hand, as Drayton might have said, on that stout bastion, + hornwork, ravelin, or demilune, which formed the outworks to the citadel + of his purple isle of man. + </p> + <p> + “Naught but beer?—Cheese, I suppose?” + </p> + <p> + “Bread?” + </p> + <p> + “Beef?” + </p> + <p> + “Love!” cried Jack. “Yes, Love!—Ay, you laugh; but my eyes are not + so grown up with fat but what I can see what's fair as well as you.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Jack, naughty Jack, dost thou heap sin on sin, and luxury on + gluttony?” + </p> + <p> + “Sin? If I sin, you sin: I tell you, and I don't care who knows it, I've + loved her these three years as well as e'er a one of you, I have. I've + thought o' nothing else, prayed for nothing else, God forgive me! And then + you laugh at me, because I'm a poor parson's son, and you fine gentlemen: + God made us both, I reckon. You?—you make a deal of giving her up + to-day. Why, it's what I've done for three miserable years as ever poor + sinner spent; ay, from the first day I said to myself, 'Jack, if you can't + have that pearl, you'll have none; and that you can't have, for it's meat + for your masters: so conquer or die.' And I couldn't conquer. I can't help + loving her, worshipping her, no more than you; and I will die: but you + needn't laugh meanwhile at me that have done as much as you, and will do + again.” + </p> + <p> + “It is the old tale,” said Frank to himself; “whom will not love transform + into a hero?” + </p> + <p> + And so it was. Jack's squeaking voice was firm and manly, his pig's eyes + flashed very fire, his gestures were so free and earnest, that the + ungainliness of his figure was forgotten; and when he finished with a + violent burst of tears, Frank, forgetting his wounds, sprang up and caught + him by the hand. + </p> + <p> + “John Brimblecombe, forgive me! Gentlemen, if we are gentlemen, we ought + to ask his pardon. Has he not shown already more chivalry, more + self-denial, and therefore more true love, than any of us? My friends, let + the fierceness of affection, which we have used as an excuse for many a + sin of our own, excuse his listening to a conversation in which he well + deserved to bear a part.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said Jack, “you make me one of your brotherhood; and see if I do not + dare to suffer as much as any of you! You laugh? Do you fancy none can use + a sword unless he has a baker's dozen of quarterings in his arms, or that + Oxford scholars know only how to handle a pen?” + </p> + <p> + “Let us try his metal,” said St. Leger. “Here's my sword, Jack; draw, + Coffin! and have at him.” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense!” said Coffin, looking somewhat disgusted at the notion of + fighting a man of Jack's rank; but Jack caught at the weapon offered to + him. + </p> + <p> + “Give me a buckler, and have at any of you!” + </p> + <p> + “Here's a chair bottom,” cried Cary; and Jack, seizing it in his left, + flourished his sword so fiercely, and called so loudly to Coffin to come + on, that all present found it necessary, unless they wished blood to be + spilt, to turn the matter off with a laugh: but Jack would not hear of it. + </p> + <p> + “Nay: if you will let me be of your brotherhood, well and good: but if + not, one or other I will fight: and that's flat.” + </p> + <p> + “You see, gentlemen,” said Amyas, “we must admit him or die the death; so + we needs must go when Sir Urian drives. Come up, Jack, and take the oaths. + You admit him, gentlemen?” + </p> + <p> + “Let me but be your chaplain,” said Jack, “and pray for your luck when + you're at the wars. If I do stay at home in a country curacy, 'tis not + much that you need be jealous of me with her, I reckon,” said Jack, with a + pathetical glance at his own stomach. + </p> + <p> + “Sia!” said Cary: “but if he be admitted, it must be done according to the + solemn forms and ceremonies in such cases provided. Take him into the next + room, Amyas, and prepare him for his initiation.” + </p> + <p> + “What's that?” asked Amyas, puzzled by the word. But judging from the + corner of Will's eye that initiation was Latin for a practical joke, he + led forth his victim behind the arras again, and waited five minutes while + the room was being darkened, till Frank's voice called to him to bring in + the neophyte. + </p> + <p> + “John Brimblecombe,” said Frank, in a sepulchral tone, “you cannot be + ignorant, as a scholar and bachelor of Oxford, of that dread sacrament by + which Catiline bound the soul of his fellow-conspirators, in order that + both by the daring of the deed he might have proof of their sincerity, and + by the horror thereof astringe their souls by adamantine fetters, and + Novem-Stygian oaths, to that wherefrom hereafter the weakness of the flesh + might shrink. Wherefore, O Jack! we too have determined, following that + ancient and classical example, to fill, as he did, a bowl with the + lifeblood of our most heroic selves, and to pledge each other therein, + with vows whereat the stars shall tremble in their spheres, and Luna, + blushing, veil her silver cheeks. Your blood alone is wanted to fill up + the goblet. Sit down, John Brimblecombe, and bare your arm!” + </p> + <p> + “But, Mr. Frank!—” said Jack, who was as superstitious as any old + wife, and, what with the darkness and the discourse, already in a cold + perspiration. + </p> + <p> + “But me no buts! or depart as recreant, not by the door like a man, but up + the chimney like a flittermouse.” + </p> + <p> + “But, Mr. Frank!” + </p> + <p> + “Thy vital juice, or the chimney! Choose!” roared Cary in his ear. + </p> + <p> + “Well, if I must,” said Jack; “but it's desperate hard that because you + can't keep faith without these barbarous oaths, I must take them too, that + have kept faith these three years without any.” + </p> + <p> + At this pathetic appeal Frank nearly melted: but Amyas and Cary had thrust + the victim into a chair and all was prepared for the sacrifice. + </p> + <p> + “Bind his eyes, according to the classic fashion,” said Will. + </p> + <p> + “Oh no, dear Mr. Cary; I'll shut them tight enough, I warrant: but not + with your dagger, dear Mr. William—sure, not with your dagger? I + can't afford to lose blood, though I do look lusty—I can't indeed; + sure, a pin would do—I've got one here, to my sleeve, somewhere—Oh!” + </p> + <p> + “See the fount of generous juice! Flow on, fair stream. How he bleeds!—pints, + quarts! Ah, this proves him to be in earnest!” + </p> + <p> + “A true lover's blood is always at his fingers' ends.” + </p> + <p> + “He does not grudge it; of course not. Eh, Jack? What matters an odd + gallon for her sake?” + </p> + <p> + “For her sake? Nothing, nothing! Take my life, if you will: but—oh, + gentlemen, a surgeon, if you love me! I'm going off—I 'm fainting!” + </p> + <p> + “Drink, then, quick; drink and swear! Pat his back, Cary. Courage, man! it + will be over in a minute. Now, Frank!—” + </p> + <p> + And Frank spoke— + </p> + <p> + “If plighted troth I fail, or secret speech reveal, May Cocytean ghosts + around my pillow squeal; While Ate's brazen claws distringe my spleen in + sunder, And drag me deep to Pluto's keep, 'mid brimstone, smoke, and + thunder!” + </p> + <p> + “Placetne, domine?” + </p> + <p> + “Placet!” squeaked Jack, who thought himself at the last gasp, and gulped + down full three-quarters of the goblet which Cary held to his lips. + </p> + <p> + “Ugh—Ah—Puh! Mercy on us! It tastes mighty like wine!” + </p> + <p> + “A proof, my virtuous brother,” said Frank, “first, of thy abstemiousness, + which has thus forgotten what wine tastes like; and next, of thy pure and + heroical affection, by which thy carnal senses being exalted to a higher + and supra-lunar sphere, like those Platonical daemonizomenoi and + enthusiazomenoi (of whom Jamblichus says that they were insensible to + wounds and flame, and much more, therefore, to evil savors), doth make + even the most nauseous draught redolent of that celestial fragrance, which + proceeding, O Jack! from thine own inward virtue, assimilates by sympathy + even outward accidents unto its own harmony and melody; for fragrance is, + as has been said well, the song of flowers, and sweetness, the music of + apples—Ahem! Go in peace, thou hast conquered!” + </p> + <p> + “Put him out of the door, Will,” said Amyas, “or he will swoon on our + hands.” + </p> + <p> + “Give him some sack,” said Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Not a blessed drop of yours, sir,” said Jack. “I like good wine as well + as any man on earth, and see as little of it; but not a drop of yours, + sirs, after your frumps and flouts about hanging-on and trencher-scraping. + When I first began to love her, I bid good-bye to all dirty tricks; for I + had some one then for whom to keep myself clean.” + </p> + <p> + And so Jack was sent home, with a pint of good red Alicant wine in him + (more, poor fellow, than he had tasted at once in his life before); while + the rest, in high glee with themselves and the rest of the world, + relighted the candles, had a right merry evening, and parted like good + friends and sensible gentlemen of devon, thinking (all except Frank) Jack + Brimblecombe and his vow the merriest jest they had heard for many a day. + After which they all departed: Amyas and Cary to Winter's squadron; Frank + (as soon as he could travel) to the Court again; and with him young + Basset, whose father Sir Arthur, being in London, procured for him a + page's place in Leicester's household. Fortescue and Chicester went to + their brothers in Dublin; St. Leger to his uncle the Marshal of Munster; + Coffin joined Champernoun and Norris in the Netherlands; and so the + Brotherhood of the Rose was scattered far and wide, and Mistress Salterne + was left alone with her looking-glass. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX + </h2> + <h3> + HOW AMYAS KEPT HIS CHRISTMAS DAY + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Take aim, you noble musqueteers, + And shoot you round about; + Stand to it, valiant pikemen, + And we shall keep them out. + There's not a man of all of us + A foot will backward flee; + I'll be the foremost man in fight, + Says brave Lord Willoughby!” + + Elizabethan Ballad. +</pre> + <p> + It was the blessed Christmas afternoon. The light was fading down; the + even-song was done; and the good folks of Bideford were trooping home in + merry groups, the father with his children, the lover with his sweetheart, + to cakes and ale, and flapdragons and mummer's plays, and all the happy + sports of Christmas night. One lady only, wrapped close in her black + muffler and followed by her maid, walked swiftly, yet sadly, toward the + long causeway and bridge which led to Northam town. Sir Richard Grenville + and his wife caught her up and stopped her courteously. + </p> + <p> + “You will come home with us, Mrs. Leigh,” said Lady Grenville, “and spend + a pleasant Christmas night?” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh smiled sweetly, and laying one hand on Lady Grenville's arm, + pointed with the other to the westward, and said: + </p> + <p> + “I cannot well spend a merry Christmas night while that sound is in my + ears.” + </p> + <p> + The whole party around looked in the direction in which she pointed. Above + their heads the soft blue sky was fading into gray, and here and there a + misty star peeped out: but to the westward, where the downs and woods of + Raleigh closed in with those of Abbotsham, the blue was webbed and turfed + with delicate white flakes; iridescent spots, marking the path by which + the sun had sunk, showed all the colors of the dying dolphin; and low on + the horizon lay a long band of grassy green. But what was the sound which + troubled Mrs. Leigh? None of them, with their merry hearts, and ears + dulled with the din and bustle of the town, had heard it till that moment: + and yet now—listen! It was dead calm. There was not a breath to stir + a blade of grass. And yet the air was full of sound, a low deep roar which + hovered over down and wood, salt-marsh and river, like the roll of a + thousand wheels, the tramp of endless armies, or—what it was—the + thunder of a mighty surge upon the boulders of the pebble ridge. + </p> + <p> + “The ridge is noisy to-night,” said Sir Richard. “There has been wind + somewhere.” + </p> + <p> + “There is wind now, where my boy is, God help him!” said Mrs. Leigh: and + all knew that she spoke truly. The spirit of the Atlantic storm had sent + forward the token of his coming, in the smooth ground-swell which was + heard inland, two miles away. To-morrow the pebbles, which were now + rattling down with each retreating wave, might be leaping to the ridge + top, and hurled like round-shot far ashore upon the marsh by the force of + the advancing wave, fleeing before the wrath of the western hurricane. + </p> + <p> + “God help my boy!” said Mrs. Leigh again. + </p> + <p> + “God is as near him by sea as by land,” said good Sir Richard. + </p> + <p> + “True, but I am a lone mother; and one that has no heart just now but to + go home and pray.” + </p> + <p> + And so Mrs. Leigh went onward up the lane, and spent all that night in + listening between her prayers to the thunder of the surge, till it was + drowned, long ere the sun rose, in the thunder of the storm. + </p> + <p> + And where is Amyas on this same Christmas afternoon? + </p> + <p> + Amyas is sitting bareheaded in a boat's stern in Smerwick bay, with the + spray whistling through his curls, as he shouts cheerfully— + </p> + <p> + “Pull, and with a will, my merry men all, and never mind shipping a sea. + Cannon balls are a cargo that don't spoil by taking salt-water.” + </p> + <p> + His mother's presage has been true enough. Christmas eve has been the last + of the still, dark, steaming nights of the early winter; and the western + gale has been roaring for the last twelve hours upon the Irish coast. + </p> + <p> + The short light of the winter day is fading fast. Behind him is a leaping + line of billows lashed into mist by the tempest. Beside him green + foam-fringed columns are rushing up the black rocks, and falling again in + a thousand cataracts of snow. Before him is the deep and sheltered bay: + but it is not far up the bay that he and his can see; for some four miles + out at sea begins a sloping roof of thick gray cloud, which stretches over + their heads, and up and far away inland, cutting the cliffs off at + mid-height, hiding all the Kerry mountains, and darkening the hollows of + the distant firths into the blackness of night. And underneath that awful + roof of whirling mist the storm is howling inland ever, sweeping before it + the great foam-sponges, and the gray salt spray, till all the land is + hazy, dim, and dun. Let it howl on! for there is more mist than ever salt + spray made, flying before that gale; more thunder than ever sea-surge + wakened echoing among the cliffs of Smerwick bay; along those sand-hills + flash in the evening gloom red sparks which never came from heaven; for + that fort, now christened by the invaders the Fort Del Oro, where flaunts + the hated golden flag of Spain, holds San Josepho and eight hundred of the + foe; and but three nights ago, Amyas and Yeo, and the rest of Winter's + shrewdest hands, slung four culverins out of the Admiral's main deck, and + floated them ashore, and dragged them up to the battery among the + sand-hills; and now it shall be seen whether Spanish and Italian + condottieri can hold their own on British ground against the men of Devon. + </p> + <p> + Small blame to Amyas if he was thinking, not of his lonely mother at + Burrough Court, but of those quick bright flashes on sand-hill and on + fort, where Salvation Yeo was hurling the eighteen-pound shot with deadly + aim, and watching with a cool and bitter smile of triumph the flying of + the sand, and the crashing of the gabions. Amyas and his party had been on + board, at the risk of their lives, for a fresh supply of shot; for + Winter's battery was out of ball, and had been firing stones for the last + four hours, in default of better missiles. They ran the boat on shore + through the surf, where a cove in the shore made landing possible, and + almost careless whether she stove or not, scrambled over the sand-hills + with each man his brace of shot slung across his shoulder; and Amyas, + leaping into the trenches, shouted cheerfully to Salvation Yeo— + </p> + <p> + “More food for the bull-dogs, Gunner, and plums for the Spaniards' + Christmas pudding!” + </p> + <p> + “Don't speak to a man at his business, Master Amyas. Five mortal times + have I missed; but I will have that accursed Popish rag down, as I'm a + sinner.” + </p> + <p> + “Down with it, then; nobody wants you to shoot crooked. Take good iron to + it, and not footy paving-stones.” + </p> + <p> + “I believe, sir, that the foul fiend is there, a turning of my shot aside, + I do. I thought I saw him once: but, thank Heaven, here's ball again. Ah, + sir, if one could but cast a silver one! Now, stand by, men!” + </p> + <p> + And once again Yeo's eighteen-pounder roared, and away. And, oh glory! the + great yellow flag of Spain, which streamed in the gale, lifted clean into + the air, flagstaff and all, and then pitched wildly down head-foremost, + far to leeward. + </p> + <p> + A hurrah from the sailors, answered by the soldiers of the opposite camp, + shook the very cloud above them: but ere its echoes had died away, a tall + officer leapt upon the parapet of the fort, with the fallen flag in his + hand, and rearing it as well as he could upon his lance point, held it + firmly against the gale, while the fallen flagstaff was raised again + within. + </p> + <p> + In a moment a dozen long bows were bent at the daring foeman: but Amyas + behind shouted— + </p> + <p> + “Shame, lads! Stop and let the gallant gentleman have due courtesy!” + </p> + <p> + So they stopped, while Amyas, springing on the rampart of the battery, + took off his hat, and bowed to the flag-holder, who, as soon as relieved + of his charge, returned the bow courteously, and descended. + </p> + <p> + It was by this time all but dark, and the firing began to slacken on all + sides; Salvation and his brother gunners, having covered up their + slaughtering tackle with tarpaulings, retired for the night, leaving + Amyas, who had volunteered to take the watch till midnight; and the rest + of the force having got their scanty supper of biscuit (for provisions + were running very short) lay down under arms among the sand-hills, and + grumbled themselves to sleep. + </p> + <p> + He had paced up and down in the gusty darkness for some hour or more, + exchanging a passing word now and then with the sentinel, when two men + entered the battery, chatting busily together. One was in complete armor; + the other wrapped in the plain short cloak of a man of pens and peace: but + the talk of both was neither of sieges nor of sallies, catapult, bombard, + nor culverin, but simply of English hexameters. + </p> + <p> + And fancy not, gentle reader, that the two were therein fiddling while + Rome was burning; for the commonweal of poetry and letters, in that same + critical year 1580, was in far greater danger from those same hexameters + than the common woe of Ireland (as Raleigh called it) was from the + Spaniards. + </p> + <p> + Imitating the classic metres, “versifying,” as it was called in + contradistinction to rhyming, was becoming fast the fashion among the more + learned. Stonyhurst and others had tried their hands at hexameter + translations from the Latin and Greek epics, which seem to have been + doggerel enough; and ever and anon some youthful wit broke out in iambics, + sapphics, elegiacs, and what not, to the great detriment of the queen's + English and her subjects' ears. + </p> + <p> + I know not whether Mr. William Webbe had yet given to the world any + fragments of his precious hints for the “Reformation of English poetry,” + to the tune of his own “Tityrus, happily thou liest tumbling under a + beech-tree:” but the Cambridge Malvolio, Gabriel Harvey, had succeeded in + arguing Spenser, Dyer, Sidney, and probably Sidney's sister, and the whole + clique of beaux-esprits round them, into following his model of + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “What might I call this tree? A laurel? O bonny laurel! + Needes to thy bowes will I bowe this knee, and vail my bonetto;” + </pre> + <p> + after snubbing the first book of “that Elvish Queene,” which was then in + manuscript, as a base declension from the classical to the romantic + school. + </p> + <p> + And now Spenser (perhaps in mere melancholy wilfulness and want of + purpose, for he had just been jilted by a fair maid of Kent) was wasting + his mighty genius upon doggerel which he fancied antique; and some + piratical publisher (bitter Tom Nash swears, and with likelihood that + Harvey did it himself) had just given to the world,—“Three proper + wittie and familiar Letters, lately past between two University men, + touching the Earthquake in April last, and our English reformed + Versifying,” which had set all town wits a-buzzing like a swarm of flies, + being none other than a correspondence between Spenser and Harvey, which + was to prove to the world forever the correctness and melody of such lines + as, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “For like magnificoes, not a beck but glorious in show, + In deede most frivolous, not a looke but Tuscanish always.” + </pre> + <p> + Let them pass—Alma Mater has seen as bad hexameters since. But then + the matter was serious. There is a story (I know not how true) that + Spenser was half bullied into re-writing the “Faerie Queene” in + hexameters, had not Raleigh, a true romanticist, “whose vein for ditty or + amorous ode was most lofty, insolent, and passionate,” persuaded him to + follow his better genius. The great dramatists had not yet arisen, to form + completely that truly English school, of which Spenser, unconscious of his + own vast powers, was laying the foundation. And, indeed, it was not till + Daniel, twenty years after, in his admirable apology for rhyme, had + smashed Mr. Campian and his “eight several kinds of classical numbers,” + that the matter was finally settled, and the English tongue left to go the + road on which Heaven had started it. So that we may excuse Raleigh's + answering somewhat waspish to some quotation of Spenser's from the three + letters of “Immerito and G. H.” + </p> + <p> + “Tut, tut, Colin Clout, much learning has made thee mad. A good old + fishwives' ballad jingle is worth all your sapphics and trimeters, and + 'riff-raff thurlery bouncing.' Hey? have I you there, old lad? Do you mind + that precious verse?” + </p> + <p> + “But, dear Wat, Homer and Virgil—” + </p> + <p> + “But, dear Ned, Petrarch and Ovid—” + </p> + <p> + “But, Wat, what have we that we do not owe to the ancients?” + </p> + <p> + “Ancients, quotha? Why, the legend of King Arthur, and Chevy Chase too, of + which even your fellow-sinner Sidney cannot deny that every time he hears + it even from a blind fiddler it stirs his heart like a trumpet-blast. + Speak well of the bridge that carries you over, man! Did you find your + Redcross Knight in Virgil, or such a dame as Una in old Ovid? No more than + you did your Pater and Credo, you renegado baptized heathen, you!” + </p> + <p> + “Yet, surely, our younger and more barbarous taste must bow before divine + antiquity, and imitate afar—” + </p> + <p> + “As dottrels do fowlers. If Homer was blind, lad, why dost not poke out + thine eye? Ay, this hexameter is of an ancient house, truly, Ned Spenser, + and so is many a rogue: but he cannot make way on our rough English roads. + He goes hopping and twitching in our language like a three-legged terrier + over a pebble-bank, tumble and up again, rattle and crash.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, hear, now— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'See ye the blindfolded pretty god that feathered archer, + Of lovers' miseries which maketh his bloody game?' * +</pre> + <p> + True, the accent gapes in places, as I have often confessed to Harvey, but—” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Strange as it may seem, this distich is Spenser's own; and + the other hexameters are all authentic. +</pre> + <p> + Harvey be hanged for a pedant, and the whole crew of versifiers, from Lord + Dorset (but he, poor man, has been past hanging some time since) to + yourself! Why delude you into playing Procrustes as he does with the + queen's English, racking one word till its joints be pulled asunder, and + squeezing the next all a-heap as the Inquisitors do heretics in their + banca cava? Out upon him and you, and Sidney, and the whole kin. You have + not made a verse among you, and never will, which is not as lame a gosling + as Harvey's own— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Oh thou weathercocke, that stands on the top of Allhallows, + Come thy ways down, if thou dar'st for thy crown, and take the wall + on us.' +</pre> + <p> + “Hark, now! There is our young giant comforting his soul with a ballad. + You will hear rhyme and reason together here, now. He will not miscall + 'blind-folded,' 'blind-fold-ed, I warrant; or make an 'of' and a 'which' + and a 'his' carry a whole verse on their wretched little backs.” + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke, Amyas, who had been grumbling to himself some Christmas + carol, broke out full-mouthed:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “As Joseph was a-walking + He heard an angel sing— + 'This night shall be the birth night + Of Christ, our heavenly King. + + His birthbed shall be neither + In housen nor in hall, + Nor in the place of paradise, + But in the oxen's stall. + + He neither shall be rocked + In silver nor in gold, + But in the wooden manger + That lieth on the mould. + + He neither shall be washen + With white wine nor with red, + But with the fair spring water + That on you shall be shed. + + He neither shall be clothed + In purple nor in pall, + But in the fair white linen + That usen babies all.' + + As Joseph was a-walking + Thus did the angel sing, + And Mary's Son at midnight + Was born to be our King. + + Then be you glad, good people, + At this time of the year; + And light you up your candles, + For His star it shineth clear.” + </pre> + <p> + “There, Edmunde Classicaster,” said Raleigh, “does not that simple strain + go nearer to the heart of him who wrote 'The Shepherd's Calendar,' than + all artificial and outlandish + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Wote ye why his mother with a veil hath covered his face?' +</pre> + <p> + Why dost not answer, man?” + </p> + <p> + But Spenser was silent awhile, and then,— + </p> + <p> + “Because I was thinking rather of the rhymer than the rhyme. Good heaven! + how that brave lad shames me, singing here the hymns which his mother + taught him, before the very muzzles of Spanish guns; instead of bewailing + unmanly, as I have done, the love which he held, I doubt not, as dear as I + did even my Rosalind. This is his welcome to the winter's storm; while I, + who dream, forsooth, of heavenly inspiration, can but see therein an image + of mine own cowardly despair. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Thou barren ground, whom winter's wrath has wasted, + Art made a mirror to behold my plight.'* +</pre> + <p> + Pah! away with frosts, icicles, and tears, and sighs—” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * “The Shepherd's Calendar.” + </pre> + <p> + “And with hexameters and trimeters too, I hope,” interrupted Raleigh: “and + all the trickeries of self-pleasing sorrow.” + </p> + <p> + “—I will set my heart to higher work than barking at the hand which + chastens me.” + </p> + <p> + “Wilt put the lad into the 'Faerie Queene,' then, by my side? He deserves + as good a place there, believe me, as ever a Guyon, or even as Lord Grey + your Arthegall. Let us hail him. Hallo! young chanticleer of Devon! Art + not afraid of a chance shot, that thou crowest so lustily upon thine own + mixen?” + </p> + <p> + “Cocks crow all night long at Christmas, Captain Raleigh, and so do I,” + said Amyas's cheerful voice; “but who's there with you?” + </p> + <p> + “A penitent pupil of yours—Mr. Secretary Spenser.” + </p> + <p> + “Pupil of mine?” said Amyas. “I wish he'd teach me a little of his art; I + could fill up my time here with making verses.” + </p> + <p> + “And who would be your theme, fair sir?” said Spenser. + </p> + <p> + “No 'who' at all. I don't want to make sonnets to blue eyes, nor black + either: but if I could put down some of the things I saw in the Spice + Islands—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said Raleigh, “he would beat you out of Parnassus, Mr. Secretary. + Remember, you may write about Fairyland, but he has seen it.” + </p> + <p> + “And so have others,” said Spenser; “it is not so far off from any one of + us. Wherever is love and loyalty, great purposes, and lofty souls, even + though in a hovel or a mine, there is Fairyland.” + </p> + <p> + “Then Fairyland should be here, friend; for you represent love, and Leigh + loyalty; while, as for great purposes and lofty souls, who so fit to stand + for them as I, being (unless my enemies and my conscience are liars both) + as ambitious and as proud as Lucifer's own self?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Walter, Walter, why wilt always slander thyself thus?” + </p> + <p> + “Slander? Tut.—I do but give the world a fair challenge, and tell + it, 'There—you know the worst of me: come on and try a fall, for + either you or I must down.' Slander? Ask Leigh here, who has but known me + a fortnight, whether I am not as vain as a peacock, as selfish as a fox, + as imperious as a bona roba, and ready to make a cat's paw of him or any + man, if there be a chestnut in the fire: and yet the poor fool cannot help + loving me, and running of my errands, and taking all my schemes and my + dreams for gospel; and verily believes now, I think, that I shall be the + man in the moon some day, and he my big dog.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Amyas, half apologetically, “if you are the cleverest man in + the world what harm in my thinking so?” + </p> + <p> + “Hearken to him, Edmund! He will know better when he has outgrown this + same callow trick of honesty, and learnt of the great goddess Detraction + how to show himself wiser than the wise, by pointing out to the world the + fool's motley which peeps through the rents in the philosopher's cloak. Go + to, lad! slander thy equals, envy thy betters, pray for an eye which sees + spots in every sun, and for a vulture's nose to scent carrion in every + rose-bed. If thy friend win a battle, show that he has needlessly thrown + away his men; if he lose one, hint that he sold it; if he rise to a place, + argue favor; if he fall from one, argue divine justice. Believe nothing, + hope nothing, but endure all things, even to kicking, if aught may be got + thereby; so shalt thou be clothed in purple and fine linen, and sit in + kings' palaces, and fare sumptuously every day.” + </p> + <p> + “And wake with Dives in the torment,” said Amyas. “Thank you for nothing, + captain.” + </p> + <p> + “Go to, Misanthropos,” said Spenser. “Thou hast not yet tasted the sweets + of this world's comfits, and thou railest at them?” + </p> + <p> + “The grapes are sour, lad.” + </p> + <p> + “And will be to the end,” said Amyas, “if they come off such a devil's + tree as that. I really think you are out of your mind, Captain Raleigh, at + times.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish I were; for it is a troublesome, hungry, windy mind as man ever + was cursed withal. But come in, lad. We were sent from the lord deputy to + bid thee to supper. There is a dainty lump of dead horse waiting for + thee.” + </p> + <p> + “Send me some out, then,” said matter-of-fact Amyas. “And tell his + lordship that, with his good leave, I don't stir from here till morning, + if I can keep awake. There is a stir in the fort, and I expect them out on + us.” + </p> + <p> + “Tut, man! their hearts are broken. We know it by their deserters.” + </p> + <p> + “Seeing's believing. I never trust runaway rogues. If they are false to + their masters, they'll be false to us.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, go thy ways, old honesty; and Mr. Secretary shall give you a book + to yourself in the 'Faerie Queene'—'Sir Monoculus or the Legend of + Common Sense,' eh, Edmund?” + </p> + <p> + “Monoculus?” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, Single-eye, my prince of word-coiners—won't that fit?—And + give him the Cyclops head for a device. Heigh-ho! They may laugh that win. + I am sick of this Irish work; were it not for the chance of advancement + I'd sooner be driving a team of red Devons on Dartside; and now I am angry + with the dear lad because he is not sick of it too. What a plague business + has he to be paddling up and down, contentedly doing his duty, like any + city watchman? It is an insult to the mighty aspirations of our nobler + hearts,—eh, my would-be Ariosto?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Raleigh! you can afford to confess yourself less than some, for you + are greater than all. Go on and conquer, noble heart! But as for me, I sow + the wind, and I suppose I shall reap the whirlwind.” + </p> + <p> + “Your harvest seems come already; what a blast that was! Hold on by me, + Colin Clout, and I'll hold on by thee. So! Don't tread on that pikeman's + stomach, lest he take thee for a marauding Don, and with sudden dagger + slit Cohn's pipe, and Colin's weasand too.” + </p> + <p> + And the two stumbled away into the darkness, leaving Amyas to stride up + and down as before, puzzling his brains over Raleigh's wild words and + Spenser's melancholy, till he came to the conclusion that there was some + mysterious connection between cleverness and unhappiness, and thanking his + stars that he was neither scholar, courtier, nor poet, said grace over his + lump of horseflesh when it arrived, devoured it as if it had been venison, + and then returned to his pacing up and down; but this time in silence, for + the night was drawing on, and there was no need to tell the Spaniards that + any one was awake and watching. + </p> + <p> + So he began to think about his mother, and how she might be spending her + Christmas; and then about Frank, and wondered at what grand Court festival + he was assisting, amid bright lights and sweet music and gay ladies, and + how he was dressed, and whether he thought of his brother there far away + on the dark Atlantic shore; and then he said his prayers and his creed; + and then he tried not to think of Rose Salterne, and of course thought + about her all the more. So on passed the dull hours, till it might be past + eleven o'clock, and all lights were out in the battery and the shipping, + and there was no sound of living thing but the monotonous tramp of the two + sentinels beside him, and now and then a grunt from the party who slept + under arms some twenty yards to the rear. + </p> + <p> + So he paced to and fro, looking carefully out now and then over the strip + of sand-hill which lay between him and the fort; but all was blank and + black, and moreover it began to rain furiously. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he seemed to hear a rustle among the harsh sand-grass. True, the + wind was whistling through it loudly enough, but that sound was not + altogether like the wind. Then a soft sliding noise; something had slipped + down a bank, and brought the sand down after it. Amyas stopped, crouched + down beside a gun, and laid his ear to the rampart, whereby he heard + clearly, as he thought, the noise of approaching feet; whether rabbits or + Christians, he knew not, but he shrewdly guessed the latter. + </p> + <p> + Now Amyas was of a sober and business-like turn, at least when he was not + in a passion; and thinking within himself that if he made any noise, the + enemy (whether four or two-legged) would retire, and all the sport be + lost, he did not call to the two sentries, who were at the opposite ends + of the battery; neither did he think it worth while to rouse the sleeping + company, lest his ears should have deceived him, and the whole camp turn + out to repulse the attack of a buck rabbit. + </p> + <p> + So he crouched lower and lower beside the culverin, and was rewarded in a + minute or two by hearing something gently deposited against the mouth of + the embrasure, which, by the noise, should be a piece of timber. + </p> + <p> + “So far, so good,” said he to himself; “when the scaling ladder is up, the + soldier follows, I suppose. I can only humbly thank them for giving my + embrasure the preference. There he comes! I hear his feet scuffling.” + </p> + <p> + He could hear plainly enough some one working himself into the mouth of + the embrasure: but the plague was, that it was so dark that he could not + see his hand between him and the sky, much less his foe at two yards off. + However, he made a pretty fair guess as to the whereabouts, and, rising + softly, discharged such a blow downwards as would have split a yule log. A + volley of sparks flew up from the hapless Spaniard's armor, and a grunt + issued from within it, which proved that, whether he was killed or not, + the blow had not improved his respiration. + </p> + <p> + Amyas felt for his head, seized it, dragged him in over the gun, sprang + into the embrasure on his knees, felt for the top of the ladder, found it, + hove it clean off and out, with four or five men on it, and then of course + tumbled after it ten feet into the sand, roaring like a town bull to her + majesty's liege subjects in general. + </p> + <p> + Sailor-fashion, he had no armor on but a light morion and a cuirass, so he + was not too much encumbered to prevent his springing to his legs + instantly, and setting to work, cutting and foining right and left at + every sound, for sight there was none. + </p> + <p> + Battles (as soldiers know, and newspaper editors do not) are usually + fought, not as they ought to be fought, but as they can be fought; and + while the literary man is laying down the law at his desk as to how many + troops should be moved here, and what rivers should be crossed there, and + where the cavalry should have been brought up, and when the flank should + have been turned, the wretched man who has to do the work finds the matter + settled for him by pestilence, want of shoes, empty stomachs, bad roads, + heavy rains, hot suns, and a thousand other stern warriors who never show + on paper. + </p> + <p> + So with this skirmish; “according to Cocker,” it ought to have been a very + pretty one; for Hercules of Pisa, who planned the sortie, had arranged it + all (being a very sans-appel in all military science) upon the best + Italian precedents, and had brought against this very hapless battery a + column of a hundred to attack directly in front, a company of fifty to + turn the right flank, and a company of fifty to turn the left flank, with + regulations, orders, passwords, countersigns, and what not; so that if + every man had had his rights (as seldom happens), Don Guzman Maria + Magdalena de Soto, who commanded the sortie, ought to have taken the work + out of hand, and annihilated all therein. But alas! here stern fate + interfered. They had chosen a dark night, as was politic; they had waited + till the moon was up, lest it should be too dark, as was politic likewise: + but, just as they had started, on came a heavy squall of rain, through + which seven moons would have given no light, and which washed out the + plans of Hercules of Pisa as if they had been written on a schoolboy's + slate. The company who were to turn the left flank walked manfully down + into the sea, and never found out where they were going till they were + knee-deep in water. The company who were to turn the right flank, + bewildered by the utter darkness, turned their own flank so often, that + tired of falling into rabbit-burrows and filling their mouths with sand, + they halted and prayed to all the saints for a compass and lantern; while + the centre body, who held straight on by a trackway to within fifty yards + of the battery, so miscalculated that short distance, that while they + thought the ditch two pikes' length off, they fell into it one over the + other, and of six scaling ladders, the only one which could be found was + the very one which Amyas threw down again. After which the clouds broke, + the wind shifted, and the moon shone out merrily. And so was the deep + policy of Hercules of Pisa, on which hung the fate of Ireland and the + Papacy, decided by a ten minutes' squall. + </p> + <p> + But where is Amyas? + </p> + <p> + In the ditch, aware that the enemy is tumbling into it, but unable to find + them; while the company above, finding it much too dark to attempt a + counter sortie, have opened a smart fire of musketry and arrows on things + in general, whereat the Spaniards are swearing like Spaniards (I need say + no more), and the Italians spitting like venomous cats; while Amyas, not + wishing to be riddled by friendly balls, has got his back against the foot + of the rampart, and waits on Providence. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the moon clears; and with one more fierce volley, the English + sailors, seeing the confusion, leap down from the embrasures, and to it + pell-mell. Whether this also was “according to Cocker,” I know not: but + the sailor, then as now, is not susceptible of highly-finished drill. + </p> + <p> + Amyas is now in his element, and so are the brave fellows at his heels; + and there are ten breathless, furious minutes among the sand-hills; and + then the trumpets blow a recall, and the sailors drop back again by twos + and threes, and are helped up into the embrasures over many a dead and + dying foe; while the guns of Fort del Oro open on them, and blaze away for + half an hour without reply; and then all is still once more. And in the + meanwhile, the sortie against the deputy's camp has fared no better, and + the victory of the night remains with the English. + </p> + <p> + Twenty minutes after, Winter and the captains who were on shore were + drying themselves round a peat-fire on the beach, and talking over the + skirmish, when Will Cary asked— + </p> + <p> + “Where is Leigh? who has seen him? I am sadly afraid he has gone too far, + and been slain.” + </p> + <p> + “Slain? Never less, gentlemen!” replied the voice of the very person in + question, as he stalked out of the darkness into the glare of the fire, + and shot down from his shoulders into the midst of the ring, as he might a + sack of corn, a huge dark body, which was gradually seen to be a man in + rich armor; who being so shot down, lay quietly where he was dropped, with + his feet (luckily for him mailed) in the fire. + </p> + <p> + “I say,” quoth Amyas, “some of you had better take him up, if he is to be + of any use. Unlace his helm, Will Cary.” + </p> + <p> + “Pull his feet out of the embers; I dare say he would have been glad + enough to put us to the scarpines; but that's no reason we should put him + to them.” + </p> + <p> + As has been hinted, there was no love lost between Admiral Winter and + Amyas; and Amyas might certainly have reported himself in a more + ceremonious manner. So Winter, whom Amyas either had not seen, or had not + chosen to see, asked him pretty sharply, “What the plague he had to do + with bringing dead men into camp?” + </p> + <p> + “If he's dead, it's not my fault. He was alive enough when I started with + him, and I kept him right end uppermost all the way; and what would you + have more, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Leigh!” said Winter, “it behoves you to speak with somewhat more + courtesy, if not respect, to captains who are your elders and commanders.” + </p> + <p> + “Ask your pardon, sir,” said the giant, as he stood in front of the fire + with the rain steaming and smoking off his armor; “but I was bred in a + school where getting good service done was more esteemed than making fine + speeches.” + </p> + <p> + “Whatsoever school you were trained in, sir,” said Winter, nettled at the + hint about Drake; “it does not seem to have been one in which you learned + to obey orders. Why did you not come in when the recall was sounded?” + </p> + <p> + “Because,” said Amyas, very coolly, “in the first place I did not hear it; + and in the next, in my school I was taught when I had once started not to + come home empty-handed.” + </p> + <p> + This was too pointed; and Winter sprang up with an oath—“Do you mean + to insult me, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “I am sorry, sir, that you should take a compliment to Sir Francis Drake + as an insult to yourself. I brought in this gentleman because I thought he + might give you good information; if he dies meanwhile, the loss will be + yours, or rather the queen's.” + </p> + <p> + “Help me, then,” said Cary, glad to create a diversion in Amyas's favor, + “and we will bring him round;” while Raleigh rose, and catching Winter's + arm, drew him aside, and began talking earnestly. + </p> + <p> + “What a murrain have you, Leigh, to quarrel with Winter?” asked two or + three. + </p> + <p> + “I say, my reverend fathers and dear children, do get the Don's talking + tackle free again, and leave me and the admiral to settle it our own way.” + </p> + <p> + There was more than one captain sitting in the ring, but discipline, and + the degrees of rank, were not so severely defined as now; and Amyas, as a + “gentleman adventurer,” was, on land, in a position very difficult to be + settled, though at sea he was as liable to be hanged as any other person + on board; and on the whole it was found expedient to patch the matter up. + So Captain Raleigh returning, said that though Admiral Winter had + doubtless taken umbrage at certain words of Mr. Leigh's, yet that he had + no doubt that Mr. Leigh meant nothing thereby but what was consistent with + the profession of a soldier and a gentleman, and worthy both of himself + and of the admiral. + </p> + <p> + From which proposition Amyas found it impossible to dissent; whereon + Raleigh went back, and informed Winter that Leigh had freely retracted his + words, and fully wiped off any imputation which Mr. Winter might conceive + to have been put upon him, and so forth. So Winter returned, and Amyas + said frankly enough— + </p> + <p> + “Admiral Winter, I hope, as a loyal soldier, that you will understand thus + far; that naught which has passed to-night shall in any way prevent you + finding me a forward and obedient servant to all your commands, be they + what they may, and a supporter of your authority among the men, and honor + against the foe, even with my life. For I should be ashamed if private + differences should ever prejudice by a grain the public weal.” + </p> + <p> + This was a great effort of oratory for Amyas; and he therefore, in order + to be safe by following precedent, tried to talk as much as he could like + Sir Richard Grenville. Of course Winter could answer nothing to it, in + spite of the plain hint of private differences, but that he should not + fail to show himself a captain worthy of so valiant and trusty a + gentleman; whereon the whole party turned their attention to the captive, + who, thanks to Will Cary, was by this time sitting up, standing much in + need of a handkerchief, and looking about him, having been unhelmed, in a + confused and doleful manner. + </p> + <p> + “Take the gentleman to my tent,” said Winter, “and let the surgeon see to + him. Mr. Leigh, who is he?—” + </p> + <p> + “An enemy, but whether Spaniard or Italian I know not; but he seemed + somebody among them, I thought the captain of a company. He and I cut at + each other twice or thrice at first, and then lost each other; and after + that I came on him among the sand-hills, trying to rally his men, and + swearing like the mouth of the pit, whereby I guess him a Spaniard. But + his men ran; so I brought him in.” + </p> + <p> + “And how?” asked Raleigh. “Thou art giving us all the play but the murders + and the marriages.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, I bid him yield, and he would not. Then I bid him run, and he would + not. And it was too pitch-dark for fighting; so I took him by the ears, + and shook the wind out of him, and so brought him in.” + </p> + <p> + “Shook the wind out of him?” cried Cary, amid the roar of laughter which + followed. “Dost know thou hast nearly wrung his neck in two? His vizor was + full of blood.” + </p> + <p> + “He should have run or yielded, then,” said Amyas; and getting up, slipped + off to find some ale, and then to sleep comfortably in a dry burrow which + he scratched out of a sandbank. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, as Amyas was discussing a scanty breakfast of biscuit + (for provisions were running very short in camp), Raleigh came up to him. + </p> + <p> + “What, eating? That's more than I have done to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Sit down, and share, then.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, lad, I did not come a-begging. I have set some of my rogues to dig + rabbits; but as I live, young Colbrand, you may thank your stars that you + are alive to-day to eat. Poor young Cheek—Sir John Cheek, the + grammarian's son—got his quittance last night by a Spanish pike, + rushing headlong on, just as you did. But have you seen your prisoner?” + </p> + <p> + “No; nor shall, while he is in Winter's tent.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not, then? What quarrel have you against the admiral, friend Bobadil? + Cannot you let Francis Drake fight his own battles, without thrusting your + head in between them?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, that is good! As if the quarrel was not just as much mine, and + every man's in the ship. Why, when he left Drake, he left us all, did he + not?” + </p> + <p> + “And what if he did? Let bygones be bygones is the rule of a Christian, + and of a wise man too, Amyas. Here the man is, at least, safe home, in + favor and in power; and a prudent youth will just hold his tongue, + mumchance, and swim with the stream.” + </p> + <p> + “But that's just what makes me mad; to see this fellow, after deserting us + there in unknown seas, win credit and rank at home here for being the + first man who ever sailed back through the Straits. What had he to do with + sailing back at all! As well make the fox a knight for being the first + that ever jumped down a jakes to escape the hounds. The fiercer the flight + the fouler the fear, say I.” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas! Amyas! thou art a hard hitter, but a soft politician.” + </p> + <p> + “I am no politician, Captain Raleigh, nor ever wish to be. An honest man's + my friend, and a rogue's my foe; and I'll tell both as much, as long as I + breathe.” + </p> + <p> + “And die a poor saint,” said Raleigh, laughing. “But if Winter invites you + to his tent himself, you won't refuse to come?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, no, considering his years and rank; but he knows too well to do + that.” + </p> + <p> + “He knows too well not to do it,” said Raleigh, laughing as he walked + away. And verily in half-an-hour came an invitation, extracted of course, + from the admiral by Raleigh's silver tongue, which Amyas could not but + obey. + </p> + <p> + “We all owe you thanks for last night's service, sir,” said Winter, who + had for some good reasons changed his tone. “Your prisoner is found to be + a gentleman of birth and experience, and the leader of the assault last + night. He has already told us more than we had hoped, for which also we + are beholden to you; and, indeed, my Lord Grey has been asking for you + already.” + </p> + <p> + “I have, young sir,” said a quiet and lofty voice; and Amyas saw limping + from the inner tent the proud and stately figure of the stern deputy, Lord + Grey of Wilton, a brave and wise man, but with a naturally harsh temper, + which had been soured still more by the wound which had crippled him, + while yet a boy, at the battle of Leith. He owed that limp to Mary Queen + of Scots; and he did not forget the debt. + </p> + <p> + “I have been asking for you; having heard from many, both of your last + night's prowess, and of your conduct and courage beyond the promise of + your years, displayed in that ever-memorable voyage, which may well be + ranked with the deeds of the ancient Argonauts.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas bowed low; and the lord deputy went on, “You will needs wish to see + your prisoner. You will find him such a one as you need not be ashamed to + have taken, and as need not be ashamed to have been taken by you: but here + he is, and will, I doubt not, answer as much for himself. Know each other + better, gentlemen both: last night was an ill one for making + acquaintances. Don Guzman Maria Magdalena Sotomayor de Soto, know the + hidalgo, Amyas Leigh!” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the Spaniard came forward, still in his armor, all save his + head, which was bound up in a handkerchief. + </p> + <p> + He was an exceedingly tall and graceful personage, of that sangre azul + which marked high Visigothic descent; golden-haired and fair-skinned, with + hands as small and white as a woman's; his lips were delicate but thin, + and compressed closely at the corners of the mouth; and his pale blue eye + had a glassy dulness. In spite of his beauty and his carriage, Amyas + shrank from him instinctively; and yet he could not help holding out his + hand in return, as the Spaniard, holding out his, said languidly, in most + sweet and sonorous Spanish— + </p> + <p> + “I kiss his hands and feet. The senor speaks, I am told, my native + tongue?” + </p> + <p> + “I have that honor.” + </p> + <p> + “Then accept in it (for I can better express myself therein than in + English, though I am not altogether ignorant of that witty and learned + language) the expression of my pleasure at having fallen into the hands of + one so renowned in war and travel; and of one also,” he added, glancing at + Amyas's giant bulk, “the vastness of whose strength, beyond that of common + mortality, makes it no more shame for me to have been overpowered and + carried away by him than if my captor had been a paladin of + Charlemagne's.” + </p> + <p> + Honest Amyas bowed and stammered, a little thrown off his balance by the + unexpected assurance and cool flattery of his prisoner; but he said— + </p> + <p> + “If you are satisfied, illustrious senor, I am bound to be so. I only + trust that in my hurry and the darkness I have not hurt you + unnecessarily.” + </p> + <p> + The Don laughed a pretty little hollow laugh: “No, kind senor, my head, I + trust, will after a few days have become united to my shoulders; and, for + the present, your company will make me forget any slight discomfort.” + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, senor; but by this daylight I should have seen that armor + before.” + </p> + <p> + “I doubt it not, senor, as having been yourself also in the forefront of + the battle,” said the Spaniard, with a proud smile. + </p> + <p> + “If I am right, senor, you are he who yesterday held up the standard after + it was shot down.” + </p> + <p> + “I do not deny that undeserved honor; and I have to thank the courtesy of + you and your countrymen for having permitted me to do so with impunity.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, I heard of that brave feat,” said the lord deputy. “You should + consider yourself, Mr. Leigh, honored by being enabled to show courtesy to + such a warrior.” + </p> + <p> + How long this interchange of solemn compliments, of which Amyas was + getting somewhat weary, would have gone on, I know not; but at that moment + Raleigh entered hastily— + </p> + <p> + “My lord, they have hung out a white flag, and are calling for a parley!” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard turned pale, and felt for his sword, which was gone; and + then, with a bitter laugh, murmured to himself—“As I expected.” + </p> + <p> + “I am very sorry to hear it. Would to Heaven they had simply fought it + out!” said Lord Grey, half to himself; and then, “Go, Captain Raleigh, and + answer them that (saving this gentleman's presence) the laws of war forbid + a parley with any who are leagued with rebels against their lawful + sovereign.” + </p> + <p> + “But what if they wish to treat for this gentleman's ransom?” + </p> + <p> + “For their own, more likely,” said the Spaniard; “but tell them, on my + part, senor, that Don Guzman refuses to be ransomed; and will return to no + camp where the commanding officer, unable to infect his captains with his + own cowardice, dishonors them against their will.” + </p> + <p> + “You speak sharply, senor,” said Winter, after Raleigh had gone out. + </p> + <p> + “I have reason, Senor Admiral, as you will find, I fear, erelong.” + </p> + <p> + “We shall have the honor of leaving you here, for the present, sir, as + Admiral Winter's guest,” said the lord deputy. + </p> + <p> + “But not my sword, it seems.” + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, senor; but no one has deprived you of your sword,” said + Winter. + </p> + <p> + “I don't wish to pain you, sir,” said Amyas, “but I fear that we were both + careless enough to leave it behind last night.” + </p> + <p> + A flash passed over the Spaniard's face, which disclosed terrible depths + of fury and hatred beneath that quiet mask, as the summer lightning + displays the black abysses of the thunder-storm; but like the summer + lightning it passed almost unseen; and blandly as ever, he answered: + </p> + <p> + “I can forgive you for such a neglect, most valiant sir, more easily than + I can forgive myself. Farewell, sir! One who has lost his sword is no fit + company for you.” And as Amyas and the rest departed, he plunged into the + inner tent, stamping and writhing, gnawing his hands with rage and shame. + </p> + <p> + As Amyas came out on the battery, Yeo hailed him: + </p> + <p> + “Master Amyas! Hillo, sir! For the love of Heaven, tell me!” + </p> + <p> + “What, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Is his lordship stanch? Will he do the Lord's work faithfully, root and + branch: or will he spare the Amalekites?” + </p> + <p> + “The latter, I think, old hip-and-thigh,” said Amyas, hurrying forward to + hear the news from Raleigh, who appeared in sight once more. + </p> + <p> + “They ask to depart with bag and baggage,” said he, when he came up. + </p> + <p> + “God do so to me, and more also, if they carry away a straw!” said Lord + Grey. “Make short work of it, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “I do not know how that will be, my lord; as I came up a captain shouted + to me off the walls that there were mutineers; and, denying that he + surrendered, would have pulled down the flag of truce, but the soldiers + beat him off.” + </p> + <p> + “A house divided against itself will not stand long, gentlemen. Tell them + that I give no conditions. Let them lay down their arms, and trust in the + Bishop of Rome who sent them hither, and may come to save them if he wants + them. Gunners, if you see the white flag go down, open your fire + instantly. Captain Raleigh, we need your counsel here. Mr. Cary, will you + be my herald this time?” + </p> + <p> + “A better Protestant never went on a pleasanter errand, my lord.” + </p> + <p> + So Cary went, and then ensued an argument, as to what should be done with + the prisoners in case of a surrender. + </p> + <p> + I cannot tell whether my Lord Grey meant, by offering conditions which the + Spaniards would not accept, to force them into fighting the quarrel out, + and so save himself the responsibility of deciding on their fate; or + whether his mere natural stubbornness, as well as his just indignation, + drove him on too far to retract: but the council of war which followed was + both a sad and a stormy one, and one which he had reason to regret to his + dying day. What was to be done with the enemy? They already outnumbered + the English; and some fifteen hundred of Desmond's wild Irish hovered in + the forests round, ready to side with the winning party, or even to attack + the English at the least sign of vacillation or fear. They could not carry + the Spaniards away with them, for they had neither shipping nor food, not + even handcuffs enough for them; and as Mackworth told Winter when he + proposed it, the only plan was for him to make San Josepho a present of + his ships, and swim home himself as he could. To turn loose in Ireland, as + Captain Touch urged, on the other hand, seven hundred such monsters of + lawlessness, cruelty, and lust, as Spanish and Italian condottieri were in + those days, was as fatal to their own safety as cruel to the wretched + Irish. All the captains, without exception, followed on the same side. + “What was to be done, then?” asked Lord Grey, impatiently. “Would they + have him murder them all in cold blood?” + </p> + <p> + And for a while every man, knowing that it must come to that, and yet not + daring to say it; till Sir Warham St. Leger, the marshal of Munster, spoke + out stoutly: “Foreigners had been scoffing them too long and too truly + with waging these Irish wars as if they meant to keep them alive, rather + than end them. Mercy and faith to every Irishman who would show mercy and + faith, was his motto; but to invaders, no mercy. Ireland was England's + vulnerable point; it might be some day her ruin; a terrible example must + be made of those who dare to touch the sore. Rather pardon the Spaniards + for landing in the Thames than in Ireland!”—till Lord Grey became + much excited, and turning as a last hope to Raleigh, asked his opinion: + but Raleigh's silver tongue was that day not on the side of indulgence. He + skilfully recapitulated the arguments of his fellow-captains, improving + them as he went on, till each worthy soldier was surprised to find himself + so much wiser a man than he had thought; and finished by one of his rapid + and passionate perorations upon his favorite theme—the West Indian + cruelties of the Spaniards, “. . . by which great tracts and fair + countries are now utterly stripped of inhabitants by heavy bondage and + torments unspeakable. Oh, witless Islanders!” said he, apostrophizing the + Irish, “would to Heaven that you were here to listen to me! What other + fate awaits you, if this viper, which you are so ready to take into your + bosom, should be warmed to life, but to groan like the Indians, slaves to + the Spaniard; but to perish like the Indians, by heavy burdens, cruel + chains, plunder and ravishment; scourged, racked, roasted, stabbed, sawn + in sunder, cast to feed the dogs, as simple and more righteous peoples + have perished ere now by millions? And what else, I say, had been the fate + of Ireland had this invasion prospered, which God has now, by our weak + hands, confounded and brought to naught? Shall we then answer it, my lord, + either to our conscience, our God, or our queen, if we shall set loose men + (not one of whom, I warrant, but is stained with murder on murder) to go + and fill up the cup of their iniquity among these silly sheep? Have not + their native wolves, their barbarous chieftains, shorn, peeled, and + slaughtered them enough already, but we must add this pack of foreign + wolves to the number of their tormentors, and fit the Desmond with a + body-guard of seven, yea, seven hundred devils worse than himself? Nay, + rather let us do violence to our own human nature, and show ourselves in + appearance rigorous, that we may be kind indeed; lest while we presume to + be over-merciful to the guilty, we prove ourselves to be over-cruel to the + innocent.” + </p> + <p> + “Captain Raleigh, Captain Raleigh,” said Lord Grey, “the blood of these + men be on your head!” + </p> + <p> + “It ill befits your lordship,” answered Raleigh, “to throw on your + subordinates the blame of that which your reason approves as necessary.” + </p> + <p> + “I should have thought, sir, that one so noted for ambition as Captain + Raleigh would have been more careful of the favor of that queen for whose + smiles he is said to be so longing a competitor. If you have not yet been + of her counsels, sir, I can tell you you are not likely to be. She will be + furious when she hears of this cruelty.” + </p> + <p> + Lord Grey had lost his temper: but Raleigh kept his, and answered quietly— + </p> + <p> + “Her majesty shall at least not find me among the number of those who + prefer her favor to her safety, and abuse to their own profit that + over-tenderness and mercifulness of heart which is the only blemish (and + yet, rather like a mole on a fair cheek, but a new beauty) in her manifold + perfections.” + </p> + <p> + At this juncture Cary returned. + </p> + <p> + “My lord,” said he, in some confusion, “I have proposed your terms; but + the captains still entreat for some mitigation; and, to tell you truth, + one of them has insisted on accompanying me hither to plead his cause + himself.” + </p> + <p> + “I will not see him, sir. Who is he?” + </p> + <p> + “His name is Sebastian of Modena, my lord.” + </p> + <p> + “Sebastian of Modena? What think you, gentlemen? May we make an exception + in favor of so famous a soldier?” + </p> + <p> + “So villainous a cut-throat,” said Zouch to Raleigh, under his breath. + </p> + <p> + All, however, were for speaking with so famous a man; and in came, in full + armor, a short, bull-necked Italian, evidently of immense strength, of the + true Caesar Borgia stamp. + </p> + <p> + “Will you please to be seated, sir?” said Lord Grey, coldly. + </p> + <p> + “I kiss your hands, most illustrious: but I do not sit in an enemy's camp. + Ha, my friend Zouch! How has your signoria fared since we fought side by + side at Lepanto? So you too are here, sitting in council on the hanging of + me.” + </p> + <p> + “What is your errand, sir? Time is short,” said the lord deputy. + </p> + <p> + “Corpo di Bacco! It has been long enough all the morning, for my rascals + have kept me and my friend the Colonel Hercules (whom you know, doubtless) + prisoners in our tents at the pike's point. My lord deputy, I have but a + few words. I shall thank you to take every soldier in the fort—Italian, + Spaniard, and Irish—and hang them up as high as Haman, for a set of + mutinous cowards, with the arch-traitor San Josepho at their head.” + </p> + <p> + “I am obliged to you for your offer, sir, and shall deliberate presently + as to whether I shall not accept it.” + </p> + <p> + “But as for us captains, really your excellency must consider that we are + gentlemen born, and give us either buena querra, as the Spaniards say, or + a fair chance for life; and so to my business.” + </p> + <p> + “Stay, sir. Answer this first. Have you or yours any commission to show + either from the King of Spain or any other potentate?” + </p> + <p> + “Never a one but the cause of Heaven and our own swords. And with them, my + lord, we are ready to meet any gentlemen of your camp, man to man, with + our swords only, half-way between your leaguer and ours; and I doubt not + that your lordship will see fair play. Will any gentleman accept so civil + an offer? There sits a tall youth in that corner who would suit me very + well. Will any fit my gallant comrades with half-an-hour's punto and + stoccado?” + </p> + <p> + There was a silence, all looking at the lord deputy, whose eyes were + kindling in a very ugly way. + </p> + <p> + “No answer? Then I must proceed to exhortation. So! Will that be + sufficient?” + </p> + <p> + And walking composedly across the tent, the fearless ruffian quietly + stooped down, and smote Amyas Leigh full in the face. + </p> + <p> + Up sprang Amyas, heedless of all the august assembly, and with a single + buffet felled him to the earth. + </p> + <p> + “Excellent!” said he, rising unabashed. “I can always trust my instinct. I + knew the moment I saw him that he was a cavalier worth letting blood. Now, + sir, your sword and harness, and I am at your service outside!” + </p> + <p> + The solemn and sententious Englishmen were altogether taken aback by the + Italian's impudence; but Zouch settled the matter. + </p> + <p> + “Most noble captain, will you be pleased to recollect a certain little + occurrence at Messina, in the year 1575? For if you do not, I do; and beg + to inform this gentleman that you are unworthy of his sword, and had you, + unluckily for you, been an Englishman, would have found the fashions of + our country so different from your own that you would have been then + hanged, sir, and probably may be so still.” + </p> + <p> + The Italian's sword flashed out in a moment: but Lord Grey interfered. + </p> + <p> + “No fighting here, gentlemen. That may wait; and, what is more, shall wait + till—Strike their swords down, Raleigh, Mackworth! Strike their + swords down! Colonel Sebastian, you will be pleased to return as you came, + in safety, having lost nothing, as (I frankly tell you) you have gained + nothing, by your wild bearing here. We shall proceed to deliberate on your + fate.” + </p> + <p> + “I trust, my lord,” said Amyas, “that you will spare this braggart's life, + at least for a day or two. For in spite of Captain Zouch's warning, I must + have to do with him yet, or my cheek will rise up in judgment against me + at the last day.” + </p> + <p> + “Well spoken, lad,” said the colonel, as he swung out. “So! worth a + reprieve, by this sword, to have one more rapier-rattle before the + gallows! Then I take back no further answer, my lord deputy? Not even our + swords, our virgin blades, signor, the soldier's cherished bride? Shall we + go forth weeping widowers, and leave to strange embrace the lovely steel?” + </p> + <p> + “None, sir, by heaven!” said he, waxing wroth. “Do you come hither, + pirates as you are, to dictate terms upon a foreign soil? Is it not enough + to have set up here the Spanish flag, and claimed the land of Ireland as + the Pope's gift to the Spaniard; violated the laws of nations, and the + solemn treaties of princes, under color of a mad superstition?” + </p> + <p> + “Superstition, my lord? Nothing less. Believe a philosopher who has not + said a pater or an ave for seven years past at least. Quod tango credo, is + my motto; and though I am bound to say, under pain of the Inquisition, + that the most holy Father the Pope has given this land of Ireland to his + most Catholic Majesty the King of Spain, Queen Elizabeth having forfeited + her title to it by heresy,—why, my lord, I believe it as little as + you do. I believe that Ireland would have been mine, if I had won it; I + believe religiously that it is not mine, now I have lost it. What is, is, + and a fig for priests; to-day to thee, to-morrow to me. Addio!” And out he + swung. + </p> + <p> + “There goes a most gallant rascal,” said the lord deputy. + </p> + <p> + “And a most rascally gallant,” said Zouch. “The murder of his own page, of + which I gave him a remembrancer, is among the least of his sins.” + </p> + <p> + “And now, Captain Raleigh,” said Lord Grey, “as you have been so earnest + in preaching this butchery, I have a right to ask none but you to practise + it.” + </p> + <p> + Raleigh bit his lip, and replied by the “quip courteous—” + </p> + <p> + “I am at least a man, my lord, who thinks it shame to allow others to do + that which I dare not do myself.” + </p> + <p> + Lord Grey might probably have returned “the countercheck quarrelsome,” had + not Mackworth risen— + </p> + <p> + “And I, my lord, being in that matter at least one of Captain Raleigh's + kidney, will just go with him to see that he takes no harm by being bold + enough to carry out an ugly business, and serving these rascals as their + countrymen served Mr. Oxenham.” + </p> + <p> + “I bid you good morning, then, gentlemen, though I cannot bid you God + speed,” said Lord Grey; and sitting down again, covered his face with his + hands, and, to the astonishment of all bystanders, burst, say the + chroniclers, into tears. + </p> + <p> + Amyas followed Raleigh out. The latter was pale, but determined, and very + wroth against the deputy. + </p> + <p> + “Does the man take me for a hangman,” said he, “that he speaks to me thus? + But such is the way of the great. If you neglect your duty, they haul you + over the coals; if you do it, you must do it on your own responsibility. + Farewell, Amyas; you will not shrink from me as a butcher when I return?” + </p> + <p> + “God forbid! But how will you do it?” + </p> + <p> + “March one company in, and drive them forth, and let the other cut them + down as they come out.—Pah!” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + It was done. Right or wrong, it was done. The shrieks and curses had died + away, and the Fort del Oro was a red shambles, which the soldiers were + trying to cover from the sight of heaven and earth, by dragging the bodies + into the ditch, and covering them with the ruins of the rampart; while the + Irish, who had beheld from the woods that awful warning, fled trembling + into the deepest recesses of the forest. It was done; and it never needed + to be done again. The hint was severe, but it was sufficient. Many years + passed before a Spaniard set foot again in Ireland. + </p> + <p> + The Spanish and Italian officers were spared, and Amyas had Don Guzman + Maria Magdalena Sotomayor de Soto duly adjudged to him, as his prize by + right of war. He was, of course, ready enough to fight Sebastian of + Modena: but Lord Grey forbade the duel: blood enough had been shed + already. The next question was, where to bestow Don Guzman till his ransom + should arrive; and as Amyas could not well deliver the gallant Don into + the safe custody of Mrs. Leigh at Burrough, and still less into that of + Frank at Court, he was fain to write to Sir Richard Grenville, and ask his + advice, and in the meanwhile keep the Spaniard with him upon parole, which + he frankly gave,—saying that as for running away, he had nowhere to + run to; and as for joining the Irish he had no mind to turn pig; and Amyas + found him, as shall be hereafter told, pleasant company enough. But one + morning Raleigh entered— + </p> + <p> + “I have done you a good turn, Leigh, if you think it one. I have talked + St. Leger into making you my lieutenant, and giving you the custody of a + right pleasant hermitage—some castle Shackatory or other in the + midst of a big bog, where time will run swift and smooth with you, between + hunting wild Irish, snaring snipes, and drinking yourself drunk with + usquebaugh over a turf fire.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll go,” quoth Amyas; “anything for work.” So he went and took + possession of his lieutenancy and his black robber tower, and there passed + the rest of the winter, fighting or hunting all day, and chatting and + reading all the evening, with Senor Don Guzman, who, like a good soldier + of fortune, made himself thoroughly at home, and a general favorite with + the soldiers. + </p> + <p> + At first, indeed, his Spanish pride and stateliness, and Amyas's English + taciturnity, kept the two apart somewhat; but they soon began, if not to + trust, at least to like each other; and Don Guzman told Amyas, bit by bit, + who he was, of what an ancient house, and of what a poor one; and laughed + over the very small chance of his ransom being raised, and the certainty + that, at least, it could not come for a couple of years, seeing that the + only De Soto who had a penny to spare was a fat old dean at St. Yago de + Leon, in the Caracas, at which place Don Guzman had been born. This of + course led to much talk about the West Indies, and the Don was as much + interested to find that Amyas had been one of Drake's world-famous crew, + as Amyas was to find that his captive was the grandson of none other than + that most terrible of man-hunters, Don Ferdinando de Soto, the conqueror + of Florida, of whom Amyas had read many a time in Las Casas, “as the + captain of tyrants, the notoriousest and most experimented amongst them + that have done the most hurts, mischiefs, and destructions in many + realms.” And often enough his blood boiled, and he had much ado to + recollect that the speaker was his guest, as Don Guzman chatted away about + his grandfather's hunts of innocent women and children, murders of + caciques and burnings alive of guides, “pour encourager les autres,” + without, seemingly, the least feeling that the victims were human beings + or subjects for human pity; anything, in short, but heathen dogs, enemies + of God, servants of the devil, to be used by the Christian when he needed, + and when not needed killed down as cumberers of the ground. But Don Guzman + was a most finished gentleman nevertheless; and told many a good story of + the Indies, and told it well; and over and above his stories, he had among + his baggage two books,—the one Antonio Galvano's “Discoveries of the + World,” a mine of winter evening amusement to Amyas; and the other, a + manuscript book, which, perhaps, it had been well for Amyas had he never + seen. For it was none other than a sort of rough journal which Don Guzman + had kept as a lad, when he went down with the Adelantado Gonzales Ximenes + de Casada, from Peru to the River of Amazons, to look for the golden + country of El Dorado, and the city of Manoa, which stands in the midst of + the White Lake, and equals or surpasses in glory even the palace of the + Inca Huaynacapac; “all the vessels of whose house and kitchen are of gold + and silver, and in his wardrobe statues of gold which seemed giants, and + figures in proportion and bigness of all the beasts, birds, trees, and + herbs of the earth, and the fishes of the water; and ropes, budgets, + chests, and troughs of gold: yea, and a garden of pleasure in an Island + near Puna, where they went to recreate themselves when they would take the + air of the sea, which had all kind of garden herbs, flowers, and trees of + gold and silver of an invention and magnificence till then never seen.” + </p> + <p> + Now the greater part of this treasure (and be it remembered that these + wonders were hardly exaggerated, and that there were many men alive then + who had beheld them, as they had worse things, “with their corporal and + mortal eyes”) was hidden by the Indians when Pizarro conquered Peru and + slew Atahuallpa, son of Huaynacapac; at whose death, it was said, one of + the Inca's younger brothers fled out of Peru, and taking with him a great + army, vanquished all that tract which lieth between the great Rivers of + Amazons and Baraquan, otherwise called Maranon and Orenoque. + </p> + <p> + There he sits to this day, beside the golden lake, in the golden city, + which is in breadth a three days' journey, covered, he and his court, with + gold dust from head to foot, waiting for the fulfilment of the ancient + prophecy which was written in the temple of Caxamarca, where his ancestors + worshipped of old; that heroes shall come out of the West, and lead him + back across the forests to the kingdom of Peru, and restore him to the + glory of his forefathers. + </p> + <p> + Golden phantom! so possible, so probable, to imaginations which were yet + reeling before the actual and veritable prodigies of Peru, Mexico, and the + East Indies. Golden phantom! which has cost already the lives of + thousands, and shall yet cost more; from Diego de Ordas, and Juan Corteso, + and many another, who went forth on the quest by the Andes, and by the + Orinoco, and by the Amazons; Antonio Sedenno, with his ghastly caravan of + manacled Indians, “on whose dead carcasses the tigers being fleshed, + assaulted the Spaniards;” Augustine Delgado, who “came to a cacique, who + entertained him with all kindness, and gave him beside much gold and + slaves, three nymphs very beautiful, which bare the names of three + provinces, Guanba, Gotoguane, and Maiarare. To requite which manifold + courtesies, he carried off, not only all the gold, but all the Indians he + could seize, and took them in irons to Cubagua, and sold them for slaves; + after which, Delgado was shot in the eye by an Indian, of which hurt he + died;” Pedro d'Orsua, who found the cinnamon forests of Loxas, “whom his + men murdered, and afterwards beheaded Lady Anes his wife, who forsook not + her lord in all his travels unto death,” and many another, who has + vanished with valiant comrades at his back into the green gulfs of the + primaeval forests, never to emerge again. Golden phantom! man-devouring, + whose maw is never satiate with souls of heroes; fatal to Spain, more + fatal still to England upon that shameful day, when the last of + Elizabeth's heroes shall lay down his head upon the block, nominally for + having believed what all around him believed likewise till they found it + expedient to deny it in order to curry favor with the crowned cur who + betrayed him, really because he alone dared to make one last protest in + behalf of liberty and Protestantism against the incoming night of tyranny + and superstition. Little thought Amyas, as he devoured the pages of that + manuscript, that he was laying a snare for the life of the man whom, next + to Drake and Grenville, he most admired on earth. + </p> + <p> + But Don Guzman, on the other hand, seemed to have an instinct that that + book might be a fatal gift to his captor; for one day ere Amyas had looked + into it, he began questioning the Don about El Dorado. Whereon Don Guzman + replied with one of those smiles of his, which (as Amyas said afterwards) + was so abominably like a sneer, that he had often hard work to keep his + hands off the man— + </p> + <p> + “Ah! You have been eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, senor? + Well; if you have any ambition to follow many another brave captain to the + pit, I know no shorter or easier path than is contained in that little + book.” + </p> + <p> + “I have never opened your book,” said Amyas; “your private manuscripts are + no concern of mine: but my man who recovered your baggage read part of it, + knowing no better; and now you are at liberty to tell me as little as you + like.” + </p> + <p> + The “man,” it should be said, was none other than Salvation Yeo, who had + attached himself by this time inseparably to Amyas, in quality of + body-guard: and, as was common enough in those days, had turned soldier + for the nonce, and taken under his patronage two or three rusty bases + (swivels) and falconets (four-pounders), which grinned harmlessly enough + from the tower top across the cheerful expanse of bog. + </p> + <p> + Amyas once asked him, how he reconciled this Irish sojourn with his vow to + find his little maid? Yeo shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “I can't tell, sir, but there's something that makes me always to think of + you when I think of her; and that's often enough, the Lord knows. Whether + it is that I ben't to find the dear without your help; or whether it is + your pleasant face puts me in mind of hers; or what, I can't tell; but + don't you part me from you, sir, for I'm like Ruth, and where you lodge I + lodge; and where you go I go; and where you die—though I shall die + many a year first—there I'll die, I hope and trust; for I can't + abear you out of my sight; and that's the truth thereof.” + </p> + <p> + So Yeo remained with Amyas, while Cary went elsewhere with Sir Warham St. + Leger, and the two friends met seldom for many months; so that Amyas's + only companion was Don Guzman, who, as he grew more familiar, and more + careless about what he said and did in his captor's presence, often + puzzled and scandalized him by his waywardness. Fits of deep melancholy + alternated with bursts of Spanish boastfulness, utterly astonishing to the + modest and sober-minded Englishman, who would often have fancied him + inspired by usquebaugh, had he not had ocular proof of his extreme + abstemiousness. + </p> + <p> + “Miserable?” said he, one night in one of these fits. “And have I not a + right to be miserable? Why should I not curse the virgin and all the + saints, and die? I have not a friend, not a ducat on earth; not even a + sword—hell and the furies! It was my all: the only bequest I ever + had from my father, and I lived by it and earned by it. Two years ago I + had as pretty a sum of gold as cavalier could wish—and now!”— + </p> + <p> + “What is become of it, then? I cannot hear that our men plundered you of + any.” + </p> + <p> + “Your men? No, senor! What fifty men dared not have done, one woman did! a + painted, patched, fucused, periwigged, bolstered, Charybdis, cannibal, + Megaera, Lamia! Why did I ever go near that cursed Naples, the common + sewer of Europe? whose women, I believe, would be swallowed up by Vesuvius + to-morrow, if it were not that Belphegor is afraid of their making the pit + itself too hot to hold him. Well, sir, she had all of mine and more; and + when all was gone in wine and dice, woodcocks' brains and ortolans' + tongues, I met the witch walking with another man. I had a sword and a + dagger; I gave him the first (though the dog fought well enough, to give + him his due), and her the second; left them lying across each other, and + fled for my life,—and here I am! after twenty years of fighting, + from the Levant to the Orellana—for I began ere I had a hair on my + chin—and this is the end!—No, it is not! I'll have that El + Dorado yet! the Adelantado made Berreo, when he gave him his daughter, + swear that he would hunt for it, through life and death.—We'll see + who finds it first, he or I. He's a bungler; Orsua was a bungler—Pooh! + Cortes and Pizarro? we'll see whether there are not as good Castilians as + they left still. I can do it, senor. I know a track, a plan; over the + Llanos is the road; and I'll be Emperor of Manoa yet—possess the + jewels of all the Incas; and gold, gold! Pizarro was a beggar to what I + will be!” + </p> + <p> + Conceive, sir, he broke forth during another of these peacock fits, as + Amyas and he were riding along the hill-side; “conceive! with forty chosen + cavaliers (what need of more?) I present myself before the golden king, + trembling amid his myriad guards at the new miracle of the mailed centaurs + of the West; and without dismounting, I approach his throne, lift the + crucifix which hangs around my neck, and pressing it to my lips, present + it for the adoration of the idolater, and give him his alternative; that + which Gayferos and the Cid, my ancestors, offered the Soldan and the Moor—baptism + or death! He hesitates; perhaps smiles scornfully upon my little band; I + answer him by deeds, as Don Ferdinando, my illustrious grandfather, + answered Atahuallpa at Peru, in sight of all his court and camp.” + </p> + <p> + “With your lance-point, as Gayferos did the Soldan?” asked Amyas, amused. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir; persuasion first, for the salvation of a soul is at stake. Not + with the lance-point, but the spur, sir, thus!”— + </p> + <p> + And striking his heels into his horse's flanks, he darted off at full + speed. + </p> + <p> + “The Spanish traitor!” shouted Yeo. “He's going to escape! Shall we shoot, + sir? Shall we shoot?” + </p> + <p> + “For Heaven's sake, no!” said Amyas, looking somewhat blank, nevertheless, + for he much doubted whether the whole was not a ruse on the part of the + Spaniard, and he knew how impossible it was for his fifteen stone of flesh + to give chase to the Spaniard's twelve. But he was soon reassured; the + Spaniard wheeled round towards him, and began to put the rough hackney + through all the paces of the manege with a grace and skill which won + applause from the beholders. + </p> + <p> + “Thus!” he shouted, waving his hand to Amyas, between his curvets and + caracoles, “did my illustrious grandfather exhibit to the Paynim emperor + the prowess of a Castilian cavalier! Thus!—and thus!—and thus, + at last, he dashed up to his very feet, as I to yours, and bespattering + that unbaptized visage with his Christian bridle foam, pulled up his + charger on his haunches, thus!” + </p> + <p> + And (as was to be expected from a blown Irish garron on a peaty Irish + hill-side) down went the hapless hackney on his tail, away went his heels + a yard in front of him, and ere Don Guzman could “avoid his selle,” horse + and man rolled over into neighboring bog-hole. + </p> + <p> + “After pride comes a fall,” quoth Yeo with unmoved visage, as he lugged + him out. + </p> + <p> + “And what would you do with the emperor at last?” asked Amyas when the Don + had been scrubbed somewhat clean with a bunch of rushes. “Kill him, as + your grandfather did Atahuallpa?” + </p> + <p> + “My grandfather,” answered the Spaniard, indignantly, “was one of those + who, to their eternal honor, protested to the last against that most cruel + and unknightly massacre. He could be terrible to the heathen; but he kept + his plighted word, sir, and taught me to keep mine, as you have seen + to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “I have, senor,” said Amyas. “You might have given us the slip easily + enough just now, and did not. Pardon me, if I have offended you.” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard (who, after all, was cross principally with himself and the + “unlucky mare's son,” as the old romances have it, which had played him so + scurvy a trick) was all smiles again forthwith; and Amyas, as they chatted + on, could not help asking him next— + </p> + <p> + “I wonder why you are so frank about your own intentions to an enemy like + me, who will surely forestall you if he can.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir, a Spaniard needs no concealment, and fears no rivalry. He is the + soldier of the Cross, and in it he conquers, like Constantine of old. Not + that you English are not very heroes; but you have not, sir, and you + cannot have, who have forsworn our Lady and the choir of saints, the same + divine protection, the same celestial mission, which enables the Catholic + cavalier single-handed to chase a thousand Paynims.” + </p> + <p> + And Don Guzman crossed himself devoutly, and muttered half-a-dozen Ave + Marias in succession, while Amyas rode silently by his side, utterly + puzzled at this strange compound of shrewdness with fanaticism, of perfect + high-breeding with a boastfulness which in an Englishman would have been + the sure mark of vulgarity. + </p> + <p> + At last came a letter from Sir Richard Grenville, complimenting Amyas on + his success and promotion, bearing a long and courtly message to Don + Guzman (whom Grenville had known when he was in the Mediterranean, at the + battle of Lepanto), and offering to receive him as his own guest at + Bideford, till his ransom should arrive; a proposition which the Spaniard + (who of course was getting sufficiently tired of the Irish bogs) could not + but gladly accept; and one of Winter's ships, returning to England in the + spring of 1581, delivered duly at the quay of Bideford the body of Don + Guzman Maria Magdalena. Raleigh, after forming for that summer one of the + triumvirate by which Munster was governed after Ormond's departure, at + last got his wish and departed for England and the Court; and Amyas was + left alone with the snipes and yellow mantles for two more weary years. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THE MAYOR OF BIDEFORD BAITED HIS HOOK WITH HIS OWN FLESH + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “And therewith he blent, and cried ha! + As though he had been stricken to the harte.” + + Palamon and Arcite. +</pre> + <p> + So it befell to Chaucer's knight in prison; and so it befell also to Don + Guzman; and it befell on this wise. + </p> + <p> + He settled down quietly enough at Bideford on his parole, in better + quarters than he had occupied for many a day, and took things as they + came, like a true soldier of fortune; till, after he had been with + Grenville hardly a month, old Salterne the Mayor came to supper. + </p> + <p> + Now Don Guzman, however much he might be puzzled at first at our strange + English ways of asking burghers and such low-bred folk to eat and drink + above the salt, in the company of noble persons, was quite gentleman + enough to know that Richard Grenville was gentleman enough to do only what + was correct, and according to the customs and proprieties. So after + shrugging the shoulders of his spirit, he submitted to eat and drink at + the same board with a tradesman who sat at a desk, and made up ledgers, + and took apprentices; and hearing him talk with Grenville neither unwisely + nor in a vulgar fashion, actually before the evening was out condescended + to exchange words with him himself. Whereon he found him a very prudent + and courteous person, quite aware of the Spaniard's superior rank, and + making him feel in every sentence that he was aware thereof; and yet + holding his own opinion, and asserting his own rights as a wise elder in a + fashion which the Spaniard had only seen before among the merchant princes + of Genoa and Venice. + </p> + <p> + At the end of supper, Salterne asked Grenville to do his humble roof the + honor, etc. etc., of supping with him the next evening, and then turning + to the Don, said quite frankly, that he knew how great a condescension it + would be on the part of a nobleman of Spain to sit at the board of a + simple merchant: but that if the Spaniard deigned to do him such a favor, + he would find that the cheer was fit enough for any rank, whatsoever the + company might be; which invitation Don Guzman, being on the whole glad + enough of anything to amuse him, graciously condescended to accept, and + gained thereby an excellent supper, and, if he had chosen to drink it, + much good wine. + </p> + <p> + Now Mr. Salterne was, of course, as a wise merchant, as ready as any man + for an adventure to foreign parts, as was afterwards proved by his great + exertions in the settlement of Virginia; and he was, therefore, equally + ready to rack the brains of any guest whom he suspected of knowing + anything concerning strange lands; and so he thought no shame, first to + try to loose his guest's tongue by much good sack, and next, to ask him + prudent and well-concocted questions concerning the Spanish Main, Peru, + the Moluccas, China, the Indies, and all parts. + </p> + <p> + The first of which schemes failed; for the Spaniard was as abstemious as + any monk, and drank little but water; the second succeeded not over well, + for the Spaniard was as cunning as any fox, and answered little but wind. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of which tongue-fence in came the Rose of Torridge, looking + as beautiful as usual; and hearing what they were upon, added, artlessly + enough, her questions to her father's: to her Don Guzman could not but + answer; and without revealing any very important commercial secrets, gave + his host and his host's daughter a very amusing evening. + </p> + <p> + Now little Eros, though spirits like Frank Leigh's may choose to call him + (as, perhaps, he really is to them) the eldest of the gods, and the son of + Jove and Venus, yet is reported by other equally good authorities, as + Burton has set forth in his “Anatomy of Melancholy,” to be after all only + the child of idleness and fulness of bread. To which scandalous calumny + the thoughts of Don Guzman's heart gave at least a certain color; for he + being idle (as captives needs must be), and also full of bread (for Sir + Richard kept a very good table), had already looked round for mere + amusement's sake after some one with whom to fall in love. Lady Grenville, + as nearest, was, I blush to say, thought of first; but the Spaniard was a + man of honor, and Sir Richard his host; so he put away from his mind (with + a self-denial on which he plumed himself much) the pleasure of a chase + equally exciting to his pride and his love of danger. As for the + sinfulness of the said chase, he of course thought no more of that than + other Southern Europeans did then, or than (I blush again to have to say + it) the English did afterwards in the days of the Stuarts. Nevertheless, + he had put Lady Grenville out of his mind; and so left room to take Rose + Salterne into it, not with any distinct purpose of wronging her: but, as I + said before, half to amuse himself, and half, too, because he could not + help it. For there was an innocent freshness about the Rose of Torridge, + fond as she was of being admired, which was new to him and most + attractive. “The train of the peacock,” as he said to himself, “and yet + the heart of the dove,” made so charming a combination, that if he could + have persuaded her to love no one but him, perhaps he might become fool + enough to love no one but her. And at that thought he was seized with a + very panic of prudence, and resolved to keep out of her way; and yet the + days ran slowly, and Lady Grenville when at home was stupid enough to talk + and think about nothing but her husband; and when she went to Stow, and + left the Don alone in one corner of the great house at Bideford, what + could he do but lounge down to the butt-gardens to show off his fine black + cloak and fine black feather, see the shooting, have a game or two of + rackets with the youngsters, a game or two of bowls with the elders, and + get himself invited home to supper by Mr. Salterne? + </p> + <p> + And there, of course, he had it all his own way, and ruled the roast + (which he was fond enough of doing) right royally, not only on account of + his rank, but because he had something to say worth hearing, as a + travelled man. For those times were the day-dawn of English commerce; and + not a merchant in Bideford, or in all England, but had his imagination all + on fire with projects of discoveries, companies, privileges, patents, and + settlements; with gallant rivalry of the brave adventures of Sir Edward + Osborne and his new London Company of Turkey Merchants; with the + privileges just granted by the Sultan Murad Khan to the English; with the + worthy Levant voyages of Roger Bodenham in the great bark Aucher, and of + John Fox, and Lawrence Aldersey, and John Rule; and with hopes from the + vast door for Mediterranean trade, which the crushing of the Venetian + power at Famagusta in Cyprus, and the alliance made between Elizabeth and + the Grand Turk, had just thrown open. So not a word could fall from the + Spaniard about the Mediterranean but took root at once in right fertile + soil. Besides, Master Edmund Hogan had been on a successful embassy to the + Emperor of Morocco; John Hawkins and George Fenner had been to Guinea (and + with the latter Mr. Walter Wren, a Bideford man), and had traded there for + musk and civet, gold and grain; and African news was becoming almost as + valuable as West Indian. Moreover, but two months before had gone from + London Captain Hare in the bark Minion, for Brazil, and a company of + adventurers with him, with Sheffield hardware, and “Devonshire and + Northern kersies,” hollands and “Manchester cottons,” for there was a + great opening for English goods by the help of one John Whithall, who had + married a Spanish heiress, and had an ingenio and slaves in Santos. (Don't + smile, reader, or despise the day of small things, and those who sowed the + seed whereof you reap the mighty harvest.) In the meanwhile, Drake had + proved not merely the possibility of plundering the American coasts, but + of establishing an East Indian trade; Frobisher and Davis, worthy + forefathers of our Parrys and Franklins, had begun to bore their way + upward through the Northern ice, in search of a passage to China which + should avoid the dangers of the Spanish seas; and Anthony Jenkinson, not + the least of English travellers, had, in six-and-twenty years of travel in + behalf of the Muscovite Company, penetrated into not merely Russia and the + Levant, but Persia and Armenia, Bokhara, Tartary, Siberia, and those waste + Arctic shores where, thirty years before, the brave Sir Hugh Willoughby, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “In Arzina caught, + Perished with all his crew.” + </pre> + <p> + Everywhere English commerce, under the genial sunshine of Elizabeth's wise + rule, was spreading and taking root; and as Don Guzman talked with his new + friends, he soon saw (for he was shrewd enough) that they belonged to a + race which must be exterminated if Spain intended to become (as she did + intend) the mistress of the world; and that it was not enough for Spain to + have seized in the Pope's name the whole new world, and claimed the + exclusive right to sail the seas of America; not enough to have crushed + the Hollanders; not enough to have degraded the Venetians into her + bankers, and the Genoese into her mercenaries; not enough to have + incorporated into herself, with the kingdom of Portugal, the whole East + Indian trade of Portugal, while these fierce islanders remained to assert, + with cunning policy and texts of Scripture, and, if they failed, with + sharp shot and cold steel, free seas and free trade for all the nations + upon earth. He saw it, and his countrymen saw it too: and therefore the + Spanish Armada came: but of that hereafter. And Don Guzman knew also, by + hard experience, that these same islanders, who sat in Salterne's parlor, + talking broad Devon through their noses, were no mere counters of money + and hucksters of goods: but men who, though they thoroughly hated + fighting, and loved making money instead, could fight, upon occasion, + after a very dogged and terrible fashion, as well as the bluest blood in + Spain; and who sent out their merchant ships armed up to the teeth, and + filled with men who had been trained from childhood to use those arms, and + had orders to use them without mercy if either Spaniard, Portugal, or + other created being dared to stop their money-making. And one evening he + waxed quite mad, when, after having civilly enough hinted that if + Englishmen came where they had no right to come, they might find + themselves sent back again, he was answered by a volley of— + </p> + <p> + “We'll see that, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Depends on who says 'No right.'” + </p> + <p> + “You found might right,” said another, “when you claimed the Indian seas; + we may find right might when we try them.” + </p> + <p> + “Try them, then, gentlemen, by all means, if it shall so please your + worships; and find the sacred flag of Spain as invincible as ever was the + Roman eagle.” + </p> + <p> + “We have, sir. Did you ever hear of Francis Drake?” + </p> + <p> + “Or of George Fenner and the Portugals at the Azores, one against seven?” + </p> + <p> + “Or of John Hawkins, at St. Juan d'Ulloa?” + </p> + <p> + “You are insolent burghers,” said Don Guzman, and rose to go. + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said old Salterne, “as you say, we are burghers and plain men, and + some of us have forgotten ourselves a little, perhaps; we must beg you to + forgive our want of manners, and to put it down to the strength of my + wine; for insolent we never meant to be, especially to a noble gentleman + and a foreigner.” + </p> + <p> + But the Don would not be pacified; and walked out, calling himself an ass + and a blinkard for having demeaned himself to such a company, forgetting + that he had brought it on himself. + </p> + <p> + Salterne (prompted by the great devil Mammon) came up to him next day, and + begged pardon again; promising, moreover, that none of those who had been + so rude should be henceforth asked to meet him, if he would deign to honor + his house once more. And the Don actually was appeased, and went there the + very next evening, sneering at himself the whole time for going. + </p> + <p> + “Fool that I am! that girl has bewitched me, I believe. Go I must, and eat + my share of dirt, for her sake.” + </p> + <p> + So he went; and, cunningly enough, hinted to old Salterne that he had + taken such a fancy to him, and felt so bound by his courtesy and + hospitality, that he might not object to tell him things which he would + not mention to every one; for that the Spaniards were not jealous of + single traders, but of any general attempt to deprive them of their + hard-earned wealth: that, however, in the meanwhile, there were plenty of + opportunities for one man here and there to enrich himself, etc. + </p> + <p> + Old Salterne, shrewd as he was, had his weak point, and the Spaniard had + touched it; and delighted at this opportunity of learning the mysteries of + the Spanish monopoly, he often actually set Rose on to draw out the Don, + without a fear (so blind does money make men) lest she might be herself + drawn in. For, first, he held it as impossible that she would think of + marrying a Popish Spaniard as of marrying the man in the moon; and, next, + as impossible that he would think of marrying a burgher's daughter as of + marrying a negress; and trusted that the religion of the one, and the + family pride of the other, would keep them as separate as beings of two + different species. And as for love without marriage, if such a possibility + ever crossed him, the thought was rendered absurd; on Rose's part by her + virtue, on which the old roan (and rightly) would have staked every + farthing he had on earth; and on the Don's part, by a certain human + fondness for the continuity of the carotid artery and the parts adjoining, + for which (and that not altogether justly, seeing that Don Guzman cared as + little for his own life as he did for his neighbor's) Mr. Salterne gave + him credit. And so it came to pass, that for weeks and months the + merchant's house was the Don's favorite haunt, and he saw the Rose of + Torridge daily, and the Rose of Torridge heard him. + </p> + <p> + And as for her, poor child, she had never seen such a man. He had, or + seemed to have, all the high-bred grace of Frank, and yet he was cast in a + manlier mould; he had just enough of his nation's proud self-assertion to + make a woman bow before him as before a superior, and yet tact enough to + let it very seldom degenerate into that boastfulness of which the + Spaniards were then so often and so justly accused. He had marvels to tell + by flood and field as many and more than Amyas; and he told them with a + grace and an eloquence of which modest, simple, old Amyas possessed + nothing. Besides, he was on the spot, and the Leighs were not, nor indeed + were any of her old lovers; and what could she do but amuse herself with + the only person who came to hand? + </p> + <p> + So thought, in time, more ladies than she; for the country, the north of + it at least, was all but bare just then of young gallants, what with the + Netherland wars and the Irish wars; and the Spaniard became soon welcome + at every house for many a mile round, and made use of his welcome so + freely, and received so much unwonted attention from fair young dames, + that his head might have been a little turned, and Rose Salterne have + thereby escaped, had not Sir Richard delicately given him to understand + that in spite of the free and easy manners of English ladies, brothers + were just as jealous, and ladies' honors at least as inexpugnable, as in + the land of demureness and duennas. Don Guzman took the hint well enough, + and kept on good terms with the country gentlemen as with their daughters; + and to tell the truth, the cunning soldier of fortune found his account in + being intimate with all the ladies he could, in order to prevent old + Salterne from fancying that he had any peculiar predilection for Mistress + Rose. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, Mr. Salterne's parlor being nearest to him, still remained + his most common haunt; where, while he discoursed for hours about + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Antres vast and deserts idle, + And of the cannibals that each other eat, + Of Anthropophagi, and men whose heads + Do grow beneath their shoulders,” + </pre> + <p> + to the boundless satisfaction of poor Rose's fancy, he took care to season + his discourse with scraps of mercantile information, which kept the old + merchant always expectant and hankering for more, and made it worth his + while to ask the Spaniard in again and again. + </p> + <p> + And his stories, certainly, were worth hearing. He seemed to have been + everywhere, and to have seen everything: born in Peru, and sent home to + Spain at ten years old; brought up in Italy; a soldier in the Levant; an + adventurer to the East Indies; again in America, first in the islands, and + then in Mexico. Then back again to Spain, and thence to Rome, and thence + to Ireland. Shipwrecked; captive among savages; looking down the craters + of volcanoes; hanging about all the courts of Europe; fighting Turks, + Indians, lions, elephants, alligators, and what not? At five-and-thirty he + had seen enough for three lives, and knew how to make the best of what he + had seen. + </p> + <p> + He had shared, as a lad, in the horrors of the memorable siege of + Famagusta, and had escaped, he hardly knew himself how, from the hands of + the victorious Turks, and from the certainty (if he escaped being flayed + alive or impaled, as most of the captive officers were) of ending his life + as a Janissary at the Sultan's court. He had been at the Battle of the + Three Kings; had seen Stukely borne down by a hundred lances, unconquered + even in death; and had held upon his knee the head of the dying King of + Portugal. + </p> + <p> + And now, as he said to Rose one evening, what had he left on earth, but a + heart trampled as hard as the pavement? Whom had he to love? Who loved + him? He had nothing for which to live but fame: and even that was denied + to him, a prisoner in a foreign land. + </p> + <p> + Had he no kindred, then? asked pitying Rose. + </p> + <p> + “My two sisters are in a convent;—they had neither money nor beauty; + so they are dead to me. My brother is a Jesuit, so he is dead to me. My + father fell by the hands of Indians in Mexico; my mother, a penniless + widow, is companion, duenna—whatsoever they may choose to call it—carrying + fans and lapdogs for some princess or other there in Seville, of no better + blood than herself; and I—devil! I have lost even my sword—and + so fares the house of De Soto.” + </p> + <p> + Don Guzman, of course, intended to be pitied, and pitied he was + accordingly. And then he would turn the conversation, and begin telling + Italian stories, after the Italian fashion, according to his auditory: the + pathetic ones when Rose was present, the racy ones when she was absent; so + that Rose had wept over the sorrows of Juliet and Desdemona, and over many + another moving tale, long before they were ever enacted on an English + stage, and the ribs of the Bideford worthies had shaken to many a jest + which Cinthio and Bandello's ghosts must come and make for themselves over + again if they wish them to be remembered, for I shall lend them no shove + toward immortality. + </p> + <p> + And so on, and so on. What need of more words? Before a year was out, Rose + Salterne was far more in love with Don Guzman than he with her; and both + suspected each other's mind, though neither hinted at the truth; she from + fear, and he, to tell the truth, from sheer Spanish pride of blood. For he + soon began to find out that he must compromise that blood by marrying the + heretic burgher's daughter, or all his labor would be thrown away. + </p> + <p> + He had seen with much astonishment, and then practised with much pleasure, + that graceful old English fashion of saluting every lady on the cheek at + meeting, which (like the old Dutch fashion of asking young ladies out to + feasts without their mothers) used to give such cause of brutal calumny + and scandal to the coarse minds of Romish visitors from the Continent; and + he had seen, too, fuming with jealous rage, more than one Bideford + burgher, redolent of onions, profane in that way the velvet cheek of Rose + Salterne. + </p> + <p> + So, one day, he offered his salute in like wise; but he did it when she + was alone; for something within (perhaps a guilty conscience) whispered + that it might be hardly politic to make the proffer in her father's + presence: however, to his astonishment, he received a prompt though quiet + rebuff. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir; you should know that my cheek is not for you.” + </p> + <p> + “Why,” said he, stifling his anger, “it seems free enough to every + counter-jumper in the town!” + </p> + <p> + Was it love, or simple innocence, which made her answer apologetically? + </p> + <p> + “True, Don Guzman; but they are my equals.” + </p> + <p> + “And I?” + </p> + <p> + “You are a nobleman, sir; and should recollect that you are one.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said he, forcing a sneer, “it is a strange taste to prefer the + shopkeeper!” + </p> + <p> + “Prefer?” said she, forcing a laugh in her turn; “it is a mere form among + us. They are nothing to me, I can tell you.” + </p> + <p> + “And I, then, less than nothing?” + </p> + <p> + Rose turned very red; but she had nerve to answer— + </p> + <p> + “And why should you be anything to me? You have condescended too much, + sir, already to us, in giving us many a—many a pleasant evening. You + must condescend no further. You wrong yourself, sir, and me too. No, sir; + not a step nearer!—I will not! A salute between equals means + nothing: but between you and me—I vow, sir, if you do not leave me + this moment, I will complain to my father.” + </p> + <p> + “Do so, madam! I care as little for your father's anger, as you for my + misery.” + </p> + <p> + “Cruel!” cried Rose, trembling from head to foot. + </p> + <p> + “I love you, madam!” cried he, throwing himself at her feet. “I adore you! + Never mention differences of rank to me more; for I have forgotten them; + forgotten all but love, all but you, madam! My light, my lodestar, my + princess, my goddess! You see where my pride is gone; remember I plead as + a suppliant, a beggar—though one who may be one day a prince, a + king! ay, and a prince now, a very Lucifer of pride to all except to you; + to you a wretch who grovels at your feet, and cries, 'Have mercy on me, on + my loneliness, my homelessness, my friendlessness.' Ah, Rose (madam I + should have said, forgive the madness of my passion), you know not the + heart which you break. Cold Northerns, you little dream how a Spaniard can + love. Love? Worship, rather; as I worship you, madam; as I bless the + captivity which brought me the sight of you, and the ruin which first made + me rich. Is it possible, saints and Virgin! do my own tears deceive my + eyes, or are there tears, too, in those radiant orbs?” + </p> + <p> + “Go, sir!” cried poor Rose, recovering herself suddenly; “and let me never + see you more.” And, as a last chance for life, she darted out of the room. + </p> + <p> + “Your slave obeys you, madam, and kisses your hands and feet forever and a + day,” said the cunning Spaniard, and drawing himself up, walked serenely + out of the house; while she, poor fool, peeped after him out of her window + upstairs, and her heart sank within her as she watched his jaunty and + careless air. + </p> + <p> + How much of that rhapsody of his was honest, how much premeditated, I + cannot tell: though she, poor child, began to fancy that it was all a set + speech, when she found that he had really taken her at her word, and set + foot no more within her father's house. So she reproached herself for the + cruelest of women; settled, that if he died, she should be his murderess; + watched for him to pass at the window, in hopes that he might look up, and + then hid herself in terror the moment he appeared round the corner; and so + forth, and so forth:—one love-making is very like another, and has + been so, I suppose, since that first blessed marriage in Paradise, when + Adam and Eve made no love at all, but found it ready-made for them from + heaven; and really it is fiddling while Rome is burning, to spend more + pages over the sorrows of poor little Rose Salterne, while the destinies + of Europe are hanging on the marriage between Elizabeth and Anjou: and Sir + Humphrey Gilbert is stirring heaven and earth, and Devonshire, of course, + as the most important portion of the said earth, to carry out his dormant + patent, which will give to England in due time (we are not jesting now) + Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Canada, and the Northern States; and to + Humphrey Gilbert himself something better than a new world, namely another + world, and a crown of glory therein which never fades away. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI + </h2> + <h3> + HOW EUSTACE LEIGH MET THE POPE'S LEGATE + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Misguided, rash, intruding fool, farewell! + Thou see'st to be too busy is some danger.” + + Hamlet. +</pre> + <p> + It is the spring of 1582-3. The gray March skies are curdling hard and + high above black mountain peaks. The keen March wind is sweeping harsh and + dry across a dreary sheet of bog, still red and yellow with the stains of + winter frost. One brown knoll alone breaks the waste, and on it a few + leafless wind-clipt oaks stretch their moss-grown arms, like giant hairy + spiders, above a desolate pool which crisps and shivers in the biting + breeze, while from beside its brink rises a mournful cry, and sweeps down, + faint and fitful, amid the howling of the wind. + </p> + <p> + Along the brink of the bog, picking their road among crumbling rocks and + green spongy springs, a company of English soldiers are pushing fast, clad + cap-a-pie in helmet and quilted jerkin, with arquebus on shoulder, and + pikes trailing behind them; stern steadfast men, who, two years since, + were working the guns at Smerwick fort, and have since then seen many a + bloody fray, and shall see more before they die. Two captains ride before + them on shaggy ponies, the taller in armor, stained and rusted with many a + storm and fray, the other in brilliant inlaid cuirass and helmet, gaudy + sash and plume, and sword hilt glittering with gold, a quaint contrast + enough to the meager garron which carries him and his finery. Beside them, + secured by a cord which a pikeman has fastened to his own wrist, trots a + bare-legged Irish kerne, whose only clothing is his ragged yellow mantle, + and the unkempt “glib” of hair, through which his eyes peer out, right and + left, in mingled fear and sullenness. He is the guide of the company, in + their hunt after the rebel Baltinglas; and woe to him if he play them + false. + </p> + <p> + “A pleasant country, truly, Captain Raleigh,” says the dingy officer to + the gay one. “I wonder how, having once escaped from it to Whitehall, you + have the courage to come back and spoil that gay suit with bog-water and + mud.” + </p> + <p> + “A very pleasant country, my friend Amyas; what you say in jest, I say in + earnest.” + </p> + <p> + “Hillo! Our tastes have changed places. I am sick of it already, as you + foretold. Would Heaven that I could hear of some adventure Westward-ho! + and find these big bones swinging in a hammock once more. Pray what has + made you so suddenly in love with bog and rock, that you come back to + tramp them with us? I thought you had spied out the nakedness of the land + long ago.” + </p> + <p> + “Bog and rock? Nakedness of the land? What is needed here but prudence and + skill, justice and law? This soil, see, is fat enough, if men were here to + till it. These rocks—who knows what minerals they may hold? I hear + of gold and jewels found already in divers parts; and Daniel, my brother + Humphrey's German assayer, assures me that these rocks are of the very + same kind as those which yield the silver in Peru. Tut, man! if her + gracious majesty would but bestow on me some few square miles of this same + wilderness, in seven years' time I would make it blossom like the rose, by + God's good help.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph! I should be more inclined to stay here, then.” + </p> + <p> + “So you shall, and be my agent, if you will, to get in my mine-rents and + my corn-rents, and my fishery-rents, eh? Could you keep accounts, old + knight of the bear's-paw?” + </p> + <p> + “Well enough for such short reckonings as yours would be, on the profit + side at least. No, no—I'd sooner carry lime all my days from Cauldy + to Bideford, than pass another twelve-month in the land of Ire, among the + children of wrath. There is a curse upon the face of the earth, I + believe.” + </p> + <p> + “There is no curse upon it, save the old one of man's sin—'Thorns + and thistles it shall bring forth to thee.' But if you root up the thorns + and thistles, Amyas, I know no fiend who can prevent your growing wheat + instead; and if you till the ground like a man, you plough and barrow away + nature's curse, and other fables of the schoolmen beside,” added he, in + that daring fashion which afterwards obtained for him (and never did good + Christian less deserve it) the imputation of atheism. + </p> + <p> + “It is sword and bullet, I think, that are needed here, before plough and + harrow, to clear away some of the curse. Until a few more of these Irish + lords are gone where the Desmonds are, there is no peace for Ireland.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph! not so far wrong, I fear. And yet—Irish lords? These very + traitors are better English blood than we who hunt them down. When Yeo + here slew the Desmond the other day, he no more let out a drop of Irish + blood, than if he had slain the lord deputy himself.” + </p> + <p> + “His blood be on his own head,” said Yeo, “He looked as wild a savage as + the worst of them, more shame to him; and the ancient here had nigh cut + off his arm before he told us who he was: and then, your worship, having a + price upon his head, and like to bleed to death too—” + </p> + <p> + “Enough, enough, good fellow,” said Raleigh. “Thou hast done what was + given thee to do. Strange, Amyas, is it not? Noble Normans sunk into + savages—Hibernis ipsis hiberniores! Is there some uncivilizing venom + in the air?” + </p> + <p> + “Some venom, at least, which makes English men traitors. But the Irish + themselves are well enough, if their tyrants would let them be. See now, + what more faithful liegeman has her majesty than the Inchiquin, who, they + say, is Prince of Themond, and should be king of all Ireland, if every man + had his right?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't talk of rights in the land of wrongs, man. But the Inchiquin knows + well that the true Irish Esau has no worse enemy than his supplanter, the + Norman Jacob. And yet, Amyas are even these men worse than we might be, if + we had been bred up masters over the bodies and souls of men, in some + remote land where law and order had never come? Look at this Desmond, + brought up a savage among savages, a Papist among Papists, a despot among + slaves; a thousand easy maidens deeming it honor to serve his pleasure, a + thousand wild ruffians deeming it piety to fulfil his revenge: and let him + that is without sin among us cast the first stone.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” went on Raleigh to himself, as the conversation dropped. “What hadst + thou been, Raleigh, hadst thou been that Desmond whose lands thou now + desirest? What wilt thou be when thou hast them? Will thy children sink + downwards, as these noble barons sank? Will the genius of tyranny and + falsehood find soil within thy heart to grow and ripen fruit? What + guarantee hast thou for doing better here than those who went before thee? + And yet, cannot I do justice and love mercy? Can I not establish + plantations, build and sow, and make the desert valleys laugh with corn? + Shall I not have my Spenser with me, to fill me with all noble thoughts, + and raise my soul to his heroic pitch? Is not this true knight-errantry, + to redeem to peace and use, and to the glory of that glorious queen whom + God has given to me, a generous soil and a more generous race? Trustful + and tenderhearted they are—none more; and if they be fickle and + passionate, will not that very softness of temper, which makes them so + easily led to evil, make them as easy to be led towards good? Yes—here, + away from courts, among a people who should bless me as their benefactor + and deliverer—what golden days might be mine! And yet—is this + but another angel's mask from that same cunning fiend ambition's stage? + And will my house be indeed the house of God, the foundations of which are + loyalty, and its bulwarks righteousness, and not the house of fame, whose + walls are of the soap-bubble, and its floor a sea of glass mingled with + fire? I would be good and great—When will the day come when I shall + be content to be good, and yet not great, like this same simple Leigh, + toiling on by my side to do his duty, with no more thought for the morrow + than the birds of God? Greatness? I have tasted that cup within the last + twelve months; do I not know that it is sweet in the mouth, but bitter in + the belly? Greatness? And was not Essex great, and John of Austria great, + and Desmond great, whose race, but three short years ago, had stood for + ages higher than I shall ever hope to climb—castles, and lands, and + slaves by thousands, and five hundred gentlemen of his name, who had vowed + to forswear God before they forswore him and well have they kept their + vow! And now, dead in a turf-hovel, like a coney in a burrow! Leigh, what + noise was that?” + </p> + <p> + “An Irish howl, I fancied: but it came from off the bog; it may be only a + plover's cry.” + </p> + <p> + “Something not quite right, sir captain, to my mind,” said the ancient. + “They have ugly stories here of pucks and banshees, and what not of + ghosts. There it was again, wailing just like a woman. They say the + banshee cried all night before Desmond was slain.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps, then, this one may be crying for Baltinglas; for his turn is + likely to come next—not that I believe in such old wives' tales.” + </p> + <p> + “Shamus, my man,” said Amyas to the guide, “do you hear that cry in the + bog?” + </p> + <p> + The guide put on the most stolid of faces, and answered in broken English— + </p> + <p> + “Shamus hear naught. Perhaps—what you call him?—fishing in ta + pool.” + </p> + <p> + “An otter, he means, and I believe he is right. Stay, no! Did you not hear + it then, Shamus? It was a woman's voice.” + </p> + <p> + “Shamus is shick in his ears ever since Christmas.” + </p> + <p> + “Shamus will go after Desmond if he lies,” said Amyas. “Ancient, we had + better send a few men to see what it is; there may be a poor soul taken by + robbers, or perhaps starving to death, as I have seen many a one.” + </p> + <p> + “And I too, poor wretches; and by no fault of their own or ours either: + but if their lords will fall to quarrelling, and then drive each other's + cattle, and waste each other's lands, sir, you know—” + </p> + <p> + “I know,” said Amyas, impatiently; “why dost not take the men, and go?” + </p> + <p> + “Cry you mercy, noble captain, but—I fear nothing born of woman.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, what of that?” said Amyas, with a smile. + </p> + <p> + “But these pucks, sir. The wild Irish do say that they haunt the pools; + and they do no manner of harm, sir, when you are coming up to them; but + when you are past, sir, they jump on your back like to apes, sir,—and + who can tackle that manner of fiend?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, then, by thine own showing, ancient,” said Raleigh, “thou may'st go + and see all safely enough, and then if the puck jumps on thee as thou + comest back, just run in with him here, and I'll buy him of thee for a + noble; or thou may'st keep him in a cage, and make money in London by + showing him for a monster.” + </p> + <p> + “Good heavens forefend, Captain Raleigh! but you talk rashly! But if I + must, Captain Leigh— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Where duty calls + To brazen walls, + How base the slave who flinches' +</pre> + <p> + Lads, who'll follow me?” + </p> + <p> + “Thou askest for volunteers, as if thou wert to lead a forlorn hope. Pull + away at the usquebaugh, man, and swallow Dutch courage, since thine + English is oozed away. Stay, I'll go myself.” + </p> + <p> + “And I with you,” said Raleigh. “As the queen's true knight-errant, I am + bound to be behindhand in no adventure. Who knows but we may find a wicked + magician, just going to cut off the head of some saffron-mantled + princess?” and he dismounted. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sirs, sirs, to endanger your precious—” + </p> + <p> + “Pooh,” said Raleigh. “I wear an amulet, and have a spell of art-magic at + my tongue's end, whereby, sir ancient, neither can a ghost see me, nor I + see them. Come with us, Yeo, the Desmond-slayer, and we will shame the + devil, or be shamed by him.” + </p> + <p> + “He may shame me, sir, but he will never frighten me,” quoth Yeo; “but the + bog, captains?” + </p> + <p> + “Tut! Devonshire men, and heath-trotters born, and not know our way over a + peat moor!” + </p> + <p> + And the three strode away. + </p> + <p> + They splashed and scrambled for some quarter of a mile to the knoll, while + the cry became louder and louder as they neared. + </p> + <p> + “That's neither ghost nor otter, sirs, but a true Irish howl, as Captain + Leigh said; and I'll warrant Master Shamus knew as much long ago,” said + Yeo. + </p> + <p> + And in fact, they could now hear plainly the “Ochone, Ochonorie,” of some + wild woman; and scrambling over the boulders of the knoll, in another + minute came full upon her. + </p> + <p> + She was a young girl, sluttish and unkempt, of course, but fair enough: + her only covering, as usual, was the ample yellow mantle. There she sat + upon a stone, tearing her black dishevelled hair, and every now and then + throwing up her head, and bursting into a long mournful cry, “for all the + world,” as Yeo said, “like a dumb four-footed hound, and not a Christian + soul.” + </p> + <p> + On her knees lay the head of a man of middle age, in the long soutane of a + Romish priest. One look at the attitude of his limbs told them that he was + dead. + </p> + <p> + The two paused in awe; and Raleigh's spirit, susceptible of all poetical + images, felt keenly that strange scene,—the bleak and bitter sky, + the shapeless bog, the stunted trees, the savage girl alone with the + corpse in that utter desolation. And as she bent her head over the still + face, and called wildly to him who heard her not, and then, utterly + unmindful of the intruders, sent up again that dreary wail into the dreary + air, they felt a sacred horror, which almost made them turn away, and + leave her unquestioned: but Yeo, whose nerves were of tougher fibre, asked + quietly— + </p> + <p> + “Shall I go and search the fellow, captain?” + </p> + <p> + “Better, I think,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + Raleigh went gently to the girl, and spoke to her in English. She looked + up at him, his armor and his plume, with wide and wondering eyes, and then + shook her head, and returned to her lamentation. + </p> + <p> + Raleigh gently laid his hand on her arm, and lifted her up, while Yeo and + Amyas bent over the corpse. + </p> + <p> + It was the body of a large and coarse-featured man, but wasted and shrunk + as if by famine to a very skeleton. The hands and legs were cramped up, + and the trunk bowed together, as if the man had died of cold or famine. + Yeo drew back the clothes from the thin bosom, while the girl screamed and + wept, but made no effort to stop him. + </p> + <p> + “Ask her who it is? Yeo, you know a little Irish,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + He asked, but the girl made no answer. “The stubborn jade won't tell, of + course, sir. If she were but a man, I'd make her soon enough.” + </p> + <p> + “Ask her who killed him?” + </p> + <p> + “No one, she says; and I believe she says true, for I can find no wound. + The man has been starved, sirs, as I am a sinful man. God help him, though + he is a priest; and yet he seems full enough down below. What's here? A + big pouch, sirs, stuffed full of somewhat.” + </p> + <p> + “Hand it hither.” + </p> + <p> + The two opened the pouch; papers, papers, but no scrap of food. Then a + parchment. They unrolled it. + </p> + <p> + “Latin,” said Amyas; “you must construe, Don Scholar.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it possible?” said Raleigh, after reading a moment. “This is indeed a + prize! This is Saunders himself!” + </p> + <p> + Yeo sprang up from the body as if he had touched an adder. “Nick Saunders, + the Legacy, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Nicholas Saunders, the legate.” + </p> + <p> + “The villain! why did not he wait for me to have the comfort of killing + him? Dog!” and he kicked the corpse with his foot. + </p> + <p> + “Quiet! quiet! Remember the poor girl,” said Amyas, as she shrieked at the + profanation, while Raleigh went on, half to himself: + </p> + <p> + “Yes, this is Saunders. Misguided fool, and this is the end! To this thou + hast come with thy plotting and thy conspiring, thy lying and thy + boasting, consecrated banners and Pope's bulls, Agnus Deis and holy + waters, the blessing of all saints and angels, and thy Lady of the + Immaculate Conception! Thou hast called on the heavens to judge between + thee and us, and here is their answer! What is that in his hand, Amyas? + Give it me. A pastoral epistle to the Earl of Ormond, and all nobles of + the realm of Ireland; 'To all who groan beneath the loathsome tyranny of + an illegitimate adulteress, etc., Nicholas Saunders, by the grace of God, + Legate, etc.' Bah! and this forsooth was thy last meditation! Incorrigible + pedant! Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni!” + </p> + <p> + He ran his eye through various other documents, written in the usual + strain: full of huge promises from the Pope and the king of Spain; frantic + and filthy slanders against Elizabeth, Burghley, Leicester, Essex (the + elder), Sidney, and every great and good man (never mind of which party) + who then upheld the commonweal; bombastic attempts to terrify weak + consciences, by denouncing endless fire against those who opposed the true + faith; fulsome ascriptions of martyrdom and sanctity to every rebel and + traitor who had been hanged for the last twenty years; wearisome arguments + about the bull In Caena Domini, Elizabeth's excommunication, the nullity + of English law, the sacred duty of rebellion, the right to kill a prince + impenitently heretical, and the like insanities and villainies, which may + be read at large in Camden, the Phoenix Britannicus, Fox's Martyrs, or, + surest of all, in the writings of the worthies themselves. + </p> + <p> + With a gesture of disgust, Raleigh crammed the foul stuff back again into + the pouch. Taking it with them, they walked back to the company, and then + remounting, marched away once more towards the lands of the Desmonds; and + the girl was left alone with the dead. + </p> + <p> + An hour had passed, when another Englishman was standing by the wailing + girl, and round him a dozen shockheaded kernes, skene on thigh and javelin + in hand, were tossing about their tawny rags, and adding their + lamentations to those of the lonely watcher. + </p> + <p> + The Englishman was Eustace Leigh; a layman still, but still at his old + work. By two years of intrigue and labor from one end of Ireland to the + other, he had been trying to satisfy his conscience for rejecting “the + higher calling” of the celibate; for mad hopes still lurked within that + fiery heart. His brow was wrinkled now; his features harshened; the scar + upon his face, and the slight distortion which accompanied it, was hidden + by a bushy beard from all but himself; and he never forgot it for a day, + nor forgot who had given it to him. + </p> + <p> + He had been with Desmond, wandering in moor and moss for many a month in + danger of his life; and now he was on his way to James Fitz-Eustace, Lord + Baltinglas, to bring him the news of Desmond's death; and with him a + remnant of the clan, who were either too stout-hearted, or too desperately + stained with crime, to seek peace from the English, and, as their fellows + did, find it at once and freely. + </p> + <p> + There Eustace stood, looking down on all that was left of the most sacred + personage of Ireland; the man who, as he once had hoped, was to regenerate + his native land, and bring the proud island of the West once more beneath + that gentle yoke, in which united Christendom labored for the commonweal + of the universal Church. There he was, and with him all Eustace's dreams, + in the very heart of that country which he had vowed, and believed as he + vowed, was ready to rise in arms as one man, even to the baby at the + breast (so he had said), in vengeance against the Saxon heretic, and sweep + the hated name of Englishman into the deepest abysses of the surge which + walled her coasts; with Spain and the Pope to back him, and the wealth of + the Jesuits at his command; in the midst of faithful Catholics, valiant + soldiers, noblemen who had pledged themselves to die for the cause, serfs + who worshipped him as a demigod—starved to death in a bog! It was a + pretty plain verdict on the reasonableness of his expectations; but not to + Eustace Leigh. + </p> + <p> + It was a failure, of course; but it was an accident; indeed, to have been + expected, in a wicked world whose prince and master, as all knew, was the + devil himself; indeed, proof of the righteousness of the cause—for + when had the true faith been other than persecuted and trampled under + foot? If one came to think of it with eyes purified from the tears of + carnal impatience, what was it but a glorious martyrdom? + </p> + <p> + “Blest Saunders!” murmured Eustace Leigh; “let me die the death of the + righteous, and let my last end he like this! Ora pro me, most excellent + martyr, while I dig thy grave upon this lonely moor, to wait there for thy + translation to one of those stately shrines, which, cemented by the blood + of such as thee, shall hereafter rise restored toward heaven, to make this + land once more 'The Isle of Saints.'” + </p> + <p> + The corpse was buried; a few prayers said hastily; and Eustace Leigh was + away again, not now to find Baltinglas; for it was more than his life was + worth. The girl had told him of the English soldiers who had passed, and + he knew that they would reach the earl probably before he did. The game + was up; all was lost. So he retraced his steps, as a desperate resource, + to the last place where he would be looked for, and after a month of + disguising, hiding, and other expedients, found himself again in his + native county of Devon, while Fitz-Eustace Viscount Baltinglas had taken + ship for Spain, having got little by his famous argument to Ormond in + behalf of his joining the Church of Rome, “Had not thine ancestor, blessed + Thomas of Canterbury, died for the Church of Rome, thou hadst never been + Earl of Ormond.” The premises were certainly sounder than those of his + party were wont to be; for it was to expiate the murder of that turbulent + hero that the Ormond lands had been granted by Henry II.: but as for the + conclusion therefrom, it was much on a par with the rest. + </p> + <p> + And now let us return to Raleigh and Amyas, as they jog along their weary + road. They have many things to talk of; for it is but three days since + they met. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, as you see, is coming fast into Raleigh's old opinion of Ireland. + Raleigh, under the inspiration of a possible grant of Desmond's lands, + looks on bogs and rocks transfigured by his own hopes and fancy, as if by + the glory of a rainbow. He looked at all things so, noble fellow, even + thirty years after, when old, worn out, and ruined; well for him had it + been otherwise, and his heart had grown old with his head! Amyas, who + knows nothing about Desmond's lands, is puzzled at the change. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what is this, Raleigh? You are like children sitting in the + market-place, and nothing pleases you. You wanted to get to Court, and you + have got there; and are lord and master, I hear, or something very like + it, already—and as soon as fortune stuffs your mouth full of + sweet-meats, do you turn informer on her?” + </p> + <p> + Raleigh laughed insignificantly, but was silent. + </p> + <p> + “And how is your friend Mr. Secretary Spenser, who was with us at + Smerwick?” + </p> + <p> + “Spenser? He has thriven even as I have; and he has found, as I have, that + in making one friend at Court you make ten foes; but 'Oderint dum metuant' + is no more my motto than his, Leigh. I want to be great—great I am + already, they say, if princes' favor can swell the frog into an ox; but I + want to be liked, loved—I want to see people smile when I enter.” + </p> + <p> + “So they do, I'll warrant,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “So do hyenas,” said Raleigh; “grin because they are hungry, and I may + throw them a bone; I'll throw you one now, old lad, or rather a good + sirloin of beef, for the sake of your smile. That's honest, at least, I'll + warrant, whosoever's else is not. Have you heard of my brother Humphrey's + new project?” + </p> + <p> + “How should I hear anything in this waste howling wilderness?” + </p> + <p> + “Kiss hands to the wilderness, then, and come with me to Newfoundland!” + </p> + <p> + “You to Newfoundland?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. I to Newfoundland, unless my little matter here is settled at once. + Gloriana don't know it, and sha'n't till I'm off. She'd send me to the + Tower, I think, if she caught me playing truant. I could hardly get leave + to come hither; but I must out, and try my fortune. I am over ears in debt + already, and sick of courts and courtiers. Humphrey must go next spring + and take possession of his kingdom beyond seas, or his patent expires; and + with him I go, and you too, my circumnavigating giant.” + </p> + <p> + And then Raleigh expounded to Amyas the details of the great Newfoundland + scheme, which whoso will may read in the pages of Hakluyt. + </p> + <p> + Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Raleigh's half-brother, held a patent for “planting” + the lands of Newfoundland and “Meta Incognita” (Labrador). He had + attempted a voyage thither with Raleigh in 1578, whereof I never could + find any news, save that he came back again, after a heavy brush with some + Spanish ships (in which his best captain, Mr. Morgan, was killed), having + done nothing, and much impaired his own estate: but now he had collected a + large sum; Sir Gilbert Peckham of London, Mr. Hayes of South Devon, and + various other gentlemen, of whom more hereafter, had adventured their + money; and a considerable colony was to be sent out the next year, with + miners, assayers, and, what was more, Parmenius Budaeus, Frank's old + friend, who had come to England full of thirst to see the wonders of the + New World; and over and above this, as Raleigh told Amyas in strictest + secrecy, Adrian Gilbert, Humphrey's brother, was turning every stone at + Court for a patent of discovery in the North-West; and this Newfoundland + colony, though it was to produce gold, silver, merchandise, and what not, + was but a basis of operations, a halfway house from whence to work out the + North-West passage to the Indies—that golden dream, as fatal to + English valor as the Guiana one to Spanish—and yet hardly, hardly to + be regretted, when we remember the seamanship, the science, the chivalry, + the heroism, unequalled in the history of the English nation, which it has + called forth among those our later Arctic voyagers, who have combined the + knight-errantry of the middle age with the practical prudence of the + modern, and dared for duty more than Cortez or Pizarro dared for gold. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, simple fellow, took all in greedily; he knew enough of the dangers + of the Magellan passage to appreciate the boundless value of a road to the + East Indies which would (as all supposed then) save half the distance, and + be as it were a private possession of the English, safe from Spanish + interference; and he listened reverently to Sir Humphrey's quaint proofs, + half true, half fantastic, of such a passage, which Raleigh detailed to + him—of the Primum Mobile, and its diurnal motion from east to west, + in obedience to which the sea-current flowed westward ever round the Cape + of Good Hope, and being unable to pass through the narrow strait between + South America and the Antarctic Continent, rushed up the American shore, + as the Gulf Stream, and poured northwestward between Greenland and + Labrador towards Cathay and India; of that most crafty argument of Sir + Humphrey's—how Aristotle in his book “De Mundo,” and Simon Gryneus + in his annotations thereon, declare that the world (the Old World) is an + island, compassed by that which Homer calls the river Oceanus; ergo, the + New World is an island also, and there is a North-West passage; of the + three brothers (names unknown) who had actually made the voyage, and named + what was afterwards called Davis's Strait after themselves; of the Indians + who were cast ashore in Germany in the reign of Frederic Barbarossa who, + as Sir Humphrey had learnedly proved per modum tollendi, could have come + only by the North-West; and above all, of Salvaterra, the Spaniard, who in + 1568 had told Sir Henry Sidney (Philip's father), there in Ireland, how he + had spoken with a Mexican friar named Urdaneta, who had himself come from + Mar del Zur (the Pacific) into Germany by that very North-West passage; at + which last Amyas shook his head, and said that friars were liars, and + seeing believing; “but if you must needs have an adventure, you insatiable + soul you, why not try for the golden city of Manoa?” + </p> + <p> + “Manoa?” asked Raleigh, who had heard, as most had, dim rumors of the + place. “What do you know of it?” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Amyas told him all that he had gathered from the Spaniard; and + Raleigh, in his turn, believed every word. + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said he after a long silence. “To find that golden emperor; offer + him help and friendship from the queen of England; defend him against the + Spaniards; if we became strong enough, conquer back all Peru from the + Popish tyrants, and reinstate him on the throne of the Incas, with + ourselves for his body-guard, as the Norman Varangians were to the + effeminate emperors of Byzant—Hey, Amyas? You would make a gallant + chieftain of Varangs. We'll do it, lad!” + </p> + <p> + “We'll try,” said Amyas; “but we must be quick, for there's one Berreo + sworn to carry out the quest to the death; and if the Spaniards once get + thither, their plan of works will be much more like Pizarro's than like + yours; and by the time we come, there will be neither gold nor city left.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor Indians either, I'll warrant the butchers; but, lad, I am promised to + Humphrey; I have a bark fitting out already, and all I have, and more, + adventured in her; so Manoa must wait.” + </p> + <p> + “It will wait well enough, if the Spaniards prosper no better on the + Amazon than they have done; but must I come with you? To tell the truth, I + am quite shore-sick, and to sea I must go. What will my mother say?” + </p> + <p> + “I'll manage thy mother,” said Raleigh; and so he did; for, to cut a long + story short, he went back the month after, and he not only took home + letters from Amyas to his mother, but so impressed on that good lady the + enormous profits and honors to be derived from Meta Incognita, and (which + was most true) the advantage to any young man of sailing with such a + general as Humphrey Gilbert, most pious and most learned of seamen and of + cavaliers, beloved and honored above all his compeers by Queen Elizabeth, + that she consented to Amyas's adventuring in the voyage some two hundred + pounds which had come to him as his share of prize-money, after the ever + memorable circumnavigation. For Mrs. Leigh, be it understood, was no + longer at Burrough Court. By Frank's persuasion, she had let the old + place, moved up to London with her eldest son, and taken for herself a + lodging somewhere by Palace Stairs, which looked out upon the silver + Thames (for Thames was silver then), with its busy ferries and gliding + boats, across to the pleasant fields of Lambeth, and the Archbishop's + palace, and the wooded Surrey hills; and there she spent her peaceful + days, close to her Frank and to the Court. Elizabeth would have had her + re-enter it, offering her a small place in the household: but she + declined, saying that she was too old and heart-weary for aught but + prayer. So by prayer she lived, under the sheltering shadow of the tall + minster where she went morn and even to worship, and to entreat for the + two in whom her heart was bound up; and Frank slipped in every day if but + for five minutes, and brought with him Spenser, or Raleigh, or Dyer, or + Budaeus or sometimes Sidney's self: and there was talk of high and holy + things, of which none could speak better than could she; and each guest + went from that hallowed room a humbler and yet a loftier man. So slipped + on the peaceful months, and few and far between came Irish letters, for + Ireland was then farther from Westminster than is the Black Sea now; but + those were days in which wives and mothers had learned (as they have + learned once more, sweet souls!) to walk by faith and not by sight for + those they love: and Mrs. Leigh was content (though when was she not + content?) to hear that Amyas was winning a good report as a brave and + prudent officer, sober, just, and faithful, beloved and obeyed alike by + English soldiers and Irish kernes. + </p> + <p> + Those two years, and the one which followed, were the happiest which she + had known since her husband's death. But the cloud was fast coming up the + horizon, though she saw it not. A little longer, and the sun would be hid + for many a wintry day. + </p> + <p> + Amyas went to Plymouth (with Yeo, of course, at his heels), and there + beheld, for the first time, the majestic countenance of the philosopher of + Compton castle. He lodged with Drake, and found him not over-sanguine as + to the success of the voyage. + </p> + <p> + “For learning and manners, Amyas, there's not his equal; and the queen may + well love him, and Devon be proud of him: but book-learning is not + business: book-learning didn't get me round the world; book-learning + didn't make Captain Hawkins, nor his father neither, the best + ship-builders from Hull to Cadiz; and book-learning, I very much fear, + won't plant Newfoundland.” + </p> + <p> + However, the die was cast, and the little fleet of five sail assembled in + Cawsand Bay. Amyas was to go as a gentleman adventurer on board of + Raleigh's bark; Raleigh himself, however, at the eleventh hour, had been + forbidden by the queen to leave England. Ere they left, Sir Humphrey + Gilbert's picture was painted by some Plymouth artist, to be sent up to + Elizabeth in answer to a letter and a gift sent by Raleigh, which, as a + specimen of the men and of the time, I here transcribe*— + </p> + <p> + “BROTHER—I have sent you a token from her Majesty, an anchor guided + by a lady, as you see. And further, her Highness willed me to send you + word, that she wisheth you as great good hap and safety to your ship as if + she were there in person, desiring you to have care of yourself as of that + which she tendereth and, therefore, for her sake, you must provide for it + accordingly. Furthermore, she commandeth that you leave your picture with + her. For the rest I leave till our meeting, or to the report of the + bearer, who would needs be the messenger of this good news. So I commit + you to the will and protection of God, who send us such life and death as + he shall please, or hath appointed. + </p> + <p> + “Richmond, this Friday morning, + </p> + <p> + “Your true Brother, + </p> + <p> + “W. RALEIGH.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This letter was a few years since in the possession of Mr. + Pomeroy Gilbert, fort-major at Dartmouth, a descendant of + the admiral's. +</pre> + <p> + “Who would not die, sir, for such a woman?” said Sir Humphrey (and he said + truly), as he showed that letter to Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Who would not? But she bids you rather live for her.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall do both, young man; and for God too, I trust. We are going in + God's cause; we go for the honor of God's Gospel, for the deliverance of + poor infidels led captive by the devil; for the relief of my distressed + countrymen unemployed within this narrow isle; and to God we commit our + cause. We fight against the devil himself; and stronger is He that is + within us than he that is against us.” + </p> + <p> + Some say that Raleigh himself came down to Plymouth, accompanied the fleet + a day's sail to sea, and would have given her majesty the slip, and gone + with them Westward-ho, but for Sir Humphrey's advice. It is likely enough: + but I cannot find evidence for it. At all events, on the 11th June the + fleet sailed out, having, says Mr. Hayes, “in number about 260 men, among + whom we had of every faculty good choice, as shipwrights, masons, + carpenters, smiths, and such like, requisite for such an action; also + mineral men and refiners. Beside, for solace of our people and allurement + of the savages, we were provided of musique in good variety; not omitting + the least toys, as morris-dancers, hobby-horses, and May-like conceits, to + delight the savage people, whom we intended to win by all fair means + possible.” An armament complete enough, even to that tenderness towards + the Indians, which is so striking a feature of the Elizabethan seamen + (called out in them, perhaps, by horror at the Spanish cruelties, as well + as by their more liberal creed), and to the daily service of God on board + of every ship, according to the simple old instructions of Captain John + Hawkins to one of his little squadrons, “Keep good company; beware of + fire; serve God daily; and love one another”—an armament, in short, + complete in all but men. The sailors had been picked up hastily and + anywhere, and soon proved themselves a mutinous, and, in the case of the + bark Swallow, a piratical set. The mechanics were little better. The + gentlemen-adventurers, puffed up with vain hopes of finding a new Mexico, + became soon disappointed and surly at the hard practical reality; while + over all was the head of a sage and an enthusiast, a man too noble to + suspect others, and too pure to make allowances for poor dirty human + weaknesses. He had got his scheme perfect upon paper; well for him, and + for his company, if he had asked Francis Drake to translate it for him + into fact! As early as the second day, the seeds of failure began to + sprout above ground. The men of Raleigh's bark, the Vice-Admiral, suddenly + found themselves seized, or supposed themselves seized, with a contagious + sickness, and at midnight forsook the fleet, and went back to Plymouth; + whereto Mr. Hayes can only say, “The reason I never could understand. Sure + I am that Mr. Raleigh spared no cost in setting them forth. And so I leave + it unto God!” + </p> + <p> + But Amyas said more. He told Butler the captain plainly that, if the bark + went back, he would not; that he had seen enough of ships deserting their + consorts; that it should never be said of him that he had followed + Winter's example, and that, too, on a fair easterly wind; and finally that + he had seen Doughty hanged for trying to play such a trick; and that he + might see others hanged too before he died. Whereon Captain Butler offered + to draw and fight, to which Amyas showed no repugnance; whereon the + captain, having taken a second look at Amyas's thews and sinews, + reconsidered the matter, and offered to put Amyas on board of Sir + Humphrey's Delight, if he could find a crew to row him. + </p> + <p> + Amyas looked around. + </p> + <p> + “Are there any of Sir Francis Drake's men on board?” + </p> + <p> + “Three, sir,” said Yeo. “Robert Drew, and two others.” + </p> + <p> + “Pelicans!” roared Amyas, “you have been round the world, and will you + turn back from Westward-ho?” + </p> + <p> + There was a moment's silence, and then Drew came forward. + </p> + <p> + “Lower us a boat, captain, and lend us a caliver to make signals with, + while I get my kit on deck; I'll after Captain Leigh, if I row him aboard + all alone to my own hands.” + </p> + <p> + “If I ever command a ship, I will not forget you,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Nor us either, sir, we hope; for we haven't forgotten you and your honest + conditions,” said both the other Pelicans; and so away over the side went + all the five, and pulled away after the admiral's lantern, firing shots at + intervals as signals. Luckily for the five desperadoes, the night was all + but calm. They got on board before the morning, and so away into the + boundless West.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Raleigh, the largest ship of the squadron, was of only + 200 tons burden; The Golden Hind, Hayes' ship, which + returned safe, of 40; and The Squirrel (whereof more + hereafter), of 10 tons! In such cockboats did these old + heroes brave the unknown seas. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW BIDEFORD BRIDGE DINED AT ANNERY HOUSE + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Three lords sat drinking late yestreen, + And ere they paid the lawing, + They set a combat them between, + To fight it in the dawing”—Scotch Ballad. +</pre> + <p> + Every one who knows Bideford cannot but know Bideford bridge; for it is + the very omphalos, cynosure, and soul, around which the town, as a body, + has organized itself; and as Edinburgh is Edinburgh by virtue of its + castle, Rome Rome by virtue of its capitol, and Egypt Egypt by virtue of + its pyramids, so is Bideford Bideford by virtue of its bridge. But all do + not know the occult powers which have advanced and animated the said + wondrous bridge for now five hundred years, and made it the chief wonder, + according to Prince and Fuller, of this fair land of Devon: being first an + inspired bridge, a soul-saving bridge, an alms-giving bridge, an + educational bridge, a sentient bridge, and last, but not least, a + dinner-giving bridge. All do not know how, when it began to be built some + half mile higher up, hands invisible carried the stones down-stream each + night to the present site; until Sir Richard Gurney, parson of the parish, + going to bed one night in sore perplexity and fear of the evil spirit who + seemed so busy in his sheepfold, beheld a vision of an angel, who bade + build the bridge where he himself had so kindly transported the materials; + for there alone was sure foundation amid the broad sheet of shifting sand. + All do not know how Bishop Grandison of Exeter proclaimed throughout his + diocese indulgences, benedictions, and “participation in all spiritual + blessings for ever,” to all who would promote the bridging of that + dangerous ford; and so, consulting alike the interests of their souls and + of their bodies, “make the best of both worlds.” + </p> + <p> + All do not know, nor do I, that “though the foundation of the bridge is + laid upon wool, yet it shakes at the slightest step of a horse;” or that, + “though it has twenty-three arches, yet one Wm. Alford (another Milo) + carried on his back for a wager four bushels salt-water measure, all the + length thereof;” or that the bridge is a veritable esquire, bearing arms + of its own (a ship and bridge proper on a plain field), and owning lands + and tenements in many parishes, with which the said miraculous bridge has, + from time to time, founded charities, built schools, waged suits at law, + and finally (for this concerns us most) given yearly dinners, and kept for + that purpose (luxurious and liquorish bridge that it was) the best stocked + cellar of wines in all Devon. + </p> + <p> + To one of these dinners, as it happened, were invited in the year 1583 all + the notabilities of Bideford, and beside them Mr. St. Leger of Annery + close by, brother of the marshal of Munster, and of Lady Grenville; a most + worthy and hospitable gentleman, who, finding riches a snare, parted with + them so freely to all his neighbors as long as he lived, that he + effectually prevented his children after him from falling into the + temptations thereunto incident. + </p> + <p> + Between him and one of the bridge trustees arose an argument, whether a + salmon caught below the bridge was better or worse than one caught above; + and as that weighty question could only be decided by practical + experiment, Mr. St. Leger vowed that as the bridge had given him a good + dinner, he would give the bridge one; offered a bet of five pounds that he + would find them, out of the pool below Annery, as firm and flaky a salmon + as the Appledore one which they had just eaten; and then, in the fulness + of his heart, invited the whole company present to dine with him at Annery + three days after, and bring with them each a wife or daughter; and Don + Guzman being at table, he was invited too. + </p> + <p> + So there was a mighty feast in the great hall at Annery, such as had + seldom been since Judge Hankford feasted Edward the Fourth there; and + while every one was eating their best and drinking their worst, Rose + Salterne and Don Guzman were pretending not to see each other, and + watching each other all the more. But Rose, at least, had to be very + careful of her glances; for not only was her father at the table, but just + opposite her sat none other than Messrs. William Cary and Arthur St. + Leger, lieutenants in her majesty's Irish army, who had returned on + furlough a few days before. + </p> + <p> + Rose Salterne and the Spaniard had not exchanged a word in the last six + months, though they had met many times. The Spaniard by no means avoided + her company, except in her father's house; he only took care to obey her + carefully, by seeming always unconscious of her presence, beyond the + stateliest of salutes at entering and departing. But he took care, at the + same time, to lay himself out to the very best advantage whenever he was + in her presence; to be more witty, more eloquent, more romantic, more full + of wonderful tales than he ever yet had been. The cunning Don had found + himself foiled in his first tactic; and he was now trying another, and a + far more formidable one. In the first place, Rose deserved a very severe + punishment, for having dared to refuse the love of a Spanish nobleman; and + what greater punishment could he inflict than withdrawing the honor of his + attentions, and the sunshine of his smiles? There was conceit enough in + that notion, but there was cunning too; for none knew better than the + Spaniard, that women, like the world, are pretty sure to value a man + (especially if there be any real worth in him) at his own price; and that + the more he demands for himself, the more they will give for him. + </p> + <p> + And now he would put a high price on himself, and pique her pride, as she + was too much accustomed to worship, to be won by flattering it. He might + have done that by paying attention to some one else: but he was too wise + to employ so coarse a method, which might raise indignation, or disgust, + or despair in Rose's heart, but would have never brought her to his feet—as + it will never bring any woman worth bringing. So he quietly and + unobtrusively showed her that he could do without her; and she, poor fool, + as she was meant to do, began forthwith to ask herself—why? What was + the hidden treasure, what was the reserve force, which made him + independent of her, while she could not say that she was independent of + him? Had he a secret? how pleasant to know it! Some huge ambition? how + pleasant to share in it! Some mysterious knowledge? how pleasant to learn + it! Some capacity of love beyond the common? how delicious to have it all + for her own! He must be greater, wiser, richer-hearted than she was, as + well as better-born. Ah, if his wealth would but supply her poverty! And + so, step by step, she was being led to sue in forma pauperis to the very + man whom she had spurned when he sued in like form to her. That temptation + of having some mysterious private treasure, of being the priestess of some + hidden sanctuary, and being able to thank Heaven that she was not as other + women are, was becoming fast too much for Rose, as it is too much for + most. For none knew better than the Spaniard how much more fond women are, + by the very law of their sex, of worshipping than of being worshipped, and + of obeying than of being obeyed; how their coyness, often their scorn, is + but a mask to hide their consciousness of weakness; and a mask, too, of + which they themselves will often be the first to tire. + </p> + <p> + And Rose was utterly tired of that same mask as she sat at table at Annery + that day; and Don Guzman saw it in her uneasy and downcast looks, and + thinking (conceited coxcomb) that she must be by now sufficiently + punished, stole a glance at her now and then, and was not abashed when he + saw that she dropped her eyes when they met his, because he saw her + silence and abstraction increase, and something like a blush steal into + her cheeks. So he pretended to be as much downcast and abstracted as she + was, and went on with his glances, till he once found her, poor thing, + looking at him to see if he was looking at her; and then he knew his prey + was safe, and asked her, with his eyes, “Do you forgive me?” and saw her + stop dead in her talk to her next neighbor, and falter, and drop her eyes, + and raise them again after a minute in search of his, that he might repeat + the pleasant question. And then what could she do but answer with all her + face and every bend of her pretty neck, “And do you forgive me in turn?” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Don Guzman broke out jubilant, like nightingale on bough, with + story, and jest, and repartee; and became forthwith the soul of the whole + company, and the most charming of all cavaliers. And poor Rose knew that + she was the cause of his sudden change of mood, and blamed herself for + what she had done, and shuddered and blushed at her own delight, and + longed that the feast was over, that she might hurry home and hide herself + alone with sweet fancies about a love the reality of which she felt she + dared not face. + </p> + <p> + It was a beautiful sight, the great terrace at Annery that afternoon; with + the smart dames in their gaudy dresses parading up and down in twos and + threes before the stately house; or looking down upon the park, with the + old oaks, and the deer, and the broad land-locked river spread out like a + lake beneath, all bright in the glare of the midsummer sun; or listening + obsequiously to the two great ladies who did the honors, Mrs. St. Leger + the hostess, and her sister-in-law, fair Lady Grenville. All chatted, and + laughed, and eyed each other's dresses, and gossiped about each other's + husbands and servants: only Rose Salterne kept apart, and longed to get + into a corner and laugh or cry, she knew not which. + </p> + <p> + “Our pretty Rose seems sad,” said Lady Grenville, coming up to her. “Cheer + up, child! we want you to come and sing to us.” + </p> + <p> + Rose answered she knew not what, and obeyed mechanically. + </p> + <p> + She took the lute, and sat down on a bench beneath the house, while the + rest grouped themselves round her. + </p> + <p> + “What shall I sing?” + </p> + <p> + “Let us have your old song, 'Earl Haldan's Daughter.'” + </p> + <p> + Rose shrank from it. It was a loud and dashing ballad, which chimed in but + little with her thoughts; and Frank had praised it too, in happier days + long since gone by. She thought of him, and of others, and of her pride + and carelessness; and the song seemed ominous to her: and yet for that + very reason she dared not refuse to sing it, for fear of suspicion where + no one suspected; and so she began per force— + </p> + <p> + I. + </p> + <p> + “It was Earl Haldan's daughter, She look'd across the sea; She look'd + across the water, And long and loud laugh'd she; 'The locks of six + princesses Must be my marriage-fee, So hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat! + Who comes a wooing me?' + </p> + <p> + II. + </p> + <p> + “It was Earl Haldan's daughter, She walk'd along the sand; When she was + aware of a knight so fair, Come sailing to the land. His sails were all of + velvet, His mast of beaten gold, And 'hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat, + Who saileth here so bold?' + </p> + <p> + III. + </p> + <p> + “'The locks of five princesses I won beyond the sea; I shore their golden + tresses, To fringe a cloak for thee. One handful yet is wanting, But one + of all the tale; So hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat! Furl up thy velvet + sail!' + </p> + <p> + IV. + </p> + <p> + “He leapt into the water, That rover young and bold; He gript Earl + Haldan's daughter, He shore her locks of gold; 'Go weep, go weep, proud + maiden, The tale is full to-day. Now hey bonny boat, and ho bonny boat! + Sail Westward-ho, and away!'” + </p> + <p> + As she ceased, a measured voice, with a foreign accent, thrilled through + her. + </p> + <p> + “In the East, they say the nightingale sings to the rose; Devon, more + happy, has nightingale and rose in one.” + </p> + <p> + “We have no nightingales in Devon, Don Guzman,” said Lady Grenville; “but + our little forest thrushes sing, as you hear, sweetly enough to content + any ear. But what brings you away from the gentlemen so early?” + </p> + <p> + “These letters,” said he, “which have just been put into my hand; and as + they call me home to Spain, I was loath to lose a moment of that + delightful company from which I must part so soon.” + </p> + <p> + “To Spain?” asked half-a-dozen voices: for the Don was a general favorite. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and thence to the Indies. My ransom has arrived, and with it the + promise of an office. I am to be Governor of La Guayra in Caracas. + Congratulate me on my promotion.” + </p> + <p> + A mist was over Rose's eyes. The Spaniard's voice was hard and flippant. + Did he care for her, after all? And if he did, was it nevertheless + hopeless? How her cheeks glowed! Everybody must see it! Anything to turn + away their attention from her, and in that nervous haste which makes + people speak, and speak foolishly too, just because they ought to be + silent, she asked— + </p> + <p> + “And where is La Guayra?” + </p> + <p> + “Half round the world, on the coast of the Spanish Main. The loveliest + place on earth, and the loveliest governor's house, in a forest of palms + at the foot of a mountain eight thousand feet high: I shall only want a + wife there to be in paradise.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't doubt that you may persuade some fair lady of Seville to + accompany you thither,” said Lady Grenville. + </p> + <p> + “Thanks, gracious madam: but the truth is, that since I have had the bliss + of knowing English ladies, I have begun to think that they are the only + ones on earth worth wooing.” + </p> + <p> + “A thousand thanks for the compliment; but I fear none of our free English + maidens would like to submit to the guardianship of a duenna. Eh, Rose? + how should you like to be kept under lock and key all day by an ugly old + woman with a horn on her forehead?” + </p> + <p> + Poor Rose turned so scarlet that Lady Grenville knew her secret on the + spot, and would have tried to turn the conversation: but before she could + speak, some burgher's wife blundered out a commonplace about the jealousy + of Spanish husbands; and another, to make matters better, giggled out + something more true than delicate about West Indian masters and fair + slaves. + </p> + <p> + “Ladies,” said Don Guzman, reddening, “believe me that these are but the + calumnies of ignorance. If we be more jealous than other nations, it is + because we love more passionately. If some of us abroad are profligate, it + is because they, poor men, have no helpmate, which, like the amethyst, + keeps its wearer pure. I could tell you stories, ladies, of the constancy + and devotion of Spanish husbands, even in the Indies, as strange as ever + romancer invented.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you? Then we challenge you to give us one at least.” + </p> + <p> + “I fear it would be too long, madam.” + </p> + <p> + “The longer the more pleasant, senor. How can we spend an hour better this + afternoon, while the gentlemen within are finishing their wine?” + </p> + <p> + Story-telling, in those old times, when books (and authors also, lucky for + the public) were rarer than now, was a common amusement; and as the + Spaniard's accomplishments in that line were well known, all the ladies + crowded round him; the servants brought chairs and benches; and Don + Guzman, taking his seat in the midst, with a proud humility, at Lady + Grenville's feet, began— + </p> + <p> + “Your perfections, fair and illustrious ladies, must doubtless have heard, + ere now, how Sebastian Cabota, some forty-five years ago, sailed forth + with a commission from my late master, the Emperor Charles the Fifth, to + discover the golden lands of Tarshish, Ophir, and Cipango; but being in + want of provisions, stopped short at the mouth of that mighty South + American river to which he gave the name of Rio de la Plata, and sailing + up it, discovered the fair land of Paraguay. But you may not have heard + how, on the bank of that river, at the mouth of the Rio Terceiro, he built + a fort which men still call Cabot's Tower; nor have you, perhaps, heard of + the strange tale which will ever make the tower a sacred spot to all true + lovers. + </p> + <p> + “For when he returned to Spain the year after, he left in his tower a + garrison of a hundred and twenty men, under the command of Nuno de Lara, + Ruiz Moschera, and Sebastian da Hurtado, old friends and fellow-soldiers + of my invincible grandfather Don Ferdinando da Soto; and with them a + jewel, than which Spain never possessed one more precious, Lucia Miranda, + the wife of Hurtado, who, famed in the court of the emperor no less for + her wisdom and modesty than for her unrivalled beauty, had thrown up all + the pomp and ambition of a palace, to marry a poor adventurer, and to + encounter with him the hardships of a voyage round the world. Mangora, the + cacique of the neighboring Timbuez Indians (with whom Lara had contrived + to establish a friendship), cast his eyes on this fair creature, and no + sooner saw than he coveted; no sooner coveted than he plotted, with the + devilish subtilty of a savage, to seize by force what he knew he could + never gain by right. She soon found out his passion (she was wise enough—what + every woman is not—to know when she is loved), and telling her + husband, kept as much as she could out of her new lover's sight; while the + savage pressed Hurtado to come and visit him, and to bring his lady with + him. Hurtado, suspecting the snare, and yet fearing to offend the cacique, + excused himself courteously on the score of his soldier's duty; and the + savage, mad with desire and disappointment, began plotting against + Hurtado's life. + </p> + <p> + “So went on several weeks, till food grew scarce, and Don Hurtado and Don + Ruiz Moschera, with fifty soldiers, were sent up the river on a foraging + party. Mangora saw his opportunity, and leapt at it forthwith. + </p> + <p> + “The tower, ladies, as I have heard from those who have seen it, stands on + a knoll at the meeting of the two rivers, while on the land side stretches + a dreary marsh, covered with tall grass and bushes; a fit place for the + ambuscade of four thousand Indians, which Mangora, with devilish cunning, + placed around the tower, while he himself went boldly up to it, followed + by thirty men, laden with grain, fruit, game, and all the delicacies which + his forests could afford. + </p> + <p> + “There, with a smiling face, he told the unsuspecting Lara his sorrow for + the Spaniards' want of food; besought him to accept the provision he had + brought, and was, as he had expected, invited by Lara to come in and taste + the wines of Spain. + </p> + <p> + “In went he and his thirty fellow-bandits, and the feast continued, with + songs and libations, far into the night, while Mangora often looked round, + and at last boldly asked for the fair Miranda: but she had shut herself + into her lodging, pleading illness. + </p> + <p> + “A plea, fair ladies, which little availed that hapless dame, for no + sooner had the Spaniards retired to rest, leaving (by I know not what + madness) Mangora and his Indians within, than they were awakened by the + cry of fire, the explosion of their magazine, and the inward rush of the + four thousand from the marsh outside. + </p> + <p> + “Why pain your gentle ears with details of slaughter? A few fearful + minutes sufficed to exterminate my bewildered and unarmed countrymen, to + bind the only survivors, Miranda (innocent cause of the whole tragedy) and + four other women with their infants, and to lead them away in triumph + across the forest towards the Indian town. + </p> + <p> + “Stunned by the suddenness of the evils which had passed, and still more + by the thought of those worse which were to come (as she too well + foresaw), Miranda travelled all night through the forest, and was brought + in triumph at day-dawn before the Indian king to receive her doom. Judge + of her astonishment, when, on looking up, she saw that he was not Mangora. + </p> + <p> + “A ray of hope flashed across her, and she asked where he was. + </p> + <p> + “'He was slain last night,' said the king; 'and I, his brother Siripa, am + now cacique of the Timbuez.' + </p> + <p> + “It was true; Lara, maddened with drink, rage, and wounds, had caught up + his sword, rushed into the thick of the fight, singled out the traitor, + and slain him on the spot; and then, forgetting safety in revenge, had + continued to plunge his sword into the corpse, heedless of the blows of + the savages, till he fell pierced with a hundred wounds. + </p> + <p> + “A ray of hope, as I said, flashed across the wretched Miranda for a + moment; but the next she found that she had been freed from one bandit + only to be delivered to another. + </p> + <p> + “'Yes,' said the new king, in broken Spanish; 'my brother played a bold + stake, and lost it; but it was well worth the risk, and he showed his + wisdom thereby. You cannot be his queen now: you must content yourself + with being mine.' + </p> + <p> + “Miranda, desperate, answered him with every fierce taunt which she could + invent against his treachery and his crime; and asked him, how he came to + dream that the wife of a Christian Spaniard would condescend to become the + mistress of a heathen savage; hoping, unhappy lady, to exasperate him into + killing her on the spot. But in vain; she only prolonged thereby her own + misery. For, whether it was, ladies, that the novel sight of divine virtue + and beauty awed (as it may have awed me ere now), where it had just before + maddened; or whether some dream crossed the savage (as it may have crossed + me ere now), that he could make the wisdom of a mortal angel help his + ambition, as well as her beauty his happiness; or whether (which I will + never believe of one of those dark children of the devil, though I can + boldly assert it of myself) some spark of boldness within him made him too + proud to take by force what he could not win by persuasion, certain it is, + as the Indians themselves confessed afterwards, that the savage only + answered her by smiles; and bidding his men unbind her, told her that she + was no slave of his, and that it only lay with her to become the sovereign + of him and all his vassals; assigned her a hut to herself, loaded her with + savage ornaments, and for several weeks treated her with no less courtesy + (so miraculous is the power of love) than if he had been a cavalier of + Castile. + </p> + <p> + “Three months and more, ladies, as I have heard, passed in this misery, + and every day Miranda grew more desperate of all deliverance, and saw + staring her in the face, nearer and nearer, some hideous and shameful end; + when one day going down with the wives of the cacique to draw water in the + river, she saw on the opposite bank a white man in a tattered Spanish + dress, with a drawn sword in his hand; who had no sooner espied her, than + shrieking her name, he plunged into the stream, swam across, landed at her + feet, and clasped her in his arms. It was no other, ladies, incredible as + it may seem, than Don Sebastian himself, who had returned with Ruiz + Moschera to the tower, and found it only a charred and bloodstained heap + of ruins. + </p> + <p> + “He guessed, as by inspiration, what had passed, and whither his lady was + gone; and without a thought of danger, like a true Spanish gentleman and a + true Spanish lover, darted off alone into the forest, and guided only by + the inspiration of his own loyal heart, found again his treasure, and + found it still unstained and his own. + </p> + <p> + “Who can describe the joy, and who again the terror, of their meeting? The + Indian women had fled in fear, and for the short ten minutes that the + lovers were left together, life, to be sure, was one long kiss. But what + to do they knew not. To go inland was to rush into the enemy's arms. He + would have swum with her across the river, and attempted it; but his + strength, worn out with hunger and travel, failed him; he drew her with + difficulty on shore again, and sat down by her to await their doom with + prayer, the first and last resource of virtuous ladies, as weapons are of + cavaliers. + </p> + <p> + “Alas for them! May no true lovers ever have to weep over joys so soon + lost, after having been so hardly found! For, ere a quarter of an hour was + passed, the Indian women, who had fled at his approach, returned with all + the warriors of the tribe. Don Sebastian, desperate, would fain have slain + his wife and himself on the spot; but his hand sank again—and whose + would not but an Indian's?—as he raised it against that fair and + faithful breast; in a few minutes he was surrounded, seized from behind, + disarmed, and carried in triumph into the village. And if you cannot feel + for him in that misery, fair ladies, who have known no sorrow, yet I, a + prisoner, can.” + </p> + <p> + Don Guzman paused a moment, as if overcome by emotion; and I will not say + that, as he paused, he did not look to see if Rose Salterne's eyes were on + him, as indeed they were. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I can feel with him; I can estimate, better than you, ladies, the + greatness of that love which could submit to captivity; to the loss of his + sword; to the loss of that honor, which, next to god and his mother, is + the true Spaniard's deity. There are those who have suffered that shame at + the hands of valiant gentlemen” (and again Don Guzman looked up at Rose), + “and yet would have sooner died a thousand deaths; but he dared to endure + it from the hands of villains, savages, heathens; for he was a true + Spaniard, and therefore a true lover: but I will go on with my tale. + </p> + <p> + “This wretched pair, then, as I have been told by Ruiz Moschera himself, + stood together before the cacique. He, like a true child of the devil, + comprehending in a moment who Don Sebastian was, laughed with delight at + seeing his rival in his power, and bade bind him at once to a tree, and + shoot him to death with arrows. + </p> + <p> + “But the poor Miranda sprang forward, and threw herself at his feet, and + with piteous entreaties besought for mercy from him who knew no mercy. + </p> + <p> + “And yet love and the sight of her beauty, and the terrible eloquence of + her words, while she invoked on his head the just vengeance of Heaven, + wrought even on his heart: nevertheless the pleasure of seeing her, who + had so long scorned him, a suppliant at his feet, was too delicate to be + speedily foregone; and not till she was all but blind with tears, and dumb + with agony of pleading, did he make answer, that if she would consent to + become his wife, her husband's life should be spared. She, in her haste + and madness, sobbed out desperately I know not what consent. Don + Sebastian, who understood, if not the language, still the meaning (so had + love quickened his understanding), shrieked to her not to lose her + precious soul for the sake of his worthless body; that death was nothing + compared to the horror of that shame; and such other words as became a + noble and valiant gentleman. She, shuddering now at her own frailty, would + have recalled her promise; but Siripa kept her to it, vowing, if she + disappointed him again, such a death to her husband as made her blood run + cold to hear of; and the wretched woman could only escape for the present + by some story, that it was not the custom of her race to celebrate + nuptials till a month after the betrothment; that the anger of Heaven + would be on her, unless she first performed in solitude certain religious + rites; and lastly, that if he dared to lay hands on her husband, she would + die so resolutely, that every drop of water should be deep enough to drown + her, every thorn sharp enough to stab her to the heart: till fearing lest + by demanding too much he should lose all, and awed too, as he had been at + first by a voice and looks which seemed to be, in comparison with his own, + divine, Siripa bade her go back to her hut, promising her husband life; + but promising too, that if he ever found the two speaking together, even + for a moment, he would pour out on them both all the cruelty of those + tortures in which the devil, their father, has so perfectly instructed the + Indians. + </p> + <p> + “So Don Sebastian, being stripped of his garments, and painted after the + Indian fashion, was set to all mean and toilsome work, amid the buffetings + and insults of the whole village. And this, ladies, he endured without a + murmur, ay, took delight in enduring it, as he would have endured things + worse a thousand times, only for the sake, like a true lover as he was, of + being near the goddess whom he worshipped, and of seeing her now and then + afar off, happy enough to be repaid even by that for all indignities. + </p> + <p> + “And yet, you who have loved may well guess, as I can, that ere a week had + passed, Don Sebastian and the Lady Miranda had found means, in spite of + all spiteful eyes, to speak to each other once and again; and to assure + each other of their love; even to talk of escape, before the month's grace + should be expired. And Miranda, whose heart was full of courage as long as + she felt her husband near her, went so far as to plan a means of escape + which seemed possible and hopeful. + </p> + <p> + “For the youngest wife of the cacique, who, till Miranda's coming, had + been his favorite, often talked with the captive, insulting and tormenting + her in her spite and jealousy, and receiving in return only gentle and + conciliatory words. And one day when the woman had been threatening to + kill her, Miranda took courage to say, 'Do you fancy that I shall not be + as glad to be rid of your husband, as you to be rid of me? Why kill me + needlessly, when all that you require is to get me forth of the place? Out + of sight, out of mind. When I am gone, your husband will soon forget me, + and you will be his favorite as before.' Soon, seeing that the girl was + inclined to listen, she went on to tell her of her love to Don Sebastian, + entreating and adjuring her, by the love which she bore the cacique, to + pity and help her; and so won upon the girl, that she consented to be + privy to Miranda's escape, and even offered to give her an opportunity of + speaking to her husband about it; and at last was so won over by Miranda, + that she consented to keep all intruders out of the way, while Don + Sebastian that very night visited Miranda in her hut. + </p> + <p> + “The hapless husband, thirsting for his love, was in that hut, be sure, + the moment that kind darkness covered his steps:—and what cheer + these two made of each other, when they once found themselves together, + lovers must fancy for themselves: but so it was, that after many a + leave-taking, there was no departure; and when the night was well-nigh + past, Sebastian and Miranda were still talking together as if they had + never met before, and would never meet again. + </p> + <p> + “But it befell, ladies (would that I was not speaking truth, but + inventing, that I might have invented something merrier for your ears), it + befell that very night, that the young wife of the cacique, whose heart + was lifted up with the thought that her rival was now at last disposed of, + tried all her wiles to win back her faithless husband; but in vain. He + only answered her caresses by indifference, then by contempt, then + insults, then blows (for with the Indians, woman is always a slave, or + rather a beast of burden), and went on to draw such cruel comparisons + between her dark skin and the glorious fairness of the Spanish lady, that + the wretched girl, beside herself with rage, burst out at last with her + own secret. 'Fool that you are to madden yourself about a stranger who + prizes one hair of her Spanish husband's head more than your whole body! + Much does your new bride care for you! She is at this moment in her + husband's arms!' + </p> + <p> + “The cacique screamed furiously to know what she meant; and she, her + jealousy and hate of the guiltless lady boiling over once for all, bade + him, if he doubted her, go see for himself. + </p> + <p> + “What use of many words? They were taken. Love, or rather lust, repelled, + turned in a moment into devilish hate; and the cacique, summoning his + Indians, bade them bind the wretched Don Sebastian to a tree, and there + inflicted on him the lingering death to which he had at first been doomed. + For Miranda he had more exquisite cruelty in store. And shall I tell it? + Yes, ladies, for the honor of love and of Spain, and for a justification + of those cruelties against the Indians which are so falsely imputed to our + most Christian nation, it shall be told: he delivered the wretched lady + over to the tender mercies of his wives; and what they were is neither fit + for me to tell, nor you to hear. + </p> + <p> + “The two wretched lovers cast themselves upon each other's neck; drank + each other's salt tears with the last kisses; accused themselves as the + cause of each other's death; and then, rising above fear and grief, broke + out into triumph at thus dying for and with each other; and proclaiming + themselves the martyrs of love, commended their souls to God, and then + stepped joyfully and proudly to their doom.” + </p> + <p> + “And what was that?” asked half-a-dozen trembling voices. + </p> + <p> + “Don Sebastian, as I have said, was shot to death with arrows; but as for + the Lady Miranda, the wretches themselves confessed afterwards, when they + received due vengeance for their crimes (as they did receive it), that + after all shameful and horrible indignities, she was bound to a tree, and + there burned slowly in her husband's sight, stifling her shrieks lest they + should wring his heart by one additional pang, and never taking her eyes, + to the last, off that beloved face. And so died (but not unavenged) + Sebastian de Hurtado and Lucia Miranda,—a Spanish husband and a + Spanish wife.” + </p> + <p> + The Don paused, and the ladies were silent awhile, for, indeed, there was + many a gentle tear to be dried; but at last Mrs. St. Leger spoke, half, it + seemed, to turn off the too painful impression of the over-true tale, the + outlines whereof may be still read in old Charlevoix. + </p> + <p> + “You have told a sad and a noble tale, sir, and told it well; but, though + your story was to set forth a perfect husband, it has ended rather by + setting forth a perfect wife.” + </p> + <p> + “And if I have forgotten, madam, in praising her to praise him also, have + I not done that which would have best pleased his heroical and chivalrous + spirit? He, be sure, would have forgotten his own virtue in the light of + hers; and he would have wished me, I doubt not, to do the same also. And + beside, madam, where ladies are the theme, who has time or heart to cast + one thought upon their slaves?” And the Don made one of his deliberate and + highly-finished bows. + </p> + <p> + “Don Guzman is courtier enough, as far as compliments go,” said one of the + young ladies; “but it was hardly courtier-like of him to find us so sad an + entertainment, upon a merry evening.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” said another; “we must ask him for no more stories.” + </p> + <p> + “Or songs either,” said a third. “I fear he knows none but about forsaken + maidens and despairing lovers.” + </p> + <p> + “I know nothing at all about forsaken ladies, madam; because ladies are + never forsaken in Spain.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor about lovers despairing there, I suppose?” + </p> + <p> + “That good opinion of ourselves, madam, with which you English are pleased + to twit us now and then, always prevents so sad a state of mind. For + myself, I have had little to do with love; but I have had still less to do + with despair, and intend, by help of Heaven, to have less.” + </p> + <p> + “You are valiant, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “You would not have me a coward, madam?” and so forth. + </p> + <p> + Now all this time Don Guzman had been talking at Rose Salterne, and giving + her the very slightest hint, every now and then, that he was talking at + her; till the poor girl's face was almost crimson with pleasure, and she + gave herself up to the spell. He loved her still; perhaps he knew that she + loved him: he must know some day. She felt now that there was no escape; + she was almost glad to think that there was none. + </p> + <p> + The dark, handsome, stately face; the melodious voice, with its rich + Spanish accent; the quiet grace of the gestures; the wild pathos of the + story; even the measured and inflated style, as of one speaking of another + and a loftier world; the chivalrous respect and admiration for woman, and + for faithfulness to woman—what a man he was! If he had been pleasant + heretofore, he was now enchanting. All the ladies round felt that, she + could see, as much as she herself did; no, not quite as much, she hoped. + She surely understood him, and felt for his loneliness more than any of + them. Had she not been feeling for it through long and sad months? But it + was she whom he was thinking of, she whom he was speaking to, all along. + Oh, why had the tale ended so soon? She would gladly have sat and wept her + eyes out till midnight over one melodious misery after another; but she + was quite wise enough to keep her secret to herself; and sat behind the + rest, with greedy eyes and demure lips, full of strange and new happiness—or + misery; she knew not which to call it. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile, as it was ordained, Cary could see and hear through the + window of the hall a good deal of what was going on. + </p> + <p> + “How that Spanish crocodile ogles the Rose!” whispered he to young St. + Leger. + </p> + <p> + “What wonder? He is not the first by many a one.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay—but—By heaven, she is making side-shots at him with those + languishing eyes of hers, the little baggage!” + </p> + <p> + “What wonder? He is not the first, say I, and won't be the last. Pass the + wine, man.” + </p> + <p> + “I have had enough; between sack and singing, my head is as mazed as a + dizzy sheep. Let me slip out.” + </p> + <p> + “Not yet, man; remember you are bound for one song more.” + </p> + <p> + So Cary, against his will, sat and sang another song; and in the meanwhile + the party had broken up, and wandered away by twos and threes, among trim + gardens and pleasaunces, and clipped yew-walks— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Where west-winds with musky wing + About the cedarn alleys fling + Nard and cassia's balmy smells—” + </pre> + <p> + admiring the beauty of that stately place, long since passed into other + hands, and fallen to decay, but then (if old Prince speaks true) one of + the noblest mansions of the West. + </p> + <p> + At last Cary got away and out; sober, but just enough flushed with wine to + be ready for any quarrel; and luckily for him, had not gone twenty yards + along the great terrace before he met Lady Grenville. + </p> + <p> + “Has your ladyship seen Don Guzman?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes—why, where is he? He was with me not ten minutes ago. You know + he is going back to Spain.” + </p> + <p> + “Going! Has his ransom come?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and with it a governorship in the Indies.” + </p> + <p> + “Governorship! Much good may it do the governed.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not, then? He is surely a most gallant gentleman.” + </p> + <p> + “Gallant enough—yes,” said Cary, carelessly. “I must find him, and + congratulate him on his honors.” + </p> + <p> + “I will help you to find him,” said Lady Grenville, whose woman's eye and + ear had already suspected something. “Escort me, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “It is but too great an honor to squire the Queen of Bideford,” said Cary, + offering his hand. + </p> + <p> + “If I am your queen, sir, I must be obeyed,” answered she, in a meaning + tone. Cary took the hint, and went on chattering cheerfully enough. + </p> + <p> + But Don Guzman was not to be found in garden or in pleasaunce. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps,” at last said a burgher's wife, with a toss of her head, “your + ladyship may meet with him at Hankford's oak.” + </p> + <p> + “At Hankford's oak! what should take him there?” + </p> + <p> + “Pleasant company, I reckon” (with another toss). “I heard him and + Mistress Salterne talking about the oak just now.” + </p> + <p> + Cary turned pale and drew in his breath. + </p> + <p> + “Very likely,” said Lady Grenville, quietly. “Will you walk with me so + far, Mr. Cary?” + </p> + <p> + “To the world's end, if your ladyship condescends so far.” And off they + went, Lady Grenville wishing that they were going anywhere else, but + afraid to let Cary go alone; and suspecting, too, that some one or other + ought to go. + </p> + <p> + So they went down past the herds of deer, by a trim-kept path into the + lonely dell where stood the fatal oak; and, as they went, Lady Grenville, + to avoid more unpleasant talk, poured into Cary's unheeding ears the story + (which he probably had heard fifty times before) how old Chief-justice + Hankford (whom some contradictory myths make the man who committed Prince + Henry to prison for striking him on the bench), weary of life and sickened + at the horrors and desolations of the Wars of the Roses, went down to his + house at Annery there, and bade his keeper shoot any man who, passing + through the deer-park at night, should refuse to stand when challenged; + and then going down into that glen himself, and hiding himself beneath + that oak, met willingly by his keeper's hand the death which his own dared + not inflict: but ere the story was half done, Cary grasped Lady + Grenville's hand so tightly that she gave a little shriek of pain. + </p> + <p> + “There they are!” whispered he, heedless of her; and pointed to the oak, + where, half hidden by the tall fern, stood Rose and the Spaniard. + </p> + <p> + Her head was on his bosom. She seemed sobbing, trembling; he talking + earnestly and passionately; but Lady Grenville's little shriek made them + both look up. To turn and try to escape was to confess all; and the two, + collecting themselves instantly, walked towards her, Rose wishing herself + fathoms deep beneath the earth. + </p> + <p> + “Mind, sir,” whispered Lady Grenville as they came up; “you have seen + nothing.” + </p> + <p> + “Madam?” + </p> + <p> + “If you are not on my ground, you are on my brother's. Obey me!” + </p> + <p> + Cary bit his lip, and bowed courteously to the Don. + </p> + <p> + “I have to congratulate you, I hear, senor, on your approaching + departure.” + </p> + <p> + “I kiss your hands, senor, in return; but I question whether it be a + matter of congratulation, considering all that I leave behind.” + </p> + <p> + “So do I,” answered Cary, bluntly enough, and the four walked back to the + house, Lady Grenville taking everything for granted with the most charming + good humor, and chatting to her three silent companions till they gained + the terrace once more, and found four or five of the gentlemen, with Sir + Richard at their head, proceeding to the bowling-green. + </p> + <p> + Lady Grenville, in an agony of fear about the quarrel which she knew must + come, would have gladly whispered five words to her husband: but she dared + not do it before the Spaniard, and dreaded, too, a faint or a scream from + the Rose, whose father was of the party. So she walked on with her fair + prisoner, commanding Cary to escort them in, and the Spaniard to go to the + bowling-green. + </p> + <p> + Cary obeyed: but he gave her the slip the moment she was inside the door, + and then darted off to the gentlemen. + </p> + <p> + His heart was on fire: all his old passion for the Rose had flashed up + again at the sight of her with a lover;—and that lover a Spaniard! + He would cut his throat for him, if steel could do it! Only he recollected + that Salterne was there, and shrank from exposing Rose; and shrank, too, + as every gentleman should, from making a public quarrel in another man's + house. Never mind. Where there was a will there was a way. He could get + him into a corner, and quarrel with him privately about the cut of his + beard, or the color of his ribbon. So in he went; and, luckily or + unluckily, found standing together apart from the rest, Sir Richard, the + Don, and young St. Leger. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Don Guzman, you have given us wine-bibbers the slip this afternoon. + I hope you have been well employed in the meanwhile?” + </p> + <p> + “Delightfully to myself, senor,” said the Don, who, enraged at being + interrupted, if not discovered, was as ready to fight as Cary, but + disliked, of course, an explosion as much as he did; “and to others, I + doubt not.” + </p> + <p> + “So the ladies say,” quoth St. Leger. “He has been making them all cry + with one of his stories, and robbing us meanwhile of the pleasure we had + hoped for from some of his Spanish songs.” + </p> + <p> + “The devil take Spanish songs!” said Cary, in a low voice, but loud enough + for the Spaniard. Don Guzman clapt his hand on his sword-hilt instantly. + </p> + <p> + “Lieutenant Cary,” said Sir Richard, in a stern voice, “the wine has + surely made you forget yourself!” + </p> + <p> + “As sober as yourself, most worshipful knight; but if you want a Spanish + song, here's one; and a very scurvy one it is, like its subject— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Don Desperado + Walked on the Prado, + And there he met his enemy. + He pulled out a knife, a, + And let out his life, a, + And fled for his own across the sea.” + </pre> + <p> + And he bowed low to the Spaniard. + </p> + <p> + The insult was too gross to require any spluttering. + </p> + <p> + “Senor Cary, we meet?” + </p> + <p> + “I thank your quick apprehension, Don Guzman Maria Magdalena Sotomayor de + Soto. When, where, and with what weapons?” + </p> + <p> + “For God's sake, gentlemen! Nephew Arthur, Cary is your guest; do you know + the meaning of this?” + </p> + <p> + St. Leger was silent. Cary answered for him. + </p> + <p> + “An old Irish quarrel, I assure you, sir. A matter of years' standing. In + unlacing the senor's helmet, the evening that he was taken prisoner, I was + unlucky enough to twitch his mustachios. You recollect the fact, of + course, senor?” + </p> + <p> + “Perfectly,” said the Spaniard; and then, half-amused and half-pleased, in + spite of his bitter wrath, at Cary's quickness and delicacy in shielding + Rose, he bowed, and— + </p> + <p> + “And it gives me much pleasure to find that he whom I trust to have the + pleasure of killing tomorrow morning is a gentleman whose nice sense of + honor renders him thoroughly worthy of the sword of a De Soto.” + </p> + <p> + Cary bowed in return, while Sir Richard, who saw plainly enough that the + excuse was feigned, shrugged his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “What weapons, senor?” asked Will again. + </p> + <p> + “I should have preferred a horse and pistols,” said Don Guzman after a + moment, half to himself, and in Spanish; “they make surer work of it than + bodkins; but” (with a sigh and one of his smiles) “beggars must not be + choosers.” + </p> + <p> + “The best horse in my stable is at your service, senor,” said Sir Richard + Grenville, instantly. + </p> + <p> + “And in mine also, senor,” said Cary; “and I shall be happy to allow you a + week to train him, if he does not answer at first to a Spanish hand.” + </p> + <p> + “You forget in your courtesy, gentle sir, that the insult being with me, + the time lies with me also. We wipe it off to-morrow morning with simple + rapiers and daggers. Who is your second?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Arthur St. Leger here, senor: who is yours?” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard felt himself alone in the world for one moment; and then + answered with another of his smiles,— + </p> + <p> + “Your nation possesses the soul of honor. He who fights an Englishman + needs no second.” + </p> + <p> + “And he who fights among Englishmen will always find one,” said Sir + Richard. “I am the fittest second for my guest.” + </p> + <p> + “You only add one more obligation, illustrious cavalier, to a two-years' + prodigality of favors, which I shall never be able to repay.” + </p> + <p> + “But, Nephew Arthur,” said Grenville, “you cannot surely be second against + your father's guest, and your own uncle.” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot help it, sir; I am bound by an oath, as Will can tell you. I + suppose you won't think it necessary to let me blood?” + </p> + <p> + “You half deserve it, sirrah!” said Sir Richard, who was very angry: but + the Don interposed quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Heaven forbid, senors! We are no French duellists, who are mad enough to + make four or six lives answer for the sins of two. This gentleman and I + have quarrel enough between us, I suspect, to make a right bloody + encounter.” + </p> + <p> + “The dependence is good enough, sir,” said Cary, licking his sinful lips + at the thought. “Very well. Rapiers and shirts at three tomorrow morning—Is + that the bill of fare? Ask Sir Richard where, Atty? It is against + punctilio now for me to speak to him till after I am killed.” + </p> + <p> + “On the sands opposite. The tide will be out at three. And now, gallant + gentlemen, let us join the bowlers.” + </p> + <p> + And so they went back and spent a merry evening, all except poor Rose, + who, ere she went back, had poured all her sorrows into Lady Grenville's + ear. For the kind woman, knowing that she was motherless and guileless, + carried her off into Mrs. St. Leger's chamber, and there entreated her to + tell the truth, and heaped her with pity but with no comfort. For indeed, + what comfort was there to give? + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Three o'clock, upon a still pure bright midsummer morning. A broad and + yellow sheet of ribbed tide-sands, through which the shallow river wanders + from one hill-foot to the other, whispering round dark knolls of rock, and + under low tree-fringed cliffs, and banks of golden broom. A mile below, + the long bridge and the white walled town, all sleeping pearly in the soft + haze, beneath a cloudless vault of blue. The white glare of dawn, which + last night hung high in the northwest, has travelled now to the northeast, + and above the wooded wall of the hills the sky is flushing with rose and + amber. + </p> + <p> + A long line of gulls goes wailing up inland; the rooks from Annery come + cawing and sporting round the corner at Landcross, while high above them + four or five herons flap solemnly along to find their breakfast on the + shallows. The pheasants and partridges are clucking merrily in the long + wet grass; every copse and hedgerow rings with the voice of birds, but the + lark, who has been singing since midnight in the “blank height of the + dark,” suddenly hushes his carol and drops headlong among the corn, as a + broad-winged buzzard swings from some wooded peak into the abyss of the + valley, and hangs high-poised above the heavenward songster. The air is + full of perfume; sweet clover, new-mown hay, the fragrant breath of kine, + the dainty scent of sea-weed wreaths and fresh wet sand. Glorious day, + glorious place, “bridal of earth and sky,” decked well with bridal + garlands, bridal perfumes, bridal songs,—What do those four cloaked + figures there by the river brink, a dark spot on the fair face of the + summer morn? + </p> + <p> + Yet one is as cheerful as if he too, like all nature round him, were going + to a wedding; and that is Will Cary. He has been bathing down below, to + cool his brain and steady his hand; and he intends to stop Don Guzman + Maria Magdalena Sotomayor de Soto's wooing for ever and a day. The + Spaniard is in a very different mood; fierce and haggard, he is pacing up + and down the sand. He intends to kill Will Cary; but then? Will he be the + nearer to Rose by doing so? Can he stay in Bideford? Will she go with him? + Shall he stoop to stain his family by marrying a burgher's daughter? It is + a confused, all but desperate business; and Don Guzman is certain but of + one thing, that he is madly in love with this fair witch, and that if she + refuse him, then, rather than see her accept another man, he would kill + her with his own hands. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard Grenville too is in no very pleasant humor, as St. Leger soon + discovers, when the two seconds begin whispering over their arrangements. + </p> + <p> + “We cannot have either of them killed, Arthur.” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Cary swears he will kill the Spaniard, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “He sha'n't. The Spaniard is my guest. I am answerable for him to Leigh, + and for his ransom too. And how can Leigh accept the ransom if the man is + not given up safe and sound? They won't pay for a dead carcass, boy! The + man's life is worth two hundred pounds.” + </p> + <p> + “A very bad bargain, sir, for those who pay the said two hundred for the + rascal; but what if he kills Cary?” + </p> + <p> + “Worse still. Cary must not be killed. I am very angry with him, but he is + too good a lad to be lost; and his father would never forgive us. We must + strike up their swords at the first scratch.” + </p> + <p> + “It will make them very mad, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Hang them! let them fight us then, if they don't like our counsel. It + must be, Arthur.” + </p> + <p> + “Be sure, sir,” said Arthur, “that whatsoever you shall command I shall + perform. It is only too great an honor to a young man as I am to find + myself in the same duel with your worship, and to have the advantage of + your wisdom and experience.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard smiles, and says—“Now, gentlemen! are you ready?” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard pulls out a little crucifix, and kisses it devoutly, smiting + on his breast; crosses himself two or three times, and says—“Most + willingly, senor.” + </p> + <p> + Cary kisses no crucifix, but says a prayer nevertheless. + </p> + <p> + Cloaks and doublets are tossed off, the men placed, the rapiers measured + hilt and point; Sir Richard and St. Leger place themselves right and left + of the combatants, facing each other, the points of their drawn swords on + the sand. Cary and the Spaniard stand for a moment quite upright, their + sword-arms stretched straight before them, holding the long rapier + horizontally, the left hand clutching the dagger close to their breasts. + So they stand eye to eye, with clenched teeth and pale crushed lips, while + men might count a score; St. Leger can hear the beating of his own heart; + Sir Richard is praying inwardly that no life may be lost. Suddenly there + is a quick turn of Cary's wrist and a leap forward. The Spaniard's dagger + flashes, and the rapier is turned aside; Cary springs six feet back as the + Spaniard rushes on him in turn. Parry, thrust, parry—the steel + rattles, the sparks fly, the men breathe fierce and loud; the devil's game + is begun in earnest. + </p> + <p> + Five minutes have the two had instant death a short six inches off from + those wild sinful hearts of theirs, and not a scratch has been given. Yes! + the Spaniard's rapier passes under Cary's left arm; he bleeds. + </p> + <p> + “A hit! a hit! Strike up, Atty!” and the swords are struck up instantly. + </p> + <p> + Cary, nettled by the smart, tries to close with his foe, but the seconds + cross their swords before him. + </p> + <p> + “It is enough, gentlemen. Don Guzman's honor is satisfied!” + </p> + <p> + “But not my revenge, senor,” says the Spaniard, with a frown. “This duel + is a l'outrance, on my part; and, I believe, on Mr. Cary's also.” + </p> + <p> + “By heaven, it is!” says Will, trying to push past. “Let me go, Arthur St. + Leger; one of us must down. Let me go, I say!” + </p> + <p> + “If you stir, Mr. Cary, you have to do with Richard Grenville!” thunders + the lion voice. “I am angry enough with you for having brought on this + duel at all. Don't provoke me still further, young hot-head!” + </p> + <p> + Cary stops sulkily. + </p> + <p> + “You do not know all, Sir Richard, or you would not speak in this way.” + </p> + <p> + “I do, sir, all; and I shall have the honor of talking it over with Don + Guzman myself.” + </p> + <p> + “Hey!” said the Spaniard. “You came here as my second, Sir Richard, as I + understood, but not as my counsellor.” + </p> + <p> + “Arthur, take your man away! Cary! obey me as you would your father, sir! + Can you not trust Richard Grenville?” + </p> + <p> + “Come away, for God's sake!” says poor Arthur, dragging Cary's sword from + him; “Sir Richard must know best!” + </p> + <p> + So Cary is led off sulking, and Sir Richard turns to the Spaniard, + </p> + <p> + “And now, Don Guzman, allow me, though much against my will, to speak to + you as a friend to a friend. You will pardon me if I say that I cannot but + have seen last night's devotion to—” + </p> + <p> + “You will be pleased, senor, not to mention the name of any lady to whom I + may have shown devotion. I am not accustomed to have my little affairs + talked over by any unbidden counsellors.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, senor, if you take offence, you take that which is not given. Only + I warn you, with all apologies for any seeming forwardness, that the quest + on which you seem to be is one on which you will not be allowed to + proceed.” + </p> + <p> + “And who will stop me?” asked the Spaniard, with a fierce oath. + </p> + <p> + “You are not aware, illustrious senor,” said Sir Richard, parrying the + question, “that our English laity look upon mixed marriages with full as + much dislike as your own ecclesiastics.” + </p> + <p> + “Marriage, sir? Who gave you leave to mention that word to me?” + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard's brow darkened; the Spaniard, in his insane pride, had forced + upon the good knight a suspicion which was not really just. + </p> + <p> + “Is it possible, then, Senor Don Guzman, that I am to have the shame of + mentioning a baser word?” + </p> + <p> + “Mention what you will, sir. All words are the same to me; for, just or + unjust, I shall answer them alike only by my sword.” + </p> + <p> + “You will do no such thing, sir. You forget that I am your host.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you suppose that you have therefore a right to insult me? Stand on + your guard, sir!” + </p> + <p> + Grenville answered by slapping his own rapier home into the sheath with a + quiet smile. + </p> + <p> + “Senor Don Guzman must be well enough aware of who Richard Grenville is, + to know that he may claim the right of refusing duel to any man, if he + shall so think fit.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir!” cried the Spaniard, with an oath, “this is too much! Do you dare to + hint that I am unworthy of your sword? Know, insolent Englishman, I am not + merely a De Soto, though that, by St. James, were enough for you or any + man. I am a Sotomayor, a Mendoza, a Bovadilla, a Losada, a—sir! I + have blood royal in my veins, and you dare to refuse my challenge?” + </p> + <p> + “Richard Grenville can show quarterings, probably, against even Don Guzman + Maria Magdalena Sotomayor de Soto, or against (with no offence to the + unquestioned nobility of your pedigree) the bluest blood of Spain. But he + can show, moreover, thank God, a reputation which raises him as much above + the imputation of cowardice, as it does above that of discourtesy. If you + think fit, senor, to forget what you have just, in very excusable anger, + vented, and to return with me, you will find me still, as ever, your most + faithful servant and host. If otherwise, you have only to name whither you + wish your mails to be sent, and I shall, with unfeigned sorrow, obey your + commands concerning them.” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard bowed stiffly, answered, “To the nearest tavern, senor,” and + then strode away. His baggage was sent thither. He took a boat down to + Appledore that very afternoon, and vanished, none knew whither. A very + courteous note to Lady Grenville, enclosing the jewel which he had been + used to wear round his neck, was the only memorial he left behind him: + except, indeed, the scar on Cary's arm, and poor Rose's broken heart. + </p> + <p> + Now county towns are scandalous places at best; and though all parties + tried to keep the duel secret, yet, of course, before noon all Bideford + knew what had happened, and a great deal more; and what was even worse, + Rose, in an agony of terror, had seen Sir Richard Grenville enter her + father's private room, and sit there closeted with him for an hour and + more; and when he went, upstairs came old Salterne, with his stick in his + hand, and after rating her soundly for far worse than a flirt, gave her (I + am sorry to have to say it, but such was the mild fashion of paternal rule + in those times, even over such daughters as Lady Jane Grey, if Roger + Ascham is to be believed) such a beating that her poor sides were black + and blue for many a day; and then putting her on a pillion behind him, + carried her off twenty miles to her old prison at Stow mill, commanding + her aunt to tame down her saucy blood with bread of affliction and water + of affliction. Which commands were willingly enough fulfilled by the old + dame, who had always borne a grudge against Rose for being rich while she + was poor, and pretty while her daughter was plain; so that between flouts, + and sneers, and watchings, and pretty open hints that she was a disgrace + to her family, and no better than she should be, the poor innocent child + watered her couch with her tears for a fortnight or more, stretching out + her hands to the wide Atlantic, and calling wildly to Don Guzman to return + and take her where he would, and she would live for him and die for him; + and perhaps she did not call in vain. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THE GOLDEN HIND CAME HOME AGAIN + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The spirits of your fathers + Shall start from every wave; + For the deck it was their field of fame, + And ocean was their grave.” + + CAMPBELL. +</pre> + <p> + “So you see, my dear Mrs. Hawkins, having the silver, as your own eyes + show you, beside the ores of lead, manganese, and copper, and above all + this gossan (as the Cornish call it), which I suspect to be not merely the + matrix of the ore, but also the very crude form and materia prima of all + metals—you mark me?—If my recipes, which I had from Doctor + Dee, succeed only half so well as I expect, then I refine out the luna, + the silver, lay it by, and transmute the remaining ores into sol, gold. + Whereupon Peru and Mexico become superfluities, and England the mistress + of the globe. Strange, no doubt; distant, no doubt: but possible, my dear + madam, possible!” + </p> + <p> + “And what good to you if it be, Mr. Gilbert? If you could find a + philosopher's stone to turn sinners into saints, now—but naught save + God's grace can do that; and that last seems ofttimes over long in + coming.” And Mrs. Hawkins sighed. + </p> + <p> + “But indeed, my dear madam, conceive now.—The Comb Martin mine thus + becomes a gold mine, perhaps inexhaustible; yields me wherewithal to carry + out my North-West patent; meanwhile my brother Humphrey holds + Newfoundland, and builds me fresh ships year by year (for the forests of + pine are boundless) for my China voyage.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Humphrey has better thoughts in his dear heart than gold, Mr. Adrian; + a very close and gracious walker he has been this seven year. I wish my + Captain John were so too.” + </p> + <p> + “And how do you know I have naught better in my mind's eye than gold? Or, + indeed, what better could I have? Is not gold the Spaniard's strength—the + very mainspring of Antichrist? By gold only, therefore, can we out-wrestle + him. You shake your head, but say, dear madam (for gold England must + have), which is better, to make gold bloodlessly at home, or take it + bloodily abroad?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Gilbert! is it not written, that those who make + haste to be rich, pierce themselves through with many sorrows? Oh, Mr. + Gilbert! God's blessing is not on it all.” + </p> + <p> + “Not on you, madam? Be sure that brave Captain John Hawkins's star told me + a different tale, when I cast his nativity for him.—Born under + stormy planets, truly, but under right royal and fortunate ones.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Mr. Adrian! I am a simple body, and you a great philosopher, but I + hold there is no star for the seaman like the Star of Bethlehem; and that + goes with 'peace on earth and good will to men,' and not with such arms as + that, Mr. Adrian. I can't abide to look upon them.” + </p> + <p> + And she pointed up to one of the bosses of the ribbed oak-roof, on which + was emblazoned the fatal crest which Clarencieux Hervey had granted years + before to her husband, the “Demi-Moor proper, bound.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, Mr. Gilbert! since first he went to Guinea after those poor negroes, + little lightness has my heart known; and the very day that that crest was + put up in our grand new house, as the parson read the first lesson, there + was this text in it, Mr. Gilbert, 'Woe to him that buildeth his house by + iniquity, and his chambers by wrong. Shalt thou live because thou closest + thyself in cedar?' And it went into my ears like fire, Mr. Gilbert, and + into my heart like lead; and when the parson went on, 'Did not thy father + eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? Then it was well with him,' I + thought of good old Captain Will; and—I tell you, Mr. Gilbert, those + negroes are on my soul from morning until night! We are all mighty grand + now, and money comes in fast, but the Lord will require the blood of them + at our hands yet, He will!” + </p> + <p> + “My dearest madam, who can prosper more than you? If your husband copied + the Dons too closely once or twice in the matter of those negroes (which I + do not deny,) was he not punished at once when he lost ships, men, all but + life, at St. Juan d'Ulloa?” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, yes,” she said; “and that did give me a bit of comfort, especially + when the queen—God save her tender heart!—was so sharp with + him for pity of the poor wretches, but it has not mended him. He is + growing fast like the rest now, Mr. Gilbert, greedy to win, and niggardly + to spend (God forgive him!) and always fretting and plotting for some new + gain, and envying and grudging at Drake, and all who are deeper in the + snare of prosperity than he is. Gold, gold, nothing but gold in every + mouth—there it is! Ah! I mind when Plymouth was a quiet little + God-fearing place as God could smile upon: but ever since my John, and Sir + Francis, and poor Mr. Oxenham found out the way to the Indies, it's been a + sad place. Not a sailor's wife but is crying 'Give, give,' like the + daughters of the horse-leech; and every woman must drive her husband out + across seas to bring her home money to squander on hoods and farthingales, + and go mincing with outstretched necks and wanton eyes; and they will soon + learn to do worse than that, for the sake of gain. But the Lord's hand + will be against their tires and crisping-pins, their mufflers and + farthingales, as it was against the Jews of old. Ah, dear me!” + </p> + <p> + The two interlocutors in this dialogue were sitting in a low oak-panelled + room in Plymouth town, handsomely enough furnished, adorned with carving + and gilding and coats of arms, and noteworthy for many strange + knickknacks, Spanish gold and silver vessels on the sideboard; strange + birds and skins, and charts and rough drawings of coast which hung about + the room; while over the fireplace, above the portrait of old Captain Will + Hawkins, pet of Henry the Eighth, hung the Spanish ensign which Captain + John had taken in fair fight at Rio de la Hacha fifteen years before, + when, with two hundred men, he seized the town in despite of ten hundred + Spanish soldiers, and watered his ship triumphantly at the enemy's wells. + </p> + <p> + The gentleman was a tall fair man, with a broad and lofty forehead, + wrinkled with study, and eyes weakened by long poring over the crucible + and the furnace. + </p> + <p> + The lady had once been comely enough, but she was aged and worn, as + sailors' wives are apt to be, by many sorrows. Many a sad day had she had + already; for although John Hawkins, port-admiral of Plymouth, and + patriarch of British shipbuilders, was a faithful husband enough, and as + ready to forgive as he was to quarrel, yet he was obstinate and ruthless, + and in spite of his religiosity (for all men were religious then) was by + no means a “consistent walker.” + </p> + <p> + And sadder days were in store for her, poor soul. Nine years hence she + would be asked to name her son's brave new ship, and would christen it The + Repentance, giving no reason in her quiet steadfast way (so says her son + Sir Richard) but that “Repentance was the best ship in which we could sail + to the harbor of heaven;” and she would hear that Queen Elizabeth, + complaining of the name for an unlucky one, had re-christened her The + Dainty, not without some by-quip, perhaps, at the character of her most + dainty captain, Richard Hawkins, the complete seaman and Euphuist afloat, + of whom, perhaps, more hereafter. + </p> + <p> + With sad eyes Mrs. (then Lady) Hawkins would see that gallant bark sail + Westward-ho, to go the world around, as many another ship sailed; and then + wait, as many a mother beside had waited, for the sail which never + returned; till, dim and uncertain, came tidings of her boy fighting for + four days three great Armadas (for the coxcomb had his father's heart in + him after all), a prisoner, wounded, ruined, languishing for weary years + in Spanish prisons. And a sadder day than that was in store, when a + gallant fleet should round the Ram Head, not with drum and trumpet, but + with solemn minute-guns, and all flags half-mast high, to tell her that + her terrible husband's work was done, his terrible heart broken by failure + and fatigue, and his body laid by Drake's beneath the far-off tropic seas. + </p> + <p> + And if, at the close of her eventful life, one gleam of sunshine opened + for a while, when her boy Richard returned to her bosom from his Spanish + prison, to be knighted for his valor, and made a privy councillor for his + wisdom; yet soon, how soon, was the old cloud to close in again above her, + until her weary eyes should open in the light of Paradise. For that son + dropped dead, some say at the very council-table, leaving behind him + naught but broken fortunes, and huge purposes which never were fulfilled; + and the stormy star of that bold race was set forever, and Lady Hawkins + bowed her weary head and died, the groan of those stolen negroes ringing + in her ears, having lived long enough to see her husband's youthful sin + become a national institution, and a national curse for generations yet + unborn. + </p> + <p> + I know not why she opened her heart that night to Adrian Gilbert, with a + frankness which she would hardly have dared to use to her own family. + Perhaps it was that Adrian, like his great brothers, Humphrey and Raleigh, + was a man full of all lofty and delicate enthusiasms, tender and poetical, + such as women cling to when their hearts are lonely; but so it was; and + Adrian, half ashamed of his own ambitious dreams, sate looking at her a + while in silence; and then— + </p> + <p> + “The Lord be with you, dearest lady. Strange, how you women sit at home to + love and suffer, while we men rush forth to break our hearts and yours + against rocks of our own seeking! Ah well! were it not for Scripture, I + should have thought that Adam, rather than Eve, had been the one who + plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree.” + </p> + <p> + “We women, I fear; did the deed nevertheless; for we bear the doom of it + our lives long.” + </p> + <p> + “You always remind me, madam, of my dear Mrs. Leigh of Burrough, and her + counsels.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you see her often? I hear of her as one of the Lord's most precious + vessels.” + </p> + <p> + “I would have done more ere now than see her,” said he with a blush, “had + she allowed me: but she lives only for the memory of her husband and the + fame of her noble sons.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke the door opened, and in walked, wrapped in his rough sea-gown, + none other than one of those said noble sons. + </p> + <p> + Adrian turned pale. + </p> + <p> + “Amyas Leigh! What brings you hither? how fares my brother? Where is the + ship?” + </p> + <p> + “Your brother is well, Mr. Gilbert. The Golden Hind is gone on to + Dartmouth, with Mr. Hayes. I came ashore here, meaning to go north to + Bideford, ere I went to London. I called at Drake's just now, but he was + away.” + </p> + <p> + “The Golden Hind? What brings her home so soon?” + </p> + <p> + “Yet welcome ever, sir,” said Mrs. Hawkins. “This is a great surprise, + though. Captain John did not look for you till next year.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent. + </p> + <p> + “Something is wrong!” cried Adrian. “Speak!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas tried, but could not. + </p> + <p> + “Will you drive a man mad, sir? Has the adventure failed? You said my + brother was well.” + </p> + <p> + “He is well.” + </p> + <p> + “Then what—Why do you look at me in that fashion, sir?” and + springing up, Adrian rushed forward, and held the candle to Amyas's face. + </p> + <p> + Amyas's lip quivered, as he laid his hand on Adrian's shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “Your great and glorious brother, sir, is better bestowed than in settling + Newfoundland.” + </p> + <p> + “Dead?” shrieked Adrian. + </p> + <p> + “He is with the God whom he served!” + </p> + <p> + “He was always with Him, like Enoch: parable me no parables, if you love + me, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “And, like Enoch, he was not; for God took him.” + </p> + <p> + Adrian clasped his hands over his forehead, and leaned against the table. + </p> + <p> + “Go on, sir, go on. God will give me strength to hear all.” + </p> + <p> + And gradually Amyas opened to Adrian that tragic story, which Mr. Hayes + has long ago told far too well to allow a second edition of it from me: of + the unruliness of the men, ruffians, as I said before, caught up at + hap-hazard; of conspiracies to carry off the ships, plunder of fishing + vessels, desertions multiplying daily; licenses from the general to the + lazy and fearful to return home: till Adrian broke out with a groan— + </p> + <p> + “From him? Conspired against him? Deserted from him? Dotards, buzzards! + Where would they have found such another leader?” + </p> + <p> + “Your illustrious brother, sir,” said Amyas, “if you will pardon me, was a + very great philosopher, but not so much of a general.” + </p> + <p> + “General, sir? Where was braver man?” + </p> + <p> + “Not on God's earth, but that does not make a general, sir. If Cortez had + been brave and no more, Mexico would have been Mexico still. The truth is, + sir, Cortez, like my Captain Drake, knew when to hang a man; and your + great brother did not.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas, as I suppose, was right. Gilbert was a man who could be angry + enough at baseness or neglect, but who was too kindly to punish it; he was + one who could form the wisest and best-digested plans, but who could not + stoop to that hail-fellow-well-met drudgery among his subordinates which + has been the talisman of great captains. + </p> + <p> + Then Amyas went on to tell the rest of his story; the setting sail from + St. John's to discover the southward coast; Sir Humphrey's chivalrous + determination to go in the little Squirrel of only ten tons, and + “overcharged with nettings, fights, and small ordnance,” not only because + she was more fit to examine the creeks, but because he had heard of some + taunt against him among the men, that he was afraid of the sea. + </p> + <p> + After that, woe on woe; how, seven days after they left Cape Raz, their + largest ship, the Delight, after she had “most part of the night” (I quote + Hayes), “like the swan that singeth before her death, continued in + sounding of trumpets, drums, and fifes, also winding of the comets and + hautboys, and, in the end of their jollity, left off with the battle and + doleful knells,” struck the next day (the Golden Hind and the Squirrel + sheering off just in time) upon unknown shoals; where were lost all but + fourteen, and among them Frank's philosopher friend, poor Budaeus; and + those who escaped, after all horrors of cold and famine, were cast on + shore in Newfoundland. How, worn out with hunger and want of clothes, the + crews of the two remaining ships persuaded Sir Humphrey to sail toward + England on the 31st of August; and on “that very instant, even in winding + about,” beheld close alongside “a very lion in shape, hair, and color, not + swimming, but sliding on the water, with his whole body; who passed along, + turning his head to and fro, yawning and gaping wide, with ugly + demonstration of long teeth and glaring eyes; and to bid us farewell + (coming right against the Hind) he sent forth a horrible voice, roaring or + bellowing as doth a lion.” “What opinion others had thereof, and chiefly + the general himself, I forbear to deliver; but he took it for bonum omen, + rejoicing that he was to war against such an enemy, if it were the devil.” + </p> + <p> + “And the devil it was, doubtless,” said Adrian, “the roaring lion who goes + about seeking whom he may devour.” + </p> + <p> + “He has not got your brother, at least,” quoth Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “No,” rejoined Mrs. Hawkins (smile not, reader, for those were days in + which men believed in the devil); “he roared for joy to think how many + poor souls would be left still in heathen darkness by Sir Humphrey's + death. God be with that good knight, and send all mariners where he is + now!” + </p> + <p> + Then Amyas told the last scene; how, when they were off the Azores, the + storms came on heavier than ever, with “terrible seas, breaking short and + pyramid-wise,” till, on the 9th September, the tiny Squirrel nearly + foundered and yet recovered; “and the general, sitting abaft with a book + in his hand, cried out to us in the Hind so oft as we did approach within + hearing, 'We are as near heaven by sea as by land,' reiterating the same + speech, well beseeming a soldier resolute in Jesus Christ, as I can + testify he was. + </p> + <p> + “The same Monday, about twelve of the clock, or not long after, the + frigate (the Squirrel) being ahead of us in the Golden Hind, suddenly her + lights were out; and withal our watch cried, the general was cast away, + which was true; for in that moment the frigate was devoured and swallowed + up of the sea.” + </p> + <p> + And so ended (I have used Hayes' own words) Amyas Leigh's story. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my brother! my brother!” moaned poor Adrian; “the glory of his house, + the glory of Devon!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! what will the queen say?” asked Mrs. Hawkins through her tears. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me,” asked Adrian, “had he the jewel on when he died?” + </p> + <p> + “The queen's jewel? He always wore that, and his own posy too, 'Mutare vel + timere sperno.' He wore it; and he lived it.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” said Adrian, “the same to the last!” + </p> + <p> + “Not quite that,” said Amyas. “He was a meeker man latterly than he used + to be. As he said himself once, a better refiner than any whom he had on + board had followed him close all the seas over, and purified him in the + fire. And gold seven times tried he was, when God, having done His work in + him, took him home at last.” + </p> + <p> + And so the talk ended. There was no doubt that the expedition had been an + utter failure; Adrian was a ruined man; and Amyas had lost his venture. + </p> + <p> + Adrian rose, and begged leave to retire; he must collect himself. + </p> + <p> + “Poor gentleman!” said Mrs. Hawkins; “it is little else he has left to + collect.” + </p> + <p> + “Or I either,” said Amyas. “I was going to ask you to lend me one of your + son's shirts, and five pounds to get myself and my men home.” + </p> + <p> + “Five? Fifty, Mr. Leigh! God forbid that John Hawkins's wife should refuse + her last penny to a distressed mariner, and he a gentleman born. But you + must eat and drink.” + </p> + <p> + “It's more than I have done for many a day worth speaking of.” + </p> + <p> + And Amyas sat down in his rags to a good supper, while Mrs. Hawkins told + him all the news which she could of his mother, whom Adrian Gilbert had + seen a few months before in London; and then went on, naturally enough, to + the Bideford news. + </p> + <p> + “And by the by, Captain Leigh, I've sad news for you from your place; and + I had it from one who was there at the time. You must know a Spanish + captain, a prisoner—” + </p> + <p> + “What, the one I sent home from Smerwick?” + </p> + <p> + “You sent? Mercy on us! Then, perhaps, you've heard—” + </p> + <p> + “How can I have heard? What?” + </p> + <p> + “That he's gone off, the villain?” + </p> + <p> + “Without paying his ransom?” + </p> + <p> + “I can't say that; but there's a poor innocent young maid gone off with + him, one Salterne's daughter—the Popish serpent!” + </p> + <p> + “Rose Salterne, the mayor's daughter, the Rose of Torridge!” + </p> + <p> + “That's her. Bless your dear soul, what ails you?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas had dropped back in his seat as if he had been shot; but he + recovered himself before kind Mrs. Hawkins could rush to the cupboard for + cordials. + </p> + <p> + “You'll forgive me, madam; but I'm weak from the sea; and your good ale + has turned me a bit dizzy, I think.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, yes, 'tis too, too heavy, till you've been on shore a while. Try the + aqua vitae; my Captain John has it right good; and a bit too fond of it + too, poor dear soul, between whiles, Heaven forgive him!” + </p> + <p> + So she poured some strong brandy and water down Amyas's throat, in spite + of his refusals, and sent him to bed, but not to sleep; and after a night + of tossing, he started for Bideford, having obtained the means for so + doing from Mrs. Hawkins. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV + </h2> + <h3> + HOW SALVATION YEO SLEW THE KING OF THE GUBBINGS + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Ignorance and evil, even in full flight, deal terrible backhanded + strokes at their pursuers.”—HELPS. +</pre> + <p> + Now I am sorry to say, for the honor of my country, that it was by no + means a safe thing in those days to travel from Plymouth to the north of + Devon; because, to get to your journey's end, unless you were minded to + make a circuit of many miles, you must needs pass through the territory of + a foreign and hostile potentate, who had many times ravaged the dominions, + and defeated the forces of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and was named + (behind his back at least) the King of the Gubbings. “So now I dare call + them,” says Fuller, “secured by distance, which one of more valor durst + not do to their face, for fear their fury fall upon him. Yet hitherto have + I met with none who could render a reason of their name. We call the + shavings of fish (which are little worth) gubbings; and sure it is that + they are sensible that the word importeth shame and disgrace. + </p> + <p> + “As for the suggestion of my worthy and learned friend, Mr. Joseph + Maynard, that such as did inhabitare montes gibberosos, were called + Gubbings, such will smile at the ingenuity who dissent from the truth of + the etymology. + </p> + <p> + “I have read of an England beyond Wales, but the Gubbings land is a + Scythia within England, and they pure heathens therein. It lieth nigh + Brent. For in the edge of Dartmoor it is reported that, some two hundred + years since, two bad women, being with child, fled thither to hide + themselves; to whom certain lewd fellows resorted, and this was their + first original. They are a peculiar of their own making, exempt from + bishop, archdeacon, and all authority, either ecclesiastical or civil. + They live in cots (rather holes than houses) like swine, having all in + common, multiplied without marriage into many hundreds. Their language is + the dross of the dregs of the vulgar Devonian; and the more learned a man + is, the worse he can understand them. During our civil wars no soldiers + were quartered upon them, for fear of being quartered amongst them. Their + wealth consisteth in other men's goods; they live by stealing the sheep on + the moors; and vain is it for any to search their houses, being a work + beneath the pains of any sheriff, and above the power of any constable. + Such is their fleetness, they will outrun many horses; vivaciousness, they + outlive most men; living in an ignorance of luxury, the extinguisher of + life. They hold together like bees; offend one, and all will revenge his + quarrel. + </p> + <p> + “But now I am informed that they begin to be civilized, and tender their + children to baptism, and return to be men, yea, Christians again. I hope + no CIVIL people amongst us will turn barbarians, now these barbarians + begin to be civilized.” * + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Fuller, p. 398. +</pre> + <p> + With which quip against the Anabaptists of his day, Fuller ends his story; + and I leave him to set forth how Amyas, in fear of these same Scythians + and heathens, rode out of Plymouth on a right good horse, in his full suit + of armor, carrying lance and sword, and over and above two great dags, or + horse-pistols; and behind him Salvation Yeo, and five or six north Devon + men (who had served with him in Ireland, and were returning on furlough), + clad in head-pieces and quilted jerkins, each man with his pike and sword, + and Yeo with arquebuse and match, while two sumpter ponies carried the + baggage of this formidable troop. + </p> + <p> + They pushed on as fast as they could, through Tavistock, to reach before + nightfall Lydford, where they meant to sleep; but what with buying the + horses, and other delays, they had not been able to start before noon; and + night fell just as they reached the frontiers of the enemy's country. A + dreary place enough it was, by the wild glare of sunset. A high tableland + of heath, banked on the right by the crags and hills of Dartmoor, and + sloping away to the south and west toward the foot of the great cone of + Brent-Tor, which towered up like an extinct volcano (as some say that it + really is), crowned with the tiny church, the votive offering of some + Plymouth merchant of old times, who vowed in sore distress to build a + church to the Blessed Virgin on the first point of English land which he + should see. Far away, down those waste slopes, they could see the tiny + threads of blue smoke rising from the dens of the Gubbings; and more than + once they called a halt, to examine whether distant furze-bushes and + ponies might not be the patrols of an advancing army. It is all very well + to laugh at it now, in the nineteenth century, but it was no laughing + matter then; as they found before they had gone two miles farther. + </p> + <p> + On the middle of the down stood a wayside inn; a desolate and + villainous-looking lump of lichen-spotted granite, with windows + paper-patched, and rotting thatch kept down by stones and straw-banks; and + at the back a rambling court-ledge of barns and walls, around which pigs + and barefoot children grunted in loving communion of dirt. At the door, + rapt apparently in the contemplation of the mountain peaks which glowed + rich orange in the last lingering sun-rays, but really watching which way + the sheep on the moor were taking, stood the innkeeper, a brawny, + sodden-visaged, blear-eyed six feet of brutishness, holding up his hose + with one hand, for want of points, and clawing with the other his + elf-locks, on which a fair sprinkling of feathers might denote: first, + that he was just out of bed, having been out sheep-stealing all the night + before; and secondly, that by natural genius he had anticipated the + opinion of that great apostle of sluttishness, Fridericus Dedekind, and + his faithful disciple Dekker, which last speaks thus to all gulls and + grobians: “Consider that as those trees of cobweb lawn, woven by spinners + in the fresh May mornings, do dress the curled heads of the mountains, and + adorn the swelling bosoms of the valleys; or as those snowy fleeces, which + the naked briar steals from the innocent sheep to make himself a warm + winter livery, are, to either of them both, an excellent ornament; so make + thou account, that to have feathers sticking here and there on thy head + will embellish thee, and set thy crown out rarely. None dare upbraid thee, + that like a beggar thou hast lain on straw, or like a travelling pedlar + upon musty flocks; for those feathers will rise up as witnesses to choke + him that says so, and to prove thy bed to have been of the softest down.” + Even so did those feathers bear witness that the possessor of Rogues' + Harbor Inn, on Brent-Tor Down, whatever else he lacked, lacked not geese + enough to keep him in soft lying. + </p> + <p> + Presently he spies Amyas and his party coming slowly over the hill, pricks + up his ears, and counts them; sees Amyas's armor; shakes his head and + grunts; and then, being a man of few words, utters a sleepy howl— + </p> + <p> + “Mirooi!—Fushing pooale!” + </p> + <p> + A strapping lass—whose only covering (for country women at work in + those days dispensed with the ornament of a gown) is a green bodice and + red petticoat, neither of them over ample—brings out his fishing-rod + and basket, and the man, having tied up his hose with some ends of string, + examines the footlink. + </p> + <p> + “Don vlies' gone!” + </p> + <p> + “May be,” says Mary; “shouldn't hay' left mun out to coort. May be old + hen's ate mun off. I see her chocking about a while agone.” + </p> + <p> + The host receives this intelligence with an oath, and replies by a violent + blow at Mary's head, which she, accustomed to such slight matters, dodges, + and then returns the blow with good effect on the shock head. + </p> + <p> + Whereon mine host, equally accustomed to such slight matters, quietly + shambles off, howling as he departs— + </p> + <p> + “Tell Patrico!” + </p> + <p> + Mary runs in, combs her hair, slips a pair of stockings and her best gown + over her dirt, and awaits the coming guests, who make a few long faces at + the “mucksy sort of a place,” but prefer to spend the night there than to + bivouac close to the enemy's camp. + </p> + <p> + So the old hen who has swallowed the dun fly is killed, plucked, and + roasted, and certain “black Dartmoor mutton” is put on the gridiron, and + being compelled to confess the truth by that fiery torment, proclaims + itself to all noses as red-deer venison. In the meanwhile Amyas has put + his horse and the ponies into a shed, to which he can find neither lock + nor key, and therefore returns grumbling, not without fear for his steed's + safety. The baggage is heaped in a corner of the room, and Amyas stretches + his legs before a turf fire; while Yeo, who has his notions about the + place, posts himself at the door, and the men are seized with a desire to + superintend the cooking, probably to be attributed to the fact that Mary + is cook. + </p> + <p> + Presently Yeo comes in again. + </p> + <p> + “There's a gentleman just coming up, sir, all alone.” + </p> + <p> + “Ask him to make one of our party, then, with my compliments.” Yeo goes + out, and returns in five minutes. + </p> + <p> + “Please, sir, he's gone in back ways, by the court.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, he has an odd taste, if he makes himself at home here.” + </p> + <p> + Out goes Yeo again, and comes back once more after five minutes, in high + excitement. + </p> + <p> + “Come out, sir; for goodness' sake come out. I've got him. Safe as a rat + in a trap, I have!” + </p> + <p> + “Who?” + </p> + <p> + “A Jesuit, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense, man!” + </p> + <p> + “I tell you truth, sir. I went round the house, for I didn't like the + looks of him as he came up. I knew he was one of them villains the minute + he came up, by the way he turned in his toes, and put down his feet so + still and careful, like as if he was afraid of offending God at every + step. So I just put my eye between the wall and the dern of the gate, and + I saw him come up to the back door and knock, and call 'Mary!' quite + still, like any Jesuit; and the wench flies out to him ready to eat him; + and 'Go away,' I heard her say, 'there's a dear man;' and then something + about a 'queer cuffin' (that's a justice in these canters' thieves' + Latin); and with that he takes out a somewhat—I'll swear it was one + of those Popish Agnuses—and gives it her; and she kisses it, and + crosses herself, and asks him if that's the right way, and then puts it + into her bosom, and he says, 'Bless you, my daughter;' and then I was sure + of the dog: and he slips quite still to the stable, and peeps in, and when + he sees no one there, in he goes, and out I go, and shut to the door, and + back a cart that was there up against it, and call out one of the men to + watch the stable, and the girl's crying like mad.” + </p> + <p> + “What a fool's trick, man! How do you know that he is not some honest + gentleman, after all?” + </p> + <p> + “Fool or none, sir; honest gentlemen don't give maidens Agnuses. I've put + him in; and if you want him let out again, you must come and do it + yourself, for my conscience is against it, sir. If the Lord's enemies are + delivered into my hand, I'm answerable, sir,” went on Yeo as Amyas hurried + out with him. “'Tis written, 'If any let one of them go, his life shall be + for the life of him.'” + </p> + <p> + So Amyas ran out, pulled back the cart grumbling, opened the door, and + began a string of apologies to—his cousin Eustace. + </p> + <p> + Yes, here he was, with such a countenance, half foolish, half venomous, as + reynard wears when the last spadeful of earth is thrown back, and he is + revealed sitting disconsolately on his tail within a yard of the terriers' + noses. + </p> + <p> + Neither cousin spoke for a minute or two. At last Amyas— + </p> + <p> + “Well, cousin hide-and-seek, how long have you added horse-stealing to + your other trades?” + </p> + <p> + “My dear Amyas,” said Eustace, very meekly, “I may surely go into an inn + stable without intending to steal what is in it.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course, old fellow,” said Amyas, mollified, “I was only in jest. But + what brings you here? Not prudence, certainly.” + </p> + <p> + “I am bound to know no prudence save for the Lord's work.” + </p> + <p> + “That's giving away Agnus Deis, and deceiving poor heathen wenches, I + suppose,” said Yeo. + </p> + <p> + Eustace answered pretty roundly— + </p> + <p> + “Heathens? Yes, truly; you Protestants leave these poor wretches heathens, + and then insult and persecute those who, with a devotion unknown to you, + labor at the danger of their lives to make them Christians. Mr. Amyas + Leigh, you can give me up to be hanged at Exeter, if it shall so please + you to disgrace your own family; but from this spot neither you, no, nor + all the myrmidons of your queen, shall drive me, while there is a soul + here left unsaved.” + </p> + <p> + “Come out of the stable, at least,” said Amyas; “you don't want to make + the horses Papists, as well as the asses, do you? Come out, man, and go to + the devil your own way. I sha'n't inform against you; and Yeo here will + hold his tongue if I tell him, I know.” + </p> + <p> + “It goes sorely against my conscience, sir; but being that he is your + cousin, of course—” + </p> + <p> + “Of course; and now come in and eat with me; supper's just ready, and + bygones shall be bygones, if you will have them so.” + </p> + <p> + How much forgiveness Eustace felt in his heart, I know not: but he knew, + of course, that he ought to forgive; and to go in and eat with Amyas was + to perform an act of forgiveness, and for the best of motives, too, for by + it the cause of the Church might be furthered; and acts and motives being + correct, what more was needed? So in he went; and yet he never forgot that + scar upon his cheek; and Amyas could not look him in the face but Eustace + must fancy that his eyes were on the scar, and peep up from under his lids + to see if there was any smile of triumph on that honest visage. They + talked away over the venison, guardedly enough at first; but as they went + on, Amyas's straightforward kindliness warmed poor Eustace's frozen heart; + and ere they were aware, they found themselves talking over old haunts and + old passages of their boyhood—uncles, aunts, and cousins; and + Eustace, without any sinister intention, asked Amyas why he was going to + Bideford, while Frank and his mother were in London. + </p> + <p> + “To tell you the truth, I cannot rest till I have heard the whole story + about poor Rose Salterne.” + </p> + <p> + “What about her?” cried Eustace. + </p> + <p> + “Do you not know?” + </p> + <p> + “How should I know anything here? For heaven's sake, what has happened?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas told him, wondering at his eagerness, for he had never had the least + suspicion of Eustace's love. + </p> + <p> + Eustace shrieked aloud. + </p> + <p> + “Fool, fool that I have been! Caught in my own trap! Villain, villain that + he is! After all he promised me at Lundy!” + </p> + <p> + And springing up, Eustace stamped up and down the room, gnashing his + teeth, tossing his head from side to side, and clutching with outstretched + hands at the empty air, with the horrible gesture (Heaven grant that no + reader has ever witnessed it!) of that despair which still seeks blindly + for the object which it knows is lost forever. + </p> + <p> + Amyas sat thunderstruck. His first impulse was to ask, “Lundy? What knew + you of him? What had he or you to do at Lundy?” but pity conquered + curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Eustace! And you then loved her too?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't speak to me! Loved her? Yes, sir, and had as good a right to love + her as any one of your precious Brotherhood of the Rose. Don't speak to + me, I say, or I shall do you a mischief!” + </p> + <p> + So Eustace knew of the brotherhood too! Amyas longed to ask him how; but + what use in that? If he knew it, he knew it; and what harm? So he only + answered: + </p> + <p> + “My good cousin, why be wroth with me? If you really love her, now is the + time to take counsel with me how best we shall—” + </p> + <p> + Eustace did not let him finish his sentence. Conscious that he had + betrayed himself upon more points than one, he stopped short in his walk, + suddenly collected himself by one great effort, and eyed Amyas from + underneath his brows with the old down look. + </p> + <p> + “How best we shall do what, my valiant cousin?” said he, in a meaning and + half-scornful voice. “What does your most chivalrous Brotherhood of the + Rose purpose in such a case?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas, a little nettled, stood on his guard in return, and answered + bluntly— + </p> + <p> + “What the Brotherhood of the Rose will do, I can't yet say. What it ought + to do, I have a pretty sure guess.” + </p> + <p> + “So have I. To hunt her down as you would an outlaw, because forsooth she + has dared to love a Catholic; to murder her lover in her arms, and drag + her home again stained with his blood, to be forced by threats and + persecution to renounce that Church into whose maternal bosom she has + doubtless long since found rest and holiness!” + </p> + <p> + “If she has found holiness, it matters little to me where she has found + it, Master Eustace, but that is the very point that I should be glad to + know for certain.” + </p> + <p> + “And you will go and discover for yourself?” + </p> + <p> + “Have you no wish to discover it also?” + </p> + <p> + “And if I had, what would that be to you?” + </p> + <p> + “Only,” said Amyas, trying hard to keep his temper, “that, if we had the + same purpose, we might sail in the same ship.” + </p> + <p> + “You intend to sail, then?” + </p> + <p> + “I mean simply, that we might work together.” + </p> + <p> + “Our paths lie on very different roads, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “I am afraid you never spoke a truer word, sir. In the meanwhile, ere we + part, be so kind as to tell me what you meant by saying that you had met + this Spaniard at Lundy?” + </p> + <p> + “I shall refuse to answer that.” + </p> + <p> + “You will please to recollect, Eustace, that however good friends we have + been for the last half-hour, you are in my power. I have a right to know + the bottom of this matter; and, by heaven, I will know it.” + </p> + <p> + “In your power? See that you are not in mine! Remember, sir, that you are + within a—within a few miles, at least, of those who will obey me, + their Catholic benefactor, but who owe no allegiance to those Protestant + authorities who have left them to the lot of the beasts which perish.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was very angry. He wanted but little more to make him catch Eustace + by the shoulders, shake the life out of him, and deliver him into the + tender guardianship of Yeo; but he knew that to take him at all was to + bring certain death on him, and disgrace on the family; and remembering + Frank's conduct on that memorable night at Clovelly, he kept himself down. + </p> + <p> + “Take me,” said Eustace, “if you will, sir. You, who complain of us that + we keep no faith with heretics, will perhaps recollect that you asked me + into this room as your guest, and that in your good faith I trusted when I + entered it.” + </p> + <p> + The argument was a worthless one in law; for Eustace had been a prisoner + before he was a guest, and Amyas was guilty of something very like + misprision of treason in not handing him over to the nearest justice. + However, all he did was, to go to the door, open it, and bowing to his + cousin, bid him walk out and go to the devil, since he seemed to have set + his mind on ending his days in the company of that personage. + </p> + <p> + Whereon Eustace vanished. + </p> + <p> + “Pooh!” said Amyas to himself, “I can find out enough, and too much, I + fear, without the help of such crooked vermin. I must see Cary; I must see + Salterne; and I suppose, if I am ready to do my duty, I shall learn + somehow what it is. Now to sleep; to-morrow up and away to what God + sends.” + </p> + <p> + “Come in hither, men,” shouted he down the passage, “and sleep here. + Haven't you had enough of this villainous sour cider?” + </p> + <p> + The men came in yawning, and settled themselves to sleep on the floor. + </p> + <p> + “Where's Yeo?” + </p> + <p> + No one knew; he had gone out to say his prayers, and had not returned. + </p> + <p> + “Never mind,” said Amyas, who suspected some plot on the old man's part. + “He'll take care of himself, I'll warrant him.” + </p> + <p> + “No fear of that, sir;” and the four tars were soon snoring in concert + round the fire, while Amyas laid himself on the settle, with his saddle + for a pillow. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + It was about midnight, when Amyas leaped to his feet, or rather fell upon + his back, upsetting saddle, settle, and finally, table, under the notion + that ten thousand flying dragons were bursting in the window close to his + ear, with howls most fierce and fell. The flying dragons past, however, + being only a flock of terror-stricken geese, which flew flapping and + screaming round the corner of the house; but the noise which had startled + them did not pass; and another minute made it evident that a sharp fight + was going on in the courtyard, and that Yeo was hallooing lustily for + help. + </p> + <p> + Out turned the men, sword in hand, burst the back door open, stumbling + over pails and pitchers, and into the courtyard, where Yeo, his back + against the stable-door, was holding his own manfully with sword and + buckler against a dozen men. + </p> + <p> + Dire and manifold was the screaming; geese screamed, chickens screamed, + pigs screamed, donkeys screamed, Mary screamed from an upper window; and + to complete the chorus, a flock of plovers, attracted by the noise, + wheeled round and round overhead, and added their screams also to that + Dutch concert. + </p> + <p> + The screaming went on, but the fight ceased; for, as Amyas rushed into the + yard, the whole party of ruffians took to their heels, and vanished over a + low hedge at the other end of the yard. + </p> + <p> + “Are you hurt, Yeo?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a scratch, thank Heaven! But I've got two of them, the ringleaders, I + have. One of them's against the wall. Your horse did for t'other.” + </p> + <p> + The wounded man was lifted up; a huge ruffian, nearly as big as Amyas + himself. Yeo's sword had passed through his body. He groaned and choked + for breath. + </p> + <p> + “Carry him indoors. Where is the other?” + </p> + <p> + “Dead as a herring, in the straw. Have a care, men, have a care how you go + in! the horses are near mad!” + </p> + <p> + However, the man was brought out after a while. With him all was over. + They could feel neither pulse nor breath. + </p> + <p> + “Carry him in too, poor wretch. And now, Yeo, what is the meaning of all + this?” + </p> + <p> + Yeo's story was soon told. He could not get out of his Puritan head the + notion (quite unfounded, of course) that Eustace had meant to steal the + horses. He had seen the inn-keeper sneak off at their approach; and + expecting some night-attack, he had taken up his lodging for the night in + the stable. + </p> + <p> + As he expected, an attempt was made. The door was opened (how, he could + not guess, for he had fastened it inside), and two fellows came in, and + began to loose the beasts. Yeo's account was, that he seized the big + fellow, who drew a knife on him, and broke loose; the horses, terrified at + the scuffle, kicked right and left; one man fell, and the other ran out, + calling for help, with Yeo at his heels; “Whereon,” said Yeo, “seeing a + dozen more on me with clubs and bows, I thought best to shorten the number + while I could, ran the rascal through, and stood on my ward; and only just + in time I was, what's more; there's two arrows in the house wall, and two + or three more in my buckler, which I caught up as I went out, for I had + hung it close by the door, you see, sir, to be all ready in case,” said + the cunning old Philistine-slayer, as they went in after the wounded man. + </p> + <p> + But hardly had they stumbled through the low doorway into the back-kitchen + when a fresh hubbub arose inside—more shouts for help. Amyas ran + forward breaking his head against the doorway, and beheld, as soon as he + could see for the flashes in his eyes, an old acquaintance, held on each + side by a sturdy sailor. + </p> + <p> + With one arm in the sleeve of his doublet, and the other in a not over + spotless shirt; holding up his hose with one hand, and with the other a + candle, whereby he had lighted himself to his own confusion; foaming with + rage, stood Mr. Evan Morgans, alias Father Parsons, looking, between his + confused habiliments and his fiery visage (as Yeo told him to his face), + “the very moral of a half-plucked turkey-cock.” And behind him, dressed, + stood Eustace Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “We found the maid letting these here two out by the front door,” said one + of the captors. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Mr. Parsons,” said Amyas; “and what are you about here? A pretty + nest of thieves and Jesuits we seem to have routed out this evening.” + </p> + <p> + “About my calling, sir,” said Parsons, stoutly. “By your leave, I shall + prepare this my wounded lamb for that account to which your man's cruelty + has untimely sent him.” + </p> + <p> + The wounded man, who lay upon the floor, heard Parsons' voice, and moaned + for the “Patrico.” + </p> + <p> + “You see, sir,” said he, pompously, “the sheep know their shepherd's + voice.” + </p> + <p> + “The wolves you mean, you hypocritical scoundrel!” said Amyas, who could + not contain his disgust. “Let the fellow truss up his points, lads, and do + his work. After all, the man is dying.” + </p> + <p> + “The requisite matters, sir, are not at hand,” said Parsons, unabashed. + </p> + <p> + “Eustace, go and fetch his matters for him; you seem to be in all his + plots.” + </p> + <p> + Eustace went silently and sullenly. + </p> + <p> + “What's that fresh noise at the back, now?” + </p> + <p> + “The maid, sir, a wailing over her uncle; the fellow that we saw sneak + away when we came up. It was him the horse killed.” + </p> + <p> + It was true. The wretched host had slipped off on their approach, simply + to call the neighboring outlaws to the spoil; and he had been filled with + the fruit of his own devices. + </p> + <p> + “His blood be on his own head,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “I question, sir,” said Yeo, in a low voice, “whether some of it will not + be on the heads of those proud prelates who go clothed in purple and fine + linen, instead of going forth to convert such as he, and then wonder how + these Jesuits get hold of them. If they give place to the devil in their + sheepfolds, sure he'll come in and lodge there. Look, sir, there's a sight + in a gospel land!” + </p> + <p> + And, indeed, the sight was curious enough. For Parsons was kneeling by the + side of the dying man, listening earnestly to the confession which the man + sobbed out in his gibberish, between the spasms of his wounded chest. Now + and then Parsons shook his head; and when Eustace returned with the holy + wafer, and the oil for extreme unction, he asked him, in a low voice, + “Ballard, interpret for me.” + </p> + <p> + And Eustace knelt down on the other side of the sufferer, and interpreted + his thieves' dialect into Latin; and the dying man held a hand of each, + and turned first to one and then to the other stupid eyes,—not + without affection, though, and gratitude. + </p> + <p> + “I can't stand this mummery any longer,” said Yeo. “Here's a soul + perishing before my eyes, and it's on my conscience to speak a word in + season.” + </p> + <p> + “Silence!” whispered Amyas, holding him back by the arm; “he knows them, + and he don't know you; they are the first who ever spoke to him as if he + had a soul to be saved, and first come, first served; you can do no good. + See, the man's face is brightening already.” + </p> + <p> + “But, sir, 'tis a false peace.” + </p> + <p> + “At all events he is confessing his sins, Yeo; and if that's not good for + him, and you, and me, what is?” + </p> + <p> + “Yea, Amen! sir; but this is not to the right person.” + </p> + <p> + “How do you know his words will not go to the right person, after all, + though he may not send them there? By heaven! the man is dead!” + </p> + <p> + It was so. The dark catalogue of brutal deeds had been gasped out; but ere + the words of absolution could follow, the head had fallen back, and all + was over. + </p> + <p> + “Confession in extremis is sufficient,” said Parsons to Eustace + (“Ballard,” as Parsons called him, to Amyas's surprise), as he rose. “As + for the rest, the intention will be accepted instead of the act.” + </p> + <p> + “The Lord have mercy on his soul!” said Eustace. + </p> + <p> + “His soul is lost before our very eyes,” said Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “Mind your own business,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Humph; but I'll tell you, sir, what our business is, if you'll step aside + with me. I find that poor fellow that lies dead is none other than the + leader of the Gubbings; the king of them, as they dare to call him.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, what of that?” + </p> + <p> + “Mark my words, sir, if we have not a hundred stout rogues upon us before + two hours are out; forgive us they never will; and if we get off with our + lives, which I don't much expect, we shall leave our horses behind; for we + can hold the house, sir, well enough till morning, but the courtyard we + can't, that's certain!” + </p> + <p> + “We had better march at once, then.” + </p> + <p> + “Think, sir; if they catch us up—as they are sure to do, knowing the + country better than we—how will our shot stand their arrows?” + </p> + <p> + “True, old wisdom; we must keep the road; and we must keep together; and + so be a mark for them, while they will be behind every rock and bank; and + two or three flights of arrows will do our business for us. Humph! stay, I + have a plan.” And stepping forward he spoke— + </p> + <p> + “Eustace, you will be so kind as to go back to your lambs; and tell them, + that if they meddle with us cruel wolves again to-night, we are ready and + willing to fight to the death, and have plenty of shot and powder at their + service. Father Parsons, you will be so kind as to accompany us; it is but + fitting that the shepherd should be hostage for his sheep.” + </p> + <p> + “If you carry me off this spot, sir, you carry my corpse only,” said + Parsons. “I may as well die here as be hanged elsewhere, like my martyred + brother Campian.” + </p> + <p> + “If you take him, you must take me too,” said Eustace. + </p> + <p> + “What if we won't?” + </p> + <p> + “How will you gain by that? you can only leave me here. You cannot make me + go to the Gubbings, if I do not choose.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas uttered sotto voce an anathema on Jesuits, Gubbings, and things in + general. He was in a great hurry to get to Bideford, and he feared that + this business would delay him, as it was, a day or two. He wanted to hang + Parsons, he did not want to hang Eustace; and Eustace, he knew, was well + aware of that latter fact, and played his game accordingly; but time ran + on, and he had to answer sulkily enough: + </p> + <p> + “Well then; if you, Eustace, will go and give my message to your converts, + I will promise to set Mr. Parsons free again before we come to Lydford + town; and I advise you, if you have any regard for his life, to see that + your eloquence be persuasive enough; for as sure as I am an Englishman, + and he none, if the Gubbings attack us, the first bullet that I shall fire + at them will have gone through his scoundrelly brains.” + </p> + <p> + Parsons still kicked. + </p> + <p> + “Very well, then, my merry men all. Tie this gentleman's hands behind his + back, get the horses out, and we'll right away up into Dartmoor, find a + good high tor, stand our ground there till morning, and then carry him + into Okehampton to the nearest justice. If he chooses to delay me in my + journey, it is fair that I should make him pay for it.” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Parsons gave in, and being fast tied by his arm to Amyas's saddle, + trudged alongside his horse for several weary miles, while Yeo walked by + his side, like a friar by a condemned criminal; and in order to keep up + his spirits, told him the woful end of Nicholas Saunders the Legate, and + how he was found starved to death in a bog. + </p> + <p> + “And if you wish, sir, to follow in his blessed steps, which I heartily + hope you will do, you have only to go over that big cow-backed hill there + on your right hand, and down again the other side to Crawmere pool, and + there you'll find as pretty a bog to die in as ever Jesuit needed; and + your ghost may sit there on a grass tummock, and tell your beads without + any one asking for you till the day of judgment; and much good may it do + you!” + </p> + <p> + At which imagination Yeo was actually heard, for the first and last time + in this history, to laugh most heartily. + </p> + <p> + His ho-ho's had scarcely died away when they saw shining under the moon + the old tower of Lydford castle. + </p> + <p> + “Cast the fellow off now,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ay, sir!” and Yeo and Simon Evans stopped behind, and did not come up + for ten minutes after. + </p> + <p> + “What have you been about so long?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, sir,” said Evans, “you see the man had a very fair pair of hose on, + and a bran-new kersey doublet, very warm-lined; and so, thinking it a pity + good clothes should be wasted on such noxious trade, we've just brought + them along with us.” + </p> + <p> + “Spoiling the Egyptians,” said Yeo as comment. + </p> + <p> + “And what have you done with the man?” + </p> + <p> + “Hove him over the bank, sir; he pitched into a big furze-bush, and for + aught I know, there he'll bide.” + </p> + <p> + “You rascal, have you killed him? + </p> + <p> + “Never fear, sir,” said Yeo, in his cool fashion. “A Jesuit has as many + lives as a cat, and, I believe, rides broomsticks post, like a witch. He + would be at Lydford now before us, if his master Satan had any business + for him there.” + </p> + <p> + Leaving on their left Lydford and its ill-omened castle (which, a century + after, was one of the principal scenes of Judge Jeffreys's cruelty), Amyas + and his party trudged on through the mire toward Okehampton till sunrise; + and ere the vapors had lifted from the mountain tops, they were descending + the long slopes from Sourton down, while Yestor and Amicombe slept steep + and black beneath their misty pall; and roaring far below unseen, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Ockment leapt from crag and cloud + Down her cataracts, laughing loud.” + </pre> + <p> + The voice of the stream recalled these words to Amyas's mind. The nymph of + Torridge had spoken them upon the day of his triumph. He recollected, too, + his vexation on that day at not seeing Rose Salterne. Why, he had never + seen her since. Never seen her now for six years and more! Of her ripened + beauty he knew only by hearsay; she was still to him the lovely fifteen + years' girl for whose sake he had smitten the Barnstaple draper over the + quay. What a chain of petty accidents had kept them from meeting, though + so often within a mile of each other! “And what a lucky one!” said + practical old Amyas to himself. “If I had seen her as she is now, I might + have loved her as Frank does—poor Frank! what will he say? What does + he say, for he must know it already? And what ought I to say—to do + rather, for talking is no use on this side the grave, nor on the other + either, I expect!” And then he asked himself whether his old oath meant + nothing or something; whether it was a mere tavern frolic, or a sacred + duty. And he held, the more that he looked at it, that it meant the + latter. + </p> + <p> + But what could he do? He had nothing on earth but his sword, so he could + not travel to find her. After all, she might not be gone far. Perhaps not + gone at all. It might be a mistake, an exaggerated scandal. He would hope + so. And yet it was evident that there had been some passages between her + and Don Guzman. Eustace's mysterious words about the promise at Lundy + proved that. The villain! He had felt all along that he was a villain; but + just the one to win a woman's heart, too. Frank had been away—all + the Brotherhood away. What a fool he had been, to turn the wolf loose into + the sheepfold! And yet who would have dreamed of it? . . . + </p> + <p> + “At all events,” said Amyas, trying to comfort himself, “I need not + complain. I have lost nothing. I stood no more chance of her against Frank + than I should have stood against the Don. So there is no use for me to cry + about the matter.” And he tried to hum a tune concerning the general + frailty of women, but nevertheless, like Sir Hugh, felt that “he had a + great disposition to cry.” + </p> + <p> + He never had expected to win her, and yet it seemed bitter to know that + she was lost to him forever. It was not so easy for a heart of his make to + toss away the image of a first love; and all the less easy because that + image was stained and ruined. + </p> + <p> + “Curses on the man who had done that deed! I will yet have his heart's + blood somehow, if I go round the world again to find him. If there's no + law for it on earth, there's law in heaven, or I'm much mistaken.” + </p> + <p> + With which determination he rode into the ugly, dirty, and stupid town of + Okehampton, with which fallen man (by some strange perversity) has chosen + to defile one of the loveliest sites in the pleasant land of Devon. And + heartily did Amyas abuse the old town that day; for he was detained there, + as he expected, full three hours, while the Justice Shallow of the place + was sent for from his farm (whither he had gone at sunrise, after the + early-rising fashion of those days) to take Yeo's deposition concerning + last night's affray. Moreover, when Shallow came, he refused to take the + depositions, because they ought to have been made before a brother Shallow + at Lydford; and in the wrangling which ensued, was very near finding out + what Amyas (fearing fresh loss of time and worse evils beside) had + commanded to be concealed, namely, the presence of Jesuits in that + Moorland Utopia. Then, in broadest Devon— + </p> + <p> + “And do you call this Christian conduct, sir, to set a quiet man like me + upon they Gubbings, as if I was going to risk my precious life—no, + nor ever a constable to Okehampton neither? Let Lydfor' men mind Lydfor' + roogs, and by Lydfor' law if they will, hang first and try after; but as + for me, I've rade my Bible, and 'He that meddleth with strife is like him + that taketh a dog by the ears.' So if you choose to sit down and ate your + breakfast with me, well and good: but depositions I'll have none. If your + man is enquired for, you'll be answerable for his appearing, in course; + but I expect mortally” (with a wink), “you wain't hear much more of the + matter from any hand. 'Leave well alone is a good rule, but leave ill + alone is a better.'—So we says round about here; and so you'll say, + captain, when you be so old as I.” + </p> + <p> + So Amyas sat down and ate his breakfast, and went on afterwards a long and + weary day's journey, till he saw at last beneath him the broad shining + river, and the long bridge, and the white houses piled up the hill-side; + and beyond, over Raleigh downs, the dear old tower of Northam Church. + </p> + <p> + Alas! Northam was altogether a desert to him then; and Bideford, as it + turned out, hardly less so. For when he rode up to Sir Richard's door, he + found that the good knight was still in Ireland, and Lady Grenville at + Stow. Whereupon he rode back again down the High Street to that same + bow-windowed Ship Tavern where the Brotherhood of the Rose made their vow, + and settled himself in the very room where they had supped. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Mr. Leigh—Captain Leigh now, I beg pardon,” quoth mine host. + “Bideford is an empty place now-a-days, and nothing stirring, sir. What + with Sir Richard to Ireland, and Sir John to London, and all the young + gentlemen to the wars, there's no one to buy good liquor, and no one to + court the young ladies, neither. Sack, sir? I hope so. I haven't brewed a + gallon of it this fortnight, if you'll believe me; ale, sir, and aqua + vitae, and such low-bred trade, is all I draw now-a-days. Try a pint of + sherry, sir, now, to give you an appetite. You mind my sherry of old? + Jane! Sherry and sugar, quick, while I pull off the captain's boots.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas sat weary and sad, while the innkeeper chattered on. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sir! two or three like you would set the young ladies all alive + again. By-the-by, there's been strange doings among them since you were + here last. You mind Mistress Salterne!” + </p> + <p> + “For God's sake, don't let us have that story, man! I heard enough of it + at Plymouth!” said Amyas, in so disturbed a tone that mine host looked up, + and said to himself— + </p> + <p> + “Ah, poor young gentleman, he's one of the hard-hit ones.” + </p> + <p> + “How is the old man?” asked Amyas, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + “Bears it well enough, sir; but a changed man. Never speaks to a soul, if + he can help it. Some folk say he's not right in his head; or turned miser, + or somewhat, and takes naught but bread and water, and sits up all night + in the room as was hers, turning over her garments. Heaven knows what's on + his mind—they do say he was over hard on her, and that drove her to + it. All I know is, he has never been in here for a drop of liquor (and he + came as regular every evening as the town clock, sir) since she went, + except a ten days ago, and then he met young Mr. Cary at the door, and I + heard him ask Mr. Cary when you would be home, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Put on my boots again. I'll go and see him.” + </p> + <p> + “Bless you, sir! What, without your sack?” + </p> + <p> + “Drink it yourself, man.” + </p> + <p> + “But you wouldn't go out again this time o' night on an empty stomach, + now?” + </p> + <p> + “Fill my men's stomachs for them, and never mind mine. It's market-day, is + it not? Send out, and see whether Mr. Cary is still in town;” and Amyas + strode out, and along the quay to Bridgeland Street, and knocked at Mr. + Salterne's door. + </p> + <p> + Salterne himself opened it, with his usual stern courtesy. + </p> + <p> + “I saw you coming up the street, sir. I have been expecting this honor + from you for some time past. I dreamt of you only last night, and many a + night before that too. Welcome, sir, into a lonely house. I trust the good + knight your general is well.” + </p> + <p> + “The good knight my general is with God who made him, Mr. Salterne.” + </p> + <p> + “Dead, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Foundered at sea on our way home; and the Delight lost too.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” growled Salterne, after a minute's silence. “I had a venture in + her. I suppose it's gone. No matter—I can afford it, sir, and more, + I trust. And he was three years younger than I! And Draper Heard was + buried yesterday, five years younger.—How is it that every one can + die, except me? Come in, sir, come in; I have forgotten my manners.” + </p> + <p> + And he led Amyas into his parlor, and called to the apprentices to run one + way, and to the cook to run another. + </p> + <p> + “You must not trouble yourself to get me supper, indeed.” + </p> + <p> + “I must though, sir, and the best of wine too; and old Salterne had a good + tap of Alicant in old time, old time, old time, sir! and you must drink it + now, whether he does or not!” and out he bustled. + </p> + <p> + Amyas sat still, wondering what was coming next, and puzzled at the sudden + hilarity of the man, as well as his hospitality, so different from what + the innkeeper had led him to expect. + </p> + <p> + In a minute more one of the apprentices came in to lay the cloth, and + Amyas questioned him about his master. + </p> + <p> + “Thank the Lord that you are come, sir,” said the lad. + </p> + <p> + “Why, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Because there'll be a chance of us poor fellows getting a little broken + meat. We'm half-starved this three months—bread and dripping, bread + and dripping, oh dear, sir! And now he's sent out to the inn for chickens, + and game, and salads, and all that money can buy, and down in the cellar + haling out the best of wine.”—And the lad smacked his lips audibly + at the thought. + </p> + <p> + “Is he out of his mind?” + </p> + <p> + “I can't tell; he saith as how he must save mun's money now-a-days; for + he've a got a great venture on hand: but what a be he tell'th no man. They + call'th mun 'bread and dripping' now, sir, all town over,” said the + prentice, confidentially, to Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “They do, do they, sirrah! Then they will call me bread and no dripping + to-morrow!” and old Salterne, entering from behind, made a dash at the + poor fellow's ears: but luckily thought better of it, having a couple of + bottles in each hand. + </p> + <p> + “My dear sir,” said Amyas, “you don't mean us to drink all that wine?” + </p> + <p> + “Why not, sir?” answered Salterne, in a grim, half-sneering tone, + thrusting out his square-grizzled beard and chin. “Why not, sir? why + should I not make merry when I have the honor of a noble captain in my + house? one who has sailed the seas, sir, and cut Spaniards' throats; and + may cut them again too; eh, sir? Boy, where's the kettle and the sugar?” + </p> + <p> + “What on earth is the man at?” quoth Amyas to himself—“flattering + me, or laughing at me?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he ran on, half to himself, in a deliberate tone, evidently + intending to hint more than he said, as he began brewing the sack—in + plain English, hot negus; “Yes, bread and dripping for those who can't + fight Spaniards; but the best that money can buy for those who can. I + heard of you at Smerwick, sir—Yes, bread and dripping for me too—I + can't fight Spaniards: but for such as you. Look here, sir; I should like + to feed a crew of such up, as you'd feed a main of fighting-cocks, and + then start them with a pair of Sheffield spurs a-piece—you've a good + one there to your side, sir: but don't you think a man might carry two + now, and fight as they say those Chineses do, a sword to each hand? You + could kill more that way, Captain Leigh, I reckon?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas half laughed. + </p> + <p> + “One will do, Mr. Salterne, if one is quick enough with it.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!—Ah—No use being in a hurry. I haven't been in a hurry. + No—I waited for you; and here you are and welcome, sir! Here comes + supper, a light matter, sir, you see. A capon and a brace of partridges. I + had no time to feast you as you deserve.” + </p> + <p> + And so he ran on all supper-time, hardly allowing Amyas to get a word in + edge-ways; but heaping him with coarse flattery, and urging him to drink, + till after the cloth was drawn, and the two left alone, he grew so + outrageous that Amyas was forced to take him to task good-humoredly. + </p> + <p> + “Now, my dear sir, you have feasted me royally, and better far than I + deserve, but why will you go about to make me drunk twice over, first with + vainglory and then with wine?” + </p> + <p> + Salterne looked at him a while fixedly, and then, sticking out his chin—“Because, + Captain Leigh, I am a man who has all his life tried the crooked road + first, and found the straight one the safer after all.” + </p> + <p> + “Eh, sir? That is a strange speech for one who bears the character of the + most upright man in Bideford.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph. So I thought myself once, sir; and well I have proved it. But I'll + be plain with you, sir. You've heard how—how I've fared since you + saw me last?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas nodded his head. + </p> + <p> + “I thought so. Shame rides post. Now then, Captain Leigh, listen to me. I, + being a plain man and a burgher, and one that never drew iron in my life + except to mend a pen, ask you, being a gentleman and a captain and a man + of honor, with a weapon to your side, and harness to your back—what + would you do in my place?” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Amyas, “that would very much depend on whether 'my place' + was my own fault or not.” + </p> + <p> + “And what if it were, sir? What if all that the charitable folks of + Bideford—(Heaven reward them for their tender mercies!)—have + been telling you in the last hour be true, sir,—true! and yet not + half the truth?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas gave a start. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, you shrink from me! Of course a man is too righteous to forgive those + who repent, though God is not.” + </p> + <p> + “God knows, sir—” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, God does know—all; and you shall know a little—as + much as I can tell—or you understand. Come upstairs with me, sir, as + you'll drink no more; I have a liking for you. I have watched you from + your boyhood, and I can trust you, and I'll show you what I never showed + to mortal man but one.” + </p> + <p> + And, taking up a candle, he led the way upstairs, while Amyas followed + wondering. + </p> + <p> + He stopped at a door, and unlocked it. + </p> + <p> + “There, come in. Those shutters have not been opened since she—” and + the old man was silent. + </p> + <p> + Amyas looked round the room. It was a low wainscoted room, such as one + sees in old houses: everything was in the most perfect neatness. The + snow-white sheets on the bed were turned down as if ready for an occupant. + There were books arranged on the shelves, fresh flowers on the table; the + dressing-table had all its woman's mundus of pins, and rings, and brushes; + even the dressing-gown lay over the chair-back. Everything was evidently + just as it had been left. + </p> + <p> + “This was her room, sir,” whispered the old man. + </p> + <p> + Amyas nodded silently, and half drew back. + </p> + <p> + “You need not be modest about entering it now, sir,” whispered he, with a + sort of sneer. “There has been no frail flesh and blood in it for many a + day.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas sighed. + </p> + <p> + “I sweep it out myself every morning, and keep all tidy. See here!” and he + pulled open a drawer. “Here are all her gowns, and there are her hoods; + and there—I know 'em all by heart now, and the place of every one. + And there, sir—” + </p> + <p> + And he opened a cupboard, where lay in rows all Rose's dolls, and the + worn-out playthings of her childhood. + </p> + <p> + “That's the pleasantest place of all in the room to me,” said he, + whispering still, “for it minds me of when—and maybe, she may become + a little child once more, sir; it's written in the Scripture, you know—” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said Amyas, who felt, to his own wonder, a big tear stealing down + each cheek. + </p> + <p> + “And now,” he whispered, “one thing more. Look here!”—and pulling + out a key, he unlocked a chest, and lifted up tray after tray of necklaces + and jewels, furs, lawns, cloth of gold. “Look there! Two thousand pound + won't buy that chest. Twenty years have I been getting those things + together. That's the cream of many a Levant voyage, and East Indian + voyage, and West Indian voyage. My Lady Bath can't match those pearls in + her grand house at Tawstock; I got 'em from a Genoese, though, and paid + for 'em. Look at that embroidered lawn! There's not such a piece in + London; no, nor in Alexandria, I'll warrant; nor short of Calicut, where + it came from. . . . Look here again, there's a golden cup! I bought that + of one that was out with Pizarro in Peru. And look here, again!”—and + the old man gloated over the treasure. + </p> + <p> + “And whom do you think I kept all these for? These were for her + wedding-day—for her wedding-day. For your wedding-day, if you'd been + minded, sir! Yes, yours, sir! And yet, I believe, I was so ambitious that + I would not have let her marry under an earl, all the while I was + pretending to be too proud to throw her at the head of a squire's son. Ah, + well! There was my idol, sir. I made her mad, I pampered her up with + gewgaws and vanity; and then, because my idol was just what I had made + her, I turned again and rent her. + </p> + <p> + “And now,” said he, pointing to the open chest, “that was what I meant; + and that” (pointing to the empty bed) “was what God meant. Never mind. + Come downstairs and finish your wine. I see you don't care about it all. + Why should you! you are not her father, and you may thank God you are not. + Go, and be merry while you can, young sir! . . . And yet, all this might + have been yours. And—but I don't suppose you are one to be won by + money—but all this may be yours still, and twenty thousand pounds to + boot.” + </p> + <p> + “I want no money, sir, but what I can earn with my own sword.” + </p> + <p> + “Earn my money, then!” + </p> + <p> + “What on earth do you want of me!” + </p> + <p> + “To keep your oath,” said Salterne, clutching his arm, and looking up into + his face with searching eyes. + </p> + <p> + “My oath! How did you know that I had one?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! you were well ashamed of it, I suppose, next day! A drunken frolic + all about a poor merchant's daughter! But there is nothing hidden that + shall not be revealed, nor done in the closet that is not proclaimed on + the house-tops.” + </p> + <p> + “Ashamed of it, sir, I never was: but I have a right to ask how you came + to know it?” + </p> + <p> + “What if a poor fat squinny rogue, a low-born fellow even as I am, whom + you had baffled and made a laughing-stock, had come to me in my loneliness + and sworn before God that if you honorable gentlemen would not keep your + words, he the clown would?” + </p> + <p> + “John Brimblecombe?” + </p> + <p> + “And what if I had brought him where I have brought you, and shown him + what I have shown you, and, instead of standing as stiff as any Spaniard, + as you do, he had thrown himself on his knees by that bedside, and wept + and prayed, sir, till he opened my hard heart for the first and last time, + and I fell down on my sinful knees and wept and prayed by him?” + </p> + <p> + “I am not given to weeping, Mr. Salterne,” said Amyas; “and as for + praying, I don't know yet what I have to pray for, on her account: my + business is to work. Show me what I can do; and when you have done that, + it will be full time to upbraid me with not doing it.” + </p> + <p> + “You can cut that fellow's throat.” + </p> + <p> + “It will take a long arm to reach him.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose it is as easy to sail to the Spanish Main as it was to sail + round the world.” + </p> + <p> + “My good sir,” said Amyas, “I have at this moment no more worldly goods + than my clothes and my sword, so how to sail to the Spanish Main, I don't + quite see.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you suppose, sir, that I should hint to you of such a voyage if I + meant you to be at the charge of it? No, sir; if you want two thousand + pounds, or five, to fit a ship, take it! Take it, sir! I hoarded money for + my child: and now I will spend it to avenge her.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent for a while; the old man still held his arm, still looked + up steadfastly and fiercely in his face. + </p> + <p> + “Bring me home that man's head, and take ship, prizes—all! Keep the + gain, sir, and give me the revenge!” + </p> + <p> + “Gain? Do you think I need bribing, sir? What kept me silent was the + thought of my mother. I dare not go without her leave.” + </p> + <p> + Salterne made a gesture of impatience. + </p> + <p> + “I dare not, sir; I must obey my parent, whatever else I do.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said he. “If others had obeyed theirs as well!—But you are + right, Captain Leigh, right. You will prosper, whoever else does not. Now, + sir, good-night, if you will let me be the first to say so. My old eyes + grow heavy early now-a-days. Perhaps it's old age, perhaps it's sorrow.” + </p> + <p> + So Amyas departed to the inn, and there, to his great joy, found Cary + waiting for him, from whom he learnt details, which must be kept for + another chapter, and which I shall tell, for convenience' sake, in my own + words and not in his. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV + </h2> + <h3> + HOW MR. JOHN BRIMBLECOMBE UNDERSTOOD THE NATURE OF AN OATH + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The Kynge of Spayn is a foul paynim, + And lieveth on Mahound; + And pity it were that lady fayre + Should marry a heathen hound.” + + Kyng Estmere. +</pre> + <p> + About six weeks after the duel, the miller at Stow had come up to the + great house in much tribulation, to borrow the bloodhounds. Rose Salterne + had vanished in the night, no man knew whither. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard was in Bideford: but the old steward took on himself to send + for the keepers, and down went the serving-men to the mill with all the + idle lads of the parish at their heels, thinking a maiden-hunt very good + sport; and of course taking a view of the case as favorable as possible to + Rose. + </p> + <p> + They reviled the miller and his wife roundly for hard-hearted old + heathens; and had no doubt that they had driven the poor maid to throw + herself over cliff, or drown herself in the sea; while all the women of + Stow, on the other hand, were of unanimous opinion that the hussy had + “gone off” with some bad fellow; and that pride was sure to have a fall, + and so forth. + </p> + <p> + The facts of the case were, that all Rose's trinkets were left behind, so + that she had at least gone off honestly; and nothing seemed to be missing, + but some of her linen, which old Anthony the steward broadly hinted was + likely to be found in other people's boxes. The only trace was a little + footmark under her bedroom window. On that the bloodhound was laid (of + course in leash), and after a premonitory whimper, lifted up his mighty + voice, and started bell-mouthed through the garden gate, and up the lane, + towing behind him the panting keeper, till they reached the downs above, + and went straight away for Marslandmouth, where the whole posse comitatus + pulled up breathless at the door of Lucy Passmore. + </p> + <p> + Lucy, as perhaps I should have said before, was now a widow, and found her + widowhood not altogether contrary to her interest. Her augury about her + old man had been fulfilled; he had never returned since the night on which + he put to sea with Eustace and the Jesuits. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * “Some natural tears she shed, but dried them soon” + </pre> + <p> + as many of them, at least, as were not required for purposes of business; + and then determined to prevent suspicion by a bold move; she started off + to Stow, and told Lady Grenville a most pathetic tale: how her husband had + gone out to pollock fishing, and never returned: but how she had heard + horsemen gallop past her window in the dead of night, and was sure they + must have been the Jesuits, and that they had carried off her old man by + main force, and probably, after making use of his services, had killed and + salted him down for provision on their voyage back to the Pope at Rome; + after which she ended by entreating protection against those “Popish + skulkers up to Chapel,” who were sworn to do her a mischief; and by an + appeal to Lady Grenville's sense of justice, as to whether the queen ought + not to allow her a pension, for having had her heart's love turned into a + sainted martyr by the hands of idolatrous traitors. + </p> + <p> + Lady Grenville (who had a great opinion of Lucy's medical skill, and + always sent for her if one of the children had a “housty,” i. e. sore + throat) went forth and pleaded the case before Sir Richard with such + effect, that Lucy was on the whole better off than ever for the next two + or three years. But now—what had she to do with Rose's + disappearance? and, indeed, where was she herself? Her door was fast; and + round it her flock of goats stood, crying in vain for her to come and milk + them; while from the down above, her donkeys, wandering at their own sweet + will, answered the bay of the bloodhound with a burst of harmony. + </p> + <p> + “They'm laughing at us, keper, they neddies; sure enough, we'm lost our + labor here.” + </p> + <p> + But the bloodhound, after working about the door a while, turned down the + glen, and never stopped till he reached the margin of the sea. + </p> + <p> + “They'm taken water. Let's go back, and rout out the old witch's house.” + </p> + <p> + “'Tis just like that old Lucy, to lock a poor maid into shame.” + </p> + <p> + And returning, they attacked the cottage, and by a general plebiscitum, + ransacked the little dwelling, partly in indignation, and partly, if the + truth be told, in the hope of plunder; but plunder there was none. Lucy + had decamped with all her movable wealth, saving the huge black cat among + the embers, who at the sight of the bloodhound vanished up the chimney + (some said with a strong smell of brimstone), and being viewed outside, + was chased into the woods, where she lived, I doubt not, many happy years, + a scourge to all the rabbits of the glen. + </p> + <p> + The goats and donkeys were driven off up to Stow; and the mob returned, a + little ashamed of themselves when their brief wrath was past; and a little + afraid, too, of what Sir Richard might say. + </p> + <p> + He, when he returned, sold the donkeys and goats, and gave the money to + the poor, promising to refund the same, if Lucy returned and gave herself + up to justice. But Lucy did not return; and her cottage, from which the + neighbors shrank as from a haunted place, remained as she had left it, and + crumbled slowly down to four fern-covered walls, past which the little + stream went murmuring on from pool to pool—the only voice, for many + a year to come, which broke the silence of that lonely glen. + </p> + <p> + A few days afterwards, Sir Richard, on his way from Bideford to Stow, + looked in at Clovelly Court, and mentioned, with a “by the by,” news which + made Will Cary leap from his seat almost to the ceiling. What it was we + know already. + </p> + <p> + “And there is no clue?” asked old Cary; for his son was speechless. + </p> + <p> + “Only this; I hear that some fellow prowling about the cliffs that night + saw a pinnace running for Lundy.” + </p> + <p> + Will rose, and went hastily out of the room. + </p> + <p> + In half an hour he and three or four armed servants were on board a + trawling-skiff, and away to Lundy. He did not return for three days, and + then brought news: that an elderly man, seemingly a foreigner, had been + lodging for some months past in a part of the ruined Moresco Castle, which + was tenanted by one John Braund; that a few weeks since a younger man, a + foreigner also, had joined him from on board a ship: the ship a + Flushinger, or Easterling of some sort. The ship came and went more than + once; and the young man in her. A few days since, a lady and her maid, a + stout woman, came with him up to the castle, and talked with the elder man + a long while in secret; abode there all night; and then all three sailed + in the morning. The fishermen on the beach had heard the young man call + the other father. He was a very still man, much as a mass-priest might be. + More they did not know, or did not choose to know. + </p> + <p> + Whereon old Cary and Sir Richard sent Will on a second trip with the + parish constable of Hartland (in which huge parish, for its sins, is + situate the Isle of Lundy, ten miles out at sea); who returned with the + body of the hapless John Braund, farmer, fisherman, smuggler, etc.; which + worthy, after much fruitless examination (wherein examinate was afflicted + with extreme deafness and loss of memory), departed to Exeter gaol, on a + charge of “harboring priests, Jesuits, gipsies, and other suspect and + traitorous persons.” + </p> + <p> + Poor John Braund, whose motive for entertaining the said ugly customers + had probably been not treason, but a wife, seven children, and arrears of + rent, did not thrive under the change from the pure air of Lundy to the + pestiferous one of Exeter gaol, made infamous, but two years after (if I + recollect right), by a “black assizes,” nearly as fatal as that more + notorious one at Oxford; for in it, “whether by the stench of the + prisoners, or by a stream of foul air,” judge, jury, counsel, and + bystanders, numbering among them many members of the best families in + Devon, sickened in court, and died miserably within a few days. + </p> + <p> + John Braund, then, took the gaol-fever in a week, and died raving in that + noisome den: his secret, if he had one, perished with him, and nothing but + vague suspicion was left as to Rose Salterne's fate. That she had gone off + with the Spaniard, few doubted; but whither, and in what character? On + that last subject, be sure, no mercy was shown to her by many a Bideford + dame, who had hated the poor girl simply for her beauty; and by many a + country lady, who had “always expected that the girl would be brought to + ruin by the absurd notice, beyond what her station had a right to, which + was taken of her,” while every young maiden aspired to fill the throne + which Rose had abdicated. So that, on the whole, Bideford considered + itself as going on as well without poor Rose as it had done with her, or + even better. And though she lingered in some hearts still as a fair dream, + the business and the bustle of each day soon swept that dream away, and + her place knew her no more. + </p> + <p> + And Will Cary? + </p> + <p> + He was for a while like a man distracted. He heaped himself with all + manner of superfluous reproaches, for having (as he said) first brought + the Rose into disgrace, and then driven her into the arms of the Spaniard; + while St. Leger, who was a sensible man enough, tried in vain to persuade + him that the fault was not his at all; that the two must have been + attached to each other long before the quarrel; that it must have ended + so, sooner or later; that old Salterne's harshness, rather than Cary's + wrath, had hastened the catastrophe; and finally, that the Rose and her + fortunes were, now that she had eloped with a Spaniard, not worth + troubling their heads about. Poor Will would not be so comforted. He wrote + off to Frank at Whitehall, telling him the whole truth, calling himself + all fools and villains, and entreating Frank's forgiveness; to which he + received an answer, in which Frank said that Will had no reason to accuse + himself; that these strange attachments were due to a synastria, or + sympathy of the stars, which ruled the destinies of each person, to fight + against which was to fight against the heavens themselves; that he, as a + brother of the Rose, was bound to believe, nay, to assert at the sword's + point if need were, that the incomparable Rose of Torridge could make none + but a worthy and virtuous choice; and that to the man whom she had honored + by her affection was due on their part, Spaniard and Papist though he + might be, all friendship, worship, and loyal faith for evermore. + </p> + <p> + And honest Will took it all for gospel, little dreaming what agony of + despair, what fearful suspicions, what bitter prayers, this letter had + cost to the gentle heart of Francis Leigh. + </p> + <p> + He showed the letter triumphantly to St. Leger; and he was quite wise + enough to gainsay no word of it, at least aloud; but quite wise enough, + also, to believe in secret that Frank looked on the matter in quite a + different light; however, he contented himself with saying: + </p> + <p> + “The man is an angel as his mother is!” and there the matter dropped for a + few days, till one came forward who had no mind to let it drop, and that + was Jack Brimblecombe, now curate of Hartland town, and “passing rich on + forty pounds a year. + </p> + <p> + “I hope no offence, Mr. William; but when are you and the rest going after—after + her?” The name stuck in his throat. + </p> + <p> + Cary was taken aback. + </p> + <p> + “What's that to thee, Catiline the blood-drinker?” asked he, trying to + laugh it off. + </p> + <p> + “What? Don't laugh at me, sir, for it's no laughing matter. I drank that + night naught worse, I expect, than red wine. Whatever it was, we swore our + oaths, Mr. Cary; and oaths are oaths, say I.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course, Jack, of course; but to go to look for her—and when + we've found her, cut her lover's throat. Absurd, Jack, even if she were + worth looking for, or his throat worth cutting. Tut, tut, tut—” + </p> + <p> + But Jack looked steadfastly in his face, and after some silence: + </p> + <p> + How far is it to the Caracas, then, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “What is that to thee, man?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, he was made governor thereof, I hear; so that would be the place to + find her?” + </p> + <p> + “You don't mean to go thither to seek her?” shouted Cary, forcing a laugh. + </p> + <p> + “That depends on whether I can go, sir; but if I can scrape the money + together, or get a berth on board some ship, why, God's will must be + done.” + </p> + <p> + Will looked at him, to see if he had been drinking, or gone mad; but the + little pigs' eyes were both sane and sober. + </p> + <p> + Will knew no answer. To laugh at the poor fellow was easy enough; to deny + that he was right, that he was a hero and cavalier, outdoing romance + itself in faithfulness, not so easy; and Cary, in the first impulse, + wished him at the bottom of the bay for shaming him. Of course, his own + plan of letting ill alone was the rational, prudent, irreproachable plan, + and just what any gentleman in his senses would have done; but here was a + vulgar, fat curate, out of his senses, determined not to let ill alone, + but to do something, as Cary felt in his heart, of a far diviner stamp. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Jack, in his stupid steadfast way, “it's a very bad look-out; + but mother's pretty well off, if father dies, and the maidens are stout + wenches enough, and will make tidy servants, please the Lord. And you'll + see that they come to no harm, Mr. William, for old acquaintance' sake, if + I never come back.” + </p> + <p> + Cary was silent with amazement. + </p> + <p> + “And, Mr. William, you know me for an honest man, I hope. Will you lend me + a five pound, and take my books in pawn for them, just to help me out?” + </p> + <p> + “Are you mad, or in a dream? You will never find her!” + </p> + <p> + “That's no reason why I shouldn't do my duty in looking for her, Mr. + William.” + </p> + <p> + “But, my good fellow, even if you get to the Indies, you will be clapt + into the Inquisition, and burnt alive, as sure as your name is Jack.” + </p> + <p> + “I know that,” said he, in a doleful tone; “and a sore struggle of the + flesh I have had about it; for I am a great coward, Mr. William, a dirty + coward, and always was, as you know: but maybe the Lord will take care of + me, as He does of little children and drunken men; and if not, Mr. Will, + I'd sooner burn, and have it over, than go on this way any longer, I + would!” and Jack burst out blubbering. + </p> + <p> + “What way, my dear old lad?” said Will, softened as he well might be. + </p> + <p> + “Why, not—not to know whether—whether—whether she's + married to him or not—her that I looked up to as an angel of God, as + pure as the light of day; and knew she was too good for a poor pot-head + like me; and prayed for her every night, God knows, that she might marry a + king, if there was one fit for her—and I not to know whether she's + living in sin or not, Mr. William.—It's more than I can bear, and + there's an end of it. And if she is married to him they keep no faith with + heretics; they can dissolve the marriage, or make away with her into the + Inquisition; burn her, Mr. Cary, as soon as burn me, the devils + incarnate!” + </p> + <p> + Cary shuddered; the fact, true and palpable as it was, had never struck + him before. + </p> + <p> + “Yes! or make her deny her God by torments, if she hasn't done it already + for love to that—I know how love will make a body sell his soul, for + I've been in love. Don't you laugh at me, Mr. Will, or I shall go mad!” + </p> + <p> + “God knows, I was never less inclined to laugh at you in my life, my brave + old Jack.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it so, then? Bless you for that word!” and Jack held out his hand. + “But what will become of my soul, after my oath, if I don't seek her out, + just to speak to her, to warn her, for God's sake, even if it did no good; + just to set before her the Lord's curse on idolatry and Antichrist, and + those who deny Him for the sake of any creature, though I can't think he + would be hard on her,—for who could? But I must speak all the same. + The Lord has laid the burden on me, and done it must be. God help me!” + </p> + <p> + “Jack,” said Cary, “if this is your duty, it is others'.” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, I don't say that; you're a layman, but I am a deacon, and the + chaplain of you all, and sworn to seek out Christ's sheep scattered up and + down this naughty world, and that innocent lamb first of all.” + </p> + <p> + “You have sheep at Hartland, Jack, already.” + </p> + <p> + “There's plenty better than I will tend them, when I am gone; but none + that will tend her, because none love her like me, and they won't venture. + Who will? It can't be expected, and no shame to them?” + </p> + <p> + “I wonder what Amyas Leigh would say to all this, if he were at home?” + </p> + <p> + “Say? He'd do. He isn't one for talking. He'd go through fire and water + for her, you trust him, Will Cary; and call me an ass if he won't.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you wait, then, till he comes back, and ask him?” + </p> + <p> + “He may not be back for a year and more.” + </p> + <p> + “Hear reason, Jack. If you will wait like a rational and patient man, + instead of rushing blindfold on your ruin, something may be done.” + </p> + <p> + “You think so!” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot promise; but—” + </p> + <p> + “But promise me one thing. Do you tell Mr. Frank what I say—or + rather, I'll warrant, if I knew the truth, he has said the very same thing + himself already.” + </p> + <p> + “You are out there, old man; for here is his own handwriting.” + </p> + <p> + Jack read the letter and sighed bitterly. “Well, I did take him for + another guess sort of fine gentleman. Still, if my duty isn't his, it's + mine all the same. I judge no man; but I go, Mr. Cary.” + </p> + <p> + “But go you shall not till Amyas returns. As I live, I will tell your + father, Jack, unless you promise; and you dare not disobey him.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know even that, for conscience' sake,” said Jack, doubtfully. + </p> + <p> + “At least, you stay and dine here, old fellow, and we will settle whether + you are to break the fifth commandment or not, over good brewed sack.” + </p> + <p> + Now a good dinner was (as we know) what Jack loved, and loved too oft in + vain; so he submitted for the nonce, and Cary thought, ere he went, that + he had talked him pretty well round. At least he went home, and was seen + no more for a week. + </p> + <p> + But at the end of that time he returned, and said with a joyful voice— + </p> + <p> + “I have settled all, Mr. Will. The parson of Welcombe will serve my church + for two Sundays, and I am away for London town, to speak to Mr. Frank.” + </p> + <p> + “To London? How wilt get there?” + </p> + <p> + “On Shanks his mare,” said Jack, pointing to his bandy legs. “But I expect + I can get a lift on board of a coaster so far as Bristol, and it's no way + on to signify, I hear.” + </p> + <p> + Cary tried in vain to dissuade him; and then forced on him a small loan, + with which away went Jack, and Cary heard no more of him for three weeks. + </p> + <p> + At last he walked into Clovelly Court again just before supper-time, thin + and leg-weary, and sat himself down among the serving-men till Will + appeared. + </p> + <p> + Will took him up above the salt, and made much of him (which indeed the + honest fellow much needed), and after supper asked him in private how he + had sped. + </p> + <p> + “I have learnt a lesson, Mr. William. I've learnt that there is one on + earth loves her better than I, if she had but had the wit to have taken + him.” + </p> + <p> + “But what says he of going to seek her?” + </p> + <p> + “He says what I say, Go! and he says what you say, Wait.” + </p> + <p> + “Go? Impossible! How can that agree with his letter?” + </p> + <p> + “That's no concern of mine. Of course, being nearer heaven than I am, he + sees clearer what he should say and do than I can see for him. Oh, Mr. + Will, that's not a man, he's an angel of God; but he's dying, Mr. Will.” + </p> + <p> + “Dying?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, faith, of love for her. I can see it in his eyes, and hear it in his + voice; but I am of tougher hide and stiffer clay, and so you see I can't + die even if I tried. But I'll obey my betters, and wait.” + </p> + <p> + And so Jack went home to his parish that very evening, weary as he was, in + spite of all entreaties to pass the night at Clovelly. But he had left + behind him thoughts in Cary's mind, which gave their owner no rest by day + or night, till the touch of a seeming accident made them all start + suddenly into shape, as a touch of the freezing water covers it in an + instant with crystals of ice. + </p> + <p> + He was lounging (so he told Amyas) one murky day on Bideford quay, when up + came Mr. Salterne. Cary had shunned him of late, partly from delicacy, + partly from dislike of his supposed hard-heartedness. But this time they + happened to meet full; and Cary could not pass without speaking to him. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Mr. Salterne, and how goes on the shipping trade?” + </p> + <p> + “Well enough, sir, if some of you young gentlemen would but follow Mr. + Leigh's example, and go forth to find us stay-at-homes new markets for our + ware.” + </p> + <p> + “What? you want to be rid of us, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know why I should, sir. We sha'n't cross each other now, sir, + whatever might have been once. But if I were you, I should be in the + Indies about now, if I were not fighting the queen's battles nearer home.” + </p> + <p> + “In the Indies? I should make but a poor hand of Drake's trade.” And so + the conversation dropped; but Cary did not forget the hint. + </p> + <p> + “So, lad, to make an end of a long story,” said he to Amyas; “if you are + minded to take the old man's offer, so am I: and Westward-ho with you, + come foul come fair.” + </p> + <p> + “It will be but a wild-goose chase, Will.” + </p> + <p> + “If she is with him, we shall find her at La Guayra. If she is not, and + the villain has cast her off down the wind, that will be only an + additional reason for making an example of him.” + </p> + <p> + “And if neither of them are there, Will, the Plate-fleets will be; so it + will be our own shame if we come home empty-handed. But will your father + let you run such a risk?” + </p> + <p> + “My father!” said Cary, laughing. “He has just now so good hope of a long + string of little Carys to fill my place, that he will be in no lack of an + heir, come what will.” + </p> + <p> + “Little Carys?” + </p> + <p> + “I tell you truth. I think he must have had a sly sup of that fountain of + perpetual youth, which our friend Don Guzman's grandfather went to seek in + Florida; for some twelvemonth since, he must needs marry a tenant's buxom + daughter; and Mistress Abishag Jewell has brought him one fat baby + already. So I shall go, back to Ireland, or with you: but somewhere. I + can't abide the thing's squalling, any more than I can seeing Mistress + Abishag sitting in my poor dear mother's place, and informing me every + other day that she is come of an illustrious house, because she is (or is + not) third cousin seven times removed to my father's old friend, Bishop + Jewell of glorious memory. I had three-parts of a quarrel with the dear + old man the other day; for after one of her peacock-bouts, I couldn't for + the life of me help saying, that as the Bishop had written an Apology for + the people of England, my father had better conjure up his ghost to write + an apology for him, and head it, 'Why green heads should grow on gray + shoulders.'” + </p> + <p> + “You impudent villain! And what did he say?” + </p> + <p> + Laughed till he cried again, and told me if I did not like it I might + leave it; which is just what I intend to do. Only mind, if we go, we must + needs take Jack Brimblecombe with us, or he will surely heave himself over + Harty Point, and his ghost will haunt us to our dying day.” + </p> + <p> + “Jack shall go. None deserves it better.” + </p> + <p> + After which there was a long consultation on practical matters, and it was + concluded that Amyas should go up to London and sound Frank and his mother + before any further steps were taken. The other brethren of the Rose were + scattered far and wide, each at his post, and St. Leger had returned to + his uncle, so that it would be unfair to them, as well as a considerable + delay, to demand of them any fulfilment of their vow. And, as Amyas sagely + remarked, “Too many cooks spoil the broth, and half-a-dozen gentlemen + aboard one ship are as bad as two kings of Brentford.” + </p> + <p> + With which maxim he departed next morning for London, leaving Yeo with + Cary. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI + </h2> + <h3> + THE MOST CHIVALROUS ADVENTURE OF THE GOOD SHIP ROSE + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “He is brass within, and steel without, + With beams on his topcastle strong; + And eighteen pieces of ordinance + He carries on either side along.” + + Sir Andrew Barton. +</pre> + <p> + Let us take boat, as Amyas did, at Whitehall-stairs, and slip down ahead + of him under old London Bridge, and so to Deptford Creek, where remains, + as it were embalmed, the famous ship Pelican, in which Drake had sailed + round the world. There she stands, drawn up high and dry upon the sedgy + bank of Thames, like an old warrior resting after his toil. Nailed upon + her mainmast are epigrams and verses in honor of her and of her captain, + three of which, by the Winchester scholar, Camden gives in his History; + and Elizabeth's self consecrated her solemnly, and having banqueted on + board, there and then honored Drake with the dignity of knighthood. “At + which time a bridge of planks, by which they came on board, broke under + the press of people, and fell down with a hundred men upon it, who, + notwithstanding, had none of them any harm. So as that ship may seem to + have been built under a lucky planet.” + </p> + <p> + There she has remained since as a show, and moreover as a sort of + dining-hall for jovial parties from the city; one of which would seem to + be on board this afternoon, to judge from the flags which bedizen the + masts, the sounds of revelry and savory steams which issue from those + windows which once were portholes, and the rushing to and fro along the + river brink, and across that lucky bridge, of white-aproned waiters from + the neighboring Pelican Inn. A great feast is evidently toward, for with + those white-aproned waiters are gay serving men, wearing on their + shoulders the city-badge. The lord mayor is giving a dinner to certain + gentlemen of the Leicester house party, who are interested in foreign + discoveries; and what place so fit for such a feast as the Pelican itself? + </p> + <p> + Look at the men all round; a nobler company you will seldom see. + Especially too, if you be Americans, look at their faces, and reverence + them; for to them and to their wisdom you owe the existence of your mighty + fatherland. + </p> + <p> + At the head of the table sits the lord mayor; whom all readers will + recognize at once, for he is none other than that famous Sir Edward + Osborne, clothworker, and ancestor of the dukes of Leeds, whose romance + now-a-days is in every one's hands. He is aged, but not changed, since he + leaped from the window upon London Bridge into the roaring tide below, to + rescue the infant who is now his wife. The chivalry and promptitude of the + 'prentice boy have grown and hardened into the thoughtful daring of the + wealthy merchant adventurer. There he sits, a right kingly man, with my + lord Earl of Cumberland on his right hand, and Walter Raleigh on his left; + the three talk together in a low voice on the chance of there being vast + and rich countries still undiscovered between Florida and the River of + Canada. Raleigh's half-scientific declamation and his often quotations of + Doctor Dee the conjuror, have less effect on Osborne than on Cumberland + (who tried many an adventure to foreign parts, and failed in all of them; + apparently for the simple reason that, instead of going himself, he sent + other people), and Raleigh is fain to call to his help the quiet student + who sits on his left hand, Richard Hakluyt, of Oxford. But he is deep in + talk with a reverend elder, whose long white beard flows almost to his + waist, and whose face is furrowed by a thousand storms; Anthony Jenkinson + by name, the great Asiatic traveller, who is discoursing to the + Christ-church virtuoso of reindeer sledges and Siberian steppes, and of + the fossil ivory, plain proof of Noah's flood, which the Tungoos dig from + the ice-cliffs of the Arctic sea. Next to him is Christopher Carlile, + Walsingham's son-in-law (as Sidney also is now), a valiant captain, + afterwards general of the soldiery in Drake's triumphant West Indian raid + of 1585, with whom a certain Bishop of Carthagena will hereafter drink + good wine. He is now busy talking with Alderman Hart the grocer, Sheriff + Spencer the clothworker, and Charles Leigh (Amyas's merchant-cousin), and + with Aldworth the mayor of Bristol, and William Salterne, alderman + thereof, and cousin of our friend at Bideford. For Carlile, and Secretary + Walsingham also, have been helping them heart and soul for the last two + years to collect money for Humphrey and Adrian Gilbert's great adventures + to the North-West, on one of which Carlile was indeed to have sailed + himself, but did not go after all; I never could discover for what reason. + </p> + <p> + On the opposite side of the table is a group, scarcely less interesting. + Martin Frobisher and John Davis, the pioneers of the North-West passage, + are talking with Alderman Sanderson, the great geographer and “setter + forth of globes;” with Mr. Towerson, Sir Gilbert Peckham, our old + acquaintance Captain John Winter, and last, but not least, with Philip + Sidney himself, who, with his accustomed courtesy; has given up his + rightful place toward the head of the table that he may have a knot of + virtuosi all to himself; and has brought with him, of course, his two + especial intimates, Mr. Edward Dyer and Mr. Francis Leigh. They too are + talking of the North-West passage: and Sidney is lamenting that he is tied + to diplomacy and courts, and expressing his envy of old Martin Frobisher + in all sorts of pretty compliments; to which the other replies that, + </p> + <p> + “It's all very fine to talk of here, a sailing on dry land with a good + glass of wine before you; but you'd find it another guess sort of + business, knocking about among the icebergs with your beard frozen fast to + your ruff, Sir Philip, specially if you were a bit squeamish about the + stomach.” + </p> + <p> + “That were a slight matter to endure, my dear sir, if by it I could win + the honor which her majesty bestowed on you, when her own ivory hand waved + a farewell 'kerchief to your ship from the windows of Greenwich Palace.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir, folks say you have no reason to complain of lack of favors, as + you have no reason to deserve lack; and if you can get them by staying + ashore, don't you go to sea to look for more, say I. Eh, Master Towerson?” + </p> + <p> + Towerson's gray beard, which has stood many a foreign voyage, both fair + and foul, wags grim assent. But at this moment a Waiter enters, and— + </p> + <p> + “Please my lord mayor's worship, there is a tall gentleman outside, would + speak with the Right Honorable Sir Walter Raleigh.” + </p> + <p> + “Show him in, man. Sir Walter's friends are ours.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas enters, and stands hesitating in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Leigh!” cry half a-dozen voices. + </p> + <p> + “Why did you not walk in, sir?” says Osborne. “You should know your way + well enough between these decks.” + </p> + <p> + “Well enough, my lords and gentlemen. But, Sir Walter—you will + excuse me”—and he gave Raleigh a look which was enough for his quick + wit. Turning pale as death, he rose, and followed Amyas into an adjoining + cabin. They were five minutes together; and then Amyas came out alone. + </p> + <p> + In few words he told the company the sad story which we already know. Ere + it was ended, noble tears were glistening on some of those stern faces. + </p> + <p> + “The old Egyptians,” said Sir Edward Osborne, “when they banqueted, set a + corpse among their guests, for a memorial of human vanity. Have we + forgotten God and our own weakness in this our feast, that He Himself has + sent us thus a message from the dead?” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, my lord mayor,” said Sidney, “not from the dead, but from the realm + of everlasting life.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” answered Osborne. “But, gentlemen, our feast is at an end. There + are those here who would drink on merrily, as brave men should, in spite + of the private losses of which they have just had news; but none here who + can drink with the loss of so great a man still ringing in his ears.” + </p> + <p> + It was true. Though many of the guests had suffered severely by the + failure of the expedition, they had utterly forgotten that fact in the + awful news of Sir Humphrey's death; and the feast broke up sadly and + hurriedly, while each man asked his neighbor, “What will the queen say?” + </p> + <p> + Raleigh re-entered in a few minutes, but was silent, and pressing many an + honest hand as he passed, went out to call a wherry, beckoning Amyas to + follow him. Sidney, Cumberland, and Frank went with them in another boat, + leaving the two to talk over the sad details. + </p> + <p> + They disembarked at Whitehall-stairs; Raleigh, Sidney, and Cumberland went + to the palace; and the two brothers to their mother's lodgings. + </p> + <p> + Amyas had prepared his speech to Frank about Rose Salterne, but now that + it was come to the point, he had not courage to begin, and longed that + Frank would open the matter. Frank, too, shrank from what he knew must + come, and all the more because he was ignorant that Amyas had been to + Bideford, or knew aught of the Rose's disappearance. + </p> + <p> + So they went upstairs; and it was a relief to both of them to find that + their mother was at the Abbey; for it was for her sake that both dreaded + what was coming. So they went and stood in the bay-window which looked out + upon the river, and talked of things indifferent, and looked earnestly at + each other's faces by the fading light, for it was now three years since + they had met. + </p> + <p> + Years and events had deepened the contrast between the two brothers; and + Frank smiled with affectionate pride as he looked up in Amyas's face, and + saw that he was no longer merely the rollicking handy sailor-lad, but the + self-confident and stately warrior, showing in every look and gesture, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The reason firm, the temperate will, + Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill,” + </pre> + <p> + worthy of one whose education had been begun by such men as Drake and + Grenville, and finished by such as Raleigh and Gilbert. His long locks + were now cropped close to the head; but as a set-off, the lips and chin + were covered with rich golden beard; his face was browned by a thousand + suns and storms; a long scar, the trophy of some Irish fight, crossed his + right temple; his huge figure had gained breadth in proportion to its + height; and his hand, as it lay upon the window-sill, was hard and massive + as a smith's. Frank laid his own upon it, and sighed; and Amyas looked + down, and started at the contrast between the two—so slender, + bloodless, all but transparent, were the delicate fingers of the courtier. + Amyas looked anxiously into his brother's face. It was changed, indeed, + since they last met. The brilliant red was still on either cheek, but the + white had become dull and opaque; the lips were pale, the features + sharpened; the eyes glittered with unnatural fire: and when Frank told + Amyas that he looked aged, Amyas could not help thinking that the remark + was far more true of the speaker himself. + </p> + <p> + Trying to shut his eyes to the palpable truth, he went on with his chat, + asking the names of one building after another. + </p> + <p> + “And so this is old Father Thames, with his bank of palaces?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. His banks are stately enough; yet, you see, he cannot stay to look + at them. He hurries down to the sea; and the sea into the ocean; and the + ocean Westward-ho, forever. All things move Westward-ho. Perhaps we may + move that way ourselves some day, Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean by that strange talk?” + </p> + <p> + “Only that the ocean follows the primum mobile of the heavens, and flows + forever from east to west. Is there anything so strange in my thinking of + that, when I am just come from a party where we have been drinking success + to Westward-ho?” + </p> + <p> + “And much good has come of it! I have lost the best friend and the noblest + captain upon earth, not to mention all my little earnings, in that same + confounded gulf of Westward-ho.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Sir Humphrey Gilbert's star has set in the West—why not? Sun, + moon, and planets sink into the West: why not the meteors of this lower + world? why not a will-o'-the-wisp like me, Amyas?” + </p> + <p> + “God forbid, Frank!” + </p> + <p> + “Why, then? Is not the West the land of peace, and the land of dreams? Do + not our hearts tell us so each time we look upon the setting sun, and long + to float away with him upon the golden-cushioned clouds? They bury men + with their faces to the East. I should rather have mine turned to the + West, Amyas, when I die; for I cannot but think it some divine instinct + which made the ancient poets guess that Elysium lay beneath the setting + sun. It is bound up in the heart of man, that longing for the West. I + complain of no one for fleeing away thither beyond the utmost sea, as + David wished to flee, and be at peace.” + </p> + <p> + “Complain of no one for fleeing thither?” asked Amyas. “That is more than + I do.” + </p> + <p> + Frank looked inquiringly at him; and then— + </p> + <p> + “No. If I had complained of any one, it would have been of you just now, + for seeming to be tired of going Westward-ho.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you wish me to go, then?” + </p> + <p> + “God knows,” said Frank, after a moment's pause. “But I must tell you now, + I suppose, once and for all. That has happened at Bideford which—” + </p> + <p> + “Spare us both, Frank; I know all. I came through Bideford on my way + hither; and came hither not merely to see you and my mother, but to ask + your advice and her permission.” + </p> + <p> + “True heart! noble heart!” cried Frank. “I knew you would be stanch!” + </p> + <p> + “Westward-ho it is, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Can we escape?” + </p> + <p> + “We?” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas, does not that which binds you bind me?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas started back, and held Frank by the shoulders at arm's length; as he + did so, he could feel through, that his brother's arms were but skin and + bone. + </p> + <p> + “You? Dearest man, a month of it would kill you!” + </p> + <p> + Frank smiled, and tossed his head on one side in his pretty way. + </p> + <p> + “I belong to the school of Thales, who held that the ocean is the mother + of all life; and feel no more repugnance at returning to her bosom again + than Humphrey Gilbert did.” + </p> + <p> + “But, Frank,—my mother?” + </p> + <p> + “My mother knows all; and would not have us unworthy of her.” + </p> + <p> + “Impossible! She will never give you up!” + </p> + <p> + “All things are possible to them that believe in God, my brother; and she + believes. But, indeed, Doctor Dee, the wise man, gave her but this summer + I know not what of prognostics and diagnostics concerning me. I am born, + it seems, under a cold and watery planet, and need, if I am to be + long-lived, to go nearer to the vivifying heat of the sun, and there bask + out my little life, like fly on wall. To tell truth, he has bidden me + spend no more winters here in the East; but return to our native + sea-breezes, there to warm my frozen lungs; and has so filled my mother's + fancy with stories of sick men, who were given up for lost in Germany and + France, and yet renewed their youth, like any serpent or eagle, by going + to Italy, Spain, and the Canaries, that she herself will be more ready to + let me go than I to leave her all alone. And yet I must go, Amyas. It is + not merely that my heart pants, as Sidney's does, as every gallant's + ought, to make one of your noble choir of Argonauts, who are now + replenishing the earth and subduing it for God and for the queen; it is + not merely, Amyas, that love calls me,—love tyrannous and + uncontrollable, strengthened by absence, and deepened by despair; but + honor, Amyas—my oath—” + </p> + <p> + And he paused for lack of breath, and bursting into a violent fit of + coughing, leaned on his brother's shoulder, while Amyas cried, + </p> + <p> + “Fools, fools that we were—that I was, I mean—to take that + fantastical vow!” + </p> + <p> + “Not so,” answered a gentle voice from behind: “you vowed for the sake of + peace on earth, and good-will toward men, and 'Blessed are the + peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.' No my sons, be + sure that such self-sacrifice as you have shown will meet its full reward + at the hand of Him who sacrificed Himself for you.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, mother! mother!” said Amyas, “and do you not hate the very sight of + me—come here to take away your first-born?” + </p> + <p> + “My boy, God takes him, and not you. And if I dare believe in such + predictions, Doctor Dee assured me that some exceeding honor awaited you + both in the West, to each of you according to your deserts.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Amyas. “My blessing, I suppose, will be like Esau's, to live by + my sword; while Jacob here, the spiritual man, inherits the kingdom of + heaven, and an angel's crown.” + </p> + <p> + “Be it what it may, it will surely be a blessing, as long as you are such, + my children, as you have been. At least my Frank will be safe from the + intrigues of court, and the temptations of the world. Would that I too + could go with you, and share in your glory! Come, now,” said she, laying + her head upon Amyas's breast, and looking up into his face with one of her + most winning smiles, “I have heard of heroic mothers ere now who went + forth with their sons to battle, and cheered them on to victory. Why + should I not go with you on a more peaceful errand? I could nurse the + sick, if there were any; I could perhaps have speech of that poor girl, + and win her back more easily than you. She might listen to words from a + woman—a woman, too, who has loved—which she could not hear + from men. At least I could mend and wash for you. I suppose it is as easy + to play the good housewife afloat as on shore? Come, now!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas looked from one to the other. + </p> + <p> + “God only knows which of the two is less fit to go. Mother! mother! you + know not what you ask. Frank! Frank! I do not want you with me. This is a + sterner matter than either of you fancy it to be; one that must be worked + out, not with kind words, but with sharp shot and cold steel.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” cried both together, aghast. + </p> + <p> + “I must pay my men, and pay my fellow-adventurers; and I must pay them + with Spanish gold. And what is more, I cannot, as a loyal subject of the + queen's, go to the Spanish Main with a clear conscience on my own private + quarrel, unless I do all the harm that my hand finds to do, by day and + night, to her enemies, and the enemies of God.” + </p> + <p> + “What nobler knight-errantry?” said Frank, cheerfully; but Mrs. Leigh + shuddered. + </p> + <p> + “What! Frank too?” she said, half to herself; but her sons knew what she + meant. Amyas's warlike life, honorable and righteous as she knew it to be, + she had borne as a sad necessity: but that Frank as well should become “a + man of blood,” was more than her gentle heart could face at first sight. + That one youthful duel of his he had carefully concealed from her, knowing + her feeling on such matters. And it seemed too dreadful to her to + associate that gentle spirit with all the ferocities and the carnage of a + battlefield. “And yet,” said she to herself, “is this but another of the + self-willed idols which I must renounce one by one?” And then, catching at + a last hope, she answered— + </p> + <p> + “Frank must at least ask the queen's leave to go; and if she permits, how + can I gainsay her wisdom?” + </p> + <p> + And so the conversation dropped, sadly enough. + </p> + <p> + But now began a fresh perplexity in Frank's soul, which amused Amyas at + first, when it seemed merely jest, but nettled him a good deal when he + found it earnest. For Frank looked forward to asking the queen's + permission for his voyage with the most abject despondency and terror. Two + or three days passed before he could make up his mind to ask for an + interview with her; and he spent the time in making as much interest with + Leicester, Hatton, and Sidney, as if he were about to sue for a reprieve + from the scaffold. + </p> + <p> + So said Amyas, remarking, further, that the queen could not cut his head + off for wanting to go to sea. + </p> + <p> + “But what axe so sharp as her frown?” said Frank in most lugubrious tone. + </p> + <p> + Amyas began to whistle in a very rude way. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my brother, you cannot comprehend the pain of parting from her.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I can't. I would die for the least hair of her royal head, God bless + it! but I could live very well from now till Doomsday without ever setting + eyes on the said head.” + </p> + <p> + “Plato's Troglodytes regretted not that sunlight which they had never + beheld.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas, not understanding this recondite conceit, made no answer to it, and + there the matter ended for the time. But at last Frank obtained his + audience; and after a couple of hours' absence returned quite pale and + exhausted. + </p> + <p> + “Thank Heaven, it is over! She was very angry at first—what else + could she be?—and upbraided me with having set my love so low. I + could only answer, that my fatal fault was committed before the sight of + her had taught me what was supremely lovely, and only worthy of + admiration. Then she accused me of disloyalty in having taken an oath + which bound me to the service of another than her. I confessed my sin with + tears, and when she threatened punishment, pleaded that the offence had + avenged itself heavily already,—for what worse punishment than exile + from the sunlight of her presence, into the outer darkness which reigns + where she is not? Then she was pleased to ask me, how I could dare, as her + sworn servant, to desert her side in such dangerous times as these; and + asked me how I should reconcile it to my conscience, if on my return I + found her dead by the assassin's knife? At which most pathetic demand I + could only throw myself at once on my own knees and her mercy, and so + awaited my sentence. Whereon, with that angelic pity which alone makes her + awfulness endurable, she turned to Hatton and asked, 'What say you, + Mouton? Is he humbled sufficiently?' and so dismissed me.” + </p> + <p> + “Heigh-ho!” yawned Amyas; + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “If the bridge had been stronger, + My tale had been longer.” + </pre> + <p> + “Amyas! Amyas!” quoth Frank, solemnly, “you know not what power over the + soul has the native and God-given majesty of royalty (awful enough in + itself) when to it is superadded the wisdom of the sage, and therewithal + the tenderness of the woman. Had I my will, there should be in every realm + not a salique, but an anti-salique law: whereby no kings, but only queens + should rule mankind. Then would weakness and not power be to man the + symbol of divinity; love, and not cunning, would be the arbiter of every + cause; and chivalry, not fear, the spring of all obedience.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph! There's some sense in that,” quoth Amyas. “I'd run a mile for a + woman when I would not walk a yard for a man; and—Who is this our + mother is bringing in? The handsomest fellow I ever saw in my life!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was not far wrong; for Mrs. Leigh's companion was none other than + Mr. Secretary, Amyas's Smerwick Fort acquaintance; alias Colin Clout, + alias Immerito, alias Edmund Spenser. Some half-jesting conversation had + seemingly been passing between the poet and the saint; for as they came in + she said with a smile (which was somewhat of a forced one)—“Well, my + dear sons, you are sure of immortality, at least on earth; for Mr. Spenser + has been vowing to me to give your adventure a whole canto to itself in + his 'Faerie Queene'.” + </p> + <p> + “And you no less, madam,” said Spenser. “What were the story of the + Gracchi worth without the figure of Cornelia? If I honor the fruit, I must + not forget the stem which bears it. Frank, I congratulate you.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you know the result of my interview, mother?” + </p> + <p> + “I know everything, and am content,” said Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Leigh has reason to be content,” said Spenser, “with that which is + but her own likeness.” + </p> + <p> + Spare your flattery to an old woman, Mr. Spenser. When, pray, did I” (with + a most loving look at Frank) “refuse knighthood for duty's sake?” + </p> + <p> + “Knighthood?” cried Amyas. “You never told me that, Frank!” + </p> + <p> + “That may well be, Captain Leigh,” said Spenser; “but believe me, her + majesty (so Hatton assures me) told him this day, no less than that by + going on this quest he deprived himself of that highest earthly honor, + which crowned heads are fain to seek from their own subjects.” + </p> + <p> + Spenser did not exaggerate. Knighthood was then the prize of merit only; + and one so valuable, that Elizabeth herself said, when asked why she did + not bestow a peerage upon some favorite, that having already knighted him, + she had nothing better to bestow. It remained for young Essex to begin the + degradation of the order in his hapless Irish campaign, and for James to + complete that degradation by his novel method of raising money by the sale + of baronetcies; a new order of hereditary knighthood which was the + laughing-stock of the day, and which (however venerable it may have since + become) reflects anything but honor upon its first possessors. + </p> + <p> + “I owe you no thanks, Colin,” said Frank, “for having broached my secret: + but I have lost nothing after all. There is still an order of knighthood + in which I may win my spurs, even though her majesty refuse me the + accolade.” + </p> + <p> + “What, then? you will not take it from a foreign prince?” + </p> + <p> + Frank smiled. + </p> + <p> + “Have you never read of that knighthood which is eternal in the heavens, + and of those true cavaliers whom John saw in Patmos, riding on white + horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, knights-errant in the + everlasting war against the False Prophet and the Beast? Let me but become + worthy of their ranks hereafter, what matter whether I be called Sir Frank + on earth?” + </p> + <p> + “My son,” said Mrs. Leigh, “remember that they follow One whose vesture is + dipped, not in the blood of His enemies, but in His own.” + </p> + <p> + “I have remembered it for many a day; and remembered, too, that the + garments of the knights may need the same tokens as their captain's.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Frank! Frank! is not His precious blood enough to cleanse all sin, + without the sacrifice of our own?” + </p> + <p> + “We may need no more than His blood, mother, and yet He may need ours,” + said Frank. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + How that conversation ended I know not, nor whether Spenser fulfilled his + purpose of introducing the two brothers and their mother into his “Faerie + Queene.” If so, the manuscripts must have been lost among those which + perished (along with Spenser's baby) in the sack of Kilcolman by the Irish + in 1598. But we need hardly regret the loss of them; for the temper of the + Leighs and their mother is the same which inspires every canto of that + noblest of poems; and which inspired, too, hundreds in those noble days, + when the chivalry of the Middle Ages was wedded to the free thought and + enterprise of the new. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + So mother and sons returned to Bideford, and set to work. Frank mortgaged + a farm; Will Cary did the same (having some land of his own from his + mother). Old Salterne grumbled at any man save himself spending a penny on + the voyage, and forced on the adventurers a good ship of two hundred tons + burden, and five hundred pounds toward fitting her out; Mrs. Leigh worked + day and night at clothes and comforts of every kind; Amyas had nothing to + give but his time and his brains: but, as Salterne said, the rest would + have been of little use without them; and day after day he and the old + merchant were on board the ship, superintending with their own eyes the + fitting of every rope and nail. Cary went about beating up recruits; and + made, with his jests and his frankness, the best of crimps: while John + Brimblecombe, beside himself with joy, toddled about after him from tavern + to tavern, and quay to quay, exalted for the time being (as Cary told him) + into a second Peter the Hermit; and so fiercely did he preach a crusade + against the Spaniards, through Bideford and Appledore, Clovelly and + Ilfracombe, that Amyas might have had a hundred and fifty loose fellows in + the first fortnight. But he knew better: still smarting from the effects + of a similar haste in the Newfoundland adventure, he had determined to + take none but picked men; and by dint of labor he obtained them. + </p> + <p> + Only one scapegrace did he take into his crew, named Parracombe; and by + that scapegrace hangs a tale. He was an old schoolfellow of his at + Bideford, and son of a merchant in that town—one of those unlucky + members who are “nobody's enemy but their own”—a handsome, idle, + clever fellow, who used his scholarship, of which he had picked up some + smattering, chiefly to justify his own escapades, and to string songs + together. Having drunk all that he was worth at home, he had in a penitent + fit forsworn liquor, and tormented Amyas into taking him to sea, where he + afterwards made as good a sailor as any one else, but sorely scandalized + John Brimblecombe by all manner of heretical arguments, half Anacreontic, + half smacking of the rather loose doctrines of that “Family of Love” which + tormented the orthodoxy and morality of more than one Bishop of Exeter. + Poor Will Parracombe! he was born a few centuries too early. Had he but + lived now, he might have published a volume or two of poetry, and then + settled down on the staff of a newspaper. Had he even lived thirty years + later than he did, he might have written frantic tragedies or filthy + comedies for the edification of James's profligate metropolis, and + roistered it in taverns with Marlowe, to die as Marlowe did, by a + footman's sword in a drunken brawl. But in those stern days such weak and + hysterical spirits had no fair vent for their “humors,” save in being + reconciled to the Church of Rome, and plotting with Jesuits to assassinate + the queen, as Parry and Somerville, and many other madmen, did. + </p> + <p> + So, at least, some Jesuit or other seems to have thought, shortly after + Amyas had agreed to give the spendthrift a berth on board. For one day + Amyas, going down to Appledore about his business, was called into the + little Mariners' Rest inn, to extract therefrom poor Will Parracombe, who + (in spite of his vow) was drunk and outrageous, and had vowed the death of + the landlady and all her kin. So Amyas fetched him out by the collar, and + walked him home thereby to Bideford; during which walk Will told him a + long and confused story; how an Egyptian rogue had met him that morning on + the sands by Boathythe, offered to tell his fortune, and prophesied to him + great wealth and honor, but not from the Queen of England; had coaxed him + to the Mariners' Rest, and gambled with him for liquor, at which it seemed + Will always won, and of course drank his winnings on the spot; whereon the + Egyptian began asking him all sorts of questions about the projected + voyage of the Rose—a good many of which, Will confessed, he had + answered before he saw the fellow's drift; after which the Egyptian had + offered him a vast sum of money to do some desperate villainy; but whether + it was to murder Amyas or the queen, whether to bore a hole in the bottom + of the good ship Rose or to set the Torridge on fire by art-magic, he was + too drunk to recollect exactly. Whereon Amyas treated three-quarters of + the story as a tipsy dream, and contented himself by getting a warrant + against the landlady for harboring “Egyptians,” which was then a heavy + offence—a gipsy disguise being a favorite one with Jesuits and their + emissaries. She of course denied that any gipsy had been there; and though + there were some who thought they had seen such a man come in, none had + seen him go out again. On which Amyas took occasion to ask, what had + become of the suspicious Popish ostler whom he had seen at the Mariners' + Rest three years before; and discovered, to his surprise, that the said + ostler had vanished from the very day of Don Guzman's departure from + Bideford. There was evidently a mystery somewhere: but nothing could be + proved; the landlady was dismissed with a reprimand, and Amyas soon forgot + the whole matter, after rating Parracombe soundly. After all, he could not + have told the gipsy (if one existed) anything important; for the special + destination of the voyage (as was the custom in those times, for fear of + Jesuits playing into the hands of Spain) had been carefully kept secret + among the adventurers themselves, and, except Yeo and Drew, none of the + men had any suspicion that La Guayra was to be their aim. + </p> + <p> + And Salvation Yeo? + </p> + <p> + Salvation was almost wild for a few days, at the sudden prospect of going + in search of his little maid, and of fighting Spaniards once more before + he died. I will not quote the texts out of Isaiah and the Psalms with + which his mouth was filled from morning to night, for fear of seeming + irreverent in the eyes of a generation which does not believe, as Yeo + believed, that fighting the Spaniards was as really fighting in God's + battle against evil as were the wars of Joshua or David. But the old man + had his practical hint too, and entreated to be sent back to Plymouth to + look for men. + </p> + <p> + “There's many a man of the old Pelican, sir, and of Captain Hawkins's + Minion that knows the Indies as well as I, and longs to be back again. + There's Drew, sir, that we left behind (and no better sailing-master for + us in the West-country, and has accounts against the Spaniards, too; for + it was his brother, the Barnstaple man, that was factor aboard of poor Mr. + Andrew Barker, and got clapt into the Inquisition at the Canaries); you + promised him, sir, that night he stood by you on board the Raleigh: and if + you'll be as good as your word, he'll be as good as his; and bring a score + more brave fellows with him.” + </p> + <p> + So off went Yeo to Plymouth, and returned with Drew and a score of old + never-strikes. One look at their visages, as Yeo proudly ushered them into + the Ship Tavern, showed Amyas that they were of the metal which he wanted, + and that, with the four North-Devon men who had gone round the world with + him in the Pelican (who all joined in the first week), he had a + reserve-force on which he could depend in utter need; and that utter need + might come he knew as well as any. + </p> + <p> + Nor was this all which Yeo had brought; for he had with him a letter from + Sir Francis Drake, full of regrets that he had not seen “his dear lad” as + he went through Plymouth. “But indeed I was up to Dartmoor, surveying with + cross-staff and chain, over my knees in bog for a three weeks or more. For + I have a project to bring down a leat of fair water from the hill-tops + right into Plymouth town, cutting off the heads of Tavy, Meavy, Wallcomb, + and West Dart, and thereby purging Plymouth harbor from the silt of the + mines whereby it has been choked of late years, and giving pure drink not + only to the townsmen, but to the fleets of the queen's majesty; which if I + do, I shall both make some poor return to God for all His unspeakable + mercies, and erect unto myself a monument better than of brass or marble, + not merely honorable to me, but useful to my countrymen.” * Whereon Frank + sent Drake a pretty epigram, comparing Drake's projected leat to that + river of eternal life whereof the just would drink throughout eternity, + and quoting (after the fashion of those days) John vii. 38; while Amyas + took more heed of a practical appendage to the same letter, which was a + list of hints scrawled for his use by Captain John Hawkins himself, on all + sea matters, from the mounting of ordnance to the use of vitriol against + the scurvy, in default of oranges and “limmons;” all which stood Amyas in + good stead during the ensuing month, while Frank grew more and more proud + of his brother, and more and more humble about himself. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This noble monument of Drake's piety and public spirit + still remains in full use. +</pre> + <p> + For he watched with astonishment how the simple sailor, without genius, + scholarship, or fancy, had gained, by plain honesty, patience, and common + sense, a power over the human heart, and a power over his work, whatsoever + it might be, which Frank could only admire afar off. The men looked up to + him as infallible, prided themselves on forestalling his wishes, carried + out his slightest hint, worked early and late to win a smile from him; + while as for him, no detail escaped him, no drudgery sickened him, no + disappointment angered him, till on the 15th of November, 1583, dropped + down from Bideford Quay to Appledore Pool the tall ship Rose, with a + hundred men on board (for sailors packed close in those days), beef, pork, + biscuit, and good ale (for ale went to sea always then) in abundance, four + culverins on her main deck, her poop and forecastle well fitted with + swivels of every size, and her racks so full of muskets, calivers, long + bows, pikes, and swords, that all agreed so well-appointed a ship had + never sailed “out over Bar.” + </p> + <p> + The next day being Sunday, the whole crew received the Communion together + at Northam Church, amid a mighty crowd; and then going on board again, + hove anchor and sailed out over the Bar before a soft east wind, to the + music of sacbut, fife, and drum, with discharge of all ordnance, great and + small, with cheering of young and old from cliff and strand and quay, and + with many a tearful prayer and blessing upon that gallant bark, and all + brave hearts on board. + </p> + <p> + And Mrs. Leigh who had kissed her sons for the last time after the + Communion at the altar-steps (and what more fit place for a mother's + kiss?) went to the rocky knoll outside the churchyard wall, and watched + the ship glide out between the yellow denes, and lessen slowly hour by + hour into the boundless West, till her hull sank below the dim horizon, + and her white sails faded away into the gray Atlantic mist, perhaps + forever. + </p> + <p> + And Mrs. Leigh gathered her cloak about her, and bowed her head and + worshipped; and then went home to loneliness and prayer. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THEY CAME TO BARBADOS, AND FOUND NO MEN THEREIN + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out; + At one stride comes the dark.” + + COLERIDGE. +</pre> + <p> + Land! land! land! Yes, there it was, far away to the south and west, + beside the setting sun, a long blue bar between the crimson sea and golden + sky. Land at last, with fresh streams, and cooling fruits, and free room + for cramped and scurvy-weakened limbs. And there, too, might be gold, and + gems, and all the wealth of Ind. Who knew? Why not? The old world of fact + and prose lay thousands of miles behind them, and before them and around + them was the realm of wonder and fable, of boundless hope and possibility. + Sick men crawled up out of their stifling hammocks; strong men fell on + their knees and gave God thanks; and all eyes and hands were stretched + eagerly toward the far blue cloud, fading as the sun sank down, yet rising + higher and broader as the ship rushed on before the rich trade-wind, which + whispered lovingly round brow and sail, “I am the faithful friend of those + who dare!” “Blow freshly, freshlier yet, thou good trade-wind, of whom it + is written that He makes the winds His angels, ministering breaths to the + heirs of His salvation. Blow freshlier yet, and save, if not me from + death, yet her from worse than death. Blow on, and land me at her feet, to + call the lost lamb home, and die!” + </p> + <p> + So murmured Frank to himself, as with straining eyes he gazed upon that + first outlier of the New World which held his all. His cheeks were thin + and wasted, and the hectic spot on each glowed crimson in the crimson + light of the setting sun. A few minutes more, and the rainbows of the West + were gone; emerald and topaz, amethyst and ruby, had faded into + silver-gray; and overhead, through the dark sapphire depths, the Moon and + Venus reigned above the sea. + </p> + <p> + “That should be Barbados, your worship,” said Drew, the master; “unless my + reckoning is far out, which, Heaven knows, it has no right to be, after + such a passage, and God be praised.” + </p> + <p> + “Barbados? I never heard of it.” + </p> + <p> + “Very like, sir: but Yeo and I were here with Captain Drake, and I was + here after, too, with poor Captain Barlow; and there is good harborage to + the south and west of it, I remember.” + </p> + <p> + “And neither Spaniard, cannibal, or other evil beast,” said Yeo. “A very + garden of the Lord, sir, hid away in the seas, for an inheritance to those + who love Him. I heard Captain Drake talk of planting it, if ever he had a + chance.” + </p> + <p> + “I recollect now,” said Amyas, “some talk between him and poor Sir + Humphrey about an island here. Would God he had gone thither instead of to + Newfoundland!” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, then,” said Yeo, “he is in bliss now with the Lord; and you would + not have kept him from that, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “He would have waited as willingly as he went, if he could have served his + queen thereby. But what say you, my masters? How can we do better than to + spend a few days here, to get our sick round, before we make the Main, and + set to our work?” + </p> + <p> + All approved the counsel except Frank, who was silent. + </p> + <p> + “Come, fellow-adventurer,” said Cary, “we must have your voice too.” + </p> + <p> + “To my impatience, Will,” said he, aside in a low voice, “there is but one + place on earth, and I am all day longing for wings to fly thither: but the + counsel is right. I approve it.” + </p> + <p> + So the verdict was announced, and received with a hearty cheer by the + crew; and long before morning they had run along the southern shore of the + island, and were feeling their way into the bay where Bridgetown now + stands. All eyes were eagerly fixed on the low wooded hills which slept in + the moonlight, spangled by fireflies, with a million dancing stars; all + nostrils drank greedily the fragrant air, which swept from the land, laden + with the scent of a thousand flowers; all ears welcomed, as a grateful + change from the monotonous whisper and lap of the water, the hum of + insects, the snore of the tree-toads, the plaintive notes of the + shore-fowl, which fill a tropic night with noisy life. + </p> + <p> + At last she stopped; at last the cable rattled through the hawsehole; and + then, careless of the chance of lurking Spaniard or Carib, an instinctive + cheer burst from every throat. Poor fellows! Amyas had much ado to prevent + them going on shore at once, dark as it was, by reminding them that it + wanted but two hours of day. + </p> + <p> + “Never were two such long hours,” said one young lad, fidgeting up and + down. + </p> + <p> + “You never were in the Inquisition,” said Yeo, “or you'd know better how + slow time can run. Stand you still, and give God thanks you're where you + are.” + </p> + <p> + “I say, Gunner, be there goold to that island?” + </p> + <p> + “Never heard of none; and so much the better for it,” said Yeo, dryly. + </p> + <p> + “But, I say, Gunner,” said a poor scurvy-stricken cripple, licking his + lips, “be there oranges and limmons there?” + </p> + <p> + “Not of my seeing; but plenty of good fruit down to the beach, thank the + Lord. There comes the dawn at last.” + </p> + <p> + Up flushed the rose, up rushed the sun, and the level rays glittered on + the smooth stems of the palm-trees, and threw rainbows across the foam + upon the coral-reefs, and gilded lonely uplands far away, where now stands + many a stately country-seat and busy engine-house. Long lines of pelicans + went clanging out to sea; the hum of the insects hushed, and a thousand + birds burst into jubilant song; a thin blue mist crept upward toward the + inner downs, and vanished, leaving them to quiver in the burning glare; + the land-breeze, which had blown fresh out to sea all night, died away + into glassy calm, and the tropic day was begun. + </p> + <p> + The sick were lifted over the side, and landed boat-load after boat-load + on the beach, to stretch themselves in the shade of the palms; and in + half-an-hour the whole crew were scattered on the shore, except some dozen + worthy men, who had volunteered to keep watch and ward on board till noon. + </p> + <p> + And now the first instinctive cry of nature was for fruit! fruit! fruit! + The poor lame wretches crawled from place to place plucking greedily the + violet grapes of the creeping shore vine, and staining their mouths and + blistering their lips with the prickly pears, in spite of Yeo's entreaties + and warnings against the thorns. Some of the healthy began hewing down + cocoa-nut trees to get at the nuts, doing little thereby but blunt their + hatchets; till Yeo and Drew, having mustered half-a-dozen reasonable men, + went off inland, and returned in an hour laden with the dainties of that + primeval orchard,—with acid junipa-apples, luscious guavas, and + crowned ananas, queen of all the fruits, which they had found by hundreds + on the broiling ledges of the low tufa-cliffs; and then all, sitting on + the sandy turf, defiant of galliwasps and jackspaniards, and all the + weapons of the insect host, partook of the equal banquet, while old blue + land-crabs sat in their house-doors and brandished their fists in defiance + at the invaders, and solemn cranes stood in the water on the shoals with + their heads on one side, and meditated how long it was since they had seen + bipeds without feathers breaking the solitude of their isle. + </p> + <p> + And Frank wandered up and down, silent, but rather in wonder than in + sadness, while great Amyas walked after him, his mouth full of + junipa-apples, and enacted the part of showman, with a sort of patronizing + air, as one who had seen the wonders already, and was above being + astonished at them. + </p> + <p> + “New, new; everything new!” said Frank, meditatively. “Oh, awful feeling! + All things changed around us, even to the tiniest fly and flower; yet we + the same, the same forever!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas, to whom such utterances were altogether sibylline and + unintelligible, answered by: + </p> + <p> + “Look, Frank, that's a colibri. You 've heard of colibris?” + </p> + <p> + Frank looked at the living gem, which hung, loud humming, over some + fantastic bloom, and then dashed away, seemingly to call its mate, and + whirred and danced with it round and round the flower-starred bushes, + flashing fresh rainbows at every shifting of the lights. + </p> + <p> + Frank watched solemnly awhile, and then: + </p> + <p> + “Qualis Natura formatrix, si talis formata? Oh my God, how fair must be + Thy real world, if even Thy phantoms are so fair!” + </p> + <p> + “Phantoms?” asked Amyas, uneasily. “That's no ghost, Frank, but a jolly + little honey-sucker, with a wee wife, and children no bigger than peas, + but yet solid greedy little fellows enough, I'll warrant.” + </p> + <p> + “Not phantoms in thy sense, good fellow, but in the sense of those who + know the worthlessness of all below.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll tell you what, brother Frank, you are a great deal wiser than me, I + know; but I can't abide to see you turn up your nose as it were at God's + good earth. See now, God made all these things; and never a man, perhaps, + set eyes on them till fifty years agone; and yet they were as pretty as + they are now, ever since the making of the world. And why do you think God + could have put them here, then, but to please Himself”—and Amyas + took off his hat—“with the sight of them? Now, I say, brother Frank, + what's good enough to please God, is good enough to please you and me.” + </p> + <p> + “Your rebuke is just, dear old simple-hearted fellow; and God forgive me, + if with all my learning, which has brought me no profit, and my longings, + which have brought me no peace, I presume at moments, sinner that I am, to + be more dainty than the Lord Himself. He walked in Paradise among the + trees of the garden, Amyas; and so will we, and be content with what He + sends. Why should we long for the next world, before we are fit even for + this one?” + </p> + <p> + “And in the meanwhile,” said Amyas, “this earth's quite good enough, at + least here in Barbados.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you believe,” asked Frank, trying to turn his own thoughts, “in those + tales of the Spaniards, that the Sirens and Tritons are heard singing in + these seas?” + </p> + <p> + “I can't tell. There's more fish in the water than ever came out of it, + and more wonders in the world, I'll warrant, than we ever dreamt of; but I + was never in these parts before; and in the South Sea, I must say, I never + came across any, though Yeo says he has heard fair music at night up in + the Gulf, far away from land.” + </p> + <p> + “The Spaniards report that at certain seasons choirs of these nymphs + assemble in the sea, and with ravishing music sing their watery loves. It + may be so. For Nature, which has peopled the land with rational souls, may + not have left the sea altogether barren of them; above all, when we + remember that the ocean is as it were the very fount of all fertility, and + its slime (as the most learned hold with Thales of Miletus) that prima + materia out of which all things were one by one concocted. Therefore, the + ancients feigned wisely that Venus, the mother of all living things, + whereby they designed the plastic force of nature, was born of the + sea-foam, and rising from the deep, floated ashore upon the isles of + Greece.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know what plastic force is; but I wish I had had the luck to be + by when the pretty poppet came up: however, the nearest thing I ever saw + to that was maidens swimming alongside of us when we were in the South + Seas, and would have come aboard, too; but Drake sent them all off again + for a lot of naughty packs, and I verily believe they were no better. Look + at the butterflies, now! Don't you wish you were a boy again, and not too + proud to go catching them in your cap?” + </p> + <p> + And so the two wandered on together through the glorious tropic woods, and + then returned to the beach to find the sick already grown cheerful, and + many who that morning could not stir from their hammocks, pacing up and + down, and gaining strength with every step. + </p> + <p> + “Well done, lads!” cried Amyas, “keep a cheerful mind. We will have the + music ashore after dinner, for want of mermaids to sing to us, and those + that can dance may.” + </p> + <p> + And so those four days were spent; and the men, like schoolboys on a + holiday, gave themselves up to simple merriment, not forgetting, however, + to wash the clothes, take in fresh water, and store up a good supply of + such fruit as seemed likely to keep; until, tired with fruitless rambles + after gold, which they expected to find in every bush, in spite of Yeo's + warnings that none had been heard of on the island, they were fain to + lounge about, full-grown babies, picking up shells and sea-fans to take + home to their sweethearts, smoking agoutis out of the hollow trees, with + shout and laughter, and tormenting every living thing they could come + near, till not a land-crab dare look out of his hole, or an armadillo + unroll himself, till they were safe out of the bay, and off again to the + westward, unconscious pioneers of all the wealth, and commerce, and + beauty, and science which has in later centuries made that lovely isle the + richest gem of all the tropic seas. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THEY TOOK THE PEARLS AT MARGARITA + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + P. Henry. Why, what a rascal art thou, then, to praise him so for + running! + Falstaff. O' horseback, ye cuckoo! but a-foot, he will not budge a + foot. + P. Henry. Yes, Jack, upon instinct. + Falstaff. I grant ye, upon instinct. + + Henry IV. Pt. I. +</pre> + <p> + They had slipped past the southern point of Grenada in the night, and were + at last within that fairy ring of islands, on which nature had + concentrated all her beauty, and man all his sin. If Barbados had been + invested in the eyes of the newcomers with some strange glory, how much + more the seas on which they now entered, which smile in almost perpetual + calm, untouched by the hurricane which roars past them far to northward! + Sky, sea, and islands were one vast rainbow; though little marked, + perhaps, by those sturdy practical sailors, whose main thought was of + Spanish gold and pearls; and as little by Amyas, who, accustomed to the + scenery of the tropics, was speculating inwardly on the possibility of + extirpating the Spaniards, and annexing the West Indies to the domains of + Queen Elizabeth. And yet even their unpoetic eyes could not behold without + awe and excitement lands so famous and yet so new, around which all the + wonder, all the pity, and all the greed of the age had concentrated + itself. It was an awful thought, and yet inspiriting, that they were + entering regions all but unknown to Englishmen, where the penalty of + failure would be worse than death—the torments of the Inquisition. + Not more than five times before, perhaps, had those mysterious seas been + visited by English keels; but there were those on board who knew them + well, and too well; who, first of all British mariners, had attempted + under Captain John Hawkins to trade along those very coasts, and, + interdicted from the necessaries of life by Spanish jealousy, had, in true + English fashion, won their markets at the sword's point, and then bought + and sold honestly and peaceably therein. The old mariners of the Pelican + and the Minion were questioned all day long for the names of every isle + and cape, every fish and bird; while Frank stood by, listening serious and + silent. + </p> + <p> + A great awe seemed to have possessed his soul; yet not a sad one: for his + face seemed daily to drink in glory from the glory round him; and + murmuring to himself at whiles, “This is the gate of heaven,” he stood + watching all day long, careless of food and rest, as every forward plunge + of the ship displayed some fresh wonder. Islands and capes hung high in + air, with their inverted images below them; long sand-hills rolled and + weltered in the mirage; and the yellow flower-beds, and huge thorny cacti + like giant candelabra, which clothed the glaring slopes, twisted, tossed, + and flickered, till the whole scene seemed one blazing phantom-world, in + which everything was as unstable as it was fantastic, even to the sun + itself, distorted into strange oval and pear-shaped figures by the beds of + crimson mist through which he sank to rest. But while Frank wondered, Yeo + rejoiced; for to the southward of that setting sun a cluster of tall peaks + rose from the sea; and they, unless his reckonings were wrong, were the + mountains of Macanao, at the western end of Margarita, the Isle of Pearls, + then famous in all the cities of the Mediterranean, and at the great + German fairs, and second only in richness to that pearl island in the gulf + of Panama, which fifteen years before had cost John Oxenham his life. + </p> + <p> + The next day saw them running along the north side of the island, having + passed undiscovered (as far as they could see) the castle which the + Spaniards had built at the eastern end for the protection of the pearl + fisheries. + </p> + <p> + At last they opened a deep and still bight, wooded to the water's edge; + and lying in the roadstead a caravel, and three boats by her. And at that + sight there was not a man but was on deck at once, and not a mouth but was + giving its opinion of what should be done. Some were for sailing right + into the roadstead, the breeze blowing fresh toward the shore (as it + usually does throughout those islands in the afternoon). However, seeing + the billows break here and there off the bay's mouth, they thought it + better, for fear of rocks, to run by quietly, and then send in the pinnace + and the boat. Yeo would have had them show Spanish colors, for fear of + alarming the caravel; but Amyas stoutly refused, “counting it,” he said, + “a mean thing to tell a lie in that way, unless in extreme danger, or for + great ends of state.” + </p> + <p> + So holding on their course till they were shut out by the next point, they + started; Cary in the largest boat with twenty men, and Amyas in the + smaller one with fifteen more; among whom was John Brimblecombe, who must + needs come in his cassock and bands, with an old sword of his uncle's + which he prized mightily. + </p> + <p> + When they came to the bight's mouth, they found, as they had expected, + coral rocks, and too many of them; so that they had to run along the edge + of the reef a long way before they could find a passage for the boats. + While they were so doing, and those of them who were new to the Indies + were admiring through the clear element those living flower-beds, and + subaqueous gardens of Nereus and Amphitrite, there suddenly appeared below + what Yeo called “a school of sharks,” some of them nearly as long as the + boat, who looked up at them wistfully enough out of their wicked scowling + eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Jack,” said Amyas, who sat next to him, “look how that big fellow eyes + thee: he has surely taken a fancy to that plump hide of thine, and thinks + thou wouldst eat as tender as any sucking porker.” + </p> + <p> + Jack turned very pale, but said nothing. + </p> + <p> + Now, as it befell, just then that very big fellow, seeing a parrot-fish + come out of a cleft of the coral, made at him from below, as did two or + three more; the poor fish finding no other escape, leaped clean into the + air, and almost aboard the boat; while just where he had come out of the + water, three or four great brown shagreened noses clashed together within + two yards of Jack as he sat, each showing its horrible rows of saw teeth, + and then sank sulkily down again, to watch for a fresh bait. At which Jack + said very softly, “In manus tuas, Domine!” and turning his eyes in board, + had no lust to look at sharks any more. + </p> + <p> + So having got through the reef, in they ran with a fair breeze, the + caravel not being now a musket-shot off. Cary laid her aboard before the + Spaniards had time to get to their ordnance; and standing up in the + stern-sheets, shouted to them to yield. The captain asked boldly enough, + in whose name? “In the name of common sense, ye dogs,” cries Will; “do you + not see that you are but fifty strong to our twenty?” Whereon up the side + he scrambled, and the captain fired a pistol at him. Cary knocked him + over, unwilling to shed needless blood; on which all the crew yielded, + some falling on their knees, some leaping overboard; and the prize was + taken. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile, Amyas had pulled round under her stern, and boarded the + boat which was second from her, for the nearest was fast alongside, and so + a sure prize. The Spaniards in her yielded without a blow, crying + “Misericordia;” and the negroes, leaping overboard, swam ashore like + sea-dogs. Meanwhile, the third boat, which was not an oar's length off, + turned to pull away. Whereby befell a notable adventure: for John + Brimblecombe, casting about in a valiant mind how he should distinguish + himself that day, must needs catch up a boat-hook, and claw on to her + stern, shouting, “Stay, ye Papists! Stay, Spanish dogs!”—by which, + as was to be expected, they being ten to his one, he was forthwith pulled + overboard, and fell all along on his nose in the sea, leaving the hook + fast in her stern. + </p> + <p> + Where, I know not how, being seized with some panic fear (his lively + imagination filling all the sea with those sharks which he had just seen), + he fell a-roaring like any town-bull, and in his confusion never thought + to turn and get aboard again, but struck out lustily after the Spanish + boat, whether in hope of catching hold of the boat-hook which trailed + behind her, or from a very madness of valor, no man could divine; but on + he swam, his cassock afloat behind him, looking for all the world like a + great black monk-fish, and howling and puffing, with his mouth full of + salt water, “Stay, ye Spanish dogs! Help, all good fellows! See you not + that I am a dead man? They are nuzzling already at my toes! He hath hold + of my leg! My right thigh is bitten clean off! Oh that I were preaching in + Hartland pulpit! Stay, Spanish dogs! Yield, Papist cowards, least I make + mincemeat of you; and take me aboard! Yield, I say, or my blood be on your + heads! I am no Jonah; if he swallow me, he will never cast me up again! it + is better to fall into the hands of man, than into the hands of devils + with three rows of teeth apiece. In manus tuas. Orate pro anima—!” + </p> + <p> + And so forth, in more frantic case than ever was Panurge in that his + ever-memorable seasickness; till the English, expecting him every minute + to be snapped up by sharks, or brained by the Spaniard's oars, let fly a + volley into the fugitives, on which they all leaped overboard like their + fellows; whereon Jack scrambled into the boat, and drawing sword with one + hand, while he wiped the water out of his eyes with the other, began to + lay about him like a very lion, cutting the empty air, and crying, “Yield, + idolaters! Yield, Spanish dogs!” However, coming to himself after a while, + and seeing that there was no one on whom to flesh his maiden steel, he + sits down panting in the sternsheets, and begins stripping off his hose. + On which Amyas, thinking surely that the good fellow had gone mad with + some stroke of the sun, or by having fallen into the sea after being + overheated with his rowing, bade pull alongside, and asked him in heaven's + name what he was doing with his nether tackle. On which Jack, amid such + laughter as may be conceived, vowed and swore that his right thigh was + bitten clean through, and to the bone; yea, and that he felt his hose full + of blood; and so would have swooned away for imaginary loss of blood (so + strong was the delusion on him) had not his friends, after much arguing on + their part, and anger on his, persuaded him that he was whole and sound. + </p> + <p> + After which they set to work to overhaul their maiden prize, which they + found full of hides and salt-pork; and yet not of that alone; for in the + captain's cabin, and also in the sternsheets of the boat which + Brimblecombe had so valorously boarded, were certain frails of leaves + packed neatly enough, which being opened were full of goodly pearls, + though somewhat brown (for the Spaniards used to damage the color in their + haste and greediness, opening the shells by fire, instead of leaving them + to decay gradually after the Arabian fashion); with which prize, though + they could not guess its value very exactly, they went off content enough, + after some malicious fellow had set the ship on fire, which, being laden + with hides, was no nosegay as it burnt. + </p> + <p> + Amyas was very angry at this wanton damage, in which his model, Drake, had + never indulged; but Cary had his jest ready. “Ah!” said he, “'Lutheran + devils' we are, you know; so we are bound to vanish, like other fiends, + with an evil savor.” + </p> + <p> + As soon, however, as Amyas was on board again, he rounded his friend Mr. + Brimblecombe in the ear, and told him he had better play the man a little + more, roaring less before he was hurt, and keeping his breath to help his + strokes, if he wished the crew to listen much to his discourses. Frank, + hearing this, bade Amyas leave the offender to him, and so began upon him + with— + </p> + <p> + “Come hither, thou recreant Jack, thou lily-livered Jack, thou hysterical + Jack. Tell me now, thou hast read Plato's Dialogues, and Aristotle's + Logic?” + </p> + <p> + To which Jack very meekly answered, “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I will deal with thee after the manner of those ancient sages, and + ask whether the greater must not contain the less?” + </p> + <p> + Jack. Yes, sure. + </p> + <p> + Frank. And that which is more than a part, contain that part, more than + which it is? + </p> + <p> + Jack. Yes, sure. + </p> + <p> + Frank. Then tell me, is not a priest more than a layman? + </p> + <p> + Jack (who was always very loud about the dignity of the priesthood, as + many of his cloth are, who have no other dignity whereon to stand) + answered very boldly, “Of course.” + </p> + <p> + Frank. Then a priest containeth a man, and is a man, and something over—viz, + his priesthood? + </p> + <p> + Jack (who saw whither this would lead). I suppose so. + </p> + <p> + Frank. Then, if a priest show himself no man, he shows himself all the + more no priest? + </p> + <p> + “I'll tell you what, Master Frank,” says Jack, “you may be right by logic; + but sharks aren't logic, nor don't understand it neither.” + </p> + <p> + Frank. Nay but, my recalcitrant Jack, my stiff-necked Jack, is it the part + of a man to howl like a pig in a gate, because he thinks that is there + which is not there? + </p> + <p> + Jack had not a word to say. + </p> + <p> + Frank. And still more, when if that had been there, it had been the duty + of a brave man to have kept his mouth shut, if only to keep salt water + out, and not add the evil of choking to that of being eaten? + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” says Jack, “that's all very fine; but you know as well as I that it + was not the Spaniards I was afraid of. They were Heaven's handiwork, and I + knew how to deal with them; but as for those fiends' spawn of sharks, when + I saw that fellow take the fish alongside, it upset me clean, and there's + an end of it!” + </p> + <p> + Frank. Oh, Jack, Jack, behold how one sin begets another! Just now thou + wert but a coward, and now thou art a Manichee. For thou hast imputed to + an evil creator that which was formed only for a good end, namely, sharks, + which were made on purpose to devour useless carcasses like thine. + Moreover, as a brother of the Rose, thou wert bound by the vow of thy + brotherhood to have leaped joyfully down that shark's mouth. + </p> + <p> + Jack. Ay, very likely, if Mistress Rose had been in his stomach; but I + wanted to fight Spaniards just then, not to be shark-bitten. + </p> + <p> + Frank. Jack, thy answer savors of self-will. If it is ordained that thou + shouldst advance the ends of the Brotherhood by being shark-bitten, or + flea-bitten, or bitten by sharpers, to the detriment of thy carnal wealth, + or, shortly, to suffer any shame or torment whatsoever, even to strappado + and scarpines, thou art bound to obey thy destiny, and not, after that + vain Roman conceit, to choose the manner of thine own death, which is + indeed only another sort of self-murder. We therefore consider thee as a + cause of scandal, and a rotten and creaking branch, to be excised by the + spiritual arm, and do hereby excise thee, and cut thee off. + </p> + <p> + Jack. Nay faith, that's a little too much, Master Frank. How long have you + been Bishop of Exeter? + </p> + <p> + Frank. Jack, thy wit being blinded, and full of gross vapors, by reason of + the perturbations of fear (which, like anger, is a short madness, and + raises in the phantasy vain spectres,—videlicet, of sharks and + Spaniards), mistakes our lucidity. For thy Manicheeism, let his lordship + of Exeter deal with it. For thy abominable howling and caterwauling, + offensive in a chained cur, but scandalous in a preacher and a brother of + the Rose, we do hereby deprive thee of thine office of chaplain to the + Brotherhood; and warn thee, that unless within seven days thou do some + deed equal to the Seven Champions, or Ruggiero and Orlando's self, thou + shalt be deprived of sword and dagger, and allowed henceforth to carry no + more iron about thee than will serve to mend thy pen. + </p> + <p> + “And now, Jack,” said Amyas, “I will give thee a piece of news. No wonder + that young men, as the parsons complain so loudly, will not listen to the + Gospel, while it is preached to them by men on whom they cannot but look + down; a set of softhanded fellows who cannot dig, and are ashamed to beg; + and, as my brother has it, must needs be parsons before they are men. + </p> + <p> + “Frank. Ay, and even though we may excuse that in Popish priests and + friars, who are vowed not to be men, and get their bread shamefully and + rascally by telling sinners who owe a hundred measures to sit down quickly + and take their bill and write fifty: yet for a priest of the Church of + England (whose business is not merely to smuggle sinful souls up the + backstairs into heaven, but to make men good Christians by making them + good men, good gentlemen, and good Englishmen) to show the white feather + in the hour of need, is to unpreach in one minute all that he had been + preaching his life long. + </p> + <p> + “I tell thee,” says Amyas, “if I had not taken thee for another guess sort + of man, I had never let thee have the care of a hundred brave lads' + immortal souls—” + </p> + <p> + And so on, both of them boarding him at once with their heavy shot, + larboard and starboard, till he fairly clapped his hands to his ears and + ran for it, leaving poor Frank laughing so heartily, that Amyas was after + all glad the thing had happened, for the sake of the smile which it put + into his sad and steadfast countenance. + </p> + <p> + The next day was Sunday; on which, after divine service (which they could + hardly persuade Jack to read, so shamefaced was he; and as for preaching + after it, he would not hear of such a thing), Amyas read aloud, according + to custom, the articles of their agreement; and then seeing abreast of + them a sloping beach with a shoot of clear water running into the sea, + agreed that they should land there, wash the clothes, and again water the + ship; for they had found water somewhat scarce at Barbados. On this party + Jack Brimblecombe must needs go, taking with him his sword and a great + arquebuse; for he had dreamed last night (he said) that he was set upon by + Spaniards, and was sure that the dream would come true; and moreover, that + he did not very much care if they did, or if he ever got back alive; “for + it was better to die than be made an ape, and a scarecrow, and laughed at + by the men, and badgered with Ramus his logic, and Plato his dialectical + devilries, to confess himself a Manichee, and, for aught he knew, a + turbaned Turk, or Hebrew Jew,” and so flung into the boat like a man + desperate. + </p> + <p> + So they went ashore, after Amyas had given strict commands against letting + off firearms, for fear of alarming the Spaniards. There they washed their + clothes, and stretched their legs with great joy, admiring the beauty of + the place, and then began to shoot the seine which they had brought on + shore with them. “In which,” says the chronicler, “we caught many strange + fishes, and beside them, a sea-cow full seven feet long, with limpets and + barnacles on her back, as if she had been a stick of drift-timber. This is + a fond and foolish beast: and yet pious withal; for finding a corpse, she + watches over it day and night until it decay or be buried. The Indians + call her manati; who carries her young under her arm, and gives it suck + like a woman; and being wounded, she lamenteth aloud with a human voice, + and is said at certain seasons to sing very melodiously; which melody, + perhaps, having been heard in those seas, is that which Mr. Frank reported + to be the choirs of the Sirens and Tritons. The which I do not avouch for + truth, neither rashly deny, having seen myself such fertility of Nature's + wonders that I hold him who denieth aught merely for its strangeness to be + a ribald and an ignoramus. Also one of our men brought in two great black + fowls which he had shot with a crossbow, bodied and headed like a capon, + but bigger than any eagle, which the Spaniards call curassos; which, with + that sea-cow, afterwards made us good cheer, both roast and sodden, for + the cow was very dainty meat, as good as a four-months' calf, and tender + and fat withal.” + </p> + <p> + After that they set to work filling the casks and barricos, having laid + the boat up to the outflow of the rivulet. And lucky for them it was, as + it fell out, that they were all close together at that work, and not + abroad skylarking as they had been half-an-hour before. + </p> + <p> + Now John Brimblecombe had gone apart as soon as they landed, with a + shamefaced and doleful countenance; and sitting down under a great tree, + plucked a Bible from his bosom, and read steadfastly, girded with his + great sword, and his arquebuse lying by him. This too was well for him, + and for the rest; for they had not yet finished their watering, when there + was a cry that the enemy was on them; and out of the wood, not twenty + yards from the good parson, came full fifty shot, with a multitude of + negroes behind them, and an officer in front on horseback, with a great + plume of feathers in his hat, and his sword drawn in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Stand, for your lives!” shouted Amyas: and only just in time; for there + was ten good minutes lost in running up and down before he could get his + men into some order of battle. But when Jack beheld the Spaniards, as if + he had expected their coming, he plucked a leaf and put it into the page + of his book for a mark, laid the book down soberly, caught up his + arquebuse, ran like a mad dog right at the Spanish captain, shot him + through the body stark dead, and then, flinging the arquebuse at the head + of him who stood next, fell on with his sword like a very Colbrand, + breaking in among the arquebuses, and striking right and left such ugly + strokes, that the Spaniards (who thought him a very fiend, or Luther's + self come to life to plague them) gave back pell-mell, and shot at him + five or six at once with their arquebuses: but whether from fear of him, + or of wounding each other, made so bad play with their pieces, that he + only got one shrewd gall in his thigh, which made him limp for many a day. + But as fast as they gave back he came on; and the rest by this time ran up + in good order, and altogether nearly forty men well armed. On which the + Spaniards turned, and went as fast as they had come, while Cary hinted + that, “The dogs had had such a taste of the parson, that they had no mind + to wait for the clerk and people.” + </p> + <p> + “Come back, Jack! are you mad?” shouted Amyas. + </p> + <p> + But Jack (who had not all this time spoken one word) followed them as + fiercely as ever, till, reaching a great blow at one of the arquebusiers, + he caught his foot in a root; on which down he went, and striking his head + against the ground, knocked out of himself all the breath he had left + (which between fatness and fighting was not much), and so lay. Amyas, + seeing the Spaniards gone, did not care to pursue them: but picked up + Jack, who, staring about, cried, “Glory be! glory be!—How many have + I killed? How many have I killed?” + </p> + <p> + “Nineteen, at the least,” quoth Cary, “and seven with one back stroke;” + and then showed Brimblecombe the captain lying dead, and two arquebusiers, + one of which was the fugitive by whom he came to his fall, beside three or + four more who were limping away wounded, some of them by their fellows' + shot. + </p> + <p> + “There!” said Jack, pausing and blowing, “will you laugh at me any more, + Mr. Cary; or say that I cannot fight, because I am a poor parson's son?” + </p> + <p> + Cary took him by the hand, and asked pardon of him for his scoffing, + saying that he had that day played the best man of all of them; and Jack, + who never bore malice, began laughing in his turn, and— + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mr. Cary, we have all known your pleasant ways, ever since you used + to put drumble-drones into my desk to Bideford school.” And so they went + to the boats, and pulled off, thanking God (as they had need to do) for + their great deliverance: while all the boats' crew rejoiced over Jack, who + after a while grew very faint (having bled a good deal without knowing + it), and made as little of his real wound as he made much the day before + of his imaginary one. + </p> + <p> + Frank asked him that evening how he came to show so cool and approved a + valor in so sudden a mishap. + </p> + <p> + “Well, my masters,” said Jack, “I don't deny that I was very downcast on + account of what you said, and the scandal which I had given to the crew; + but as it happened, I was reading there under the tree, to fortify my + spirits, the history of the ancient worthies, in St. Paul his eleventh + chapter to the Hebrews; and just as I came to that, 'out of weakness were + made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the + aliens,' arose the cry of the Spaniards. At which, gentlemen, thinking in + myself that I fought in just so good a cause as they, and, as I hoped, + with like faith, there came upon me so strange an assurance of victory, + that I verily believed in myself that if there had been a ten thousand of + them, I should have taken no hurt. Wherefore,” said Jack, modestly, “there + is no credit due to me, for there was no valor in me whatsoever, but only + a certainty of safety; and any coward would fight if he knew that he were + to have all the killing and none of the scratches.” + </p> + <p> + Which words he next day, being Sunday, repeated in his sermon which he + made on that chapter, with which all, even Salvation Yeo himself, were + well content and edified, and allowed him to be as godly a preacher as he + was (in spite of his simple ways) a valiant and true-hearted comrade. + </p> + <p> + They brought away the Spanish officer's sword (a very good blade), and + also a great chain of gold which he wore about his neck; both of which + were allotted to Brimblecombe as his fair prize; but he, accepting the + sword, steadfastly refused the chain, entreating Amyas to put it into the + common stock; and when Amyas refused, he cut it into links and distributed + it among those of the boat's crew who had succored him, winning thereby + much good-will. “And indeed” (says the chronicler), “I never saw in that + worthy man, from the first day of our school-fellowship till he was laid + in his parish church of Hartland (where he now sleeps in peace), any touch + of that sin of covetousness which has in all ages, and in ours no less + than others, beset especially (I know not why) them who minister about the + sanctuary. But this man, though he was ugly and lowly in person, and in + understanding simple, and of breeding but a poor parson's son, had yet in + him a spirit so loving and cheerful, so lifted from base and selfish + purposes to the worship of duty, and to a generosity rather knightly than + sacerdotal, that all through his life he seemed to think only that it was + more blessed to give than to receive. And all that wealth which he gained + in the wars he dispersed among his sisters and the poor of his parish, + living unmarried till his death like a true lover and constant mourner (as + shall be said in place), and leaving hardly wherewith to bring his body to + the grave. At whom if we often laughed once, we should now rather envy + him, desiring to be here what he was, that we may be hereafter where he + is. Amen.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX + </h2> + <h3> + WHAT BEFELL AT LA GUAYRA + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Great was the crying, the running and riding, + Which at that season was made in the place; + The beacons were fired, as need then required, + To save their great treasure they had little space.” + + Winning of Cales. +</pre> + <p> + The men would gladly have hawked awhile round Margarita and Cubagua for + another pearl prize. But Amyas having, as he phrased it, “fleshed his + dogs,” was loth to hang about the islands after the alarm had been given. + They ran, therefore, south-west across the mouth of that great bay which + stretches from the Peninsula of Paria to Cape Codera, leaving on their + right hand Tortuga, and on their left the meadow-islands of the Piritoos, + two long green lines but a few inches above the tideless sea. Yeo and Drew + knew every foot of the way, and had good reason to know it; for they, the + first of all English mariners, had tried to trade along this coast with + Hawkins. And now, right ahead, sheer out of the sea from base to peak, + arose higher and higher the mighty range of the Caracas mountains; beside + which all hills which most of the crew had ever seen seemed petty mounds. + Frank, of course, knew the Alps; and Amyas the Andes; but Cary's notions + of height were bounded by M'Gillicuddy's Reeks, and Brimblecombe's by + Exmoor; and the latter, to Cary's infinite amusement, spent a whole day + holding on by the rigging, and staring upwards with his chin higher than + his nose, till he got a stiff neck. Soon the sea became rough and + chopping, though the breeze was fair and gentle; and ere they were abreast + of the Cape, they became aware of that strong eastward current which, + during the winter months, so often baffles the mariner who wishes to go to + the westward. All night long they struggled through the billows, with the + huge wall of Cape Codera a thousand feet above their heads to the left, + and beyond it again, bank upon bank of mountain, bathed in the yellow + moonlight. + </p> + <p> + Morning showed them a large ship, which had passed them during the night + upon the opposite course, and was now a good ten miles to the eastward. + Yeo was for going back and taking her. Of the latter he made a matter of + course; and the former was easy enough, for the breeze blowing dead off + the land, was a “soldier's wind, there and back again,” for either ship; + but Amyas and Frank were both unwilling. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Yeo, you said that one day more would bring us to La Guayra.” + </p> + <p> + “All the more reason, sir, for doing the Lord's work thoroughly, when He + has brought us safely so far on our journey.” + </p> + <p> + “She can pass well enough, and no loss.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, sirs, sirs, she is delivered into your hands, and you will have to + give an account of her.” + </p> + <p> + “My good Yeo,” said Frank, “I trust we shall give good account enough of + many a tall Spaniard before we return: but you know surely that La Guayra, + and the salvation of one whom we believe dwells there, was our first + object in this adventure.” + </p> + <p> + Yeo shook his head sadly. “Ah, sirs, a lady brought Captain Oxenham to + ruin.” + </p> + <p> + “You do not dare to compare her with this one?” said Frank and Cary, both + in a breath. + </p> + <p> + “God forbid, gentlemen: but no adventure will prosper, unless there is a + single eye to the Lord's work; and that is, as I take it, to cripple the + Spaniard, and exalt her majesty the queen. And I had thought that nothing + was more dear than that to Captain Leigh's heart.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas stood somewhat irresolute. His duty to the queen bade him follow the + Spanish vessel: his duty to his vow, to go on to La Guayra. It may seem a + far-fetched dilemma. He found it a practical one enough. + </p> + <p> + However, the counsel of Frank prevailed, and on to La Guayra he went. He + half hoped that the Spaniard would see and attack them. However, he went + on his way to the eastward; which if he had not done, my story had had a + very different ending. + </p> + <p> + About mid-day a canoe, the first which they had seen, came staggering + toward them under a huge three-cornered sail. As it came near, they could + see two Indians on board. + </p> + <p> + “Metal floats in these seas, you see,” quoth Cary. “There's a fresh + marvel, for you, Frank.” + </p> + <p> + “Expound,” quoth Frank, who was really ready to swallow any fresh marvel, + so many had he seen already. + </p> + <p> + “Why, how else would those two bronze statues dare to go to sea in such a + cockleshell, eh? Have I given you the dor now, master courtier!” + </p> + <p> + “I am long past dors, Will. But what noble creatures they are! and how + fearlessly they are coming alongside! Can they know that we are English, + and the avengers of the Indians?” + </p> + <p> + “I suspect they just take us for Spaniards, and want to sell their + cocoa-nuts. See, the canoe is laden with vegetables.” + </p> + <p> + “Hail them, Yeo!” said Amyas. “You talk the best Spanish, and I want + speech of one of them.” + </p> + <p> + Yeo did so; the canoe, without more ado, ran alongside, and lowered her + felucca sail, while a splendid Indian scrambled on board like a cat. + </p> + <p> + He was full six feet high, and as bold and graceful of bearing as Frank or + Amyas's self. He looked round for the first moment smilingly, showing his + white teeth; but the next, his countenance changed; and springing to the + side, he shouted to his comrade in Spanish— + </p> + <p> + “Treachery! No Spaniard,” and would have leaped overboard, but a dozen + strong fellows caught him ere he could do so. + </p> + <p> + It required some trouble to master him, so strong was he, and so slippery + his naked limbs; Amyas, meanwhile, alternately entreated the men not to + hurt the Indian, and the Indian to be quiet, and no harm should happen to + him; and so, after five minutes' confusion, the stranger gave in sulkily. + </p> + <p> + “Don't bind him. Let him loose, and make a ring round him. Now, my man, + there's a dollar for you.” + </p> + <p> + The Indian's eyes glistened, and he took the coin. + </p> + <p> + “All I want of you is, first, to tell me what ships are in La Guayra, and + next, to go thither on board of me, and show me which is the governor's + house, and which the custom-house.” + </p> + <p> + The Indian laid the coin down on the deck, and crossing himself, looked + Amyas in the face. + </p> + <p> + “No, senor! I am a freeman and a cavalier, a Christian Guayqueria, whose + forefathers, first of all the Indians, swore fealty to the King of Spain, + and whom he calls to this day in all his proclamations his most faithful, + loyal, and noble Guayquerias. God forbid, therefore, that I should tell + aught to his enemies, who are my enemies likewise.” + </p> + <p> + A growl arose from those of the men who understood him; and more than one + hinted that a cord twined round the head, or a match put between the + fingers, would speedily extract the required information. + </p> + <p> + “God forbid!” said Amyas; “a brave and loyal man he is, and as such will I + treat him. Tell me, my brave fellow, how do you know us to be his Catholic + majesty's enemies?” + </p> + <p> + The Indian, with a shrewd smile, pointed to half-a-dozen different + objects, saying to each, “Not Spanish.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, and what of that?” + </p> + <p> + “None but Spaniards and free Guayquerias have a right to sail these seas.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas laughed. + </p> + <p> + “Thou art a right valiant bit of copper. Pick up thy dollar, and go thy + way in peace. Make room for him, men. We can learn what we want without + his help.” + </p> + <p> + The Indian paused, incredulous and astonished. “Overboard with you!” quoth + Amyas. “Don't you know when you are well off?” + </p> + <p> + “Most illustrious senor,” began the Indian, in the drawling sententious + fashion of his race (when they take the trouble to talk at all), “I have + been deceived. I heard that you heretics roasted and ate all true + Catholics (as we Guayquerias are), and that all your padres had tails.” + </p> + <p> + “Plague on you, sirrah!” squeaked Jack Brimblecombe. “Have I a tail? Look + here!” + </p> + <p> + “Quien sabe? Who knows?” quoth the Indian through his nose. + </p> + <p> + “How do you know we are heretics?” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Humph! But in repayment for your kindness, I would warn you, illustrious + senor, not to go on to La Guayra. There are ships of war there waiting for + you; and moreover, the governor Don Guzman sailed to the eastward only + yesterday to look for you; and I wonder much that you did not meet him.” + </p> + <p> + “To look for us! On the watch for us!” said Cary. “Impossible; lies! + Amyas, this is some trick of the rascal's to frighten us away.” + </p> + <p> + “Don Guzman came out but yesterday to look for us? Are you sure you spoke + truth?” + </p> + <p> + “As I live, senor, he and another ship, for which I took yours.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas stamped upon the deck: that then was the ship which they had passed! + </p> + <p> + “Fool that I was to have been close to my enemy, and let my opportunity + slip! If I had but done my duty, all would have gone right!” + </p> + <p> + But it was too late to repine; and after all, the Indian's story was + likely enough to be false. + </p> + <p> + “Off with you!” said he; and the Indian bounded over the side into his + canoe, leaving the whole crew wondering at the stateliness and courtesy of + this bold sea-cavalier. + </p> + <p> + So Westward-ho they ran, beneath the mighty northern wall, the highest + cliff on earth, some seven thousand feet of rock parted from the sea by a + narrow strip of bright green lowland. Here and there a patch of + sugar-cane, or a knot of cocoa-nut trees, close to the water's edge, + reminded them that they were in the tropics; but above, all was savage, + rough, and bare as an Alpine precipice. Sometimes deep clefts allowed the + southern sun to pour a blaze of light down to the sea marge, and gave + glimpses far above of strange and stately trees lining the glens, and of a + veil of perpetual mist which shrouded the inner summits; while up and + down, between them and the mountain side, white fleecy clouds hung + motionless in the burning air, increasing the impression of vastness and + of solemn rest, which was already overpowering. + </p> + <p> + “Within those mountains, three thousand feet above our heads,” said Drew, + the master, “lies Saint Yago de Leon, the great city which the Spaniards + founded fifteen years agone.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it a rich place?” asked Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Very, they say.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it a strong place?” asked Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “No forts to it at all, they say. The Spaniards boast, that Heaven has + made such good walls to it already, that man need make none.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know,” quoth Amyas. “Lads, could you climb those hills, do you + think?” + </p> + <p> + “Rather higher than Harty Point, sir: but it depends pretty much on what's + behind them.” + </p> + <p> + And now the last point is rounded, and they are full in sight of the spot + in quest of which they have sailed four thousand miles of sea. A low black + cliff, crowned by a wall; a battery at either end. Within, a few narrow + streets of white houses, running parallel with the sea, upon a strip of + flat, which seemed not two hundred yards in breadth; and behind, the + mountain wall, covering the whole in deepest shade. How that wall was ever + ascended to the inland seemed the puzzle; but Drew, who had been off the + place before, pointed out to them a narrow path, which wound upwards + through a glen, seemingly sheer perpendicular. That was the road to the + capital, if any man dare try it. In spite of the shadow of the mountain, + the whole place wore a dusty and glaring look. The breaths of air which + came off the land were utterly stifling; and no wonder, for La Guayra, + owing to the radiation of that vast fire-brick of heated rock, is one of + the hottest spots upon the face of the whole earth. + </p> + <p> + Where was the harbor? There was none. Only an open roadstead, wherein lay + tossing at anchor five vessels. The two outer ones were small merchant + caravels. Behind them lay two long, low, ugly-looking craft, at sight of + which Yeo gave a long whew. + </p> + <p> + “Galleys, as I'm a sinful saint! And what's that big one inside of them, + Robert Drew? She has more than hawseholes in her idolatrous black sides, I + think.” + </p> + <p> + “We shall open her astern of the galleys in another minute,” said Amyas. + “Look out, Cary, your eyes are better than mine.” + </p> + <p> + “Six round portholes on the main deck,” quoth Will. + </p> + <p> + “And I can see the brass patararoes glittering on her poop,” quoth Amyas. + “Will, we're in for it.” + </p> + <p> + “In for it we are, captain. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Farewell, farewell, my parents dear. + I never shall see you more, I fear. +</pre> + <p> + “Let's go in, nevertheless, and pound the Don's ribs, my old lad of + Smerwick. Eh? Three to one is very fair odds.” + </p> + <p> + “Not underneath those fort guns, I beg leave to say,” quoth Yeo. “If the + Philistines will but come out unto us, we will make them like unto Zeba + and Zalmunna.” + </p> + <p> + “Quite true,” said Amyas. “Game cocks are game cocks, but reason's + reason.” + </p> + <p> + “If the Philistines are not coming out, they are going to send a messenger + instead,” quoth Cary. “Look out, all thin skulls!” + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke, a puff of white smoke rolled from the eastern fort, and a + heavy ball plunged into the water between it and the ship. + </p> + <p> + “I don't altogether like this,” quoth Amyas. “What do they mean by firing + on us without warning? And what are these ships of war doing here? Drew, + you told me the armadas never lay here.” + </p> + <p> + “No more, I believe, they do, sir, on account of the anchorage being so + bad, as you may see. I'm mortal afeared that rascal's story was true, and + that the Dons have got wind of our coming.” + </p> + <p> + “Run up a white flag, at all events. If they do expect us, they must have + known some time since, or how could they have got their craft hither?” + </p> + <p> + “True, sir. They must have come from Santa Marta, at the least; perhaps + from Cartagena. And that would take a month at least going and coming.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas suddenly recollected Eustace's threat in the wayside inn. Could he + have betrayed their purpose? Impossible! + </p> + <p> + “Let us hold a council of war, at all events, Frank.” + </p> + <p> + Frank was absorbed in a very different matter. A half-mile to the eastward + of the town, two or three hundred feet up the steep mountain side, stood a + large, low, white house embosomed in trees and gardens. There was no other + house of similar size near; no place for one. And was not that the royal + flag of Spain which flaunted before it? That must be the governor's house; + that must be the abode of the Rose of Torridge! And Frank stood devouring + it with wild eyes, till he had persuaded himself that he could see a + woman's figure walking upon the terrace in front, and that the figure was + none other than hers whom he sought. Amyas could hardly tear him away to a + council of war, which was a sad, and only not a peevish one. + </p> + <p> + The three adventurers, with Brimblecombe, Yeo, and Drew, went apart upon + the poop; and each looked the other in the face awhile. For what was to be + done? The plans and hopes of months were brought to naught in an hour. + </p> + <p> + “It is impossible, you see,” said Amyas, at last, “to surprise the town by + land, while these ships are here; for if we land our men, we leave our + ship without defence.” + </p> + <p> + “As impossible as to challenge Don Guzman while he is not here,” said + Cary. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder why the ships have not opened on us already,” said Drew. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps they respect our flag of truce,” said Cary. “Why not send in a + boat to treat with them, and to inquire for— + </p> + <p> + “For her?” interrupted Frank. “If we show that we are aware of her + existence, her name is blasted in the eyes of those jealous Spaniards.” + </p> + <p> + “And as for respecting our flag of truce, gentlemen,” said Yeo, “if you + will take an old man's advice, trust them not. They will keep the same + faith with us as they kept with Captain Hawkins at San Juan d'Ulloa, in + that accursed business which was the beginning of all the wars; when we + might have taken the whole plate-fleet, with two hundred thousand pounds' + worth of gold on board, and did not, but only asked license to trade like + honest men. And yet, after they had granted us license, and deceived us by + fair speech into landing ourselves and our ordnance, the governor and all + the fleet set upon us, five to one, and gave no quarter to any soul whom + he took. No, sir; I expect the only reason why they don't attack us is, + because their crews are not on board.” + </p> + <p> + “They will be, soon enough, then,” said Amyas. “I can see soldiers coming + down the landing-stairs.” + </p> + <p> + And, in fact, boats full of armed men began to push off to the ships. + </p> + <p> + “We may thank Heaven,” said Drew, “that we were not here two hours agone. + The sun will be down before they are ready for sea, and the fellows will + have no stomach to go looking for us by night.” + </p> + <p> + “So much the worse for us. If they will but do that, we may give them the + slip, and back again to the town, and there try our luck; for I cannot + find it in my heart to leave the place without having one dash at it.” + </p> + <p> + Yeo shook his head. “There are plenty more towns along the coast more + worth trying than this, sir: but Heaven's will be done!” + </p> + <p> + And as they spoke, the sun plunged into the sea, and all was dark. + </p> + <p> + At last it was agreed to anchor, and wait till midnight. If the ships of + war came out, they were to try to run in past them, and, desperate as the + attempt might be, attempt their original plan of landing to the westward + of the town, taking it in flank, plundering the government storehouses, + which they saw close to the landing-place, and then fighting their way + back to their boats, and out of the roadstead. Two hours would suffice if + the armada and the galleys were but once out of the way. + </p> + <p> + Amyas went forward, called the men together, and told them the plan. It + was not very cheerfully received: but what else was there to be done! + </p> + <p> + They ran down about a mile and a half to the westward, and anchored. + </p> + <p> + The night wore on, and there was no sign of stir among the shipping; for + though they could not see the vessels themselves, yet their lights (easily + distinguished by their relative height from those in the town above) + remained motionless; and the men fretted and fumed for weary hours at thus + seeing a rich prize (for of course the town was paved with gold) within + arm's reach, and yet impossible. + </p> + <p> + Let Amyas and his men have patience. Some short five years more, and the + great Armada will have come and gone; and then that avenging storm, of + which they, like Oxenham, Hawkins, and Drake, are but the avant-couriers, + will burst upon every Spanish port from Corunna to Cadiz, from the + Canaries to Havana, and La Guayra and St. Yago de Leon will not escape + their share. Captain Amyas Preston and Captain Sommers, the colonist of + the Bermudas, or Sommers' Islands, will land, with a force tiny enough, + though larger far than Leigh's, where Leigh dare not land; and taking the + fort of Guayra, will find, as Leigh found, that their coming has been + expected, and that the Pass of the Venta, three thousand feet above, has + been fortified with huge barricadoes, abattis, and cannon, making the + capital, amid its ring of mountain-walls, impregnable—to all but + Englishmen or Zouaves. For up that seven thousand feet of precipice, which + rises stair on stair behind the town, those fierce adventurers will climb + hand over hand, through rain and fog, while men lie down, and beg their + officers to kill them, for no farther can they go. Yet farther they will + go, hewing a path with their swords through woods of wild plantain, and + rhododendron thickets, over (so it seems, however incredible) the very + saddle of the Silla,* down upon the astonished “Mantuanos” of St. Jago, + driving all before them; and having burnt the city in default of ransom, + will return triumphant by the right road, and pass along the coast, the + masters of the deep. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Humboldt says that there is a path from Caravellada to St. + Jago, between the peaks, used by smugglers. This is + probably the “unknowen way of the Indians,” which Preston + used. +</pre> + <p> + I know not whether any men still live who count their descent from those + two valiant captains; but if such there be, let them be sure that the + history of the English navy tells no more Titanic victory over nature and + man than that now forgotten raid of Amyas Preston and his comrade, in the + year of grace 1595. + </p> + <p> + But though a venture on the town was impossible, yet there was another + venture which Frank was unwilling to let slip. A light which now shone + brightly in one of the windows of the governor's house was the lodestar to + which all his thoughts were turned; and as he sat in the cabin with Amyas, + Cary, and Jack, he opened his heart to them. + </p> + <p> + “And are we, then,” asked he, mournfully, “to go without doing the very + thing for which we came?” + </p> + <p> + All were silent awhile. At last John Brimblecombe spoke. + </p> + <p> + “Show me the way to do it, Mr. Frank, and I will go.” + </p> + <p> + “My dearest man,” said Amyas, “what would you have? Any attempt to see + her, even if she be here, would be all but certain death.” + </p> + <p> + “And what if it were? What if it were, my brother Amyas? Listen to me. I + have long ceased to shrink from Death; but till I came into these magic + climes, I never knew the beauty of his face.” + </p> + <p> + “Of death?” said Cary. “I should have said, of life. God forgive me! but + man might wish to live forever, if he had such a world as this wherein to + live.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you forget, Cary, that the more fair this passing world of time, + by so much the more fair is that eternal world, whereof all here is but a + shadow and a dream; by so much the more fair is He before whose throne the + four mystic beasts, the substantial ideas of Nature and her powers, stand + day and night, crying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, Thou hast + made all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created!' My + friends, if He be so prodigal of His own glory as to have decked these + lonely shores, all but unknown since the foundation of the world, with + splendors beyond all our dreams, what must be the glory of His face + itself! I have done with vain shadows. It is better to depart and to be + with Him, where shall be neither desire nor anger, self-deception nor + pretence, but the eternal fulness of reality and truth. One thing I have + to do before I die, for God has laid it on me. Let that be done to-night, + and then, farewell!” + </p> + <p> + “Frank! Frank! remember our mother!” + </p> + <p> + “I do remember her. I have talked over these things with her many a time; + and where I would fain be, she would fain be also. She sent me out with my + virgin honor, as the Spartan mother did her boy with the shield, saying, + 'Come back either with this, or upon this;' and one or the other I must + do, if I would meet her either in this life or in the next. But in the + meanwhile do not mistake me; my life is God's, and I promise not to cast + it away rashly.” + </p> + <p> + “What would you do, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Go up to that house, Amyas, and speak with her, if Heaven gives me an + opportunity, as Heaven, I feel assured, will give.” + </p> + <p> + “And do you call that no rashness?” + </p> + <p> + “Is any duty rashness? Is it rash to stand amid the flying bullets, if + your queen has sent you? Is it more rash to go to seek Christ's lost lamb, + if God and your own oath hath sent you? John Brimblecombe answered that + question for us long ago.” + </p> + <p> + “If you go, I go with you!” said all three at once. + </p> + <p> + “No. Amyas, you owe a duty to our mother and to your ship. Cary, you are + heir to great estates, and are bound thereby to your country and to your + tenants. John Brimblecombe—” + </p> + <p> + “Ay!” squeaked Jack. “And what have you to say, Mr. Frank, against my + going?—I, who have neither ship nor estates—except, I suppose, + that I am not worthy to travel in such good company?” + </p> + <p> + “Think of your old parents, John, and all your sisters.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought of them before I started, sir, as Mr. Cary knows, and you know + too. I came here to keep my vow, and I am not going to turn renegade at + the very foot of the cross.” + </p> + <p> + “Some one must go with you, Frank,” said Amyas; “if it were only to bring + back the boat's crew in case—” and he faltered. + </p> + <p> + “In case I fall,” replied Frank, with a smile. “I will finish your + sentence for you, lad; I am not afraid of it, though you may be for me. + Yet some one, I fear, must go. Unhappy me! that I cannot risk my own + worthless life without risking your more precious lives!” + </p> + <p> + “Not so, Mr. Frank! Your oath is our oath, and your duty ours!” said John. + “I will tell you what we will do, gentlemen all. We three will draw cuts + for the honor of going with him.” + </p> + <p> + “Lots?” said Amyas. “I don't like leaving such grave matters to chance, + friend John.” + </p> + <p> + “Chance, sir? When you have used all your own wit, and find it fail you, + then what is drawing lots but taking the matter out of your own weak + hands, and laying it in God's strong hands?” + </p> + <p> + “Right, John!” said Frank. “So did the apostles choose their successor, + and so did holy men of old decide controversies too subtle for them; and + we will not be ashamed to follow their example. For my part, I have often + said to Sidney and to Spenser, when we have babbled together of Utopian + governments in days which are now dreams to me, that I would have all + officers of state chosen by lot out of the wisest and most fit; so making + sure that they should be called by God, and not by man alone. Gentlemen, + do you agree to Sir John's advice?” + </p> + <p> + They agreed, seeing no better counsel, and John put three slips of paper + into Frank's hand, with the simple old apostolic prayer— + </p> + <p> + “Show which of us three Thou hast chosen.” + </p> + <p> + The lot fell upon Amyas Leigh. + </p> + <p> + Frank shuddered, and clasped his hands over his face. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Cary, “I have ill-luck to-night: but Frank goes at least in + good company.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, that it had been I!” said Jack; “though I suppose I was too poor a + body to have such an honor fall on me. And yet it is hard for flesh and + blood; hard indeed to have come all this way, and not to see her after + all!” + </p> + <p> + “Jack,” said Frank, “you are kept to do better work than this, doubt not. + But if the lot had fallen on you—ay, if it had fallen on a three + years' child, I would have gone up as cheerfully with that child to lead + me, as I do now with this my brother! Amyas, can we have a boat, and a + crew? It is near midnight already.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas went on deck, and asked for six volunteers. Whosoever would come, + Amyas would double out of his own purse any prize-money which might fall + to that man's share. + </p> + <p> + One of the old Pelican's crew, Simon Evans of Clovelly, stepped out at + once. + </p> + <p> + “Why six only, captain? Give the word, and any and all of us will go up + with you, sack the house, and bring off the treasure and the lady, before + two hours are out.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, my brave lads! As for treasure, if there be any, it is sure to + have been put all safe into the forts, or hidden in the mountains; and as + for the lady, God forbid that we should force her a step without her own + will.” + </p> + <p> + The honest sailor did not quite understand this punctilio: but— + </p> + <p> + “Well, captain,” quoth he, “as you like; but no man shall say that you + asked for a volunteer, were it to jump down a shark's throat, but what you + had me first of all the crew.” + </p> + <p> + After this sort of temper had been exhibited, three or four more came + forward—Yeo was very anxious to go, but Amyas forbade him. + </p> + <p> + “I'll volunteer, sir, without reward, for this or anything; though” (added + he in a lower tone) “I would to Heaven that the thought had never entered + your head.” + </p> + <p> + “And so would I have volunteered,” said Simon Evans, “if it were the + ship's quarrel, or the queen's; but being it's a private matter of the + captain's, and I've a wife and children at home, why, I take no shame to + myself for asking money for my life.” + </p> + <p> + So the crew was made up; but ere they pushed off, Amyas called Cary aside— + </p> + <p> + “If I perish, Will—” + </p> + <p> + “Don't talk of such things, dear old lad.” + </p> + <p> + “I must. Then you are captain. Do nothing without Yeo and Drew. But if + they approve, go right north away for San Domingo and Cuba, and try the + ports; they can have no news of us there, and there is booty without end. + Tell my mother that I died like a gentleman; and mind—mind, dear + lad, to keep your temper with the men, let the poor fellows grumble as + they may. Mind but that, and fear God, and all will go well.” + </p> + <p> + The tears were glistening in Cary's eyes as he pressed Amyas's hand, and + watched the two brothers down over the side upon their desperate errand. + </p> + <p> + They reached the pebble beach. There seemed no difficulty about finding + the path to the house—so bright was the moon, and so careful a + survey of the place had Frank taken. Leaving the men with the boat (Amyas + had taken care that they should be well armed), they started up the beach, + with their swords only. Frank assured Amyas that they would find a path + leading from the beach up to the house, and he was not mistaken. They + found it easily, for it was made of white shell sand; and following it, + struck into a “tunal,” or belt of tall thorny cactuses. Through this the + path wound in zigzags up a steep rocky slope, and ended at a wicket-gate. + They tried it, and found it open. + </p> + <p> + “She may expect us,” whispered Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Impossible!” + </p> + <p> + “Why not? She must have seen our ship; and if, as seems, the townsfolk + know who we are, how much more must she! Yes, doubt it not, she still + longs to hear news of her own land, and some secret sympathy will draw her + down towards the sea to-night. See! the light is in the window still!” + </p> + <p> + “But if not,” said Amyas, who had no such expectation, “what is your + plan?” + </p> + <p> + “I have none.” + </p> + <p> + “None?” + </p> + <p> + “I have imagined twenty different ones in the last hour; but all are + equally uncertain, impossible. I have ceased to struggle—I go where + I am called, love's willing victim. If Heaven accept the sacrifice, it + will provide the altar and the knife.” + </p> + <p> + Aymas was at his wits' end. Judging of his brother by himself, he had + taken for granted that Frank had some well-concocted scheme for gaining + admittance to the Rose; and as the wiles of love were altogether out of + his province, he had followed in full faith such a sans-appel as he held + Frank to be. But now he almost doubted of his brother's sanity, though + Frank's manner was perfectly collected and his voice firm. Amyas, honest + fellow, had no understanding of that intense devotion, which so many in + those days (not content with looking on it as a lofty virtue, and yet one + to be duly kept in its place by other duties) prided themselves on + pampering into the most fantastic and self-willed excesses. + </p> + <p> + Beautiful folly! the death-song of which two great geniuses were composing + at that very moment, each according to his light. For, while Spenser was + embalming in immortal verse all that it contained of noble and Christian + elements, Cervantes sat, perhaps, in his dungeon, writing with his left + hand Don Quixote, saddest of books, in spite of all its wit; the story of + a pure and noble soul, who mistakes this actual life for that ideal one + which he fancies (and not so wrongly either) eternal in the heavens: and + finding instead of a battlefield for heroes in God's cause, nothing but + frivolity, heartlessness, and godlessness, becomes a laughing-stock,—and + dies. One of the saddest books, I say again, which man can read. + </p> + <p> + Amyas hardly dare trust himself to speak, for fear of saying too much; but + he could not help saying— + </p> + <p> + “You are going to certain death, Frank.” + </p> + <p> + “Did I not entreat,” answered he, very quietly, “to go alone?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas had half a mind to compel him to return: but he feared Frank's + obstinacy; and feared, too, the shame of returning on board without having + done anything; so they went up through the wicket-gate, along a smooth + turf walk, into what seemed a pleasure-garden, formed by the hand of man, + or rather of woman. For by the light, not only of the moon, but of the + innumerable fireflies, which flitted to and fro across the sward like + fiery imps sent to light the brothers on their way, they could see that + the bushes on either side, and the trees above their heads, were decked + with flowers of such strangeness and beauty, that, as Frank once said of + Barbados, “even the gardens of Wilton were a desert in comparison.” All + around were orange and lemon trees (probably the only addition which man + had made to Nature's prodigality), the fruit of which, in that strange + colored light of the fireflies, flashed in their eyes like balls of + burnished gold and emerald; while great white tassels swinging from every + tree in the breeze which swept down the glade, tossed in their faces a + fragrant snow of blossoms, and glittering drops of perfumed dew. + </p> + <p> + “What a paradise!” said Amyas to Frank, “with the serpent in it, as of + old. Look!” + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke, there dropped slowly down from a bough, right before + them, what seemed a living chain of gold, ruby, and sapphire. Both + stopped, and another glance showed the small head and bright eyes of a + snake, hissing and glaring full in their faces. + </p> + <p> + “See!” said Frank. “And he comes, as of old, in the likeness of an angel + of light. Do not strike it. There are worse devils to be fought with + to-night than that poor beast.” And stepping aside, they passed the snake + safely, and arrived in front of the house. + </p> + <p> + It was, as I have said, a long low house, with balconies along the upper + story, and the under part mostly open to the wind. The light was still + burning in the window. + </p> + <p> + “Whither now?” said Amyas, in a tone of desperate resignation. + </p> + <p> + “Thither! Where else on earth?” and Frank pointed to the light, trembling + from head to foot, and pushed on. + </p> + <p> + “For Heaven's sake! Look at the negroes on the barbecue!” + </p> + <p> + It was indeed time to stop; for on the barbecue, or terrace of white + plaster, which ran all round the front, lay sleeping full twenty black + figures. + </p> + <p> + “What will you do now? You must step over them to gain an entrance.” + </p> + <p> + “Wait here, and I will go up gently towards the window. She may see me. + She will see me as I step into the moonlight. At least I know an air by + which she will recognize me, if I do but hum a stave.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, you do not even know that that light is hers!—Down, for your + life!” + </p> + <p> + And Amyas dragged him down into the bushes on his left hand; for one of + the negroes, wakening suddenly with a cry, had sat up, and began crossing + himself four or five times, in fear of “Duppy,” and mumbling various + charms, ayes, or what not. + </p> + <p> + The light above was extinguished instantly. + </p> + <p> + “Did you see her?” whispered Frank. + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “I did—the shadow of the face, and the neck! Can I be mistaken?” And + then, covering his face with his hands, he murmured to himself, “Misery! + misery! So near and yet impossible?” + </p> + <p> + “Would it be the less impossible were you face to face? Let us go back. We + cannot go up without detection, even if our going were of use. Come back, + for God's sake, ere all is lost! If you have seen her, as you say, you + know at least that she is alive, and safe in his house—” + </p> + <p> + “As his mistress? or as his wife? Do I know that yet, Amyas, and can I + depart until I know?” There was a few minutes' silence, and then Amyas, + making one last attempt to awaken Frank to the absurdity of the whole + thing, and to laugh him, if possible, out of it, as argument had no effect— + </p> + <p> + “My dear fellow, I am very hungry and sleepy; and this bush is very + prickly; and my boots are full of ants—” + </p> + <p> + “So are mine.—Look!” and Frank caught Amyas's arm, and clenched it + tight. + </p> + <p> + For round the farther corner of the house a dark cloaked figure stole + gently, turning a look now and then upon the sleeping negroes, and came on + right toward them. + </p> + <p> + “Did I not tell you she would come?” whispered Frank, in a triumphant + tone. + </p> + <p> + Amyas was quite bewildered; and to his mind the apparition seemed magical, + and Frank prophetic; for as the figure came nearer, incredulous as he + tried to be, there was no denying that the shape and the walk were exactly + those of her, to find whom they had crossed the Atlantic. True, the figure + was somewhat taller; but then, “she must be grown since I saw her,” + thought Amyas; and his heart for the moment beat as fiercely as Frank's. + </p> + <p> + But what was that behind her? Her shadow against the white wall of the + house. Not so. Another figure, cloaked likewise, but taller far, was + following on her steps. It was a man's. They could see that he wore a + broad sombrero. It could not be Don Guzman, for he was at sea. Who then? + Here was a mystery; perhaps a tragedy. And both brothers held their + breaths, while Amyas felt whether his sword was loose in the sheath. + </p> + <p> + The Rose (if indeed it was she) was within ten yards of them, when she + perceived that she was followed. She gave a little shriek. The cavalier + sprang forward, lifted his hat courteously, and joined her, bowing low. + The moonlight was full upon his face. + </p> + <p> + “It is Eustace, our cousin! How came he here, in the name of all the + fiends?” + </p> + <p> + “Eustace! Then that is she, after all!” said Frank, forgetting everything + else in her. + </p> + <p> + And now flashed across Amyas all that had passed between him and Eustace + in the moorland inn, and Parracombe's story, too, of the suspicious gipsy. + Eustace had been beforehand with them, and warned Don Guzman! All was + explained now: but how had he got hither? + </p> + <p> + “The devil, his master, sent him hither on a broomstick, I suppose: or + what matter how? Here he is; and here we are, worse luck!” And, setting + his teeth, Amyas awaited the end. + </p> + <p> + The two came on, talking earnestly, and walking at a slow pace, so that + the brothers could hear every word. + </p> + <p> + “What shall we do now?” said Frank. “We have no right to be + eavesdroppers.” + </p> + <p> + “But we must be, right or none.” And Amyas held him down firmly by the + arm. + </p> + <p> + “But whither are you going, then, my dear madam?” they heard Eustace say + in a wheedling tone. “Can you wonder if such strange conduct should cause + at least sorrow to your admirable and faithful husband?” + </p> + <p> + “Husband!” whispered Frank faintly to Amyas. “Thank God, thank God! I am + content. Let us go.” + </p> + <p> + But to go was impossible; for, as fate would have it, the two had stopped + just opposite them. + </p> + <p> + “The inestimable Senor Don Guzman—” began Eustace again. + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean by praising him to me in this fulsome way, sir? Do you + suppose that I do not know his virtues better than you?” + </p> + <p> + “If you do, madam” (this was spoken in a harder tone), “it were wise for + you to try them less severely, than by wandering down towards the beach on + the very night that you know his most deadly enemies are lying in wait to + slay him, plunder his house, and most probably to carry you off from him.” + </p> + <p> + “Carry me off? I will die first!” + </p> + <p> + “Who can prove that to him? Appearances are at least against you.” + </p> + <p> + “My love to him, and his trust for me, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “His trust? Have you forgotten, madam, what passed last week, and why he + sailed yesterday?” + </p> + <p> + The only answer was a burst of tears. Eustace stood watching her with a + terrible eye; but they could see his face writhing in the moonlight. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” sobbed she at last. “And if I have been imprudent, was it not + natural to wish to look once more upon an English ship? Are you not + English as well as I? Have you no longing recollections of the dear old + land at home?” + </p> + <p> + Eustace was silent; but his face worked more fiercely than ever. + </p> + <p> + “How can he ever know it?” + </p> + <p> + “Why should he not know it?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” she burst out passionately, “why not, indeed, while you are here? + You, sir, the tempter, you the eavesdropper, you the sunderer of loving + hearts! You, serpent, who found our home a paradise, and see it now a + hell!” + </p> + <p> + “Do you dare to accuse me thus, madam, without a shadow of evidence?” + </p> + <p> + “Dare? I dare anything, for I know all! I have watched you, sir, and I + have borne with you too long.” + </p> + <p> + “Me, madam, whose only sin towards you, as you should know by now, is to + have loved you too well? Rose! Rose! have you not blighted my life for me—broken + my heart? And how have I repaid you? How but by sacrificing myself to seek + you over land and sea, that I might complete your conversion to the bosom + of that Church where a Virgin Mother stands stretching forth soft arms to + embrace her wandering daughter, and cries to you all day long, 'Come unto + me, ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest!' And this + is my reward!” + </p> + <p> + “Depart with your Virgin Mother, sir, and tempt me no more! You have asked + me what I dare; and I dare this, upon my own ground, and in my own garden, + I, Donna Rosa de Soto, to bid you leave this place now and forever, after + having insulted me by talking of your love, and tempted me to give up that + faith which my husband promised me he would respect and protect. Go, sir!” + </p> + <p> + The brothers listened breathless with surprise as much as with rage. Love + and conscience, and perhaps, too, the pride of her lofty alliance, had + converted the once gentle and dreamy Rose into a very Roxana; but it was + only the impulse of a moment. The words had hardly passed her lips, when, + terrified at what she had said, she burst into a fresh flood of tears; + while Eustace answered calmly: + </p> + <p> + “I go, madam: but how know you that I may not have orders, and that, after + your last strange speech, my conscience may compel me to obey those + orders, to take you with me?” + </p> + <p> + “Me? with you?” + </p> + <p> + “My heart has bled for you, madam, for many a year. It longs now that it + had bled itself to death, and never known the last worst agony of telling + you—” + </p> + <p> + And drawing close to her he whispered in her ear—what, the brothers + heard not—but her answer was a shriek which rang through the woods, + and sent the night-birds fluttering up from every bough above their heads. + </p> + <p> + “By Heaven!” said Amyas, “I can stand this no longer. Cut that devil's + throat I must—” + </p> + <p> + “She is lost if his dead body is found by her.” + </p> + <p> + “We are lost if we stay here, then,” said Amyas; “for those negroes will + hurry down at her cry, and then found we must be.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you mad, madam, to betray yourself by your own cries? The negroes + will be here in a moment. I give you one last chance for life, then:” and + Eustace shouted in Spanish at the top of his voice, “Help, help, servants! + Your mistress is being carried off by bandits!” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Let your woman's wit supply the rest: and forget not him who thus saves + you from disgrace.” + </p> + <p> + Whether the brothers heard the last words or not, I know not; but taking + for granted that Eustace had discovered them, they sprang to their feet at + once, determined to make one last appeal, and then to sell their lives as + dearly as they could. + </p> + <p> + Eustace started back at the unexpected apparition; but a second glance + showed him Amyas's mighty bulk; and he spoke calmly— + </p> + <p> + “You see, madam, I did not call without need. Welcome, good cousins. My + charity, as you perceive, has found means to outstrip your craft; while + the fair lady, as was but natural, has been true to her assignation!” + </p> + <p> + “Liar!” cried Frank. “She never knew of our being—” + </p> + <p> + “Credat Judaeus!” answered Eustace; but, as he spoke, Amyas burst through + the bushes at him. There was no time to be lost; and ere the giant could + disentangle himself from the boughs and shrubs, Eustace had slipped off + his long cloak, thrown it over Amyas's head, and ran up the alley shouting + for help. + </p> + <p> + Mad with rage, Amyas gave chase: but in two minutes more Eustace was safe + among the ranks of the negroes, who came shouting and jabbering down the + path. + </p> + <p> + He rushed back. Frank was just ending some wild appeal to Rose— + </p> + <p> + “Your conscience! your religion!—” + </p> + <p> + “No, never! I can face the chance of death, but not the loss of him. Go! + for God's sake, leave me!” + </p> + <p> + “You are lost, then,—and I have ruined you!” + </p> + <p> + “Come off, now or never,” cried Amyas, clutching him by the arm, and + dragging him away like a child. + </p> + <p> + “You forgive me?” cried he. + </p> + <p> + “Forgive you?” and she burst into tears again. + </p> + <p> + Frank burst into tears also. + </p> + <p> + “Let me go back, and die with her—Amyas!—my oath!—my + honor!” and he struggled to turn back. + </p> + <p> + Amyas looked back too, and saw her standing calmly, with her hands folded + across her breast, awaiting Eustace and the servants; and he half turned + to go back also. Both saw how fearfully appearances had put her into + Eustace's power. Had he not a right to suspect that they were there by her + appointment; that she was going to escape with them? And would not Eustace + use his power? The thought of the Inquisition crossed their minds. “Was + that the threat which Eustace had whispered?” asked he of Frank. + </p> + <p> + “It was,” groaned Frank, in answer. + </p> + <p> + For the first and last time in his life, Amyas Leigh stood irresolute. + </p> + <p> + “Back, and stab her to the heart first!” said Frank, struggling to escape + from him. + </p> + <p> + Oh, if Amyas were but alone, and Frank safe home in England! To charge the + whole mob, kill her, kill Eustace, and then cut his way back again to the + ship, or die,—what matter? as he must die some day,—sword in + hand! But Frank!—and then flashed before his eyes his mother's + hopeless face; then rang in his ears his mother's last bequest to him of + that frail treasure. Let Rose, let honor, let the whole world perish, he + must save Frank. See! the negroes were up with her now—past her—away + for life! and once more he dragged his brother down the hill, and through + the wicket, only just in time; for the whole gang of negroes were within + ten yards of them in full pursuit. + </p> + <p> + “Frank,” said he, sharply, “if you ever hope to see your mother again, + rouse yourself, man, and fight!” And, without waiting for an answer, he + turned, and charged up-hill upon his pursuers, who saw the long bright + blade, and fled instantly. + </p> + <p> + Again he hurried Frank down the hill; the path wound in zigzags, and he + feared that the negroes would come straight over the cliff, and so cut off + his retreat: but the prickly cactuses were too much for them, and they + were forced to follow by the path, while the brothers (Frank having + somewhat regained his senses) turned every now and then to menace them: + but once on the rocky path, stones began to fly fast; small ones + fortunately, and wide and wild for want of light—but when they + reached the pebble-beach? Both were too proud to run; but, if ever Amyas + prayed in his life, he prayed for the last twenty yards before he reached + the water-mark. + </p> + <p> + “Now, Frank! down to the boat as hard as you can run, while I keep the + curs back.” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas! what do you take me for? My madness brought you hither: your + devotion shall not bring me back without you.” + </p> + <p> + “Together, then!” + </p> + <p> + And putting Frank's arm through his, they hurried down, shouting to their + men. + </p> + <p> + The boat was not fifty yards off: but fast travelling over the pebbles was + impossible, and long ere half the distance was crossed, the negroes were + on the beach, and the storm burst. A volley of great quartz pebbles + whistled round their heads. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, Frank! for life's sake! Men, to the rescue! Ah! what was that?” + </p> + <p> + The dull crash of a pebble against Frank's fair head! Drooping like + Hyacinthus beneath the blow of the quoit, he sank on Amyas's arm. The + giant threw him over his shoulder, and plunged blindly on,—himself + struck again and again. + </p> + <p> + “Fire, men! Give it the black villains!” + </p> + <p> + The arquebuses crackled from the boat in front. What were those dull thuds + which answered from behind? Echoes? No. Over his head the caliver-balls + went screeching. The governors' guard have turned out, followed them to + the beach, fixed their calivers, and are firing over the negroes' heads, + as the savages rush down upon the hapless brothers. + </p> + <p> + If, as all say, there are moments which are hours, how many hours was + Amyas Leigh in reaching that boat's bow? Alas! the negroes are there as + soon as he, and the guard, having left their calivers, are close behind + them, sword in hand. Amyas is up to his knees in water—battered with + stones—blinded with blood. The boat is swaying off and on against + the steep pebble-bank: he clutches at it—misses—falls headlong—rises + half-choked with water: but Frank is still in his arms. Another heavy blow—a + confused roar of shouts, shots, curses—a confused mass of negroes + and English, foam and pebbles—and he recollects no more. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + He is lying in the stern-sheets of the boat; stiff, weak, half blind with + blood. He looks up; the moon is still bright overhead: but they are away + from the shore now, for the wave-crests are dancing white before the + land-breeze, high above the boat's side. The boat seems strangely empty. + Two men are pulling instead of six! And what is this lying heavy across + his chest? He pushes, and is answered by a groan. He puts his hand down to + rise, and is answered by another groan. + </p> + <p> + “What's this?” + </p> + <p> + “All that are left of us,” says Simon Evans of Clovelly. + </p> + <p> + “All?” The bottom of the boat seemed paved with human bodies. “Oh God! oh + God!” moans Amyas, trying to rise. “And where—where is Frank? + Frank!” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Frank!” cries Evans. There is no answer. + </p> + <p> + “Dead?” shrieks Amyas. “Look for him, for God's sake, look!” and + struggling from under his living load, he peers into each pale and + bleeding face. + </p> + <p> + “Where is he? Why don't you speak, forward there?” + </p> + <p> + “Because we have naught to say, sir,” answers Evans, almost surlily. + </p> + <p> + Frank was not there. + </p> + <p> + “Put the boat about! To the shore!” roars Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Look over the gunwale, and judge for yourself, sir!” + </p> + <p> + The waves are leaping fierce and high before a furious land-breeze. Return + is impossible. + </p> + <p> + “Cowards! villains! traitors! hounds! to have left him behind.” + </p> + <p> + “Listen you to me, Captain Amyas Leigh,” says Simon Evans, resting on his + oar; “and hang me for mutiny, if you will, when we're aboard, if we ever + get there. Isn't it enough to bring us out to death (as you knew yourself, + sir, for you're prudent enough) to please that poor young gentleman's + fancy about a wench; but you must call coward an honest man that have + saved your life this night, and not a one of us but has his wound to + show?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent; the rebuke was just. + </p> + <p> + “I tell you, sir, if we've hove a stone out of this boat since we got off, + we've hove two hundredweight, and, if the Lord had not fought for us, + she'd have been beat to noggin-staves there on the beach.” + </p> + <p> + “How did I come here, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Tom Hart dragged you in out of five feet water, and then thrust the boat + off, and had his brains beat out for reward. All were knocked down but us + two. So help me God, we thought that you had hove Mr. Frank on board just + as you were knocked down, and saw William Frost drag him in.” + </p> + <p> + But William Frost was lying senseless in the bottom of the boat. There was + no explanation. After all, none was needed. + </p> + <p> + “And I have three wounds from stones, and this man behind me as many more, + beside a shot through his shoulder. Now, sir, be we cowards?” + </p> + <p> + “You have done your duty,” said Amyas, and sank down in the boat, and + cried as if his heart would break; and then sprang up, and, wounded as he + was, took the oar from Evans's hands. With weary work they made the ship, + but so exhausted that another boat had to be lowered to get them + alongside. + </p> + <p> + The alarm being now given, it was hardly safe to remain where they were; + and after a stormy and sad argument, it was agreed to weigh anchor and + stand off and on till morning; for Amyas refused to leave the spot till he + was compelled, though he had no hope (how could he have?) that Frank might + still be alive. And perhaps it was well for them, as will appear in the + next chapter, that morning did not find them at anchor close to the town. + </p> + <p> + However that may be, so ended that fatal venture of mistaken chivalry. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX + </h2> + <h3> + SPANISH BLOODHOUNDS AND ENGLISH MASTIFFS + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Full seven long hours in all men's sight + This fight endured sore, + Until our men so feeble grew, + That they could fight no more. + And then upon dead horses + Full savorly they fed, + And drank the puddle water, + They could no better get. + + “When they had fed so freely + They kneeled on the ground, + And gave God thanks devoutly for + The favor they had found; + Then beating up their colors, + The fight they did renew; + And turning to the Spaniards, + A thousand more they slew.” + + The Brave Lord Willoughby. 1586. +</pre> + <p> + When the sun leaped up the next morning, and the tropic light flashed + suddenly into the tropic day, Amyas was pacing the deck, with dishevelled + hair and torn clothes, his eyes red with rage and weeping, his heart full—how + can I describe it? Picture it to yourselves, picture it to yourselves, you + who have ever lost a brother; and you who have not, thank God that you + know nothing of his agony. Full of impossible projects, he strode and + staggered up and down, as the ship thrashed close-hauled through the + rolling seas. He would go back and burn the villa. He would take Guayra, + and have the life of every man in it in return for his brother's. “We can + do it, lads!” he shouted. “If Drake took Nombre de Dios, we can take La + Guayra.” And every voice shouted, “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “We will have it, Amyas, and have Frank too, yet,” cried Cary; but Amyas + shook his head. He knew, and knew not why he knew, that all the ports in + New Spain would never restore to him that one beloved face. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he shall be well avenged. And look there! There is the first crop of + our vengeance. And he pointed toward the shore, where between them and the + now distant peaks of the Silla, three sails appeared, not five miles to + windward. + </p> + <p> + “There are the Spanish bloodhounds on our heels, the same ships which we + saw yesterday off Guayra. Back, lads, and welcome them, if they were a + dozen.” + </p> + <p> + There was a murmur of applause from all around; and if any young heart + sank for a moment at the prospect of fighting three ships at once, it was + awed into silence by the cheer which rose from all the older men, and by + Salvation Yeo's stentorian voice. + </p> + <p> + “If there were a dozen, the Lord is with us, who has said, 'One of you + shall chase a thousand.' Clear away, lads, and see the glory of the Lord + this day.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” cried Cary; and the ship was kept still closer to the wind. + </p> + <p> + Amyas had revived at the sight of battle. He no longer felt his wounds, or + his great sorrow; even Frank's last angel's look grew dimmer every moment + as he bustled about the deck; and ere a quarter of an hour had passed, his + voice cried firmly and cheerfully as of old— + </p> + <p> + “Now, my masters, let us serve God, and then to breakfast, and after that + clear for action.” + </p> + <p> + Jack Brimblecombe read the daily prayers, and the prayers before a fight + at sea, and his honest voice trembled, as, in the Prayer for all + Conditions of Men (in spite of Amyas's despair), he added, “and especially + for our dear brother Mr. Francis Leigh, perhaps captive among the + idolaters;” and so they rose. + </p> + <p> + “Now, then,” said Amyas, “to breakfast. A Frenchman fights best fasting, a + Dutchman drunk, an Englishman full, and a Spaniard when the devil is in + him, and that's always.” + </p> + <p> + “And good beef and the good cause are a match for the devil,” said Cary. + “Come down, captain; you must eat too.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas shook his head, took the tiller from the steersman, and bade him go + below and fill himself. Will Cary went down, and returned in five minutes, + with a plate of bread and beef, and a great jack of ale, coaxed them down + Amyas's throat, as a nurse does with a child, and then scuttled below + again with tears hopping down his face. + </p> + <p> + Amyas stood still steering. His face was grown seven years older in the + last night. A terrible set calm was on him. Woe to the man who came across + him that day! + </p> + <p> + “There are three of them, you see, my masters,” said he, as the crew came + on deck again. “A big ship forward, and two galleys astern of her. The big + ship may keep; she is a race ship, and if we can but recover the wind of + her, we will see whether our height is not a match for her length. We must + give her the slip, and take the galleys first.” + </p> + <p> + “I thank the Lord,” said Yeo, “who has given so wise a heart to so young a + general; a very David and Daniel, saving his presence, lads; and if any + dare not follow him, let him be as the men of Meroz and of Succoth. Amen! + Silas Staveley, smite me that boy over the head, the young monkey; why is + he not down at the powder-room door?” + </p> + <p> + And Yeo went about his gunnery, as one who knew how to do it, and had the + most terrible mind to do it thoroughly, and the most terrible faith that + it was God's work. + </p> + <p> + So all fell to; and though there was comparatively little to be done, the + ship having been kept as far as could be in fighting order all night, yet + there was “clearing of decks, lacing of nettings, making of bulwarks, + fitting of waist-cloths, arming of tops, tallowing of pikes, slinging of + yards, doubling of sheets and tacks,” enough to satisfy even the + pedantical soul of Richard Hawkins himself. Amyas took charge of the poop, + Cary of the forecastle, and Yeo, as gunner, of the main-deck, while Drew, + as master, settled himself in the waist; and all was ready, and more than + ready, before the great ship was within two miles of them. + </p> + <p> + And now while the mastiffs of England and the bloodhounds of Spain are + nearing and nearing over the rolling surges, thirsting for each other's + blood, let us spend a few minutes at least in looking at them both, and + considering the causes which in those days enabled the English to face and + conquer armaments immensely superior in size and number of ships, and to + boast that in the whole Spanish war but one queen's ship, the Revenge, and + (if I recollect right) but one private man-of-war, Sir Richard Hawkins's + Dainty, had ever struck their colors to the enemy. + </p> + <p> + What was it which enabled Sir Richard Grenville's Revenge, in his last + fearful fight off the Azores, to endure, for twelve hours before she + struck, the attack of eight Spanish armadas, of which two (three times her + own burden) sank at her side; and after all her masts were gone, and she + had been boarded three times without success, to defy to the last the + whole fleet of fifty-four sail, which lay around her, waiting for her to + sink, “like dogs around the dying forest king”? + </p> + <p> + What enabled young Richard Hawkins's Dainty, though half her guns were + useless through the carelessness or treachery of the gunner, to maintain + for three days a running fight with two Spaniards of equal size with her, + double the weight of metal, and ten times the number of men? + </p> + <p> + What enabled Sir George Cary's illustrious ship, the Content, to fight, + single-handed, from seven in the morning till eleven at night, with four + great armadas and two galleys, though her heaviest gun was but one + nine-pounder, and for many hours she had but thirteen men fit for service? + </p> + <p> + What enabled, in the very year of which I write, those two “valiant Turkey + Merchantmen of London, the Merchant Royal and the Tobie,” with their three + small consorts, to cripple, off Pantellaria in the Mediterranean, the + whole fleet of Spanish galleys sent to intercept them, and return + triumphant through the Straits of Gibraltar? + </p> + <p> + And lastly, what in the fight of 1588, whereof more hereafter, enabled the + English fleet to capture, destroy, and scatter that Great Armada, with the + loss (but not the capture) of one pinnace, and one gentleman of note? + </p> + <p> + There were more causes than one: the first seems to have lain in the build + of the English ships; the second in their superior gunnery and weight of + metal; the third (without which the first would have been useless) in the + hearts of the English men. + </p> + <p> + The English ship was much shorter than the Spanish; and this (with the rig + of those days) gave them an ease in manoeuvring, which utterly confounded + their Spanish foes. “The English ships in the fight of 1588,” says Camden, + “charged the enemy with marvellous agility, and having discharged their + broadsides, flew forth presently into the deep, and levelled their shot + directly, without missing, at those great ships of the Spaniards, which + were altogether heavy and unwieldy.” Moreover, the Spanish fashion, in the + West Indies at least, though not in the ships of the Great Armada, was, + for the sake of carrying merchandise, to build their men-of-war + flush-decked, or as it was called “race” (razes), which left those on deck + exposed and open; while the English fashion was to heighten the ship as + much as possible at stem and stern, both by the sweep of her lines, and + also by stockades (“close fights and cage-works”) on the poop and + forecastle, thus giving to the men a shelter, which was further increased + by strong bulkheads (“cobridgeheads”) across the main-deck below, dividing + the ship thus into a number of separate forts, fitted with swivels + (“bases, fowlers, and murderers”) and loopholed for musketry and arrows. + </p> + <p> + But the great source of superiority was, after all, in the men themselves. + The English sailor was then, as now, a quite amphibious and all-cunning + animal, capable of turning his hand to everything, from needlework and + carpentry to gunnery or hand-to-hand blows; and he was, moreover, one of a + nation, every citizen of which was not merely permitted to carry arms, but + compelled by law to practise from childhood the use of the bow, and + accustomed to consider sword-play and quarter-staff as a necessary part + and parcel of education, and the pastime of every leisure hour. The + “fiercest nation upon earth,” as they were then called, and the freest + also, each man of them fought for himself with the self-help and + self-respect of a Yankee ranger, and once bidden to do his work, was + trusted to carry it out by his own wit as best he could. In one word, he + was a free man. + </p> + <p> + The English officers, too, as now, lived on terms of sympathy with their + men unknown to the Spaniards, who raised between the commander and the + commanded absurd barriers of rank and blood, which forbade to his pride + any labor but that of fighting. The English officers, on the other hand, + brought up to the same athletic sports, the same martial exercises, as + their men, were not ashamed to care for them, to win their friendship, + even on emergency to consult their judgment; and used their rank, not to + differ from their men, but to outvie them; not merely to command and be + obeyed, but, like Homer's heroes, or the old Norse Vikings, to lead and be + followed. Drake touched the true mainspring of English success when he + once (in his voyage round the world) indignantly rebuked some coxcomb + gentlemen-adventurers with—“I should like to see the gentleman that + will refuse to set his hand to a rope. I must have the gentlemen to hale + and draw with the mariners.” But those were days in which her majesty's + service was as little overridden by absurd rules of seniority, as by that + etiquette which is at once the counterfeit and the ruin of true + discipline. Under Elizabeth and her ministers, a brave and a shrewd man + was certain of promotion, let his rank or his age be what they might; the + true honor of knighthood covered once and for all any lowliness of birth; + and the merchant service (in which all the best sea-captains, even those + of noble blood, were more or less engaged) was then a nursery, not only + for seamen, but for warriors, in days when Spanish and Portuguese traders + (whenever they had a chance) got rid of English competition by salvos of + cannon-shot. + </p> + <p> + Hence, as I have said, that strong fellow-feeling between officers and + men; and hence mutinies (as Sir Richard Hawkins tells us) were all but + unknown in the English ships, while in the Spanish they broke out on every + slight occasion. For the Spaniards, by some suicidal pedantry, had allowed + their navy to be crippled by the same despotism, etiquette, and official + routine, by which the whole nation was gradually frozen to death in the + course of the next century or two; forgetting that, fifty years before, + Cortez, Pizarro, and the early Conquistadores of America had achieved + their miraculous triumphs on the exactly opposite method by that very + fellow-feeling between commander and commanded by which the English were + now conquering them in their turn. + </p> + <p> + Their navy was organized on a plan complete enough; but on one which was, + as the event proved, utterly fatal to their prowess and unanimity, and + which made even their courage and honor useless against the assaults of + free men. “They do, in their armadas at sea, divide themselves into three + bodies; to wit, soldiers, mariners, and gunners. The soldiers and officers + watch and ward as if on shore; and this is the only duty they undergo, + except cleaning their arms, wherein they are not over curious. The gunners + are exempted from all labor and care, except about the artillery; and + these are either Almaines, Flemings, or strangers; for the Spaniards are + but indifferently practised in this art. The mariners are but as slaves to + the rest, to moil and to toil day and night; and those but few and bad, + and not suffered to sleep or harbor under the decks. For in fair or foul + weather, in storms, sun, or rain, they must pass void of covert or + succor.” + </p> + <p> + This is the account of one who was long prisoner on board their ships; let + it explain itself, while I return to my tale. For the great ship is now + within two musket-shots of the Rose, with the golden flag of Spain + floating at her poop; and her trumpets are shouting defiance up the + breeze, from a dozen brazen throats, which two or three answer lustily + from the Rose, from whose poop flies the flag of England, and from her + fore the arms of Leigh and Cary side by side, and over them the ship and + bridge of the good town of Bideford. And then Amyas calls: + </p> + <p> + “Now, silence trumpets, waits, play up! 'Fortune my foe!' and God and the + Queen be with us!” + </p> + <p> + Whereon (laugh not, reader, for it was the fashion of those musical as + well as valiant days) up rose that noble old favorite of good Queen Bess, + from cornet and sackbut, fife and drum; while Parson Jack, who had taken + his stand with the musicians on the poop, worked away lustily at his + violin, and like Volker of the Nibelungen Lied. + </p> + <p> + “Well played, Jack; thy elbow flies like a lamb's tail,” said Amyas, + forcing a jest. + </p> + <p> + “It shall fly to a better fiddle-bow presently, sir, an I have the luck—” + </p> + <p> + “Steady, helm!” said Amyas. “What is he after now?” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard, who had been coming upon them right down the wind under a + press of sail, took in his light canvas. + </p> + <p> + “He don't know what to make of our waiting for him so bold,” said the + helmsman. + </p> + <p> + “He does though, and means to fight us,” cried another. “See, he is + hauling up the foot of his mainsail, but he wants to keep the wind of us.” + </p> + <p> + “Let him try, then,” quoth Amyas. “Keep her closer still. Let no one fire + till we are about. Man the starboard guns; to starboard, and wait, all + small arm men. Pass the order down to the gunner, and bid all fire high, + and take the rigging.” + </p> + <p> + Bang went one of the Spaniard's bow guns, and the shot went wide. Then + another and another, while the men fidgeted about, looking at the priming + of their muskets, and loosened their arrows in the sheaf. + </p> + <p> + “Lie down, men, and sing a psalm. When I want you, I'll call you. Closer + still, if you can, helmsman, and we will try a short ship against a long + one. We can sail two points nearer the wind than he.” + </p> + <p> + As Amyas had calculated, the Spaniard would gladly enough have stood + across the Rose's bows, but knowing the English readiness, dare not for + fear of being raked; so her only plan, if she did not intend to shoot past + her foe down to leeward, was to put her head close to the wind, and wait + for her on the same tack. + </p> + <p> + Amyas laughed to himself. “Hold on yet awhile. More ways of killing a cat + than choking her with cream. Drew, there, are your men ready?” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ay, sir!” and on they went, closing fast with the Spaniard, till + within a pistol-shot. + </p> + <p> + “Ready about!” and about she went like an eel, and ran upon the opposite + tack right under the Spaniard's stern. The Spaniard, astounded at the + quickness of the manoeuvre, hesitated a moment, and then tried to get + about also, as his only chance; but it was too late, and while his + lumbering length was still hanging in the wind's eye, Amyas's bowsprit had + all but scraped his quarter, and the Rose passed slowly across his stern + at ten yards' distance. + </p> + <p> + “Now, then!” roared Amyas. “Fire, and with a will! Have at her, archers: + have at her, muskets all!” and in an instant a storm of bar and + chain-shot, round and canister, swept the proud Don from stem to stern, + while through the white cloud of smoke the musket-balls, and the still + deadlier cloth-yard arrows, whistled and rushed upon their venomous + errand. Down went the steersman, and every soul who manned the poop. Down + went the mizzen topmast, in went the stern-windows and quarter-galleries; + and as the smoke cleared away, the gorgeous painting of the Madre + Dolorosa, with her heart full of seven swords, which, in a gilded frame, + bedizened the Spanish stern, was shivered in splinters; while, most + glorious of all, the golden flag of Spain, which the last moment flaunted + above their heads, hung trailing in the water. The ship, her tiller shot + away, and her helmsman killed, staggered helplessly a moment, and then + fell up into the wind. + </p> + <p> + “Well done, men of Devon!” shouted Amyas, as cheers rent the welkin. + </p> + <p> + “She has struck,” cried some, as the deafening hurrahs died away. + </p> + <p> + “Not a bit,” said Amyas. “Hold on, helmsman, and leave her to patch her + tackle while we settle the galleys.” + </p> + <p> + On they shot merrily, and long ere the armada could get herself to rights + again, were two good miles to windward, with the galleys sweeping down + fast upon them. + </p> + <p> + And two venomous-looking craft they were, as they shot through the short + chopping sea upon some forty oars apiece, stretching their long sword-fish + snouts over the water, as if snuffing for their prey. Behind this long + snout, a strong square forecastle was crammed with soldiers, and the + muzzles of cannon grinned out through portholes, not only in the sides of + the forecastle, but forward in the line of the galley's course, thus + enabling her to keep up a continual fire on a ship right ahead. + </p> + <p> + The long low waist was packed full of the slaves, some five or six to each + oar, and down the centre, between the two banks, the English could see the + slave-drivers walking up and down a long gangway, whip in hand. A raised + quarter-deck at the stern held more soldiers, the sunlight flashing + merrily upon their armor and their gun-barrels; as they neared, the + English could hear plainly the cracks of the whips, and the yells as of + wild beasts which answered them; the roll and rattle of the oars, and the + loud “Ha!” of the slaves which accompanied every stroke, and the oaths and + curses of the drivers; while a sickening musky smell, as of a pack of + kennelled hounds, came down the wind from off those dens of misery. No + wonder if many a young heart shuddered as it faced, for the first time, + the horrible reality of those floating hells, the cruelties whereof had + rung so often in English ears, from the stories of their own countrymen, + who had passed them, fought them, and now and then passed years of misery + on board of them. Who knew but what there might be English among those + sun-browned half-naked masses of panting wretches? + </p> + <p> + “Must we fire upon the slaves?” asked more than one, as the thought + crossed him. + </p> + <p> + Amyas sighed. + </p> + <p> + “Spare them all you can, in God's name; but if they try to run us down, + rake them we must, and God forgive us.” + </p> + <p> + The two galleys came on abreast of each other, some forty yards apart. To + outmanoeuvre their oars as he had done the ship's sails, Amyas knew was + impossible. To run from them was to be caught between them and the ship. + </p> + <p> + He made up his mind, as usual, to the desperate game. + </p> + <p> + “Lay her head up in the wind, helmsman, and we will wait for them.” + </p> + <p> + They were now within musket-shot, and opened fire from their bow-guns; + but, owing to the chopping sea, their aim was wild. Amyas, as usual, + withheld his fire. + </p> + <p> + The men stood at quarters with compressed lips, not knowing what was to + come next. Amyas, towering motionless on the quarter-deck, gave his orders + calmly and decisively. The men saw that he trusted himself, and trusted + him accordingly. + </p> + <p> + The Spaniards, seeing him wait for them, gave a shout of joy—was the + Englishman mad? And the two galleys converged rapidly, intending to strike + him full, one on each bow. + </p> + <p> + They were within forty yards—another minute, and the shock would + come. The Englishman's helm went up, his yards creaked round, and + gathering way, he plunged upon the larboard galley. + </p> + <p> + “A dozen gold nobles to him who brings down the steersman!” shouted Cary, + who had his cue. + </p> + <p> + And a flight of arrows from the forecastle rattled upon the galley's + quarter-deck. + </p> + <p> + Hit or not hit, the steersman lost his nerve, and shrank from the coming + shock. The galley's helm went up to port, and her beak slid all but + harmless along Amyas's bow; a long dull grind, and then loud crack on + crack, as the Rose sawed slowly through the bank of oars from stem to + stern, hurling the wretched slaves in heaps upon each other; and ere her + mate on the other side could swing round, to strike him in his new + position, Amyas's whole broadside, great and small, had been poured into + her at pistol-shot, answered by a yell which rent their ears and hearts. + </p> + <p> + “Spare the slaves! Fire at the soldiers!” cried Amyas; but the work was + too hot for much discrimination; for the larboard galley, crippled but not + undaunted, swung round across his stern, and hooked herself venomously on + to him. + </p> + <p> + It was a move more brave than wise; for it prevented the other galley from + returning to the attack without exposing herself a second time to the + English broadside; and a desperate attempt of the Spaniards to board at + once through the stern-ports and up the quarter was met with such a + demurrer of shot and steel, that they found themselves in three minutes + again upon the galley's poop, accompanied, to their intense disgust, by + Amyas Leigh and twenty English swords. + </p> + <p> + Five minutes' hard cutting, hand to hand, and the poop was clear. The + soldiers in the forecastle had been able to give them no assistance, open + as they lay to the arrows and musketry from the Rose's lofty stern. Amyas + rushed along the central gangway, shouting in Spanish, “Freedom to the + slaves! death to the masters!” clambered into the forecastle, followed + close by his swarm of wasps, and set them so good an example how to use + their stings, that in three minutes more there was not a Spaniard on board + who was not dead or dying. + </p> + <p> + “Let the slaves free!” shouted he. “Throw us a hammer down, men. Hark! + there's an English voice!” + </p> + <p> + There is indeed. From amid the wreck of broken oars and writhing limbs, a + voice is shrieking in broadest Devon to the master, who is looking over + the side. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Robert Drew! Robert Drew! Come down, and take me out of hell!” + </p> + <p> + “Who be you, in the name of the Lord!” + </p> + <p> + “Don't you mind William Prust, that Captain Hawkins left behind in the + Honduras, years and years agone? There's nine of us aboard, if your shot + hasn't put 'em out of their misery. Come down, if you've a Christian + heart, come down!” + </p> + <p> + Utterly forgetful of all discipline, Drew leaps down hammer in hand, and + the two old comrades rush into each other's arms. + </p> + <p> + Why make a long story of what took but five minutes to do? The nine men + (luckily none of them wounded) are freed, and helped on board, to be + hugged and kissed by old comrades and young kinsmen; while the remaining + slaves, furnished with a couple of hammers, are told to free themselves + and help the English. The wretches answer by a shout; and Amyas, once more + safe on board again, dashes after the other galley, which has been + hovering out of reach of his guns: but there is no need to trouble himself + about her; sickened with what she has got, she is struggling right up + wind, leaning over to one side, and seemingly ready to sink. + </p> + <p> + “Are there any English on board of her?” asks Amyas, loath to lose the + chance of freeing a countryman. + </p> + <p> + “Never a one, sir, thank God.” + </p> + <p> + So they set to work to repair damages; while the liberated slaves, having + shifted some of the galley's oars, pull away after their comrade; and that + with such a will, that in ten minutes they have caught her up, and + careless of the Spaniard's fire, boarded her en masse, with yells as of a + thousand wolves. There will be fearful vengeance taken on those tyrants, + unless they play the man this day. + </p> + <p> + And in the meanwhile half the crew are clothing, feeding, questioning, + caressing those nine poor fellows thus snatched from living death; and + Yeo, hearing the news, has rushed up on deck to welcome his old comrades, + and— + </p> + <p> + “Is Michael Heard, my cousin, here among you?” + </p> + <p> + Yes, Michael Heard is there, white-headed rather from misery than age; and + the embracings and questionings begin afresh. + </p> + <p> + “Where is my wife, Salvation Yeo?” + </p> + <p> + “With the Lord.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” says the old man, with a short shudder. “I thought so much; and my + two boys?” + </p> + <p> + “With the Lord.” + </p> + <p> + The old man catches Yeo by the arm. + </p> + <p> + “How, then?” It is Yeo's turn to shudder now. + </p> + <p> + “Killed in Panama, fighting the Spaniards; sailing with Mr. Oxenham; and + 'twas I led 'em into it. May God and you forgive me!” + </p> + <p> + “They couldn't die better, cousin Yeo. Where's my girl Grace?” + </p> + <p> + “Died in childbed.” + </p> + <p> + “Any childer?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + The old man covers his face with his hands for a while. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I've been alone with the Lord these fifteen years, so I must not + whine at being alone a while longer—'t won't be long.” + </p> + <p> + “Put this coat on your back, uncle,” says some one. + </p> + <p> + “No; no coats for me. Naked came I into the world, and naked I go out of + it this day, if I have a chance. You'm better to go to your work, lads, or + the big one will have the wind of you yet.” + </p> + <p> + “So she will,” said Amyas, who has overheard; but so great is the + curiosity on all hands, that he has some trouble in getting the men to + quarters again; indeed, they only go on condition of parting among + themselves with them the new-comers, each to tell his sad and strange + story. How after Captain Hawkins, constrained by famine, had put them + ashore, they wandered in misery till the Spaniards took them; how, instead + of hanging them (as they at first intended), the Dons fed and clothed + them, and allotted them as servants to various gentlemen about Mexico, + where they throve, turned their hands (like true sailors) to all manner of + trades, and made much money, and some of them were married, even to women + of wealth; so that all went well, until the fatal year 1574, when, “much + against the minds of many of the Spaniards themselves, that cruel and + bloody Inquisition was established for the first time in the Indies;” and + how from that moment their lives were one long tragedy; how they were all + imprisoned for a year and a half, not for proselytizing, but simply for + not believing in transubstantiation; racked again and again, and at last + adjudged to receive publicly, on Good Friday, 1575, some three hundred, + some one hundred stripes, and to serve in the galleys for six or ten years + each; while, as the crowning atrocity of the Moloch sacrifice, three of + them were burnt alive in the market-place of Mexico; a story no less + hideous than true, the details whereof whoso list may read in Hakluyt's + third volume, as told by Philip Miles, one of that hapless crew; as well + as the adventures of Job Hortop, a messmate of his, who, after being sent + to Spain, and seeing two more of his companions burnt alive at Seville, + was sentenced to row in the galleys ten years, and after that to go to the + “everlasting prison remediless;” from which doom, after twenty-three years + of slavery, he was delivered by the galleon Dudley, and came safely home + to Redriff. + </p> + <p> + The fate of Hortop and his comrades was, of course, still unknown to the + rescued men; but the history even of their party was not likely to improve + the good feeling of the crew toward the Spanish ship which was two miles + to leeward of them, and which must be fought with, or fled from, before a + quarter of an hour was past. So, kneeling down upon the deck, as many a + brave crew in those days did in like case, they “gave God thanks devoutly + for the favor they had found;” and then with one accord, at Jack's + leading, sang one and all the Ninety-fourth Psalm:* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Oh, Lord, thou dost revenge all wrong; + Vengeance belongs to thee,” etc. + + * The crew of the Tobie, cast away on the Barbary coast a + few years after, “began with heavy hearts to sing the + twelfth Psalm, 'Help, Lord, for good and godly men,' etc. + Howbeit, ere we had finished four verses, the waves of the + sea had stopped the breaths of most.” + </pre> + <p> + And then again to quarters; for half the day's work, or more than half, + still remained to be done; and hardly were the decks cleared afresh, and + the damage repaired as best it could be, when she came ranging up to + leeward, as closehauled as she could. + </p> + <p> + She was, as I said, a long flush-decked ship of full five hundred tons, + more than double the size, in fact, of the Rose, though not so lofty in + proportion; and many a bold heart beat loud, and no shame to them, as she + began firing away merrily, determined, as all well knew, to wipe out in + English blood the disgrace of her late foil. + </p> + <p> + “Never mind, my merry masters,” said Amyas, “she has quantity and we + quality.” + </p> + <p> + “That's true,” said one, “for one honest man is worth two rogues.” + </p> + <p> + “And one culverin three of their footy little ordnance,” said another. “So + when you will, captain, and have at her.” + </p> + <p> + “Let her come abreast of us, and don't burn powder. We have the wind, and + can do what we like with her. Serve the men out a horn of ale all round, + steward, and all take your time.” + </p> + <p> + So they waited for five minutes more, and then set to work quietly, after + the fashion of English mastiffs, though, like those mastiffs, they waxed + right mad before three rounds were fired, and the white splinters (sight + beloved) began to crackle and fly. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, having, as he had said, the wind, and being able to go nearer it + than the Spaniard, kept his place at easy point-blank range for his two + eighteen-pounder culverins, which Yeo and his mate worked with terrible + effect. + </p> + <p> + “We are lacking her through and through every shot,” said he. “Leave the + small ordnance alone yet awhile, and we shall sink her without them.” + </p> + <p> + “Whing, whing,” went the Spaniard's shot, like so many humming-tops, + through the rigging far above their heads; for the ill-constructed ports + of those days prevented the guns from hulling an enemy who was to + windward, unless close alongside. + </p> + <p> + “Blow, jolly breeze,” cried one, “and lay the Don over all thou canst.—What + the murrain is gone, aloft there?” + </p> + <p> + Alas! a crack, a flap, a rattle; and blank dismay! An unlucky shot had cut + the foremast (already wounded) in two, and all forward was a mass of + dangling wreck. + </p> + <p> + “Forward, and cut away the wreck!” said Amyas, unmoved. “Small arm men, be + ready. He will be aboard of us in five minutes!” + </p> + <p> + It was too true. The Rose, unmanageable from the loss of her head-sail, + lay at the mercy of the Spaniard; and the archers and musqueteers had + hardly time to range themselves to leeward, when the Madre Dolorosa's + chains were grinding against the Rose's, and grapples tossed on board from + stem to stern. + </p> + <p> + “Don't cut them loose!” roared Amyas. “Let them stay and see the fun! Now, + dogs of Devon, show your teeth, and hurrah for God and the queen!” + </p> + <p> + And then began a fight most fierce and fell: the Spaniards, according to + their fashion, attempting to board, the English, amid fierce shouts of + “God and the queen!” “God and St. George for England!” sweeping them back + by showers of arrows and musquet balls, thrusting them down with pikes, + hurling grenades and stink-pots from the tops; while the swivels on both + sides poured their grape, and bar, and chain, and the great main-deck + guns, thundering muzzle to muzzle, made both ships quiver and recoil, as + they smashed the round shot through and through each other. + </p> + <p> + So they roared and flashed, fast clenched to each other in that devil's + wedlock, under a cloud of smoke beneath the cloudless tropic sky; while + all around, the dolphins gambolled, and the flying-fish shot on from swell + to swell, and the rainbow-hued jellies opened and shut their cups of + living crystal to the sun, as merrily as if man had never fallen, and hell + had never broken loose on earth. + </p> + <p> + So it raged for an hour or more, till all arms were weary, and all tongues + clove to the mouth. And sick men, rotting with scurvy, scrambled up on + deck, and fought with the strength of madness; and tiny powder-boys, + handing up cartridges from the hold, laughed and cheered as the shots ran + past their ears; and old Salvation Yeo, a text upon his lips, and a fury + in his heart as of Joshua or Elijah in old time, worked on, calm and grim, + but with the energy of a boy at play. And now and then an opening in the + smoke showed the Spanish captain, in his suit of black steel armor, + standing cool and proud, guiding and pointing, careless of the iron hail, + but too lofty a gentleman to soil his glove with aught but a knightly + sword-hilt: while Amyas and Will, after the fashion of the English + gentlemen, had stripped themselves nearly as bare as their own sailors, + and were cheering, thrusting, hewing, and hauling, here, there, and + everywhere, like any common mariner, and filling them with a spirit of + self-respect, fellow-feeling, and personal daring, which the discipline of + the Spaniards, more perfect mechanically, but cold and tyrannous, and + crushing spiritually, never could bestow. The black-plumed senor was + obeyed; but the golden-locked Amyas was followed, and would have been + followed through the jaws of hell. + </p> + <p> + The Spaniards, ere five minutes had passed, poured en masse into the + Rose's waist, but only to their destruction. Between the poop and + forecastle (as was then the fashion) the upper-deck beams were left open + and unplanked, with the exception of a narrow gangway on either side; and + off that fatal ledge the boarders, thrust on by those behind, fell + headlong between the beams to the main-deck below, to be slaughtered + helpless in that pit of destruction, by the double fire from the bulkheads + fore and aft; while the few who kept their footing on the gangway, after + vain attempts to force the stockades on poop and forecastle, leaped + overboard again amid a shower of shot and arrows. The fire of the English + was as steady as it was quick; and though three-fourths of the crew had + never smelt powder before, they proved well the truth of the old + chronicler's saying (since proved again more gloriously than ever, at + Alma, Balaklava, and Inkerman), that “the English never fight better than + in their first battle.” + </p> + <p> + Thrice the Spaniards clambered on board, and thrice surged back before + that deadly hail. The decks on both sides were very shambles; and Jack + Brimblecombe, who had fought as long as his conscience would allow him, + found, when he turned to a more clerical occupation, enough to do in + carrying poor wretches to the surgeon, without giving that spiritual + consolation which he longed to give, and they to receive. At last there + was a lull in that wild storm. No shot was heard from the Spaniard's + upper-deck. + </p> + <p> + Amyas leaped into the mizzen rigging, and looked through the smoke. Dead + men he could descry through the blinding veil, rolled in heaps, laid flat; + dead men and dying: but no man upon his feet. The last volley had swept + the deck clear; one by one had dropped below to escape that fiery shower: + and alone at the helm, grinding his teeth with rage, his mustachios + curling up to his very eyes, stood the Spanish captain. + </p> + <p> + Now was the moment for a counter-stroke. Amyas shouted for the boarders, + and in two minutes more he was over the side, and clutching at the + Spaniard's mizzen rigging. + </p> + <p> + What was this? The distance between him and the enemy's side was widening. + Was she sheering off? Yes—and rising too, growing bodily higher + every moment, as if by magic. Amyas looked up in astonishment and saw what + it was. The Spaniard was heeling fast over to leeward away from him. Her + masts were all sloping forward, swifter and swifter—the end was + come, then! + </p> + <p> + “Back! in God's name back, men! She is sinking by the head!” And with much + ado some were dragged back, some leaped back—all but old Michael + Heard. + </p> + <p> + With hair and beard floating in the wind, the bronzed naked figure, like + some weird old Indian fakir, still climbed on steadfastly up the + mizzen-chains of the Spaniard, hatchet in hand. + </p> + <p> + “Come back, Michael! Leap while you may!” shouted a dozen voices. Michael + turned— + </p> + <p> + “And what should I come back for, then, to go home where no one knoweth + me? I'll die like an Englishman this day, or I'll know the rason why!” and + turning, he sprang in over the bulwarks, as the huge ship rolled up more + and more, like a dying whale, exposing all her long black hulk almost down + to the keel, and one of her lower-deck guns, as if in defiance, exploded + upright into the air, hurling the ball to the very heavens. + </p> + <p> + In an instant it was answered from the Rose by a column of smoke, and the + eighteen-pound ball crashed through the bottom of the defenceless + Spaniard. + </p> + <p> + “Who fired? Shame to fire on a sinking ship!” + </p> + <p> + “Gunner Yeo, sir,” shouted a voice up from the main-deck. “He's like a + madman down here.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell him if he fires again, I'll put him in irons, if he were my own + brother. Cut away the grapples aloft, men. Don't you see how she drags us + over? Cut away, or we shall sink with her.” + </p> + <p> + They cut away, and the Rose, released from the strain, shook her feathers + on the wave-crest like a freed sea-gull, while all men held their breaths. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the glorious creature righted herself, and rose again, as if in + noble shame, for one last struggle with her doom. Her bows were deep in + the water, but her after-deck still dry. Righted: but only for a moment, + long enough to let her crew come pouring wildly up on deck, with cries and + prayers, and rush aft to the poop, where, under the flag of Spain, stood + the tall captain, his left hand on the standard-staff, his sword pointed + in his right. + </p> + <p> + “Back, men!” they heard him cry, “and die like valiant mariners.” + </p> + <p> + Some of them ran to the bulwarks, and shouted “Mercy! We surrender!” and + the English broke into a cheer and called to them to run her alongside. + </p> + <p> + “Silence!” shouted Amyas. “I take no surrender from mutineers. Senor,” + cried he to the captain, springing into the rigging and taking off his + hat, “for the love of God and these men, strike! and surrender a buena + querra.” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard lifted his hat and bowed courteously, and answered, + “Impossible, senor. No querra is good which stains my honor.” + </p> + <p> + “God have mercy on you, then!” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said the Spaniard, crossing himself. + </p> + <p> + She gave one awful lounge forward, and dived under the coming swell, + hurling her crew into the eddies. Nothing but the point of her poop + remained, and there stood the stern and steadfast Don, cap-a-pie in his + glistening black armor, immovable as a man of iron, while over him the + flag, which claimed the empire of both worlds, flaunted its gold aloft and + upwards in the glare of the tropic noon. + </p> + <p> + “He shall not carry that flag to the devil with him; I will have it yet, + if I die for it!” said Will Cary, and rushed to the side to leap + overboard, but Amyas stopped him. + </p> + <p> + “Let him die as he has lived, with honor.” + </p> + <p> + A wild figure sprang out of the mass of sailors who struggled and shrieked + amid the foam, and rushed upward at the Spaniard. It was Michael Heard. + The Don, who stood above him, plunged his sword into the old man's body: + but the hatchet gleamed, nevertheless: down went the blade through + headpiece and through head; and as Heard sprang onward, bleeding, but + alive, the steel-clad corpse rattled down the deck into the surge. Two + more strokes, struck with the fury of a dying man, and the standard-staff + was hewn through. Old Michael collected all his strength, hurled the flag + far from the sinking ship, and then stood erect one moment and shouted, + “God save Queen Bess!” and the English answered with a “Hurrah!” which + rent the welkin. + </p> + <p> + Another moment and the gulf had swallowed his victim, and the poop, and + him; and nothing remained of the Madre Dolorosa but a few floating spars + and struggling wretches, while a great awe fell upon all men, and a solemn + silence, broken only by the cry + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Of some strong swimmer in his agony.” + </pre> + <p> + And then, suddenly collecting themselves, as men awakened from a dream, + half-a-dozen desperate gallants, reckless of sharks and eddies, leaped + overboard, swam towards the flag, and towed it alongside in triumph. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Salvation Yeo, as he helped the trophy up over the side; “ah! + it was not for nothing that we found poor Michael! He was always a good + comrade—nigh as good a one as William Penberthy of Marazion, whom + the Lord grant I meet in bliss! And now, then, my masters, shall we + inshore again and burn La Guayra?” + </p> + <p> + “Art thou never glutted with Spanish blood, thou old wolf?” asked Will + Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Never, sir,” answered Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “To St. Jago be it,” said Amyas, “if we can get there; but—God help + us!” + </p> + <p> + And he looked round sadly enough; while no one needed that he should + finish his sentence, or explain his “but.” + </p> + <p> + The foremast was gone, the main-yard sprung, the rigging hanging in + elf-locks, the hull shot through and through in twenty places, the deck + strewn with the bodies of nine good men, beside sixteen wounded down + below; while the pitiless sun, right above their heads, poured down a + flood of fire upon a sea of glass. + </p> + <p> + And it would have been well if faintness and weariness had been all that + was the matter; but now that the excitement was over, the collapse came; + and the men sat down listlessly and sulkily by twos and threes upon the + deck, starting and wincing when they heard some poor fellow below cry out + under the surgeon's knife; or murmuring to each other that all was lost. + Drew tried in vain to rouse them, telling them that all depended on + rigging a jury-mast forward as soon as possible. They answered only by + growls; and at last broke into open reproaches. Even Will Cary's volatile + nature, which had kept him up during the fight, gave way, when Yeo and the + carpenter came aft, and told Amyas in a low voice— + </p> + <p> + “We are hit somewhere forward, below the water-line, sir. She leaks a + terrible deal, and the Lord will not vouchsafe to us to lay our hands on + the place, for all our searching.” + </p> + <p> + “What are we to do now, Amyas, in the devil's name?” asked Cary, + peevishly. + </p> + <p> + “What are we to do, in God's name, rather,” answered Amyas, in a low + voice. “Will, Will, what did God make you a gentleman for, but to know + better than those poor fickle fellows forward, who blow hot and cold at + every change of weather!” + </p> + <p> + “I wish you'd come forward and speak to them, sir,” said Yeo, who had + overheard the last words, “or we shall get naught done.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas went forward instantly. + </p> + <p> + “Now then, my brave lads, what's the matter here, that you are all sitting + on your tails like monkeys?” + </p> + <p> + “Ugh!” grunts one. “Don't you think our day's work has been long enough + yet, captain?” + </p> + <p> + “You don't want us to go in to La Guayra again, sir? There are enough of + us thrown away already, I reckon, about that wench there.” + </p> + <p> + “Best sit here, and sink quietly. There's no getting home again, that's + plain.” + </p> + <p> + “Why were we brought out here to be killed?” + </p> + <p> + “For shame, men!” cries Yeo; “you're no better than a set of stiff-necked + Hebrew Jews, murmuring against Moses the very minute after the Lord has + delivered you from the Egyptians.” + </p> + <p> + Now I do not wish to set Amyas up as a perfect man; for he had his faults, + like every one else; nor as better, thank God, than many and many a brave + and virtuous captain in her majesty's service at this very day: but + certainly he behaved admirably under that trial. Drake had trained him, as + he trained many another excellent officer, to be as stout in discipline, + and as dogged of purpose, as he himself was: but he had trained him also + to feel with and for his men, to make allowances for them, and to keep his + temper with them, as he did this day. True, he had seen Drake in a rage; + he had seen him hang one man for a mutiny (and that man his dearest + friend), and threaten to hang thirty more; but Amyas remembered well that + that explosion took place when having, as Drake said publicly himself, + “taken in hand that I know not in the world how to go through with; it + passeth my capacity; it hath even bereaved me of my wits to think of it,” + . . . and having “now set together by the ears three mighty princes, her + majesty and the kings of Spain and Portugal,” he found his whole voyage + ready to come to naught, “by mutinies and discords, controversy between + the sailors and gentlemen, and stomaching between the gentlemen and + sailors.” “But, my masters” (quoth the self-trained hero, and Amyas never + forgot his words), “I must have it left; for I must have the gentlemen to + haul and draw with the mariner, and the mariner with the gentlemen. I + would like to know him that would refuse to set his hand to a rope!” + </p> + <p> + And now Amyas's conscience smote him (and his simple and pious soul took + the loss of his brother as God's verdict on his conduct), because he had + set his own private affection, even his own private revenge, before the + safety of his ship's company, and the good of his country. + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said he to himself, as he listened to his men's reproaches, “if I + had been thinking, like a loyal soldier, of serving my queen, and + crippling the Spaniard, I should have taken that great bark three days + ago, and in it the very man I sought!” + </p> + <p> + So “choking down his old man,” as Yeo used to say, he made answer + cheerfully— + </p> + <p> + “Pooh! pooh! brave lads! For shame, for shame! You were lions half-an-hour + ago; you are not surely turned sheep already! Why, but yesterday evening + you were grumbling because I would not run in and fight those three ships + under the batteries of La Guayra, and now you think it too much to have + fought them fairly out at sea? What has happened but the chances of war, + which might have happened anywhere? Nothing venture, nothing win; and + nobody goes bird-nesting without a fall at times. If any one wants to be + safe in this life, he'd best stay at home and keep his bed; though even + there, who knows but the roof might fall through on him?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, it's all very well for you, captain,” said some grumbling younker, + with a vague notion that Amyas must be better off than he, because he was + a gentleman. Amyas's blood rose. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sirrah! it is very well for me, as long as God is with me: but He is + with every man in this ship, I would have you to know, as much as He is + with me. Do you fancy that I have nothing to lose? I who have adventured + in this voyage all I am worth, and more; who, if I fail, must return to + beggary and scorn? And if I have ventured rashly, sinfully, if you will, + the lives of any of you in my own private quarrel, am I not punished? Have + I not lost—?” + </p> + <p> + His voice trembled and stopped there, but he recovered himself in a + moment. + </p> + <p> + “Pish! I can't stand here chattering. Carpenter! an axe! and help me to + cast these spars loose. Get out of my way, there! lumbering the scuppers + up like so many moulting fowls! Here, all old friends, lend a hand! + Pelican's men, stand by your captain! Did we sail round the world for + nothing?” + </p> + <p> + This last appeal struck home, and up leaped half-a-dozen of the old + Pelicans, and set to work at his side manfully to rig the jury-mast. + </p> + <p> + “Come along!” cried Cary to the malcontents; “we're raw longshore fellows, + but we won't be outdone by any old sea-dog of them all.” And setting to + work himself, he was soon followed by one and another, till order and work + went on well enough. + </p> + <p> + “And where are we going, when the mast's up?” shouted some saucy hand from + behind. + </p> + <p> + “Where you daren't follow us alone by yourself, so you had better keep us + company,” replied Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “I'll tell you where we are going, lads,” said Amyas, rising from his + work. “Like it or leave it as you will, I have no secrets from my crew. We + are going inshore there to find a harbor, and careen the ship.” + </p> + <p> + There was a start and a murmur. + </p> + <p> + “Inshore? Into the Spaniards' mouths?” + </p> + <p> + “All in the Inquisition in a week's time.” + </p> + <p> + “Better stay here, and be drowned.” + </p> + <p> + “You're right in that last,” shouts Cary. “That's the right death for + blind puppies. Look you! I don't know in the least where we are, and I + hardly know stem from stern aboard ship; and the captain may be right or + wrong—that's nothing to me; but this I know, that I am a soldier, + and will obey orders; and where he goes, I go; and whosoever hinders me + must walk up my sword to do it.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas pressed Cary's hand, and then— + </p> + <p> + “And here's my broadside next, men. I'll go nowhere, and do nothing + without the advice of Salvation Yeo and Robert Drew; and if any man in the + ship knows better than these two, let him up, and we'll give him a + hearing. Eh, Pelicans?” + </p> + <p> + There was a grunt of approbation from the Pelicans; and Amyas returned to + the charge. + </p> + <p> + “We have five shot between wind and water, and one somewhere below. Can we + face a gale of wind in that state, or can we not?” + </p> + <p> + Silence. + </p> + <p> + “Can we get home with a leak in our bottom?” + </p> + <p> + Silence. + </p> + <p> + “Then what can we do but run inshore, and take our chance? Speak! It's a + coward's trick to do nothing because what we must do is not pleasant. Will + you be like children, that would sooner die than take nasty physic, or + will you not?” + </p> + <p> + Silence still. + </p> + <p> + “Come along now! Here's the wind again round with the sun, and up to the + north-west. In with her!” + </p> + <p> + Sulkily enough, but unable to deny the necessity, the men set to work, and + the vessel's head was put toward the land; but when she began to slip + through the water, the leak increased so fast, that they were kept hard at + work at the pumps for the rest of the afternoon. + </p> + <p> + The current had by this time brought them abreast of the bay of Higuerote; + and, luckily for them, safe out of the short heavy swell which it causes + round Cape Codera. Looking inland, they had now to the south-west that + noble headland, backed by the Caracas Mountains, range on range, up to the + Silla and the Neguater; while, right ahead of them to the south, the shore + sank suddenly into a low line of mangrove-wood, backed by primaeval + forest. As they ran inward, all eyes were strained greedily to find some + opening in the mangrove belt; but none was to be seen for some time. The + lead was kept going; and every fresh heave announced shallower water. + </p> + <p> + “We shall have very shoal work off those mangroves, Yeo,” said Amyas; “I + doubt whether we shall do aught now, unless we find a river's mouth.” + </p> + <p> + “If the Lord thinks a river good for us, sir, He'll show us one.” So on + they went, keeping a south-east course, and at last an opening in the + mangrove belt was hailed with a cheer from the older hands, though the + majority shrugged their shoulders, as men going open-eyed to destruction. + </p> + <p> + Off the mouth they sent in Drew and Cary with a boat, and watched + anxiously for an hour. The boat returned with a good report of two fathoms + of water over the bar, impenetrable forests for two miles up, the river + sixty yards broad, and no sign of man. The river's banks were soft and + sloping mud, fit for careening. + </p> + <p> + “Safe quarters, sir,” said Yeo, privately, “as far as Spaniards go. I hope + in God it may be as safe from calentures and fevers.” + </p> + <p> + “Beggars must not be choosers,” said Amyas. So in they went. + </p> + <p> + They towed the ship up about half-a-mile to a point where she could not be + seen from the seaward; and there moored her to the mangrove-stems. Amyas + ordered a boat out, and went up the river himself to reconnoitre. He rowed + some three miles, till the river narrowed suddenly, and was all but + covered in by the interlacing boughs of mighty trees. There was no sign + that man had been there since the making of the world. + </p> + <p> + He dropped down the stream again, thoughtfully and sadly. How many years + ago was it that he passed this river's mouth? Three days. And yet how much + had passed in them! Don Guzman found and lost—Rose found and lost—a + great victory gained, and yet lost—perhaps his ship lost—above + all, his brother lost. + </p> + <p> + Lost! O God, how should he find his brother? + </p> + <p> + Some strange bird out of the woods made mournful answer—“Never, + never, never!” + </p> + <p> + How should he face his mother? + </p> + <p> + “Never, never, never!” wailed the bird again; and Amyas smiled bitterly, + and said “Never!” likewise. + </p> + <p> + The night mist began to steam and wreathe upon the foul beer-colored + stream. The loathy floor of liquid mud lay bare beneath the mangrove + forest. Upon the endless web of interarching roots great purple crabs were + crawling up and down. They would have supped with pleasure upon Amyas's + corpse; perhaps they might sup on him after all; for a heavy sickening + graveyard smell made his heart sink within him, and his stomach heave; and + his weary body, and more weary soul, gave themselves up helplessly to the + depressing influence of that doleful place. The black bank of dingy + leathern leaves above his head, the endless labyrinth of stems and withes + (for every bough had lowered its own living cord, to take fresh hold of + the foul soil below); the web of roots, which stretched away inland till + it was lost in the shades of evening—all seemed one horrid + complicated trap for him and his; and even where, here and there, he + passed the mouth of a lagoon, there was no opening, no relief—nothing + but the dark ring of mangroves, and here and there an isolated group of + large and small, parents and children, breeding and spreading, as if in + hideous haste to choke out air and sky. Wailing sadly, sad-colored + mangrove-hens ran off across the mud into the dreary dark. The hoarse + night-raven, hid among the roots, startled the voyagers with a sudden + shout, and then all was again silent as a grave. The loathly alligators, + lounging in the slime, lifted their horny eyelids lazily, and leered upon + him as he passed with stupid savageness. Lines of tall herons stood dimly + in the growing gloom, like white fantastic ghosts, watching the passage of + the doomed boat. All was foul, sullen, weird as witches' dream. If Amyas + had seen a crew of skeletons glide down the stream behind him, with Satan + standing at the helm, he would have scarcely been surprised. What fitter + craft could haunt that Stygian flood? + </p> + <p> + That night every man of the boat's crew, save Amyas, was down with raging + fever; before ten the next morning, five more men were taken, and others + sickening fast. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THEY TOOK THE COMMUNION UNDER THE TREE AT HIGUEROTE + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Follow thee? Follow thee? Wha wad na follow thee? Lang hast + thou looed and trusted us fairly.” + </pre> + <p> + Amyas would have certainly taken the yellow fever, but for one reason, + which he himself gave to Cary. He had no time to be sick while his men + were sick; a valid and sufficient reason (as many a noble soul in the + Crimea has known too well), as long as the excitement of work is present, + but too apt to fail the hero, and to let him sink into the pit which he + has so often over-leapt, the moment that his work is done. + </p> + <p> + He called a council of war, or rather a sanitary commission, the next + morning; for he was fairly at his wits' end. The men were panic-stricken, + ready to mutiny: Amyas told them that he could not see any possible good + which could accrue to them by killing him, or—(for there were two + sides to every question)—being killed by him; and then went below to + consult. The doctor talked mere science, or nonscience, about humors, + complexions, and animal spirits. Jack Brimblecombe, mere pulpit, about its + being the visitation of God. Cary, mere despair, though he jested over it + with a smile. Yeo, mere stoic fatalism, though he quoted Scripture to back + the same. Drew, the master, had nothing to say. His “business was to sail + the ship, and not to cure calentures.” + </p> + <p> + Whereon Amyas clutched his locks, according to custom; and at last broke + forth—“Doctor! a fig for your humors and complexions! Can you cure a + man's humors, or change his complexion? Can an Ethiopian change his skin, + or a leopard his spots? Don't shove off your ignorance on God, sir. I ask + you what's the reason of this sickness, and you don't know. Jack + Brimblecombe, don't talk to me about God's visitation; this looks much + more like the devil's visitation, to my mind. We are doing God's work, Sir + John, and He is not likely to hinder us. So down with the devil, say I. + Cary, laughing killed the cat, but it won't cure a Christian. Yeo, when an + angel tells me that it's God's will that we should all die like dogs in a + ditch, I'll call this God's will; but not before. Drew, you say your + business is to sail the ship; then sail her out of this infernal + poison-trap this very morning, if you can, which you can't. The mischief's + in the air, and nowhere else. I felt it run through me coming down last + night, and smelt it like any sewer: and if it was not in the air, why was + my boat's crew taken first, tell me that?” + </p> + <p> + There was no answer. + </p> + <p> + “Then I'll tell you why they were taken first: because the mist, when we + came through it, only rose five or six feet above the stream, and we were + in it, while you on board were above it. And those that were taken on + board this morning, every one of them, slept on the main-deck, and every + one of them, too, was in fear of the fever, whereby I judge two things,—Keep + as high as you can, and fear nothing but God, and we're all safe yet.” + </p> + <p> + “But the fog was up to our round-tops at sunrise this morning,” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + “I know it: but we who were on the half-deck were not in it so long as + those below, and that may have made the difference, let alone our having + free air. Beside, I suspect the heat in the evening draws the poison out + more, and that when it gets cold toward morning, the venom of it goes off + somehow.” + </p> + <p> + How it went off Amyas could not tell (right in his facts as he was), for + nobody on earth knew I suppose, at that day; and it was not till nearly + two centuries of fatal experience that the settlers in America discovered + the simple laws of these epidemics which now every child knows, or ought + to know. But common sense was on his side; and Yeo rose and spoke— + </p> + <p> + “As I have said before, many a time, the Lord has sent us a very young + Daniel for judge. I remember now to have heard the Spaniards say, how + these calentures lay always in the low ground, and never came more than a + few hundred feet above the sea.” + </p> + <p> + “Let us go up those few hundred feet, then.” + </p> + <p> + Every man looked at Amyas, and then at his neighbor. + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen, 'Look the devil straight in the face, if you would hit him in + the right place.' We cannot get the ship to sea as she is; and if we + could, we cannot go home empty-handed; and we surely cannot stay here to + die of fever.—We must leave the ship and go inland.” + </p> + <p> + “Inland?” answered every voice but Yeo's. + </p> + <p> + “Up those hundred feet which Yeo talks of. Up to the mountains; stockade a + camp, and get our sick and provisions thither.” + </p> + <p> + “And what next?” + </p> + <p> + “And when we are recruited, march over the mountains, and surprise St. + Jago de Leon.” + </p> + <p> + Cary swore a great oath. “Amyas! you are a daring fellow!” + </p> + <p> + “Not a bit. It's the plain path of prudence.” + </p> + <p> + “So it is, sir,” said old Yeo, “and I follow you in it.” + </p> + <p> + “And so do I,” squeaked Jack Brimblecombe. + </p> + <p> + “Nay, then, Jack, thou shalt not outrun me. So I say yes too,” quoth Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Drew?” + </p> + <p> + “At your service, sir, to live or die. I know naught about stockading; but + Sir Francis would have given the same counsel, I verily believe, if he had + been in your place.” + </p> + <p> + “Then tell the men that we start in an hour's time. Win over the Pelicans, + Yeo and Drew; and the rest must follow, like sheep over a hedge.” + </p> + <p> + The Pelicans, and the liberated galley-slaves, joined the project at once; + but the rest gave Amyas a stormy hour. The great question was, where were + the hills? In that dense mangrove thicket they could not see fifty yards + before them. + </p> + <p> + “The hills are not three miles to the south-west of you at this moment,” + said Amyas. “I marked every shoulder of them as we ran in.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you meant to take us there?” + </p> + <p> + The question set a light to a train—and angry suspicions were + blazing up one after another, but Amyas silenced them with a countermine. + </p> + <p> + “Fools! if I had not wit enow to look ahead a little farther than you do, + where would you be? Are you mad as well as reckless, to rise against your + own captain because he has two strings to his bow? Go my way, I say, or, + as I live, I'll blow up the ship and every soul on board, and save you the + pain of rotting here by inches.” + </p> + <p> + The men knew that Amyas never said what he did not intend to do; not that + Amyas intended to do this, because he knew that the threat would be + enough. So they, agreed to go; and were reassured by seeing that the old + Pelican's men turned to the work heartily and cheerfully. + </p> + <p> + There is no use keeping the reader for five or six weary hours, under a + broiling (or rather stewing) sun, stumbling over mangrove roots, hewing + his way through thorny thickets, dragging sick men and provisions up + mountain steeps, amid disappointment, fatigue, murmurs, curses, snakes, + mosquitoes, false alarms of Spaniards, and every misery, save cold, which + flesh is heir to. Suffice it that by sunset that evening they had gained a + level spot, a full thousand feet above the sea, backed by an inaccessible + cliff which formed the upper shoulder of a mighty mountain, defended below + by steep wooded slopes, and needing but the felling of a few trees to make + it impregnable. + </p> + <p> + Amyas settled the sick under the arched roots of an enormous cottonwood + tree, and made a second journey to the ship, to bring up hammocks and + blankets for them; while Yeo's wisdom and courage were of inestimable + value. He, as pioneer, had found the little brook up which they forced + their way; he had encouraged them to climb the cliffs over which it fell, + arguing rightly that on its course they were sure to find some ground fit + for encampment within the reach of water; he had supported Amyas, when + again and again the weary crew entreated to be dragged no farther, and had + gone back again a dozen times to cheer them upward; while Cary, who + brought up the rear, bullied and cheered on the stragglers who sat down + and refused to move, drove back at the sword's point more than one who was + beating a retreat, carried their burdens for them, sang them songs on the + halt; in all things approving himself the gallant and hopeful soul which + he had always been: till Amyas, beside himself with joy at finding that + the two men on whom he had counted most were utterly worthy of his trust, + went so far as to whisper to them both, in confidence, that very night— + </p> + <p> + “Cortez burnt his ships when he landed. Why should not we?” + </p> + <p> + Yeo leapt upright; and then sat down again, and whispered— + </p> + <p> + “Do you say that, captain? 'Tis from above, then, that's certain; for it's + been hanging on my mind too all day.” + </p> + <p> + “There's no hurry,” quoth Amyas; “we must clear her out first, you know,” + while Cary sat silent and musing. Amyas had evidently more schemes in his + head than he chose to tell. + </p> + <p> + The men were too tired that evening to do much, but ere the sun rose next + morning Amyas had them hard at work fortifying their position. It was, as + I said, strong enough by nature; for though it was commanded by high + cliffs on three sides, yet there was no chance of an enemy coming over the + enormous mountain-range behind them, and still less chance that, if he + came, he would discover them through the dense mass of trees which crowned + the cliff, and clothed the hills for a thousand feet above. The attack, if + it took place, would come from below; and against that Amyas guarded by + felling the smaller trees, and laying them with their boughs outward over + the crest of the slope, thus forming an abatis (as every one who has shot + in thick cover knows to his cost) warranted to bring up in two steps, + horse, dog, or man. The trunks were sawn into logs, laid lengthwise, and + steadied by stakes and mould; and three or four hours' hard work finished + a stockade which would defy anything but artillery. The work done, Amyas + scrambled up into the boughs of the enormous ceiba-tree, and there sat + inspecting his own handiwork, looking out far and wide over the + forest-covered plains and the blue sea beyond, and thinking, in his simple + straightforward way, of what was to be done next. + </p> + <p> + To stay there long was impossible; to avenge himself upon La Guayra was + impossible; to go until he had found out whether Frank was alive or dead + seemed at first equally impossible. But were Brimblecombe, Cary, and those + eighty men to be sacrificed a second time to his private interest? Amyas + wept with rage, and then wept again with earnest, honest prayer, before he + could make up his mind. But he made it up. There were a hundred chances to + one that Frank was dead; and if not, he was equally past their help; for + he was—Amyas knew that too well—by this time in the hands of + the Inquisition. Who could lift him from that pit? Not Amyas, at least! + And crying aloud in his agony, “God help him! for I cannot!” Amyas made up + his mind to move. But whither? Many an hour he thought and thought alone, + there in his airy nest; and at last he went down, calm and cheerful, and + drew Cary and Yeo aside. They could not, he said, refit the ship without + dying of fever during the process; an assertion which neither of his + hearers was bold enough to deny. Even if they refitted her, they would be + pretty certain to have to fight the Spaniards again; for it was impossible + to doubt the Indian's story, that they had been forewarned of the Rose's + coming, or to doubt, either, that Eustace had been the traitor. + </p> + <p> + “Let us try St. Jago, then; sack it, come down on La Guayra in the rear, + take a ship there, and so get home.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, Will. If they have strengthened themselves against us at La Guayra, + where they had little to lose, surely they have done so at St. Jago, where + they have much. I hear the town is large, though new; and besides, how can + we get over these mountains without a guide?” + </p> + <p> + “Or with one?” said Cary, with a sigh, looking up at the vast walls of + wood and rock which rose range on range for miles. “But it is strange to + find you, at least, throwing cold water on a daring plot.” + </p> + <p> + “What if I had a still more daring one? Did you ever hear of the golden + city of Manoa?” + </p> + <p> + Yeo laughed a grim but joyful laugh. “I have, sir; and so have the old + hands from the Pelican and the Jesus of Lubec, I doubt not.” + </p> + <p> + “So much the better;” and Amyas began to tell Cary all which he had + learned from the Spaniard, while Yeo capped every word thereof with rumors + and traditions of his own gathering. Cary sat half aghast as the huge + phantasmagoria unfolded itself before his dazzled eyes; and at last— + </p> + <p> + “So that was why you wanted to burn the ship! Well, after all, nobody + needs me at home, and one less at table won't be missed. So you want to + play Cortez, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “We shall never need to play Cortez (who was not such a bad fellow after + all, Will), because we shall have no such cannibal fiends' tyranny to rid + the earth of, as he had. And I trust we shall fear God enough not to play + Pizarro.” + </p> + <p> + So the conversation dropped for the time, but none of them forgot it. + </p> + <p> + In that mountain-nook the party spent some ten days and more. Several of + the sick men died, some from the fever superadded to their wounds; some, + probably, from having been bled by the surgeon; the others mended + steadily, by the help of certain herbs which Yeo administered, much to the + disgust of the doctor, who, of course, wanted to bleed the poor fellows + all round, and was all but mutinous when Amyas stayed his hand. In the + meanwhile, by dint of daily trips to the ship, provisions were plentiful + enough,—beside the raccoons, monkeys, and other small animals, which + Yeo and the veterans of Hawkins's crew knew how to catch, and the fruit + and vegetables; above all, the delicious mountain cabbage of the Areca + palm, and the fresh milk of the cow-tree, which they brought in daily, + paying well thereby for the hospitality they received. + </p> + <p> + All day long a careful watch was kept among the branches of the mighty + ceiba-tree. And what a tree that was! The hugest English oak would have + seemed a stunted bush beside it. Borne up on roots, or rather walls, of + twisted board, some twelve feet high, between which the whole crew, their + ammunitions, and provisions, were housed roomily, rose the enormous trunk + full forty feet in girth, towering like some tall lighthouse, smooth for a + hundred feet, then crowned with boughs, each of which was a stately tree, + whose topmost twigs were full two hundred and fifty feet from the ground. + And yet it was easy for the sailors to ascend; so many natural ropes had + kind Nature lowered for their use, in the smooth lianes which hung to the + very earth, often without a knot or leaf. Once in the tree, you were + within a new world, suspended between heaven and earth, and as Cary said, + no wonder if, like Jack when he climbed the magic bean-stalk, you had + found a castle, a giant, and a few acres of well-stocked park, packed away + somewhere amid that labyrinth of timber. Flower-gardens at least were + there in plenty; for every limb was covered with pendent cactuses, + gorgeous orchises, and wild pines; and while one-half the tree was clothed + in rich foliage, the other half, utterly leafless, bore on every twig + brilliant yellow flowers, around which humming-birds whirred all day long. + Parrots peeped in and out of every cranny, while, within the airy + woodland, brilliant lizards basked like living gems upon the bark, gaudy + finches flitted and chirruped, butterflies of every size and color hovered + over the topmost twigs, innumerable insects hummed from morn till eve; and + when the sun went down, tree-toads came out to snore and croak till dawn. + There was more life round that one tree than in a whole square mile of + English soil. + </p> + <p> + And Amyas, as he lounged among the branches, felt at moments as if he + would be content to stay there forever, and feed his eyes and ears with + all its wonders—and then started sighing from his dream, as he + recollected that a few days must bring the foe upon them, and force him to + decide upon some scheme at which the bravest heart might falter without + shame. So there he sat (for he often took the scout's place himself), + looking out over the fantastic tropic forest at his feet, and the flat + mangrove-swamps below, and the white sheet of foam-flecked blue; and yet + no sail appeared; and the men, as their fear of fever subsided, began to + ask when they would go down and refit the ship, and Amyas put them off as + best he could, till one noon he saw slipping along the shore from the + westward, a large ship under easy sail, and recognized in her, or thought + he did so, the ship which they had passed upon their way. + </p> + <p> + If it was she, she must have run past them to La Guayra in the night, and + have now returned, perhaps, to search for them along the coast. + </p> + <p> + She crept along slowly. He was in hopes that she might pass the river's + mouth: but no. She lay-to close to the shore; and, after a while, Amyas + saw two boats pull in from her, and vanish behind the mangroves. + </p> + <p> + Sliding down a liane, he told what he had seen. The men, tired of + inactivity, received the news with a shout of joy, and set to work to make + all ready for their guests. Four brass swivels, which they had brought up, + were mounted, fixed in logs, so as to command the path; the musketeers and + archers clustered round them with their tackle ready, and half-a-dozen + good marksmen volunteered into the cotton-tree with their arquebuses, as a + post whence “a man might have very pretty shooting.” Prayers followed as a + matter of course, and dinner as a matter of course also; but two weary + hours passed before there was any sign of the Spaniards. + </p> + <p> + Presently a wreath of white smoke curled up from the swamp, and then the + report of a caliver. Then, amid the growls of the English, the Spanish + flag ran up above the trees, and floated—horrible to behold—at + the mast-head of the Rose. They were signalling the ship for more hands; + and, in effect, a third boat soon pushed off and vanished into the forest. + </p> + <p> + Another hour, during which the men had thoroughly lost their temper, but + not their hearts, by waiting; and talked so loud, and strode up and down + so wildly, that Amyas had to warn them that there was no need to betray + themselves; that the Spaniards might not find them after all; that they + might pass the stockade close without seeing it; that, unless they hit off + the track at once, they would probably return to their ship for the + present; and exacted a promise from them that they would be perfectly + silent till he gave the word to fire. + </p> + <p> + Which wise commands had scarcely passed his lips, when, in the path below, + glanced the headpiece of a Spanish soldier, and then another and another. + </p> + <p> + “Fools!” whispered Amyas to Cary; “they are coming up in single file, + rushing on their own death. Lie close, men!” + </p> + <p> + The path was so narrow that two could seldom come up abreast, and so steep + that the enemy had much ado to struggle and stumble upwards. The men + seemed half unwilling to proceed, and hung back more than once; but Amyas + could hear an authoritative voice behind, and presently there emerged to + the front, sword in hand, a figure at which Amyas and Cary both started. + </p> + <p> + “Is it he?” + </p> + <p> + “Surely I know those legs among a thousand, though they are in armor.” + </p> + <p> + “It is my turn for him, now, Cary, remember! Silence, silence, men!” + </p> + <p> + The Spaniards seemed to feel that they were leading a forlorn hope. Don + Guzman (for there was little doubt that it was he) had much ado to get + them on at all. + </p> + <p> + “The fellows have heard how gently we handled the Guayra squadron,” + whispers Cary, “and have no wish to become fellow-martyrs with the captain + of the Madre Dolorosa.” + </p> + <p> + At last the Spaniards get up the steep slope to within forty yards of the + stockade, and pause, suspecting a trap, and puzzled by the complete + silence. Amyas leaps on the top of it, a white flag in his hand; but his + heart beats so fiercely at the sight of that hated figure, that he can + hardly get out the words— + </p> + <p> + “Don Guzman, the quarrel is between you and me, not between your men and + mine. I would have sent in a challenge to you at La Guayra, but you were + away; I challenge you now to single combat.” + </p> + <p> + “Lutheran dog, I have a halter for you, but no sword! As you served us at + Smerwick, we will serve you now. Pirate and ravisher, you and yours shall + share Oxenham's fate, as you have copied his crimes, and learn what it is + to set foot unbidden on the dominions of the king of Spain.” + </p> + <p> + “The devil take you and the king of Spain together!” shouts Amyas, + laughing loudly. “This ground belongs to him no more than it does to me, + but to the Queen Elizabeth, in whose name I have taken as lawful + possession of it as you ever did of Caracas. Fire, men! and God defend the + right!” + </p> + <p> + Both parties obeyed the order; Amyas dropped down behind the stockade in + time to let a caliver bullet whistle over his head; and the Spaniards + recoiled as the narrow face of the stockade burst into one blaze of + musketry and swivels, raking their long array from front to rear. + </p> + <p> + The front ranks fell over each other in heaps; the rear ones turned and + ran; overtaken, nevertheless, by the English bullets and arrows, which + tumbled them headlong down the steep path. + </p> + <p> + “Out, men, and charge them. See! the Don is running like the rest!” And + scrambling over the abattis, Amyas and about thirty followed them fast; + for he had hope of learning from some prisoner his brother's fate. + </p> + <p> + Amyas was unjust in his last words. Don Guzman, as if by miracle, had been + only slightly wounded; and seeing his men run, had rushed back and tried + to rally them, but was borne away by the fugitives. + </p> + <p> + However, the Spaniards were out of sight among the thick bushes before the + English could overtake them; and Amyas, afraid lest they should rally and + surround his small party, withdrew sorely against his will, and found in + the pathway fourteen Spaniards, but all dead. For one of the wounded, with + more courage than wisdom, had fired on the English as he lay; and Amyas's + men, whose blood was maddened both by their desperate situation, and the + frightful stories of the rescued galley-slaves, had killed them all before + their captain could stop them. + </p> + <p> + “Are you mad?” cries Amyas, as he strikes up one fellow's sword. “Will you + kill an Indian?” + </p> + <p> + And he drags out of the bushes an Indian lad of sixteen, who, slightly + wounded, is crawling away like a copper snake along the ground. + </p> + <p> + “The black vermin has sent an arrow through my leg; and poisoned too, most + like.” + </p> + <p> + “God grant not: but an Indian is worth his weight in gold to us now,” said + Amyas, tucking his prize under his arm like a bundle. The lad, as soon as + he saw there was no escape, resigned himself to his fate with true Indian + stoicism, was brought in, and treated kindly enough, but refused to eat. + For which, after much questioning, he gave as a reason, that he would make + them kill him at once; for fat him they should not; and gradually gave + them to understand that the English always (so at least the Spaniards + said) fatted and ate their prisoners like the Caribs; and till he saw them + go out and bury the bodies of the Spaniards, nothing would persuade him + that the corpses were not to be cooked for supper. + </p> + <p> + However, kind words, kind looks, and the present of that inestimable + treasure—a knife, brought him to reason; and he told Amyas that he + belonged to a Spaniard who had an “encomienda” of Indians some fifteen + miles to the south-west; that he had fled from his master, and lived by + hunting for some months past; and having seen the ship where she lay + moored, and boarded her in hope of plunder, had been surprised therein by + the Spaniards, and forced by threats to go with them as a guide in their + search for the English. But now came a part of his story which filled the + soul of Amyas with delight. He was an Indian of the Llanos, or great + savannahs which lay to the southward beyond the mountains, and had + actually been upon the Orinoco. He had been stolen as a boy by some + Spaniards, who had gone down (as was the fashion of the Jesuits even as + late as 1790) for the pious purpose of converting the savages by the + simple process of catching, baptizing, and making servants of those whom + they could carry off, and murdering those who resisted their gentle method + of salvation. Did he know the way back again? Who could ask such a + question of an Indian? And the lad's black eyes flashed fire, as Amyas + offered him liberty and iron enough for a dozen Indians, if he would lead + them through the passes of the mountains, and southward to the mighty + river, where lay their golden hopes. Hernando de Serpa, Amyas knew, had + tried the same course, which was supposed to be about one hundred and + twenty leagues, and failed, being overthrown utterly by the Wikiri + Indians; but Amyas knew enough of the Spaniards' brutal method of treating + those Indians, to be pretty sure that they had brought that catastrophe + upon themselves, and that he might avoid it well enough by that common + justice and mercy toward the savages which he had learned from his + incomparable tutor, Francis Drake. + </p> + <p> + Now was the time to speak; and, assembling his men around him, Amyas + opened his whole heart, simply and manfully. This was their only hope of + safety. Some of them had murmured that they should perish like John + Oxenham's crew. This plan was rather the only way to avoid perishing like + them. Don Guzman would certainly return to seek them; and not only he, but + land-forces from St. Jago. Even if the stockade was not forced, they would + be soon starved out; why not move at once, ere the Spaniards could return, + and begin a blockade? As for taking St. Jago, it was impossible. The + treasure would all be safely hidden, and the town well prepared to meet + them. If they wanted gold and glory, they must seek it elsewhere. Neither + was there any use in marching along the coast, and trying the ports: ships + could outstrip them, and the country was already warned. There was but + this one chance; and on it Amyas, the first and last time in his life, + waxed eloquent, and set forth the glory of the enterprise, the service to + the queen, the salvation of heathens, and the certainty that, if + successful, they should win honor and wealth and everlasting fame, beyond + that of Cortez or Pizarro, till the men, sulky at first, warmed every + moment; and one old Pelican broke out with— + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir! we didn't go round the world with you for naught; and watched + your works and ways, which was always those of a gentleman, as you are—who + spoke a word for a poor fellow when he was in a scrape, and saw all you + ought to see, and naught that you ought not. And we'll follow you, sir, + all alone to ourselves; and let those that know you worse follow after + when they're come to their right mind.” + </p> + <p> + Man after man capped this brave speech; the minority, who, if they liked + little to go, liked still less to be left behind, gave in their consent + perforce; and, to make a long story short, Amyas conquered, and the plan + was accepted. + </p> + <p> + “This,” said Amyas, “is indeed the proudest day of my life! I have lost + one brother, but I have gained fourscore. God do so to me and more also, + if I do not deal with you according to the trust which you have put in me + this day!” + </p> + <p> + We, I suppose, are to believe that we have a right to laugh at Amyas's + scheme as frantic and chimerical. It is easy to amuse ourselves with the + premises, after the conclusion has been found for us. We know, now, that + he was mistaken: but we have not discovered his mistake for ourselves, and + have no right to plume ourselves on other men's discoveries. Had we lived + in Amyas's days, we should have belonged either to the many wise men who + believed as he did, or to the many foolish men, who not only sneered at + the story of Manoa, but at a hundred other stories, which we now know to + be true. Columbus was laughed at: but he found a new world, nevertheless. + Cortez was laughed at: but he found Mexico. Pizarro: but he found Peru. I + ask any fair reader of those two charming books, Mr. Prescott's Conquest + of Mexico and his Conquest of Peru, whether the true wonders in them + described do not outdo all the false wonders of Manoa. + </p> + <p> + But what reason was there to think them false? One quarter, perhaps, of + America had been explored, and yet in that quarter two empires had been + already found, in a state of mechanical, military, and agricultural + civilization superior, in many things, to any nation of Europe. Was it not + most rational to suppose that in the remaining three-quarters similar + empires existed? If a second Mexico had been discovered in the mountains + of Parima, and a second Peru in those of Brazil, what right would any man + have had to wonder? As for the gold legends, nothing was told of Manoa + which had not been seen in Peru and Mexico by the bodily eyes of men then + living. Why should not the rocks of Guiana have been as full of the + precious metals (we do not know yet that they are not) as the rocks of + Peru and Mexico were known to be? Even the details of the story, its + standing on a lake, for instance, bore a probability with them. Mexico + actually stood in the centre of a lake—why should not Manoa? The + Peruvian worship centred round a sacred lake—why not that of Manoa? + Pizarro and Cortez, again, were led on to their desperate enterprises by + the sight of small quantities of gold among savages, who told them of a + civilized gold-country near at hand; and they found that those savages + spoke truth. Why was the unanimous report of the Carib tribes of the + Orinoco to be disbelieved, when they told a similar tale? Sir Richard + Schomburgk's admirable preface to Raleigh's Guiana proves, surely, that + the Indians themselves were deceived, as well as deceivers. It was known, + again, that vast quantities of the Peruvian treasure had been concealed by + the priests, and that members of the Inca family had fled across the + Andes, and held out against the Spaniards. Barely fifty years had elapsed + since then;—what more probable than that this remnant of the + Peruvian dynasty and treasure still existed? Even the story of the + Amazons, though it may serve Hume as a point for his ungenerous and + untruthful attempt to make Raleigh out either fool or villain, has come + from Spaniards, who had with their own eyes seen the Indian women fighting + by their husbands' sides, and from Indians, who asserted the existence of + an Amazonian tribe. What right had Amyas, or any man, to disbelieve the + story? The existence of the Amazons in ancient Asia, and of their + intercourse with Alexander the Great, was then an accredited part of + history, which it would have been gratuitous impertinence to deny. And + what if some stories connected these warlike women with the Emperor of + Manoa, and the capital itself? This generation ought surely to be the last + to laugh at such a story, at least as long as the Amazonian guards of the + King of Dahomey continue to outvie the men in that relentless ferocity, + with which they have subdued every neighboring tribe, save the Christians + of Abbeokuta. In this case, as in a hundred more, fact not only outdoes, + but justifies imagination; and Amyas spoke common sense when he said to + his men that day— + </p> + <p> + “Let fools laugh and stay at home. Wise men dare and win. Saul went to + look for his father's asses, and found a kingdom; and Columbus, my men, + was called a madman for only going to seek China, and never knew, they + say, until his dying day, that he had found a whole new world instead of + it. Find Manoa? God only, who made all things, knows what we may find + beside!” + </p> + <p> + So underneath that giant ceiba-tree, those valiant men, reduced by battle + and sickness to some eighty, swore a great oath, and kept that oath like + men. To search for the golden city for two full years to come, whatever + might befall; to stand to each other for weal or woe; to obey their + officers to the death; to murmur privately against no man, but bring all + complaints to a council of war; to use no profane oaths, but serve God + daily with prayer; to take by violence from no man, save from their + natural enemies the Spaniards; to be civil and merciful to all savages, + and chaste and courteous to all women; to bring all booty and all food + into the common stock, and observe to the utmost their faith with the + adventurers who had fitted out the ship; and finally, to march at sunrise + the next morning toward the south, trusting in God to be their guide. + </p> + <p> + “It is a great oath, and a hard one,” said Brimblecombe; “but God will + give us strength to keep it.” And they knelt all together and received the + Holy Communion, and then rose to pack provisions and ammunition, and lay + down again to sleep and to dream that they were sailing home up Torridge + stream—as Cavendish, returning from round the world, did actually + sail home up Thames but five years afterwards—“with mariners and + soldiers clothed in silk, with sails of damask, and topsails of cloth of + gold, and the richest prize which ever was brought at one time unto + English shores.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The Cross stands upright in the southern sky. It is the middle of the + night. Cary and Yeo glide silently up the hill and into the camp, and + whisper to Amyas that they have done the deed. The sleepers are awakened, + and the train sets forth. + </p> + <p> + Upward and southward ever: but whither, who can tell? They hardly think of + the whither; but go like sleep-walkers, shaken out of one land of dreams, + only to find themselves in another and stranger one. All around is + fantastic and unearthly; now each man starts as he sees the figures of his + fellows, clothed from head to foot in golden filigree; looks up, and sees + the yellow moonlight through the fronds of the huge tree-ferns overhead, + as through a cloud of glittering lace. Now they are hewing their way + through a thicket of enormous flags; now through bamboos forty feet high; + now they are stumbling over boulders, waist-deep in cushions of club-moss; + now they are struggling through shrubberies of heaths and rhododendrons, + and woolly incense-trees, where every leaf, as they brush past, dashes + some fresh scent into their faces, and + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The winds, with musky wing, + About the cedarn alleys fling + Nard and cassia's balmy smells.” + </pre> + <p> + Now they open upon some craggy brow, from whence they can see far below an + ocean of soft cloud, whose silver billows, girdled by the mountain sides, + hide the lowland from their sight. + </p> + <p> + And from beneath the cloud strange voices rise; the screams of thousand + night-birds, and wild howls, which they used at first to fancy were the + cries of ravenous beasts, till they found them to proceed from nothing + fiercer than an ape. But what is that deeper note, like a series of + muffled explosions,—arquebuses fired within some subterranean + cavern,—the heavy pulse of which rolls up through the depths of the + unseen forest? They hear it now for the first time, but they will hear it + many a time again; and the Indian lad is hushed, and cowers close to them, + and then takes heart, as he looks upon their swords and arquebuses; for + that is the roar of the jaguar, “seeking his meat from God.” + </p> + <p> + But what is that glare away to the northward? The yellow moon is ringed + with gay rainbows; but that light is far too red to be the reflection of + any beams of hers. Now through the cloud rises a column of black and lurid + smoke; the fog clears away right and left around it, and shows beneath, a + mighty fire. + </p> + <p> + The men look at each other with questioning eyes, each half suspecting, + and yet not daring to confess their own suspicions; and Amyas whispers to + Yeo— + </p> + <p> + “You took care to flood the powder?” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, ay, sir, and to unload the ordnance too. No use in making a noise to + tell the Spaniards our whereabouts.” + </p> + <p> + Yes; that glare rises from the good ship Rose. Amyas, like Cortez of old, + has burnt his ship, and retreat is now impossible. Forward into the + unknown abyss of the New World, and God be with them as they go! + </p> + <p> + The Indian knows a cunning path: it winds along the highest ridges of the + mountains; but the travelling is far more open and easy. + </p> + <p> + They have passed the head of a valley which leads down to St. Jago. + Beneath that long shining river of mist, which ends at the foot of the + great Silla, lies (so says the Indian lad) the rich capital of Venezuela; + and beyond, the gold-mines of Los Teques and Baruta, which first attracted + the founder Diego de Losada; and many a longing eye is turned towards it + as they pass the saddle at the valley head; but the attempt is hopeless, + they turn again to the left, and so down towards the rancho, taking care + (so the prudent Amyas had commanded) to break down, after crossing, the + frail rope bridge which spans each torrent and ravine. + </p> + <p> + They are at the rancho long before daybreak, and have secured there, not + only fourteen mules, but eight or nine Indians stolen from off the Llanos, + like their guide, who are glad enough to escape from their tyrants by + taking service with them. And now southward and away, with lightened + shoulders and hearts; for they are all but safe from pursuit. The broken + bridges prevent the news of their raid reaching St. Jago until nightfall; + and in the meanwhile, Don Guzman returns to the river mouth the next day + to find the ship a blackened wreck, and the camp empty; follows their + trail over the hills till he is stopped by a broken bridge; surmounts that + difficulty, and meets a second; his men are worn out with heat, and a + little afraid of stumbling on the heretic desperadoes, and he returns by + land to St. Jago; and when he arrives there, has news from home which + gives him other things to think of than following those mad Englishmen, + who have vanished into the wilderness. “What need, after all, to follow + them?” asked the Spaniards of each other. “Blinded by the devil, whom they + serve, they rush on in search of certain death, as many a larger company + has before them, and they will find it, and will trouble La Guayra no more + forever.” “Lutheran dogs and enemies of God,” said Don Guzman to his + soldiers, “they will leave their bones to whiten on the Llanos, as may + every heretic who sets foot on Spanish soil!” + </p> + <p> + Will they do so, Don Guzman? Or wilt thou and Amyas meet again upon a + mightier battlefield, to learn a lesson which neither of you yet has + learned? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII + </h2> + <h3> + THE INQUISITION IN THE INDIES + </h3> + <p> + My next chapter is perhaps too sad; it shall be at least as short as I can + make it; but it was needful to be written, that readers may judge fairly + for themselves what sort of enemies the English nation had to face in + those stern days. + </p> + <p> + Three weeks have passed, and the scene is shifted to a long, low range of + cells in a dark corridor in the city of Cartagena. The door of one is + open; and within stand two cloaked figures, one of whom we know. It is + Eustace Leigh. The other is a familiar of the Holy Office. + </p> + <p> + He holds in his hand a lamp, from which the light falls on a bed of straw, + and on the sleeping figure of a man. The high white brow, the pale and + delicate features—them too we know, for they are those of Frank. + Saved half-dead from the fury of the savage negroes, he has been reserved + for the more delicate cruelty of civilized and Christian men. He underwent + the question but this afternoon; and now Eustace, his betrayer, is come to + persuade him—or to entrap him? Eustace himself hardly knows whether + of the two. + </p> + <p> + And yet he would give his life to save his cousin. + </p> + <p> + His life? He has long since ceased to care for that. He has done what he + has done, because it is his duty; and now he is to do his duty once more, + and wake the sleeper, and argue, coax, threaten him into recantation while + “his heart is still tender from the torture,” so Eustace's employers + phrase it. + </p> + <p> + And yet how calmly he is sleeping! Is it but a freak of the lamplight, or + is there a smile upon his lips? Eustace takes the lamp and bends over him + to see; and as he bends he hears Frank whispering in his dreams his + mother's name, and a name higher and holier still. + </p> + <p> + Eustace cannot find the heart to wake him. + </p> + <p> + “Let him rest,” whispers he to his companion. “After all, I fear my words + will be of little use.” + </p> + <p> + “I fear so too, sir. Never did I behold a more obdurate heretic. He did + not scruple to scoff openly at their holinesses.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Eustace; “great is the pravity of the human heart, and the + power of Satan! Let us go for the present.” + </p> + <p> + “Where is she?” + </p> + <p> + “The elder sorceress, or the younger?” + </p> + <p> + “The younger—the—” + </p> + <p> + “The Senora de Soto? Ah, poor thing! One could be sorry for her, were she + not a heretic.” And the man eyed Eustace keenly, and then quietly added, + “She is at present with the notary; to the benefit of her soul, I trust—” + </p> + <p> + Eustace half stopped, shuddering. He could hardly collect himself enough + to gasp out an “Amen!” + </p> + <p> + “Within there,” said the man, pointing carelessly to a door as they went + down the corridor. “We can listen a moment, if you like; but don't betray + me, senor.” + </p> + <p> + Eustace knows well enough that the fellow is probably on the watch to + betray him, if he shows any signs of compunction; at least to report + faithfully to his superiors the slightest expression of sympathy with a + heretic; but a horrible curiosity prevails over fear, and he pauses close + to the fatal door. His face is all of a flame, his knees knock together, + his ears are ringing, his heart bursting through his ribs, as he supports + himself against the wall, hiding his convulsed face as well as he can from + his companion. + </p> + <p> + A man's voice is plainly audible within; low, but distinct. The notary is + trying that old charge of witchcraft, which the Inquisitors, whether to + justify themselves to their own consciences, or to whiten their villainy + somewhat in the eyes of the mob, so often brought against their victims. + And then Eustace's heart sinks within him as he hears a woman's voice + reply, sharpened by indignation and agony— + </p> + <p> + “Witchcraft against Don Guzman? What need of that, oh God! what need?” + </p> + <p> + “You deny it then, senora? we are sorry for you; but—” + </p> + <p> + A confused choking murmur from the victim, mingled with words which might + mean anything or nothing. + </p> + <p> + “She has confessed!” whispered Eustace; “saints, I thank you!—she—” + </p> + <p> + A wail which rings through Eustace's ears, and brain, and heart! He would + have torn at the door to open it; but his companion forces him away. + Another, and another wail, while the wretched man hurries off, stopping + his ears in vain against those piercing cries, which follow him, like + avenging angels, through the dreadful vaults. + </p> + <p> + He escaped into the fragrant open air, and the golden tropic moonlight, + and a garden which might have served as a model for Eden; but man's hell + followed into God's heaven, and still those wails seemed to ring through + his ears. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, misery, misery, misery!” murmured he to himself through grinding + teeth; “and I have brought her to this! I have had to bring her to it! + What else could I? Who dare blame me? And yet what devilish sin can I have + committed, that requires to be punished thus? Was there no one to be found + but me? No one? And yet it may save her soul. It may bring her to + repentance!” + </p> + <p> + “It may, indeed; for she is delicate, and cannot endure much. You ought to + know as well as I, senor, the merciful disposition of the Holy Office.” + </p> + <p> + “I know it, I know it,” interrupted poor Eustace, trembling now for + himself. “All in love—all in love.—A paternal chastisement—” + </p> + <p> + “And the proofs of heresy are patent, beside the strong suspicion of + enchantment, and the known character of the elder sorceress. You yourself, + you must remember, senor, told us that she had been a notorious witch in + England, before the senora brought her hither as her attendant.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course she was; of course. Yes; there was no other course open. And + though the flesh may be weak, sir, in my case, yet none can have proved + better to the Holy Office how willing is the spirit!” + </p> + <p> + And so Eustace departed; and ere another sun had set, he had gone to the + principal of the Jesuits; told him his whole heart, or as much of it, poor + wretch, as he dare tell to himself; and entreated to be allowed to finish + his novitiate, and enter the order, on the understanding that he was to be + sent at once back to Europe, or anywhere else; “Otherwise,” as he said + frankly, “he should go mad, even if he were not mad already.” The Jesuit, + who was a kindly man enough, went to the Holy Office, and settled all with + the Inquisitors, recounting to them, to set him above all suspicion, + Eustace's past valiant services to the Church. His testimony was no longer + needed; he left Cartagena for Nombre that very night, and sailed the next + week I know not whither. + </p> + <p> + I say, I know not whither. Eustace Leigh vanishes henceforth from these + pages. He may have ended as General of his Order. He may have worn out his + years in some tropic forest, “conquering the souls” (including, of course, + the bodies) of Indians; he may have gone back to his old work in England, + and been the very Ballard who was hanged and quartered three years + afterwards for his share in Babington's villainous conspiracy: I know not. + This book is a history of men,—of men's virtues and sins, victories + and defeats; and Eustace is a man no longer: he is become a thing, a tool, + a Jesuit; which goes only where it is sent, and does good or evil + indifferently as it is bid; which, by an act of moral suicide, has lost + its soul, in the hope of saving it; without a will, a conscience, a + responsibility (as it fancies), to God or man, but only to “The Society.” + In a word, Eustace, as he says himself, is “dead.” Twice dead, I fear. Let + the dead bury their dead. We have no more concern with Eustace Leigh. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII + </h2> + <h3> + THE BANKS OF THE META + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “My mariners, + Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with + me—Death closes all: but something ere the end, + Some work of noble note, may yet be done, + Not unbecoming men that strove with gods!” + + TENNYSON'S Ulysses. +</pre> + <p> + Nearly three years are past and gone since that little band had knelt at + evensong beneath the giant tree of Guayra—years of seeming blank, + through which they are to be tracked only by scattered notes and mis-spelt + names. Through untrodden hills and forests, over a space of some eight + hundred miles in length by four hundred in breadth, they had been seeking + for the Golden City, and they had sought in vain. They had sought it along + the wooded banks of the Orinoco, and beyond the roaring foam-world of + Maypures, and on the upper waters of the mighty Amazon. They had gone up + the streams even into Peru itself, and had trodden the cinchona groves of + Loxa, ignorant, as all the world was then, of their healing virtues. They + had seen the virgin snows of Chimborazo towering white above the + thundercloud, and the giant cone of Cotopaxi blackening in its sullen + wrath, before the fiery streams rolled down its sides. Foiled in their + search at the back of the Andes, they had turned eastward once more, and + plunged from the alpine cliffs into “the green and misty ocean of the + Montana.” Slowly and painfully they had worked their way northward again, + along the eastern foot of the inland Cordillera, and now they were + bivouacking, as it seems, upon one of the many feeders of the Meta, which + flow down from the Suma Paz into the forest-covered plains. There they + sat, their watch-fires glittering on the stream, beneath the shadow of + enormous trees, Amyas and Cary, Brimblecombe, Yeo, and the Indian lad, who + has followed them in all their wanderings, alive and well: but as far as + ever from Manoa, and its fairy lake, and golden palaces, and all the + wonders of the Indian's tale. Again and again in their wanderings they had + heard faint rumors of its existence, and started off in some fresh + direction, to meet only a fresh disappointment, and hope deferred, which + maketh sick the heart. + </p> + <p> + There they sit at last—four-and-forty men out of the eighty-four who + left the tree of Guayra:—where are the rest? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Their bones are scatter'd far and wide, + By mount, by stream, and sea.” + </pre> + <p> + Drew, the master, lies on the banks of the Rio Negro, and five brave + fellows by him, slain in fight by the poisoned arrows of the Indians, in a + vain attempt to penetrate the mountain-gorges of the Parima. Two more lie + amid the valleys of the Andes, frozen to death by the fierce slaty hail + which sweeps down from the condor's eyrie; four more were drowned at one + of the rapids of the Orinoco; five or six more wounded men are left behind + at another rapid among friendly Indians, to be recovered when they can be: + perhaps never. Fever, snakes, jaguars, alligators, cannibal fish, electric + eels, have thinned their ranks month by month, and of their march through + the primeval wilderness no track remains, except those lonely graves. + </p> + <p> + And there the survivors sit, beside the silent stream, beneath the tropic + moon; sun-dried and lean, but strong and bold as ever, with the quiet fire + of English courage burning undimmed in every eye, and the genial smile of + English mirth fresh on every lip; making a jest of danger and a sport of + toil, as cheerily as when they sailed over the bar of Bideford, in days + which seem to belong to some antenatal life. Their beards have grown down + upon their breasts; their long hair is knotted on their heads, like + women's, to keep off the burning sunshine; their leggings are of the skin + of the delicate Guazu-puti deer; their shirts are patched with Indian + cotton web; the spoils of jaguar, puma, and ape hang from their shoulders. + Their ammunition is long since spent, their muskets, spoilt by the + perpetual vapor-bath of the steaming woods, are left behind as useless in + a cave by some cataract of the Orinoco: but their swords are bright and + terrible as ever; and they carry bows of a strength which no Indian arm + can bend, and arrows pointed with the remnants of their armor; many of + them, too, are armed with the pocuna or blowgun of the Indians—more + deadly, because more silent, than the firearms which they have left behind + them. So they have wandered, and so they will wander still, the lords of + the forest and its beasts; terrible to all hostile Indians, but kindly, + just, and generous to all who will deal faithfully with them; and many a + smooth-chinned Carib and Ature, Solimo and Guahiba, recounts with wonder + and admiration the righteousness of the bearded heroes, who proclaimed + themselves the deadly foes of the faithless and murderous Spaniard, and + spoke to them of the great and good queen beyond the seas, who would send + her warriors to deliver and avenge the oppressed Indian. + </p> + <p> + The men are sleeping among the trees, some on the ground, and some in + grass-hammocks slung between the stems. All is silent, save the heavy + plunge of the tapir in the river, as he tears up the water-weeds for his + night's repast. Sometimes, indeed, the jaguar, as he climbs from one + tree-top to another after his prey, wakens the monkeys clustered on the + boughs, and they again arouse the birds, and ten minutes of unearthly + roars, howls, shrieks, and cacklings make the forest ring as if all + pandemonium had broke loose; but that soon dies away again; and, even + while it lasts, it is too common a matter to awaken the sleepers, much + less to interrupt the council of war which is going on beside the + watch-fire, between the three adventurers and the faithful Yeo. A hundred + times have they held such a council, and in vain; and, for aught they + know, this one will be as fruitless as those which have gone before it. + Nevertheless, it is a more solemn one than usual; for the two years during + which they had agreed to search for Manoa are long past, and some new + place must be determined on, unless they intend to spend the rest of their + lives in that green wilderness. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” says Will Cary, taking his cigar out of his mouth, “at least we + have got something out of those last Indians. It is a comfort to have a + puff at tobacco once more, after three weeks' fasting.” + </p> + <p> + “For me,” said Jack Brimblecombe, “Heaven forgive me! but when I get the + magical leaf between my teeth again, I feel tempted to sit as still as a + chimney, and smoke till my dying day, without stirring hand or foot.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I shall forbid you tobacco, Master Parson,” said Amyas; “for we must + be up and away again to-morrow. We have been idling here three mortal + days, and nothing done.” + </p> + <p> + “Shall we ever do anything? I think the gold of Manoa is like the gold + which lies where the rainbow touches the ground, always a field beyond + you.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent awhile, and so were the rest. There was no denying that + their hopes were all but gone. In the immense circuit which they had made, + they had met with nothing but disappointment. + </p> + <p> + “There is but one more chance,” said he at length, “and that is, the + mountains to the east of the Orinoco, where we failed the first time. The + Incas may have moved on to them when they escaped.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” said Cary; “they would so put all the forests, beside the + Llanos and half-a-dozen great rivers, between them and those dogs of + Spaniards.” + </p> + <p> + “Shall we try it once more?” said Amyas. “This river ought to run into the + Orinoco; and once there, we are again at the very foot of the mountains. + What say you, Yeo?” + </p> + <p> + “I cannot but mind, your worship, that when we came up the Orinoco, the + Indians told us terrible stories of those mountains, how far they + stretched, and how difficult they were to cross, by reason of the cliffs + aloft, and the thick forests in the valleys. And have we not lost five + good men there already?” + </p> + <p> + “What care we? No forests can be thicker than those we have bored through + already; why, if one had had but a tail, like a monkey, for an extra warp, + one might have gone a hundred miles on end along the tree-tops, and found + it far pleasanter walking than tripping in withes, and being eaten up with + creeping things, from morn till night.” + </p> + <p> + “But remember, too,” said Jack, “how they told us to beware of the + Amazons.” + </p> + <p> + “What, Jack, afraid of a parcel of women?” + </p> + <p> + “Why not?” said Jack, “I wouldn't run from a man, as you know; but a woman—it's + not natural, like. They must be witches or devils. See how the Caribs + feared them. And there were men there without necks, and with their eyes + in their breasts, they said. Now how could a Christian tackle such + customers as them?” + </p> + <p> + “He couldn't cut off their heads, that's certain; but, I suppose, a poke + in the ribs will do as much for them as for their neighbors.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Jack, “if I fight, let me fight honest flesh and blood, + that's all, and none of these outlandish monsters. How do you know but + that they are invulnerable by art-magic?” + </p> + <p> + “How do you know that they are? And as for the Amazons,” said Cary, + “woman's woman, all the world over. I'll bet that you may wheedle them + round with a compliment or two, just as if they were so many burghers' + wives. Pity I have not a court-suit and a Spanish hat. I would have taken + an orange in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, gone all alone to + them as ambassador, and been in a week as great with Queen Blackfacealinda + as ever Raleigh is at Whitehall.” + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen!” said Yeo, “where you go, I go; and not only I, but every man + of us, I doubt not; but we have lost now half our company, and spent our + ammunition, so we are no better men, were it not for our swords, than + these naked heathens round us. Now it was, as you all know, by the wonder + and noise of their ordnance (let alone their horses, which is a break-neck + beast I put no faith in) that both Cortez and Pizarro, those imps of + Satan, made their golden conquests, with which if we could have astounded + the people of Manoa—” + </p> + <p> + “Having first found the said people,” laughed Amyas. “It is like the old + fable. Every craftsman thinks his own trade the one pillar of the + commonweal.” + </p> + <p> + “Well! your worship,” quoth Yeo, “it may be that being a gunner I + overprize guns. But it don't need slate and pencil to do this sum—Are + forty men without shot as good as eighty with?” + </p> + <p> + “Thou art right, old fellow, right enough, and I was only jesting for very + sorrow, and must needs laugh about it lest I weep about it. Our chance is + over, I believe, though I dare not confess as much to the men.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir,” said Yeo, “I have a feeling on me that the Lord's hand is against + us in this matter. Whether He means to keep this wealth for worthier men + than us, or whether it is His will to hide this great city in the secret + place of His presence from the strife of tongues, and so to spare them + from sinful man's covetousness, and England from that sin and luxury which + I have seen gold beget among the Spaniards, I know not, sir; for who + knoweth the counsels of the Lord? But I have long had a voice within which + saith, 'Salvation Yeo, thou shalt never behold the Golden City which is on + earth, where heathens worship sun and moon and the hosts of heaven; be + content, therefore, to see that Golden City which is above, where is + neither sun nor moon, but the Lord God and the Lamb are the light + thereof.” + </p> + <p> + There was a simple majesty about old Yeo when he broke forth in utterances + like these, which made his comrades, and even Amyas and Cary, look on him + as Mussulmans look on madmen, as possessed of mysterious knowledge and + flashes of inspiration; and Brimblecombe, whose pious soul looked up to + the old hero with a reverence which had overcome all his Churchman's + prejudices against Anabaptists, answered gently,— + </p> + <p> + “Amen! amen! my masters all: and it has been on my mind, too, this long + time, that there is a providence against our going east; for see how this + two years past, whenever we have pushed eastward, we have fallen into + trouble, and lost good men; and whenever we went Westward-ho, we have + prospered; and do prosper to this day.” + </p> + <p> + “And what is more, gentlemen,” said Yeo, “if, as Scripture says, dreams + are from the Lord, I verily believe mine last night came from Him; for as + I lay by the fire, sirs, I heard my little maid's voice calling of me, as + plain as ever I heard in my life; and the very same words, sirs, which she + learned from me and my good comrade William Penberthy to say, + 'Westward-ho! jolly mariners all!' a bit of an ungodly song, my masters, + which we sang in our wild days; but she stood and called it as plain as + ever mortal ears heard, and called again till I answered, 'Coming! my + maid, coming!' and after that the dear chuck called no more—God + grant I find her yet!—and so I woke.” + </p> + <p> + Cary had long since given up laughing at Yeo about the “little maid;” and + Amyas answered,— + </p> + <p> + “So let it be, Yeo, if the rest agree: but what shall we do to the + westward?” + </p> + <p> + “Do?” said Cary; “there's plenty to do; for there's plenty of gold, and + plenty of Spaniards, too, they say, on the other side of these mountains: + so that our swords will not rust for lack of adventures, my gay + knights-errant all.” + </p> + <p> + So they chatted on; and before night was half through a plan was matured, + desperate enough—but what cared those brave hearts for that? They + would cross the Cordillera to Santa Fe de Bogota, of the wealth whereof + both Yeo and Amyas had often heard in the Pacific: try to seize either the + town or some convoy of gold going from it; make for the nearest river + (there was said to be a large one which ran northward thence), build + canoes, and try to reach the Northern Sea once more; and then, if Heaven + prospered them, they might seize a Spanish ship, and make their way home + to England, not, indeed, with the wealth of Manoa, but with a fair booty + of Spanish gold. This was their new dream. It was a wild one: but hardly + more wild than the one which Drake had fulfilled, and not as wild as the + one which Oxenham might have fulfilled, but for his own fatal folly. + </p> + <p> + Amyas sat watching late that night, sad of heart. To give up the cherished + dream of years was hard; to face his mother, harder still: but it must be + done, for the men's sake. So the new plan was proposed next day, and + accepted joyfully. They would go up to the mountains and rest awhile; if + possible, bring up the wounded whom they had left behind; and then, try a + new venture, with new hopes, perhaps new dangers; they were inured to the + latter. + </p> + <p> + They started next morning cheerfully enough, and for three hours or more + paddled easily up the glassy and windless reaches, between two green + flower-bespangled walls of forest, gay with innumerable birds and insects; + while down from the branches which overhung the stream long trailers hung + to the water's edge, and seemed admiring in the clear mirror the images of + their own gorgeous flowers. River, trees, flowers, birds, insects,—it + was all a fairy-land: but it was a colossal one; and yet the voyagers took + little note of it. It was now to them an everyday occurrence, to see trees + full two hundred feet high one mass of yellow or purple blossom to the + highest twigs, and every branch and stem one hanging garden of crimson and + orange orchids or vanillas. Common to them were all the fantastic and + enormous shapes with which Nature bedecks her robes beneath the fierce + suns and fattening rains of the tropic forest. Common were forms and + colors of bird, and fish, and butterfly, more strange and bright than ever + opium-eater dreamed. The long processions of monkeys, who kept pace with + them along the tree-tops, and proclaimed their wonder in every imaginable + whistle, and grunt, and howl, had ceased to move their laughter, as much + as the roar of the jaguar and the rustle of the boa had ceased to move + their fear; and when a brilliant green and rose-colored fish, flat-bodied + like a bream, flab-finned like a salmon, and saw-toothed like a shark, + leapt clean on board of the canoe to escape the rush of the huge alligator + (whose loathsome snout, ere he could stop, actually rattled against the + canoe within a foot of Jack Brimblecombe's hand), Jack, instead of turning + pale, as he had done at the sharks upon a certain memorable occasion, + coolly picked up the fish, and said, “He's four pound weight! If you can + catch 'pirai' for us like that, old fellow, just keep in our wake, and + we'll give you the cleanings for wages.” + </p> + <p> + Yes. The mind of man is not so “infinite,” in the vulgar sense of that + word, as people fancy; and however greedy the appetite for wonder may be, + while it remains unsatisfied in everyday European life, it is as easily + satiated as any other appetite, and then leaves the senses of its + possessor as dull as those of a city gourmand after a lord mayor's feast. + Only the highest minds—our Humboldts, and Bonplands, and Schomburgks + (and they only when quickened to an almost unhealthy activity by + civilization)—can go on long appreciating where Nature is + insatiable, imperious, maddening, in her demands on our admiration. The + very power of observing wears out under the rush of ever new objects; and + the dizzy spectator is fain at last to shut the eyes of his soul, and take + refuge (as West Indian Spaniards do) in tobacco and stupidity. The man, + too, who has not only eyes but utterance,—what shall he do where all + words fail him? Superlatives are but inarticulate, after all, and give no + pictures even of size any more than do numbers of feet and yards: and yet + what else can we do, but heap superlative on superlative, and cry, + “Wonderful, wonderful!” and after that, “wonderful, past all whooping”? + What Humboldt's self cannot paint, we will not try to daub. The voyagers + were in a South American forest, readers. Fill up the meaning of those + words, each as your knowledge enables you, for I cannot do it for you. + </p> + <p> + Certainly those adventurers could not. The absence of any attempt at + word-painting, even of admiration at the glorious things which they saw, + is most remarkable in all early voyagers, both Spanish and English. The + only two exceptions which I recollect are Columbus—(but then all was + new, and he was bound to tell what he had seen)—and Raleigh; the two + most gifted men, perhaps, with the exception of Humboldt, who ever set + foot in tropical America; but even they dare nothing but a few feeble + hints in passing. Their souls had been dazzled and stunned by a great + glory. Coming out of our European Nature into that tropic one, they had + felt like Plato's men, bred in the twilight cavern, and then suddenly + turned round to the broad blaze of day; they had seen things awful and + unspeakable: why talk of them, except to say with the Turks, “God is + great!” + </p> + <p> + So it was with these men. Among the higher-hearted of them, the grandeur + and the glory around had attuned their spirits to itself, and kept up in + them a lofty, heroical, reverent frame of mind; but they knew as little + about the trees and animals in an “artistic” or “critical” point of view, + as in a scientific one. This tree the Indians called one unpronounceable + name, and it made good bows; that, some other name, and it made good + canoes; of that, you could eat the fruit; that produced the caoutchouc + gum, useful for a hundred matters; that was what the Indians (and they + likewise) used to poison their arrows with; from the ashes of those + palm-nuts you could make good salt; that tree, again, was full of good + milk if you bored the stem: they drank it, and gave God thanks, and were + not astonished. God was great: but that they had discovered long before + they came into the tropics. Noble old child-hearted heroes, with just + romance and superstition enough about them to keep them from that prurient + hysterical wonder and enthusiasm, which is simply, one often fears, a + product of our scepticism! We do not trust enough in God, we do not really + believe His power enough, to be ready, as they were, as every one ought to + be on a God-made earth, for anything and everything being possible; and + then, when a wonder is discovered, we go into ecstasies and shrieks over + it, and take to ourselves credit for being susceptible of so lofty a + feeling, true index, forsooth, of a refined and cultivated mind. + </p> + <p> + They paddled onward hour after hour, sheltering themselves as best they + could under the shadow of the southern bank, while on their right hand the + full sun-glare lay upon the enormous wall of mimosas, figs, and laurels, + which formed the northern forest, broken by the slender shafts of bamboo + tufts, and decked with a thousand gaudy parasites; bank upon bank of + gorgeous bloom piled upward to the sky, till where its outline cut the + blue, flowers and leaves, too lofty to be distinguished by the eye, formed + a broken rainbow of all hues quivering in the ascending streams of azure + mist, until they seemed to melt and mingle with the very heavens. + </p> + <p> + And as the sun rose higher and higher, a great stillness fell upon the + forest. The jaguars and the monkeys had hidden themselves in the darkest + depths of the woods. The birds' notes died out one by one; the very + butterflies ceased their flitting over the tree-tops, and slept with + outspread wings upon the glossy leaves, undistinguishable from the flowers + around them. Now and then a colibri whirred downward toward the water, + hummed for a moment around some pendent flower, and then the living gem + was lost in the deep blackness of the inner wood, among tree-trunks as + huge and dark as the pillars of some Hindoo shrine; or a parrot swung and + screamed at them from an overhanging bough; or a thirsty monkey slid + lazily down a liana to the surface of the stream, dipped up the water in + his tiny hand, and started chattering back, as his eyes met those of some + foul alligator peering upward through the clear depths below. In shaded + nooks beneath the boughs, the capybaras, rabbits as large as sheep, went + paddling sleepily round and round, thrusting up their unwieldy heads among + the blooms of the blue water-lilies; while black and purple water-hens ran + up and down upon the rafts of floating leaves. The shining snout of a + freshwater dolphin rose slowly to the surface; a jet of spray whirred up; + a rainbow hung upon it for a moment; and the black snout sank lazily + again. Here and there, too, upon some shallow pebbly shore, scarlet + flamingoes stood dreaming knee-deep, on one leg; crested cranes pranced up + and down, admiring their own finery; and ibises and egrets dipped their + bills under water in search of prey: but before noon even those had + slipped away, and there reigned a stillness which might be heard—such + a stillness (to compare small things with great) as broods beneath the + rich shadows of Amyas's own Devon woods, or among the lonely sweeps of + Exmoor, when the heather is in flower—a stillness in which, as + Humboldt says, “If beyond the silence we listen for the faintest + undertones, we detect a stifled, continuous hum of insects, which crowd + the air close to the earth; a confused swarming murmur which hangs round + every bush, in the cracked bark of trees, in the soil undermined by + lizards, millepedes, and bees; a voice proclaiming to us that all Nature + breathes, that under a thousand different forms life swarms in the gaping + and dusty earth, as much as in the bosom of the waters, and the air which + breathes around.” + </p> + <p> + At last a soft and distant murmur, increasing gradually to a heavy roar, + announced that they were nearing some cataract; till turning a point, + where the deep alluvial soil rose into a low cliff fringed with delicate + ferns, they came full in sight of a scene at which all paused: not with + astonishment, but with something very like disgust. + </p> + <p> + “Rapids again!” grumbled one. “I thought we had had enough of them on the + Orinoco.” + </p> + <p> + “We shall have to get out, and draw the canoes overland, I suppose. Three + hours will be lost, and in the very hottest of the day, too.” + </p> + <p> + “There's worse behind; don't you see the spray behind the palms?” + </p> + <p> + “Stop grumbling, my masters, and don't cry out before you are hurt. Paddle + right up to the largest of those islands, and let us look about us.” + </p> + <p> + In front of them was a snow-white bar of raging foam, some ten feet high, + along which were ranged three or four islands of black rock. Each was + crested with a knot of lofty palms, whose green tops stood out clear + against the bright sky, while the lower half of their stems loomed hazy + through a luminous veil of rainbowed mist. The banks right and left of the + fall were so densely fringed with a low hedge of shrubs, that landing + seemed all but impossible; and their Indian guide, suddenly looking round + him and whispering, bade them beware of savages; and pointed to a canoe + which lay swinging in the eddies under the largest island, moored + apparently to the root of some tree. + </p> + <p> + “Silence all!” cried Amyas, “and paddle up thither and seize the canoe. If + there be an Indian on the island, we will have speech of him: but mind and + treat him friendly; and on your lives, neither strike nor shoot, even if + he offers to fight.” + </p> + <p> + So, choosing a line of smooth backwater just in the wake of the island, + they drove their canoes up by main force, and fastened them safely by the + side of the Indian's, while Amyas, always the foremost, sprang boldly on + shore, whispering to the Indian boy to follow him. + </p> + <p> + Once on the island, Amyas felt sure enough, that if its wild tenant had + not seen them approach, he certainly had not heard them, so deafening was + the noise which filled his brain, and seemed to make the very leaves upon + the bushes quiver, and the solid stone beneath his feet to reel and ring. + For two hundred yards and more above the fall nothing met his eye but one + white waste of raging foam, with here and there a transverse dyke of rock, + which hurled columns of spray and surges of beaded water high into the + air,—strangely contrasting with the still and silent cliffs of green + leaves which walled the river right and left, and more strangely still + with the knots of enormous palms upon the islets, which reared their + polished shafts a hundred feet into the air, straight and upright as + masts, while their broad plumes and golden-clustered fruit slept in the + sunshine far aloft, the image of the stateliest repose amid the wildest + wrath of Nature. + </p> + <p> + He looked round anxiously for the expected Indian; but he was nowhere to + be seen; and, in the meanwhile, as he stept cautiously along the island, + which was some fifty yards in length and breadth, his senses, accustomed + as they were to such sights, could not help dwelling on the exquisite + beauty of the scene; on the garden of gay flowers, of every imaginable + form and hue, which fringed every boulder at his feet, peeping out amid + delicate fern-fans and luxuriant cushions of moss; on the chequered shade + of the palms, and the cool air, which wafted down from the cataracts above + the scents of a thousand flowers. Gradually his ear became accustomed to + the roar, and, above its mighty undertone, he could hear the whisper of + the wind among the shrubs, and the hum of myriad insects; while the rock + manakin, with its saffron plumage, flitted before him from stone to stone, + calling cheerily, and seeming to lead him on. Suddenly, scrambling over + the rocky flower-beds to the other side of the isle, he came upon a little + shady beach, which, beneath a bank of stone some six feet high, fringed + the edge of a perfectly still and glassy bay. Ten yards farther, the + cataract fell sheer in thunder: but a high fern-fringed rock turned its + force away from that quiet nook. In it the water swung slowly round and + round in glassy dark-green rings, among which dimpled a hundred gaudy + fish, waiting for every fly and worm which spun and quivered on the eddy. + Here, if anywhere, was the place to find the owner of the canoe. He leapt + down upon the pebbles; and as he did so, a figure rose from behind a + neighboring rock, and met him face to face. + </p> + <p> + It was an Indian girl; and yet, when he looked again,—was it an + Indian girl? Amyas had seen hundreds of those delicate dark-skinned + daughters of the forest, but never such a one as this. Her stature was + taller, her limbs were fuller and more rounded; her complexion, though + tanned by light, was fairer by far than his own sunburnt face; her hair, + crowned with a garland of white flowers, was not lank, and straight, and + black, like an Indian's, but of a rich, glossy brown, and curling richly + and crisply from her very temples to her knees. Her forehead, though low, + was upright and ample; her nose was straight and small; her lips, the lips + of a European; her whole face of the highest and richest type of Spanish + beauty; a collar of gold mingled with green beads hung round her neck, and + golden bracelets were on her wrists. All the strange and dim legends of + white Indians, and of nations of a higher race than Carib, or Arrowak, or + Solimo, which Amyas had ever heard, rose up in his memory. She must be the + daughter of some great cacique, perhaps of the lost Incas themselves—why + not? And full of simple wonder, he gazed upon that fairy vision, while + she, unabashed in her free innocence, gazed fearlessly in return, as Eve + might have done in Paradise, upon the mighty stature, and the strange + garments, and above all, on the bushy beard and flowing yellow locks of + the Englishman. + </p> + <p> + He spoke first, in some Indian tongue, gently and smilingly, and made a + half-step forward; but quick as light she caught up from the ground a bow, + and held it fiercely toward him, fitted with the long arrow, with which, + as he could see, she had been striking fish, for a line of twisted grass + hung from its barbed head. Amyas stopped, laid down his own bow and sword, + and made another step in advance, smiling still, and making all Indian + signs of amity: but the arrow was still pointed straight at his breast, + and he knew the mettle and strength of the forest nymphs well enough to + stand still and call for the Indian boy; too proud to retreat, but in the + uncomfortable expectation of feeling every moment the shaft quivering + between his ribs. + </p> + <p> + The boy, who had been peering from above, leaped down to them in a moment; + and began, as the safest method, grovelling on his nose upon the pebbles, + while he tried two or three dialects; one of which at last she seemed to + understand, and answered in a tone of evident suspicion and anger. + </p> + <p> + “What does she say?” + </p> + <p> + “That you are a Spaniard and a robber, because you have a beard.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell her that we are no Spaniards, but that we hate them; and are come + across the great waters to help the Indians to kill them.” + </p> + <p> + The boy translated his speech. The nymph answered by a contemptuous shake + of the head. + </p> + <p> + “Tell her, that if she will send her tribe to us, we will do them no harm. + We are going over the mountains to fight the Spaniards, and we want them + to show us the way.” + </p> + <p> + The boy had no sooner spoken, than, nimble as a deer, the nymph had sprung + up the rocks, and darted between the palm-stems to her canoe. Suddenly she + caught sight of the English boat, and stopped with a cry of fear and rage. + </p> + <p> + “Let her pass!” shouted Amyas, who had followed her close. “Push your boat + off, and let her pass. Boy, tell her to go on; they will not come near + her.” + </p> + <p> + But she hesitated still, and with arrow drawn to the head, faced first on + the boat's crew, and then on Amyas, till the Englishmen had shoved off + full twenty yards. + </p> + <p> + Then, leaping into her tiny piragua, she darted into the wildest whirl of + the eddies, shooting along with vigorous strokes, while the English + trembled as they saw the frail bark spinning and leaping amid the muzzles + of the alligators, and the huge dog-toothed trout: but with the swiftness + of an arrow she reached the northern bank, drove her canoe among the + bushes, and leaping from it, darted through some narrow opening in the + bush, and vanished like a dream. + </p> + <p> + “What fair virago have you unearthed?” cried Cary, as they toiled up again + to the landing-place. + </p> + <p> + “Beshrew me,” quoth Jack, “but we are in the very land of the nymphs, and + I shall expect to see Diana herself next, with the moon on her forehead.” + </p> + <p> + “Take care, then, where you wander hereabouts, Sir John: lest you end as + Actaeon did, by turning into a stag, and being eaten by a jaguar.” + </p> + <p> + “Actaeon was eaten by his own hounds, Mr. Cary, so the parallel don't + hold. But surely she was a very wonder of beauty!” + </p> + <p> + Why was it that Amyas did not like this harmless talk? There had come over + him the strangest new feeling; as if that fair vision was his property, + and the men had no right to talk about her, no right to have even seen + her. And he spoke quite surlily as he said— + </p> + <p> + “You may leave the women to themselves, my masters; you'll have to deal + with the men ere long: so get your canoes up on the rock, and keep good + watch.” + </p> + <p> + “Hillo!” shouted one in a few minutes, “here's fresh fish enough to feed + us all round. I suppose that young cat-a-mountain left it behind her in + her hurry. I wish she had left her golden chains and ouches into the + bargain.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said another, “we'll take it as fair payment, for having made us + drop down the current again to let her ladyship pass.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave that fish alone,” said Amyas; “it is none of yours.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, sir!” quoth the finder in a tone of sulky deprecation. + </p> + <p> + “If we are to make good friends with the heathens, we had better not begin + by stealing their goods. There are plenty more fish in the river; go and + catch them, and let the Indians have their own.” + </p> + <p> + The men were accustomed enough to strict and stern justice in their + dealings with the savages: but they could not help looking slyly at each + other, and hinting, when out of sight, that the captain seemed in a mighty + fuss about his new acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + However, they were expert by this time in all the Indian's fishing + methods; and so abundant was the animal life which swarmed around every + rock, that in an hour fish enough lay on the beach to feed them all; whose + forms and colors, names and families, I must leave the reader to guess + from the wondrous pages of Sir Richard Schomburgk, for I know too little + of them to speak without the fear of making mistakes. + </p> + <p> + A full hour passed before they saw anything more of their Indian + neighbors; and then from under the bushes shot out a canoe, on which all + eyes were fixed in expectation. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, who expected to find there some remnant of a higher race, was + disappointed enough at seeing on board only the usual half-dozen of + low-browed, dirty Orsons, painted red with arnotto: but a gray-headed + elder at the stern seemed, by his feathers and gold ornaments, to be some + man of note in the little woodland community. + </p> + <p> + The canoe came close up to the island; Amyas saw that they were unarmed, + and, laying down his weapons, advanced alone to the bank, making all signs + of amity. They were returned with interest by the old man, and Amyas's + next care was to bring forward the fish which the fair nymph had left + behind, and, through the medium of the Indian lad, to give the cacique + (for so he seemed to be) to understand that he wished to render every one + his own. This offer was received, as Amyas expected, with great applause, + and the canoe came alongside; but the crew still seemed afraid to land. + Amyas bade his men throw the fish one by one into the boat; and then + proclaimed by the boy's mouth, as was his custom with all Indians, that he + and his were enemies of the Spaniards, and on their way to make war + against them,—and that all which they desired was a peaceable and + safe passage through the dominions of the mighty potentate and renowned + warrior whom they beheld before them; for Amyas argued rightly enough, + that even if the old fellow aft was not the cacique, he would be none the + less pleased at being mistaken for him. + </p> + <p> + Whereon the ancient worthy, rising in the canoe, pointed to heaven, earth, + and the things under, and commenced a long sermon, in tone, manner, and + articulation, very like one of those which the great black-bearded apes + were in the habit of preaching every evening when they could get together + a congregation of little monkeys to listen, to the great scandal of Jack, + who would have it that some evil spirit set them on to mimic him; which + sermon, being partly interpreted by the Indian lad, seemed to signify, + that the valor and justice of the white men had already reached the ears + of the speaker, and that he was sent to welcome them into those regions by + the Daughter of the Sun. + </p> + <p> + “The Daughter of the Sun!” quoth Amyas; “then we have found the lost Incas + after all.” + </p> + <p> + “We have found something,” said Cary; “I only hope it may not be a mare's + nest, like many another of our finding.” + </p> + <p> + “Or an adder's,” said Yeo. “We must beware of treachery.” + </p> + <p> + “We must beware of no such thing,” said Amyas, pretty sharply. “Have I not + told you fifty times, that if they see that we trust them, they will trust + us, and if they see that we suspect them, they will suspect us? And when + two parties are watching to see who strikes the first blow, they are sure + to come to fisticuffs from mere dirty fear of each other.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas spoke truth; for almost every atrocity against savages which had + been committed by the Spaniards, and which was in later and worse times + committed by the English, was wont to be excused in that same base fear of + treachery. Amyas's plan, like that of Drake, and Cook, and all great + English voyagers, had been all along to inspire at once awe and + confidence, by a frank and fearless carriage; and he was not disappointed + here. He bade the men step boldly into their canoes, and follow the old + Indian whither he would. The simple children of the forest bowed + themselves reverently before the mighty strangers, and then led them + smilingly across the stream, and through a narrow passage in the covert, + to a hidden lagoon, on the banks of which stood, not Manoa, but a tiny + Indian village. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV + </h2> + <h3> + HOW AMYAS WAS TEMPTED OF THE DEVIL + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Let us alone. What pleasure can we have + To war with evil? Is there any peace + In always climbing up the climbing wave? + All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave + In silence; ripen, fall, and cease: + Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.” + + TENNYSON. +</pre> + <p> + Humboldt has somewhere a curious passage; in which, looking on some + wretched group of Indians, squatting stupidly round their fires, besmeared + with grease and paint, and devouring ants and clay, he somewhat naively + remarks, that were it not for science, which teaches us that such is the + crude material of humanity, and this the state from which we all have + risen, he should have been tempted rather to look upon those hapless + beings as the last degraded remnants of some fallen and dying race. One + wishes that the great traveller had been bold enough to yield to that + temptation, which his own reason and common sense presented to him as the + real explanation of the sad sight, instead of following the dogmas of a + so-called science, which has not a fact whereon to base its wild notion, + and must ignore a thousand facts in asserting it. His own good sense, it + seems, coincided instinctively with the Bible doctrine, that man in a + state of nature is a fallen being, doomed to death—a view which may + be a sad one, but still one more honorable to poor humanity than the + theory, that we all began as some sort of two-handed apes. It is surely + more hopeful to believe that those poor Otomacs or Guahibas were not what + they ought to be, than to believe that they were. It is certainly more + complimentary to them to think that they had been somewhat nobler and more + prudent in centuries gone by, than that they were such blockheads as to + have dragged on, the son after the father, for all the thousands of years + which have elapsed since man was made, without having had wit enough to + discover any better food than ants and clay. + </p> + <p> + Our voyagers, however, like those of their time, troubled their heads with + no such questions. Taking the Bible story as they found it, they agreed + with Humboldt's reason, and not with his science; or, to speak correctly, + agreed with Humboldt's self, and not with the shallow anthropologic + theories which happened to be in vogue fifty years ago; and their new + hosts were in their eyes immortal souls like themselves, “captivated by + the devil at his will,” lost there in the pathless forests, likely to be + lost hereafter. + </p> + <p> + And certainly facts seemed to bear out their old-fashioned theories; + although these Indians had sunk by no means so low as the Guahibas whom + they had met upon the lower waters of the same river. + </p> + <p> + They beheld, on landing, a scattered village of palm-leaf sheds, under + which, as usual, the hammocks were slung from tree to tree. Here and + there, in openings in the forest, patches of cassava and indigo appeared; + and there was a look of neatness and comfort about the little settlement + superior to the average. + </p> + <p> + But now for the signs of the evil spirit. Certainly it was no good spirit + who had inspired them with the art of music; or else (as Cary said) Apollo + and Mercury (if they ever visited America) had played their forefathers a + shabby trick, and put them off with very poor instruments, and still + poorer taste. For on either side of the landing-place were arranged four + or five stout fellows, each with a tall drum, or long earthen trumpet, + swelling out in the course of its length into several hollow balls from + which arose, the moment the strangers set foot on shore, so deafening a + cacophony of howls, and groans, and thumps, as fully to justify Yeo's + remark, “They are calling upon their devil, sir.” To which Cary answered, + with some show of reason, that “they were the less likely to be + disappointed, for none but Sir Urian would ever come to listen to such a + noise.” + </p> + <p> + “And you mark, sirs,” said Yeo, “there's some feast or sacrifice toward. + I'm not overconfident of them yet.” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense!” said Amyas, “we could kill every soul of them in half-an-hour, + and they know that as well as we.” + </p> + <p> + But some great demonstration was plainly toward; for the children of the + forest were arrayed in two lines, right and left of the open space, the + men in front, and the women behind; and all bedizened, to the best of + their power, with arnotto, indigo, and feathers. + </p> + <p> + Next, with a hideous yell, leapt into the centre of the space a personage + who certainly could not have complained if any one had taken him for the + devil, for he had dressed himself up carefully for that very intent, in a + jaguar-skin with a long tail, grinning teeth, a pair of horns, a plume of + black and yellow feathers, and a huge rattle. + </p> + <p> + “Here's the Piache, the rascal,” says Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Ay,” says Yeo, “in Satan's livery, and I've no doubt his works are + according, trust him for it.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't be frightened, Jack,” says Cary, backing up Brimblecombe from + behind. “It's your business to tackle him, you know. At him boldly, and + he'll run.” + </p> + <p> + Whereat all the men laughed; and the Piache, who had intended to produce a + very solemn impression, hung fire a little. However, being accustomed to + get his bread by his impudence, he soon recovered himself, advanced, smote + one of the musicians over the head with his rattle to procure silence; and + then began a harangue, to which Amyas listened patiently, cigar in mouth. + </p> + <p> + “What's it all about, boy?” + </p> + <p> + “He wants to know whether you have seen Amalivaca on the other shore of + the great water?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was accustomed to this inquiry after the mythic civilizer of the + forest Indians, who, after carving the mysterious sculptures which appear + upon so many inland cliffs of that region, returned again whence he came, + beyond the ocean. He answered, as usual, by setting forth the praises of + Queen Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + To which the Piache replied, that she must be one of Amalivaca's seven + daughters, some of whom he took back with him, while he broke the legs of + the rest to prevent their running away, and left them to people the + forests. + </p> + <p> + To which Amyas replied, that his queen's legs were certainly not broken; + for she was a very model of grace and activity, and the best dancer in all + her dominions; but that it was more important to him to know whether the + tribe would give them cassava bread, and let them stay peaceably on that + island, to rest a while before they went on to fight the clothed men (the + Spaniards), on the other side of the mountains. + </p> + <p> + On which the Piache, after capering and turning head over heels with much + howling, beckoned Amyas and his party to follow him; they did so, seeing + that the Indians were all unarmed, and evidently in the highest good + humor. + </p> + <p> + The Piache went toward the door of a carefully closed hut, and crawling up + to it on all-fours in most abject fashion, began whining to some one + within. + </p> + <p> + “Ask what he is about, boy.” + </p> + <p> + The lad asked the old cacique, who had accompanied them, and received for + answer, that he was consulting the Daughter of the Sun. + </p> + <p> + “Here is our mare's nest at last,” quoth Cary, as the Piache from whines + rose to screams and gesticulations, and then to violent convulsions, + foaming at the mouth, and rolling of the eyeballs, till he suddenly sank + exhausted, and lay for dead. + </p> + <p> + “As good as a stage play.” + </p> + <p> + “The devil has played his part,” says Jack; “and now by the rules of all + plays Vice should come on.” + </p> + <p> + “And a very fair Vice it will be, I suspect; a right sweet Iniquity, my + Jack! Listen.” + </p> + <p> + And from the interior of the hut rose a low sweet song, at which all the + simple Indians bowed their heads in reverence; and the English were hushed + in astonishment; for the voice was not shrill or guttural, like that of an + Indian, but round, clear, and rich, like a European's; and as it swelled + and rose louder and louder, showed a compass and power which would have + been extraordinary anywhere (and many a man of the party, as was usual in + musical old England, was a good judge enough of such a matter, and could + hold his part right well in glee, and catch, and roundelay, and psalm). + And as it leaped, and ran, and sank again, and rose once more to fall once + more, all but inarticulate, yet perfect in melody, like the voice of bird + on bough, the wild wanderers were rapt in new delight, and did not wonder + at the Indians as they bowed their heads, and welcomed the notes as + messengers from some higher world. At last one triumphant burst, so shrill + that all ears rang again, and then dead silence. The Piache, suddenly + restored to life, jumped upright, and recommenced preaching at Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Tell the howling villain to make short work of it, lad! His tune won't do + after that last one.” + </p> + <p> + The lad, grinning, informed Amyas that the Piache signified their + acceptance as friends by the Daughter of the Sun; that her friends were + theirs, and her foes theirs. Whereon the Indians set up a scream of + delight, and Amyas, rolling another tobacco leaf up in another strip of + plantain, answered,— + </p> + <p> + “Then let her give us some cassava,” and lighted a fresh cigar. + </p> + <p> + Whereon the door of the hut opened, and the Indians prostrated themselves + to the earth, as there came forth the same fair apparition which they had + encountered upon the island, but decked now in feather-robes, and plumes + of every imaginable hue. + </p> + <p> + Slowly and stately, as one accustomed to command, she walked up to Amyas, + glancing proudly round on her prostrate adorers, and pointing with + graceful arms to the trees, the gardens, and the huts, gave him to + understand by signs (so expressive were her looks, that no words were + needed) that all was at his service; after which, taking his hand, she + lifted it gently to her forehead. + </p> + <p> + At that sign of submission a shout of rapture rose from the crowd; and as + the mysterious maiden retired again to her hut, they pressed round the + English, caressing and admiring, pointing with equal surprise to their + swords, to their Indian bows and blow-guns, and to the trophies of wild + beasts with which they were clothed; while women hastened off to bring + fruit, and flowers, and cassava, and (to Amyas's great anxiety) calabashes + of intoxicating drink; and, to make a long story short, the English sat + down beneath the trees, and feasted merrily, while the drums and trumpets + made hideous music, and lithe young girls and lads danced uncouth dances, + which so scandalized both Brimblecombe and Yeo, that they persuaded Amyas + to beat an early retreat. He was willing enough to get back to the island + while the men were still sober; so there were many leave-takings and + promises of return on the morrow, and the party paddled back to their + island-fortress, racking their wits as to who or what the mysterious maid + could be. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, however, had settled in his mind that she was one of the lost Inca + race; perhaps a descendant of that very fair girl, wife of the Inca Manco, + whom Pizarro, forty years before, had, merely to torture the fugitive + king's heart, as his body was safe from the tyrant's reach, stripped, + scourged, and shot to death with arrows, uncomplaining to the last. + </p> + <p> + They all assembled for the evening service (hardly a day had passed since + they left England on which they had not done the same); and after it was + over, they must needs sing a Psalm, and then a catch or two, ere they went + to sleep; and till the moon was high in heaven, twenty mellow voices rang + out above the roar of the cataract, in many a good old tune. Once or twice + they thought they heard an echo to their song: but they took no note of + it, till Cary, who had gone apart for a few minutes, returned, and + whispered Amyas away. + </p> + <p> + “The sweet Iniquity is mimicking us, lad.” + </p> + <p> + They went to the brink of the river; and there (for their ears were by + this time dead to the noise of the torrent) they could hear plainly the + same voice which had so surprised them in the hut, repeating, clear and + true, snatches of the airs which they had sung. Strange and solemn enough + was the effect of the men's deep voices on the island, answered out of the + dark forest by those sweet treble notes; and the two young men stood a + long while listening and looking out across the eddies, which swirled down + golden in the moonlight: but they could see nothing beyond save the black + wall of trees. After a while the voice ceased, and the two returned to + dream of Incas and nightingales. + </p> + <p> + They visited the village again next day; and every day for a week or more: + but the maiden appeared but rarely, and when she did, kept her distance as + haughtily as a queen. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, of course, as soon as he could converse somewhat better with his + new friends, was not long before he questioned the cacique about her. But + the old man made an owl's face at her name, and intimated by mysterious + shakes of the head, that she was a very strange personage, and the less + said about her the better. She was “a child of the Sun,” and that was + enough. + </p> + <p> + “Tell him, boy,” quoth Cary, “that we are the children of the Sun by his + first wife; and have orders from him to inquire how the Indians have + behaved to our step-sister, for he cannot see all their tricks down here, + the trees are so thick. So let him tell us, or all the cassava plants + shall be blighted.” + </p> + <p> + “Will, Will, don't play with lying!” said Amyas: but the threat was enough + for the cacique, and taking them in his canoe a full mile down the stream, + as if in fear that the wonderful maiden should overhear him, he told them, + in a sort of rhythmic chant, how, many moons ago (he could not tell how + many), his tribe was a mighty nation, and dwelt in Papamene, till the + Spaniards drove them forth. And how, as they wandered northward, far away + upon the mountain spurs beneath the flaming cone of Cotopaxi, they had + found this fair creature wandering in the forest, about the bigness of a + seven years' child. Wondering at her white skin and her delicate beauty, + the simple Indians worshipped her as a god, and led her home with them. + And when they found that she was human like themselves, their wonder + scarcely lessened. How could so tender a being have sustained life in + those forests, and escaped the jaguar and the snake? She must be under + some Divine protection: she must be a daughter of the Sun, one of that + mighty Inca race, the news of whose fearful fall had reached even those + lonely wildernesses; who had, many of them, haunted for years as exiles + the eastern slopes of the Andes, about the Ucalayi and the Maranon; who + would, as all Indians knew, rise again some day to power, when bearded + white men should come across the seas to restore them to their ancient + throne. + </p> + <p> + So, as the girl grew up among them, she was tended with royal honors, by + command of the conjuror of the tribe, that so her forefather the Sun might + be propitious to them, and the Incas might show favor to the poor ruined + Omaguas, in the day of their coming glory. And as she grew, she had + become, it seemed, somewhat of a prophetess among them, as well as an + object of fetish-worship; for she was more prudent in council, valiant in + war, and cunning in the chase, than all the elders of the tribe; and those + strange and sweet songs of hers, which had so surprised the white men, + were full of mysterious wisdom about the birds, and the animals, and the + flowers, and the rivers, which the Sun and the Good Spirit taught her from + above. So she had lived among them, unmarried still, not only because she + despised the addresses of all Indian youths, but because the conjuror had + declared it to be profane in them to mingle with the race of the Sun, and + had assigned her a cabin near his own, where she was served in state, and + gave some sort of oracular responses, as they had seen, to the questions + which he put to her. + </p> + <p> + Such was the cacique's tale; on which Cary remarked, probably not + unjustly, that he “dared to say the conjuror made a very good thing of + it:” but Amyas was silent, full of dreams, if not about Manoa, still about + the remnant of the Inca race. What if they were still to be found about + the southern sources of the Amazon? He must have been very near them + already, in that case. It was vexatious; but at least he might be sure + that they had formed no great kingdom in that direction, or he should have + heard of it long ago. Perhaps they had moved lately from thence eastward, + to escape some fresh encroachment of the Spaniards; and this girl had been + left behind in their flight. And then he recollected, with a sigh, how + hopeless was any further search with his diminished band. At least, he + might learn something of the truth from the maiden herself. It might be + useful to him in some future attempt; for he had not yet given up Manoa. + If he but got safe home, there was many a gallant gentleman (and Raleigh + came at once into his mind) who would join him in a fresh search for the + Golden City of Guiana; not by the upper waters, but by the mouth of the + Orinoco. + </p> + <p> + So they paddled back, while the simple cacique entreated them to tell the + Sun, in their daily prayers, how well the wild people had treated his + descendant; and besought them not to take her away with them, lest the Sun + should forget the poor Omaguas, and ripen their manioc and their fruit no + more. + </p> + <p> + Amyas had no wish to stay where he was longer than was absolutely + necessary to bring up the sick men from the Orinoco; but this, he well + knew, would be a journey probably of some months, and attended with much + danger. + </p> + <p> + Cary volunteered at once, however, to undertake the adventure, if + half-a-dozen men would join him, and the Indians would send a few young + men to help in working the canoe: but this latter item was not an easy one + to obtain; for the tribe with whom they now were, stood in some fear of + the fierce and brutal Guahibas, through whose country they must pass; and + every Indian tribe, as Amyas knew well enough, looks on each tribe of + different language to itself as natural enemies, hateful, and made only to + be destroyed wherever met. This strange fact, too, Amyas and his party + attributed to delusion of the devil, the divider and accuser; and I am of + opinion that they were perfectly right: only let Amyas take care that + while he is discovering the devil in the Indians, he does not give place + to him in himself, and that in more ways than one. But of that more + hereafter. + </p> + <p> + Whether, however, it was pride or shyness which kept the maiden aloof, she + conquered it after a while; perhaps through mere woman's curiosity; and + perhaps, too, from mere longing for amusement in a place so unspeakably + stupid as the forest. She gave the English to understand, however, that + though they all might be very important personages, none of them was to be + her companion but Amyas. And ere a month was past, she was often hunting + with him far and wide in the neighboring forest, with a train of chosen + nymphs, whom she had persuaded to follow her example and spurn the dusky + suitors around. This fashion, not uncommon, perhaps, among the Indian + tribes, where women are continually escaping to the forest from the + tyranny of the men, and often, perhaps, forming temporary communities, was + to the English a plain proof that they were near the land of the famous + Amazons, of whom they had heard so often from the Indians; while Amyas had + no doubt that, as a descendant of the Incas, the maiden preserved the + tradition of the Virgins of the Sun, and of the austere monastic rule of + the Peruvian superstition. Had not that valiant German, George of Spires, + and Jeronimo Ortal too, fifty years before, found convents of the Sun upon + these very upper waters? + </p> + <p> + So a harmless friendship sprang up between Amyas and the girl, which soon + turned to good account. For she no sooner heard that he needed a crew of + Indians, than she consulted the Piache, assembled the tribe, and having + retired to her hut, commenced a song, which (unless the Piache lied) was a + command to furnish young men for Cary's expedition, under penalty of the + sovereign displeasure of an evil spirit with an unpronounceable name—an + argument which succeeded on the spot, and the canoe departed on its + perilous errand. + </p> + <p> + John Brimblecombe had great doubts whether a venture thus started by + direct help and patronage of the fiend would succeed; and Amyas himself, + disliking the humbug, told Ayacanora that it would be better to have told + the tribe that it was a good deed, and pleasing to the Good Spirit. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said she, naively enough, “they know better than that. The Good + Spirit is big and lazy; and he smiles, and takes no trouble: but the + little bad spirit, he is so busy—here, and there, and everywhere,” + and she waved her pretty hands up and down; “he is the useful one to have + for a friend!” Which sentiment the Piache much approved, as became his + occupation; and once told Brimblecombe pretty sharply, that he was a + meddlesome fellow for telling the Indians that the Good Spirit cared for + them; “for,” quoth he, “if they begin to ask the Good Spirit for what they + want, who will bring me cassava and coca for keeping the bad spirit + quiet?” This argument, however forcible the devil's priests in all ages + have felt it to be, did not stop Jack's preaching (and very good and + righteous preaching it was, moreover), and much less the morning and + evening service in the island camp. This last, the Indians, attracted by + the singing, attended in such numbers, that the Piache found his + occupation gone, and vowed to put an end to Jack's Gospel with a poisoned + arrow. + </p> + <p> + Which plan he (blinded by his master, Satan, so Jack phrased it) took into + his head to impart to Ayacanora, as the partner of his tithes and + offerings; and was exceedingly astonished to receive in answer a box on + the ear, and a storm of abuse. After which, Ayacanora went to Amyas, and + telling him all, proposed that the Piache should be thrown to the + alligators, and Jack installed in his place; declaring that whatsoever the + bearded men said must be true, and whosoever plotted against them should + die the death. + </p> + <p> + Jack, however, magnanimously forgave his foe, and preached on, of course + with fresh zeal; but not, alas! with much success. For the conjuror, + though his main treasure was gone over to the camp of the enemy, had a + reserve in a certain holy trumpet, which was hidden mysteriously in a cave + on the neighboring hills, not to be looked on by woman under pain of + death; and it was well known, and had been known for generations, that + unless that trumpet, after fastings, flagellations, and other solemn + rites, was blown by night throughout the woods, the palm-trees would bear + no fruit; yea, so great was the fame of that trumpet, that neighboring + tribes sent at the proper season to hire it and the blower thereof, by + payment of much precious trumpery, that so they might be sharers in its + fertilizing powers. + </p> + <p> + So the Piache announced one day in public, that in consequence of the + impiety of the Omaguas, he should retire to a neighboring tribe, of more + religious turn of mind; and taking with him the precious instrument, leave + their palms to blight, and themselves to the evil spirit. + </p> + <p> + Dire was the wailing, and dire the wrath throughout the village. Jack's + words were allowed to be good words; but what was the Gospel in comparison + of the trumpet? The rascal saw his advantage, and began a fierce harangue + against the heretic strangers. As he maddened, his hearers maddened; the + savage nature, capricious as a child's, flashed out in wild suspicion. + Women yelled, men scowled, and ran hastily to their huts for bows and + blow-guns. The case was grown critical. There were not more than a dozen + men with Amyas at the time, and they had only their swords, while the + Indian men might muster nearly a hundred. Amyas forbade his men either to + draw or to retreat; but poisoned arrows were weapons before which the + boldest might well quail; and more than one cheek grew pale, which had + seldom been pale before. + </p> + <p> + “It is God's quarrel, sirs all,” said Jack Brimblecombe; “let Him defend + the right.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, from Ayacanora's hut arose her magic song, and quivered aloft + among the green heights of the forest. + </p> + <p> + The mob stood spell-bound, still growling fiercely, but not daring to + move. Another moment, and she had rushed out, like a very Diana, into the + centre of the ring, bow in hand, and arrow on the string. + </p> + <p> + The fallen “children of wrath” had found their match in her; for her + beautiful face was convulsed with fury. Almost foaming in her passion, she + burst forth with bitter revilings; she pointed with admiration to the + English, and then with fiercest contempt to the Indians; and at last, with + fierce gestures, seemed to cast off the very dust of her feet against + them, and springing to Amyas's side, placed herself in the forefront of + the English battle. + </p> + <p> + The whole scene was so sudden, that Amyas had hardly discovered whether + she came as friend or foe, before her bow was raised. He had just time to + strike up her hand, when the arrow flew past the ear of the offending + Piache, and stuck quivering in a tree. + </p> + <p> + “Let me kill the wretch!” said she, stamping with rage; but Amyas held her + arm firmly. + </p> + <p> + “Fools!” cried she to the tribe, while tears of anger rolled down her + cheeks. “Choose between me and your trumpet! I am a daughter of the Sun; I + am white; I am a companion for Englishmen! But you! your mothers were + Guahibas, and ate mud; and your fathers—they were howling apes! Let + them sing to you! I shall go to the white men, and never sing you to sleep + any more; and when the little evil spirit misses my voice, he will come + and tumble you out of your hammocks, and make you dream of ghosts every + night, till you grow as thin as blow-guns, and as stupid as aye-ayes!”* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Two-toed sloths. +</pre> + <p> + This terrible counter-threat, in spite of the slight bathos involved, had + its effect; for it appealed to that dread of the sleep world which is + common to all savages: but the conjuror was ready to outbid the + prophetess, and had begun a fresh oration, when Amyas turned the tide of + war. Bursting into a huge laugh at the whole matter, he took the conjuror + by his shoulders, sent him with one crafty kick half-a-dozen yards off + upon his nose; and then, walking out of the ranks, shook hands round with + all his Indian acquaintances. + </p> + <p> + Whereon, like grown-up babies, they all burst out laughing too, shook + hands with all the English, and then with each other; being, after all, as + glad as any bishops to prorogue the convocation, and let unpleasant + questions stand over till the next session. The Piache relented, like a + prudent man; Ayacanora returned to her hut to sulk; and Amyas to his + island, to long for Cary's return, for he felt himself on dangerous + ground. + </p> + <p> + At last Will returned, safe and sound, and as merry as ever, not having + lost a man (though he had had a smart brush with the Guahibas). He brought + back three of the wounded men, now pretty nigh cured; the other two, who + had lost a leg apiece, had refused to come. They had Indian wives; more + than they could eat; and tobacco without end: and if it were not for the + gnats (of which Cary said that there were more mosquitoes than there was + air), they should be the happiest men alive. Amyas could hardly blame the + poor fellows; for the chance of their getting home through the forest with + one leg each was very small, and, after all, they were making the best of + a bad matter. And a very bad matter it seemed to him, to be left in a + heathen land; and a still worse matter, when he overheard some of the men + talking about their comrades' lonely fate, as if, after all, they were not + so much to be pitied. He said nothing about it then, for he made a rule + never to take notice of any facts which he got at by eavesdropping, + however unintentional; but he longed that one of them would say as much to + him, and he would “give them a piece of his mind.” And a piece of his mind + he had to give within the week; for while he was on a hunting party, two + of his men were missing, and were not heard of for some days; at the end + of which time the old cacique come to tell him that he believed they had + taken to the forest, each with an Indian girl. + </p> + <p> + Amyas was very wroth at the news. First, because it had never happened + before: he could say with honest pride, as Raleigh did afterwards when he + returned from his Guiana voyage, that no Indian woman had ever been the + worse for any man of his. He had preached on this point month after month, + and practised what he preached; and now his pride was sorely hurt. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, he dreaded offence to the Indians themselves: but on this score + the cacique soon comforted him, telling him that the girls, as far as he + could find, had gone off of their own free will; intimating that he + thought it somewhat an honor to the tribe that they had found favor in the + eyes of the bearded men; and moreover, that late wars had so thinned the + ranks of their men, that they were glad enough to find husbands for their + maidens, and had been driven of late years to kill many of their female + infants. This sad story, common perhaps to every American tribe, and one + of the chief causes of their extermination, reassured Amyas somewhat: but + he could not stomach either the loss of his men, or their breach of + discipline; and look for them he would. Did any one know where they were? + If the tribe knew, they did not care to tell: but Ayacanora, the moment + she found out his wishes, vanished into the forest, and returned in two + days, saying that she had found the fugitives; but she would not show him + where they were, unless he promised not to kill them. He, of course, had + no mind for so rigorous a method: he both needed the men, and he had no + malice against them,—for the one, Ebsworthy, was a plain, honest, + happy-go-lucky sailor, and as good a hand as there was in the crew; and + the other was that same ne'er-do-weel Will Parracombe, his old + schoolfellow, who had been tempted by the gipsy-Jesuit at Appledore, and + resisting that bait, had made a very fair seaman. + </p> + <p> + So forth Amyas went, with Ayacanora as a guide, some five miles upward + along the forest slopes, till the girl whispered, “There they are;” and + Amyas, pushing himself gently through a thicket of bamboo, beheld a scene + which, in spite of his wrath, kept him silent, and perhaps softened, for a + minute. + </p> + <p> + On the farther side of a little lawn, the stream leapt through a chasm + beneath overarching vines, sprinkling eternal freshness upon all around, + and then sank foaming into a clear rock-basin, a bath for Dian's self. On + its farther side, the crag rose some twenty feet in height, bank upon bank + of feathered ferns and cushioned moss, over the rich green beds of which + drooped a thousand orchids, scarlet, white, and orange, and made the still + pool gorgeous with the reflection of their gorgeousness. At its more quiet + outfall, it was half-hidden in huge fantastic leaves and tall flowering + stems; but near the waterfall the grassy bank sloped down toward the + stream, and there, on palm-leaves strewed upon the turf, beneath the + shadow of the crags, lay the two men whom Amyas sought, and whom, now he + had found them, he had hardly heart to wake from their delicious dream. + </p> + <p> + For what a nest it was which they had found! the air was heavy with the + scent of flowers, and quivering with the murmur of the stream, the humming + of the colibris and insects, the cheerful song of birds, the gentle cooing + of a hundred doves; while now and then, from far away, the musical wail of + the sloth, or the deep toll of the bell-bird, came softly to the ear. What + was not there which eye or ear could need? And what which palate could + need either? For on the rock above, some strange tree, leaning forward, + dropped every now and then a luscious apple upon the grass below, and huge + wild plantains bent beneath their load of fruit. + </p> + <p> + There, on the stream bank, lay the two renegades from civilized life. They + had cast away their clothes, and painted themselves, like the Indians, + with arnotto and indigo. One lay lazily picking up the fruit which fell + close to his side; the other sat, his back against a cushion of soft moss, + his hands folded languidly upon his lap, giving himself up to the soft + influence of the narcotic coca-juice, with half-shut dreamy eyes fixed on + the everlasting sparkle of the waterfall— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “While beauty, born of murmuring sound, + Did pass into his face.” + </pre> + <p> + Somewhat apart crouched their two dusky brides, crowned with fragrant + flowers, but working busily, like true women, for the lords whom they + delighted to honor. One sat plaiting palm fibres into a basket; the other + was boring the stem of a huge milk-tree, which rose like some mighty + column on the right hand of the lawn, its broad canopy of leaves unseen + through the dense underwood of laurel and bamboo, and betokened only by + the rustle far aloft, and by the mellow shade in which it bathed the whole + delicious scene. + </p> + <p> + Amyas stood silent for awhile, partly from noble shame at seeing two + Christian men thus fallen of their own self-will; partly because—and + he could not but confess that—a solemn calm brooded above that + glorious place, to break through which seemed sacrilege even while he felt + it a duty. Such, he thought, was Paradise of old; such our first parents' + bridal bower! Ah! if man had not fallen, he too might have dwelt forever + in such a home—with whom? He started, and shaking off the spell, + advanced sword in hand. + </p> + <p> + The women saw him, and springing to their feet, caught up their long + pocunas, and leapt like deer each in front of her beloved. There they + stood, the deadly tubes pressed to their lips, eyeing him like tigresses + who protect their young, while every slender limb quivered, not with + terror, but with rage. + </p> + <p> + Amyas paused, half in admiration, half in prudence; for one rash step was + death. But rushing through the canes, Ayacanora sprang to the front, and + shrieked to them in Indian. At the sight of the prophetess the women + wavered, and Amyas, putting on as gentle a face as he could, stepped + forward, assuring them in his best Indian that he would harm no one. + </p> + <p> + “Ebsworthy! Parracombe! Are you grown such savages already, that you have + forgotten your captain? Stand up, men, and salute!” + </p> + <p> + Ebsworthy sprang to his feet, obeyed mechanically, and then slipped behind + his bride again, as if in shame. The dreamer turned his head languidly, + raised his hand to his forehead, and then returned to his contemplation. + </p> + <p> + Amyas rested the point of his sword on the ground, and his hands upon the + hilt, and looked sadly and solemnly upon the pair. Ebsworthy broke the + silence, half reproachfully, half trying to bluster away the coming storm. + </p> + <p> + “Well, noble captain, so you've hunted out us poor fellows; and want to + drag us back again in a halter, I suppose?” + </p> + <p> + “I came to look for Christians, and I find heathens; for men, and I find + swine. I shall leave the heathens to their wilderness, and the swine to + their trough. Parracombe!” + </p> + <p> + “He's too happy to answer you, sir. And why not? What do you want of us? + Our two years vow is out, and we are free men now.” + </p> + <p> + “Free to become like the beasts that perish? You are the queen's servants + still, and in her name I charge you— + </p> + <p> + “Free to be happy,” interrupted the man. “With the best of wives, the best + of food, a warmer bed than a duke's, and a finer garden than an emperor's. + As for clothes, why the plague should a man wear them where he don't need + them? As for gold, what's the use of it where Heaven sends everything + ready-made to your hands? Hearken, Captain Leigh. You've been a good + captain to me, and I'll repay you with a bit of sound advice. Give up your + gold-hunting, and toiling and moiling after honor and glory, and copy us. + Take that fair maid behind you there to wife; pitch here with us; and see + if you are not happier in one day than ever you were in all your life + before.” + </p> + <p> + “You are drunk, sirrah! William Parracombe! Will you speak to me, or shall + I heave you into the stream to sober you?” + </p> + <p> + “Who calls William Parracombe?” answered a sleepy voice. + </p> + <p> + “I, fool!—your captain.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not William Parracombe. He is dead long ago of hunger, and labor, + and heavy sorrow, and will never see Bideford town any more. He is turned + into an Indian now; and he is to sleep, sleep, sleep for a hundred years, + till he gets his strength again, poor fellow—” + </p> + <p> + “Awake, then, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ + shall give thee light! A christened Englishman, and living thus the life + of a beast?” + </p> + <p> + “Christ shall give thee light?” answered the same unnatural abstracted + voice. “Yes; so the parsons say. And they say too, that He is Lord of + heaven and earth. I should have thought His light was as near us here as + anywhere, and nearer too, by the look of the place. Look round!” said he, + waving a lazy hand, “and see the works of God, and the place of Paradise, + whither poor weary souls go home and rest, after their masters in the + wicked world have used them up, with labor and sorrow, and made them wade + knee-deep in blood—I'm tired of blood, and tired of gold. I'll march + no more; I'll fight no more; I'll hunger no more after vanity and vexation + of spirit. What shall I get by it? Maybe I shall leave my bones in the + wilderness. I can but do that here. Maybe I shall get home with a few + pezos, to die an old cripple in some stinking hovel, that a monkey would + scorn to lodge in here. You may go on; it'll pay you. You may be a rich + man, and a knight, and live in a fine house, and drink good wine, and go + to Court, and torment your soul with trying to get more, when you've got + too much already; plotting and planning to scramble upon your neighbor's + shoulders, as they all did—Sir Richard, and Mr. Raleigh, and + Chichester, and poor dear old Sir Warham, and all of them that I used to + watch when I lived before. They were no happier than I was then; I'll + warrant they are no happier now. Go your ways, captain; climb to glory + upon some other backs than ours, and leave us here in peace, alone with + God and God's woods, and the good wives that God has given us, to play a + little like school children. It's long since I've had play-hours; and now + I'll be a little child once more, with the flowers, and the singing birds, + and the silver fishes in the stream, that are at peace, and think no harm, + and want neither clothes, nor money, nor knighthood, nor peerage, but just + take what comes; and their heavenly Father feedeth them, and Solomon in + all his glory was not arrayed like one of these—and will He not much + more feed us, that are of more value than many sparrows?” + </p> + <p> + “And will you live here, shut out from all Christian ordinances?” + </p> + <p> + “Christian ordinances? Adam and Eve had no parsons in Paradise. The Lord + was their priest, and the Lord was their shepherd, and He'll be ours too. + But go your ways, sir, and send up Sir John Brimblecombe, and let him + marry us here Church fashion (though we have sworn troth to each other + before God already), and let him give us the Holy Sacrament once and for + all, and then read the funeral service over us, and go his ways, and count + us for dead, sir—for dead we are to the wicked worthless world we + came out of three years ago. And when the Lord chooses to call us, the + little birds will cover us with leaves, as they did the babies in the + wood, and fresher flowers will grow out of our graves, sir, than out of + yours in that bare Northam churchyard there beyond the weary, weary, weary + sea.” + </p> + <p> + His voice died away to a murmur, and his head sank on his breast. + </p> + <p> + Amyas stood spell-bound. The effect of the narcotic was all but miraculous + in his eyes. The sustained eloquence, the novel richness of diction in one + seemingly drowned in sensual sloth, were, in his eyes, the possession of + some evil spirit. And yet he could not answer the Evil One. His English + heart, full of the divine instinct of duty and public spirit, told him + that it must be a lie: but how to prove it a lie? And he stood for full + ten minutes searching for an answer, which seemed to fly farther and + farther off the more he sought for it. + </p> + <p> + His eye glanced upon Ayacanora. The two girls were whispering to her + smilingly. He saw one of them glance a look toward him, and then say + something, which raised a beautiful blush in the maiden's face. With a + playful blow at the speaker, she turned away. Amyas knew instinctively + that they were giving her the same advice as Ebsworthy had given to him. + Oh, how beautiful she was! Might not the renegades have some reason on + their side after all. + </p> + <p> + He shuddered at the thought: but he could not shake it off. It glided in + like some gaudy snake, and wreathed its coils round all his heart and + brain. He drew back to the other side of the lawn, and thought and thought— + </p> + <p> + Should he ever get home? If he did, might he not get home a beggar? Beggar + or rich, he would still have to face his mother, to go through that + meeting, to tell that tale, perhaps, to hear those reproaches, the + forecast of which had weighed on him like a dark thunder-cloud for two + weary years; to wipe out which by some desperate deed of glory he had + wandered the wilderness, and wandered in vain. + </p> + <p> + Could he not settle here? He need not be a savage, he and his might + Christianize, civilize, teach equal law, mercy in war, chivalry to women; + found a community which might be hereafter as strong a barrier against the + encroachments of the Spaniard, as Manoa itself would have been. Who knew + the wealth of the surrounding forests? Even if there were no gold, there + were boundless vegetable treasures. What might he not export down the + rivers? This might be the nucleus of a great commercial settlement— + </p> + <p> + And yet, was even that worth while? To settle here only to torment his + soul with fresh schemes, fresh ambitions; not to rest, but only to change + one labor for another? Was not your dreamer right? Did they not all need + rest? What if they each sat down among the flowers, beside an Indian + bride? They might live like Christians, while they lived like the birds of + heaven.— + </p> + <p> + What a dead silence! He looked up and round; the birds had ceased to + chirp; the parroquets were hiding behind the leaves; the monkeys were + clustered motionless upon the highest twigs; only out of the far depths of + the forest, the campanero gave its solemn toll, once, twice, thrice, like + a great death-knell rolling down from far cathedral towers. Was it an + omen? He looked up hastily at Ayacanora. She was watching him earnestly. + Heavens! was she waiting for his decision? Both dropped their eyes. The + decision was not to come from them. + </p> + <p> + A rustle! a roar! a shriek! and Amyas lifted his eyes in time to see a + huge dark bar shoot from the crag above the dreamer's head, among the + group of girls. + </p> + <p> + A dull crash, as the group flew asunder; and in the midst, upon the + ground, the tawny limbs of one were writhing beneath the fangs of a black + jaguar, the rarest and most terrible of the forest kings. Of one? But of + which? Was it Ayacanora? And sword in hand, Amyas rushed madly forward; + before he reached the spot those tortured limbs were still. + </p> + <p> + It was not Ayacanora, for with a shriek which rang through the woods, the + wretched dreamer, wakened thus at last, sprang up and felt for his sword. + Fool! he had left it in his hammock! Screaming the name of his dead bride, + he rushed on the jaguar, as it crouched above its prey, and seizing its + head with teeth and nails, worried it, in the ferocity of his madness, + like a mastiff-dog. + </p> + <p> + The brute wrenched its head from his grasp, and raised its dreadful paw. + Another moment and the husband's corpse would have lain by the wife's. + </p> + <p> + But high in air gleamed Amyas's blade; down with all the weight of his + huge body and strong arm, fell that most trusty steel; the head of the + jaguar dropped grinning on its victim's corpse; + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “And all stood still, who saw him fall, + While men might count a score.” + </pre> + <p> + “O Lord Jesus,” said Amyas to himself, “Thou hast answered the devil for + me! And this is the selfish rest for which I would have bartered the rest + which comes by working where Thou hast put me!” + </p> + <p> + They bore away the lithe corpse into the forest, and buried it under soft + moss and virgin mould; and so the fair clay was transfigured into fairer + flowers, and the poor, gentle, untaught spirit returned to God who gave + it. + </p> + <p> + And then Amyas went sadly and silently back again, and Parracombe walked + after him, like one who walks in sleep. + </p> + <p> + Ebsworthy, sobered by the shock, entreated to come too: but Amyas forbade + him gently,— + </p> + <p> + “No, lad, you are forgiven. God forbid that I should judge you or any man! + Sir John shall come up and marry you; and then, if it still be your will + to stay, the Lord forgive you, if you be wrong; in the meanwhile, we will + leave with you all that we can spare. Stay here and pray to God to make + you, and me too, wiser men.” + </p> + <p> + And so Amyas departed. He had come out stern and proud; but he came back + again like a little child. + </p> + <p> + Three days after Parracombe was dead. Once in camp he seemed unable to eat + or move, and having received absolution and communion from good Sir John, + faded away without disease or pain, “babbling of green fields,” and + murmuring the name of his lost Indian bride. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, too, sought ghostly council of Sir John, and told him all which had + passed through his mind. + </p> + <p> + “It was indeed a temptation of Diabolus,” said that simple sage; “for he + is by his very name the divider who sets man against man, and tempts one + to care only for oneself, and forget kin and country, and duty and queen. + But you have resisted him, Captain Leigh, like a true-born Englishman, as + you always are, and he has fled from you. But that is no reason why we + should not flee from him too; and so I think the sooner we are out of this + place, and at work again, the better for all our souls.” + </p> + <p> + To which Amyas most devoutly said, “Amen!” If Ayacanora were the daughter + of ten thousand Incas, he must get out of her way as soon as possible. + </p> + <p> + The next day he announced his intention to march once more, and to his + delight found the men ready enough to move towards the Spanish + settlements. One thing they needed: gunpowder for their muskets. But that + they must make as they went along; that is, if they could get the + materials. Charcoal they could procure, enough to set the world on fire; + but nitre they had not yet seen; perhaps they should find it among the + hills: while as for sulphur, any brave man could get that where there were + volcanoes. Who had not heard how one of Cortez' Spaniards, in like need, + was lowered in a basket down the smoking crater of Popocatepetl, till he + had gathered sulphur enough to conquer an empire? And what a Spaniard + could do an Englishman could do, or they would know the reason why. And if + they found none—why clothyard arrows had done Englishmen's work many + a time already, and they could do it again, not to mention those same + blow-guns and their arrows of curare poison, which, though they might be + useless against Spaniards' armor, were far more valuable than muskets for + procuring food, from the simple fact of their silence. + </p> + <p> + One thing remained; to invite their Indian friends to join them. And that + was done in due form the next day. + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora was consulted, of course, and by the Piache, too, who was glad + enough to be rid of the rival preacher, and his unpleasantly good news + that men need not worship the devil, because there was a good God above + them. The maiden sang most melodious assent; the whole tribe echoed it; + and all went smoothly enough till the old cacique observed that before + starting a compact should be made between the allies as to their share of + the booty. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could be more reasonable; and Amyas asked him to name his terms. + </p> + <p> + “You take the gold, and we will take the prisoners.” + </p> + <p> + “And what will you do with them?” asked Amyas, who recollected poor John + Oxenham's hapless compact made in like case. + </p> + <p> + “Eat them,” quoth the cacique, innocently enough. + </p> + <p> + Amyas whistled. + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Cary. “The old proverb comes true—'the more the + merrier: but the fewer the better fare.' I think we will do without our + red friends for this time.” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora, who had been preaching war like a very Boadicea, was much + vexed. + </p> + <p> + “Do you too want to dine off roast Spaniards?” asked Amyas. + </p> + <p> + She shook her head, and denied the imputation with much disgust. + </p> + <p> + Amyas was relieved; he had shrunk from joining the thought of so fair a + creature, however degraded, with the horrors of cannibalism. + </p> + <p> + But the cacique was a man of business, and held out stanchly. + </p> + <p> + “Is it fair?” he asked. “The white man loves gold, and he gets it. The + poor Indian, what use is gold to him? He only wants something to eat, and + he must eat his enemies. What else will pay him for going so far through + the forests hungry and thirsty? You will get all, and the Omaguas will get + nothing.” + </p> + <p> + The argument was unanswerable; and the next day they started without the + Indians, while John Brimblecombe heaved many an honest sigh at leaving + them to darkness, the devil, and the holy trumpet. + </p> + <p> + And Ayacanora? + </p> + <p> + When their departure was determined, she shut herself up in her hut, and + appeared no more. Great was the weeping, howling, and leave-taking on the + part of the simple Indians, and loud the entreaties to come again, bring + them a message from Amalivaca's daughter beyond the seas, and help them to + recover their lost land of Papamene; but Ayacanora took no part in them; + and Amyas left her, wondering at her absence, but joyful and light-hearted + at having escaped the rocks of the Sirens, and being at work once more. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THEY TOOK THE GOLD-TRAIN + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “God will relent, and quit thee all thy debt, + Who ever more approves, and more accepts + Him who imploring mercy sues for life, + Than who self-rigorous chooses death as due, + Which argues over-just, and self-displeased + For self-offence, more than for God offended.” + + Samson Agonistes. +</pre> + <p> + A fortnight or more has passed in severe toil, but not more severe than + they have endured many a time before. Bidding farewell once and forever to + the green ocean of the eastern plains, they have crossed the Cordillera; + they have taken a longing glance at the city of Santa Fe, lying in the + midst of rich gardens on its lofty mountain plateau, and have seen, as was + to be expected, that it was far too large a place for any attempt of + theirs. But they have not altogether thrown away their time. Their Indian + lad has discovered that a gold-train is going down from Santa Fe toward + the Magdalena; and they are waiting for it beside the miserable rut which + serves for a road, encamped in a forest of oaks which would make them + almost fancy themselves back again in Europe, were it not for the + tree-ferns which form the undergrowth; and were it not, too, for the deep + gorges opening at their very feet; in which, while their brows are swept + by the cool breezes of a temperate zone, they can see far below, dim + through their everlasting vapor-bath of rank hot steam, the mighty forms + and gorgeous colors of the tropic forest. + </p> + <p> + They have pitched their camp among the tree-ferns, above a spot where the + path winds along a steep hill-side, with a sheer cliff below of many a + hundred feet. There was a road there once, perhaps, when Cundinamarca was + a civilized and cultivated kingdom; but all which Spanish misrule has left + of it are a few steps slipping from their places at the bottom of a narrow + ditch of mud. It has gone the way of the aqueducts, and bridges, and + post-houses, the gardens and the llama-flocks of that strange empire. In + the mad search for gold, every art of civilization has fallen to decay, + save architecture alone; and that survives only in the splendid cathedrals + which have risen upon the ruins of the temples of the Sun, in honor of a + milder Pantheon; if, indeed, that can be called a milder one which demands + (as we have seen already) human sacrifices, unknown to the gentle + nature-worship of the Incas. + </p> + <p> + And now, the rapid tropic vegetation has reclaimed its old domains, and + Amyas and his crew are as utterly alone, within a few miles of an + important Spanish settlement, as they would be in the solitudes of the + Orinoco or the Amazon. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile, all their attempts to find sulphur and nitre have been + unavailing; and they have been forced to depend after all (much to Yeo's + disgust) upon their swords and arrows. Be it so: Drake took Nombre de Dios + and the gold-train there with no better weapons; and they may do as much. + </p> + <p> + So, having blocked up the road above by felling a large tree across it, + they sit there among the flowers chewing coca, in default of food and + drink, and meditating among themselves the cause of a mysterious roar, + which has been heard nightly in their wake ever since they left the banks + of the Meta. Jaguar it is not, nor monkey: it is unlike any sound they + know; and why should it follow them? However, they are in the land of + wonders; and, moreover, the gold train is far more important than any + noise. + </p> + <p> + At last, up from beneath there was a sharp crack and a loud cry. The crack + was neither the snapping of a branch, nor the tapping of a woodpecker; the + cry was neither the scream of the parrot, nor the howl of the monkey. + </p> + <p> + “That was a whip's crack,” said Yeo, “and a woman's wail. They are close + here, lads!” + </p> + <p> + “A woman's? Do they drive women in their gangs?” asked Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Why not, the brutes? There they are, sir. Did you see their basnets + glitter?” + </p> + <p> + “Men!” said Amyas, in a low voice, “I trust you all not to shoot till I + do. Then give them one arrow, out swords, and at them! Pass the word + along.” + </p> + <p> + Up they came, slowly, and all hearts beat loud at their coming. + </p> + <p> + First, about twenty soldiers, only one-half of whom were on foot; the + other half being borne, incredible as it may seem, each in a chair on the + back of a single Indian, while those who marched had consigned their + heaviest armor and their arquebuses into the hands of attendant slaves, + who were each pricked on at will by the pike of the soldier behind them. + </p> + <p> + “The men are mad to let their ordnance out of their hands.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sir, an Indian will pray to an arquebus not to shoot him; he sure + their artillery is safe enough,” said Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “Look at the proud villains,” whispered another, “to make dumb beasts of + human creatures like that!” + </p> + <p> + “Ten shot,” counted the business-like Amyas, “and ten pikes; Will can + tackle them up above.” + </p> + <p> + Last of this troop came some inferior officer, also in his chair, who, as + he went slowly up the hill, with his face turned toward the gang which + followed, drew every other second the cigar from his lips, to inspirit + them with those pious ejaculations to the various objects of his worship, + divine, human, anatomic, wooden and textile, which earned for the pious + Spaniards of the sixteenth century the uncharitable imputation of being at + once the most fetish-ridden idolaters and the most abominable swearers of + all Europeans. + </p> + <p> + “The blasphemous dog!” said Yeo, fumbling at his bow-string, as if he + longed to send an arrow through him. But Amyas had hardly laid his finger + on the impatient veteran's arm, when another procession followed, which + made them forget all else. + </p> + <p> + A sad and hideous sight it was: yet one too common even then in those + remoter districts, where the humane edicts were disregarded which the + prayers of Dominican friars (to their everlasting honor be it spoken) had + wrung from the Spanish sovereigns, and which the legislation of that most + wise, virtuous, and heroic Inquisitor (paradoxical as the words may seem), + Pedro de la Gasca, had carried into effect in Peru,—futile and tardy + alleviations of cruelties and miseries unexampled in the history of + Christendom, or perhaps on earth, save in the conquests of Sennacherib and + Zingis Khan. But on the frontiers, where negroes were imported to endure + the toil which was found fatal to the Indian, and all Indian tribes + convicted (or suspected) of cannibalism were hunted down for the salvation + of their souls and the enslavement of their bodies, such scenes as these + were still too common; and, indeed, if we are to judge from Humboldt's + impartial account, were not very much amended even at the close of the + last century, in those much-boasted Jesuit missions in which (as many of + them as existed anywhere but on paper) military tyranny was superadded to + monastic, and the Gospel preached with fire and sword, almost as + shamelessly as by the first Conquistadores. + </p> + <p> + A line of Indians, Negroes, and Zambos, naked, emaciated, scarred with + whips and fetters, and chained together by their left wrists, toiled + upwards, panting and perspiring under the burden of a basket held up by a + strap which passed across their foreheads. Yeo's sneer was but too just; + there were not only old men and youths among them, but women; slender + young girls, mothers with children, running at their knee; and, at the + sight, a low murmur of indignation rose from the ambushed Englishmen, + worthy of the free and righteous hearts of those days, when Raleigh could + appeal to man and God, on the ground of a common humanity, in behalf of + the outraged heathens of the New World; when Englishmen still knew that + man was man, and that the instinct of freedom was the righteous voice of + God; ere the hapless seventeenth century had brutalized them also, by + bestowing on them, amid a hundred other bad legacies, the fatal gift of + negro-slaves. + </p> + <p> + But the first forty, so Amyas counted, bore on their backs a burden which + made all, perhaps, but him and Yeo, forget even the wretches who bore it. + Each basket contained a square package of carefully corded hide; the look + whereof friend Amyas knew full well. + </p> + <p> + “What's in they, captain?” + </p> + <p> + “Gold!” And at that magic word all eyes were strained greedily forward, + and such a rustle followed, that Amyas, in the very face of detection, had + to whisper— + </p> + <p> + “Be men, be men, or you will spoil all yet!” + </p> + <p> + The last twenty, or so, of the Indians bore larger baskets, but more + lightly freighted, seemingly with manioc, and maize-bread, and other food + for the party; and after them came, with their bearers and attendants, + just twenty soldiers more, followed by the officer in charge, who smiled + away in his chair, and twirled two huge mustachios, thinking of nothing + less than of the English arrows which were itching to be away and through + his ribs. The ambush was complete; the only question how and when to + begin? + </p> + <p> + Amyas had a shrinking, which all will understand, from drawing bow in cool + blood on men so utterly unsuspicious and defenceless, even though in the + very act of devilish cruelty—for devilish cruelty it was, as three + or four drivers armed with whips lingered up and down the slowly + staggering file of Indians, and avenged every moment's lagging, even every + stumble, by a blow of the cruel manati-hide, which cracked like a + pistol-shot against the naked limbs of the silent and uncomplaining + victim. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly the casus belli, as usually happens, arose of its own accord. + </p> + <p> + The last but one of the chained line was an old gray-headed man, followed + by a slender graceful girl of some eighteen years old, and Amyas's heart + yearned over them as they came up. Just as they passed, the foremost of + the file had rounded the corner above; there was a bustle, and a voice + shouted, “Halt, senors! there is a tree across the path!” + </p> + <p> + “A tree across the path?” bellowed the officer, with a variety of + passionate addresses to the Mother of Heaven, the fiends of hell, Saint + Jago of Compostella, and various other personages; while the line of + trembling Indians, told to halt above, and driven on by blows below, + surged up and down upon the ruinous steps of the Indian road, until the + poor old man fell grovelling on his face. + </p> + <p> + The officer leaped down, and hurried upward to see what had happened. Of + course, he came across the old man. + </p> + <p> + “Sin peccado concebida! Grandfather of Beelzebub, is this a place to lie + worshipping your fiends?” and he pricked the prostrate wretch with the + point of his sword. + </p> + <p> + The old man tried to rise: but the weight on his head was too much for + him; he fell again, and lay motionless. + </p> + <p> + The driver applied the manati-hide across his loins, once, twice, with + fearful force; but even that specific was useless. + </p> + <p> + “Gastado, Senor Capitan,” said he, with a shrug. “Used up. He has been + failing these three months!” + </p> + <p> + “What does the intendant mean by sending me out with worn-out cattle like + these? Forward there!” shouted he. “Clear away the tree, senors, and I'll + soon clear the chain. Hold it up, Pedrillo!” + </p> + <p> + The driver held up the chain, which was fastened to the old man's wrist. + The officer stepped back, and flourished round his head a Toledo blade, + whose beauty made Amyas break the Tenth Commandment on the spot. + </p> + <p> + The man was a tall, handsome, broad-shouldered, high-bred man; and Amyas + thought that he was going to display the strength of his arm, and the + temper of his blade, in severing the chain at one stroke. + </p> + <p> + Even he was not prepared for the recondite fancies of a Spanish + adventurer, worthy son or nephew of those first conquerors, who used to + try the keenness of their swords upon the living bodies of Indians, and + regale themselves at meals with the odor of roasting caciques. + </p> + <p> + The blade gleamed in the air, once, twice, and fell: not on the chain, but + on the wrist which it fettered. There was a shriek—a crimson flash—and + the chain and its prisoner were parted indeed. + </p> + <p> + One moment more, and Amyas's arrow would have been through the throat of + the murderer, who paused, regarding his workmanship with a satisfied + smile; but vengeance was not to come from him. + </p> + <p> + Quick and fierce as a tiger-cat, the girl sprang on the ruffian, and with + the intense strength of passion, clasped him in her arms, and leaped with + him from the narrow ledge into the abyss below. + </p> + <p> + There was a rush, a shout; all faces were bent over the precipice. The + girl hung by her chained wrist: the officer was gone. There was a moment's + awful silence; and then Amyas heard his body crashing through the + tree-tops far below. + </p> + <p> + “Haul her up! Hew her in pieces! Burn the witch!” and the driver, seizing + the chain, pulled at it with all his might, while all springing from their + chairs, stooped over the brink. + </p> + <p> + Now was the time for Amyas! Heaven had delivered them into his hands. + Swift and sure, at ten yards off, his arrow rushed through the body of the + driver, and then, with a roar as of the leaping lion, he sprang like an + avenging angel into the midst of the astonished ruffians. + </p> + <p> + His first thought was for the girl. In a moment, by sheer strength, he had + jerked her safely up into the road; while the Spaniards recoiled right and + left, fancying him for the moment some mountain giant or supernatural foe. + His hurrah undeceived them in an instant, and a cry of “English! Lutheran + dogs!” arose, but arose too late. The men of Devon had followed their + captain's lead: a storm of arrows left five Spaniards dead, and a dozen + more wounded, and down leapt Salvation Yeo, his white hair streaming + behind him, with twenty good swords more, and the work of death began. + </p> + <p> + The Spaniards fought like lions; but they had no time to fix their + arquebuses on the crutches; no room, in that narrow path, to use their + pikes. The English had the wall of them; and to have the wall there, was + to have the foe's life at their mercy. Five desperate minutes, and not a + living Spaniard stood upon those steps; and certainly no living one lay in + the green abyss below. Two only, who were behind the rest, happening to be + in full armor, escaped without mortal wound, and fled down the hill again. + </p> + <p> + “After them! Michael Evans and Simon Heard; and catch them, if they run a + league.” + </p> + <p> + The two long and lean Clovelly men, active as deer from forest training, + ran two feet for the Spaniard's one; and in ten minutes returned, having + done their work; while Amyas and his men hurried past the Indians, to help + Cary and the party forward, where shouts and musket shots announced a + sharp affray. + </p> + <p> + Their arrival settled the matter. All the Spaniards fell but three or + four, who scrambled down the crannies of the cliff. + </p> + <p> + “Let not one of them escape! Slay them as Israel slew Amalek!” cried Yeo, + as he bent over; and ere the wretches could reach a place of shelter, an + arrow was quivering in each body, as it rolled lifeless down the rocks. + </p> + <p> + “Now then! Loose the Indians!” + </p> + <p> + They found armorers tools on one of the dead bodies, and it was done. + </p> + <p> + “We are your friends,” said Amyas. “All we ask is, that you shall help us + to carry this gold down to the Magdalena, and then you are free.” + </p> + <p> + Some few of the younger grovelled at his knees, and kissed his feet, + hailing him as the child of the Sun: but the most part kept a stolid + indifference, and when freed from their fetters, sat quietly down where + they stood, staring into vacancy. The iron had entered too deeply into + their soul. They seemed past hope, enjoyment, even understanding. + </p> + <p> + But the young girl, who was last of all in the line, as soon as she was + loosed, sprang to her father's body, speaking no word, lifted it in her + thin arms, laid it across her knees, kissed the fallen lips, stroked the + furrowed cheeks, murmured inarticulate sounds like the cooing of a + woodland dove, of which none knew the meaning but she, and he who heard + not, for his soul had long since fled. Suddenly the truth flashed on her; + silent as ever, she drew one long heaving breath, and rose erect, the body + in her arms. + </p> + <p> + Another moment, and she had leaped into the abyss. + </p> + <p> + They watched her dark and slender limbs, twined closely round the old + man's corpse, turn over, and over, and over, till a crash among the + leaves, and a scream among the birds, told that she had reached the trees; + and the green roof hid her from their view. + </p> + <p> + “Brave lass!” shouted a sailor. + </p> + <p> + “The Lord forgive her!” said Yeo. “But, your worship, we must have these + rascals' ordnance.” + </p> + <p> + “And their clothes too, Yeo, if we wish to get down the Magdalena + unchallenged. Now listen, my masters all! We have won, by God's good + grace, gold enough to serve us the rest of our lives, and that without + losing a single man; and may yet win more, if we be wise, and He thinks + good. But oh, my friends, remember Mr. Oxenham and his crew; and do not + make God's gift our ruin, by faithlessness, or greediness, or any mutinous + haste.” + </p> + <p> + “You shall find none in us!” cried several men. “We know your worship. We + can trust our general.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank God!” said Amyas. “Now then, it will be no shame or sin to make the + Indians carry it, saving the women, whom God forbid we should burden. But + we must pass through the very heart of the Spanish settlements, and by the + town of Saint Martha itself. So the clothes and weapons of these Spaniards + we must have, let it cost us what labor it may. How many lie in the road?” + </p> + <p> + “Thirteen here, and about ten up above,” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Then there are near twenty missing. Who will volunteer to go down over + cliff, and bring up the spoil of them?” + </p> + <p> + “I, and I, and I;” and a dozen stepped out, as they did always when Amyas + wanted anything done; for the simple reason, that they knew that he meant + to help at the doing of it himself. + </p> + <p> + “Very well, then, follow me. Sir John, take the Indian lad for your + interpreter, and try and comfort the souls of these poor heathens. Tell + them that they shall all be free.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, who is that comes up the road?” + </p> + <p> + All eyes were turned in the direction of which he spoke. And, wonder of + wonders! up came none other than Ayacanora herself, blow-gun in hand, bow + on back, and bedecked in all her feather garments, which last were rather + the worse for a fortnight's woodland travel. + </p> + <p> + All stood mute with astonishment, as, seeing Amyas, she uttered a cry of + joy, quickened her pace into a run, and at last fell panting and exhausted + at his feet. + </p> + <p> + “I have found you!” she said; “you ran away from me, but you could not + escape me!” And she fawned round Amyas, like a dog who has found his + master, and then sat down on the bank, and burst into wild sobs. + </p> + <p> + “God help us!” said Amyas, clutching his hair, as he looked down upon the + beautiful weeper. “What am I to do with her, over and above all these poor + heathens?” + </p> + <p> + But there was no time to be lost, and over the cliff he scrambled; while + the girl, seeing that the main body of the English remained, sat down on a + point of rock to watch him. + </p> + <p> + After half-an-hour's hard work, the weapons, clothes, and armor of the + fallen Spaniards were hauled up the cliff, and distributed in bundles + among the men; the rest of the corpses were thrown over the precipice, and + they started again upon their road toward the Magdalena, while Yeo snorted + like a war-horse who smells the battle, at the delight of once more + handling powder and ball. + </p> + <p> + “We can face the world now, sir! Why not go back and try Santa Fe, after + all?” + </p> + <p> + But Amyas thought that enough was as good as a feast, and they held on + downwards, while the slaves followed, without a sign of gratitude, but + meekly obedient to their new masters, and testifying now and then by a + sign or a grunt, their surprise at not being beaten, or made to carry + their captors. Some, however, caught sight of the little calabashes of + coca which the English carried. That woke them from their torpor, and they + began coaxing abjectly (and not in vain) for a taste of that miraculous + herb, which would not only make food unnecessary, and enable their panting + lungs to endure that keen mountain air, but would rid them, for awhile at + least, of the fallen Indian's most unpitying foe, the malady of thought. + </p> + <p> + As the cavalcade turned the corner of the mountain, they paused for one + last look at the scene of that fearful triumph. Lines of vultures were + already streaming out of infinite space, as if created suddenly for the + occasion. A few hours and there would be no trace of that fierce fray, but + a few white bones amid untrodden beds of flowers. + </p> + <p> + And now Amyas had time to ask Ayacanora the meaning of this her strange + appearance. He wished her anywhere but where she was: but now that she was + here, what heart could be so hard as not to take pity on the poor wild + thing? And Amyas as he spoke to her had, perhaps, a tenderness in his + tone, from very fear of hurting her, which he had never used before. + Passionately she told him how she had followed on their track day and + night, and had every evening made sounds, as loud as she dared, in hopes + of their hearing her, and either waiting for her, or coming back to see + what caused the noise. + </p> + <p> + Amyas now recollected the strange roaring which had followed them. + </p> + <p> + “Noises? What did you make them with?” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora lifted her finger with an air of most self-satisfied mystery, + and then drew cautiously from under her feather cloak an object at which + Amyas had hard work to keep his countenance. + </p> + <p> + “Look!” whispered she, as if half afraid that the thing itself should hear + her. “I have it—the holy trumpet!” + </p> + <p> + There it was verily, that mysterious bone of contention; a handsome + earthen tube some two feet long, neatly glazed, and painted with quaint + grecques and figures of animals; a relic evidently of some civilization + now extinct. + </p> + <p> + Brimblecombe rubbed his little fat hands. “Brave maid! you have cheated + Satan this time,” quoth he; while Yeo advised that the “idolatrous relic” + should be forthwith “hove over cliff.” + </p> + <p> + “Let be,” said Amyas. “What is the meaning of this, Ayacanora? And why + have you followed us?” + </p> + <p> + She told a long story, from which Amyas picked up, as far as he could + understand her, that that trumpet had been for years the torment of her + life; the one thing in the tribe superior to her; the one thing which she + was not allowed to see, because, forsooth, she was a woman. So she + determined to show them that a woman was as good as a man; and hence her + hatred of marriage, and her Amazonian exploits. But still the Piache would + not show her that trumpet, or tell her where it was; and as for going to + seek it, even she feared the superstitious wrath of the tribe at such a + profanation. But the day after the English went, the Piache chose to + express his joy at their departure; whereon, as was to be expected, a + fresh explosion between master and pupil, which ended, she confessed, in + her burning the old rogue's hut over his head, from which he escaped with + loss of all his conjuring-tackle, and fled raging into the woods, vowing + that he would carry off the trumpet to the neighboring tribe. Whereon, by + a sudden impulse, the young lady took plenty of coca, her weapons, and her + feathers, started on his trail, and ran him to earth just as he was + unveiling the precious mystery. At which sight (she confessed) she was + horribly afraid, and half inclined to run; but, gathering courage from the + thought that the white men used to laugh at the whole matter, she rushed + upon the hapless conjuror, and bore off her prize in triumph; and there it + was! + </p> + <p> + “I hope you have not killed him?” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “I did beat him a little; but I thought you would not let me kill him.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was half amused with her confession of his authority over her; but + she went on— + </p> + <p> + “And then I dare not go back to the Indians; so I was forced to come after + you.” + </p> + <p> + “And is that, then, your only reason for coming after us?” asked stupid + Amyas. + </p> + <p> + He had touched some secret chord—though what it was he was too busy + to inquire. The girl drew herself up proudly, blushing scarlet, and said: + </p> + <p> + “You never tell lies. Do you think that I would tell lies?” + </p> + <p> + On which she fell to the rear, and followed them steadfastly, speaking to + no one, but evidently determined to follow them to the world's end. + </p> + <p> + They soon left the highroad; and for several days held on downwards, + hewing their path slowly and painfully through the thick underwood. On the + evening of the fourth day, they had reached the margin of a river, at a + point where it seemed broad and still enough for navigation. For those + three days they had not seen a trace of human beings, and the spot seemed + lonely enough for them to encamp without fear of discovery, and begin the + making of their canoes. They began to spread themselves along the stream, + in search of the soft-wooded trees proper for their purpose; but hardly + had their search begun, when, in the midst of a dense thicket, they came + upon a sight which filled them with astonishment. Beneath a honeycombed + cliff, which supported one enormous cotton-tree, was a spot of some thirty + yards square sloping down to the stream, planted in rows with magnificent + banana-plants, full twelve feet high, and bearing among their huge waxy + leaves clusters of ripening fruit; while, under their mellow shade, yams + and cassava plants were flourishing luxuriantly, the whole being + surrounded by a hedge of orange and scarlet flowers. There it lay, + streaked with long shadows from the setting sun, while a cool southern air + rustled in the cotton-tree, and flapped to and fro the great + banana-leaves; a tiny paradise of art and care. But where was its + inhabitant? + </p> + <p> + Aroused by the noise of their approach, a figure issued from a cave in the + rocks, and, after gazing at them for a moment, came down the garden + towards them. He was a tall and stately old man, whose snow-white beard + and hair covered his chest and shoulders, while his lower limbs were wrapt + in Indian-web. Slowly and solemnly he approached, a staff in one hand, a + string of beads in the other, the living likeness of some old Hebrew + prophet, or anchorite of ancient legend. He bowed courteously to Amyas + (who of course returned his salute), and was in act to speak, when his eye + fell upon the Indians, who were laying down their burdens in a heap under + the trees. His mild countenance assumed instantly an expression of the + acutest sorrow and displeasure; and, striking his hands together, he spoke + in Spanish: + </p> + <p> + “Alas! miserable me! Alas! unhappy senors! Do my old eyes deceive me, and + is it one of those evil visions of the past which haunt my dreams by + night; or has the accursed thirst of gold, the ruin of my race, penetrated + even into this my solitude? Oh, senors, senors, know you not that you bear + with you your own poison, your own familiar fiend, the root of every evil? + And is it not enough for you, senors, to load yourselves with the wedge of + Achan, and partake his doom, but you must make these hapless heathens the + victims of your greed and cruelty, and forestall for them on earth those + torments which may await their unbaptized souls hereafter?” + </p> + <p> + “We have preserved, and not enslaved these Indians, ancient senor,” said + Amyas, proudly; “and to-morrow will see them as free as the birds over our + heads.” + </p> + <p> + “Free? Then you cannot be countrymen of mine! But pardon an old man, my + son, if he has spoken too hastily in the bitterness of his own experience. + But who and whence are you? And why are you bringing into this lonely + wilderness that gold—for I know too well the shape of those accursed + packets, which would God that I had never seen!” + </p> + <p> + “What we are, reverend sir, matters little, as long as we behave to you as + the young should to the old. As for our gold, it will be a curse or a + blessing to us, I conceive, just as we use it well or ill; and so is a + man's head, or his hand, or any other thing; but that is no reason for + cutting off his limbs for fear of doing harm with them; neither is it for + throwing away those packages, which, by your leave, we shall deposit in + one of these caves. We must be your neighbors, I fear, for a day or two; + but I can promise you, that your garden shall be respected, on condition + that you do not inform any human soul of our being here.” + </p> + <p> + “God forbid, senor, that I should try to increase the number of my + visitors, much less to bring hither strife and blood, of which I have seen + too much already. As you have come in peace, in peace depart. Leave me + alone with God and my penitence, and may the Lord have mercy on you!” + </p> + <p> + And he was about to withdraw, when, recollecting himself, he turned + suddenly to Amyas again— + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, senor, if, after forty years of utter solitude, I shrink at + first from the conversation of human beings, and forget, in the habitual + shyness of a recluse, the duties of a hospitable gentleman of Spain. My + garden, and all which it produces, is at your service. Only let me entreat + that these poor Indians shall have their share; for heathens though they + be, Christ died for them; and I cannot but cherish in my soul some secret + hope that He did not die in vain.” + </p> + <p> + “God forbid!” said Brimblecombe. “They are no worse than we, for aught I + see, whatsoever their fathers may have been; and they have fared no worse + than we since they have been with us, nor will, I promise you.” + </p> + <p> + The good fellow did not tell that he had been starving himself for the + last three days to cram the children with his own rations; and that the + sailors, and even Amyas, had been going out of their way every five + minutes, to get fruit for their new pets. + </p> + <p> + A camp was soon formed; and that evening the old hermit asked Amyas, Cary, + and Brimblecombe to come up into his cavern. + </p> + <p> + They went; and after the accustomed compliments had passed, sat down on + mats upon the ground, while the old man stood, leaning against a slab of + stone surmounted by a rude wooden cross, which evidently served him as a + place of prayer. He seemed restless and anxious, as if he waited for them + to begin the conversation; while they, in their turn, waited for him. At + last, when courtesy would not allow him to be silent any longer, he began + with a faltering voice: + </p> + <p> + “You may be equally surprised, senors, at my presence in such a spot, and + at my asking you to become my guests even for one evening, while I have no + better hospitality to offer you.” + </p> + <p> + “It is superfluous, senor, to offer us food in your own habitation when + you have already put all that you possess at our command.” + </p> + <p> + “True, senors: and my motive for inviting you was, perhaps, somewhat of a + selfish one. I am possessed by a longing to unburthen my heart of a tale + which I never yet told to man, and which I fear can give to you nothing + but pain; and yet I will entreat you, of your courtesy, to hear of that + which you cannot amend, simply in mercy to a man who feels that he must + confess to some one, or die as miserable as he has lived. And I believe my + confidence will not be misplaced, when it is bestowed upon you. I have + been a cavalier, even as you are; and, strange as it may seem, that which + I have to tell I would sooner impart to the ears of a soldier than of a + priest; because it will then sink into souls which can at least + sympathize, though they cannot absolve. And you, cavaliers, I perceive to + be noble, from your very looks; to be valiant, by your mere presence in + this hostile land; and to be gentle, courteous, and prudent, by your + conduct this day to me and to your captives. Will you, then, hear an old + man's tale? I am, as you see, full of words; for speech, from long disuse, + is difficult to me, and I fear at every sentence lest my stiffened tongue + should play the traitor to my worn-out brain: but if my request seems + impertinent, you have only to bid me talk as a host should, of matters + which concern his guests, and not himself.” + </p> + <p> + The three young men, equally surprised and interested by this exordium, + could only entreat their host to “use their ears as those of his slaves,” + on which, after fresh apologies, he began: + </p> + <p> + “Know, then, victorious cavaliers, that I, whom you now see here as a poor + hermit, was formerly one of the foremost of that terrible band who went + with Pizarro to the conquest of Peru. Eighty years old am I this day, + unless the calendar which I have carved upon yonder tree deceives me; and + twenty years old was I when I sailed with that fierce man from Panama, to + do that deed with which all earth, and heaven, and hell itself, I fear, + has rung. How we endured, suffered, and triumphed; how, mad with success, + and glutted with blood, we turned our swords against each other, I need + not tell to you. For what gentleman of Europe knows not our glory and our + shame?” + </p> + <p> + His hearers bowed assent. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; you have heard of our prowess: for glorious we were awhile, in the + sight of God and man. But I will not speak of our glory, for it is + tarnished; nor of our wealth, for it was our poison; nor of the sins of my + comrades, for they have expiated them; but of my own sins, senors, which + are more in number than the hairs of my head, and a burden too great to + bear. Miserere Domine!” + </p> + <p> + And smiting on his breast, the old warrior went on: + </p> + <p> + “As I said, we were mad with blood; and none more mad than I. Surely it is + no fable that men are possessed, even in this latter age, by devils. Why + else did I rejoice in slaying? Why else was I, the son of a noble and + truthful cavalier of Castile, among the foremost to urge upon my general + the murder of the Inca? Why did I rejoice over his dying agonies? Why, + when Don Ferdinando de Soto returned, and upbraided us with our villainy, + did I, instead of confessing the sin which that noble cavalier set before + us, withstand him to his face, ay, and would have drawn the sword on him, + but that he refused to fight a liar, as he said that I was?” + </p> + <p> + “Then Don de Soto was against the murder? So his own grandson told me. But + I had heard of him only as a tyrant and a butcher.” + </p> + <p> + “Senor, he was compact of good and evil, as are other men: he has paid + dearly for his sin; let us hope that he has been paid in turn for his + righteousness.” + </p> + <p> + John Brimblecombe shook his head at this doctrine, but did not speak. + </p> + <p> + “So you know his grandson? I trust he is a noble cavalier?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent; the old gentleman saw that he had touched some sore + point, and continued: + </p> + <p> + “And why, again, senors, did I after that day give myself up to cruelty as + to a sport; yea, thought that I did God service by destroying the + creatures whom He had made; I who now dare not destroy a gnat, lest I harm + a being more righteous than myself? Was I mad? If I was, how then was I + all that while as prudent as I am this day? But I am not here to argue, + senors, but to confess. In a word, there was no deed of blood done for the + next few years in which I had not my share, if it were but within my + reach. When Challcuchima was burned, I was consenting; when that fair + girl, the wife of Inca Manco, was tortured to death, I smiled at the + agonies at which she too smiled, and taunted on the soldiers, to try if I + could wring one groan from her before she died. You know what followed, + the pillage, the violence, the indignities offered to the virgins of the + Sun. Senors, I will not pollute your chaste ears with what was done. But, + senors, I had a brother.” + </p> + <p> + And the old man paused awhile. + </p> + <p> + “A brother—whether better or worse than me, God knows, before whom + he has appeared ere now. At least he did not, as I did, end as a rebel to + his king! There was a maiden in one of those convents, senors, more + beautiful than day: and (I blush to tell it) the two brothers of whom I + spoke quarrelled for the possession of her. They struck each other, + senors! Who struck first I know not; but swords were drawn, and—The + cavaliers round parted them, crying shame. And one of those two brothers—the + one who speaks to you now—crying, 'If I cannot have her, no man + shall!' turned the sword which was aimed at his brother, against that + hapless maiden—and—hear me out, senors, before you flee from + my presence as from that of a monster!—stabbed her to the heart. And + as she died—one moment more, senors, that I may confess all!—she + looked up in my face with a smile as of heaven, and thanked me for having + rid her once and for all from Christians and their villainy.” + </p> + <p> + The old man paused. + </p> + <p> + “God forgive you, senor!” said Jack Brimblecombe, softly. + </p> + <p> + “You do not, then, turn from me, do not curse me? Then I will try you + farther still, senors. I will know from human lips, whether man can do + such deeds as I have done, and yet be pitied by his kind; that so I may + have some hope, that where man has mercy, God may have mercy also. Do you + think that I repented at those awful words? Nothing less, senors all. No + more than I did when De Soto (on whose soul God have mercy) called me—me, + a liar! I knew myself a sinner; and for that very reason I was determined + to sin. I would go on, that I might prove myself right to myself, by + showing that I could go on, and not be struck dead from heaven. Out of + mere pride, senors, and self-will, I would fill up the cup of my iniquity; + and I filled it. + </p> + <p> + “You know, doubtless, senors, how, after the death of old Almagro, his + son's party conspired against Pizarro. Now my brother remained faithful to + his old commander; and for that very reason, if you will believe it, did I + join the opposite party, and gave myself up, body and soul, to do + Almagro's work. It was enough for me, that the brother who had struck me + thought a man right, for me to think that man a devil. What Almagro's work + was, you know. He slew Pizarro, murdered him, senors, like a dog, or + rather, like an old lion.” + </p> + <p> + “He deserved his doom,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Let God judge him, senor, not we; and least of all of us I, who drew the + first blood, and perhaps the last, that day. I, senors, it was who + treacherously stabbed Francisco de Chanes on the staircase, and so opened + the door which else had foiled us all; and I—But I am speaking to + men of honor, not to butchers. Suffice it that the old man died like a + lion, and that we pulled him down, young as we were, like curs. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I followed Almagro's fortunes. I helped to slay Alvarado. Call that + my third murder, if you will, for if he was traitor to a traitor, I was + traitor to a true man. Then to the war; you know how Vaca de Castro was + sent from Spain to bring order and justice where was naught but chaos, and + the dance of all devils. We met him on the hills of Chupas. Peter of + Candia, the Venetian villain, pointed our guns false, and Almagro stabbed + him to the heart. We charged with our lances, man against man, horse + against horse. All fights I ever fought” (and the old man's eyes flashed + out the ancient fire) “were child's play to that day. Our lances shivered + like reeds, and we fell on with battle-axe and mace. None asked for + quarter, and none gave it; friend to friend, cousin to cousin—no, + nor brother, O God! to brother. We were the better armed: but numbers were + on their side. Fat Carbajal charged our cannon like an elephant, and took + them; but Holguin was shot down. I was with Almagro, and we swept all + before us, inch by inch, but surely, till the night fell. Then Vaca de + Castro, the licentiate, the clerk, the schoolman, the man of books, came + down on us with his reserve like a whirlwind. Oh! cavaliers, did not God + fight against us, when He let us, the men of iron, us, the heroes of Cuzco + and Vilcaconga, be foiled by a scholar in a black gown, with a pen behind + his ear? We were beaten. Some ran; some did not run, senors; and I did + not. Geronimo de Alvarado shouted to me, 'We slew Pizarro! We killed the + tyrant!' and we rushed upon the conqueror's lances, to die like cavaliers. + There was a gallant gentleman in front of me. His lance struck me in the + crest, and bore me over my horse's croup: but mine, senors, struck him + full in the vizor. We both went to the ground together, and the battle + galloped over us. + </p> + <p> + “I know not how long I lay, for I was stunned: but after awhile I lifted + myself. My lance was still clenched in my hand, broken but not parted. The + point of it was in my foeman's brain. I crawled to him, weary and wounded, + and saw that he was a noble cavalier. He lay on his back, his arms spread + wide. I knew that he was dead: but there came over me the strangest + longing to see that dead man's face. Perhaps I knew him. At least I could + set my foot upon it, and say, 'Vanquished as I am, there lies a foe!' I + caught hold of the rivets, and tore his helmet off. The moon shone bright, + senors, as bright as she shines now—the glaring, ghastly, tell-tale + moon, which shows man all the sins which he tries to hide; and by that + moonlight, senors, I beheld the dead man's face. And it was the face of my + brother! + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + “Did you ever guess, most noble cavaliers, what Cain's curse might be + like? Look on me, and know! + </p> + <p> + “I tore off my armor and fled, as Cain fled—northward ever, till I + should reach a land where the name of Spaniard, yea, and the name of + Christian, which the Spaniard has caused to be blasphemed from east to + west, should never come. I sank fainting, and waked beneath this rock, + this tree, forty-four years ago, and I have never left them since, save + once, to obtain seeds from Indians, who knew not that I was a Spanish + Conquistador. And may God have mercy on my soul!” + </p> + <p> + The old man ceased; and his young hearers, deeply affected by his tale, + sat silent for a few minutes. Then John Brimblecombe spoke: + </p> + <p> + “You are old, sir, and I am young; and perhaps it is not my place to + counsel you. Moreover, sir, in spite of this strange dress of mine, I am + neither more nor less than an English priest; and I suppose you will not + be willing to listen to a heretic.” + </p> + <p> + “I have seen Catholics, senor, commit too many abominations even with the + name of God upon their lips, to shrink from a heretic if he speak wisely + and well. At least, you are a man; and after all, my heart yearns more and + more, the longer I sit among you, for the speech of beings of my own race. + Say what you will, in God's name!” + </p> + <p> + “I hold, sir,” said Jack, modestly, “according to holy Scripture, that + whosoever repents from his heart, as God knows you seem to have done, is + forgiven there and then; and though his sins be as scarlet, they shall be + white as snow, for the sake of Him who died for all.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen! Amen!” said the old man, looking lovingly at his little crucifix. + “I hope and pray—His name is Love. I know it now; who better? But, + sir, even if He have forgiven me, how can I forgive myself? In honor, sir, + I must be just, and sternly just, to myself, even if God be indulgent; as + He has been to me, who has left me here in peace for forty years, instead + of giving me a prey to the first puma or jaguar which howls round me every + night. He has given me time to work out my own salvation; but have I done + it? That doubt maddens me at whiles. When I look upon that crucifix, I + float on boundless hope: but if I take my eyes from it for a moment, faith + fails, and all is blank, and dark, and dreadful, till the devil whispers + me to plunge into yon stream, and once and for ever wake to certainty, + even though it be in hell.” + </p> + <p> + What was Jack to answer? He himself knew not at first. More was wanted + than the mere repetition of free pardon. + </p> + <p> + “Heretic as I am, sir, you will not believe me when I tell you, as a + priest, that God accepts your penitence.” + </p> + <p> + “My heart tells me so already, at moments. But how know I that it does not + lie?” + </p> + <p> + “Senor,” said Jack, “the best way to punish oneself for doing ill, seems + to me to go and do good; and the best way to find out whether God means + you well, is to find out whether He will help you to do well. If you have + wronged Indians in time past, see whether you cannot right them now. If + you can, you are safe. For the Lord will not send the devil's servants to + do His work.” + </p> + <p> + The old man held down his head. + </p> + <p> + “Right the Indians? Alas! what is done, is done!” + </p> + <p> + “Not altogether, senor,” said Amyas, “as long as an Indian remains alive + in New Granada.” + </p> + <p> + “Senor, shall I confess my weakness? A voice within me has bid me a + hundred times go forth and labor, for those oppressed wretches, but I dare + not obey. I dare not look them in the face. I should fancy that they knew + my story; that the very birds upon the trees would reveal my crime, and + bid them turn from me with horror.” + </p> + <p> + “Senor,” said Amyas, “these are but the sick fancies of a noble spirit, + feeding on itself in solitude. You have but to try to conquer.” + </p> + <p> + “And look now,” said Jack, “if you dare not go forth to help the Indians, + see now how God has brought the Indians to your own door. Oh, excellent + sir—” + </p> + <p> + “Call me not excellent,” said the old man, smiting his breast. + </p> + <p> + “I do, and shall, sir, while I see in you an excellent repentance, an + excellent humility, and an excellent justice,” said Jack. “But oh, sir, + look upon these forty souls, whom we must leave behind, like sheep which + have no shepherd. Could you not teach them to fear God and to love each + other, to live like rational men, perhaps to die like Christians? They + would obey you as a dog obeys his master. You might be their king, their + father, yea, their pope, if you would.” + </p> + <p> + “You do not speak like a Lutheran.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not a Lutheran, but an Englishman: but, Protestant as I am, God + knows, I had sooner see these poor souls of your creed, than of none.” + </p> + <p> + “But I am no priest.” + </p> + <p> + “When they are ready,” said Jack, “the Lord will send a priest. If you + begin the good work, you may trust to Him to finish it.” + </p> + <p> + “God help me!” said the old warrior. + </p> + <p> + The talk lasted long into the night, but Amyas was up long before + daybreak, felling the trees; and as he and Cary walked back to breakfast, + the first thing which they saw was the old man in his garden with four or + five Indian children round him, talking smilingly to them. + </p> + <p> + “The old man's heart is sound still,” said Will. “No man is lost who still + is fond of little children.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, senors!” said the hermit as they came up, “you see that I have begun + already to act upon your advice.” + </p> + <p> + “And you have begun at the right end,” quoth Amyas; “if you win the + children, you win the mothers.” + </p> + <p> + “And if you win the mothers,” quoth Will, “the poor fathers must needs + obey their wives, and follow in the wake.” + </p> + <p> + The old man only sighed. “The prattle of these little ones softens my hard + heart, senors, with a new pleasure; but it saddens me, when I recollect + that there may be children of mine now in the world—children who + have never known a father's love—never known aught but a master's + threats—” + </p> + <p> + “God has taken care of these little ones. Trust that He has taken care of + yours.” + </p> + <p> + That day Amyas assembled the Indians, and told them that they must obey + the hermit as their king, and settle there as best they could: for if they + broke up and wandered away, nothing was left for them but to fall one by + one into the hands of the Spaniards. They heard him with their usual + melancholy and stupid acquiescence, and went and came as they were bid, + like animated machines; but the negroes were of a different temper; and + four or five stout fellows gave Amyas to understand that they had been + warriors in their own country, and that warriors they would be still; and + nothing should keep them from Spaniard-hunting. Amyas saw that the + presence of these desperadoes in the new colony would both endanger the + authority of the hermit, and bring the Spaniards down upon it in a few + weeks; so, making a virtue of necessity, he asked them whether they would + go Spaniard-hunting with him. + </p> + <p> + This was just what the bold Coromantees wished for; they grinned and + shouted their delight at serving under so great a warrior, and then set to + work most gallantly, getting through more in the day than any ten Indians, + and indeed than any two Englishmen. + </p> + <p> + So went on several days, during which the trees were felled, and the + process of digging them out began; while Ayacanora, silent and moody, + wandered into the woods all day with her blow-gun, and brought home at + evening a load of parrots, monkeys, and curassows; two or three old hands + were sent out to hunt likewise; so that, what with the game and the fish + of the river, which seemed inexhaustible, and the fruit of the neighboring + palm-trees, there was no lack of food in the camp. But what to do with + Ayacanora weighed heavily on the mind of Amyas. He opened his heart on the + matter to the old hermit, and asked him whether he would take charge of + her. The latter smiled, and shook his head at the notion. “If your report + of her be true, I may as well take in hand to tame a jaguar.” However, he + promised to try; and one evening, as they were all standing together + before the mouth of the cave, Ayacanora came up smiling with the fruit of + her day's sport; and Amyas, thinking this a fit opportunity, began a + carefully prepared harangue to her, which he intended to be altogether + soothing, and even pathetic,—to the effect that the maiden, having + no parents, was to look upon this good old man as her father; that he + would instruct her in the white man's religion (at which promise Yeo, as a + good Protestant, winced a good deal), and teach her how to be happy and + good, and so forth; and that, in fine, she was to remain there with the + hermit. + </p> + <p> + She heard him quietly, her great dark eyes opening wider and wider, her + bosom swelling, her stature seeming to grow taller every moment, as she + clenched her weapons firmly in both her hands. Beautiful as she always + was, she had never looked so beautiful before; and as Amyas spoke of + parting with her, it was like throwing away a lovely toy; but it must be + done, for her sake, for his, perhaps for that of all the crew. + </p> + <p> + The last words had hardly passed his lips, when, with a shriek of mingled + scorn, rage, and fear, she dashed through the astonished group. + </p> + <p> + “Stop her!” were Amyas's first words; but his next were, “Let her go!” + for, springing like a deer through the little garden and over the + flower-fence, she turned, menacing with her blow-gun the sailors, who had + already started in her pursuit. + </p> + <p> + “Let her alone, for Heaven's sake!” shouted Amyas, who, he scarce knew + why, shrank from the thought of seeing those graceful limbs struggling in + the seamen's grasp. + </p> + <p> + She turned again, and in another minute her gaudy plumes had vanished + among the dark forest stems, as swiftly as if she had been a passing bird. + </p> + <p> + All stood thunderstruck at this unexpected end to the conference. At last + Aymas spoke: + </p> + <p> + “There's no use in standing here idle, gentlemen. Staring after her won't + bring her back. After all, I'm glad she's gone.” + </p> + <p> + But the tone of his voice belied his words. Now he had lost her, he wanted + her back; and perhaps every one present, except he, guessed why. + </p> + <p> + But Ayacanora did not return; and ten days more went on in continual toil + at the canoes without any news of her from the hunters. Amyas, by the by, + had strictly bidden these last not to follow the girl, not even to speak + to her, if they came across her in their wanderings. He was shrewd enough + to guess that the only way to cure her sulkiness was to outsulk her; but + there was no sign of her presence in any direction; and the canoes being + finished at last, the gold, and such provisions as they could collect, + were placed on board, and one evening the party prepared for their fresh + voyage. They determined to travel as much as possible by night, for fear + of discovery, especially in the neighborhood of the few Spanish + settlements which were then scattered along the banks of the main stream. + These, however, the negroes knew, so that there was no fear of coming on + them unawares; and as for falling asleep in their night journeys, + “Nobody,” the negroes said, “ever slept on the Magdalena; the mosquitoes + took too good care of that.” Which fact Amyas and his crew verified + afterwards as thoroughly as wretched men could do. + </p> + <p> + The sun had sunk; the night had all but fallen; the men were all on board; + Amyas in command of one canoe, Cary of the other. The Indians were grouped + on the bank, watching the party with their listless stare, and with them + the young guide, who preferred remaining among the Indians, and was made + supremely happy by the present of Spanish sword and an English axe; while, + in the midst, the old hermit, with tears in his eyes, prayed God's + blessing on them. + </p> + <p> + “I owe to you, noble cavaliers, new peace, new labor, I may say, new life. + May God be with you, and teach you to use your gold and your swords better + than I used mine.” + </p> + <p> + The adventurers waved their hands to him. + </p> + <p> + “Give way, men,” cried Amyas; and as he spoke the paddles dashed into the + water, to a right English hurrah! which sent the birds fluttering from + their roosts, and was answered by the yell of a hundred monkeys, and the + distant roar of the jaguar. + </p> + <p> + About twenty yards below, a wooded rock, some ten feet high, hung over the + stream. The river was not there more than fifteen yards broad; deep near + the rock, shallow on the farther side; and Amyas's canoe led the way, + within ten feet of the stone. + </p> + <p> + As he passed, a dark figure leapt from the bushes on the edge, and plunged + heavily into the water close to the boat. All started. A jaguar? No; he + would not have missed so short a spring. What, then? A human being? + </p> + <p> + A head rose panting to the surface, and with a few strong strokes the + swimmer had clutched the gunwale. It was Ayacanora! + </p> + <p> + “Go back!” shouted Amyas. “Go back, girl!” + </p> + <p> + She uttered the same wild cry with which she had fled into the forest. + </p> + <p> + “I will die, then!” and she threw up her arms. Another moment, and she had + sunk. + </p> + <p> + To see her perish before his eyes! who could bear that? Her hands alone + were above the surface. Amyas caught convulsively at her in the darkness, + and seized her wrist. + </p> + <p> + A yell rose from the negroes: a roar from the crew as from a cage of + lions. There was a rush and a swirl along the surface of the stream; and + “Caiman! caiman!” shouted twenty voices. + </p> + <p> + Now, or never, for the strong arm! “To larboard, men, or over we go!” + cried Amyas, and with one huge heave he lifted the slender body upon the + gunwale. Her lower limbs were still in the water, when, within arm's + length, rose above the stream a huge muzzle. The lower jaw lay flat, the + upper reached as high as Amyas's head. He could see the long fangs gleam + white in the moonshine; he could see for one moment full down the + monstrous depths of that great gape, which would have crushed a buffalo. + Three inches, and no more, from that soft side, the snout surged up— + </p> + <p> + There was the gleam of an axe from above, a sharp ringing blow, and the + jaws came together with a clash which rang from bank to bank. He had + missed her! Swerving beneath the blow, his snout had passed beneath her + body, and smashed up against the side of the canoe, as the striker, + overbalanced, fell headlong overboard upon the monster's back. + </p> + <p> + “Who is it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yeo!” shouted a dozen. + </p> + <p> + Man and beast went down together, and where they sank, the moonlight shone + on a great swirling eddy, while all held their breaths, and Ayacanora + cowered down into the bottom of the canoe, her proud spirit utterly + broken, for the first time, by the terror of that great need, and by a + bitter loss. For in the struggle, the holy trumpet, companion of all her + wanderings, had fallen from her bosom; and her fond hope of bringing magic + prosperity to her English friends had sunk with it to the bottom of the + stream. + </p> + <p> + None heeded her; not even Amyas, round whose knees she clung, fawning like + a spaniel dog: for where was Yeo? + </p> + <p> + Another swirl; a shout from the canoe abreast of them, and Yeo rose, + having dived clean under his own boat, and risen between the two. + </p> + <p> + “Safe as yet, lads! Heave me a line, or he'll have me after all.” + </p> + <p> + But ere the brute reappeared, the old man was safe on board. + </p> + <p> + “The Lord has stood by me,” panted he, as he shot the water from his ears. + “We went down together: I knew the Indian trick, and being uppermost, had + my thumbs in his eyes before he could turn: but he carried me down to the + very mud. My breath was nigh gone, so I left go, and struck up: but my + toes tingled as I rose again, I'll warrant. There the beggar is, looking + for me, I declare!” + </p> + <p> + And, true enough, there was the huge brute swimming slowly round and + round, in search of his lost victim. It was too dark to put an arrow into + his eye; so they paddled on, while Ayacanora crouched silently at Amyas's + feet. + </p> + <p> + “Yeo!” asked he, in a low voice, “what shall we do with her?” + </p> + <p> + “Why ask me, sir?” said the old man, as he had a very good right to ask. + </p> + <p> + “Because, when one don't know oneself, one had best inquire of one's + elders. Besides, you saved her life at the risk of your own, and have a + right to a voice in the matter, if any one has, old friend.” + </p> + <p> + “Then, my dear young captain, if the Lord puts a precious soul under your + care, don't you refuse to bear the burden He lays on you.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent awhile; while Ayacanora, who was evidently utterly + exhausted by the night's adventure, and probably by long wanderings, + watchings, and weepings which had gone before it, sank with her head + against his knee, fell fast asleep, and breathed as gently as a child. + </p> + <p> + At last he rose in the canoe, and called Cary alongside. + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me, gentlemen, and sailors all. You know that we have a maiden + on board here, by no choice of our own. Whether she will be a blessing to + us, God alone can tell: but she may turn to the greatest curse which has + befallen us ever since we came out over Bar three years ago. Promise me + one thing, or I put her ashore the next beach, and that is, that you will + treat her as if she were your own sister; and make an agreement here and + now, that if the maid comes to harm among us, the man that is guilty shall + hang for it by the neck till he's dead, even though he be I, Captain + Leigh, who speak to you. I'll hang you, as I am a Christian; and I give + you free leave to hang me.” + </p> + <p> + “A very fair bargain,” quoth Cary, “and I for one will see it kept to. + Lads, we'll twine a double strong halter for the captain as we go down + along.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not jesting, Will.” + </p> + <p> + “I know it, good old lad,” said Cary, stretching out his own hand to him + across the water through the darkness, and giving him a hearty shake. “I + know it; and listen, men! So help me God! but I'll be the first to back + the Captain in being as good as his word, as I trust he never will need to + be.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said Brimblecombe. “Amen!” said Yeo; and many an honest voice + joined in that honest compact, and kept it too, like men. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THEY TOOK THE GREAT GALLEON + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “When captains courageous, whom death could not daunt, + Did march to the siege of the city of Gaunt, + They muster'd their soldiers by two and by three, + But the foremost in battle was Mary Ambree. + When brave Sir John Major was slain in her sight, + Who was her true lover, her joy and delight, + Because he was murther'd most treacherouslie, + Then vow'd to avenge him fair Mary Ambree.” + + Old Ballad, A. D. 1584. +</pre> + <p> + One more glance at the golden tropic sea, and the golden tropic evenings, + by the shore of New Granada, in the golden Spanish Main. + </p> + <p> + The bay of Santa Marta is rippling before the land-breeze one sheet of + living flame. The mighty forests are sparkling with myriad fireflies. The + lazy mist which lounges round the inner hills shines golden in the sunset + rays; and, nineteen thousand feet aloft, the mighty peak of Horqueta + cleaves the abyss of air, rose-red against the dark-blue vault of heaven. + The rosy cone fades to a dull leaden hue; but only for awhile. The stars + flash out one by one, and Venus, like another moon, tinges the eastern + snows with gold, and sheds across the bay a long yellow line of rippling + light. Everywhere is glory and richness. What wonder if the earth in that + enchanted land be as rich to her inmost depths as she is upon the surface? + The heaven, the hills, the sea, are one sparkling garland of jewels—what + wonder if the soil be jewelled also? if every watercourse and bank of + earth be spangled with emeralds and rubies, with grains of gold and + feathered wreaths of native silver? + </p> + <p> + So thought, in a poetic mood, the Bishop of Cartagena, as he sat in the + state cabin of that great galleon, The City of the True Cross, and looked + pensively out of the window towards the shore. The good man was in a state + of holy calm. His stout figure rested on one easy-chair, his stout ankles + on another, beside a table spread with oranges and limes, guavas and + pine-apples, and all the fruits of Ind. + </p> + <p> + An Indian girl, bedizened with scarfs and gold chains, kept off the flies + with a fan of feathers; and by him, in a pail of ice from the Horqueta + (the gift of some pious Spanish lady, who had “spent” an Indian or two in + bringing down the precious offering), stood more than one flask of + virtuous wine of Alicant. But he was not so selfish, good man, as to enjoy + either ice or wine alone; Don Pedro, colonel of the soldiers on board, Don + Alverez, intendant of his Catholic majesty's customs at Santa Marta, and + Don Paul, captain of mariners in The City of the True Cross, had, by his + especial request, come to his assistance that evening, and with two + friars, who sat at the lower end of the table, were doing their best to + prevent the good man from taking too bitterly to heart the present + unsatisfactory state of his cathedral town, which had just been sacked and + burnt by an old friend of ours, Sir Francis Drake. + </p> + <p> + “We have been great sufferers, senors,—ah, great sufferers,” + snuffled the bishop, quoting Scripture, after the fashion of the day, + glibly enough, but often much too irreverently for me to repeat, so boldly + were his texts travestied, and so freely interlarded by grumblings at Tita + and the mosquitoes. “Great sufferers, truly; but there shall be a remnant,—ah, + a remnant like the shaking of the olive tree and the gleaning grapes when + the vintage is done.—Ah! Gold? Yes, I trust Our Lady's mercies are + not shut up, nor her arms shortened.—Look, senors!”—and he + pointed majestically out of the window. “It looks gold! it smells of gold, + as I may say, by a poetical license. Yea, the very waves, as they ripple + past us, sing of gold, gold, gold!” + </p> + <p> + “It is a great privilege,” said the intendant, “to have comfort so + gracefully administered at once by a churchman and a scholar.” + </p> + <p> + “A poet, too,” said Don Pedro. “You have no notion what sweet sonnets—” + </p> + <p> + “Hush, Don Pedro—hush! If I, a mateless bird, have spent an idle + hour in teaching lovers how to sing, why, what of that? I am a churchman, + senors; but I am a man and I can feel, senors; I can sympathize; I can + palliate; I can excuse. Who knows better than I how much human nature + lurks in us fallen sons of Adam? Tita!” + </p> + <p> + “Um?” said the trembling girl, with a true Indian grunt. + </p> + <p> + “Fill his excellency the intendant's glass. Does much more treasure come + down, illustrious senor? May the poor of Mary hope for a few more crumbs + from their Mistress's table?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a pezo, I fear. The big white cow up there”—and he pointed to + the Horqueta—“has been milked dry for this year.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” And he looked up at the magnificent snow peak. “Only good to cool + wine with, eh? and as safe for the time being as Solomon's birds.” + </p> + <p> + “Solomon's birds? Explain your recondite allusion, my lord.” + </p> + <p> + “Enlighten us, your excellency, enlighten us.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! thereby hangs a tale. You know the holy birds who run up and down on + the Prado at Seville among the ladies' pretty feet,—eh? with hooked + noses and cinnamon crests? Of course. Hoopoes—Upupa, as the classics + have it. Well, senors, once on a time, the story goes, these hoopoes all + had golden crowns on their heads; and, senors, they took the consequences—eh? + But it befell on a day that all the birds and beasts came to do homage at + the court of his most Catholic majesty King Solomon, and among them came + these same hoopoes; and they had a little request to make, the poor + rogues. And what do you think it was? Why, that King Solomon would pray + for them that they might wear any sort of crowns but these same golden + ones; for—listen, Tita, and see the snare of riches—mankind so + hunted, and shot, and trapped, and snared them, for the sake of these same + golden crowns, that life was a burden to bear. So Solomon prayed, and + instead of golden crowns, they all received crowns of feathers; and ever + since, senors, they live as merrily as crickets in an oven, and also have + the honor of bearing the name of his most Catholic majesty King Solomon. + Tita! fill the senor commandant's glass. Fray Gerundio, what are you + whispering about down there, sir?” + </p> + <p> + Fray Gerundio had merely commented to his brother on the bishop's story of + Solomon's birds with an— + </p> + <p> + “O si sic omnia!—would that all gold would turn to feathers in like + wise!” + </p> + <p> + “Then, friend,” replied the other, a Dominican, like Gerundio, but of a + darker and sterner complexion, “corrupt human nature would within a week + discover some fresh bauble, for which to kill and be killed in vain.” + </p> + <p> + “What is that, Fray Gerundio?” asked the bishop again. + </p> + <p> + “I merely remarked, that it were well for the world if all mankind were to + put up the same prayer as the hoopoes.” + </p> + <p> + “World, sir? What do you know about the world? Convert your Indians, sir, + if you please, and leave affairs of state to your superiors. You will + excuse him, senors” (turning to the Dons, and speaking in a lower tone). + “A very worthy and pious man, but a poor peasant's son; and beside—you + understand. A little wrong here; too much fasting and watching, I fear, + good man.” And the bishop touched his forehead knowingly, to signify that + Fray Gerundio's wits were in an unsatisfactory state. + </p> + <p> + The Fray heard and saw with a quiet smile. He was one of those excellent + men whom the cruelties of his countrymen had stirred up (as the darkness, + by mere contrast, makes the light more bright), as they did Las Casas, + Gasca, and many another noble name which is written in the book of life, + to deeds of love and pious daring worthy of any creed or age. True + Protestants, they protested, even before kings, against the evil which lay + nearest them, the sin which really beset them; true liberals, they did not + disdain to call the dark-skinned heathen their brothers; and asserted in + terms which astonish us, when we recollect the age in which they were + spoken, the inherent freedom of every being who wore the flesh and blood + which their Lord wore; true martyrs, they bore witness of Christ, and + received too often the rewards of such, in slander and contempt. Such an + one was Fray Gerundio; a poor, mean, clumsy-tongued peasant's son, who + never could put three sentences together, save when he waxed eloquent, + crucifix in hand, amid some group of Indians or negroes. He was accustomed + to such rebuffs as the bishop's; he took them for what they were worth, + and sipped his wine in silence; while the talk went on. + </p> + <p> + “They say,” observed the commandant, “that a very small Plate-fleet will + go to Spain this year.” + </p> + <p> + “What else?” says the intendant. “What have we to send, in the name of all + saints, since these accursed English Lutherans have swept us out clean?” + </p> + <p> + “And if we had anything to send,” says the sea-captain, “what have we to + send it in? That fiend incarnate, Drake—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said his holiness; “spare my ears! Don Pedro, you will oblige my + weakness by not mentioning that man;—his name is Tartarean, unfit + for polite lips. Draco—a dragon—serpent—the emblem of + Diabolus himself—ah! And the guardian of the golden apples of the + West, who would fain devour our new Hercules, his most Catholic majesty. + Deceived Eve, too, with one of those same apples—a very evil name, + senors—a Tartarean name,—Tita!” + </p> + <p> + “Um!” + </p> + <p> + “Fill my glass.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay,” cried the colonel, with a great oath, “this English fellow is of + another breed of serpent from that, I warrant.” + </p> + <p> + “Your reason, senor; your reason?” + </p> + <p> + “Because this one would have seen Eve at the bottom of the sea, before he + let her, or any one but himself, taste aught which looked like gold.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, ah!—very good! But—we laugh, valiant senors, while the + Church weeps. Alas for my sheep!” + </p> + <p> + “And alas for their sheepfold! It will be four years before we can get + Cartagena rebuilt again. And as for the blockhouse, when we shall get that + rebuilt, Heaven only knows, while his majesty goes on draining the Indies + for his English Armada. The town is as naked now as an Indian's back.” + </p> + <p> + “Baptista Antonio, the surveyor, has sent home by me a relation to the + king, setting forth our defenceless state. But to read a relation and to + act on it are two cocks of very different hackles, bishop, as all + statesmen know. Heaven grant we may have orders by the next fleet to + fortify, or we shall be at the mercy of every English pirate!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, that blockhouse!” sighed the bishop. “That was indeed a villainous + trick. A hundred and ten thousand ducats for the ransom of the town! After + having burned and plundered the one-half—and having made me dine + with them too, ah! and sit between the—the serpent, and his + lieutenant-general—and drunk my health in my own private wine—wine + that I had from Xeres nine years ago, senors and offered, the shameless + heretics, to take me to England, if I would turn Lutheran, and find me a + wife, and make an honest man of me—ah! and then to demand fresh + ransom for the priory and the fort—perfidious!” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said the colonel, “they had the law of us, the cunning rascals, + for we forgot to mention anything but the town, in the agreement. Who + would have dreamed of such a fetch as that?” + </p> + <p> + “So I told my good friend the prior, when he came to me to borrow the + thousand crowns. It was Heaven's will. Unexpected like the thunderbolt, + and to be borne as such. Every man must bear his own burden. How could I + lend him aught?” + </p> + <p> + “Your holiness's money had been all carried off by them before,” said the + intendant, who knew, and none better, the exact contrary. + </p> + <p> + “Just so—all my scanty savings! desolate in my lone old age. Ah, + senors, had we not had warning of the coming of these wretches from my + dear friend the Marquess of Santa Cruz, whom I remember daily in my + prayers, we had been like to them who go down quick into the pit. I too + might have saved a trifle, had I been minded: but in thinking too much of + others, I forgot myself, alas!” + </p> + <p> + “Warning or none, we had no right to be beaten by such a handful,” said + the sea-captain; “and a shame it is, and a shame it will be, for many a + day to come.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to cast any slur, sir, upon the courage and conduct of his + Catholic majesty's soldiers?” asked the colonel. + </p> + <p> + “I?—No; but we were foully beaten, and that behind our barricades + too, and there's the plain truth.” + </p> + <p> + “Beaten, sir! Do you apply such a term to the fortunes of war? What more + could our governor have done? Had we not the ways filled with poisoned + caltrops, guarded by Indian archers, barred with butts full of earth, + raked with culverins and arquebuses? What familiar spirit had we, sir, to + tell us that these villains would come along the sea-beach, and not by the + high-road, like Christian men?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said the bishop, “it was by intuition diabolic, I doubt not, that + they took that way. Satanas must need help those who serve him; and for my + part, I can only attribute (I would the captain here had piety enough to + do so) the misfortune which occurred to art-magic. I believe these men to + have been possessed by all fiends whatsoever.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, your holiness,” said the colonel, “there may have been devilry in + it; how else would men have dared to run right into the mouths of our + cannon, fire their shot against our very noses, and tumble harmless over + those huge butts of earth?” + </p> + <p> + “Doubtless by force of the fiends which raged with them,” interposed the + bishop. + </p> + <p> + “And then, with their blasphemous cries, leap upon us with sword and pike? + I myself saw that Lieutenant-General Carlisle hew down with one stroke + that noble young gentleman the ensign-bearer, your excellency's sister's + son's nephew, though he was armed cap-a-pie. Was not art-magic here? And + that most furious and blaspheming Lutheran Captain Young, I saw how he + caught our general by the head, after the illustrious Don Alonzo had given + him a grievous wound, threw him to the earth, and so took him. Was not + art-magic here?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I say,” said the captain, “if you are looking for art-magic, what + say you to their marching through the flank fire of our galleys, with + eleven pieces of ordnance, and two hundred shot playing on them, as if it + had been a mosquito swarm? Some said my men fired too high: but that was + the English rascals' doing, for they got down on the tide beach. But, + senor commandant, though Satan may have taught them that trick, was it he + that taught them to carry pikes a foot longer than yours?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, well,” said the bishop, “sacked are we; and San Domingo, as I hear, + in worse case than we are; and St. Augustine in Florida likewise; and all + that is left for a poor priest like me is to return to Spain, and see + whether the pious clemency of his majesty, and of the universal Father, + may not be willing to grant some small relief or bounty to the poor of + Mary—perhaps—(for who knows?) to translate to a sphere of more + peaceful labor one who is now old, senors, and weary with many toils—Tita! + fill our glasses. I have saved somewhat—as you may have done, + senors, from the general wreck; and for the flock, when I am no more, + illustrious senors, Heaven's mercies are infinite; new cities will rise + from the ashes of the old, new mines pour forth their treasures into the + sanctified laps of the faithful, and new Indians flock toward the + life-giving standard of the Cross, to put on the easy yoke and light + burden of the Church, and—” + </p> + <p> + “And where shall I be then? Ah, where? Fain would I rest, and fain depart. + Tita! sling my hammock. Senors, you will excuse age and infirmities. Fray + Gerundio, go to bed!” + </p> + <p> + And the Dons rose to depart, while the bishop went on maundering,— + </p> + <p> + “Farewell! Life is short. Ah! we shall meet in heaven at last. And there + are really no more pearls?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a frail; nor gold either,” said the intendant. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, well! Better a dinner of herbs where love is, than—Tita!” + </p> + <p> + “My breviary—ah! Man's gratitude is short-lived, I had hoped—You + have seen nothing of the Senora Bovadilla?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! she promised:—but no matter—a little trifle as a keepsake—a + gold cross, or an emerald ring, or what not—I forget. And what have + I to do with worldly wealth!—Ah! Tita! bring me the casket.” + </p> + <p> + And when his guests were gone, the old man began mumbling prayers out of + his breviary, and fingering over jewels and gold, with the dull greedy + eyes of covetous old age. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!—it may buy the red hat yet!—Omnia Romae venalia! Put it + by, Tita, and do not look at it too much, child. Enter not into + temptation. The love of money is the root of all evil; and Heaven, in love + for the Indian, has made him poor in this world, that he may be rich in + faith. Ah!—Ugh!—So!” + </p> + <p> + And the old miser clambered into his hammock. Tita drew the mosquito net + over him, wrapt another round her own head, and slept, or seemed to sleep; + for she coiled herself up upon the floor, and master and slave soon snored + a merry bass to the treble of the mosquitoes. + </p> + <p> + It was long past midnight, and the moon was down. The sentinels, who had + tramped and challenged overhead till they thought their officers were + sound asleep, had slipped out of the unwholesome rays of the planet to + seek that health and peace which they considered their right, and slept as + soundly as the bishop's self. + </p> + <p> + Two long lines glided out from behind the isolated rocks of the Morro + Grande, which bounded the bay some five hundred yards astern of the + galleon. They were almost invisible on the glittering surface of the + water, being perfectly white; and, had a sentinel been looking out, he + could only have descried them by the phosphorescent flashes along their + sides. + </p> + <p> + Now the bishop had awoke, and turned himself over uneasily; for the wine + was dying out within him, and his shoulders had slipped down, and his + heels up, and his head ached! so he sat upright in his hammock, looked out + upon the bay, and called Tita. + </p> + <p> + “Put another pillow under my head, child! What is that? a fish?” + </p> + <p> + Tita looked. She did not think it was a fish: but she did not choose to + say so; for it might have produced an argument, and she had her reasons + for not keeping his holiness awake. + </p> + <p> + The bishop looked again; settled that it must be a white whale, or shark, + or other monster of the deep; crossed himself, prayed for a safe voyage, + and snored once more. + </p> + <p> + Presently the cabin-door opened gently, and the head of the senor + intendant appeared. + </p> + <p> + Tita sat up; and then began crawling like a snake along the floor, among + the chairs and tables, by the light of the cabin lamp. + </p> + <p> + “Is he asleep?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes: but the casket is under his head.” + </p> + <p> + “Curse him! How shall we take it?” + </p> + <p> + “I brought him a fresh pillow half-an-hour ago; I hung his hammock wrong + on purpose that he might want one. I thought to slip the box away as I did + it; but the old ox nursed it in both hands all the while.” + </p> + <p> + “What shall we do, in the name of all the fiends? She sails to-morrow + morning, and then all is lost.” + </p> + <p> + Tita showed her white teeth, and touched the dagger which hung by the + intendant's side. + </p> + <p> + “I dare not!” said the rascal, with a shudder. + </p> + <p> + “I dare!” said she. “He whipt my mother, because she would not give me up + to him to be taught in his schools, when she went to the mines. And she + went to the mines, and died there in three months. I saw her go, with a + chain round her neck; but she never came back again. Yes; I dare kill him! + I will kill him! I will!” + </p> + <p> + The senor felt his mind much relieved. He had no wish, of course, to + commit the murder himself; for he was a good Catholic, and feared the + devil. But Tita was an Indian, and her being lost did not matter so much. + Indians' souls were cheap, like their bodies. So he answered, “But we + shall be discovered!” + </p> + <p> + “I will leap out of the window with the casket, and swim ashore. They will + never suspect you, and they will fancy I am drowned.” + </p> + <p> + “The sharks may seize you, Tita. You had better give me the casket.” + </p> + <p> + Tita smiled. “You would not like to lose that, eh? though you care little + about losing me. And yet you told me that you loved me!” + </p> + <p> + “And I do love you, Tita! light of my eyes! life of my heart! I swear, by + all the saints, I love you. I will marry you, I swear I will—I will + swear on the crucifix, if you like!” + </p> + <p> + “Swear, then, or I do not give you the casket,” said she, holding out the + little crucifix round her neck, and devouring him with the wild eyes of + passionate unreasoning tropic love. + </p> + <p> + He swore, trembling, and deadly pale. + </p> + <p> + “Give me your dagger.” + </p> + <p> + “No, not mine. It may be found. I shall be suspected. What if my sheath + were seen to be empty?” + </p> + <p> + “Your knife will do. His throat is soft enough.” + </p> + <p> + And she glided stealthily as a cat toward the hammock, while her cowardly + companion stood shivering at the other end of the cabin, and turned his + back to her, that he might not see the deed. + </p> + <p> + He stood waiting, one minute—two—five? Was it an hour, rather? + A cold sweat bathed his limbs; the blood beat so fiercely within his + temples, that his head rang again. Was that a death-bell tolling? No; it + was the pulses of his brain. Impossible, surely, a death-bell. Whence + could it come? + </p> + <p> + There was a struggle—ah! she was about it now; a stifled cry—Ah! + he had dreaded that most of all, to hear the old man cry. Would there be + much blood? He hoped not. Another struggle, and Tita's voice, apparently + muffled, called for help. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot help you. Mother of Mercies! I dare not help you!” hissed he. + “She-devil! you have begun it, and you must finish it yourself!” + </p> + <p> + A heavy arm from behind clasped his throat. The bishop had broken loose + from her and seized him! Or was it his ghost? or a fiend come to drag him + down to the pit? And forgetting all but mere wild terror, he opened his + lips for a scream, which would have wakened every soul on board. But a + handkerchief was thrust into his mouth and in another minute he found + himself bound hand and foot, and laid upon the table by a gigantic enemy. + The cabin was full of armed men, two of whom were lashing up the bishop in + his hammock; two more had seized Tita; and more were clambering up into + the stern-gallery beyond, wild figures, with bright blades and armor + gleaming in the starlight. + </p> + <p> + “Now, Will,” whispered the giant who had seized him, “forward and clap the + fore-hatches on; and shout Fire! with all your might. Girl! murderess! + your life is in my hands. Tell me where the commander sleeps, and I pardon + you.” + </p> + <p> + Tita looked up at the huge speaker, and obeyed in silence. The intendant + heard him enter the colonel's cabin, and then a short scuffle, and silence + for a moment. + </p> + <p> + But only for a moment; for already the alarm had been given, and mad + confusion reigned through every deck. Amyas (for it was none other) had + already gained the poop; the sentinels were gagged and bound; and every + half-naked wretch who came trembling up on deck in his shirt by the main + hatchway, calling one, “Fire!” another, “Wreck!” and another, “Treason!” + was hurled into the scuppers, and there secured. + </p> + <p> + “Lower away that boat!” shouted Amyas in Spanish to his first batch of + prisoners. + </p> + <p> + The men, unarmed and naked, could but obey. + </p> + <p> + “Now then, jump in. Here, hand them to the gangway as they come up.” + </p> + <p> + It was done; and as each appeared he was kicked to the scuppers, and + bundled down over the side. + </p> + <p> + “She's full. Cast loose now and off with you. If you try to board again + we'll sink you.” + </p> + <p> + “Fire! fire!” shouted Cary, forward. “Up the main hatchway for your + lives!” + </p> + <p> + The ruse succeeded utterly; and before half-an-hour was over, all the + ship's boats which could be lowered were filled with Spaniards in their + shirts, getting ashore as best they could. + </p> + <p> + “Here is a new sort of camisado,” quoth Cary. “The last Spanish one I saw + was at the sortie from Smerwick: but this is somewhat more prosperous than + that.” + </p> + <p> + “Get the main and foresail up, Will!” said Amyas, “cut the cable; and we + will plume the quarry as we fly.” + </p> + <p> + “Spoken like a good falconer. Heaven grant that this big woodcock may + carry a good trail inside!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll warrant her for that,” said Jack Brimblecombe. “She floats so low.” + </p> + <p> + “Much of your build, too, Jack. By the by, where is the commander?” + </p> + <p> + Alas! Don Pedro, forgotten in the bustle, had been lying on the deck in + his shirt, helplessly bound, exhausting that part of his vocabulary which + related to the unseen world. Which most discourteous act seemed at first + likely to be somewhat heavily avenged on Amyas; for as he spoke, a couple + of caliver-shots, fired from under the poop, passed “ping” “ping” by his + ears, and Cary clapped his hand to his side. + </p> + <p> + “Hurt, Will?” + </p> + <p> + “A pinch, old lad—Look out, or we are 'allen verloren' after all, as + the Flemings say.” + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke, a rush forward on the poop drove two of their best men + down the ladder into the waist, where Amyas stood. + </p> + <p> + “Killed?” asked he, as he picked one up, who had fallen head over heels. + </p> + <p> + “Sound as a bell, sir: but they Gentiles has got hold of the firearms, and + set the captain free.” + </p> + <p> + And rubbing the back of his head for a minute, he jumped up the ladder + again, shouting— + </p> + <p> + “Have at ye, idolatrous pagans! Have at ye, Satan's spawn!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas jumped up after him, shouting to all hands to follow; for there was + no time to be lost. + </p> + <p> + Out of the windows of the poop, which looked on the main-deck, a galling + fire had been opened, and he could not afford to lose men; for, as far as + he knew, the Spaniards left on board might still far outnumber the + English; so up he sprang on the poop, followed by a dozen men, and there + began a very heavy fight between two parties of valiant warriors, who + easily knew each other apart by the peculiar fashion of their armor. For + the Spaniards fought in their shirts, and in no other garments: but the + English in all other manner of garments, tag, rag, and bobtail; and yet + had never a shirt between them. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the English made a rush, of course, to get upon the poop, + seeing that the Spaniards could not shoot them through the deck; but the + fire from the windows was so hot, that although they dodged behind masts, + spars, and every possible shelter, one or two dropped; and Jack + Brimblecombe and Yeo took on themselves to call a retreat, and with about + a dozen men, got back, and held a council of war. + </p> + <p> + What was to be done? Their arquebuses were of little use; for the + Spaniards were behind a strong bulkhead. There were cannon: but where was + powder or shot? The boats, encouraged by the clamor on deck, were paddling + alongside again. Yeo rushed round and round, probing every gun with his + sword. + </p> + <p> + “Here's a patararo loaded! Now for a match, lads.” + </p> + <p> + Luckily one of the English had kept his match alight during the scuffle. + </p> + <p> + “Thanks be! Help me to unship the gun—the mast's in the way here.” + </p> + <p> + The patararo, or brass swivel, was unshipped. + </p> + <p> + “Steady, lads, and keep it level, or you'll shake out the priming. Ship it + here; turn out that one, and heave it into that boat, if they come + alongside. Steady now—so! Rummage about, and find me a bolt or two, + a marlin-spike, anything. Quick, or the captain will be over-mastered + yet.” + </p> + <p> + Missiles were found—odds and ends—and crammed into the swivel + up to the muzzle: and, in another minute, its “cargo of notions” was + crashing into the poop-windows, silencing the fire from thence effectually + enough for the time. + </p> + <p> + “Now, then, a rush forward, and right in along the deck!” shouted Yeo; and + the whole party charged through the cabin-doors, which their shot had + burst open, and hewed their way from room to room. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile, the Spaniards above had fought fiercely: but, in spite + of superior numbers, they had gradually given back before the “demoniacal + possession of those blasphemous heretics, who fought, not like men, but + like furies from the pit.” And by the time that Brimblecombe and Yeo + shouted from the stern-gallery below that the quarter-deck was won, few on + either side but had their shrewd scratch to show. + </p> + <p> + “Yield, senor!” shouted Amyas to the commander, who had been fighting like + a lion, back to back with the captain of mariners. + </p> + <p> + “Never! You have bound me, and insulted me! Your blood or mine must wipe + out the stain!” + </p> + <p> + And he rushed on Amyas. There was a few moments' heavy fence between them; + and then Amyas cut right at his head. But as he raised his arm, the + Spaniard's blade slipped along his ribs, and snapped against the point of + his shoulder-blade. An inch more to the left, and it would have been + through his heart. The blow fell, nevertheless, and the commandant fell + with it, stunned by the flat of the sword, but not wounded; for Amyas's + hand had turned, as he winced from his wound. But the sea-captain, seeing + Amyas stagger, sprang at him, and, seizing him by the wrist, ere he could + raise his sword again, shortened his weapon to run him through. Amyas made + a grasp at his wrist in return, but, between his faintness and the + darkness, missed it.—Another moment, and all would have been over! + </p> + <p> + A bright blade flashed close past Amyas's ear; the sea-captain's grasp + loosened, and he dropped a corpse; while over him, like an angry lioness + above her prey, stood Ayacanora, her long hair floating in the wind, her + dagger raised aloft, as she looked round, challenging all and every one to + approach. + </p> + <p> + “Are you hurt?” panted she. + </p> + <p> + “A scratch, child.—What do you do here? Go back, go back.” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora slipped back like a scolded child, and vanished in the darkness. + </p> + <p> + The battle was over. The Spaniards, seeing their commanders fall, laid + down their arms, and cried for quarter. It was given; the poor fellows + were tied together, two and two, and seated in a row on the deck; the + commandant, sorely bruised, yielded himself perforce; and the galleon was + taken. + </p> + <p> + Amyas hurried forward to get the sails set. As he went down the + poop-ladder, there was some one sitting on the lowest step. + </p> + <p> + “Who is here—wounded?” + </p> + <p> + “I am not wounded,” said a woman's voice, low, and stifled with sobs. + </p> + <p> + It was Ayacanora. She rose, and let him pass. He saw that her face was + bright with tears; but he hurried on, nevertheless. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I did speak a little hastily to her, considering she saved my + life; but what a brimstone it is! Mary Ambree in a dark skin! Now then, + lads! Get the Santa Fe gold up out of the canoes, and then we will put her + head to the north-east, and away for Old England. Mr. Brimblecombe! don't + say that Eastward-ho don't bring luck this time.” + </p> + <p> + It was impossible, till morning dawned, either to get matters into any + order, or to overhaul the prize they had taken; and many of the men were + so much exhausted that they fell fast asleep on the deck ere the surgeon + had time to dress their wounds. However, Amyas contrived, when once the + ship was leaping merrily, close-hauled against a fresh land-breeze, to + count his little flock, and found out of the forty-four but six seriously + wounded, and none killed. However, their working numbers were now reduced + to thirty-eight, beside the four negroes, a scanty crew enough to take + home such a ship to England. + </p> + <p> + After awhile, up came Jack Brimblecombe on deck, a bottle in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “Lads, a prize!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, we know that already.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, but—look hither, and laid in ice, too, as I live, the + luxurious dogs! But I had to fight for it, I had. For when I went down + into the state cabin, after I had seen to the wounded; whom should I find + loose but that Indian lass, who had just unbound the fellow you caught—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! those two, I believe, were going to murder the old man in the + hammock, if we had not come in the nick of time. What have you done with + them?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, the Spaniard ran when he saw me, and got into a cabin; but the + woman, instead of running, came at me with a knife, and chased me round + the table like a very cat-a-mountain. So I ducked under the old man's + hammock, and out into the gallery; and when I thought the coast was clear, + back again I came, and stumbled over this. So I just picked it up, and ran + on deck with my tail between my legs, for I expected verily to have the + black woman's knife between my ribs out of some dark corner.” + </p> + <p> + “Well done, Jack! Let's have the wine, nevertheless, and then down to set + a guard on the cabin doors for fear of plundering.” + </p> + <p> + “Better go down, and see that nothing is thrown overboard by Spaniards. As + for plundering, I will settle that.” + </p> + <p> + And Amyas walked forward among the men. + </p> + <p> + “Muster the men, boatswain, and count them.” + </p> + <p> + “All here, sir, but the six poor fellows who are laid forward.” + </p> + <p> + “Now, my men,” said Amyas, “for three years you and I have wandered on the + face of the earth, seeking our fortune, and we have found it at last, + thanks be to God! Now, what was our promise and vow which we made to God + beneath the tree of Guayra, if He should grant us good fortune, and bring + us home again with a prize? Was it not, that the dead should share with + the living; and that every man's portion, if he fell, should go to his + widow or his orphans, or if he had none, to his parents?” + </p> + <p> + “It was, sir,” said Yeo, “and I trust that the Lord will give these men + grace to keep their vow. They have seen enough of His providences by this + time to fear Him.” + </p> + <p> + “I doubt them not; but I remind them of it. The Lord has put into our + hands a rich prize; and what with the gold which we have already, we are + well paid for all our labors. Let us thank Him with fervent hearts as soon + as the sun rises; and in the meanwhile, remember all, that whosoever + plunders on his private account, robs not the adventurers merely, but the + orphan and the widow, which is to rob God; and makes himself partaker of + Achan's curse, who hid the wedge of gold, and brought down God's anger on + the whole army of Israel. For me, lest you should think me covetous, I + could claim my brother's share; but I hereby give it up freely into the + common stock, for the use of the whole ship's crew, who have stood by me + through weal and woe, as men never stood before, as I believe, by any + captain. So, now to prayers, lads, and then to eat our breakfast.” + </p> + <p> + So, to the Spaniards' surprise (who most of them believed that the English + were atheists), to prayers they went. + </p> + <p> + After which Brimblecombe contrived to inspire the black cook and the + Portuguese steward with such energy that, by seven o'clock, the latter + worthy appeared on deck, and, with profound reverences, announced to “The + most excellent and heroical Senor Adelantado Captain Englishman,” that + breakfast was ready in the state-cabin. + </p> + <p> + “You will do us the honor of accompanying us as our guest, sir, or our + host, if you prefer the title,” said Amyas to the commandant, who stood + by. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon, senor: but honor forbids me to eat with one who has offered to me + the indelible insult of bonds.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” said Amyas, taking off his hat, “then pray accept on the spot my + humble apologies for all which has passed, and my assurances that the + indignities which you have unfortunately endured, were owing altogether to + the necessities of war, and not to any wish to hurt the feelings of so + valiant a soldier and gentleman.” + </p> + <p> + “It is enough, senor,” said the commandant, bowing and shrugging his + shoulders—for, indeed, he too was very hungry; while Cary whispered + to Amyas— + </p> + <p> + “You will make a courtier, yet, old lad.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not in jesting humor, Will: my mind sadly misgives me that we shall + hear black news, and have, perhaps, to do a black deed yet, on board here. + Senor, I follow you.” + </p> + <p> + So they went down, and found the bishop, who was by this time unbound, + seated in a corner of the cabin, his hands fallen on his knees, his eyes + staring on vacancy, while the two priests stood as close against the wall + as they could squeeze themselves, keeping up a ceaseless mutter of + prayers. + </p> + <p> + “Your holiness will breakfast with us, of course; and these two frocked + gentlemen likewise. I see no reason for refusing them all hospitality, as + yet.” + </p> + <p> + There was a marked emphasis on the last two words, which made both monks + wince. + </p> + <p> + “Our chaplain will attend to you, gentlemen. His lordship the bishop will + do me the honor of sitting next to me.” + </p> + <p> + The bishop seemed to revive slowly as he snuffed the savory steam; and at + last, rising mechanically, subsided into the chair which Amyas offered him + on his left, while the commandant sat on his right. + </p> + <p> + “A little of this kid, my lord? No—ah—Friday, I recollect. + Some of that turtle-fin, then. Will, serve his lordship; pass the + cassava-bread up, Jack! Senor commandant! a glass of wine? You need it + after your valiant toils. To the health of all brave soldiers—and a + toast from your own Spanish proverb, 'To-day to me, tomorrow to thee!'” + </p> + <p> + “I drink it, brave senor. Your courtesy shows you the worthy countryman of + General Drake, and his brave lieutenant.” + </p> + <p> + “Drake! Did you know him, senor?” asked all the Englishmen at once. + </p> + <p> + “Too well, too well—” and he would have continued; but the bishop + burst out— + </p> + <p> + “Ah, senor commandant! that name again! Have you no mercy? To sit between + another pair of—, and my own wine, too! Ugh, ugh!” + </p> + <p> + The old gentleman, whose mouth had been full of turtle the whole time, + burst into a violent fit of coughing, and was only saved from apoplexy by + Cary's patting him on the back. + </p> + <p> + “Ugh, ugh! The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel, and their precious + balms. Ah, senor lieutenant Englishman! May I ask you to pass those limes?—Ah! + what is turtle without lime?—Even as a fat old man without money! + Nudus intravi, nudus exeo—ah!” + </p> + <p> + “But what of Drake?” + </p> + <p> + “Do you not know, sir, that he and his fleet, only last year, swept the + whole of this coast, and took, with shame I confess it, Cartagena, San + Domingo, St. Augustine, and—I see you are too courteous, senors, to + express before me what you have a right to feel. But whence come you, sir? + From the skies, or the depth of the sea?” + </p> + <p> + “Art-magic, art-magic!” moaned the bishop. + </p> + <p> + “Your holiness! It is scarcely prudent to speak thus here,” said the + commandant, who was nevertheless much of the same opinion. + </p> + <p> + “Why, you said so yourself, last night, senor, about the taking of + Cartagena.” + </p> + <p> + The commandant blushed, and stammered out somewhat—“That it was + excusable in him, if he had said, in jest, that so prodigious and curious + a valor had not sprung from mortal source.” + </p> + <p> + “No more it did, senor,” said Jack Brimblecombe, stoutly: “but from Him + who taught our 'hands to war, and our fingers to fight.'” + </p> + <p> + The commandant bowed stiffly. “You will excuse me, sir preacher: but I am + a Catholic, and hold the cause of my king to be alone the cause of Heaven. + But, senor captain, how came you thither, if I may ask? That you needed no + art-magic after you came on board, I, alas! can testify but too well: but + what spirit—whether good or evil, I ask not—brought you on + board, and whence? Where is your ship? I thought that all Drake's squadron + had left six months ago.” + </p> + <p> + “Our ship, senor, has lain this three years rotting on the coast near Cape + Codera.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! we heard of that bold adventure—but we thought you all lost in + the interior.” + </p> + <p> + “You did? Can you tell me, then, where the senor governor of La Guayra may + be now?” + </p> + <p> + “The Senor Don Guzman de Soto,” said the commandant, in a somewhat + constrained tone, “is said to be at present in Spain, having thrown up his + office in consequence of domestic matters, of which I have not the honor + of knowing anything.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas longed to ask more: but he knew that the well-bred Spaniard would + tell him nothing which concerned another man's wife; and went on. + </p> + <p> + “What befell us after, I tell you frankly.” + </p> + <p> + And Amyas told his story, from the landing at Guayra to the passage down + the Magdalena. The commandant lifted up his hands. + </p> + <p> + “Were it not forbidden to me, as a Catholic, most invincible senor, I + should say that the Divine protection has indeed—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said one of the friars, “that you could be brought, senors, to + render thanks for your miraculous preservation to her to whom alone it is + due, Mary, the fount of mercies!” + </p> + <p> + “We have done well enough without her as yet,” said Amyas, bluntly. + </p> + <p> + “The Lord raised up Nebuchadnezzar of old to punish the sins of the Jewish + Church; and He has raised up these men to punish ours!” said Fray + Gerundio. + </p> + <p> + “But Nebuchadnezzar fell, and so may they,” growled the other to himself. + Jack overheard him. + </p> + <p> + “I say, my lord bishop,” called he from the other end of the table. “It is + our English custom to let our guests be as rude as they like; but perhaps + your lordship will hint to these two friars, that if they wish to keep + whole skins, they will keep civil tongues.” + </p> + <p> + “Be silent, asses! mules!” shouted the bishop, whose spirits were + improving over the wine, “who are you, that you cannot eat dirt as well as + your betters?” + </p> + <p> + “Well spoken, my lord. Here's the health of our saintly and venerable + guest,” said Cary: while the commandant whispered to Amyas, “Fat old + tyrant! I hope you have found his money—for I am sure he has some on + board, and I should be loath that you lost the advantage of it.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall have to say a few words to you about that money this morning, + commandant: by the by, they had better be said now. My lord bishop, do you + know that had we not taken this ship when we did, you had lost not merely + money, as you have now, but life itself?” + </p> + <p> + “Money? I had none to lose! Life?—what do you mean?” asked the + bishop, turning very pale. + </p> + <p> + “This, sir. That it ill befits one to lie, whose throat has been saved + from the assassin's knife but four hours since. When we entered the + stern-gallery, we found two persons, now on board this ship, in the very + act, sir, and article, of cutting your sinful throat, that they might rob + you of the casket which lay beneath your pillow. A moment more, and you + were dead. We seized and bound them, and so saved your life. Is that + plain, sir?” + </p> + <p> + The bishop looked steadfastly and stupidly into Amyas's face, heaved a + deep sigh, and gradually sank back in his chair, dropping the glass from + his hand. + </p> + <p> + “He is in a fit! Call in the surgeon! Run!” and up jumped kind-hearted + Jack, and brought in the surgeon of the galleon. + </p> + <p> + “Is this possible, senor?” asked the commandant. + </p> + <p> + “It is true. Door, there! Evans! go and bring in that rascal whom we left + bound in his cabin!” + </p> + <p> + Evans went, and the commandant continued— + </p> + <p> + “But the stern-gallery? How, in the name of all witches and miracles, came + your valor thither?” + </p> + <p> + “Simply enough, and owing neither to witch nor miracle. The night before + last we passed the mouth of the bay in our two canoes, which we had lashed + together after the fashion I had seen in the Moluccas, to keep them afloat + in the surf. We had scraped the canoes bright the day before, and rubbed + them with white clay, that they might be invisible at night; and so we got + safely to the Morro Grande, passing within half a mile of your ship.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh! my scoundrels of sentinels!” + </p> + <p> + “We landed at the back of the Morro, and lay there all day, being purposed + to do that which, with your pardon, we have done. We took our sails of + Indian cloth, whitened them likewise with clay which we had brought with + us from the river (expecting to find a Spanish ship as we went along the + coast, and determined to attempt her, or die with honor), and laid them + over us on the canoes, paddling from underneath them. So that, had your + sentinels been awake, they would have hardly made us out, till we were + close on board. We had provided ourselves, instead of ladders, with + bamboos rigged with cross-pieces, and a hook of strong wood at the top of + each; they hang at your stern-gallery now. And the rest of the tale I need + not tell you.” + </p> + <p> + The commandant rose in his courtly Spanish way,— + </p> + <p> + “Your admirable story, senor, proves to me how truly your nation, while it + has yet, and I trust will ever have, to dispute the palm of valor with our + own, is famed throughout the world for ingenuity, and for daring beyond + that of mortal man. You have succeeded, valiant captain, because you have + deserved to succeed; and it is no shame to me to succumb to enemies who + have united the cunning of the serpent with the valor of the lion. Senor, + I feel as proud of becoming your guest as I should have been proud, under + a happier star, of becoming your host.” + </p> + <p> + “You are, like your nation, only too generous, senor. But what noise is + that outside? Cary, go and see.” + </p> + <p> + But ere Cary could reach the door, it was opened; and Evans presented + himself with a terrified face. + </p> + <p> + “Here's villainy, sir! The Don's murdered, and cold; the Indian lass fled; + and as we searched the ship for her, we found an Englishwoman, as I'm a + sinful man!—and a shocking sight she is to see!” + </p> + <p> + “An Englishwoman?” cried all three, springing forward. + </p> + <p> + “Bring her in!” said Amyas, turning very pale; and as he spoke, Yeo and + another led into the cabin a figure scarcely human. + </p> + <p> + An elderly woman, dressed in the yellow “San Benito” of the Inquisition, + with ragged gray locks hanging about a countenance distorted by suffering + and shrunk by famine. Painfully, as one unaccustomed to the light, she + peered and blinked round her. Her fallen lip gave her a half-idiotic + expression; and yet there was an uneasy twinkle in the eye, as of + boundless terror and suspicion. She lifted up her fettered wrist to shade + her face; and as she did so, disclosed a line of fearful scars upon her + skinny arm. + </p> + <p> + “Look there, sirs!” said Yeo, pointing to them with a stern smile. “Here's + some of these Popish gentry's handiwork. I know well enough how those + marks came;” and he pointed to the similar scars on his own wrist. + </p> + <p> + The commandant, as well as the Englishmen, recoiled with horror. + </p> + <p> + “Holy Virgin! what wretch is this on board my ship? Bishop, is this the + prisoner whom you sent on board?” + </p> + <p> + The bishop, who had been slowly recovering his senses, looked at her a + moment; and then thrusting his chair back, crossed himself, and almost + screamed, “Malefica! Malefica! Who brought her here? Turn her away, + gentlemen; turn her eye away; she will bewitch, fascinate”—and he + began muttering prayers. + </p> + <p> + Amyas seized him by the shoulder, and shook him on to his legs. + </p> + <p> + “Swine! who is this? Wake up, coward, and tell me, or I will cut you + piecemeal!” + </p> + <p> + But ere the bishop could answer, the woman uttered a wild shriek, and + pointing to the taller of the two monks, cowered behind Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “He here?” cried she, in broken Spanish. “Take me away! I will tell you no + more. I have told you all, and lies enough beside. Oh! why is he come + again? Did they not say that I should have no more torments?” + </p> + <p> + The monk turned pale: but like a wild beast at bay, glared firmly round on + the whole company; and then, fixing his dark eyes full on the woman, he + bade her be silent so sternly, that she shrank down like a beaten hound. + </p> + <p> + “Silence, dog!” said Will Cary, whose blood was up, and followed his words + with a blow on the monk's mouth, which silenced him effectually. + </p> + <p> + “Don't be afraid, good woman, but speak English. We are all English here, + and Protestants too. Tell us what they have done for you.” + </p> + <p> + “Another trap! another trap!” cried she, in a strong Devonshire accent. + “You be no English! You want to make me lie again, and then torment me. + Oh! wretched, wretched that I am!” cried she, bursting into tears. “Whom + should I trust? Not myself: no, nor God; for I have denied Him! O Lord! O + Lord!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas stood silent with fear and horror; some instinct told him that he + was on the point of hearing news for which he feared to ask. But Jack + spoke— + </p> + <p> + “My dear soul! my dear soul! don't you be afraid; and the Lord will stand + by you, if you will but tell the truth. We are all Englishmen, and men of + Devon, as you seem to be by your speech; and this ship is ours; and the + pope himself sha'n't touch you.” + </p> + <p> + “Devon?” she said doubtingly; “Devon! Whence, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Bideford men. This is Mr. Will Cary, to Clovelly. If you are a Devon + woman, you've heard tell of the Carys, to be sure.” + </p> + <p> + The woman made a rush forward, and threw her fettered arms round Will's + neck,— + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mr. Cary, my dear life! Mr. Cary! and so you be! Oh, dear soul alive! + but you're burnt so brown, and I be 'most blind with misery. Oh, who ever + sent you here, my dear Mr. Will, then, to save a poor wretch from the + pit?” + </p> + <p> + “Who on earth are you?” + </p> + <p> + “Lucy Passmore, the white witch to Welcombe. Don't you mind Lucy Passmore, + as charmed your warts for you when you was a boy?” + </p> + <p> + “Lucy Passmore!” almost shrieked all three friends. “She that went off + with—” + </p> + <p> + “Yes! she that sold her own soul, and persuaded that dear saint to sell + hers; she that did the devil's work, and has taken the devil's wages;—after + this fashion!” and she held up her scarred wrists wildly. + </p> + <p> + “Where is Dona de—Rose Salterne?” shouted Will and Jack. + </p> + <p> + “Where is my brother Frank?” shouted Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Dead, dead, dead!” + </p> + <p> + “I knew it,” said Amyas, sitting down again calmly. + </p> + <p> + “How did she die?” + </p> + <p> + “The Inquisition—he!” pointing to the monk. “Ask him—he + betrayed her to her death. And ask him!” pointing to the bishop; “he sat + by her and saw her die.” + </p> + <p> + “Woman, you rave!” said the bishop, getting up with a terrified air, and + moving as far as possible from Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “How did my brother die, Lucy?” asked Amyas, still calmly. + </p> + <p> + “Who be you, sir?” + </p> + <p> + A gleam of hope flashed across Amyas—she had not answered his + question. + </p> + <p> + “I am Amyas Leigh of Burrough. Do you know aught of my brother Frank, who + was lost at La Guayra?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Amyas! Heaven forgive me that I did not know the bigness of you. Your + brother, sir, died like a gentleman as he was.” + </p> + <p> + “But how?” gasped Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Burned with her, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “Is this true, sir?” said Amyas, turning to the bishop, with a very quiet + voice. + </p> + <p> + “I, sir?” stammered he, in panting haste. “I had nothing to do—I was + compelled in my office of bishop to be an unwilling spectator—the + secular arm, sir; I could not interfere with that—any more than I + can with the Holy Office. I do not belong to it—ask that gentleman—sir! + Saints and angels, sir! what are you going to do?” shrieked he, as Amyas + laid a heavy hand upon his shoulder, and began to lead him towards the + door. + </p> + <p> + “Hang you!” said Amyas. “If I had been a Spaniard and a priest like + yourself, I should have burnt you alive.” + </p> + <p> + “Hang me?” shrieked the wretched old Balaam; and burst into abject howls + for mercy. + </p> + <p> + “Take the dark monk, Yeo, and hang him too. Lucy Passmore, do you know + that fellow also?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir,” said Lucy. + </p> + <p> + “Lucky for you, Fray Gerundio,” said Will Cary; while the good friar hid + his face in his hands, and burst into tears. Lucky it was for him, indeed; + for he had been a pitying spectator of the tragedy. “Ah!” thought he, “if + life in this mad and sinful world be a reward, perhaps this escape is + vouchsafed to me for having pleaded the cause of the poor Indian!” + </p> + <p> + But the bishop shrieked on. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! not yet. An hour, only an hour! I am not fit to die.” + </p> + <p> + “That is no concern of mine,” said Amyas. “I only know that you are not + fit to live.” + </p> + <p> + “Let us at least make our peace with God,” said the dark monk. + </p> + <p> + “Hound! if your saints can really smuggle you up the back-stairs to + heaven, they will do it without five minutes' more coaxing and + flattering.” + </p> + <p> + Fray Gerundio and the condemned man alike stopped their ears at the + blasphemy. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Fray Gerundio!” screamed the bishop, “pray for me. I have treated you + like a beast. Oh, Fray, Fray!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my lord! my lord!” said the good man, as with tears streaming down + his face he followed his shrieking and struggling diocesan up the stairs, + “who am I? Ask no pardon of me. Ask pardon of God for all your sins + against the poor innocent savages, when you saw your harmless sheep + butchered year after year, and yet never lifted up your voice to save the + flock which God had committed to you. Oh, confess that, my lord! confess + it ere it be too late!” + </p> + <p> + “I will confess all about the Indians, and the gold, and Tita too, Fray; + peccavi, peccavi—only five minutes, senors, five little minutes' + grace, while I confess to the good Fray!”—and he grovelled on the + deck. + </p> + <p> + “I will have no such mummery where I command,” said Amyas, sternly. “I + will be no accomplice in cheating Satan of his due.” + </p> + <p> + “If you will confess,” said Brimblecombe, whose heart was melting fast, + “confess to the Lord, and He will forgive you. Even at the last moment + mercy is open. Is it not, Fray Gerundio?” + </p> + <p> + “It is, senor; it is, my lord,” said Gerundio; but the bishop only clasped + his hands over his head. + </p> + <p> + “Then I am undone! All my money is stolen! Not a farthing left to buy + masses for my poor soul! And no absolution, no viaticum, nor anything! I + die like a dog and am damned!” + </p> + <p> + “Clear away that running rigging!” said Amyas, while the dark Dominican + stood perfectly collected, with something of a smile of pity at the + miserable bishop. A man accustomed to cruelty, and firm in his fanaticism, + he was as ready to endure suffering as to inflict it; repeating to himself + the necessary prayers, he called Fray Gerundio to witness that he died, + however unworthy, a martyr, in charity with all men, and in the communion + of the Holy Catholic Church; and then, as he fitted the cord to his own + neck, gave Fray Gerundio various petty commissions about his sister and + her children, and a little vineyard far away upon the sunny slopes of + Castile; and so died, with a “Domine, in manus tuas,” like a valiant man + of Spain. + </p> + <p> + Amyas stood long in solemn silence, watching the two corpses dangling + above his head. At last he drew a long breath, as if a load was taken off + his heart. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly he looked round to his men, who were watching eagerly to know + what he would have done next. + </p> + <p> + “Hearken to me, my masters all, and may God hearken too, and do so to me, + and more also, if, as long as I have eyes to see a Spaniard, and hands to + hew him down, I do any other thing than hunt down that accursed nation day + and night, and avenge all the innocent blood which has been shed by them + since the day in which King Ferdinand drove out the Moors!” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said Salvation Yeo. “I need not to swear that oath, for I have + sworn it long ago, and kept it. Will your honor have us kill the rest of + the idolaters?” + </p> + <p> + “God forbid!” said Cary. “You would not do that, Amyas?” + </p> + <p> + “No; we will spare them. God has shown us a great mercy this day, and we + must be merciful in it. We will land them at Cabo Velo. But henceforth + till I die no quarter to a Spaniard.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said Yeo. + </p> + <p> + Amyas's whole countenance had changed in the last half-hour. He seemed to + have grown years older. His brow was wrinkled, his lip compressed, his + eyes full of a terrible stony calm, as of one who had formed a great and + dreadful purpose, and yet for that very reason could afford to be quiet + under the burden of it, even cheerful; and when he returned to the cabin + he bowed courteously to the commandant, begged pardon of him for having + played the host so ill, and entreated him to finish his breakfast. + </p> + <p> + “But, senor—is it possible? Is his holiness dead?” + </p> + <p> + “He is hanged and dead, senor. I would have hanged, could I have caught + them, every living thing which was present at my brother's death, even to + the very flies upon the wall. No more words, senor; your conscience tells + you that I am just.” + </p> + <p> + “Senor,” said the commandant—“one word—I trust there are no + listeners—none of my crew, I mean; but I must exculpate myself in + your eyes.” + </p> + <p> + “Walk out, then, into the gallery with me.” + </p> + <p> + “To tell you the truth, senor—I trust in Heaven no one overhears.—You + are just. This Inquisition is the curse of us, the weight which is + crushing out the very life of Spain. No man dares speak. No man dares + trust his neighbor, no, not his child, or the wife of his bosom. It avails + nothing to be a good Catholic, as I trust I am,” and he crossed himself, + “when any villain whom you may offend, any unnatural son or wife who + wishes to be rid of you, has but to hint heresy against you, and you + vanish into the Holy Office—and then God have mercy on you, for man + has none. Noble ladies of my family, sir, have vanished thither, carried + off by night, we know not why; we dare not ask why. To expostulate, even + to inquire, would have been to share their fate. There is one now, senor—Heaven + alone knows whether she is alive or dead!—It was nine years since, + and we have never heard; and we shall never hear.” + </p> + <p> + And the commandant's face worked frightfully. + </p> + <p> + “She was my sister, senor!” + </p> + <p> + “Heavens! sir, and have you not avenged her?” + </p> + <p> + “On churchmen, senor, and I a Catholic? To be burned at the stake in this + life, and after that to all eternity beside? Even a Spaniard dare not face + that. Beside, sir, the mob like this Inquisition, and an Auto-da-fe is + even better sport to them than a bull-fight. They would be the first to + tear a man in pieces who dare touch an Inquisitor. Sir, may all the saints + in heaven obtain me forgiveness for my blasphemy, but when I saw you just + now fearing those churchmen no more than you feared me, I longed, sinner + that I am, to be a heretic like you.” + </p> + <p> + “It will not take long to make a brave and wise gentleman who has suffered + such things as you have, a heretic, as you call it—a free Christian + man, as we call it.” + </p> + <p> + “Tempt me not, sir!” said the poor man, crossing himself fervently. “Let + us say no more. Obedience is my duty; and for the rest the Church must + decide, according to her infallible authority—for I am a good + Catholic, senor, the best of Catholics, though a great sinner.—I + trust no one has overheard us!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas left him with a smile of pity, and went to look for Lucy Passmore, + whom the sailors were nursing and feeding, while Ayacanora watched them + with a puzzled face. + </p> + <p> + “I will talk to you when you are better, Lucy,” said he, taking her hand. + “Now you must eat and drink, and forget all among us lads of Devon.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, dear blessed sir, and you will send Sir John to pray with me? For I + turned, sir, I turned: but I could not help it—I could not abear the + torments: but she bore them, sweet angel—and more than I did. Oh, + dear me!” + </p> + <p> + “Lucy, I am not fit now to hear more. You shall tell me all to-morrow;” + and he turned away. + </p> + <p> + “Why do you take her hand?” said Ayacanora, half-scornfully. “She is old, + and ugly, and dirty.” + </p> + <p> + “She is an Englishwoman, child, and a martyr, poor thing; and I would + nurse her as I would my own mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Why don't you make me an Englishwoman, and a martyr? I could learn how to + do anything that that old hag could do!” + </p> + <p> + “Instead of calling her names, go and tend her; that would be much fitter + work for a woman than fighting among men.” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora darted from him, thrust the sailors aside, and took possession + of Lucy Passmore. + </p> + <p> + “Where shall I put her?” asked she of Amyas, without looking up. + </p> + <p> + “In the best cabin; and let her be served like a queen, lads.” + </p> + <p> + “No one shall touch her but me;” and taking up the withered frame in her + arms, as if it were a doll, Ayacanora walked off with her in triumph, + telling the men to go and mind the ship. + </p> + <p> + “The girl is mad,” said one. + </p> + <p> + “Mad or not, she has an eye to our captain,” said another. + </p> + <p> + “And where's the man that would behave to the poor wild thing as he does?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Francis Drake would, from whom he got his lesson. Do you mind his + putting the negro lass ashore after he found out about—” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! Bygones be bygones, and those that did it are in their graves long + ago. But it was too hard of him on the poor thing.” + </p> + <p> + “If he had not got rid of her, there would have been more throats than one + cut about the lass, that's all I know,” said another; “and so there would + have been about this one before now, if the captain wasn't a born angel + out of heaven, and the lieutenant no less.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I suppose we may get a whet by now. I wonder if these Dons have any + beer aboard.” + </p> + <p> + “Naught but grape vinegar, which fools call wine, I'll warrant.” + </p> + <p> + “There was better than vinegar on the table in there just now.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said one grumbler of true English breed, “but that's not for poor + fellows like we.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't lie, Tom Evans; you never were given that way yet, and I don't + think the trade will suit a good fellow like you.” + </p> + <p> + The whole party stared; for the speaker of these words was none other than + Amyas himself, who had rejoined them, a bottle in each hand. + </p> + <p> + “No, Tom Evans. It has been share and share alike for three years, and + bravely you have all held up, and share alike it shall be now, and here's + the handsel of it. We'll serve out the good wine fairly all round as long + as it lasts, and then take to the bad: but mind you don't get drunk, my + sons, for we are much too short of hands to have any stout fellows lying + about the scuppers.” + </p> + <p> + But what was the story of the intendant's being murdered? Brimblecombe had + seen him run into a neighboring cabin; and when the door of it was opened, + there was the culprit, but dead and cold, with a deep knife-wound in his + side. Who could have done the deed? It must have been Tita, whom + Brimblecombe had seen loose, and trying to free her lover. + </p> + <p> + The ship was searched from stem to stern: but no Tita. The mystery was + never explained. That she had leapt overboard, and tried to swim ashore, + none doubted: but whether she had reached it, who could tell? One thing + was strange; that not only had she carried off no treasure with her, but + that the gold ornaments which she had worn the night before, lay together + in a heap on the table, close by the murdered man. Had she wished to rid + herself of everything which had belonged to her tyrants? + </p> + <p> + The commandant heard the whole story thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + “Wretched man!” said he, “and he has a wife and children in Seville.” + </p> + <p> + “A wife and children?” said Amyas; “and I heard him promise marriage to + the Indian girl.” + </p> + <p> + That was the only hint which gave a reason for his death. What if, in the + terror of discovery and capture, the scoundrel had dropped any + self-condemning words about his marriage, any prayer for those whom he had + left behind, and the Indian had overheard them? It might be so; at least + sin had brought its own punishment. + </p> + <p> + And so that wild night and day subsided. The prisoners were kindly used + enough; for the Englishman, free from any petty love of tormenting, knows + no mean between killing a foe outright, and treating him as a brother; and + when, two days afterwards, they were sent ashore in the canoes off Cabo + Velo, captives and captors shook hands all round; and Amyas, after + returning the commandant his sword, and presenting him with a case of the + bishop's wine, bowed him courteously over the side. + </p> + <p> + “I trust that you will pay us another visit, valiant senor capitan,” said + the Spaniard, bowing and smiling. + </p> + <p> + “I should most gladly accept your invitation, illustrious senor + commandant; but as I have vowed henceforth, whenever I shall meet a + Spaniard, neither to give nor take quarter, I trust that our paths to + glory may lie in different directions.” + </p> + <p> + The commandant shrugged his shoulders; the ship was put again before the + wind, and as the shores of the Main faded lower and dimmer behind her, a + mighty cheer broke from all on board; and for once the cry from every + mouth was Eastward-ho! + </p> + <p> + Scrap by scrap, as weakness and confusion of intellect permitted her, Lucy + Passmore told her story. It was a simple one after all, and Amyas might + almost have guessed it for himself. Rose had not yielded to the Spaniard + without a struggle. He had visited her two or three times at Lucy's house + (how he found out Lucy's existence she herself could never tell, unless + from the Jesuits) before she agreed to go with him. He had gained Lucy to + his side by huge promises of Indian gold; and, in fine, they had gone to + Lundy, where the lovers were married by a priest, who was none other, Lucy + would swear, than the shorter and stouter of the two who had carried off + her husband and his boat—in a word, Father Parsons. + </p> + <p> + Amyas gnashed his teeth at the thought that he had had Parsons in his + power at Brenttor down, and let him go. It was a fresh proof to him that + Heaven's vengeance was upon him for letting one of its enemies escape. + Though what good to Rose or Frank the hanging of Parsons would have been, + I, for my part, cannot see. + </p> + <p> + But when had Eustace been at Lundy? Lucy could throw no light on that + matter. It was evidently some by-thread in the huge spider's web of Jesuit + intrigue, which was, perhaps, not worth knowing after all. + </p> + <p> + They sailed from Lundy in a Portugal ship, were at Lisbon a few days + (during which Rose and Lucy remained on board), and then away for the West + Indies; while all went merry as a marriage bell. “Sir, he would have + kissed the dust off her dear feet, till that evil eye of Mr. Eustace's + came, no one knew how or whence.” And, from that time, all went wrong. + Eustace got power over Don Guzman, whether by threatening that the + marriage should be dissolved, whether by working on his superstitious + scruples about leaving his wife still a heretic, or whether (and this last + Lucy much suspected) by insinuations that her heart was still at home in + England, and that she was longing for Amyas and his ship to come and take + her home again; the house soon became a den of misery, and Eustace the + presiding evil genius. Don Guzman had even commanded him to leave it—and + he went; but, somehow, within a week he was there again, in greater favor + than ever. Then came preparations to meet the English, and high words + about it between Don Guzman and Rose; till a few days before Amyas's + arrival, the Don had dashed out of the house in a fury, saying openly that + she preferred these Lutheran dogs to him, and that he would have their + hearts' blood first, and hers after. + </p> + <p> + The rest was soon told. Amyas knew but too much of it already. The very + morning after he had gone up to the villa, Lucy and her mistress were + taken (they knew not by whom) down to the quay, in the name of the Holy + Office, and shipped off to Cartagena. + </p> + <p> + There they were examined, and confronted on a charge of witchcraft, which + the wretched Lucy could not well deny. She was tortured to make her + inculpate Rose; and what she said, or did not say, under the torture, the + poor wretch could never tell. She recanted, and became a Romanist; Rose + remained firm. Three weeks afterwards, they were brought out to an + Auto-da-fe; and there, for the first time, Lucy saw Frank walking, dressed + in a San Benito, in that ghastly procession. Lucy was adjudged to receive + publicly two hundred stripes, and to be sent to “The Holy House” at + Seville to perpetual prison. Frank and Rose, with a renegade Jew, and a + negro who had been convicted of practising “Obi,” were sentenced to death + as impenitent, and delivered over to the secular arm, with prayers that + there might be no shedding of blood. In compliance with which request, the + Jew and the negro were burnt at one stake, Frank and Rose at another. She + thought they did not feel it more than twenty minutes. They were both very + bold and steadfast, and held each other's hand (that she would swear to) + to the very last. + </p> + <p> + And so ended Lucy Passmore's story. And if Amyas Leigh, after he had heard + it, vowed afresh to give no quarter to Spaniards wherever he should find + them, who can wonder, even if they blame? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW SALVATION YEO FOUND HIS LITTLE MAID AGAIN + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “All precious things, discover'd late, + To them who seek them issue forth; + For love in sequel works with fate, + And draws the veil from hidden worth.” + + The Sleeping Beauty. +</pre> + <p> + And so Ayacanora took up her abode in Lucy's cabin, as a regularly + accredited member of the crew. + </p> + <p> + But a most troublesome member; for now began in her that perilous crisis + which seems to endanger the bodies and souls of all savages and savage + tribes, when they first mingle with the white man; that crisis which, a + few years afterwards, began to hasten the extermination of the North + American tribes; and had it not been for the admirable good sense and + constancy of Amyas, Ayacanora might have ended even more miserably than + did the far-famed Pocahontas, daughter of the Virginian king; who, after + having been received at Court by the old pedant James the First, with the + honors of a sister sovereign, and having become the reputed ancestress of + more than one ancient Virginian family, ended her days in wretchedness in + some Wapping garret. + </p> + <p> + For the mind of the savage, crushed by the sight of the white man's + superior skill, and wealth, and wisdom, loses at first its self-respect; + while his body, pampered with easily obtained luxuries, instead of having + to win the necessaries of life by heavy toil, loses its self-helpfulness; + and with self-respect and self-help vanish all the savage virtues, few and + flimsy as they are, and the downward road toward begging and stealing, + sottishness and idleness, is easy, if not sure. + </p> + <p> + And down that road, it really seemed at first, that poor Ayacanora was + walking fast. For the warrior-prophetess of the Omaguas soon became, to + all appearance, nothing but a very naughty child; and the Diana of the + Meta, after she had satisfied her simple wonder at the great floating + house by rambling from deck to deck, and peeping into every cupboard and + cranny, manifested a great propensity to steal and hide (she was too proud + or too shy to ask for) every trumpery which smit her fancy; and when Amyas + forbade her to take anything without leave, threatened to drown herself, + and went off and sulked all day in her cabin. Nevertheless, she obeyed + him, except in the matter of sweet things. Perhaps she craved naturally + for the vegetable food of her native forests; at all events the bishop's + stores of fruit and sweetmeats diminished rapidly; and what was worse, so + did the sweet Spanish wine which Amyas had set apart for poor Lucy's daily + cordial. Whereon another severe lecture, in which Amyas told her how mean + it was to rob poor sick Lucy; whereat she, as usual, threatened to drown + herself; and was running upon deck to do it, when Amyas caught her and + forgave her. On which a violent fit of crying, and great penitence and + promises; and a week after, Amyas found that she had cheated Satan and her + own conscience by tormenting the Portuguese steward into giving her some + other wine instead: but luckily for her, she found Amyas's warnings about + wine making her mad so far fulfilled, that she did several foolish things + one evening, and had a bad headache next morning; so the murder was out, + and Amyas ordered the steward up for a sound flogging; but Ayacanora, + honorably enough, not only begged him off, but offered to be whipped + instead of him, confessing that the poor fellow spoke truly when he swore + that she had threatened to kill him, and that he had given her the wine in + bodily fear for his life. + </p> + <p> + However, her own headache and Amyas's cold looks were lesson enough, and + after another attempt to drown herself, the wilful beauty settled down for + awhile; and what was better, could hardly be persuaded, thenceforth to her + dying day, to touch fermented liquors. + </p> + <p> + But, in the meanwhile, poor Amyas had many a brains-beating as to how he + was to tame a lady who, on the least provocation, took refuge in suicide. + Punish her he dared not, even if he had the heart. And as for putting her + ashore, he had an instinct, and surely not a superstitious one, that her + strange affection for the English was not unsent by Heaven, and that God + had committed her into his charge, and that He would require an account at + his hands of the soul of that fair lost lamb. + </p> + <p> + So, almost at his wits' end, he prayed to God, good simple fellow, and + that many a time, to show him what he should do with her before she killed + either herself, or what was just as likely, one of the crew; and it seemed + best to him to make Parson Jack teach her the rudiments of Christianity, + that she might be baptized in due time when they got home to England. + </p> + <p> + But here arose a fresh trouble—for she roundly refused to learn of + Jack, or of any one but Amyas himself; while he had many a good reason for + refusing the office of schoolmaster; so, for a week or two more, Ayacanora + remained untaught, save in the English tongue, which she picked up with + marvellous rapidity. + </p> + <p> + And next, as if troubles would never end, she took a violent dislike, not + only to John Brimblecombe, whose gait and voice she openly mimicked for + the edification of the men; but also to Will Cary, whom she never allowed + to speak to her or approach her. Perhaps she was jealous of his intimacy + with Amyas; or perhaps, with the subtle instinct of a woman, she knew that + he was the only other man on board who might dare to make love to her + (though Will, to do him justice, was as guiltless of any such intention as + Amyas himself). But when she was remonstrated with, her only answer was + that Cary was a cacique as well as Amyas, and that there ought not to be + two caciques; and one day she actually proposed to Amyas to kill his + supposed rival, and take the ship all to himself; and sulked for several + days at hearing Amyas, amid shouts of laughter, retail her precious advice + to its intended victim. + </p> + <p> + Moreover, the negroes came in for their share, being regarded all along by + her with an unspeakable repugnance, which showed itself at first in hiding + from them whenever she could, and, afterwards, in throwing at them + everything she could lay hands on, till the poor Quashies, in danger of + their lives, complained to Amyas, and got rest for awhile. + </p> + <p> + Over the rest of the sailors she lorded it like a very princess, calling + them from their work to run on her errands and make toys for her, + enforcing her commands now and then by a shrewd box on the ears; while the + good fellows, especially old Yeo, like true sailors, petted her, obeyed + her, even jested with her, much as they might have done with a tame + leopard, whose claws might be unsheathed and about their ears at any + moment. But she amused them, and amused Amyas too. They must of course + have a pet; and what prettier one could they have? And as for Amyas, the + constant interest of her presence, even the constant anxiety of her + wilfulness, kept his mind busy, and drove out many a sad foreboding about + that meeting with his mother, and the tragedy which he had to tell her, + which would otherwise, so heavily did they weigh on him, have crushed his + spirit with melancholy, and made all his worldly success and marvellous + deliverance worthless in his eyes. + </p> + <p> + At last the matter, as most things luckily do, came to a climax; and it + came in this way. + </p> + <p> + The ship had been slipping along now for many a day, slowly but steadily + before a favorable breeze. She had passed the ring of the West India + islands, and was now crawling, safe from all pursuit, through the vast + weed-beds of the Sargasso Sea. There, for the first time, it was thought + safe to relax the discipline which had been hitherto kept up, and to + “rummage” (as was the word in those days) their noble prize. What they + found, of gold and silver, jewels, and merchandise, will interest no + readers. Suffice it to say, that there was enough there, with the other + treasure, to make Amyas rich for life, after all claims of Cary's and the + crew, not forgetting Mr. Salterne's third, as owner of the ship, had been + paid off. But in the captain's cabin were found two chests, one full of + gorgeous Mexican feather dresses, and the other of Spanish and East Indian + finery, which, having come by way of Havana and Cartagena, was going on, + it seemed, to some senora or other at the Caracas. Which two chests were, + at Cary's proposal, voted amid the acclamations of the crew to Ayacanora, + as her due and fit share of the pillage, in consideration of her Amazonian + prowess and valuable services. + </p> + <p> + So the poor child took greedy possession of the trumpery, had them carried + into Lucy's cabin, and there knelt gloating over them many an hour. The + Mexican work she chose to despise as savage; but the Spanish dresses were + a treasure; and for two or three days she appeared on the quarter-deck, + sunning herself like a peacock before the eyes of Amyas in Seville + mantillas, Madrid hats, Indian brocade farthingales, and I know not how + many other gewgaws, and dare not say how put on. + </p> + <p> + The crew tittered: Amyas felt much more inclined to cry. There is nothing + so pathetic as a child's vanity, saving a grown person aping a child's + vanity; and saving, too, a child's agony of disappointment when it finds + that it has been laughed at instead of being admired. Amyas would have + spoken, but he was afraid: however, the evil brought its own cure. The + pageant went on, as its actor thought, most successfully for three days or + so; but at last the dupe, unable to contain herself longer, appealed to + Amyas,—“Ayacanora quite English girl now; is she not?”—heard a + titter behind her, looked round, saw a dozen honest faces in broad grin, + comprehended all in a moment, darted down the companion-ladder, and + vanished. + </p> + <p> + Amyas, fully expecting her to jump overboard, followed as fast as he + could. But she had locked herself in with Lucy, and he could hear her + violent sobs, and Lucy's faint voice entreating to know what was the + matter. + </p> + <p> + In vain he knocked. She refused to come out all day, and at even they were + forced to break the door open, to prevent Lucy being starved. + </p> + <p> + There sat Ayacanora, her finery half torn off, and scattered about the + floor in spite, crying still as if her heart would break; while poor Lucy + cried too, half from fright and hunger, and half for company. + </p> + <p> + Amyas tried to comfort the poor child, assured her that the men should + never laugh at her again; “But then,” added he, “you must not be so—so—” + What to say he hardly knew. + </p> + <p> + “So what?” asked she, crying more bitterly than ever. + </p> + <p> + “So like a wild girl, Ayacanora.” + </p> + <p> + Her hands dropped on her knees: a strong spasm ran through her throat and + bosom, and she fell on her knees before him, and looked up imploringly in + his face. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; wild girl—poor, bad wild girl. . . . But I will be English + girl now!” + </p> + <p> + “Fine clothes will never make you English, my child,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “No! not English clothes—English heart! Good heart, like yours! Yes, + I will be good, and Sir John shall teach me!” + </p> + <p> + “There's my good maid,” said Amyas. “Sir John shall begin and teach you + to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “No! Now! now! Ayacanora cannot wait. She will drown herself if she is bad + another day! Come, now!” + </p> + <p> + And she made him fetch Brimblecombe, heard the honest fellow patiently for + an hour or more, and told Lucy that very night all that he had said. And + from that day, whenever Jack went in to read and pray with the poor + sufferer, Ayacanora, instead of escaping on deck as before, stood + patiently trying to make it all out, and knelt when he knelt, and tried to + pray too—that she might have an English heart; and doubtless her + prayers, dumb as they were, were not unheard. + </p> + <p> + So went on a few days more, hopefully enough, without any outbreak, till + one morning, just after they had passed the Sargasso-beds. The ship was + taking care of herself; the men were all on deck under the awning, + tinkering, and cobbling, and chatting; Brimblecombe was catechising his + fair pupil in the cabin; Amyas and Cary, cigar in mouth, were chatting + about all heaven and earth, and, above all, of the best way of getting up + a fresh adventure against the Spaniards as soon as they returned; while + Amyas was pouring out to Will that dark hatred of the whole nation, that + dark purpose of revenge for his brother and for Rose, which had settled + down like a murky cloud into every cranny of his heart and mind. Suddenly + there was a noise below; a scuffle and a shout, which made them both leap + to their feet; and up on deck rushed Jack Brimblecombe, holding his head + on with both his hands. + </p> + <p> + “Save me! save me from that she-fiend! She is possessed with a legion! She + has broken my nose—torn out half my hair!—and I'm sure I have + none to spare! Here she comes! Stand by me, gentlemen both! Satanas, I + defy thee!” And Jack ensconced himself behind the pair, as Ayacanora + whirled upon deck like a very Maenad, and, seeing Amyas, stopped short. + </p> + <p> + “If you had defied Satan down below there,” said Cary, with a laugh, “I + suspect he wouldn't have broken out on you so boldly, Master Jack.” + </p> + <p> + “I am innocent—innocent as the babe unborn! Oh! Mr. Cary! this is + too bad of you, sir!” quoth Jack indignantly, while Amyas asked what was + the matter. + </p> + <p> + “He looked at me,” said she, sturdily. + </p> + <p> + “Well, a cat may look at a king.” + </p> + <p> + “But he sha'n't look at Ayacanora. Nobody shall but you, or I'll kill + him!” + </p> + <p> + In vain Jack protested his innocence of having even looked at her. The + fancy (and I verily believe it was nothing more) had taken possession of + her. She refused to return below to her lesson. Jack went off grumbling, + minus his hair, and wore a black eye for a week after. + </p> + <p> + “At all events,” quoth Cary, re-lighting his cigar, “it's a fault on the + right side.” + </p> + <p> + “God give me grace, or it may be one on the wrong side for me.” + </p> + <p> + “He will, old heart-of-oak!” said Cary, laying his arm around Amyas's + neck, to the evident disgust of Ayacanora, who went off to the side, got a + fishing-line, and began amusing herself therewith, while the ship slipped + on quietly and silently as ever, save when Ayacanora laughed and clapped + her hands at the flying-fish scudding from the bonitos. At last, tired of + doing nothing, she went forward to the poop-rail to listen to John Squire + the armorer, who sat tinkering a headpiece, and humming a song, mutato + nomine, concerning his native place— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Oh, Bideford is a pleasant place, it shines where it stands, + And the more I look upon it, the more my heart it warms; + For there are fair young lasses, in rows upon the quay, + To welcome gallant mariners, when they come home from say.” + </pre> + <p> + “'Tis Sunderland, John Squire, to the song, and not Bidevor,” said his + mate. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Bidevor's so good as Sunderland any day, for all there's no + say-coals there blacking a place about; and makes just so good harmonies, + Tommy Hamblyn— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Oh, if I was a herring, to swim the ocean o'er, + Or if I was a say-dove, to fly unto the shoor, + To fly unto my true love, a waiting at the door, + To wed her with a goold ring, and plough the main no moor.” + </pre> + <p> + Here Yeo broke in— + </p> + <p> + “Aren't you ashamed, John Squire, to your years, singing such carnal + vanities, after all the providences you have seen? Let the songs of Zion + be in your mouth, man, if you must needs keep a caterwauling all day like + that.” + </p> + <p> + “You sing 'em yourself then, gunner.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” says Yeo, “and why not?” And out he pulled his psalm-book, and + began a scrap of the grand old psalm— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Such as in ships and brittle barks + Into the seas descend, + Their merchandise through fearful floods + To compass and to end; + There men are forced to behold + The Lord's works what they be; + And in the dreadful deep the same, + Most marvellous they see.” + </pre> + <p> + “Humph!” said John Squire. “Very good and godly: but still I du like a + merry catch now and then, I du. Wouldn't you let a body sing 'Rumbelow'—even + when he's heaving of the anchor?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I don't know,” said Yeo; “but the Lord's people had better praise + the Lord then too, and pray for a good voyage, instead of howling about— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “A randy, dandy, dandy O, + A whet of ale and brandy O, + With a rumbelow and a Westward-ho! + And heave, my mariners all, O!” + </pre> + <p> + “Is that fit talk for immortal souls? How does that child's-trade sound + beside the Psalms, John Squire?” + </p> + <p> + Now it befell that Salvation Yeo, for the very purpose of holding up to + ridicule that time-honored melody, had put into it the true nasal twang, + and rung it out as merrily as he had done perhaps twelve years before, + when he got up John Oxenham's anchor in Plymouth Sound. And it befell also + that Ayacanora, as she stood by Amyas's side, watching the men, and trying + to make out their chat, heard it, and started; and then, half to herself, + took up the strain, and sang it over again, word for word, in the very + same tune and tone. + </p> + <p> + Salvation Yeo started in his turn, and turned deadly pale. + </p> + <p> + “Who sung that?” he asked quickly. + </p> + <p> + “The little maid here. She's coming on nicely in her English,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “The little maid?” said Yeo, turning paler still. “Why do you go about to + scare an old servant, by talking of little maids, Captain Amyas? Well,” he + said aloud to himself, “as I am a sinful saint, if I hadn't seen where the + voice came from, I could have sworn it was her; just as we taught her to + sing it by the river there, I and William Penberthy of Marazion, my good + comrade. The Lord have mercy on me!” + </p> + <p> + All were silent as the grave whenever Yeo made any allusion to that lost + child. Ayacanora only, pleased with Amyas's commendation, went humming on + to herself— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “And heave, my mariners all, O!” + </pre> + <p> + Yeo started up from the gun where he sat. + </p> + <p> + “I can't abear it! As I live, I can't! You, Indian maiden, where did you + learn to sing that there?” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora looked up at him, half frightened by his vehemence, then at + Amyas, to see if she had been doing anything wrong; and then turned + saucily away, looked over the side, and hummed on. + </p> + <p> + “Ask her, for mercy's sake—ask her, Captain Leigh!” + </p> + <p> + “My child,” said Amyas, speaking in Indian, “how is it you sing that so + much better than any other English? Did you ever hear it before?” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora looked up at him puzzled, and shook her head; and then— + </p> + <p> + “If you tell Indian to Ayacanora, she dumb. She must be English girl now, + like poor Lucy.” + </p> + <p> + “Well then,” said Amyas, “do you recollect, Ayacanora—do you + recollect—what shall I say? anything that happened when you were a + little girl?” + </p> + <p> + She paused awhile; and then moving her hands overhead— + </p> + <p> + “Trees—great trees like the Magdalena—always nothing but trees—wild + and bad everything. Ayacanora won't talk about that.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mind anything that grew on those trees?” asked Yeo, eagerly. + </p> + <p> + She laughed. “Silly! Flowers and fruit, and nuts—grow on all trees, + and monkey-cups too. Ayacanora climbed up after them—when she was + wild. I won't tell any more.” + </p> + <p> + “But who taught you to call them monkey-cups?” asked Yeo, trembling with + excitement. + </p> + <p> + “Monkey's drink; mono drink.” + </p> + <p> + “Mono?” said Yeo, foiled on one cast, and now trying another. “How did you + know the beasts were called monos?” + </p> + <p> + “She might have heard it coming down with us,” said Cary, who had joined + the group. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, monos,” said she, in a self-justifying tone. “Faces like little men, + and tails. And one very dirty black one, with a beard, say Amen in a tree + to all the other monkeys, just like Sir John on Sunday.” + </p> + <p> + This allusion to Brimblecombe and the preaching apes upset all but old + Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “But don't you recollect any Christians?—white people?” + </p> + <p> + She was silent. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you mind a white lady?” + </p> + <p> + “Um?” + </p> + <p> + “A woman, a very pretty woman, with hair like his?” pointing to Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mind, then, beside those Indians?” added Yeo, in despair. + </p> + <p> + She turned her back on him peevishly, as if tired with the efforts of her + memory. + </p> + <p> + “Do try to remember,” said Amyas; and she set to work again at once. + </p> + <p> + “Ayacanora mind great monkeys—black, oh, so high,” and she held up + her hand above her head, and made a violent gesture of disgust. + </p> + <p> + “Monkeys? what, with tails?” + </p> + <p> + “No, like man. Ah! yes—just like Cooky there—dirty Cooky!” + </p> + <p> + And that hapless son of Ham, who happened to be just crossing the + main-deck, heard a marlingspike, which by ill luck was lying at hand, + flying past his ears. + </p> + <p> + “Ayacanora, if you heave any more things at Cooky, I must have you + whipped,” said Amyas, without, of course, any such intention. + </p> + <p> + “I'll kill you, then,” answered she, in the most matter-of-fact tone. + </p> + <p> + “She must mean negurs,” said Yeo; “I wonder where she saw them, now. What + if it were they Cimaroons?” + </p> + <p> + “But why should any one who had seen whites forget them, and yet remember + negroes?” asked Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Let us try again. Do you mind no great monkeys but those black ones?” + asked Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” she said, after a while,—“devil.” + </p> + <p> + “Devil?” asked all three, who, of course, were by no means free from the + belief that the fiend did actually appear to the Indian conjurors, such as + had brought up the girl. + </p> + <p> + “Ay, him Sir John tell about on Sundays.” + </p> + <p> + “Save and help us!” said Yeo; “and what was he like unto?” + </p> + <p> + She made various signs to intimate that he had a monkey's face, and a gray + beard like Yeo's. So far so good: but now came a series of manipulations + about her pretty little neck, which set all their fancies at fault. + </p> + <p> + “I know,” said Cary, at last, bursting into a great laugh. “Sir Urian had + a ruff on, as I live! Trunk-hose too, my fair dame? Stop—I'll make + sure. Was his neck like the senor commandant's, the Spaniard?” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora clapped her hands at finding herself understood, and the + questioning went on. + </p> + <p> + “The 'devil' appeared like a monkey, with a gray beard, in a ruff;—humph!—” + </p> + <p> + “Ay!” said she in good enough Spanish, “Mono de Panama; viejo diablo de + Panama.” + </p> + <p> + Yeo threw up his hands with a shriek—“Oh Lord of all mercies! Those + were the last words of Mr. John Oxenham! Ay—and the devil is surely + none other than the devil Don Francisco Xararte! Oh dear! oh dear! oh + dear! my sweet young lady! my pretty little maid! and don't you know me? + Don't you know Salvation Yeo, that carried you over the mountains, and + used to climb for the monkey-cups for you, my dear young lady? And William + Penberthy too, that used to get you flowers; and your poor dear father, + that was just like Mr. Cary there, only he had a black beard, and black + curls, and swore terribly in his speech, like a Spaniard, my dear young + lady?” + </p> + <p> + And the honest fellow, falling on his knees, covered Ayacanora's hands + with kisses; while all the crew, fancying him gone suddenly mad, crowded + aft. + </p> + <p> + “Steady, men, and don't vex him!” said Amyas. “He thinks that he has found + his little maid at last.” + </p> + <p> + “And so do I, Amyas, as I live,” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Steady, steady, my masters all! If this turn out a wrong scent after all, + his wits will crack. Mr. Yeo, can't you think of any other token?” + </p> + <p> + Yeo stamped impatiently. “What need then? it's her, I tell ye, and that's + enough! What a beauty she's grown! Oh dear! where were my eyes all this + time, to behold her, and not to see her! 'Tis her very mortal self, it is! + And don't you mind me, my dear, now? Don't you mind Salvation Yeo, that + taught you to sing 'Heave my mariners all, O!' a-sitting on a log by the + boat upon the sand, and there was a sight of red lilies grew on it in the + moss, dear, now, wasn't there? and we made posies of them to put in your + hair, now?”—And the poor old man ran on in a supplicating, + suggestive tone, as if he could persuade the girl into becoming the person + whom he sought. + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora had watched him, first angry, then amused, then attentive, and + at last with the most intense earnestness. Suddenly she grew crimson, and + snatching her hands from the old man's, hid her face in them, and stood. + </p> + <p> + “Do you remember anything of all this, my child?” asked Amyas, gently. + </p> + <p> + She lifted up her eyes suddenly to his, with a look of imploring agony, as + if beseeching him to spare her. The death of a whole old life, the birth + of a whole new life, was struggling in that beautiful face, choking in + that magnificent throat, as she threw back her small head, and drew in her + breath, and dashed her locks back from her temples, as if seeking for + fresh air. She shuddered, reeled, then fell weeping on the bosom, not of + Salvation Yeo, but of Amyas Leigh. + </p> + <p> + He stood still a minute or two, bearing that fair burden, ere he could + recollect himself. Then,— + </p> + <p> + “Ayacanora, you are not yet mistress of yourself, my child. You were + better to go down, and see after poor Lucy, and we will talk about it all + to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + She gathered herself up instantly, and with eyes fixed on the deck slid + through the group, and disappeared below. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” said Yeo, with a tone of exquisite sadness; “the young to the young! + Over land and sea, in the forests and in the galleys, in battle and + prison, I have sought her! And now!—” + </p> + <p> + “My good friend,” said Amyas, “neither are you master of yourself yet. + When she comes round again, whom will she love and thank but you?” + </p> + <p> + “You, sir! She owes all to you; and so do I. Let me go below, sir. My old + wits are shaky. Bless you, sir, and thank you for ever and ever!” + </p> + <p> + And Yeo grasped Amyas's hand, and went down to his cabin, from which he + did not reappear for many hours. + </p> + <p> + From that day Ayacanora was a new creature. The thought that she was an + Englishwoman; that she, the wild Indian, was really one of the great white + people whom she had learned to worship, carried in it some regenerating + change: she regained all her former stateliness, and with it a + self-restraint, a temperance, a softness which she had never shown before. + Her dislike to Cary and Jack vanished. Modest and distant as ever, she now + took delight in learning from them about England and English people; and + her knowledge of our customs gained much from the somewhat fantastic + behaviour which Amyas thought good, for reasons of his own, to assume + toward her. He assigned her a handsome cabin to herself, always addressed + her as madam, and told Cary, Brimblecombe, and the whole crew that as she + was a lady and a Christian, he expected them to behave to her as such. So + there was as much bowing and scraping on the poop as if it had been a + prince's court: and Ayacanora, though sorely puzzled and chagrined at + Amyas's new solemnity, contrived to imitate it pretty well (taking for + granted that it was the right thing); and having tolerable masters in the + art of manners (for both Amyas and Cary were thoroughly well-bred men), + profited much in all things, except in intimacy with Amyas, who had, + cunning fellow, hit on this parade of good manners, as a fresh means of + increasing the distance between him and her. The crew, of course, though + they were a little vexed at losing their pet, consoled themselves with the + thought that she was a “real born lady,” and Mr. Oxenham's daughter, too; + and there was not a man on board who did not prick up his ears for a + message if she approached him, or one who would not have, I verily + believe, jumped overboard to do her a pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Only Yeo kept sorrowfully apart. He never looked at her, spoke to her, met + her even, if he could. His dream had vanished. He had found her! and after + all, she did not care for him? Why should she? + </p> + <p> + But it was hard to have hunted a bubble for years, and have it break in + his hand at last. “Set not your affections on things on the earth,” + murmured Yeo to himself, as he pored over his Bible, in the vain hope of + forgetting his little maid. + </p> + <p> + But why did Amyas wish to increase the distance between himself and + Ayacanora? Many reasons might be given: I deny none of them. But the main + one, fantastic as it may seem, was simply, that while she had discovered + herself to be an Englishwoman, he had discovered her to be a Spaniard. If + her father were seven times John Oxenham (and even that the perverse + fellow was inclined to doubt), her mother was a Spaniard—Pah! one of + the accursed race; kinswoman—perhaps, to his brother's murderers! + His jaundiced eyes could see nothing but the Spanish element in her; or, + indeed, in anything else. As Cary said to him once, using a cant phrase of + Sidney's, which he had picked up from Frank, all heaven and earth were + “spaniolated,” to him. He seemed to recollect nothing but that Heaven had + “made Spaniards to be killed, and him to kill them.” If he had not been + the most sensible of John Bulls, he would certainly have forestalled the + monomania of that young Frenchman of rank, who, some eighty years after + him, so maddened his brain by reading of the Spanish cruelties, that he + threw up all his prospects and turned captain of filibusters in the West + Indies, for the express purpose of ridding them of their tyrants; and when + a Spanish ship was taken, used to relinquish the whole booty to his crew, + and reserve for himself only the pleasure of witnessing his victims' dying + agonies. + </p> + <p> + But what had become of that bird-like song of Ayacanora's which had + astonished them on the banks of the Meta, and cheered them many a time in + their anxious voyage down the Magdalena? From the moment that she found + out her English parentage, it stopped. She refused utterly to sing + anything but the songs and psalms which she picked up from the English. + Whether it was that she despised it as a relic of her barbarism, or + whether it was too maddening for one whose heart grew heavier and humbler + day by day, the nightingale notes were heard no more. + </p> + <p> + So homeward they ran, before a favoring southwest breeze: but long ere + they were within sight of land, Lucy Passmore was gone to her rest beneath + the Atlantic waves. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW AMYAS CAME HOME THE THIRD TIME + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “It fell about the Martinmas, + When nights were lang and mirk, + That wife's twa sons cam hame again, + And their hats were o' the birk. + + “It did na graw by bush or brae, + Nor yet in ony shough; + But by the gates o' paradise + That birk grew fair eneugh.” + + The Wife of Usher's Well. +</pre> + <p> + It is the evening of the 15th of February, 1587, and Mrs. Leigh (for we + must return now to old scenes and old faces) is pacing slowly up and down + the terrace-walk at Burrough, looking out over the winding river, and the + hazy sand-hills, and the wide western sea, as she has done every evening, + be it fair weather or foul, for three weary years. Three years and more + are past and gone, and yet no news of Frank and Amyas, and the gallant + ship and all the gallant souls therein; and loving eyes in Bideford and + Appledore, Clovelly and Ilfracombe, have grown hollow with watching and + with weeping for those who have sailed away into the West, as John Oxenham + sailed before them, and have vanished like a dream, as he did, into the + infinite unknown. Three weary years, and yet no word. Once there was a + flush of hope, and good Sir Richard (without Mrs. Leigh's knowledge), had + sent a horseman posting across to Plymouth, when the news arrived that + Drake, Frobisher, and Carlisle had returned with their squadron from the + Spanish Main. Alas! he brought back great news, glorious news; news of the + sacking of Cartagena, San Domingo, Saint Augustine; of the relief of + Raleigh's Virginian Colony: but no news of the Rose, and of those who had + sailed in her. And Mrs. Leigh bowed her head, and worshipped, and said, + “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the + Lord!” + </p> + <p> + Her hair was now grown gray; her cheeks were wan; her step was feeble. She + seldom went from home, save to the church, and to the neighboring + cottages. She never mentioned her sons' names; never allowed a word to + pass her lips, which might betoken that she thought of them; but every + day, when the tide was high, and red flag on the sandhills showed that + there was water over the bar, she paced the terrace-walk, and devoured + with greedy eyes the sea beyond in search of the sail which never came. + The stately ships went in and out as of yore; and white sails hung off the + bar for many an hour, day after day, month after month, year after year: + but an instinct within told her that none of them were the sails she + sought. She knew that ship, every line of her, the cut of every cloth; she + could have picked it out miles away, among a whole fleet, but it never + came, and Mrs. Leigh bowed her head and worshipped, and went to and fro + among the poor, who looked on her as an awful being, and one whom God had + brought very near to Himself, in that mysterious heaven of sorrow which + they too knew full well. And lone women and bed-ridden men looked in her + steadfast eyes, and loved them, and drank in strength from them; for they + knew (though she never spoke of her own grief) that she had gone down into + the fiercest depths of the fiery furnace, and was walking there unhurt by + the side of One whose form was as of the Son of God. And all the while she + was blaming herself for her “earthly” longings, and confessing nightly to + Heaven that weakness which she could not shake off, which drew her feet at + each high tide to the terrace-walk beneath the row of wind-clipt trees. + </p> + <p> + But this evening Northam is in a stir. The pebble ridge is thundering far + below, as it thundered years ago: but Northam is noisy enough without the + rolling of the surge. The tower is rocking with the pealing bells: the + people are all in the streets shouting and singing round bonfires. They + are burning the pope in effigy, drinking to the queen's health, and “So + perish all her enemies!” The hills are red with bonfires in every village; + and far away, the bells of Bideford are answering the bells of Northam, as + they answered them seven years ago, when Amyas returned from sailing round + the world. For this day has come the news that Mary Queen of Scots is + beheaded in Fotheringay; and all England, like a dreamer who shakes off + some hideous nightmare, has leapt up in one tremendous shout of + jubilation, as the terror and the danger of seventeen anxious years is + lifted from its heart for ever. + </p> + <p> + Yes, she is gone, to answer at a higher tribunal than that of the Estates + of England, for all the noble English blood which has been poured out for + her; for all the noble English hearts whom she has tempted into treachery, + rebellion, and murder. Elizabeth's own words have been fulfilled at last, + after years of long-suffering,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The daughter of debate, + That discord aye doth sow, + Hath reap'd no gain where former rule + Hath taught still peace to grow.” + </pre> + <p> + And now she can do evil no more. Murder and adultery, the heart which knew + no forgiveness, the tongue which could not speak truth even for its own + interest, have past and are perhaps atoned for; and her fair face hangs a + pitiful dream in the memory even of those who knew that either she, or + England, must perish. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Nothing is left of her + Now, but pure womanly.” + </pre> + <p> + And Mrs. Leigh, Protestant as she is, breathes a prayer, that the Lord may + have mercy on that soul, as “clear as diamond, and as hard,” as she said + of herself. That last scene, too, before the fatal block—it could + not be altogether acting. Mrs. Leigh had learned many a priceless lesson + in the last seven years; might not Mary Stuart have learned something in + seventeen? And Mrs. Leigh had been a courtier, and knew, as far as a + chaste Englishwoman could know (which even in those coarser days was not + very much), of that godless style of French court profligacy in which poor + Mary had had her youthful training, amid the Medicis, and the Guises, and + Cardinal Lorraine; and she shuddered, and sighed to herself”—To whom + little is given, of them shall little be required!” But still the bells + pealed on and would not cease. + </p> + <p> + What was that which answered them from afar out of the fast darkening + twilight? A flash, and then the thunder of a gun at sea. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh stopped. The flash was right outside the bar. A ship in + distress it could not be. The wind was light and westerly. It was a high + spring-tide, as evening floods are always there. What could it be? Another + flash, another gun. The noisy folks of Northam were hushed at once, and + all hurried into the churchyard which looks down on the broad flats and + the river. + </p> + <p> + There was a gallant ship outside the bar. She was running in, too, with + all sails set. A large ship; nearly a thousand tons she might be; but not + of English rig. What was the meaning of it? A Spanish cruiser about to + make reprisals for Drake's raid along the Cadiz shore! Not that, surely. + The Don had no fancy for such unscientific and dare-devil warfare. If he + came, he would come with admiral, rear-admiral, and vice-admiral, + transports, and avisos, according to the best-approved methods, articles, + and science of war. What could she be? + </p> + <p> + Easily, on the flowing tide and fair western wind, she has slipped up the + channel between the two lines of sandhill. She is almost off Appledore + now. She is no enemy; and if she be a foreigner, she is a daring one, for + she has never veiled her topsails,—and that, all know, every foreign + ship must do within sight of an English port, or stand the chance of war; + as the Spanish admiral found, who many a year since was sent in time of + peace to fetch home from Flanders Anne of Austria, Philip the Second's + last wife. + </p> + <p> + For in his pride he sailed into Plymouth Sound without veiling topsails, + or lowering the flag of Spain. Whereon, like lion from his den, out rushed + John Hawkins the port admiral, in his famous Jesus of Lubec (afterwards + lost in the San Juan d'Ulloa fight), and without argument or parley, sent + a shot between the admiral's masts; which not producing the desired + effect, alongside ran bold Captain John, and with his next shot, so says + his son, an eye-witness, “lackt the admiral through and through;” whereon + down came the offending flag; and due apologies were made, but not + accepted for a long time by the stout guardian of her majesty's honor. And + if John Hawkins did as much for a Spanish fleet in time of peace, there is + more than one old sea-dog in Appledore who will do as much for a single + ship in time of war, if he can find even an iron pot to burn powder + withal. + </p> + <p> + The strange sail passed out of sight behind the hill of Appledore; and + then there rose into the quiet evening air a cheer, as from a hundred + throats. Mrs. Leigh stood still, and listened. Another gun thundered among + the hills; and then another cheer. + </p> + <p> + It might have been twenty minutes before the vessel hove in sight again + round the dark rocks of the Hubbastone, as she turned up the Bideford + river. Mrs. Leigh had stood that whole time perfectly motionless, a pale + and scarcely breathing statue, her eyes fixed upon the Viking's rock. + </p> + <p> + Round the Hubbastone she came at last. There was music on board, drums and + fifes, shawms and trumpets, which wakened ringing echoes from every knoll + of wood and slab of slate. And as she opened full on Burrough House, + another cheer burst from her crew, and rolled up to the hills from off the + silver waters far below, full a mile away. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh walked quickly toward the house, and called her maid,— + </p> + <p> + “Grace, bring me my hood. Master Amyas is come home!” + </p> + <p> + “No, surely? O joyful sound! Praised and blessed be the Lord, then; + praised and blessed be the Lord! But, madam, however did you know that?” + </p> + <p> + “I heard his voice on the river; but I did not hear Mr. Frank's with him, + Grace!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, be sure, madam, where the one is the other is. They'd never part + company. Both come home or neither, I'll warrant. Here's your hood, + madam.” + </p> + <p> + And Mrs. Leigh, with Grace behind her, started with rapid steps towards + Bideford. + </p> + <p> + Was it true? Was it a dream? Had the divine instinct of the mother enabled + her to recognize her child's voice among all the rest, and at that + enormous distance; or was her brain turning with the long effort of her + supernatural calm? + </p> + <p> + Grace asked herself, in her own way, that same question many a time + between Burrough and Bideford. When they arrived on the quay the question + answered itself. + </p> + <p> + As they came down Bridgeland Street (where afterwards the tobacco + warehouses for the Virginia trade used to stand, but which then was but a + row of rope-walks and sailmakers' shops), they could see the strange ship + already at anchor in the river. They had just reached the lower end of the + street, when round the corner swept a great mob, sailors, women, + 'prentices, hurrahing, questioning, weeping, laughing: Mrs. Leigh stopped; + and behold, they stopped also. + </p> + <p> + “Here she is!” shouted some one; “here's his mother!” + </p> + <p> + “His mother? Not their mother!” said Mrs. Leigh to herself, and turned + very pale; but that heart was long past breaking. + </p> + <p> + The next moment the giant head and shoulders of Amyas, far above the + crowd, swept round the corner. + </p> + <p> + “Make a way! Make room for Madam Leigh!”—And Amyas fell on his knees + at her feet. + </p> + <p> + She threw her arms round his neck, and bent her fair head over his, while + sailors, 'prentices, and coarse harbor-women were hushed into holy + silence, and made a ring round the mother and the son. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh asked no question. She saw that Amyas was alone. + </p> + <p> + At last he whispered, “I would have died to save him, mother, if I could.” + </p> + <p> + “You need not tell me that, Amyas Leigh, my son.” + </p> + <p> + Another silence. + </p> + <p> + “How did he die?” whispered Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “He is a martyr. He died in the——” + </p> + <p> + Amyas could say no more. + </p> + <p> + “The Inquisition?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + A strong shudder passed through Mrs. Leigh's frame, and then she lifted up + her head. + </p> + <p> + “Come home, Amyas. I little expected such an honor—such an honor—ha! + ha! and such a fair young martyr, too; a very St. Stephen! God, have mercy + on me; and let me not go mad before these folk, when I ought to be + thanking Thee for Thy great mercies! Amyas, who is that?” + </p> + <p> + And she pointed to Ayacanora, who stood close behind Amyas, watching with + keen eyes the whole. + </p> + <p> + “She is a poor wild Indian girl—my daughter, I call her. I will tell + you her story hereafter.” + </p> + <p> + “Your daughter? My grand-daughter, then. Come hither, maiden, and be my + grand-daughter.” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora came obedient, and knelt down, because she had seen Amyas kneel. + </p> + <p> + “God forbid, child! kneel not to me. Come home, and let me know whether I + am sane or mazed, alive or dead.” + </p> + <p> + And drawing her hood over her face, she turned to go back, holding Amyas + tight by one hand, and Ayacanora by the other. + </p> + <p> + The crowd let them depart some twenty yards in respectful silence, and + then burst into a cheer which made the old town ring. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh stopped suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “I had forgotten, Amyas. You must not let me stand in the way of your + duty. Where are your men?” + </p> + <p> + “Kissed to death by this time; all of them, that is, who are left.” + </p> + <p> + “Left?” + </p> + <p> + “We went out a hundred, mother, and we came home forty-four—if we + are at home. Is it a dream, mother? Is this you? and this old Bridgeland + Street again? As I live, there stands Evans the smith, at his door, + tankard in hand, as he did when I was a boy!” + </p> + <p> + The brawny smith came across the street to them; but stopped when he saw + Amyas, but no Frank. + </p> + <p> + “Better one than neither, madam!” said he, trying a rough comfort. Amyas + shook his hand as he passed him; but Mrs. Leigh neither heard nor saw him + nor any one. + </p> + <p> + “Mother,” said Amyas, when they were now past the causeway, “we are rich + for life.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; a martyr's death was the fittest for him.” + </p> + <p> + “I have brought home treasure untold.” + </p> + <p> + “What, my boy?” + </p> + <p> + “Treasure untold. Cary has promised to see to it to-night.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well. I would that he had slept at our house. He was a kindly lad, + and loved Frank. When did he?”— + </p> + <p> + “Three years ago, and more. Within two months of our sailing.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! Yes, he told me so.” + </p> + <p> + “Told you so?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes; the dear lad has often come to see me in my sleep; but you never + came. I guessed how it was—as it should be.” + </p> + <p> + “But I loved you none the less, mother!” + </p> + <p> + “I know that, too: but you were busy with the men, you know, sweet; so + your spirit could not come roving home like his, which was free. Yes—all + as it should be. My maid, and do you not find it cold here in England, + after those hot regions?” + </p> + <p> + “Ayacanora's heart is warm; she does not think about cold.” + </p> + <p> + “Warm? perhaps you will warm my heart for me, then.” + </p> + <p> + “Would God I could do it, mother!” said Amyas, half reproachfully. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh looked up in his face, and burst into a violent flood of tears. + </p> + <p> + “Sinful! sinful that I am!” + </p> + <p> + “Blessed creature!” cried Amyas, “if you speak so I shall go mad. Mother, + mother, I have been dreading this meeting for months. It has been a + nightmare hanging over me like a horrible black thunder-cloud; a great + cliff miles high, with its top hid in the clouds, which I had to climb, + and dare not. I have longed to leap overboard, and flee from it like a + coward into the depths of the sea.—The thought that you might ask me + whether I was not my brother's keeper—that you might require his + blood at my hands—and now, now! when it comes! to find you all love, + and trust, and patience—mother, mother, it's more than I can bear!” + and he wept violently. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh knew enough of Amyas to know that any burst of this kind, from + his quiet nature, betokened some very fearful struggle; and the loving + creature forgot everything instantly, in the one desire to soothe him. + </p> + <p> + And soothe him she did; and home the two went, arm in arm together, while + Ayacanora held fast, like a child, by the skirt of Mrs. Leigh's cloak. The + self-help and daring of the forest nymph had given place to the trembling + modesty of the young girl, suddenly cast on shore in a new world, among + strange faces, strange hopes, and strange fears also. + </p> + <p> + “Will your mother love me?” whispered she to Amyas, as she went in. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; but you must do what she tells you.” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora pouted. + </p> + <p> + “She will laugh at me, because I am wild.” + </p> + <p> + “She never laughs at any one.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Ayacanora. “Well, I shall not be afraid of her. I thought + she would have been tall like you; but she is not even as big as me.” + </p> + <p> + This hardly sounded hopeful for the prospect of Ayacanora's obedience; but + ere twenty-four hours had passed, Mrs. Leigh had won her over utterly; and + she explained her own speech by saying that she thought so great a man + ought to have a great mother. She had expected, poor thing, in her + simplicity, some awful princess with a frown like Juno's own, and found + instead a healing angel. + </p> + <p> + Her story was soon told to Mrs. Leigh, who of course, woman-like, would + not allow a doubt as to her identity. And the sweet mother never imprinted + a prouder or fonder kiss upon her son's forehead, than that with which she + repaid his simple declaration, that he had kept unspotted, like a + gentleman and a Christian, the soul which God had put into his charge. + </p> + <p> + “Then you have forgiven me, mother?” + </p> + <p> + “Years ago I said in this same room, what should I render to the Lord for + having given me two such sons? And in this room I say it once again. Tell + me all about my other son, that I may honor him as I honor you.” + </p> + <p> + And then, with the iron nerve which good women have, she made him give her + every detail of Lucy Passmore's story and of all which had happened from + the day of their sailing to that luckless night at Guayra. And when it was + done, she led Ayacanora out, and began busying herself about the girl's + comforts, as calmly as if Frank and Amyas had been sleeping in their cribs + in the next room. + </p> + <p> + But she had hardly gone upstairs, when a loud knock at the door was + followed by its opening hastily; and into the hall burst, regardless of + etiquette, the tall and stately figure of Sir Richard Grenville. + </p> + <p> + Amyas dropped on his knees instinctively. The stern warrior was quite + unmanned; and as he bent over his godson, a tear dropped from that iron + cheek, upon the iron cheek of Amyas Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “My lad! my glorious lad! and where have you been? Get up, and tell me + all. The sailors told me a little, but I must hear every word. I knew you + would do something grand. I told your mother you were too good a workman + for God to throw away. Now, let me have the whole story. Why, I am out of + breath! To tell truth, I ran three-parts of the way hither.” + </p> + <p> + And down the two sat, and Amyas talked long into the night; while Sir + Richard, his usual stateliness recovered, smiled stern approval at each + deed of daring; and when all was ended, answered with something like a + sigh: + </p> + <p> + “Would God that I had been with you every step! Would God, at least, that + I could show as good a three-years' log-book, Amyas, my lad!” + </p> + <p> + “You can show a better one, I doubt not.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph! With the exception of one paltry Spanish prize, I don't know that + the queen is the better, or her enemies the worse, for me, since we parted + last in Dublin city.” + </p> + <p> + “You are too modest, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Would that I were; but I got on in Ireland, I found, no better than my + neighbors; and so came home again, to find that while I had been wasting + my time in that land of misrule, Raleigh had done a deed to which I can + see no end. For, lad, he has found (or rather his two captains, Amadas and + Barlow, have found for him) between Florida and Newfoundland, a country, + the like of which, I believe, there is not on the earth for climate and + fertility. Whether there be gold there, I know not, and it matters little; + for there is all else on earth that man can want; furs, timber, rivers, + game, sugar-canes, corn, fruit, and every commodity which France, Spain, + or Italy can yield, wild in abundance; the savages civil enough for + savages, and, in a word, all which goes to the making of as noble a jewel + as her majesty's crown can wear. The people call it Wingandacoa; but we, + after her majesty, Virginia.” + </p> + <p> + “You have been there, then?” + </p> + <p> + “The year before last, lad; and left there Ralf Lane, Amadas, and some + twenty gentlemen, and ninety men, and, moreover, some money of my own, and + some of old Will Salterne's, which neither of us will ever see again. For + the colony, I know not how, quarrelled with the Indians (I fear I too was + over-sharp with some of them for stealing—if I was, God forgive + me!), and could not, forsooth, keep themselves alive for twelve months; so + that Drake, coming back from his last West Indian voyage, after giving + them all the help he could, had to bring the whole party home. And if you + will believe it, the faint-hearted fellows had not been gone a fortnight, + before I was back again with three ships and all that they could want. And + never was I more wroth in my life, when all I found was the ruins of their + huts, which (so rich is the growth there) were already full of great + melons, and wild deer feeding thereon—a pretty sight enough, but not + what I wanted just then. So back I came; and being in no overgood temper, + vented my humors on the Portugals at the Azores, and had hard fights and + small booty. So there the matter stands, but not for long; for shame it + were if such a paradise, once found by Britons, should fall into the hands + of any but her majesty; and we will try again this spring, if men and + money can be found. Eh, lad?” + </p> + <p> + “But the prize?” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! that was no small make-weight to our disasters, after all. I sighted + her for six days' sail from the American coast: but ere we could lay her + aboard it fell dead calm. Never a boat had I on board—they were all + lost in a gale of wind—and the other ships were becalmed two leagues + astern of me. There was no use lying there and pounding her till she sank; + so I called the carpenter, got up all the old chests, and with them and + some spars we floated ourselves alongside, and only just in time. For the + last of us had hardly scrambled up into the chains, when our crazy Noah's + ark went all aboard, and sank at the side, so that if we had been minded + to run away, Amyas, we could not; whereon, judging valor to be the better + part of discretion (as I usually do), we fell to with our swords and had + her in five minutes, and fifty thousand pounds' worth in her, which set up + my purse again, and Raleigh's too, though I fear it has run out again + since as fast as it ran in.” + </p> + <p> + And so ended Sir Richard's story. + </p> + <p> + Amyas went the next day to Salterne, and told his tale. The old man had + heard the outlines of it already: but he calmly bade him sit down, and + listened to all, his chin upon his hand, his elbows on his knees. His + cheek never blanched, his lips never quivered throughout. Only when Amyas + came to Rose's marriage, he heaved a long breath, as if a weight was taken + off his heart. + </p> + <p> + “Say that again, sir!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas said it again, and then went on; faltering, he hinted at the manner + of her death. + </p> + <p> + “Go on, sir! Why are you afraid? There is nothing to be ashamed of there, + is there?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas told the whole with downcast eyes, and then stole a look at his + hearer's face. There was no sign of emotion: only somewhat of a proud + smile curled the corners of that iron mouth. + </p> + <p> + “And her husband?” asked he, after a pause. + </p> + <p> + “I am ashamed to have to tell you, sir, that the man still lives.” + </p> + <p> + “Still lives, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Too true, as far as I know. That it was not my fault, my story bears me + witness.” + </p> + <p> + “Sir, I never doubted your will to kill him. Still lives, you say? Well, + so do rats and adders. And now, I suppose, Captain Leigh, your worship is + minded to recruit yourself on shore a while with the fair lass whom you + have brought home (as I hear) before having another dash at the devil and + his kin!” + </p> + <p> + “Do not mention that young lady's name with mine, sir; she is no more to + me than she is to you; for she has Spanish blood in her veins.” + </p> + <p> + Salterne smiled grimly. + </p> + <p> + “But I am minded at least to do one thing, Mr. Salterne, and that is, to + kill Spaniards, in fair fight, by land and sea, wheresoever I shall meet + them. And, therefore, I stay not long here, whithersoever I may be bound + next.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, sir, when you start, come to me for a ship, and the best I have is + at your service; and, if she do not suit, command her to be fitted as you + like best; and I, William Salterne, will pay for all which you shall + command to be done.” + </p> + <p> + “My good sir, I have accounts to square with you after a very different + fashion. As part-adventurer in the Rose, I have to deliver to you your + share of the treasure which I have brought home.” + </p> + <p> + “My share, sir? If I understood you, my ship was lost off the coast of the + Caracas three years agone, and this treasure was all won since?” + </p> + <p> + “True; but you, as an adventurer in the expedition, have a just claim for + your share, and will receive it.” + </p> + <p> + “Captain Leigh, you are, I see, as your father was before you, a just and + upright Christian man: but, sir, this money is none of mine, for it was + won in no ship of mine.—Hear me, sir! And if it had been, and that + ship”—(he could not speak her name)—“lay safe and sound now by + Bideford quay, do you think, sir, that William Salterne is the man to make + money out of his daughter's sin and sorrow, and to handle the price of + blood? No, sir! You went like a gentleman to seek her, and like a + gentleman, as all the world knows, you have done your best, and I thank + you: but our account ends there. The treasure is yours, sir; I have + enough, and more than enough, and none, God help me, to leave it to, but + greedy and needy kin, who will be rather the worse than the better for it. + And if I have a claim in law for aught—which I know not, neither + shall ever ask—why, if you are not too proud, accept that claim as a + plain burgher's thank-offering to you, sir, for a great and a noble love + which you and your brother have shown to one who, though I say it, to my + shame, was not worthy thereof.” + </p> + <p> + “She was worthy of that and more, sir. For if she sinned like a woman, she + died like a saint.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir!” answered the old man, with a proud smile; “she had the right + English blood in her, I doubt not; and showed it at the last. But now, + sir, no more of this. When you need a ship, mine is at your service; till + then, sir, farewell, and God be with you.” + </p> + <p> + And the old man rose, and with an unmoved countenance, bowed Amyas to the + door. Amyas went back and told Cary, bidding him take half of Salterne's + gift: but Cary swore a great oath that he would have none of it. + </p> + <p> + “Heir of Clovelly, Amyas, and want to rob you? I who have lost nothing,—you + who have lost a brother! God forbid that I should ever touch a farthing + beyond my original share!” + </p> + <p> + That evening a messenger from Bideford came running breathless up to + Burrough Court. The authorities wanted Amyas's immediate attendance, for + he was one of the last, it seemed, who had seen Mr. Salterne alive. + </p> + <p> + Salterne had gone over, as soon as Amyas departed, to an old acquaintance; + signed and sealed his will in their presence with a firm and cheerful + countenance, refusing all condolence; and then gone home, and locked + himself into Rose's room. Supper-time came, and he did not appear. The + apprentices could not make him answer, and at last called in the + neighbors, and forced the door. Salterne was kneeling by his daughter's + bed; his head was upon the coverlet; his Prayer-book was open before him + at the Burial Service; his hands were clasped in supplication; but he was + dead and cold. + </p> + <p> + His will lay by him. He had left all his property among his poor + relations, saving and excepting all money, etc., due to him as owner and + part-adventurer of the ship Rose, and his new bark of three hundred tons + burden, now lying East-the-water; all which was bequeathed to Captain + Amyas Leigh, on condition that he should re-christen that bark the + Vengeance,—fit her out with part of the treasure, and with her sail + once more against the Spaniard, before three years were past. + </p> + <p> + And this was the end of William Salterne, merchant. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THE VIRGINIA FLEET WAS STOPPED BY THE QUEEN'S COMMAND + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The daughter of debate, + That discord still doth sow, + Shall reap no gain where former rule + Hath taught still peace to grow. + No foreign banish'd wight + Shall anker in this port + Our realm it brooks no stranger's force; + Let them elsewhere resort.” + + QU. ELIZABETH. 1569. +</pre> + <p> + And now Amyas is settled quietly at home again; and for the next twelve + months little passes worthy of record in these pages. Yeo has installed + himself as major domo, with no very definite functions, save those of + walking about everywhere at Amyas's heels like a lank gray wolf-hound, and + spending his evenings at the fireside, as a true old sailor does, with his + Bible on his knee, and his hands busy in manufacturing numberless + nicknacks, useful and useless, for every member of the family, and above + all for Ayacanora, whom he insults every week by humbly offering some toy + only fit for a child; at which she pouts, and is reproved by Mrs. Leigh, + and then takes the gift, and puts it away never to look at it again. For + her whole soul is set upon being an English maid; and she runs about all + day long after Mrs. Leigh, insisting upon learning the mysteries of the + kitchen and the still-room, and, above all, the art of making clothes for + herself, and at last for everybody in Northam. For first, she will be a + good housewife, like Mrs. Leigh; and next a new idea has dawned on her: + that of helping others. To the boundless hospitality of the savage she has + been of course accustomed: but to give to those who can give nothing in + return, is a new thought. She sees Mrs. Leigh spending every spare hour in + working for the poor, and visiting them in their cottages. She sees Amyas, + after public thanks in church for his safe return, giving away money, + food, what not, in Northam, Appledore, and Bideford; buying cottages and + making them almshouses for worn-out mariners; and she is told that this is + his thank-offering to God. She is puzzled; her notion of a thank-offering + was rather that of the Indians, and indeed of the Spaniards,—sacrifices + of human victims, and the bedizenment of the Great Spirit's sanctuary with + their skulls and bones. Not that Amyas, as a plain old-fashioned + churchman, was unmindful of the good old instinctive rule, that something + should be given to the Church itself; for the vicar of Northam was soon + resplendent with a new surplice, and what was more, the altar with a + splendid flagon and salver of plate (lost, I suppose, in the civil wars) + which had been taken in the great galleon. Ayacanora could understand + that: but the almsgiving she could not, till Mrs. Leigh told her, in her + simple way, that whosoever gave to the poor, gave to the Great Spirit; for + the Great Spirit was in them, and in Ayacanora too, if she would be quiet + and listen to him, instead of pouting, and stamping, and doing nothing but + what she liked. And the poor child took in that new thought like a child, + and worked her fingers to the bone for all the old dames in Northam, and + went about with Mrs. Leigh, lovely and beloved, and looked now and then + out from under her long black eyelashes to see if she was winning a smile + from Amyas. And on the day on which she won one, she was good all day; and + on the day on which she did not, she was thoroughly naughty, and would + have worn out the patience of any soul less chastened than Mrs. Leigh's. + But as for the pomp and glory of her dress, there was no keeping it within + bounds; and she swept into church each Sunday bedizened in Spanish finery, + with such a blaze and rustle, that the good vicar had to remonstrate + humbly with Mrs. Leigh on the disturbance which she caused to the eyes and + thoughts of all his congregation. To which Ayacanora answered, that she + was not thinking about them, and they need not think about her; and that + if the Piache (in plain English, the conjuror), as she supposed, wanted a + present, he might have all her Mexican feather-dresses; she would not wear + them—they were wild Indian things, and she was an English maid—but + they would just do for a Piache; and so darted upstairs, brought them + down, and insisted so stoutly on arraying the vicar therein, that the good + man beat a swift retreat. But he carried off with him, nevertheless, one + of the handsomest mantles, which, instead of selling it, he converted + cleverly enough into an altar-cloth; and for several years afterwards, the + communion at Northam was celebrated upon a blaze of emerald, azure, and + crimson, which had once adorned the sinful body of some Aztec prince. + </p> + <p> + So Ayacanora flaunted on; while Amyas watched her, half amused, half in + simple pride of her beauty; and looked around at all gazers, as much as to + say, “See what a fine bird I have brought home!” + </p> + <p> + Another great trouble which she gave Mrs. Leigh was her conduct to the + ladies of the neighborhood. They came, of course, one and all, not only to + congratulate Mrs. Leigh, but to get a peep at the fair savage; but the + fair savage snubbed them all round, from the vicar's wife to Lady + Grenville herself, so effectually, that few attempted a second visit. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh remonstrated, and was answered by floods of tears. “They only + come to stare at a poor wild Indian girl, and she would not be made a show + of. She was like a queen once, and every one obeyed her; but here every + one looked down upon her.” But when Mrs. Leigh asked her, whether she + would sooner go back to the forests, the poor girl clung to her like a + baby, and entreated not to be sent away, “She would sooner be a slave in + the kitchen here, than go back to the bad people.” + </p> + <p> + And so on, month after month of foolish storm and foolish sunshine; but + she was under the shadow of one in whom was neither storm nor sunshine, + but a perpetual genial calm of soft gray weather, which tempered down to + its own peacefulness all who entered its charmed influence; and the + outbursts grew more and more rare, and Ayacanora more and more rational, + though no more happy, day by day. + </p> + <p> + And one by one small hints came out which made her identity certain, at + least in the eyes of Mrs. Leigh and Yeo. After she had become familiar + with the sight of houses, she gave them to understand that she had seen + such things before. The red cattle, too, seemed not unknown to her; the + sheep puzzled her for some time, and at last she gave Mrs. Leigh to + understand that they were too small. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, madam,” quoth Yeo, who caught at every straw, “it is because she has + been accustomed to those great camel sheep (llamas they call them) in + Peru.” + </p> + <p> + But Ayacanora's delight was a horse. The use of tame animals at all was a + daily wonder to her; but that a horse could be ridden was the crowning + miracle of all; and a horse she would ride, and after plaguing Amyas for + one in vain (for he did not want to break her pretty neck), she proposed + confidentially to Yeo to steal one, and foiled in that, went to the vicar + and offered to barter all her finery for his broken-kneed pony. But the + vicar was too honest to drive so good a bargain, and the matter ended, in + Amyas buying her a jennet, which she learned in a fortnight to ride like a + very Gaucho. + </p> + <p> + And now awoke another curious slumbering reminiscence. For one day, at + Lady Grenville's invitation, the whole family went over to Stow; Mrs. + Leigh soberly on a pillion behind the groom, Ayacanora cantering round and + round upon the moors like a hound let loose, and trying to make Amyas ride + races with her. But that night, sleeping in the same room with Mrs. Leigh, + she awoke shrieking, and sobbed out a long story how the “Old ape of + Panama,” her especial abomination, had come to her bedside and dragged her + forth into the courtyard, and how she had mounted a horse and ridden with + an Indian over great moors and high mountains down into a dark wood, and + there the Indian and the horses vanished, and she found herself suddenly + changed once more into a little savage child. So strong was the + impression, that she could not be persuaded that the thing had not + happened, if not that night, at least some night or other. So Mrs. Leigh + at last believed the same, and told the company next morning in her pious + way how the Lord had revealed in a vision to the poor child who she was, + and how she had been exposed in the forests by her jealous step-father, + and neither Sir Richard nor his wife could doubt but that hers was the + true solution. It was probable that Don Xararte, though his home was + Panama, had been often at Quito, for Yeo had seen him come on board the + Lima ship at Guayaquil, one of the nearest ports. This would explain her + having been found by the Indians beyond Cotopaxi, the nearest peak of the + Eastern Andes, if, as was but too likely, the old man, believing her to be + Oxenham's child, had conceived the fearful vengeance of exposing her in + the forests. + </p> + <p> + Other little facts came to light one by one. They were all connected (as + was natural in a savage) with some animal or other natural object. + Whatever impressions her morals or affections had received, had been + erased by the long spiritual death of that forest sojourn; and Mrs. Leigh + could not elicit from her a trace of feeling about her mother, or + recollection of any early religious teaching. This link, however, was + supplied at last, and in this way. + </p> + <p> + Sir Richard had brought home an Indian with him from Virginia. Of his + original name I am not sure, but he was probably the “Wanchese” whose name + occurs with that of “Manteo.” + </p> + <p> + This man was to be baptized in the church at Bideford by the name of + Raleigh, his sponsors being most probably Raleigh himself, who may have + been there on Virginian business, and Sir Richard Grenville. All the + notabilities of Bideford came, of course, to see the baptism of the first + “Red man” whose foot had ever trodden British soil, and the mayor and + corporation-men appeared in full robes, with maces and tipstaffs, to do + honor to that first-fruits of the Gospel in the West. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh went, as a matter of course, and Ayacanora would needs go too. + She was very anxious to know what they were going to do with the “Carib.” + </p> + <p> + “To make him a Christian.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did they not make her one?” + </p> + <p> + Because she was one already. They were sure that she had been christened + as soon as she was born. But she was not sure, and pouted a good deal at + the chance of an “ugly red Carib” being better off than she was. However, + all assembled duly; the stately son of the forest, now transformed into a + footman of Sir Richard's, was standing at the font; the service was half + performed when a heavy sigh, or rather groan, made all eyes turn, and + Ayacanora sank fainting upon Mrs. Leigh's bosom. + </p> + <p> + She was carried out, and to a neighboring house; and when she came to + herself, told a strange story. How, as she was standing there trying to + recollect whether she too had ever been baptized, the church seemed to + grow larger, the priest's dress richer; the walls were covered with + pictures, and above the altar, in jewelled robes, stood a lady, and in her + arms a babe. Soft music sounded in her ears; the air was full (on that she + insisted much) of fragrant odor which filled the church like mist; and + through it she saw not one, but many Indians, standing by the font; and a + lady held her by the hand, and she was a little girl again. + </p> + <p> + And after, many questionings, so accurate was her recollection, not only + of the scene, but of the building, that Yeo pronounced: + </p> + <p> + “A christened woman she is, madam, if Popish christening is worth calling + such, and has seen Indians christened too in the Cathedral Church at + Quito, the inside whereof I know well enough, and too well, for I sat + there three mortal hours in a San Benito, to hear a friar preach his false + doctrines, not knowing whether I was to be burnt or not next day.” + </p> + <p> + So Ayacanora went home to Burrough, and Raleigh the Indian to Sir + Richard's house. The entry of his baptism still stands, crooked-lettered, + in the old parchment register of the Bideford baptisms for 1587-3: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Raleigh, a Winganditoian: March 26.” + </pre> + <p> + His name occurs once more, a year and a month after: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Rawly, a Winganditoian, April 1589.” + </pre> + <p> + But it is not this time among the baptisms. The free forest wanderer has + pined in vain for his old deer-hunts amid the fragrant cedar woods, and + lazy paddlings through the still lagoons, where water-lilies sleep beneath + the shade of great magnolias, wreathed with clustered vines; and now he is + away to “happier hunting-grounds,” and all that is left of him below + sleeps in the narrow town churchyard, blocked in with dingy houses, whose + tenants will never waste a sigh upon the Indian's grave. There the two + entries stand, unto this day; and most pathetic they have seemed to me; a + sort of emblem and first-fruits of the sad fate of that worn-out Red race, + to whom civilization came too late to save, but not too late to hasten + their decay. + </p> + <p> + But though Amyas lay idle, England did not. That spring saw another and a + larger colony sent out by Raleigh to Virginia, under the charge of one + John White. Raleigh had written more than once, entreating Amyas to take + the command, which if he had done, perhaps the United States had begun to + exist twenty years sooner than they actually did. But his mother had bound + him by a solemn promise (and who can wonder at her for asking, or at him + for giving it?) to wait at home with her twelve months at least. So, + instead of himself, he sent five hundred pounds, which I suppose are in + Virginia (virtually at least) until this day; for they never came back + again to him. + </p> + <p> + But soon came a sharper trial of Amyas's promise to his mother; and one + which made him, for the first time in his life, moody, peevish, and + restless, at the thought that others were fighting Spaniards, while he was + sitting idle at home. For his whole soul was filling fast with sullen + malice against Don Guzman. He was losing the “single eye,” and his whole + body was no longer full of light. He had entered into the darkness in + which every man walks who hates his brother; and it lay upon him like a + black shadow day and night. No company, too, could be more fit to darken + that shadow than Salvation Yeo's. The old man grew more stern in his + fanaticism day by day, and found a too willing listener in his master; and + Mrs. Leigh was (perhaps for the first and last time in her life) seriously + angry, when she heard the two coolly debating whether they had not + committed a grievous sin in not killing the Spanish prisoners on board the + galleon. + </p> + <p> + It must be said, however (as the plain facts set down in this book + testify), that if such was the temper of Englishmen at that day, the + Spaniards had done a good deal to provoke it; and were just then + attempting to do still more. + </p> + <p> + For now we are approaching the year 1588, “which an astronomer of + Konigsberg, above a hundred years before, foretold would be an admirable + year, and the German chronologers presaged would be the climacterical year + of the world.” + </p> + <p> + The prophecies may stand for what they are worth; but they were at least + fulfilled. That year was, indeed, the climacterical year of the world; and + decided once and for all the fortunes of the European nations, and of the + whole continent of America. + </p> + <p> + No wonder, then, if (as has happened in each great crisis of the human + race) some awful instinct that The Day of the Lord was at hand, some dim + feeling that there was war in heaven, and that the fiends of darkness and + the angels of light were arrayed against each other in some mighty + struggle for the possession of the souls of men, should have tried to + express itself in astrologic dreams, and, as was the fashion then, + attributed to the “rulers of the planetary houses” some sympathy with the + coming world-tragedy. + </p> + <p> + But, for the wise, there needed no conjunction of planets to tell them + that the day was near at hand, when the long desultory duel between Spain + and England would end, once and for all, in some great death-grapple. The + war, as yet, had been confined to the Netherlands, to the West Indies, and + the coasts and isles of Africa; to the quarters, in fact, where Spain was + held either to have no rights, or to have forfeited them by tyranny. But + Spain itself had been respected by England, as England had by Spain; and + trade to Spanish ports went on as usual, till, in the year 1585, the + Spaniard, without warning, laid an embargo on all English ships coming to + his European shores. They were to be seized, it seemed, to form part of an + enormous armament, which was to attack and crush, once and for all—whom? + The rebellious Netherlanders, said the Spaniards: but the queen, the + ministry, and, when it was just not too late, the people of England, + thought otherwise. England was the destined victim; so, instead of + negotiating, in order to avoid fighting, they fought in order to produce + negotiation. Drake, Frobisher, and Carlisle, as we have seen, swept the + Spanish Main with fire and sword, stopping the Indian supplies; while + Walsingham (craftiest, and yet most honest of mortals) prevented, by some + mysterious financial operation, the Venetian merchants from repairing the + Spaniards' loss by a loan; and no Armada came that year. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile, the Jesuits, here and abroad, made no secret, among + their own dupes, of the real objects of the Spanish armament. The impious + heretics,—the Drakes and Raleighs, Grenvilles and Cavendishes, + Hawkinses and Frobishers, who had dared to violate that hidden sanctuary + of just half the globe, which the pope had bestowed on the defender of the + true faith,—a shameful ruin, a terrible death awaited them, when + their sacrilegious barks should sink beneath the thunder of Spanish + cannon, blessed by the pope, and sanctified with holy water and prayer to + the service of “God and his Mother.” Yes, they would fall, and England + with them. The proud islanders, who had dared to rebel against St. Peter, + and to cast off the worship of “Mary,” should bow their necks once more + under the yoke of the Gospel. Their so-called queen, illegitimate, + excommunicate, contumacious, the abettor of free-trade, the defender of + the Netherlands, the pillar of false doctrine throughout Europe, should be + sent in chains across the Alps, to sue for her life at the feet of the + injured and long-suffering father of mankind, while his nominee took her + place upon the throne which she had long since forfeited by her heresy. + </p> + <p> + “What nobler work? How could the Church of God be more gloriously + propagated? How could higher merit be obtained by faithful Catholics? It + must succeed. Spain was invincible in valor, inexhaustible in wealth. + Heaven itself offered them an opportunity. They had nothing now to fear + from the Turk, for they had concluded a truce with him; nothing from the + French, for they were embroiled in civil war. The heavens themselves had + called upon Spain to fulfil her heavenly mission, and restore to the + Church's crown this brightest and richest of her lost jewels. The heavens + themselves called to a new crusade. The saints, whose altars the English + had rifled and profaned, called them to a new crusade. The Virgin Queen of + Heaven, whose boundless stores of grace the English spurned, called them + to a new crusade. Justly incensed at her own wrongs and indignities, that + 'ever-gracious Virgin, refuge of sinners, and mother of fair love, and + holy hope,' adjured by their knightly honor all valiant cavaliers to do + battle in her cause against the impious harlot who assumed her titles, + received from her idolatrous flatterers the homage due to Mary alone, and + even (for Father Parsons had asserted it, therefore it must be true) had + caused her name to be substituted for that of Mary in the Litanies of the + Church. Let all who wore within a manly heart, without a manly sword, look + on the woes of 'Mary,'—her shame, her tears, her blushes, her heart + pierced through with daily wounds, from heretic tongues, and choose + between her and Elizabeth!” + </p> + <p> + So said Parsons, Allen, and dozens more; and said more than this, too, and + much which one had rather not repeat; and were somewhat surprised and + mortified to find that their hearers, though they granted the premises, + were too dull or carnal to arrive at the same conclusion. The English lay + Romanists, almost to a man, had hearts sounder than their heads, and, + howsoever illogically, could not help holding to the strange superstition + that, being Englishmen, they were bound to fight for England. So the + hapless Jesuits, who had been boasting for years past that the persecuted + faithful throughout the island would rise as one man to fight under the + blessed banner of the pope and Spain, found that the faithful, like Demas + of old, forsook them and “went after this present world;” having no + objection, of course, to the restoration of Popery: but preferring some + more comfortable method than an invasion which would inevitably rob them + of their ancestral lands and would seat needy and greedy Castilians in + their old country houses, to treat their tenants as they had treated the + Indians of Hispaniola, and them as they had treated the caciques. + </p> + <p> + But though the hearts of men in that ungodly age were too hard to melt at + the supposed woes of the Mary who reigned above, and too dull to turn + rebels and traitors for the sake of those thrones and principalities in + supra-lunar spheres which might be in her gift: yet there was a Mary who + reigned (or ought to reign) below, whose woes (like her gifts) were + somewhat more palpable to the carnal sense. A Mary who, having every + comfort and luxury (including hounds and horses) found for her by the + English Government, at an expense which would be now equal to some twenty + thousand a year, could afford to employ the whole of her jointure as Queen + Dowager of France (probably equal to fifty thousand a year more), in + plotting the destruction of the said government, and the murder of its + queen; a Mary who, if she prospered as she ought, might have dukedoms, and + earldoms, fair lands and castles to bestow on her faithful servants; a + Mary, finally, who contrived by means of an angel face, a serpent tongue, + and a heart (as she said herself) as hard as a diamond, to make every weak + man fall in love with her, and, what was worse, fancy more or less that + she was in love with him. + </p> + <p> + Of her the Jesuits were not unmindful; and found it convenient, indeed, to + forget awhile the sorrows of the Queen of Heaven in those of the Queen of + Scots. Not that they cared much for those sorrows; but they were an + excellent stock-in-trade. She was a Romanist; she was “beautiful and + unfortunate,” a virtue which, like charity, hides the multitude of sins; + and therefore she was a convenient card to play in the great game of Rome + against the Queen and people of England; and played the poor card was, + till it got torn up by over-using. Into her merits or demerits I do not + enter deeply here. Let her rest in peace. + </p> + <p> + To all which the people of England made a most practical and terrible + answer. From the highest noble to the lowest peasant, arose one + simultaneous plebiscitum: “We are tired of these seventeen years of + chicanery and terror. This woman must die: or the commonweal of England + perish!” We all know which of the two alternatives was chosen. + </p> + <p> + All Europe stood aghast: but rather with astonishment at English audacity, + than with horror at English wickedness. Mary's own French kinsfolk had + openly given her up as too bad to be excused, much less assisted. Her own + son blustered a little to the English ambassador; for the majesty of kings + was invaded: whereon Walsingham said in open council, that “the queen + should send him a couple of hounds, and that would set all right.” Which + sage advice (being acted on, and some deer sent over and above) was so + successful that the pious mourner, having run off (Randolph says, like a + baby to see the deer in their cart), returned for answer that he would + “thereafter depend wholly upon her majesty, and serve her fortune against + all the world; and that he only wanted now two of her majesty's yeoman + prickers, and a couple of her grooms of the deer.” The Spaniard was not + sorry on the whole for the catastrophe; for all that had kept him from + conquering England long ago was the fear lest, after it was done, he might + have had to put the crown thereof on Mary's head, instead of his own. But + Mary's death was as convenient a stalking-horse to him as to the pope; and + now the Armada was coming in earnest. + </p> + <p> + Elizabeth began negotiating; but fancy not that she does nothing more, as + the following letter testifies, written about midsummer, 1587. + </p> + <p> + “F. Drake to Captain Amyas Leigh. This with haste. + </p> + <p> + “DEAR LAD, + </p> + <p> + “As I said to her most glorious majesty, I say to you now. There are two + ways of facing an enemy. The one to stand off, and cry, 'Try that again, + and I'll strike thee'; the other to strike him first, and then, 'Try that + at all, and I'll strike thee again.' Of which latter counsel her majesty + so far approves, that I go forthwith (tell it not in Gath) down the coast, + to singe the king of Spain's beard (so I termed it to her majesty, she + laughing), in which if I leave so much as a fishing-boat afloat from the + Groyne unto Cadiz, it will not be with my good will, who intend that if he + come this year, he shall come by swimming and not by sailing. So if you + are still the man I have known you, bring a good ship round to Plymouth + within the month, and away with me for hard blows and hard money, the feel + of both of which you know pretty well by now. + </p> + <p> + “Thine lovingly, + </p> + <p> + “F. Drake.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas clutched his locks over this letter, and smoked more tobacco the day + he got it than had ever before been consumed at once in England. But he + kept true to his promise; and this was his reply:— + </p> + <p> + “Amyas Leigh to the Worshipful Sir F. Drake, Admiral of her Majesty's + Fleet in Plymouth. + </p> + <p> + “MOST HONORED SIR, + </p> + <p> + “A magician keeps me here, in bilboes for which you have no picklock; + namely, a mother who forbids. The loss is mine: but Antichrist I can fight + any year (for he will not die this bout, nor the next), while my mother—but + I will not trouble your patience more than to ask from you to get me news, + if you can, from any prisoners of one Don Guzman Maria Magdalena Sotomayor + de Soto; whether he is in Spain or in the Indies; and what the villain + does, and where he is to be found. This only I entreat of you, and so + remain behind with a heavy heart. + </p> + <p> + “Yours to command in all else, and I would to Heaven, in this also, + </p> + <p> + “AMYAS LEIGH.” + </p> + <p> + I am sorry to have to say, that after having thus obeyed his mother, + Master Amyas, as men are too apt to do, revenged himself on her by being + more and more cross and disagreeable. But his temper amended much, when, a + few months after, Drake returned triumphant, having destroyed a hundred + sail in Cadiz alone, taken three great galleons with immense wealth on + board, burnt the small craft all along the shore, and offered battle to + Santa Cruz at the mouth of the Tagus. After which it is unnecessary to + say, that the Armada was put off for yet another year. + </p> + <p> + This news, indeed, gave Amyas little comfort; for he merely observed, + grumbling, that Drake had gone and spoiled everybody else's sport: but + what cheered him was news from Drake that Don Guzman had been heard of + from the captain of one of the galleons; that he was high in favor in + Spain, and commandant of soldiers on board one of the largest of the + marquis's ships. + </p> + <p> + And when Amyas heard that, a terrible joy took possession of him. When the + Armada came, as come it would, he should meet his enemy at last! He could + wait now patiently: if—and he shuddered at himself, as he found + himself in the very act of breathing a prayer that Don Guzman might not + die before that meeting. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile, rumor flew thousand-tongued through the length and + breadth of the land; of vast preparations going on in Spain and Italy; of + timber felled long before for some such purpose, brought down to the sea, + and sawn out for shipbuilding; of casting of cannon, and drilling of + soldiers; of ships in hundreds collecting at Lisbon; of a crusade preached + by Pope Sixtus the Fifth, who had bestowed the kingdom of England on the + Spaniard, to be enjoyed by him as vassal tributary to Rome; of a million + of gold to be paid by the pope, one-half down at once, the other half when + London was taken; of Cardinal Allen writing and printing busily in the + Netherlands, calling on all good Englishmen to carry out, by rebelling + against Elizabeth, the bull of Sixtus the Fifth, said (I blush to repeat + it) to have been dictated by the Holy Ghost; of Inquisitors getting ready + fetters and devil's engines of all sorts; of princes and noblemen, + flocking from all quarters, gentlemen selling their private estates to fit + out ships; how the Prince of Melito, the Marquess of Burgrave, Vespasian + Gonzaga, John Medicis, Amadas of Savoy, in short, the illegitimate sons of + all the southern princes, having no lands of their own, were coming to + find that necessary of life in this pleasant little wheat-garden. Nay, the + Duke of Medina Sidonia had already engaged Mount-Edgecombe for himself, as + the fairest jewel of the south; which when good old Sir Richard Edgecombe + heard, he observed quietly, that in 1555 he had the pleasure of receiving + at his table at one time the admirals of England, Spain, and the + Netherlands, and therefore had experience in entertaining Dons; and made + preparations for the visit by filling his cellars with gunpowder, with a + view to a house-warming and feu-de-joie on the occasion. But as old Fuller + says, “The bear was not yet killed, and Medina Sidonia might have catched + a great cold, had he no other clothes to wear than the skin thereof.” + </p> + <p> + So flew rumor, false and true, till poor John Bull's wits were well-nigh + turned: but to the very last, after his lazy fashion, he persuaded himself + that it would all come right somehow; that it was too great news to be + true; that if it was true, the expedition was only meant for the + Netherlands; and, in short, sat quietly over his beef and beer for many a + day after the French king had sent him fair warning, and the queen, the + ministry, and the admirals had been assuring him again and again that he, + and not the Dutchman, was the destined prey of this great flight of + ravenous birds. + </p> + <p> + At last the Spaniard, in order that there should be no mistake about the + matter, kindly printed a complete bill of the play, to be seen still in + Van Meteran, for the comfort of all true Catholics, and confusion of all + pestilent heretics; which document, of course, the seminary priests used + to enforce the duty of helping the invaders, and the certainty of their + success; and from their hands it soon passed into those of the devout + ladies, who were not very likely to keep it to themselves; till John Bull + himself found his daughters buzzing over it with very pale faces (as young + ladies well might who had no wish to follow the fate of the damsels of + Antwerp), and condescending to run his eye through it, discovered, what + all the rest of Europe had known for months past, that he was in a very + great scrape. + </p> + <p> + Well it was for England, then, that her Tudor sovereigns had compelled + every man (though they kept up no standing army) to be a trained soldier. + Well it was that Elizabeth, even in those dangerous days of intrigue and + rebellion, had trusted her people enough, not only to leave them their + weapons, but (what we, forsooth, in these more “free” and “liberal” days + dare not do) to teach them how to use them. Well it was, that by careful + legislation for the comfort and employment of “the masses” (term then, + thank God, unknown), she had both won their hearts, and kept their bodies + in fighting order. Well it was that, acting as fully as Napoleon did on + “la carriere ouverte aux talens,” she had raised to the highest posts in + her councils, her army, and her navy, men of business, who had not been + ashamed to buy and sell as merchants and adventurers. Well for England, in + a word, that Elizabeth had pursued for thirty years a very different + course from that which we have been pursuing for the last thirty, with one + exception, namely, the leaving as much as possible to private enterprise. + </p> + <p> + There we have copied her: would to Heaven that we had in some other + matters! It is the fashion now to call her a despot: but unless every + monarch is to be branded with that epithet whose power is not as + circumscribed as Queen Victoria's is now, we ought rather to call her the + most popular sovereign, obeyed of their own free will by the freest + subjects which England has ever seen; confess the Armada fight to have + been as great a moral triumph as it was a political one; and (now that our + late boasting is a little silenced by Crimean disasters) inquire whether + we have not something to learn from those old Tudor times, as to how to + choose officials, how to train a people, and how to defend a country. + </p> + <p> + To return to the thread of my story. + </p> + <p> + January, 1587-8, had well-nigh run through, before Sir Richard Grenville + made his appearance on the streets of Bideford. He had been appointed in + November one of the council of war for providing for the safety of the + nation, and the West Country had seen nothing of him since. But one + morning, just before Christmas, his stately figure darkened the old + bay-window at Burrough, and Amyas rushed out to meet him, and bring him + in, and ask what news from Court. + </p> + <p> + “All good news, dear lad, and dearer madam. The queen shows the spirit of + a very Boadicea or Semiramis; ay, a very Scythian Tomyris, and if she had + the Spaniard before her now, would verily, for aught I know, feast him as + the Scythian queen did Cyrus, with 'Satia te sanguine, quod sitisti.'” + </p> + <p> + “I trust her most merciful spirit is not so changed already,” said Mrs. + Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “Well, if she would not do it, I would, and ask pardon afterwards, as + Raleigh did about the rascals at Smerwick, whom Amyas knows of. Mrs. + Leigh, these are times in which mercy is cruelty. Not England alone, but + the world, the Bible, the Gospel itself, is at stake; and we must do + terrible things, lest we suffer more terrible ones.” + </p> + <p> + “God will take care of world and Bible better than any cruelty of ours, + dear Sir Richard.” + </p> + <p> + “Nay, but, Mrs. Leigh, we must help Him to take care of them! If those + Smerwick Spaniards had not been—” + </p> + <p> + “The Spaniard would not have been exasperated into invading us.” + </p> + <p> + “And we should not have had this chance of crushing him once and for all; + but the quarrel is of older standing, madam, eh, Amyas? Amyas, has Raleigh + written to you of late?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a word, and I wonder why.” + </p> + <p> + “Well; no wonder at that, if you knew how he has been laboring. The wonder + is, whence he got the knowledge wherewith to labor; for he never saw + sea-work to my remembrance.” + </p> + <p> + “Never saw a shot fired by sea, except ours at Smerwick, and that brush + with the Spaniards in 1579, when he sailed for Virginia with Sir Humphrey; + and he was a mere crack then.” + </p> + <p> + “So you consider him as your pupil, eh? But he learnt enough in the + Netherland wars, and in Ireland too, if not of the strength of ships, yet + still of the weakness of land forces; and would you believe it, the man + has twisted the whole council round his finger, and made them give up the + land defences to the naval ones.” + </p> + <p> + “Quite right he, and wooden walls against stone ones for ever! But as for + twisting, he would persuade Satan, if he got him alone for half an hour.” + </p> + <p> + “I wish he would sail for Spain then, just now, and try the powers of his + tongue,” said Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “But are we to have the honor, really?” + </p> + <p> + “We are, lad. There were many in the council who were for disputing the + landing on shore, and said—which I do not deny—that the + 'prentice boys of London could face the bluest blood in Spain. But Raleigh + argued (following my Lord Burleigh in that) that we differed from the Low + Countries, and all other lands, in that we had not a castle or town + throughout, which would stand a ten days' siege, and that our ramparts, as + he well said, were, after all, only a body of men. So, he argued, as long + as the enemy has power to land where he will, prevention, rather than + cure, is our only hope; and that belongs to the office, not of an army, + but of a fleet. So the fleet was agreed on, and a fleet we shall have.” + </p> + <p> + “Then here is his health, the health of a true friend to all bold + mariners, and myself in particular! But where is he now?” + </p> + <p> + “Coming here to-morrow, as I hope—for he left London with me, and so + down by us into Cornwall, to drill the train-bands, as he is bound to do, + being Seneschal of the Duchies and Lieutenant-General of the county.” + </p> + <p> + “Besides Lord Warden of the Stanneries! How the man thrives!” said Mrs. + Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “How the man deserves to thrive!” said Amyas; “but what are we to do?” + </p> + <p> + “That is the rub. I would fain stay and fight the Spaniards.” + </p> + <p> + “So would I; and will.” + </p> + <p> + “But he has other plans in his head for us.” + </p> + <p> + “We can make our own plans without his help.” + </p> + <p> + “Heyday, Amyas! How long? When did he ask you to do a thing yet and you + refuse him?” + </p> + <p> + “Not often, certainly; but Spaniards I must fight.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, so must I, boy: but I have given a sort of promise to him, + nevertheless.” + </p> + <p> + “Not for me too, I hope?” + </p> + <p> + “No: he will extract that himself when he comes; you must come and sup + to-morrow, and talk it over.” + </p> + <p> + “Be talked over, rather. What chestnut does the cat want us monkeys to + pull out of the fire for him now, I wonder?” + </p> + <p> + “Sir Richard Grenville is hardly accustomed to be called a monkey,” said + Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “I meant no harm; and his worship knows it, none better: but where is + Raleigh going to send us, with a murrain?” + </p> + <p> + “To Virginia. The settlers must have help: and, as I trust in God, we + shall be back again long before this armament can bestir itself.” + </p> + <p> + So Raleigh came, saw, and conquered. Mrs. Leigh consented to Amyas's going + (for his twelve-month would be over ere the fleet could start) upon so + peaceful and useful an errand; and the next five months were spent in + continual labor on the part of Amyas and Grenville, till seven ships were + all but ready in Bideford river, the admiral whereof was Amyas Leigh. + </p> + <p> + But that fleet was not destined ever to see the shores of the New World: + it had nobler work to do (if Americans will forgive the speech) than even + settling the United States. + </p> + <p> + It was in the long June evenings, in the year 1588; Mrs. Leigh sat in the + open window, busy at her needle-work; Ayacanora sat opposite to her, on + the seat of the bay, trying diligently to read “The History of the Nine + Worthies,” and stealing a glance every now and then towards the garden, + where Amyas stalked up and down as he had used to do in happier days gone + by. But his brow was contracted now, his eyes fixed on the ground, as he + plodded backwards and forwards, his hands behind his back, and a huge + cigar in his mouth, the wonder of the little boys of Northam, who peeped + in stealthily as they passed the iron-work gates, to see the back of the + famous fire-breathing captain who had sailed round the world and been in + the country of headless men and flying dragons, and then popped back their + heads suddenly, as he turned toward them in his walk. And Ayacanora + looked, and looked, with no less admiration than the urchins at the gate: + but she got no more of an answering look from Amyas than they did; for his + head was full of calculations of tonnage and stowage, of salt pork and + ale-barrels, and the packing of tools and seeds; for he had promised + Raleigh to do his best for the new colony, and he was doing it with all + his might; so Ayacanora looked back again to her book, and heaved a deep + sigh. It was answered by one from Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “We are a melancholy pair, sweet chuck,” said the fair widow. “What is my + maid sighing about, there?” + </p> + <p> + “Because I cannot make out the long words,” said Ayacanora, telling a very + white fib. + </p> + <p> + “Is that all? Come to me, and I will tell you.” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora moved over to her, and sat down at her feet. + </p> + <p> + “H—e, he, r—o, ro, i—c—a—l, heroical,” said + Mrs. Leigh. + </p> + <p> + “But what does that mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Grand, good, and brave, like—” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh was about to have said the name of one who was lost to her on + earth. His fair angelic face hung opposite upon the wall. She paused + unable to pronounce his name; and lifted up her eyes, and gazed on the + portrait, and breathed a prayer between closed lips, and drooped her head + again. + </p> + <p> + Her pupil caught at the pause, and filled it up for herself— + </p> + <p> + “Like him?” and she turned her head quickly toward the window. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, like him, too,” said Mrs. Leigh, with a half-smile at the gesture. + “Now, mind your book. Maidens must not look out of the window in school + hours.” + </p> + <p> + “Shall I ever be an English girl?” asked Ayacanora. + </p> + <p> + “You are one now, sweet; your father was an English gentleman.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas looked in, and saw the two sitting together. + </p> + <p> + “You seem quite merry there,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Come in, then, and be merry with us.” + </p> + <p> + He entered, and sat down; while Ayacanora fixed her eyes most steadfastly + on her book. + </p> + <p> + “Well, how goes on the reading?” said he; and then, without waiting for an + answer—“We shall be ready to clear out this day week, mother, I do + believe; that is, if the hatchets are made in time to pack them.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope they will be better than the last,” said Mrs. Leigh. “It seems to + me a shameful sin to palm off on poor ignorant savages goods which we + should consider worthless for ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, it's not over fair: but still, they are a sight better than they + ever had before. An old hoop is better than a deer's bone, as Ayacanora + knows,—eh?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know anything about it,” said she, who was always nettled at the + least allusion to her past wild life. “I am an English girl now, and all + that is gone—I forget it.” + </p> + <p> + “Forget it?” said he, teasing her for want of something better to do. + “Should not you like to sail with us, now, and see the Indians in the + forests once again?” + </p> + <p> + “Sail with you?” and she looked up eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “There! I knew it! She would not be four-and-twenty hours ashore, but she + would be off into the woods again, bow in hand, like any runaway nymph, + and we should never see her more.” + </p> + <p> + “It is false, bad man!” and she burst into violent tears, and hid her face + in Mrs. Leigh's lap. + </p> + <p> + “Amyas, Amyas, why do you tease the poor fatherless thing?” + </p> + <p> + “I was only jesting, I'm sure,” said Amyas, like a repentant schoolboy. + “Don't cry now, don't cry, my child, see here,” and he began fumbling in + his pockets; “see what I bought of a chapman in town to-day, for you, my + maid, indeed, I did.” + </p> + <p> + And out he pulled some smart kerchief or other, which had taken his + sailor's fancy. + </p> + <p> + “Look at it now, blue, and crimson, and green, like any parrot!” and he + held it out. + </p> + <p> + She looked round sharply, snatched it out of his hand, and tore it to + shreds. + </p> + <p> + “I hate it, and I hate you!” and she sprang up and darted out of the room. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, boy, boy!” said Mrs. Leigh, “will you kill that poor child? It + matters little for an old heart like mine, which has but one or two chords + left whole, how soon it be broken altogether; but a young heart is one of + God's precious treasures, Amyas, and suffers many a long pang in the + breaking; and woe to them who despise Christ's little ones!” + </p> + <p> + “Break your heart, mother?” + </p> + <p> + “Never mind my heart, dear son; yet how can you break it more surely than + by tormenting one whom I love, because she loves you?” + </p> + <p> + “Tut! play, mother, and maids' tempers. But how can I break your heart? + What have I done? Have I not given up going again to the West Indies for + your sake? Have I not given up going to Virginia, and now again settled to + go after all, just because you commanded? Was it not your will? Have I not + obeyed you, mother, mother? I will stay at home now, if you will. I would + rather rust here on land, I vow I would, than grieve you—” and he + threw himself at his mother's knees. + </p> + <p> + “Have I asked you not to go to Virginia? No, dear boy, though every + thought of a fresh parting seems to crack some new fibre within me, you + must go! It is your calling. Yes; you were not sent into the world to + amuse me, but to work. I have had pleasure enough of you, my darling, for + many a year, and too much, perhaps; till I shrank from lending you to the + Lord. But He must have you. . . . It is enough for the poor old widow to + know that her boy is what he is, and to forget all her anguish day by day, + for joy that a man is born into the world. But, Amyas, Amyas, are you so + blind as not to see that Ayacanora—” + </p> + <p> + “Don't talk about her, poor child. Talk about yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “How long have I been worth talking about? No, Amyas, you must see it; and + if you will not see it now, you will see it one day in some sad and + fearful prodigy; for she is not one to die tamely. She loves you, Amyas, + as a woman only can love.” + </p> + <p> + “Loves me? Well, of course. I found her, and brought her home; and I don't + deny she may think that she owes me somewhat—though it was no more + than a Christian man's duty. But as for her caring much for me, mother, + you measure every one else's tenderness by your own.” + </p> + <p> + “Think that she owes you somewhat? Silly boy, this is not gratitude, but a + deeper affection, which may be more heavenly than gratitude, as it may, + too, become a horrible cause of ruin. It rests with you, Amyas, which of + the two it will be.” + </p> + <p> + “You are in earnest?” + </p> + <p> + “Have I the heart or the time to jest?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, of course not; but, mother, I thought it was not comely for women + to fall in love with men?” + </p> + <p> + “Not comely, at least, to confess their love to men. But she has never + done that, Amyas; not even by a look or a tone of voice, though I have + watched her for months.” + </p> + <p> + “To be sure, she is as demure as any cat when I am in the way. I only + wonder how you found it out.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” said she, smiling sadly, “even in the saddest woman's soul there + linger snatches of old music, odors of flowers long dead and turned to + dust—pleasant ghosts, which still keep her mind attuned to that + which may be in others, though in her never more; till she can hear her + own wedding-hymn re-echoed in the tones of every girl who loves, and sees + her own wedding-torch re-lighted in the eyes of every bride.” + </p> + <p> + “You would not have me marry her?” asked blunt, practical Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “God knows what I would have—I know not; I see neither your path nor + my own—no, not after weeks and months of prayer. All things beyond + are wrapped in mist; and what will be, I know not, save that whatever else + is wrong, mercy at least is right.” + </p> + <p> + “I'd sail to-morrow, if I could. As for marrying her, mother—her + birth, mind me—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, boy, boy! Are you God, to visit the sins of the parents upon the + children?” + </p> + <p> + “Not that. I don't mean that; but I mean this, that she is half a + Spaniard, mother; and I cannot!—Her blood may be as blue as King + Philip's own, but it is Spanish still! I cannot bear the thought that my + children should have in their veins one drop of that poison.” + </p> + <p> + “Amyas! Amyas!” interrupted she, “is this not, too, visiting the parents' + sins on the children?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a whit; it is common sense,—she must have the taint of their + bloodthirsty humor. She has it—I have seen it in her again and + again. I have told you, have I not? Can I forget the look of her eyes as + she stood over that galleon's captain, with the smoking knife in her hand.—Ugh! + And she is not tamed yet, as you can see, and never will be:—not + that I care, except for her own sake, poor thing!” + </p> + <p> + “Cruel boy! to impute as a blame to the poor child, not only the errors of + her training, but the very madness of her love!” + </p> + <p> + “Of her love?” + </p> + <p> + “Of what else, blind buzzard? From the moment that you told me the story + of that captain's death, I knew what was in her heart—and thus it is + that you requite her for having saved your life!” + </p> + <p> + “Umph! that is one word too much, mother. If you don't want to send me + crazy, don't put the thing on the score of gratitude or duty. As it is, I + can hardly speak civilly to her (God forgive me!) when I recollect that + she belongs to the crew who murdered him”—and he pointed to the + picture, and Mrs. Leigh shuddered as he did so. + </p> + <p> + “You feel it! You know you feel it, tender-hearted, forgiving angel as you + are; and what do you think I must feel?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my son, my son!” cried she, wringing her hands, “if I be wretch + enough to give place to the devil for a moment, does that give you a right + to entertain and cherish him thus day by day?” + </p> + <p> + “I should cherish him with a vengeance, if I brought up a crew of children + who could boast of a pedigree of idolaters and tyrants, hunters of + Indians, and torturers of women! How pleasant to hear her telling Master + Jack, 'Your illustrious grand-uncle the pope's legate, was the man who + burned Rose Salterne at Cartagena;' or Miss Grace, 'Your great-grandfather + of sixteen quarterings, the Marquis of this, son of the Grand-equerry + that, and husband of the Princess t'other, used to feed his bloodhounds, + when beef was scarce, with Indians' babies!' Eh, mother? These things are + true, and if you can forget them, I cannot. Is it not enough to have made + me forego for awhile my purpose, my business, the one thing I live for, + and that is, hunting down the Spaniards as I would adders or foxes, but + you must ask me over and above to take one to my bosom?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, my son, my son! I have not asked you to do that; I have only + commanded you, in God's name, to be merciful, if you wish to obtain mercy. + Oh, if you will not pity this poor maiden, pity yourself; for God knows + you stand in more need of it than she does!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas was silent for a minute or two; and then,— + </p> + <p> + “If it were not for you, mother, would God that the Armada would come!” + </p> + <p> + “What, and ruin England?” + </p> + <p> + “No! Curse them! Not a foot will they ever set on English soil, such a + welcome would we give them. If I were but in the midst of that fleet, + fighting like a man—to forget it all, with a galleon on board of me + to larboard, and another to starboard—and then to put a linstock in + the magazine, and go aloft in good company—I don't care how soon it + comes, mother, if it were not for you.” + </p> + <p> + “If I am in your way, Amyas, do not fear that I shall trouble you long.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, mother, mother, do not talk in that way! I am half-mad, I think, + already, and don't know what I say. Yes, I am mad; mad at heart, though + not at head. There's a fire burning me up, night and day, and nothing but + Spanish blood will put it out.” + </p> + <p> + “Or the grace of God, my poor wilful child! Who comes to the door?—so + quickly, too?” + </p> + <p> + There was a loud hurried knocking, and in another minute a serving-man + hurried in with a letter. + </p> + <p> + “This to Captain Amyas Leigh with haste, haste!” + </p> + <p> + It was Sir Richard's hand. Amyas tore it open; and “a loud laugh laughed + he.” + </p> + <p> + “The Armada is coming! My wish has come true, mother!” + </p> + <p> + “God help us, it has! Show me the letter.” + </p> + <p> + It was a hurried scrawl. + </p> + <p> + “DR. GODSON,—Walsingham sends word that the Ada. sailed from Lisbon + to the Groyne the 18. of May. We know no more, but have commandment to + stay the ships. Come down, dear lad, and give us counsel; and may the Lord + help His Church in this great strait. + </p> + <p> + “Your loving godfather, + </p> + <p> + “R. G.” + </p> + <p> + “Forgive me, mother, mother, once for all!” cried Amyas, throwing his arms + round her neck. + </p> + <p> + “I have nothing to forgive, my son, my son! And shall I lose thee, also?” + </p> + <p> + “If I be killed, you will have two martyrs of your blood, mother!—” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh bowed her head, and was silent. Amyas caught up his hat and + sword, and darted forth toward Bideford. + </p> + <p> + Amyas literally danced into Sir Richard's hall, where he stood talking + earnestly with various merchants and captains. + </p> + <p> + “Gloria, gloria! gentles all! The devil is broke loose at last; and now we + know where to have him on the hip!” + </p> + <p> + “Why so merry, Captain Leigh, when all else are sad?” said a gentle voice + by his side. + </p> + <p> + “Because I have been sad a long time, while all else were merry, dear + lady. Is the hawk doleful when his hood is pulled off, and he sees the + heron flapping right ahead of him?” + </p> + <p> + “You seem to forget the danger and the woe of us weak women, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “I don't forget the danger and the woe of one weak woman, madam, and she + the daughter of a man who once stood in this room,” said Amyas, suddenly + collecting himself, in a low stern voice. “And I don't forget the danger + and the woe of one who was worth a thousand even of her. I don't forget + anything, madam.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor forgive either, it seems.” + </p> + <p> + “It will be time to talk of forgiveness after the offender has repented + and amended; and does the sailing of the Armada look like that?” + </p> + <p> + “Alas, no! God help us!” + </p> + <p> + “He will help us, madam,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Admiral Leigh,” said Sir Richard, “we need you now, if ever. Here are the + queen's orders to furnish as many ships as we can; though from these + gentlemen's spirit, I should say the orders were well-nigh needless.” + </p> + <p> + “Not a doubt, sir; for my part, I will fit my ship at my own charges, and + fight her too, as long as I have a leg or an arm left.” + </p> + <p> + “Or a tongue to say, never surrender, I'll warrant!” said an old merchant. + “You put life into us old fellows, Admiral Leigh: but it will be a heavy + matter for those poor fellows in Virginia, and for my daughter too, Madam + Dare, with her young babe, as I hear, just born.” + </p> + <p> + “And a very heavy matter,” said some one else, “for those who have + ventured their money in these cargoes, which must lie idle, you see, now + for a year maybe—and then all the cost of unlading again—” + </p> + <p> + “My good sir,” said Grenville, “what have private interests to do with + this day? Let us thank God if He only please to leave us the bare + fee-simple of this English soil, the honor of our wives and daughters, and + bodies safe from rack and fagot, to wield the swords of freemen in defence + of a free land, even though every town and homestead in England were + wasted with fire, and we left to rebuild over again all which our + ancestors have wrought for us in now six hundred years.” + </p> + <p> + “Right, sir!” said Amyas. “For my part, let my Virginian goods rot on the + quay, if the worst comes to the worst. I begin unloading the Vengeance + to-morrow; and to sea as soon as I can fill up my crew to a good fighting + number.” + </p> + <p> + And so the talk ran on; and ere two days were past, most of the + neighboring gentlemen, summoned by Sir Richard, had come in, and great was + the bidding against each other as to who should do most. Cary and + Brimblecombe, with thirty tall Clovelly men, came across the bay, and + without even asking leave of Amyas, took up their berths as a matter of + course on board the Vengeance. In the meanwhile, the matter was taken up + by families. The Fortescues (a numberless clan) offered to furnish a ship; + the Chichesters another, the Stukelys a third; while the merchantmen were + not backward. The Bucks, the Stranges, the Heards, joyfully unloaded their + Virginian goods, and replaced them with powder and shot; and in a week's + time the whole seven were ready once more for sea, and dropped down into + Appledore pool, with Amyas as their admiral for the time being (for Sir + Richard had gone by land to Plymouth to join the deliberations there), and + waited for the first favorable wind to start for the rendezvous in the + Sound. + </p> + <p> + At last, upon the twenty-first of June, the clank of the capstans rang + merrily across the flats, and amid prayers and blessings, forth sailed + that gallant squadron over the bar, to play their part in Britain's + Salamis; while Mrs. Leigh stood watching as she stood once before, beside + the churchyard wall: but not alone this time; for Ayacanora stood by her + side, and gazed and gazed, till her eyes seemed ready to burst from their + sockets. At last she turned away with a sob,— + </p> + <p> + “And he never bade me good-bye, mother!” + </p> + <p> + “God forgive him! Come home and pray, my child; there is no other rest on + earth than prayer for woman's heart!” + </p> + <p> + They were calling each other mother and daughter then? Yes. The sacred + fire of sorrow was fast burning out all Ayacanora's fallen savageness; + and, like a Phoenix, the true woman was rising from those ashes, fair, + noble, and all-enduring, as God had made her. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX + </h2> + <h3> + HOW THE ADMIRAL JOHN HAWKINS TESTIFIED AGAINST CROAKERS + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Oh, where be these gay Spaniards, + Which make so great a boast O? + Oh, they shall eat the gray-goose feather, + And we shall eat the roast O!” + + Cornish Song. +</pre> + <p> + What if the spectators who last summer gazed with just pride upon the + noble port of Plymouth, its vast breakwater spanning the Sound, its + arsenals and docks, its two estuaries filled with gallant ships, and + watched the great screw-liners turning within their own length by force + invisible, or threading the crowded fleets with the ease of the tiniest + boat,—what if, by some magic turn, the nineteenth century, and all + the magnificence of its wealth and science, had vanished—as it may + vanish hereafter—and they had found themselves thrown back three + hundred years into the pleasant summer days of 1588? + </p> + <p> + Mount Edgecombe is still there, beautiful as ever: but where are the + docks, and where is Devonport? No vast dry-dock roofs rise at the water's + edge. Drake's island carries but a paltry battery, just raised by the man + whose name it bears; Mount Wise is a lone gentleman's house among fields; + the citadel is a pop-gun fort, which a third-class steamer would shell + into rubble for an afternoon's amusement. And the shipping, where are + they? The floating castles of the Hamoaze have dwindled to a few crawling + lime-hoys; and the Catwater is packed, not as now, with merchant craft, + but with the ships who will to-morrow begin the greatest sea-fight which + the world has ever seen. + </p> + <p> + There they lie, a paltry squadron enough in modern eyes; the largest of + them not equal in size to a six-and-thirty-gun frigate, carrying less + weight of metal than one of our new gun-boats, and able to employ even + that at not more than a quarter of our modern range. Would our modern + spectators, just come down by rail for a few hours, to see the cavalry + embark, and return tomorrow in time for dinner, have looked down upon that + petty port, and petty fleet, with a contemptuous smile, and begun some + flippant speech about the progress of intellect, and the triumphs of + science, and our benighted ancestors? They would have done so, doubt it + not, if they belonged to the many who gaze on those very triumphs as on a + raree-show to feed their silly wonder, or use and enjoy them without + thankfulness or understanding, as the ox eats the clover thrust into his + rack, without knowing or caring how it grew. But if any of them were of + the class by whom those very triumphs have been achieved; the thinkers and + the workers, who, instead of entering lazily into other men's labors, as + the mob does, labor themselves; who know by hard experience the struggles, + the self-restraints, the disappointments, the slow and staggering steps, + by which the discoverer reaches to his prize; then the smile of those men + would not have been one of pity, but rather of filial love. For they would + have seen in those outwardly paltry armaments the potential germ of that + mightier one which now loads the Black Sea waves; they would have been + aware, that to produce it, with such materials and knowledge as then + existed, demanded an intellect, an energy, a spirit of progress and + invention, equal, if not superior, to those of which we now so loudly + boast. + </p> + <p> + But if, again, he had been a student of men rather than of machinery, he + would have found few nobler companies on whom to exercise his discernment, + than he might have seen in the little terrace bowling-green behind the + Pelican Inn, on the afternoon of the nineteenth of July. Chatting in + groups, or lounging over the low wall which commanded a view of the Sound + and the shipping far below, were gathered almost every notable man of the + Plymouth fleet, the whole posse comitatus of “England's forgotten + worthies.” The Armada has been scattered by a storm. Lord Howard has been + out to look for it, as far as the Spanish coast; but the wind has shifted + to the south, and fearing lest the Dons should pass him, he has returned + to Plymouth, uncertain whether the Armada will come after all or not. Slip + on for a while, like Prince Hal, the drawer's apron; come in through the + rose-clad door which opens from the tavern, with a tray of long-necked + Dutch glasses, and a silver tankard of wine, and look round you at the + gallant captains, who are waiting for the Spanish Armada, as lions in + their lair might wait for the passing herd of deer. + </p> + <p> + See those five talking earnestly, in the centre of a ring, which longs to + overhear, and yet is too respectful to approach close. Those soft long + eyes and pointed chin you recognize already; they are Walter Raleigh's. + The fair young man in the flame-colored doublet, whose arm is round + Raleigh's neck, is Lord Sheffield; opposite them stands, by the side of + Sir Richard Grenville, a man as stately even as he, Lord Sheffield's + uncle, the Lord Charles Howard of Effingham, lord high admiral of England; + next to him is his son-in-law, Sir Robert Southwell, captain of the + Elizabeth Jonas: but who is that short, sturdy, plainly dressed man, who + stands with legs a little apart, and hands behind his back, looking up, + with keen gray eyes, into the face of each speaker? His cap is in his + hands, so you can see the bullet head of crisp brown hair and the wrinkled + forehead, as well as the high cheek bones, the short square face, the + broad temples, the thick lips, which are yet firm as granite. A coarse + plebeian stamp of man: yet the whole figure and attitude are that of + boundless determination, self-possession, energy; and when at last he + speaks a few blunt words, all eyes are turned respectfully upon him;—for + his name is Francis Drake. + </p> + <p> + A burly, grizzled elder, in greasy sea-stained garments, contrasting oddly + with the huge gold chain about his neck, waddles up, as if he had been + born, and had lived ever since, in a gale of wind at sea. The upper half + of his sharp dogged visage seems of brick-red leather, the lower of + badger's fur; and as he claps Drake on the back, and, with a broad Devon + twang, shouts, “be you a coming to drink your wine, Francis Drake, or be + you not?—saving your presence, my lord;” the lord high admiral only + laughs, and bids Drake go and drink his wine; for John Hawkins, admiral of + the port, is the patriarch of Plymouth seamen, if Drake be their hero, and + says and does pretty much what he likes in any company on earth; not to + mention that to-day's prospect of an Armageddon fight has shaken him + altogether out of his usual crabbed reserve, and made him overflow with + loquacious good-humor, even to his rival Drake. + </p> + <p> + So they push through the crowd, wherein is many another man whom one would + gladly have spoken with face to face on earth. Martin Frobisher and John + Davis are sitting on that bench, smoking tobacco from long silver pipes; + and by them are Fenton and Withrington, who have both tried to follow + Drake's path round the world, and failed, though by no fault of their own. + The man who pledges them better luck next time, is George Fenner, known to + “the seven Portugals,” Leicester's pet, and captain of the galleon which + Elizabeth bought of him. That short prim man in the huge yellow ruff, with + sharp chin, minute imperial, and self-satisfied smile, is Richard Hawkins, + the Complete Seaman, Admiral John's hereafter famous and hapless son. The + elder who is talking with him is his good uncle William, whose monument + still stands, or should stand, in Deptford Church; for Admiral John set it + up there but one year after this time; and on it record how he was, “A + worshipper of the true religion, an especial benefactor of poor sailors, a + most just arbiter in most difficult causes, and of a singular faith, + piety, and prudence.” That, and the fact that he got creditably through + some sharp work at Porto Rico, is all I know of William Hawkins: but if + you or I, reader, can have as much or half as much said of us when we have + to follow him, we shall have no reason to complain. + </p> + <p> + There is John Drake, Sir Francis' brother, ancestor of the present stock + of Drakes; and there is George, his nephew, a man not overwise, who has + been round the world with Amyas; and there is Amyas himself, talking to + one who answers him with fierce curt sentences, Captain Barker of Bristol, + brother of the hapless Andrew Barker who found John Oxenham's guns, and, + owing to a mutiny among his men, perished by the Spaniards in Honduras, + twelve years ago. Barker is now captain of the Victory, one of the queen's + best ships; and he has his accounts to settle with the Dons, as Amyas has; + so they are both growling together in a corner, while all the rest are as + merry as the flies upon the vine above their heads. + </p> + <p> + But who is the aged man who sits upon a bench, against the sunny south + wall of the tavern, his long white beard flowing almost to his waist, his + hands upon his knees, his palsied head moving slowly from side to side, to + catch the scraps of discourse of the passing captains? His + great-grandchild, a little maid of six, has laid her curly head upon his + knees, and his grand-daughter, a buxom black-eyed dame of thirty, stands + by him and tends him, half as nurse, and half, too, as showman, for he + seems an object of curiosity to all the captains, and his fair nurse has + to entreat again and again, “Bless you, sir, please now, don't give him no + liquor, poor old soul, the doctor says.” It is old Martin Cockrem, father + of the ancient host, aged himself beyond the years of man, who can + recollect the bells of Plymouth ringing for the coronation of Henry the + Eighth, and who was the first Englishman, perhaps, who ever set foot on + the soil of the New World. There he sits, like an old Druid Tor of + primeval granite amid the tall wheat and rich clover crops of a modern + farm. He has seen the death of old Europe and the birth-throes of the new. + Go to him, and question him; for his senses are quick as ever; and just + now the old man seems uneasy. He is peering with rheumy eyes through the + groups, and seems listening for a well-known voice. + </p> + <p> + “There 'a be again! Why don't 'a come, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Quiet, gramfer, and don't trouble his worship.” + </p> + <p> + “Here an hour, and never speak to poor old Martin! I say, sir”—and + the old man feebly plucks Amyas's cloak as he passes. “I say, captain, do + 'e tell young master old Martin's looking for him.” + </p> + <p> + “Marcy, gramfer, where's your manners? Don't be vexed, sir, he'm a'most a + babe, and tejous at times, mortal.” + </p> + <p> + “Young master who?” says Amyas, bending down to the old man, and smiling + to the dame to let him have his way. + </p> + <p> + “Master Hawkins; he'm never been a-near me all day.” + </p> + <p> + Off goes Amyas; and, of course, lays hold of the sleeve of young Richard + Hawkins; but as he is in act to speak, the dame lays hold of his, laughing + and blushing. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, not Mr. Richard, sir; Admiral John, sir, his father; he always + calls him young master, poor old soul!” and she points to the grizzled + beard and the face scarred and tanned with fifty years of fight and storm. + </p> + <p> + Amyas goes to the Admiral, and gives his message. + </p> + <p> + “Mercy on me! Where be my wits? Iss, I'm a-coming,” says the old hero in + his broadest Devon, waddles off to the old man, and begins lugging at a + pocket. “Here, Martin, I've got mun, I've got mun, man alive; but his + Lordship keept me so. Lookee here, then! Why, I do get so lusty of late, + Martin, I can't get to my pockets!” + </p> + <p> + And out struggle a piece of tarred string, a bundle of papers, a thimble, + a piece of pudding-tobacco, and last of all, a little paper of Muscovado + sugar—then as great a delicacy as any French bonbons would be now—which + he thrusts into the old man's eager and trembling hand. + </p> + <p> + Old Martin begins dipping his finger into it, and rubbing it on his + toothless gums, smiling and nodding thanks to his young master; while the + little maid at his knee, unrebuked, takes her share also. + </p> + <p> + “There, Admiral Leigh; both ends meet—gramfers and babies! You and I + shall be like to that one day, young Samson!” + </p> + <p> + “We shall have slain a good many Philistines first, I hope.” + </p> + <p> + “Amen! so be it; but look to mun! so fine a sailor as ever drank liquor; + and now greedy after a hit of sweet trade! 'tis piteous like; but I bring + mun a hit whenever I come, and he looks for it. He's one of my own flesh + like, is old Martin. He sailed with my father Captain Will, when they was + both two little cracks aboard of a trawler; and my father went up, and + here I am—he didn't, and there he is. We'm up now, we Hawkinses. We + may be down again some day.” + </p> + <p> + “Never, I trust,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “'Tain't no use trusting, young man: you go and do. I do hear too much of + that there from my lad. Let they ministers preach till they'm black in the + face, works is the trade!” with a nudge in Amyas's ribs. “Faith can't + save, nor charity nether. There, you tell with him, while I go play bowls + with Drake. He'll tell you a sight of stories. You ask him about good King + Hal, now, just—” + </p> + <p> + And off waddled the Port Admiral. + </p> + <p> + “You have seen good King Henry, then, father?” said Amyas, interested. + </p> + <p> + The old man's eyes lighted at once, and he stopped mumbling his sugar. + </p> + <p> + “Seed mun? Iss, I reckon. I was with Captain Will when he went to meet the + Frenchman there to Calais—at the Field, the Field—” + </p> + <p> + “The Field of the Cloth of Gold, gramfer,” suggested the dame. + </p> + <p> + “That's it. Seed mun? Iss, fegs. Oh, he was a king! The face o' mun like a + rising sun, and the back o' mun so broad as that there” (and he held out + his palsied arms), “and the voice of mun! Oh, to hear mun swear if he was + merry, oh, 'tas royal!—Seed mun? Iss, fegs! And I've seed mun do + what few has; I've seed mun christle like any child.” + </p> + <p> + “What—cry?” said Amyas. “I shouldn't have thought there was much cry + in him.” + </p> + <p> + “You think what you like—” + </p> + <p> + “Gramfer, gramfer, don't you be rude, now— + </p> + <p> + “Let him go on,” said Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “I seed mun christle; and, oh dear, how he did put hands on mun's face; + and 'Oh, my gentlemen,' says he, 'my gentlemen! Oh, my gallant men!' Them + was his very words.” + </p> + <p> + “But when?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, Captain Will had just come to the Hard—that's to Portsmouth—to + speak with mun, and the barge Royal lay again the Hard—so; and our + boot alongside—so; and the king he standth as it might be there, + above my head, on the quay edge, and she come in near abreast of us, + looking most royal to behold, poor dear! and went to cast about. And + Captain Will, saith he, 'Them lower ports is cruel near the water;' for + she had not more than a sixteen inches to spare in the nether overloop, as + I heard after. And saith he, 'That won't do for going to windward in a + say, Martin.' And as the words came out of mun's mouth, your worship, + there was a bit of a flaw from the westward, sharp like, and overboard + goeth my cap, and hitth against the wall, and as I stooped to pick it up, + I heard a cry, and it was all over!” + </p> + <p> + “He is telling of the Mary Rose, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “I guessed so.” + </p> + <p> + “All over: and the cry of mun, and the screech of mun! Oh, sir, up to the + very heavens! And the king he screeched right out like any maid, 'Oh my + gentlemen, oh my gallant men!' and as she lay on her beam-ends, sir, and + just a-settling, the very last souls I seen was that man's father, and + that man's. I knowed mun by their armor.” + </p> + <p> + And he pointed to Sir George Carew and Sir Richard Grenville. + </p> + <p> + “Iss! Iss! Drowned like rattens. Drowned like rattens!” + </p> + <p> + “Now; you mustn't trouble his worship any more.” + </p> + <p> + “Trouble? Let him tell till midnight, I shall be well pleased,” said + Amyas, sitting down on the bench by him. “Drawer! ale—and a parcel + of tobacco.” + </p> + <p> + And Amyas settled himself to listen, while the old man purred to himself— + </p> + <p> + “Iss. They likes to hear old Martin. All the captains look upon old + Martin.” + </p> + <p> + “Hillo, Amyas!” said Cary, “who's your friend? Here's a man been telling + me wonders about the River Plate. We should go thither for luck there next + time.” + </p> + <p> + “River Plate?” said old Martin. “It's I knows about the River Plate; none + so well. Who'd ever been there, nor heard of it nether, before Captain + Will and me went, and I lived among the savages a whole year; and + audacious civil I found 'em if they 'd had but shirts to their backs; and + so was the prince o' mun, that Captain Will brought home to King Henry; + leastwise he died on the voyage; but the wild folk took it cruel well, for + you see, we was always as civil with them as Christians, and if we hadn't + been, I should not have been here now.” + </p> + <p> + “What year was that?” + </p> + <p> + “In the fifteen thirty: but I was there afore, and learnt the speech o' + mun; and that's why Captain Will left me to a hostage, when he tuked their + prince.” + </p> + <p> + “Before that?” said Cary; “why, the country was hardly known before that.” + </p> + <p> + The old man's eyes flashed up in triumph. + </p> + <p> + “Knowed? Iss, and you may well say that! Look ye here! Look to mun!” and + he waved his hand round—“There's captains! and I'm the father of 'em + all now, now poor Captain Will's in gloory; I, Martin Cockrem! . . . Iss, + I've seen a change. I mind when Tavistock Abbey was so full o' friars, and + goolden idols, and sich noxious trade, as ever was a wheat-rick of rats. I + mind the fight off Brest in the French wars—Oh, that was a fight, + surely!—when the Regent and the French Carack were burnt side by + side, being fast grappled, you see, because of Sir Thomas Knivet; and + Captain Will gave him warning as he ran a-past us, saying, says he—” + </p> + <p> + “But,” said Amyas, seeing that the old man was wandering away, “what do + you mind about America?” + </p> + <p> + “America? I should think so! But I was a-going to tell you of the Regent—and + seven hundred Englishmen burnt and drowned in her, and nine hundred French + in the Brest ship, besides what we picked up. Oh dear! But about America.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, about America. How are you the father of all the captains?” + </p> + <p> + “How? you ask my young master! Why, before the fifteen thirty, I was up + the Plate with Cabot (and a cruel fractious ontrustful fellow he was, like + all they Portingals), and bid there a year and more, and up the Paraguaio + with him, diskivering no end; whereby, gentles, I was the first + Englishman, I hold, that ever sot a foot on the New World, I was!” + </p> + <p> + “Then here's your health, and long life, sir!” said Amyas and Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Long life? Iss, fegs, I reckon, long enough a'ready! Why, I mind the + beginning of it all, I do. I mind when there wasn't a master mariner to + Plymouth, that thought there was aught west of the Land's End except + herrings. Why, they held them, pure wratches, that if you sailed right + west away far enough, you'd surely come to the edge, and fall over cleve. + Iss—'Twas dark parts round here, till Captain Will arose; and the + first of it I mind was inside the bar of San Lucar, and he and I were boys + about a ten year old, aboord of a Dartmouth ship, and went for wine, and + there come in over the bar he that was the beginning of it all.” + </p> + <p> + “Columbus?” + </p> + <p> + “Iss, fegs, he did, not a pistol-shot from us; and I saw mun stand on the + poop, so plain as I see you; no great shakes of a man to look to nether; + there's a sight better here, to plase me, and we was disappointed, we + lads, for we surely expected to see mun with a goolden crown on, and a + sceptre to a's hand, we did, and the ship o' mun all over like Solomon's + temple for gloory. And I mind that same year, too, seeing Vasco da Gama, + as was going out over the bar, when he found the Bona Speranza, and sailed + round it to the Indies. Ah, that was the making of they rascally + Portingals, it was! . . . And our crew told what they seen and heerd: but + nobody minded sich things. 'Twas dark parts, and Popish, then; and nobody + knowed nothing, nor got no schooling, nor cared for nothing, but + scrattling up and down alongshore like to prawns in a pule. Iss, sitting + in darkness, we was, and the shadow of death, till the day-spring from on + high arose, and shined upon us poor out-o'-the-way folk—The Lord be + praised! And now, look to mun!” and he waved his hand all round—“Look + to mun! Look to the works of the Lord! Look to the captains! Oh blessed + sight! And one's been to the Brazils, and one to the Indies, and the + Spanish Main, and the North-West, and the Rooshias, and the Chinas, and up + the Straits, and round the Cape, and round the world of God, too, bless + His holy name; and I seed the beginning of it; and I'll see the end of it + too, I will! I was born into the old times: but I'll see the wondrous + works of the new, yet, I will! I'll see they bloody Spaniards swept off + the seas before I die, if my old eyes can reach so far as outside the + Sound. I shall, I knows it. I says my prayers for it every night; don't I, + Mary? You'll bate mun, sure as Judgment, you'll bate mun! The Lord'll + fight for ye. Nothing'll stand against ye. I've seed it all along—ever + since I was with young master to the Honduras. They can't bide the push of + us! You'll bate mun off the face of the seas, and be masters of the round + world, and all that therein is. And then, I'll just turn my old face to + the wall, and depart in peace, according to his word. + </p> + <p> + “Deary me, now, while I've been telling with you, here've this little maid + been and ate up all my sugar!” + </p> + <p> + “I'll bring you some more,” said Amyas; whom the childish bathos of the + last sentence moved rather to sighs than laughter. + </p> + <p> + “Will ye, then? There's a good soul, and come and tell with old Martin. He + likes to see the brave young gentlemen, a-going to and fro in their ships, + like Leviathan, and taking of their pastime therein. We had no such ships + to our days. Ah, 'tis grand times, beautiful times surely—and you'll + bring me a bit sugar?” + </p> + <p> + “You were up the Plate with Cabot?” said Cary, after a pause. “Do you mind + the fair lady Miranda, Sebastian de Hurtado's wife?” + </p> + <p> + “What! her that was burnt by the Indians? Mind her? Do you mind the sun in + heaven? Oh, the beauty! Oh, the ways of her! Oh, the speech of her! Never + was, nor never will be! And she to die by they villains; and all for the + goodness of her! Mind her? I minded naught else when she was on deck.” + </p> + <p> + “Who was she?” asked Amyas of Cary. + </p> + <p> + “A Spanish angel, Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + “Humph!” said Amyas. “So much the worse for her, to be born into a nation + of devils.” + </p> + <p> + “They'em not all so bad as that, yer honor. Her husband was a proper + gallant gentleman, and kind as a maid, too, and couldn't abide that De + Solis's murderous doings.” + </p> + <p> + “His wife must have taught it him, then,” said Amyas, rising. “Where did + you hear of these black swans, Cary?” + </p> + <p> + “I have heard of them, and that's enough,” answered he, unwilling to stir + sad recollections. + </p> + <p> + “And little enough,” said Amyas. “Will, don't talk to me. The devil is not + grown white because he has trod in a lime-heap.” + </p> + <p> + “Or an angel black because she came down a chimney,” said Cary; and so the + talk ended, or rather was cut short; for the talk of all the groups was + interrupted by an explosion from old John Hawkins. + </p> + <p> + “Fail? Fail? What a murrain do you here, to talk of failing? Who made you + a prophet, you scurvy, hang-in-the-wind, croaking, white-livered son of a + corby-crow?” + </p> + <p> + “Heaven help us, Admiral Hawkins, who has put fire to your culverins in + this fashion?” said Lord Howard. + </p> + <p> + “Who? my lord! Croakers! my lord! Here's a fellow calls himself the + captain of a ship, and her majesty's servant, and talks about failing, as + if he were a Barbican loose-kirtle trying to keep her apple-squire ashore! + Blurt for him, sneak-up! say I.” + </p> + <p> + “Admiral John Hawkins,” quoth the offender, “you shall answer this + language with your sword.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll answer it with my foot; and buy me a pair of horn-tips to my shoes, + like a wraxling man. Fight a croaker? Fight a frog, an owl! I fight those + that dare fight, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “Sir, sir, moderate yourself. I am sure this gentleman will show himself + as brave as any, when it comes to blows: but who can blame mortal man for + trembling before so fearful a chance as this?” + </p> + <p> + “Let mortal man keep his tremblings to himself, then, my lord, and not be + like Solomon's madmen, casting abroad fire and death, and saying, it is + only in sport. There is more than one of his kidney, your lordship, who + have not been ashamed to play Mother Shipton before their own sailors, and + damp the poor fellows' hearts with crying before they're hurt, and this is + one of them. I've heard him at it afore, and I'll present him, with a + vengeance, though I'm no church-warden.” + </p> + <p> + “If this is really so, Admiral Hawkins—” + </p> + <p> + “It is so, my lord! I heard only last night, down in a tavern below, such + unbelieving talk as made me mad, my lord; and if it had not been after + supper, and my hand was not oversteady, I would have let out a pottle of + Alicant from some of their hoopings, and sent them to Dick Surgeon, to + wrap them in swaddling-clouts, like whining babies as they are. Marry come + up, what says Scripture? 'He that is fearful and faint-hearted among you, + let him go and'—what? son Dick there? Thou'rt pious, and read'st thy + Bible. What's that text? A mortal fine one it is, too.” + </p> + <p> + “'He that is fearful and faint-hearted among you, let him go back,'” quoth + the Complete Seaman. “Captain Merryweather, as my father's command, as + well as his years, forbid his answering your challenge, I shall repute it + an honor to entertain his quarrel myself—place, time, and weapons + being at your choice.” + </p> + <p> + “Well spoken, son Dick!—and like a true courtier, too! Ah! thou hast + the palabras, and the knee, and the cap, and the quip, and the innuendo, + and the true town fashion of it all—no old tarry-breeks of a + sea-dog, like thy dad! My lord, you'll let them fight?” + </p> + <p> + “The Spaniard, sir; but no one else. But, captains and gentlemen, consider + well my friend the Port Admiral's advice; and if any man's heart misgives + him, let him, for the sake of his country and his queen, have so much + government of his tongue to hide his fears in his own bosom, and leave + open complaining to ribalds and women. For if the sailor be not cheered by + his commander's cheerfulness, how will the ignorant man find comfort in + himself? And without faith and hope, how can he fight worthily?” + </p> + <p> + “There is no croaking aboard of us, we will warrant,” said twenty voices, + “and shall be none, as long as we command on board our own ships.” + </p> + <p> + Hawkins, having blown off his steam, went back to Drake and the bowls. + </p> + <p> + “Fill my pipe, Drawer—that croaking fellow's made me let it out, of + course! Spoil-sports! The father of all manner of troubles on earth, be + they noxious trade of croakers! 'Better to meet a bear robbed of her + whelps,' Francis Drake, as Solomon saith, than a fule who can't keep his + mouth shut. What brought Mr. Andrew Barker to his death but croakers? What + stopped Fenton's China voyage in the '82, and lost your nephew John, and + my brother Will, glory and hard cash too, but croakers? What sent back my + Lord Cumberland's armada in the '86, and that after they'd proved their + strength, too, sixty o' mun against six hundred Portugals and Indians; and + yet wern't ashamed to turn round and come home empty-handed, after all my + lord's expenses that he had been at? What but these same beggarly + croakers, that be only fit to be turned into yellow-hammers up to + Dartymoor, and sit on a tor all day, and cry 'Very little bit of bread, + and no chee-e-ese!' Marry, sneak-up! say I again.” + </p> + <p> + “And what,” said Drake, “would have kept me, if I'd let 'em, from ever + sailing round the world, but these same croakers? I hanged my best friend + for croaking, John Hawkins, may God forgive me if I was wrong, and I + threatened a week after to hang thirty more; and I'd have done it, too, if + they hadn't clapped tompions into their muzzles pretty fast.” + </p> + <p> + “You'm right, Frank. My old father always told me—and old King Hal + (bless his memory!) would take his counsel among a thousand;—'And, + my son,' says he to me, 'whatever you do, never you stand no croaking; but + hang mun, son Jack, hang mun up for an ensign. There's Scripture for it,' + says he (he was a mighty man to his Bible, after bloody Mary's days, + leastwise), 'and 'tis written,' says he, 'It's expedient that one man die + for the crew, and that the whole crew perish not; so show you no mercy, + son Jack, or you'll find none, least-wise in they manner of cattle; for if + you fail, they stamps on you, and if you succeeds, they takes the credit + of it to themselves, and goes to heaven in your shoes.' Those were his + words, and I've found mun true.—Who com'th here now?” + </p> + <p> + “Captain Fleming, as I'm a sinner.” + </p> + <p> + “Fleming? Is he tired of life, that he com'th here to look for a halter? + I've a warrant out against mun, for robbing of two Flushingers on the high + seas, now this very last year. Is the fellow mazed or drunk, then? or has + he seen a ghost? Look to mun!” + </p> + <p> + “I think so, truly,” said Drake. “His eyes are near out of his head.” + </p> + <p> + The man was a rough-bearded old sea-dog, who had just burst in from the + tavern through the low hatch, upsetting a drawer with all his glasses, and + now came panting and blowing straight up to the high admiral,— + </p> + <p> + “My lord, my lord! They'm coming! I saw them off the Lizard last night!” + </p> + <p> + “Who? my good sir, who seem to have left your manners behind you.” + </p> + <p> + “The Armada, your worship—the Spaniard; but as for my manners, 'tis + no fault of mine, for I never had none to leave behind me.” + </p> + <p> + “If he has not left his manners behind,” quoth Hawkins, “look out for your + purses, gentlemen all! He's manners enough, and very bad ones they be, + when he com'th across a quiet Flushinger.” + </p> + <p> + “If I stole Flushingers' wines, I never stole negurs' souls, Jack Hawkins; + so there's your answer. My lord, hang me if you will; life's short and + death's easy 'specially to seamen; but if I didn't see the Spanish fleet + last sun-down, coming along half-moon wise, and full seven mile from wing + to wing, within a four mile of me, I'm a sinner.” + </p> + <p> + “Sirrah,” said Lord Howard, “is this no fetch, to cheat us out of your + pardon for these piracies of yours?” + </p> + <p> + “You'll find out for yourself before nightfall, my lord high admiral. All + Jack Fleming says is, that this is a poor sort of an answer to a man who + has put his own neck into the halter for the sake of his country.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps it is,” said Lord Howard. “And after all, gentlemen, what can this + man gain by a lie, which must be discovered ere a day is over, except a + more certain hanging?” + </p> + <p> + “Very true, your lordship,” said Hawkins, mollified. “Come here, Jack + Fleming—what wilt drain, man? Hippocras or Alicant, Sack or John + Barleycorn, and a pledge to thy repentance and amendment of life.” + </p> + <p> + “Admiral Hawkins, Admiral Hawkins, this is no time for drinking.” + </p> + <p> + “Why not, then, my lord? Good news should be welcomed with good wine. + Frank, send down to the sexton, and set the bells a-ringing to cheer up + all honest hearts. Why, my lord, if it were not for the gravity of my + office, I could dance a galliard for joy!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you may dance, port admiral: but I must go and plan, but God give + to all captains such a heart as yours this day!” + </p> + <p> + “And God give all generals such a head as yours! Come, Frank Drake, we'll + play the game out before we move. It will be two good days before we shall + be fit to tackle them, so an odd half-hour don't matter.” + </p> + <p> + “I must command the help of your counsel, vice-admiral,” said Lord + Charles, turning to Drake. + </p> + <p> + “And it's this, my good lord,” said Drake, looking up, as he aimed his + bowl. “They'll come soon enough for us to show them sport, and yet slow + enough for us to be ready; so let no man hurry himself. And as example is + better than precept, here goes.” + </p> + <p> + Lord Howard shrugged his shoulders, and departed, knowing two things: + first, that to move Drake was to move mountains; and next, that when the + self-taught hero did bestir himself, he would do more work in an hour than + any one else in a day. So he departed, followed hastily by most of the + captains; and Drake said in a low voice to Hawkins: + </p> + <p> + “Does he think we are going to knock about on a lee-shore all the + afternoon and run our noses at night—and dead up-wind, too—into + the Dons' mouths? No, Jack, my friend. Let Orlando-Furioso-punctilio-fire- + eaters go and get their knuckles rapped. The following game is the game, + and not the meeting one. The dog goes after the sheep, and not afore them, + lad. Let them go by, and go by, and stick to them well to windward, and + pick up stragglers, and pickings, too, Jack—the prizes, Jack!” + </p> + <p> + “Trust my old eyes for not being over-quick at seeing signals, if I be + hanging in the skirts of a fat-looking Don. We'm the eagles, Drake; and + where the carcase is, is our place, eh?” + </p> + <p> + And so the two old sea-dogs chatted on, while their companions dropped off + one by one, and only Amyas remained. + </p> + <p> + “Eh, Captain Leigh, where's my boy Dick?” + </p> + <p> + “Gone off with his lordship, Sir John.” + </p> + <p> + “On his punctilios too, I suppose, the young slashed-breeks. He's half a + Don, that fellow, with his fine scholarship, and his fine manners, and his + fine clothes. He'll get a taking down before he dies, unless he mends. Why + ain't you gone too, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “I follow my leader,” said Amyas, filling his pipe. + </p> + <p> + “Well said, my big man,” quoth Drake. “If I could lead you round the + world, I can lead you up Channel, can't I?—Eh? my little bantam-cock + of the Orinoco? Drink, lad! You're over-sad to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Not a whit,” said Amyas. “Only I can't help wondering whether I shall + find him after all.” + </p> + <p> + “Whom? That Don? We'll find him for you, if he's in the fleet. We'll + squeeze it out of our prisoners somehow. Eh, Hawkins? I thought all the + captains had promised to send you news if they heard of him.” + </p> + <p> + “Ay, but it's ill looking for a needle in a haystack. But I shall find + him. I am a coward to doubt it,” said Amyas, setting his teeth. + </p> + <p> + “There, vice-admiral, you're beaten, and that's the rubber. Pay up three + dollars, old high-flyer, and go and earn more, like an honest adventurer.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Drake, as he pulled out his purse, “we'll walk down now, and + see about these young hot-heads. As I live, they are setting to tow the + ships out already! Breaking the men's backs over-night, to make them fight + the lustier in the morning! Well, well, they haven't sailed round the + world, Jack Hawkins.” + </p> + <p> + “Or had to run home from San Juan d'Ulloa with half a crew. + </p> + <p> + “Well, if we haven't to run out with half crews. I saw a sight of our lads + drunk about this morning.” + </p> + <p> + “The more reason for waiting till they be sober. Besides, if everybody's + caranting about to once each after his own men, nobody'll find nothing in + such a scrimmage as that. Bye, bye, Uncle Martin. We'm going to blow the + Dons up now in earnest.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI + </h2> + <h3> + THE GREAT ARMADA + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Britannia needs no bulwarks, + No towers along the steep, + Her march is o'er the mountain wave, + Her home is on the deep.” + + CAMPBELL, Ye Mariners of England. +</pre> + <p> + And now began that great sea-fight which was to determine whether Popery + and despotism, or Protestantism and freedom, were the law which God had + appointed for the half of Europe, and the whole of future America. It is a + twelve days' epic, worthy, as I said in the beginning of this book, not of + dull prose, but of the thunder-roll of Homer's verse: but having to tell + it, I must do my best, rather using, where I can, the words of + contemporary authors than my own. + </p> + <p> + “The Lord High Admirall of England, sending a pinnace before, called the + Defiance, denounced war by discharging her ordnance; and presently + approaching with in musquet-shot, with much thundering out of his own + ship, called the Arkroyall (alias the Triumph), first set upon the + admirall's, as he thought, of the Spaniards (but it was Alfonso de Leon's + ship). Soon after, Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher played stoutly with their + ordnance on the hindmost squadron, which was commanded by Recalde.” The + Spaniards soon discover the superior “nimbleness of the English ships;” + and Recalde's squadron, finding that they are getting more than they give, + in spite of his endeavors, hurry forward to join the rest of the fleet. + Medina the Admiral, finding his ships scattering fast, gathers them into a + half-moon; and the Armada tries to keep solemn way forward, like a stately + herd of buffaloes, who march on across the prairie, disdaining to notice + the wolves which snarl around their track. But in vain. These are no + wolves, but cunning hunters, swiftly horsed, and keenly armed, and who + will “shamefully shuffle” (to use Drake's own expression) that vast herd + from the Lizard to Portland, from Portland to Calais Roads; and who, even + in this short two hours' fight, have made many a Spaniard question the + boasted invincibleness of this Armada. + </p> + <p> + One of the four great galliasses is already riddled with shot, to the + great disarrangement of her “pulpits, chapels,” and friars therein + assistant. The fleet has to close round her, or Drake and Hawkins will + sink her; in effecting which manoeuvre, the “principal galleon of + Seville,” in which are Pedro de Valdez and a host of blue-blooded Dons, + runs foul of her neighbor, carries away her foremast, and is, in spite of + Spanish chivalry, left to her fate. This does not look like victory, + certainly. But courage! though Valdez be left behind, “our Lady,” and the + saints, and the bull Caena Domini (dictated by one whom I dare not name + here), are with them still, and it were blasphemous to doubt. But in the + meanwhile, if they have fared no better than this against a third of the + Plymouth fleet, how will they fare when those forty belated ships, which + are already whitening the blue between them and the Mewstone, enter the + scene to play their part? + </p> + <p> + So ends the first day; not an English ship, hardly a man, is hurt. It has + destroyed for ever, in English minds, the prestige of boastful Spain. It + has justified utterly the policy which the good Lord Howard had adopted by + Raleigh's and Drake's advice, of keeping up a running fight, instead of + “clapping ships together without consideration,” in which case, says + Raleigh, “he had been lost, if he had not been better advised than a great + many malignant fools were, who found fault with his demeanor.” + </p> + <p> + Be that as it may, so ends the first day, in which Amyas and the other + Bideford ships have been right busy for two hours, knocking holes in a + huge galleon, which carries on her poop a maiden with a wheel, and bears + the name of Sta. Catharina. She had a coat of arms on the flag at her + sprit, probably those of the commandant of soldiers; but they were shot + away early in the fight, so Amyas cannot tell whether they were De Soto's + or not. Nevertheless, there is plenty of time for private revenge; and + Amyas, called off at last by the admiral's signal, goes to bed and sleeps + soundly. + </p> + <p> + But ere he has been in his hammock an hour, he is awakened by Cary's + coming down to ask for orders. + </p> + <p> + “We were to follow Drake's lantern, Amyas; but where it is, I can't see, + unless he has been taken up aloft there among the stars for a new Drakium + Sidus.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas turns out grumbling: but no lantern is to be seen; only a sudden + explosion and a great fire on board some Spaniard, which is gradually got + under, while they have to lie-to the whole night long, with nearly the + whole fleet. + </p> + <p> + The next morning finds them off Torbay; and Amyas is hailed by a pinnace, + bringing a letter from Drake, which (saving the spelling, which was + somewhat arbitrary, like most men's in those days) ran somewhat thus:— + </p> + <p> + “DEAR LAD,—I have been wool-gathering all night after five great + hulks, which the Pixies transfigured overnight into galleons, and this + morning again into German merchantmen. I let them go with my blessing; and + coming back, fell in (God be thanked!) with Valdez' great galleon; and in + it good booty, which the Dons his fellows had left behind, like faithful + and valiant comrades, and the Lord Howard had let slip past him, thinking + her deserted by her crew. I have sent to Dartmouth a sight of noblemen and + gentlemen, maybe a half-hundred; and Valdez himself, who when I sent my + pinnace aboard must needs stand on his punctilios, and propound + conditions. I answered him, I had no time to tell with him; if he would + needs die, then I was the very man for him; if he would live, then, buena + querra. He sends again, boasting that he was Don Pedro Valdez, and that it + stood not with his honor, and that of the Dons in his company. I replied, + that for my part, I was Francis Drake, and my matches burning. Whereon he + finds in my name salve for the wounds of his own, and comes aboard, + kissing my fist, with Spanish lies of holding himself fortunate that he + had fallen into the hands of fortunate Drake, and much more, which he + might have kept to cool his porridge. But I have much news from him (for + he is a leaky tub); and among others, this, that your Don Guzman is aboard + of the Sta. Catharina, commandant of her soldiery, and has his arms flying + at her sprit, beside Sta. Catharina at the poop, which is a maiden with a + wheel, and is a lofty built ship of 3 tier of ordnance, from which God + preserve you, and send you like luck with. + </p> + <p> + “Your deare Friend and Admirall, + </p> + <p> + “F. Drake. + </p> + <p> + “She sails in this squadron of Recalde. The Armada was minded to smoke us + out of Plymouth; and God's grace it was they tried not: but their orders + from home are too strait, and so the slaves fight like a bull in a tether, + no farther than their rope, finding thus the devil a hard master, as do + most in the end. They cannot compass our quick handling and tacking, and + take us for very witches. So far so good, and better to come. You and I + know the length of their foot of old. Time and light will kill any hare, + and they will find it a long way from Start to Dunkirk.” + </p> + <p> + “The admiral is in a gracious humor, Leigh, to have vouchsafed you so long + a letter.” + </p> + <p> + “St. Catherine! why, that was the galleon we hammered all yesterday!” said + Amyas, stamping on the deck. + </p> + <p> + “Of course it was. Well, we shall find her again, doubt not. That cunning + old Drake! how he has contrived to line his own pockets, even though he + had to keep the whole fleet waiting for him.” + </p> + <p> + “He has given the lord high admiral the dor, at all events.” + </p> + <p> + “Lord Howard is too high-hearted to stop and plunder, Papist though he is, + Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas answered by a growl, for he worshipped Drake, and was not too just + to Papists. + </p> + <p> + The fleet did not find Lord Howard till nightfall; he and Lord Sheffield + had been holding on steadfastly the whole night after the Spanish + lanterns, with two ships only. At least there was no doubt now of the + loyalty of English Roman Catholics, and indeed, throughout the fight, the + Howards showed (as if to wipe out the slurs which had been cast on their + loyalty by fanatics) a desperate courage, which might have thrust less + prudent men into destruction, but led them only to victory. Soon a large + Spaniard drifts by, deserted and partly burnt. Some of the men are for + leaving their place to board her; but Amyas stoutly refuses. He has “come + out to fight, and not to plunder; so let the nearest ship to her have her + luck without grudging.” They pass on, and the men pull long faces when + they see the galleon snapped up by their next neighbor, and towed off to + Weymouth, where she proves to be the ship of Miguel d'Oquenda, the + vice-admiral, which they saw last night, all but blown up by some + desperate Netherland gunner, who, being “misused,” was minded to pay off + old scores on his tyrants. + </p> + <p> + And so ends the second day; while the Portland rises higher and clearer + every hour. The next morning finds them off the island. Will they try + Portsmouth, though they have spared Plymouth? The wind has shifted to the + north, and blows clear and cool off the white-walled downs of Weymouth + Bay. The Spaniards turn and face the English. They must mean to stand off + and on until the wind shall change, and then to try for the Needles. At + least, they shall have some work to do before they round Purbeck Isle. + </p> + <p> + The English go to the westward again: but it is only to return on the + opposite tack; and now begin a series of manoeuvres, each fleet trying to + get the wind of the other; but the struggle does not last long, and ere + noon the English fleet have slipped close-hauled between the Armada and + the land, and are coming down upon them right before the wind. + </p> + <p> + And now begins a fight most fierce and fell. “And fight they did + confusedly, and with variable fortunes; while, on the one hand, the + English manfully rescued the ships of London, which were hemmed in by the + Spaniards; and, on the other side, the Spaniards as stoutly delivered + Recalde being in danger.” “Never was heard such thundering of ordnance on + both sides, which notwithstanding from the Spaniards flew for the most + part over the English without harm. Only Cock, an Englishman” (whom Prince + claims, I hope rightfully, as a worthy of Devon), “died with honor in the + midst of the enemies in a small ship of his. For the English ships, being + far the lesser, charged the enemy with marvellous agility; and having + discharged their broadsides, flew forth presently into the deep, and + levelled their shot directly, without missing, at those great and unwieldy + Spanish ships.” “This was the most furious and bloody skirmish of all” + (though ending only, it seems, in the capture of a great Venetian and some + small craft), “in which the lord admiral fighting amidst his enemies' + fleet, and seeing one of his captains afar off (Fenner by name, he who + fought the seven Portugals at the Azores), cried, 'O George, what doest + thou? Wilt thou now frustrate my hope and opinion conceived of thee? Wilt + thou forsake me now?' With which words he being enflamed, approached, and + did the part of a most valiant captain;” as, indeed, did all the rest. + </p> + <p> + Night falls upon the floating volcano; and morning finds them far past + Purbeck, with the white peak of Freshwater ahead; and pouring out past the + Needles, ship after ship, to join the gallant chase. For now from all + havens, in vessels fitted out at their own expense, flock the chivalry of + England; the Lords Oxford, Northumberland, and Cumberland, Pallavicin, + Brooke, Carew, Raleigh, and Blunt, and many another honorable name, “as to + a set field, where immortal fame and honor was to be attained.” Spain has + staked her chivalry in that mighty cast; not a noble house of Arragon or + Castile but has lent a brother or a son—and shall mourn the loss of + one: and England's gentlemen will measure their strength once for all + against the Cavaliers of Spain. Lord Howard has sent forward light craft + into Portsmouth for ammunition: but they will scarce return to-night, for + the wind falls dead, and all the evening the two fleets drift helpless + with the tide, and shout idle defiance at each other with trumpet, fife, + and drum. + </p> + <p> + The sun goes down upon a glassy sea, and rises on a glassy sea again. But + what day is this? The twenty-fifth, St. James's-day, sacred to the patron + saint of Spain. Shall nothing be attempted in his honor by those whose + forefathers have so often seen him with their bodily eyes, charging in + their van upon his snow-white steed, and scattering Paynims with celestial + lance? He might have sent them, certainly, a favoring breeze; perhaps, he + only means to try their faith; at least the galleys shall attack; and in + their van three of the great galliasses (the fourth lies half-crippled + among the fleet) thrash the sea to foam with three hundred oars apiece; + and see, not St. James leading them to victory, but Lord Howard's Triumph, + his brother's Lion, Southwell's Elizabeth Jonas, Lord Sheffield's Bear, + Barker's Victory, and George Fenner's Leicester, towed stoutly out, to + meet them with such salvoes of chain-shot, smashing oars, and cutting + rigging, that had not the wind sprung up again toward noon, and the + Spanish fleet come up to rescue them, they had shared the fate of Valdez + and the Biscayan. And now the fight becomes general. Frobisher beats down + the Spanish admiral's mainmast; and, attacked himself by Mexia and + Recalde, is rescued by Lord Howard; who, himself endangered in his turn, + is rescued in his turn; “while after that day” (so sickened were they of + the English gunnery) “no galliasse would adventure to fight.” + </p> + <p> + And so, with variable fortune, the fight thunders on the livelong + afternoon, beneath the virgin cliffs of Freshwater; while myriad sea-fowl + rise screaming up from every ledge, and spot with their black wings the + snow-white wall of chalk; and the lone shepherd hurries down the slopes + above to peer over the dizzy edge, and forgets the wheatear fluttering in + his snare, while he gazes trembling upon glimpses of tall masts and + gorgeous flags, piercing at times the league-broad veil of sulphur-smoke + which welters far below. + </p> + <p> + So fares St. James's-day, as Baal's did on Carmel in old time, “Either he + is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey; or peradventure he + sleepeth, and must be awaked.” At least, the only fire by which he has + answered his votaries, has been that of English cannon: and the Armada, + “gathering itself into a roundel,” will fight no more, but make the best + of its way to Calais, where perhaps the Guises' faction may have a French + force ready to assist them, and then to Dunkirk, to join with Parma and + the great flotilla of the Netherlands. + </p> + <p> + So on, before “a fair Etesian gale,” which follows clear and bright out of + the south-southwest, glide forward the two great fleets, past Brighton + Cliffs and Beachy Head, Hastings and Dungeness. Is it a battle or a + triumph? For by sea Lord Howard, instead of fighting is rewarding; and + after Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Sheffield, Townsend, and Frobisher have + received at his hands that knighthood, which was then more honorable than + a peerage, old Admiral Hawkins kneels and rises up Sir John, and shaking + his shoulders after the accolade, observes to the representative of + majesty, that his “old woman will hardly know herself again, when folks + call her My Lady.” + </p> + <p> + And meanwhile the cliffs are lined with pike-men and musketeers, and by + every countryman and groom who can bear arms, led by their squires and + sheriffs, marching eastward as fast as their weapons let them, towards the + Dover shore. And not with them alone. From many a mile inland come down + women and children, and aged folk in wagons, to join their feeble shouts, + and prayers which are not feeble, to that great cry of mingled faith and + fear which ascends to the throne of God from the spectators of Britain's + Salamis. + </p> + <p> + Let them pray on. The danger is not over yet, though Lord Howard has had + news from Newhaven that the Guises will not stir against England, and + Seymour and Winter have left their post of observation on the Flemish + shores, to make up the number of the fleet to an hundred and forty sail—larger, + slightly, than that of the Spanish fleet, but of not more than half the + tonnage, or one third the number of men. The Spaniards are dispirited and + battered, but unbroken still; and as they slide to their anchorage in + Calais Roads on the Saturday evening of that most memorable week, all + prudent men know well that England's hour is come, and that the bells + which will call all Christendom to church upon the morrow morn, will be + either the death-knell or the triumphal peal of the Reformed faith + throughout the world. + </p> + <p> + A solemn day that Sabbath must have been in country and in town. And many + a light-hearted coward, doubtless, who had scoffed (as many did) at the + notion of the Armada's coming, because he dare not face the thought, gave + himself up to abject fear, “as he now plainly saw and heard that of which + before he would not be persuaded.” And many a brave man, too, as he knelt + beside his wife and daughters, felt his heart sink to the very pavement, + at the thought of what those beloved ones might be enduring a few short + days hence, from a profligate and fanatical soldiery, or from the more + deliberate fiendishness of the Inquisition. The massacre of St. + Bartholomew, the fires of Smithfield, the immolation of the Moors, the + extermination of the West Indians, the fantastic horrors of the + Piedmontese persecution, which make unreadable the too truthful pages of + Morland,—these were the spectres, which, not as now, dim and distant + through the mist of centuries, but recent, bleeding from still gaping + wounds, flitted before the eyes of every Englishman, and filled his brain + and heart with fire. + </p> + <p> + He knew full well the fate in store for him and his. One false step, and + the unspeakable doom which, not two generations afterwards, befell the + Lutherans of Magdeburg, would have befallen every town from London to + Carlisle. All knew the hazard, as they prayed that day, and many a day + before and after, throughout England and the Netherlands. And none knew it + better than she who was the guiding spirit of that devoted land, and the + especial mark of the invaders' fury; and who, by some Divine inspiration + (as men then not unwisely held), devised herself the daring stroke which + was to anticipate the coming blow. + </p> + <p> + But where is Amyas Leigh all this while? Day after day he has been seeking + the Sta. Catharina in the thickest of the press, and cannot come at her, + cannot even hear of her: one moment he dreads that she has sunk by night, + and balked him of his prey; the next, that she has repaired her damages, + and will escape him after all. He is moody, discontented, restless, even + (for the first time in his life) peevish with his men. He can talk of + nothing but Don Guzman; he can find no better employment, at every spare + moment, than taking his sword out of the sheath, and handling it, fondling + it, talking to it even, bidding it not to fail him in the day of + vengeance. At last, he has sent to Squire, the armorer, for a whetstone, + and, half-ashamed of his own folly, whets and polishes it in bye-corners, + muttering to himself. That one fixed thought of selfish vengeance has + possessed his whole mind; he forgets England's present need, her past + triumph, his own safety, everything but his brother's blood. And yet this + is the day for which he has been longing ever since he brought home that + magic horn as a fifteen years boy; the day when he should find himself + face to face with an invader, and that invader Antichrist himself. He has + believed for years with Drake, Hawkins, Grenville, and Raleigh, that he + was called and sent into the world only to fight the Spaniard: and he is + fighting him now, in such a cause, for such a stake, within such + battle-lists, as he will never see again: and yet he is not content, and + while throughout that gallant fleet, whole crews are receiving the + Communion side by side, and rising with cheerful faces to shake hands, and + to rejoice that they are sharers in Britain's Salamis, Amyas turns away + from the holy elements. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot communicate, Sir John. Charity with all men? I hate, if ever man + hated on earth.” + </p> + <p> + “You hate the Lord's foes only, Captain Leigh.” + </p> + <p> + “No, Jack, I hate my own as well.” + </p> + <p> + “But no one in the fleet, sir?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't try to put me off with the same Jesuit's quibble which that false + knave Parson Fletcher invented for one of Doughty's men, to drug his + conscience withal when he was plotting against his own admiral. No, Jack, + I hate one of whom you know; and somehow that hatred of him keeps me from + loving any human being. I am in love and charity with no man, Sir John + Brimblecombe—not even with you! Go your ways in God's name, sir! and + leave me and the devil alone together, or you'll find my words are true.” + </p> + <p> + Jack departed with a sigh, and while the crew were receiving the Communion + on deck, Amyas sate below in the cabin sharpening his sword, and after it, + called for a boat and went on board Drake's ship to ask news of the Sta. + Catharina, and listened scowling to the loud chants and tinkling bells, + which came across the water from the Spanish fleet. At last, Drake was + summoned by the lord admiral, and returned with a secret commission, which + ought to bear fruit that night; and Amyas, who had gone with him, helped + him till nightfall, and then returned to his own ship as Sir Amyas Leigh, + Knight, to the joy and glory of every soul on board, except his moody + self. + </p> + <p> + So there, the livelong summer Sabbath-day, before the little high-walled + town and the long range of yellow sandhills, lie those two mighty + armaments, scowling at each other, hardly out of gunshot. Messenger after + messenger is hurrying towards Bruges to the Duke of Parma, for light craft + which can follow these nimble English somewhat better than their own + floating castles; and, above all, entreating him to put to sea at once + with all his force. The duke is not with his forces at Dunkirk, but on the + future field of Waterloo, paying his devotions to St. Mary of Halle in + Hainault, in order to make all sure in his Pantheon, and already sees in + visions of the night that gentle-souled and pure-lipped saint, Cardinal + Allen, placing the crown of England on his head. He returns for answer, + first, that his victual is not ready; next, that his Dutch sailors, who + have been kept at their post for many a week at the sword's point, have + run away like water; and thirdly, that over and above all, he cannot come, + so “strangely provided” of great ordnance and musketeers are those + five-and-thirty Dutch ships, in which round-sterned and stubborn-hearted + heretics watch, like terriers at a rat's hole, the entrance of Nieuwport + and Dunkirk. Having ensured the private patronage of St. Mary of Halle, he + will return to-morrow to make experience of its effects: but only hear + across the flats of Dixmude the thunder of the fleets, and at Dunkirk the + open curses of his officers. For while he has been praying and nothing + more, the English have been praying, and something more; and all that is + left for the Prince of Parma is, to hang a few purveyors, as peace + offerings to his sulking army, and then “chafe,” as Drake says of him, + “like a bear robbed of her whelps.” + </p> + <p> + For Lord Henry Seymour has brought Lord Howard a letter of command from + Elizabeth's self; and Drake has been carrying it out so busily all that + Sunday long, that by two o'clock on the Monday morning, eight fire-ships + “besmeared with wild-fire, brimstone, pitch, and resin, and all their + ordnance charged with bullets and with stones,” are stealing down the wind + straight for the Spanish fleet, guided by two valiant men of Devon, Young + and Prowse. (Let their names live long in the land!) The ships are fired, + the men of Devon steal back, and in a moment more, the heaven is red with + glare from Dover Cliffs to Gravelines Tower; and weary-hearted Belgian + boors far away inland, plundered and dragooned for many a hideous year, + leap from their beds, and fancy (and not so far wrongly either) that the + day of judgment is come at last, to end their woes, and hurl down + vengeance on their tyrants. + </p> + <p> + And then breaks forth one of those disgraceful panics, which so often + follow overweening presumption; and shrieks, oaths, prayers, and + reproaches, make night hideous. There are those too on board who recollect + well enough Jenebelli's fire-ships at Antwerp three years before, and the + wreck which they made of Parma's bridge across the Scheldt. If these + should be like them! And cutting all cables, hoisting any sails, the + Invincible Armada goes lumbering wildly out to sea, every ship foul of her + neighbor. + </p> + <p> + The largest of the four galliasses loses her rudder, and drifts helpless + to and fro, hindering and confusing. The duke, having (so the Spaniards + say) weighed his anchor deliberately instead of leaving it behind him, + runs in again after awhile, and fires a signal for return: but his truant + sheep are deaf to the shepherd's pipe, and swearing and praying by turns, + he runs up Channel towards Gravelines picking up stragglers on his way, + who are struggling as they best can among the flats and shallows: but + Drake and Fenner have arrived as soon as he. When Monday's sun rises on + the quaint old castle and muddy dykes of Gravelines town, the thunder of + the cannon recommences, and is not hushed till night. Drake can hang + coolly enough in the rear to plunder when he thinks fit; but when the + battle needs it, none can fight more fiercely, among the foremost; and + there is need now, if ever. That Armada must never be allowed to re-form. + If it does, its left wing may yet keep the English at bay, while its right + drives off the blockading Hollanders from Dunkirk port, and sets Parma and + his flotilla free to join them, and to sail in doubled strength across to + the mouth of Thames. + </p> + <p> + So Drake has weighed anchor, and away up Channel with all his squadron, + the moment that he saw the Spanish fleet come up; and with him Fenner + burning to redeem the honor which, indeed, he had never lost; and ere + Fenton, Beeston, Crosse, Ryman, and Lord Southwell can join them, the + Devon ships have been worrying the Spaniards for two full hours into + confusion worse confounded. + </p> + <p> + But what is that heavy firing behind them? Alas for the great galliasse! + She lies, like a huge stranded whale, upon the sands where now stands + Calais pier; and Amyas Preston, the future hero of La Guayra, is pounding + her into submission, while a fleet of hoys and drumblers look on and help, + as jackals might the lion. + </p> + <p> + Soon, on the south-west horizon, loom up larger and larger two mighty + ships, and behind them sail on sail. As they near a shout greets the + Triumph and the Bear; and on and in the lord high admiral glides stately + into the thickest of the fight. + </p> + <p> + True, we have still but some three-and-twenty ships which can cope at all + with some ninety of the Spaniards: but we have dash, and daring, and the + inspiration of utter need. Now, or never, must the mighty struggle be + ended. We worried them off Portland; we must rend them in pieces now; and + in rushes ship after ship, to smash her broadsides through and through the + wooden castles, “sometimes not a pike's length asunder,” and then out + again to re-load, and give place meanwhile to another. The smaller are + fighting with all sails set; the few larger, who, once in, are careless + about coming out again, fight with top-sails loose, and their main and + foreyards close down on deck, to prevent being boarded. The duke, Oquenda, + and Recalde, having with much ado got clear of the shallows, bear the + brunt of the fight to seaward; but in vain. The day goes against them more + and more, as it runs on. Seymour and Winter have battered the great San + Philip into a wreck; her masts are gone by the board; Pimentelli in the + San Matthew comes up to take the mastiffs off the fainting bull, and finds + them fasten on him instead; but the Evangelist, though smaller, is stouter + than the Deacon, and of all the shot poured into him, not twenty “lackt + him thorough.” His masts are tottering; but sink or strike he will not. + </p> + <p> + “Go ahead, and pound his tough hide, Leigh,” roars Drake off the poop of + his ship, while he hammers away at one of the great galliasses. “What + right has he to keep us all waiting?” + </p> + <p> + Amyas slips in as best he can between Drake and Winter; as he passes he + shouts to his ancient enemy,— + </p> + <p> + “We are with you, sir; all friends to-day!” and slipping round Winter's + bows, he pours his broadside into those of the San Matthew, and then + glides on to re-load; but not to return. For not a pistol shot to leeward, + worried by three or four small craft, lies an immense galleon; and on her + poop—can he believe his eyes for joy?—the maiden and the wheel + which he has sought so long! + </p> + <p> + “There he is!” shouts Amyas, springing to the starboard side of the ship. + The men, too, have already caught sight of that hated sign; a cheer of + fury bursts from every throat. + </p> + <p> + “Steady, men!” says Amyas, in a suppressed voice. “Not a shot! Re-load, + and be ready; I must speak with him first;” and silent as the grave, amid + the infernal din, the Vengeance glides up to the Spaniard's quarter. + </p> + <p> + “Don Guzman Maria Magdalena Sotomayor de Soto!” shouts Amyas from the + mizzen rigging, loud and clear amid the roar. + </p> + <p> + He has not called in vain. Fearless and graceful as ever, the tall, + mail-clad figure of his foe leaps up upon the poop-railing, twenty feet + above Amyas's head, and shouts through his vizor,— + </p> + <p> + “At your service, sir whosoever you may be.” + </p> + <p> + A dozen muskets and arrows are levelled at him; but Amyas frowns them + down. “No man strikes him but I. Spare him, if you kill every other soul + on board. Don Guzman! I am Captain Sir Amyas Leigh; I proclaim you a + traitor and a ravisher, and challenge you once more to single combat, when + and where you will.” + </p> + <p> + “You are welcome to come on board me, sir,” answers the Spaniard, in a + clear, quiet tone; “bringing with you this answer, that you lie in your + throat;” and lingering a moment out of bravado, to arrange his scarf, he + steps slowly down again behind the bulwarks. + </p> + <p> + “Coward!” shouts Amyas at the top of his voice. + </p> + <p> + The Spaniard re-appears instantly. “Why that name, senor, of all others?” + asks he in a cool, stern voice. + </p> + <p> + “Because we call men cowards in England, who leave their wives to be burnt + alive by priests.” + </p> + <p> + The moment the words had passed Amyas's lips, he felt that they were cruel + and unjust. But it was too late to recall them. The Spaniard started, + clutched his sword-hilt, and then hissed back through his closed vizor,— + </p> + <p> + “For that word, sirrah, you hang at my yardarm, if Saint Mary gives me + grace.” + </p> + <p> + “See that your halter be a silken one, then,” laughed Amyas, “for I am + just dubbed knight.” And he stepped down as a storm of bullets rang + through the rigging round his head; the Spaniards are not as punctilious + as he. + </p> + <p> + “Fire!” His ordnance crash through the stern-works of the Spaniard; and + then he sails onward, while her balls go humming harmlessly through his + rigging. + </p> + <p> + Half-an-hour has passed of wild noise and fury; three times has the + Vengeance, as a dolphin might, sailed clean round and round the Sta. + Catharina, pouring in broadside after broadside, till the guns are leaping + to the deck-beams with their own heat, and the Spaniard's sides are slit + and spotted in a hundred places. And yet, so high has been his fire in + return, and so strong the deck defences of the Vengeance, that a few spars + broken, and two or three men wounded by musketry, are all her loss. But + still the Spaniard endures, magnificent as ever; it is the battle of the + thresher and the whale; the end is certain, but the work is long. + </p> + <p> + “Can I help you, Captain Leigh?” asked Lord Henry Seymour, as he passes + within oar's length of him, to attack a ship ahead. “The San Matthew has + had his dinner, and is gone on to Medina to ask for a digestive to it.” + </p> + <p> + “I thank your lordship: but this is my private quarrel, of which I spoke. + But if your lordship could lend me powder—” + </p> + <p> + “Would that I could! But so, I fear, says every other gentleman in the + fleet.” + </p> + <p> + A puff of wind clears away the sulphurous veil for a moment; the sea is + clear of ships towards the land; the Spanish fleet are moving again up + Channel, Medina bringing up the rear; only some two miles to their right + hand, the vast hull of the San Philip is drifting up the shore with the + tide, and somewhat nearer the San Matthew is hard at work at her pumps. + They can see the white stream of water pouring down her side. + </p> + <p> + “Go in, my lord, and have the pair,” shouts Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir! Forward is a Seymour's cry. We will leave them to pay the + Flushingers' expenses.” And on went Lord Henry, and on shore went the San + Philip at Ostend, to be plundered by the Flushingers; while the San + Matthew, whose captain, “on a hault courage,” had refused to save himself + and his gentlemen on board Medina's ship, went blundering miserably into + the hungry mouths of Captain Peter Vanderduess and four other valiant + Dutchmen, who, like prudent men of Holland, contrived to keep the galleon + afloat till they had emptied her, and then “hung up her banner in the + great church of Leyden, being of such a length, that being fastened to the + roof, it reached unto the very ground.” + </p> + <p> + But in the meanwhile, long ere the sun had set, comes down the darkness of + the thunderstorm, attracted, as to a volcano's mouth, to that vast mass of + sulphur-smoke which cloaks the sea for many a mile; and heaven's artillery + above makes answer to man's below. But still, through smoke and rain, + Amyas clings to his prey. She too has seen the northward movement of the + Spanish fleet, and sets her topsails; Amyas calls to the men to fire high, + and cripple her rigging: but in vain: for three or four belated galleys, + having forced their way at last over the shallows, come flashing and + sputtering up to the combatants, and take his fire off the galleon. Amyas + grinds his teeth, and would fain hustle into the thick of the press once + more, in spite of the galleys' beaks. + </p> + <p> + “Most heroical captain,” says cary, pulling a long face, “if we do, we are + stove and sunk in five minutes; not to mention that Yeo says he has not + twenty rounds of great cartridge left.” + </p> + <p> + So, surely and silent, the Vengeance sheers off, but keeps as near as she + can to the little squadron, all through the night of rain and thunder + which follows. Next morning the sun rises on a clear sky, with a strong + west-north-west breeze, and all hearts are asking what the day will bring + forth. + </p> + <p> + They are long past Dunkirk now; the German Ocean is opening before them. + The Spaniards, sorely battered, and lessened in numbers, have, during the + night, regained some sort of order. The English hang on their skirts a + mile or two behind. They have no ammunition, and must wait for more. To + Amyas's great disgust, the Sta. Catharina has rejoined her fellows during + the night. + </p> + <p> + “Never mind,” says Cary; “she can neither dive nor fly, and as long as she + is above water, we—What is the admiral about?” + </p> + <p> + He is signalling Lord Henry Seymour and his squadron. Soon they tack, and + come down the wind for the coast of Flanders. Parma must be blockaded + still; and the Hollanders are likely to be too busy with their plunder to + do it effectually. Suddenly there is a stir in the Spanish fleet. Medina + and the rearmost ships turn upon the English. What can it mean? Will they + offer battle once more? If so, it were best to get out of their way, for + we have nothing wherewith to fight them. So the English lie close to the + wind. They will let them pass, and return to their old tactic of following + and harassing. + </p> + <p> + “Good-bye to Seymour,” says Cary, “if he is caught between them and + Parma's flotilla. They are going to Dunkirk.” + </p> + <p> + “Impossible! They will not have water enough to reach his light craft. + Here comes a big ship right upon us! Give him all you have left, lads; and + if he will fight us, lay him alongside, and die boarding.” + </p> + <p> + They gave him what they had, and hulled him with every shot; but his huge + side stood silent as the grave. He had not wherewithal to return the + compliment. + </p> + <p> + “As I live, he is cutting loose the foot of his mainsail! the villain + means to run.” + </p> + <p> + “There go the rest of them! Victoria!” shouted Cary, as one after another, + every Spaniard set all the sail he could. + </p> + <p> + There was silence for a few minutes throughout the English fleet; and then + cheer upon cheer of triumph rent the skies. It was over. The Spaniard had + refused battle, and thinking only of safety, was pressing downward toward + the Straits again. The Invincible Armada had cast away its name, and + England was saved. + </p> + <p> + “But he will never get there, sir,” said old Yeo, who had come upon deck + to murmur his Nunc Domine, and gaze upon that sight beyond all human faith + or hope: “Never, never will he weather the Flanders shore, against such a + breeze as is coming up. Look to the eye of the wind, sir, and see how the + Lord is fighting for His people!” + </p> + <p> + Yes, down it came, fresher and stiffer every minute out of the gray + north-west, as it does so often after a thunder-storm; and the sea began + to rise high and white under the “Claro Aquilone,” till the Spaniards were + fain to take in all spare canvas, and lie-to as best they could; while the + English fleet, lying-to also, awaited an event which was in God's hands + and not in theirs. + </p> + <p> + “They will be all ashore on Zealand before the afternoon,” murmured Amyas; + “and I have lost my labor! Oh, for powder, powder, powder! to go in and + finish it at once!” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, sir,” said Yeo, “don't murmur against the Lord in the very day of His + mercies. It is hard, to be sure; but His will be done.” + </p> + <p> + “Could we not borrow powder from Drake there?” + </p> + <p> + “Look at the sea, sir!” + </p> + <p> + And, indeed, the sea was far too rough for any such attempt. The Spaniards + neared and neared the fatal dunes, which fringed the shore for many a + dreary mile; and Amyas had to wait weary hours, growling like a dog who + has had the bone snatched out of his mouth, till the day wore on; when, + behold, the wind began to fall as rapidly as it had risen. A savage joy + rose in Amyas's heart. + </p> + <p> + “They are safe! safe for us! Who will go and beg us powder? A cartridge + here and a cartridge there?—anything to set to work again!” + </p> + <p> + Cary volunteered, and returned in a couple of hours with some quantity: + but he was on board again only just in time, for the south-wester had + recovered the mastery of the skies, and Spaniards and English were moving + away; but this time northward. Whither now? To Scotland? Amyas knew not, + and cared not, provided he was in the company of Don Guzman de Soto. + </p> + <p> + The Armada was defeated, and England saved. But such great undertakings + seldom end in one grand melodramatic explosion of fireworks, through which + the devil arises in full roar to drag Dr. Faustus forever into the flaming + pit. On the contrary, the devil stands by his servants to the last, and + tries to bring off his shattered forces with drums beating and colors + flying; and, if possible, to lull his enemies into supposing that the + fight is ended, long before it really is half over. All which the good + Lord Howard of Effingham knew well, and knew, too, that Medina had one + last card to play, and that was the filial affection of that dutiful and + chivalrous son, James of Scotland. True, he had promised faith to + Elizabeth: but that was no reason why he should keep it. He had been + hankering and dabbling after Spain for years past, for its absolution was + dear to his inmost soul; and Queen Elizabeth had had to warn him, scold + him, call him a liar, for so doing; so the Armada might still find shelter + and provision in the Firth of Forth. But whether Lord Howard knew or not, + Medina did not know, that Elizabeth had played her card cunningly, in the + shape of one of those appeals to the purse, which, to James's dying day, + overweighed all others save appeals to his vanity. “The title of a dukedom + in England, a yearly pension of 5000 pounds, a guard at the queen's + charge, and other matters” (probably more hounds and deer), had steeled + the heart of the King of Scots, and sealed the Firth of Forth. + Nevertheless, as I say, Lord Howard, like the rest of Elizabeth's heroes, + trusted James just as much as James trusted others; and therefore thought + good to escort the Armada until it was safely past the domains of that + most chivalrous and truthful Solomon. But on the 4th of August, his fears, + such as they were, were laid to rest. The Spaniards left the Scottish + coast and sailed away for Norway; and the game was played out, and the end + was come, as the end of such matters generally comes, by gradual decay, + petty disaster, and mistake; till the snow-mountain, instead of being + blown tragically and heroically to atoms, melts helplessly and pitiably + away. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW AMYAS THREW HIS SWORD INTO THE SEA + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Full fathom deep thy father lies; + Of his bones are corals made; + Those are pearls which were his eyes; + Nothing of him that doth fade, + But doth suffer a sea-change + Into something rich and strange; + Fairies hourly ring his knell, + Hark! I hear them. Ding dong bell.” + + The Tempest. +</pre> + <p> + Yes, it is over; and the great Armada is vanquished. It is lulled for + awhile, the everlasting war which is in heaven, the battle of Iran and + Turan, of the children of light and of darkness, of Michael and his angels + against Satan and his fiends; the battle which slowly and seldom, once in + the course of many centuries, culminates and ripens into a day of + judgment, and becomes palpable and incarnate; no longer a mere spiritual + fight, but one of flesh and blood, wherein simple men may choose their + sides without mistake, and help God's cause not merely with prayer and + pen, but with sharp shot and cold steel. A day of judgment has come, which + has divided the light from the darkness, and the sheep from the goats, and + tried each man's work by the fire; and, behold, the devil's work, like its + maker, is proved to have been, as always, a lie and a sham, and a windy + boast, a bladder which collapses at the merest pinprick. Byzantine + empires, Spanish Armadas, triple-crowned papacies, Russian despotisms, + this is the way of them, and will be to the end of the world. One brave + blow at the big bullying phantom, and it vanishes in sulphur-stench; while + the children of Israel, as of old, see the Egyptians dead on the + sea-shore,—they scarce know how, save that God has done it, and sing + the song of Moses and of the Lamb. + </p> + <p> + And now, from England and the Netherlands, from Germany and Geneva, and + those poor Vaudois shepherd-saints, whose bones for generations past + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold;” + </pre> + <p> + to be, indeed, the seed of the Church, and a germ of new life, liberty, + and civilization, even in these very days returning good for evil to that + Piedmont which has hunted them down like the partridges on the mountains;—from + all of Europe, from all of mankind, I had almost said, in which lay the + seed of future virtue and greatness, of the destinies of the + new-discovered world, and the triumphs of the coming age of science, arose + a shout of holy joy, such as the world had not heard for many a weary and + bloody century; a shout which was the prophetic birth-paean of North + America, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, of free commerce and + free colonization over the whole earth. + </p> + <p> + “There was in England, by the commandment of her majesty,” says Van + Meteran, “and likewise in the United Provinces, by the direction of the + States, a solemn festival day publicly appointed, wherein all persons were + solemnly enjoined to resort unto ye Church, and there to render thanks and + praises unto God, and ye preachers were commanded to exhort ye people + thereunto. The aforesaid solemnity was observed upon the 29th of November: + which day was wholly spent in fasting, prayer, and giving of thanks. + </p> + <p> + “Likewise the Queen's Majesty herself, imitating ye ancient Romans, rode + into London in triumph, in regard of her own and her subjects' glorious + deliverance. For being attended upon very solemnly by all ye principal + Estates and officers of her Realm, she was carried through her said City + of London in a triumphant Chariot, and in robes of triumph, from her + Palace unto ye said Cathedral Church of St. Paul, out of ye which ye + Ensigns and Colours of ye vanquished Spaniards hung displayed. And all ye + Citizens of London, in their liveries, stood on either side ye street, by + their several Companies, with their ensigns and banners, and the streets + were hanged on both sides with blue Cloth, which, together with ye + foresaid banners, yielded a very stately and gallant prospect. Her + Majestie being entered into ye Church together with her Clergy and Nobles, + gave thanks unto God, and caused a public Sermon to be preached before her + at Paul's Cross; wherein none other argument was handled, but that praise, + honour, and glory might be rendered unto God, and that God's Name might be + extolled by thanksgiving. And with her own princely voice she most + Christianly exhorted ye people to do ye same; whereunto ye people, with a + loud acclamation, wished her a most long and happy life to ye confusion of + her foes.” + </p> + <p> + Yes, as the medals struck on the occasion said, “It came, it saw, and it + fled!” And whither? Away and northward, like a herd of frightened deer, + past the Orkneys and Shetlands, catching up a few hapless fishermen as + guides; past the coast of Norway, there, too, refused water and food by + the brave descendants of the Vikings; and on northward ever towards the + lonely Faroes, and the everlasting dawn which heralds round the Pole the + midnight sun. + </p> + <p> + Their water is failing; the cattle must go overboard; and the wild + northern sea echoes to the shrieks of drowning horses. They must homeward + at least, somehow, each as best he can. Let them meet again at Cape + Finisterre, if indeed they ever meet. Medina Sidonia, with some five-and + twenty of the soundest and best victualled ships, will lead the way, and + leave the rest to their fate. He is soon out of sight; and forty more, the + only remnant of that mighty host, come wandering wearily behind, hoping to + make the south-west coast of Ireland, and have help, or, at least, fresh + water there, from their fellow Romanists. Alas for them!— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Make Thou their way dark and slippery, + And follow them up ever with Thy storm.” + </pre> + <p> + For now comes up from the Atlantic, gale on gale; and few of that hapless + remnant reached the shores of Spain. + </p> + <p> + And where are Amyas and the Vengeance all this while? + </p> + <p> + At the fifty-seventh degree of latitude, the English fleet, finding + themselves growing short of provision, and having been long since out of + powder and ball, turn southward toward home, “thinking it best to leave + the Spaniard to those uncouth and boisterous northern seas.” A few + pinnaces are still sent onward to watch their course: and the English + fleet, caught in the same storms which scattered the Spaniards, “with + great danger and industry reached Harwich port, and there provide + themselves of victuals and ammunition,” in case the Spaniards should + return; but there is no need for that caution. Parma, indeed, who cannot + believe that the idol at Halle, after all his compliments to it, will play + him so scurvy a trick, will watch for weeks on Dunkirk dunes, hoping + against hope for the Armada's return, casting anchors, and spinning + rigging to repair their losses. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “But lang, lang may his ladies sit, + With their fans intill their hand, + Before they see Sir Patrick Spens + Come sailing to the land.” + </pre> + <p> + The Armada is away on the other side of Scotland, and Amyas is following + in its wake. + </p> + <p> + For when the lord high admiral determined to return, Amyas asked leave to + follow the Spaniard; and asked, too, of Sir John Hawkins, who happened to + be at hand, such ammunition and provision as could be afforded him, + promising to repay the same like an honest man, out of his plunder if he + lived, out of his estate if he died; lodging for that purpose bills in the + hands of Sir John, who, as a man of business, took them, and put them in + his pocket among the thimbles, string, and tobacco; after which Amyas, + calling his men together, reminded them once more of the story of the Rose + of Torridge and Don Guzman de Soto, and then asked: + </p> + <p> + “Men of Bideford, will you follow me? There will be plunder for those who + love plunder; revenge for those who love revenge; and for all of us (for + we all love honor) the honor of having never left the chase as long as + there was a Spanish flag in English seas.” + </p> + <p> + And every soul on board replied, that they would follow Sir Amyas Leigh + around the world. + </p> + <p> + There is no need for me to detail every incident of that long and weary + chase; how they found the Sta. Catharina, attacked her, and had to sheer + off, she being rescued by the rest; how when Medina's squadron left the + crippled ships behind, they were all but taken or sunk, by thrusting into + the midst of the Spanish fleet to prevent her escaping with Medina; how + they crippled her, so that she could not beat to windward out into the + ocean, but was fain to run south, past the Orkneys, and down through the + Minch, between Cape Wrath and Lewis; how the younger hands were ready to + mutiny, because Amyas, in his stubborn haste, ran past two or three noble + prizes which were all but disabled, among others one of the great + galliasses, and the two great Venetians, La Ratta and La Belanzara—which + were afterwards, with more than thirty other vessels, wrecked on the west + coast of Ireland; how he got fresh water, in spite of certain “Hebridean + Scots” of Skye, who, after reviling him in an unknown tongue, fought with + him awhile, and then embraced him and his men with howls of affection, and + were not much more decently clad, nor more civilized, than his old friends + of California; how he pacified his men by letting them pick the bones of a + great Venetian which was going on shore upon Islay (by which they got + booty enough to repay them for the whole voyage), and offended them again + by refusing to land and plunder two great Spanish wrecks on the Mull of + Cantire (whose crews, by the by, James tried to smuggle off secretly into + Spain in ships of his own, wishing to play, as usual, both sides of the + game at once; but the Spaniards were stopped at Yarmouth till the + council's pleasure was known—which was, of course, to let the poor + wretches go on their way, and be hanged elsewhere); how they passed a + strange island, half black, half white, which the wild people called + Raghary, but Cary christened it “the drowned magpie;” how the Sta. + Catharina was near lost on the Isle of Man, and then put into Castleton + (where the Manx-men slew a whole boat's-crew with their arrows), and then + put out again, when Amyas fought with her a whole day, and shot away her + mainyard; how the Spaniard blundered down the coast of Wales, not knowing + whither he went; how they were both nearly lost on Holyhead, and again on + Bardsey Island; how they got on a lee shore in Cardigan Bay, before a + heavy westerly gale, and the Sta. Catharina ran aground on Sarn David, one + of those strange subaqueous pebble-dykes which are said to be the remnants + of the lost land of Gwalior, destroyed by the carelessness of Prince + Seithenin the drunkard, at whose name each loyal Welshman spits; how she + got off again at the rising of the tide, and fought with Amyas a fourth + time; how the wind changed, and she got round St. David's Head;—these, + and many more moving incidents of this eventful voyage, I must pass over + without details, and go on to the end; for it is time that the end should + come. + </p> + <p> + It was now the sixteenth day of the chase. They had seen, the evening + before, St. David's Head, and then the Welsh coast round Milford Haven, + looming out black and sharp before the blaze of the inland thunder-storm; + and it had lightened all round them during the fore part of the night, + upon a light south-western breeze. + </p> + <p> + In vain they had strained their eyes through the darkness, to catch, by + the fitful glare of the flashes, the tall masts of the Spaniard. Of one + thing at least they were certain, that with the wind as it was, she could + not have gone far to the westward; and to attempt to pass them again, and + go northward, was more than she dare do. She was probably lying-to ahead + of them, perhaps between them and the land; and when, a little after + midnight, the wind chopped up to the west, and blew stiffly till day + break, they felt sure that, unless she had attempted the desperate + expedient of running past them, they had her safe in the mouth of the + Bristol Channel. Slowly and wearily broke the dawn, on such a day as often + follows heavy thunder; a sunless, drizzly day, roofed with low dingy + cloud, barred and netted, and festooned with black, a sign that the storm + is only taking breath awhile before it bursts again; while all the narrow + horizon is dim and spongy with vapor drifting before a chilly breeze. As + the day went on, the breeze died down, and the sea fell to a long glassy + foam-flecked roll, while overhead brooded the inky sky, and round them the + leaden mist shut out alike the shore and the chase. + </p> + <p> + Amyas paced the sloppy deck fretfully and fiercely. He knew that the + Spaniard could not escape; but he cursed every moment which lingered + between him and that one great revenge which blackened all his soul. The + men sate sulkily about the deck, and whistled for a wind; the sails + flapped idly against the masts; and the ship rolled in the long troughs of + the sea, till her yard-arms almost dipped right and left. + </p> + <p> + “Take care of those guns. You will have something loose next,” growled + Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “We will take care of the guns, if the Lord will take care of the wind,” + said Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “We shall have plenty before night,” said Cary, “and thunder too.” + </p> + <p> + “So much the better,” said Amyas. “It may roar till it splits the heavens, + if it does but let me get my work done.” + </p> + <p> + “He's not far off, I warrant,” said Cary. “One lift of the cloud, and we + should see him.” + </p> + <p> + “To windward of us, as likely as not,” said Amyas. “The devil fights for + him, I believe. To have been on his heels sixteen days, and not sent this + through him yet!” And he shook his sword impatiently. + </p> + <p> + So the morning wore away, without a sign of living thing, not even a + passing gull; and the black melancholy of the heaven reflected itself in + the black melancholy of Amyas. Was he to lose his prey after all? The + thought made him shudder with rage and disappointment. It was intolerable. + Anything but that. + </p> + <p> + “No, God!” he cried, “let me but once feel this in his accursed heart, and + then—strike me dead, if Thou wilt!” + </p> + <p> + “The Lord have mercy on us,” cried John Brimblecombe. “What have you + said?” + </p> + <p> + “What is that to you, sir? There, they are piping to dinner. Go down. I + shall not come.” + </p> + <p> + And Jack went down, and talked in a half-terrified whisper of Amyas's + ominous words. + </p> + <p> + All thought that they portended some bad luck, except old Yeo. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Sir John,” said he, “and why not? What better can the Lord do for a + man, than take him home when he has done his work? Our captain is wilful + and spiteful, and must needs kill his man himself; while for me, I don't + care how the Don goes, provided he does go. I owe him no grudge, nor any + man. May the Lord give him repentance, and forgive him all his sins: but + if I could but see him once safe ashore, as he may be ere nightfall, on + the Mortestone or the back of Lundy, I would say, 'Lord, now lettest Thou + Thy servant depart in peace,' even if it were the lightning which was sent + to fetch me.” + </p> + <p> + “But, master Yeo, a sudden death?” + </p> + <p> + “And why not a sudden death, Sir John? Even fools long for a short life + and a merry one, and shall not the Lord's people pray for a short death + and a merry one? Let it come as it will to old Yeo. Hark! there's the + captain's voice!” + </p> + <p> + “Here she is!” thundered Amyas from the deck; and in an instant all were + scrambling up the hatchway as fast as the frantic rolling of the ship + would let them. + </p> + <p> + Yes. There she was. The cloud had lifted suddenly, and to the south a + ragged bore of blue sky let a long stream of sunshine down on her tall + masts and stately hull, as she lay rolling some four or five miles to the + eastward: but as for land, none was to be seen. + </p> + <p> + “There she is; and here we are,” said Cary; “but where is here? and where + is there? How is the tide, master?” + </p> + <p> + “Running up Channel by this time, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “What matters the tide?” said Amyas, devouring the ship with terrible and + cold blue eyes. “Can't we get at her?” + </p> + <p> + “Not unless some one jumps out and shoves behind,” said Cary. “I shall + down again and finish that mackerel, if this roll has not chucked it to + the cockroaches under the table.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't jest, Will! I can't stand it,” said Amyas, in a voice which + quivered so much that Cary looked at him. His whole frame was trembling + like an aspen. Cary took his arm, and drew him aside. + </p> + <p> + “Dear old lad,” said he, as they leaned over the bulwarks, “what is this? + You are not yourself, and have not been these four days.” + </p> + <p> + “No. I am not Amyas Leigh. I am my brother's avenger. Do not reason with + me, Will: when it is over I shall be merry old Amyas again,” and he passed + his hand over his brow. + </p> + <p> + “Do you believe,” said he, after a moment, “that men can be possessed by + devils?” + </p> + <p> + “The Bible says so.” + </p> + <p> + “If my cause were not a just one, I should fancy I had a devil in me. My + throat and heart are as hot as the pit. Would to God it were done, for + done it must be! Now go.” + </p> + <p> + Cary went away with a shudder. As he passed down the hatchway he looked + back. Amyas had got the hone out of his pocket, and was whetting away + again at his sword-edge, as if there was some dreadful doom on him, to + whet, and whet forever. + </p> + <p> + The weary day wore on. The strip of blue sky was curtained over again, and + all was dismal as before, though it grew sultrier every moment; and now + and then a distant mutter shook the air to westward. Nothing could be done + to lessen the distance between the ships, for the Vengeance had had all + her boats carried away but one, and that was much too small to tow her: + and while the men went down again to finish dinner, Amyas worked on at his + sword, looking up every now and then suddenly at the Spaniard, as if to + satisfy himself that it was not a vision which had vanished. + </p> + <p> + About two Yeo came up to him. + </p> + <p> + “He is ours safely now, sir. The tide has been running to the eastward for + this two hours.” + </p> + <p> + “Safe as a fox in a trap. Satan himself cannot take him from us!” + </p> + <p> + “But God may,” said Brimblecombe, simply. + </p> + <p> + “Who spoke to you, sir? If I thought that He—There comes the thunder + at last!” + </p> + <p> + And as he spoke an angry growl from the westward heavens seemed to answer + his wild words, and rolled and loudened nearer and nearer, till right over + their heads it crashed against some cloud-cliff far above, and all was + still. + </p> + <p> + Each man looked in the other's face: but Amyas was unmoved. + </p> + <p> + “The storm is coming,” said he, “and the wind in it. It will be + Eastward-ho now, for once, my merry men all!” + </p> + <p> + “Eastward-ho never brought us luck,” said Jack in an undertone to Cary. + But by this time all eyes were turned to the north-west, where a black + line along the horizon began to define the boundary of sea and air, till + now all dim in mist. + </p> + <p> + “There comes the breeze.” + </p> + <p> + “And there the storm, too.” + </p> + <p> + And with that strangely accelerating pace which some storms seem to + possess, the thunder, which had been growling slow and seldom far away, + now rang peal on peal along the cloudy floor above their heads. + </p> + <p> + “Here comes the breeze. Round with the yards, or we shall be taken aback.” + </p> + <p> + The yards creaked round; the sea grew crisp around them; the hot air swept + their cheeks, tightened every rope, filled every sail, bent her over. A + cheer burst from the men as the helm went up, and they staggered away + before the wind, right down upon the Spaniard, who lay still becalmed. + </p> + <p> + “There is more behind, Amyas,” said Cary. “Shall we not shorten sail a + little?” + </p> + <p> + “No. Hold on every stitch,” said Amyas. “Give me the helm, man. Boatswain, + pipe away to clear for fight.” + </p> + <p> + It was done, and in ten minutes the men were all at quarters, while the + thunder rolled louder and louder overhead, and the breeze freshened fast. + </p> + <p> + “The dog has it now. There he goes!” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Right before the wind. He has no liking to face us.” + </p> + <p> + “He is running into the jaws of destruction,” said Yeo. “An hour more will + send him either right up the Channel, or smack on shore somewhere.” + </p> + <p> + “There! he has put his helm down. I wonder if he sees land?” + </p> + <p> + “He is like a March hare beat out of his country,” said Cary, “and don't + know whither to run next.” + </p> + <p> + Cary was right. In ten minutes more the Spaniard fell off again, and went + away dead down wind, while the Vengeance gained on him fast. After two + hours more, the four miles had diminished to one, while the lightning + flashed nearer and nearer as the storm came up; and from the vast mouth of + a black cloud-arch poured so fierce a breeze that Amyas yielded + unwillingly to hints which were growing into open murmurs, and bade + shorten sail. + </p> + <p> + On they rushed with scarcely lessened speed, the black arch following + fast, curtained by the flat gray sheet of pouring rain, before which the + water was boiling in a long white line; while every moment behind the + watery veil, a keen blue spark leapt down into the sea, or darted zigzag + through the rain. + </p> + <p> + “We shall have it now, and with a vengeance; this will try your tackle, + master,” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + The functionary answered with a shrug, and turned up the collar of his + rough frock, as the first drops flew stinging round his ears. Another + minute and the squall burst full upon them, in rain, which cut like hail—hail + which lashed the sea into froth, and wind which whirled off the heads of + the surges, and swept the waters into one white seething waste. And above + them, and behind them and before them, the lightning leapt and ran, + dazzling and blinding, while the deep roar of the thunder was changed to + sharp ear-piercing cracks. + </p> + <p> + “Get the arms and ammunition under cover, and then below with you all,” + shouted Amyas from the helm. + </p> + <p> + “And heat the pokers in the galley fire,” said Yeo, “to be ready if the + rain puts our linstocks out. I hope you'll let me stay on deck, sir, in + case—” + </p> + <p> + “I must have some one, and who better than you? Can you see the chase?” + </p> + <p> + No; she was wrapped in the gray whirlwind. She might be within half a mile + of them, for aught they could have seen of her. + </p> + <p> + And now Amyas and his old liegeman were alone. Neither spoke; each knew + the other's thoughts, and knew that they were his own. The squall blew + fiercer and fiercer, the rain poured heavier and heavier. Where was the + Spaniard? + </p> + <p> + “If he has laid-to, we may overshoot him, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “If he has tried to lay-to, he will not have a sail left in the + bolt-ropes, or perhaps a mast on deck. I know the stiff-neckedness of + those Spanish tubs. Hurrah! there he is, right on our larboard bow!” + </p> + <p> + There she was indeed, two musket-shots' off, staggering away with canvas + split and flying. + </p> + <p> + “He has been trying to hull, sir, and caught a buffet,” said Yeo, rubbing + his hands. “What shall we do now?” + </p> + <p> + “Range alongside, if it blow live imps and witches, and try our luck once + more. Pah! how this lightning dazzles!” + </p> + <p> + On they swept, gaining fast on the Spaniard. “Call the men up, and to + quarters; the rain will be over in ten minutes.” + </p> + <p> + Yeo ran forward to the gangway; and sprang back again, with a face white + and wild— + </p> + <p> + “Land right ahead! Port your helm, sir! For the love of God, port your + helm!” + </p> + <p> + Amyas, with the strength of a bull, jammed the helm down, while Yeo + shouted to the men below. + </p> + <p> + She swung round. The masts bent like whips; crack went the fore-sail like + a cannon. What matter? Within two hundred yards of them was the Spaniard; + in front of her, and above her, a huge dark bank rose through the dense + hail, and mingled with the clouds; and at its foot, plainer every moment, + pillars and spouts of leaping foam. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Morte? Hartland?” + </p> + <p> + It might be anything for thirty miles. + </p> + <p> + “Lundy!” said Yeo. “The south end! I see the head of the Shutter in the + breakers! Hard a-port yet, and get her close-hauled as you can, and the + Lord may have mercy on us still! Look at the Spaniard!” + </p> + <p> + Yes, look at the Spaniard! + </p> + <p> + On their left hand, as they broached-to, the wall of granite sloped down + from the clouds toward an isolated peak of rock, some two hundred feet in + height. Then a hundred yards of roaring breaker upon a sunken shelf, + across which the race of the tide poured like a cataract; then, amid a + column of salt smoke, the Shutter, like a huge black fang, rose waiting + for its prey; and between the Shutter and the land, the great galleon + loomed dimly through the storm. + </p> + <p> + He, too, had seen his danger, and tried to broach-to. But his clumsy mass + refused to obey the helm; he struggled a moment, half hid in foam; fell + away again, and rushed upon his doom. + </p> + <p> + “Lost! lost! lost!” cried Amyas madly, and throwing up his hands, let go + the tiller. Yeo caught it just in time. + </p> + <p> + “Sir! sir! What are you at? We shall clear the rock yet.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes!” shouted Amyas, in his frenzy; “but he will not!” + </p> + <p> + Another minute. The galleon gave a sudden jar, and stopped. Then one long + heave and bound, as if to free herself. And then her bows lighted clean + upon the Shutter. + </p> + <p> + An awful silence fell on every English soul. They heard not the roaring of + wind and surge; they saw not the blinding flashes of the lightning; but + they heard one long ear-piercing wail to every saint in heaven rise from + five hundred human throats; they saw the mighty ship heel over from the + wind, and sweep headlong down the cataract of the race, plunging her yards + into the foam, and showing her whole black side even to her keel, till she + rolled clean over, and vanished for ever and ever. + </p> + <p> + “Shame!” cried Amyas, hurling his sword far into the sea, “to lose my + right, my right! when it was in my very grasp! Unmerciful!” + </p> + <p> + A crack which rent the sky, and made the granite ring and quiver; a bright + world of flame, and then a blank of utter darkness, against which stood + out, glowing red-hot every mast, and sail, and rock, and Salvation Yeo as + he stood just in front of Amyas, the tiller in his hand. All red-hot, + transfigured into fire; and behind, the black, black night. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + A whisper, a rustling close beside him, and Brimblecombe's voice said + softly: + </p> + <p> + “Give him more wine, Will; his eyes are opening.” + </p> + <p> + “Hey day?” said Amyas, faintly, “not past the Shutter yet! How long she + hangs in the wind!” + </p> + <p> + “We are long past the Shutter, Sir Amyas,” said Brimblecombe. + </p> + <p> + “Are you mad? Cannot I trust my own eyes?” + </p> + <p> + There was no answer for awhile. + </p> + <p> + “We are past the Shutter, indeed,” said Cary, very gently, “and lying in + the cove at Lundy.” + </p> + <p> + “Will you tell me that that is not the Shutter, and that the + Devil's-limekiln, and that the cliff—that villain Spaniard only gone—and + that Yeo is not standing here by me, and Cary there forward, and—why, + by the by, where are you, Jack Brimblecombe, who were talking to me this + minute?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Sir Amyas Leigh, dear Sir Amyas Leigh,” blubbered poor Jack, “put out + your hand, and feel where you are, and pray the Lord to forgive you for + your wilfulness!” + </p> + <p> + A great trembling fell upon Amyas Leigh; half fearfully he put out his + hand; he felt that he was in his hammock, with the deck beams close above + his head. The vision which had been left upon his eye-balls vanished like + a dream. + </p> + <p> + “What is this? I must be asleep? What has happened? Where am I?” + </p> + <p> + “In your cabin, Amyas,” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + “What? And where is Yeo?” + </p> + <p> + “Yeo is gone where he longed to go, and as he longed to go. The same flash + which struck you down, struck him dead.” + </p> + <p> + “Dead? Lightning? Any more hurt? I must go and see. Why, what is this?” + and Amyas passed his hand across his eyes. “It is all dark—dark, as + I live!” And he passed his hand over his eyes again. + </p> + <p> + There was another dead silence. Amyas broke it. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, God!” shrieked the great proud sea-captain, “Oh, God, I am blind! + blind! blind!” And writhing in his great horror, he called to Cary to kill + him and put him out of his misery, and then wailed for his mother to come + and help him, as if he had been a boy once more; while Brimblecombe and + Cary, and the sailors who crowded round the cabin-door, wept as if they + too had been boys once more. + </p> + <p> + Soon his fit of frenzy passed off, and he sank back exhausted. + </p> + <p> + They lifted him into their remaining boat, rowed him ashore, carried him + painfully up the hill to the old castle, and made a bed for him on the + floor, in the very room in which Don Guzman and Rose Salterne had plighted + their troth to each other, five wild years before. + </p> + <p> + Three miserable days were passed within that lonely tower. Amyas, utterly + unnerved by the horror of his misfortune, and by the over-excitement of + the last few weeks, was incessantly delirious; while Cary, and + Brimblecombe, and the men nursed him by turns, as sailors and wives only + can nurse; and listened with awe to his piteous self-reproaches and + entreaties to Heaven to remove that woe, which, as he shrieked again and + again, was a just judgment on him for his wilfulness and ferocity. The + surgeon talked, of course, learnedly about melancholic humors, and his + liver's being “adust by the over-pungency of the animal spirits,” and then + fell back on the universal panacea of blood-letting, which he effected + with fear and trembling during a short interval of prostration; encouraged + by which he attempted to administer a large bolus of aloes, was knocked + down for his pains, and then thought it better to leave Nature to her own + work. In the meanwhile, Cary had sent off one of the island skiffs to + Clovelly, with letters to his father, and to Mrs. Leigh, entreating the + latter to come off to the island: but the heavy westerly winds made that + as impossible as it was to move Amyas on board, and the men had to do + their best, and did it well enough. + </p> + <p> + On the fourth day his raving ceased: but he was still too weak to be + moved. Toward noon, however, he called for food, ate a little, and seemed + revived. + </p> + <p> + “Will,” he said, after awhile, “this room is as stifling as it is dark. I + feel as if I should be a sound man once more if I could but get one snuff + of the sea-breeze.” + </p> + <p> + The surgeon shook his head at the notion of moving him: but Amyas was + peremptory. + </p> + <p> + “I am captain still, Tom Surgeon, and will sail for the Indies, if I + choose. Will Cary, Jack Brimblecombe, will you obey a blind general?” + </p> + <p> + “What you will in reason,” said they both at once. + </p> + <p> + “Then lead me out, my masters, and over the down to the south end. To the + point at the south end I must go; there is no other place will suit.” + </p> + <p> + And he rose firmly to his feet, and held out his hands for theirs. + </p> + <p> + “Let him have his humor,” whispered Cary. “It may be the working off of + his madness.” + </p> + <p> + “This sudden strength is a note of fresh fever, Mr. Lieutenant,” said the + surgeon, “and the rules of the art prescribe rather a fresh + blood-letting.” + </p> + <p> + Amyas overheard the last word, and broke out: + </p> + <p> + “Thou pig-sticking Philistine, wilt thou make sport with blind Samson? + Come near me to let blood from my arm, and see if I do not let blood from + thy coxcomb. Catch him, Will, and bring him me here!” + </p> + <p> + The surgeon vanished as the blind giant made a step forward; and they set + forth, Amyas walking slowly, but firmly, between his two friends. + </p> + <p> + “Whither?” asked Cary. + </p> + <p> + “To the south end. The crag above the Devil's-limekiln. No other place + will suit.” + </p> + <p> + Jack gave a murmur, and half-stopped, as a frightful suspicion crossed + him. + </p> + <p> + “That is a dangerous place!” + </p> + <p> + “What of that?” said Amyas, who caught his meaning in his tone. “Dost + think I am going to leap over cliff? I have not heart enough for that. On, + lads, and set me safe among the rocks.” + </p> + <p> + So slowly, and painfully, they went on, while Amyas murmured to himself: + </p> + <p> + “No, no other place will suit; I can see all thence.” + </p> + <p> + So on they went to the point, where the cyclopean wall of granite cliff + which forms the western side of Lundy, ends sheer in a precipice of some + three hundred feet, topped by a pile of snow-white rock, bespangled with + golden lichens. As they approached, a raven, who sat upon the topmost + stone, black against the bright blue sky, flapped lazily away, and sank + down the abysses of the cliff, as if he scented the corpses underneath the + surge. Below them from the Gull-rock rose a thousand birds, and filled the + air with sound; the choughs cackled, the hacklets wailed, the great + blackbacks laughed querulous defiance at the intruders, and a single + falcon, with an angry bark, dashed out from beneath their feet, and hung + poised high aloft, watching the sea-fowl which swung slowly round and + round below. + </p> + <p> + It was a glorious sight upon a glorious day. To the northward the glens + rushed down toward the cliff, crowned with gray crags, and carpeted with + purple heather and green fern; and from their feet stretched away to the + westward the sapphire rollers of the vast Atlantic, crowned with a + thousand crests of flying foam. On their left hand, some ten miles to the + south, stood out against the sky the purple wall of Hartland cliffs, + sinking lower and lower as they trended away to the southward along the + lonely ironbound shores of Cornwall, until they faded, dim and blue, into + the blue horizon forty miles away. + </p> + <p> + The sky was flecked with clouds, which rushed toward them fast upon the + roaring south-west wind; and the warm ocean-breeze swept up the cliffs, + and whistled through the heather-bells, and howled in cranny and in crag, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Till the pillars and clefts of the granite + Rang like a God-swept lyre;” + </pre> + <p> + while Amyas, a proud smile upon his lips, stood breasting that genial + stream of airy wine with swelling nostrils and fast-heaving chest, and + seemed to drink in life from every gust. All three were silent for awhile; + and Jack and Cary, gazing downward with delight upon the glory and the + grandeur of the sight, forgot for awhile that their companion saw it not. + Yet when they started sadly, and looked into his face, did he not see it? + So wide and eager were his eyes, so bright and calm his face, that they + fancied for an instant that he was once more even as they. + </p> + <p> + A deep sigh undeceived them. “I know it is all here—the dear old + sea, where I would live and die. And my eyes feel for it; feel for it—and + cannot find it; never, never will find it again forever! God's will be + done!” + </p> + <p> + “Do you say that?” asked Brimblecombe, eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “Why should I not? Why have I been raving in hell-fire for I know not how + many days, but to find out that, John Brimblecombe, thou better man than + I?” + </p> + <p> + “Not that last: but Amen! Amen! and the Lord has indeed had mercy upon + thee!” said Jack, through his honest tears. + </p> + <p> + “Amen!” said Amyas. “Now set me where I can rest among the rocks without + fear of falling—for life is sweet still, even without eyes, friends—and + leave me to myself awhile.” + </p> + <p> + It was no easy matter to find a safe place; for from the foot of the crag + the heathery turf slopes down all but upright, on one side to a cliff + which overhangs a shoreless cove of deep dark sea, and on the other to an + abyss even more hideous, where the solid rock has sunk away, and opened + inland in the hillside a smooth-walled pit, some sixty feet square and + some hundred and fifty in depth, aptly known then as now, as the + Devil's-limekiln; the mouth of which, as old wives say, was once closed by + the Shutter-rock itself, till the fiend in malice hurled it into the sea, + to be a pest to mariners. A narrow and untrodden cavern at the bottom + connects it with the outer sea; they could even then hear the mysterious + thunder and gurgle of the surge in the subterranean adit, as it rolled + huge boulders to and fro in darkness, and forced before it gusts of + pent-up air. It was a spot to curdle weak blood, and to make weak heads + reel: but all the fitter on that account for Amyas and his fancy. + </p> + <p> + “You can sit here as in an arm-chair,” said Cary, helping him down to one + of those square natural seats so common in the granite tors. + </p> + <p> + “Good; now turn my face to the Shutter. Be sure and exact. So. Do I face + it full?” + </p> + <p> + “Full,” said Cary. + </p> + <p> + “Then I need no eyes wherewith to see what is before me,” said he, with a + sad smile. “I know every stone and every headland, and every wave too, I + may say, far beyond aught that eye can reach. Now go, and leave me alone + with God and with the dead!” + </p> + <p> + They retired a little space and watched him. He never stirred for many + minutes; then leaned his elbows on his knees, and his head upon his hands, + and so was still again. He remained so long thus, that the pair became + anxious, and went towards him. He was asleep, and breathing quick and + heavily. + </p> + <p> + “He will take a fever,” said Brimblecombe, “if he sleeps much longer with + his head down in the sunshine.” + </p> + <p> + “We must wake him gently if we wake him at all.” And Cary moved forward to + him. + </p> + <p> + As he did so, Amyas lifted his head, and turning it to right and left, + felt round him with his sightless eyes. + </p> + <p> + “You have been asleep, Amyas.” + </p> + <p> + “Have I? I have not slept back my eyes, then. Take up this great useless + carcase of mine, and lead me home. I shall buy me a dog when I get to + Burrough, I think, and make him tow me in a string, eh? So! Give me your + hand. Now march!” + </p> + <p> + His guides heard with surprise this new cheerfulness. + </p> + <p> + “Thank God, sir, that your heart is so light already,” said good Jack; “it + makes me feel quite upraised myself, like.” + </p> + <p> + “I have reason to be cheerful, Sir John; I have left a heavy load behind + me. I have been wilful, and proud, and a blasphemer, and swollen with + cruelty and pride; and God has brought me low for it, and cut me off from + my evil delight. No more Spaniard-hunting for me now, my masters. God will + send no such fools as I upon His errands.” + </p> + <p> + “You do not repent of fighting the Spaniards.” + </p> + <p> + “Not I: but of hating even the worst of them. Listen to me, Will and Jack. + If that man wronged me, I wronged him likewise. I have been a fiend when I + thought myself the grandest of men, yea, a very avenging angel out of + heaven. But God has shown me my sin, and we have made up our quarrel + forever.” + </p> + <p> + “Made it up?” + </p> + <p> + “Made it up, thank God. But I am weary. Set me down awhile, and I will + tell you how it befell.” + </p> + <p> + Wondering, they set him down upon the heather, while the bees hummed round + them in the sun; and Amyas felt for a hand of each, and clasped it in his + own hand, and began: + </p> + <p> + “When you left me there upon the rock, lads, I looked away and out to sea, + to get one last snuff of the merry sea-breeze, which will never sail me + again. And as I looked, I tell you truth, I could see the water and the + sky; as plain as ever I saw them, till I thought my sight was come again. + But soon I knew it was not so; for I saw more than man could see; right + over the ocean, as I live, and away to the Spanish Main. And I saw + Barbados, and Grenada, and all the isles that we ever sailed by; and La + Guayra in Caracas, and the Silla, and the house beneath it where she + lived. And I saw him walking with her on the barbecue, and he loved her + then. I saw what I saw; and he loved her; and I say he loves her still. + </p> + <p> + “Then I saw the cliffs beneath me, and the Gull-rock, and the Shutter, and + the Ledge; I saw them, William Cary, and the weeds beneath the merry blue + sea. And I saw the grand old galleon, Will; she has righted with the + sweeping of the tide. She lies in fifteen fathoms, at the edge of the + rocks, upon the sand; and her men are all lying around her, asleep until + the judgment-day.” + </p> + <p> + Cary and Jack looked at him, and then at each other. His eyes were clear, + and bright, and full of meaning; and yet they knew that he was blind. His + voice was shaping itself into a song. Was he inspired? Insane? What was + it? And they listened with awe-struck faces, as the giant pointed down + into the blue depths far below, and went on. + </p> + <p> + “And I saw him sitting in his cabin, like a valiant gentleman of Spain; + and his officers were sitting round him, with their swords upon the table + at the wine. And the prawns and the crayfish and the rockling, they swam + in and out above their heads: but Don Guzman he never heeded, but sat + still, and drank his wine. Then he took a locket from his bosom; and I + heard him speak, Will, and he said: 'Here's the picture of my fair and + true lady; drink to her, senors all.' Then he spoke to me, Will, and + called me, right up through the oar-weed and the sea: 'We have had a fair + quarrel, senor; it is time to be friends once more. My wife and your + brother have forgiven me; so your honor takes no stain.' And I answered, + 'We are friends, Don Guzman; God has judged our quarrel and not we.' Then + he said, 'I sinned, and I am punished.' And I said, 'And, senor, so am I.' + Then he held out his hand to me, Cary; and I stooped to take it, and + awoke.” + </p> + <p> + He ceased: and they looked in his face again. It was exhausted, but clear + and gentle, like the face of a new-born babe. Gradually his head dropped + upon his breast again; he was either swooning or sleeping, and they had + much ado to get him home. There he lay for eight-and-forty hours, in a + quiet doze; then arose suddenly, called for food, ate heartily, and + seemed, saving his eyesight, as whole and sound as ever. The surgeon bade + them get him home to Northam as soon as possible, and he was willing + enough to go. So the next day the Vengeance sailed, leaving behind a dozen + men to seize and keep in the queen's name any goods which should be washed + up from the wreck. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIII + </h2> + <h3> + HOW AMYAS LET THE APPLE FALL + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Would you hear a Spanish lady, + How she woo'd an Englishman? + Garments gay and rich as may be, + Deck'd with jewels had she on.” + + Elizabethan Ballad. +</pre> + <p> + It was the first of October. The morning was bright and still; the skies + were dappled modestly from east to west with soft gray autumn cloud, as if + all heaven and earth were resting after those fearful summer months of + battle and of storm. Silently, as if ashamed and sad, the Vengeance slid + over the bar, and passed the sleeping sand-hills and dropped her anchor + off Appledore, with her flag floating half-mast high; for the corpse of + Salvation Yeo was on board. + </p> + <p> + A boat pulled off from the ship, and away to the western end of the + strand; and Cary and Brimblecombe helped out Amyas Leigh, and led him + slowly up the hill toward his home. + </p> + <p> + The crowd clustered round him, with cheers and blessings, and sobs of pity + from kind-hearted women; for all in Appledore and Bideford knew well by + this time what had befallen him. + </p> + <p> + “Spare me, my good friends,” said Amyas, “I have landed here that I might + go quietly home, without passing through the town, and being made a + gazing-stock. Think not of me, good folks, nor talk of me; but come behind + me decently, as Christian men, and follow to the grave the body of a + better man than I.” + </p> + <p> + And, as he spoke, another boat came off, and in it, covered with the flag + of England, the body of Salvation Yeo. + </p> + <p> + The people took Amyas at his word; and a man was sent on to Burrough, to + tell Mrs. Leigh that her son was coming. When the coffin was landed and + lifted, Amyas and his friends took their places behind it as chief + mourners, and the crew followed in order, while the crowd fell in behind + them, and gathered every moment; till ere they were halfway to Northam + town, the funeral train might number full five hundred souls. + </p> + <p> + They had sent over by a fishing-skiff the day before to bid the sexton dig + the grave; and when they came into the churchyard, the parson stood ready + waiting at the gate. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Leigh stayed quietly at home; for she had no heart to face the crowd; + and though her heart yearned for her son, yet she was well content (when + was she not content?) that he should do honor to his ancient and faithful + servant; so she sat down in the bay-window, with Ayacanora by her side; + and when the tolling of the bell ceased, she opened her Prayer-book, and + began to read the Burial-service. + </p> + <p> + “Ayacanora,” she said, “they are burying old Master Yeo, who loved you, + and sought you over the wide, wide world, and saved you from the teeth of + the crocodile. Are you not sorry for him, child, that you look so gay + to-day?” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora blushed, and hung down her head; she was thinking of nothing, + poor child, but Amyas. + </p> + <p> + The Burial-service was done; the blessing said; the parson drew back: but + the people lingered and crowded round to look at the coffin, while Amyas + stood still at the head of the grave. It had been dug by his command, at + the west end of the church, near by the foot of the tall gray windswept + tower, which watches for a beacon far and wide over land and sea. Perhaps + the old man might like to look at the sea, and see the ships come out and + in across the bar, and hear the wind, on winter nights, roar through the + belfry far above his head. Why not? It was but a fancy: and yet Amyas felt + that he too should like to be buried in such a place; so Yeo might like it + also. + </p> + <p> + Still the crowd lingered; and looked first at the grave and then at the + blind giant who stood over it, as if they felt, by instinct, that + something more ought to come. And something more did come. Amyas drew + himself up to his full height, and waved his hand majestically, as one + about to speak; while the eyes of all men were fastened on him. + </p> + <p> + Twice he essayed to begin; and twice the words were choked upon his lips; + and then,— + </p> + <p> + “Good people all, and seamen, among whom I was bred, and to whom I come + home blind this day, to dwell with you till death—Here lieth the + flower and pattern of all bold mariners; the truest of friends, and the + most terrible of foes; unchangeable of purpose, crafty of council, and + swift of execution; in triumph most sober, in failure (as God knows I have + found full many a day) of endurance beyond mortal man. Who first of all + Britons helped to humble the pride of the Spaniard at Rio de la Hacha and + Nombre, and first of all sailed upon those South Seas, which shall be + hereafter, by God's grace, as free to English keels as is the bay outside. + Who having afterwards been purged from his youthful sins by strange + afflictions and torments unspeakable, suffered at the hands of the Popish + enemy, learned therefrom, my masters, to fear God, and to fear naught + else; and having acquitted himself worthily in his place and calling as a + righteous scourge of the Spaniard, and a faithful soldier of the Lord + Jesus Christ, is now exalted to his reward, as Elijah was of old, in a + chariot of fire unto heaven: letting fall, I trust and pray, upon you who + are left behind the mantle of his valor and his godliness, that so these + shores may never be without brave and pious mariners, who will count their + lives as worthless in the cause of their Country, their Bible, and their + Queen. Amen.” + </p> + <p> + And feeling for his companions' hands he walked slowly from the + churchyard, and across the village street, and up the lane to Burrough + gates; while the crowd made way for him in solemn silence, as for an awful + being, shut up alone with all his strength, valor, and fame, in the dark + prison-house of his mysterious doom. + </p> + <p> + He seemed to know perfectly when they had reached the gates, opened the + lock with his own hands, and went boldly forward along the gravel path, + while Cary and Brimblecombe followed him trembling; for they expected some + violent burst of emotion, either from him or his mother, and the two good + fellows' tender hearts were fluttering like a girl's. Up to the door he + went, as if he had seen it; felt for the entrance, stood therein, and + called quietly, “Mother!” + </p> + <p> + In a moment his mother was on his bosom. + </p> + <p> + Neither spoke for awhile. She sobbing inwardly, with tearless eyes, he + standing firm and cheerful, with his great arms clasped around her. + </p> + <p> + “Mother!” he said at last, “I am come home, you see, because I needs must + come. Will you take me in, and look after this useless carcase? I shall + not be so very troublesome, mother,—shall I?” and he looked down, + and smiled upon her, and kissed her brow. + </p> + <p> + She answered not a word, but passed her arm gently round his waist, and + led him in. + </p> + <p> + “Take care of your head, dear child, the doors are low.” And they went in + together. + </p> + <p> + “Will! Jack!” called Amyas, turning round: but the two good fellows had + walked briskly off. + </p> + <p> + “I'm glad we are away,” said Cary; “I should have made a baby of myself in + another minute, watching that angel of a woman. How her face worked and + how she kept it in!” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, well!” said Jack, “there goes a brave servant of the queen's cut off + before his work was a quarter done. Heigho! I must home now, and see my + old father, and then—” + </p> + <p> + “And then home with me,” said Cary. “You and I never part again! We have + pulled in the same boat too long, Jack; and you must not go spending your + prize-money in riotous living. I must see after you, old Jack ashore, or + we shall have you treating half the town in taverns for a week to come.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mr. Cary!” said Jack, scandalized. + </p> + <p> + “Come home with me, and we'll poison the parson, and my father shall give + you the rectory.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mr. Cary!” said Jack. + </p> + <p> + So the two went off to Clovelly together that very day. + </p> + <p> + And Amyas was sitting all alone. His mother had gone out for a few minutes + to speak to the seamen who had brought up Amyas's luggage, and set them + down to eat and drink; and Amyas sat in the old bay-window, where he had + sat when he was a little tiny boy, and read “King Arthur,” and “Fox's + Martyrs,” and “The Cruelties of the Spaniards.” He put out his hand and + felt for them; there they lay side by side, just as they had lain twenty + years before. The window was open; and a cool air brought in as of old the + scents of the four-season roses, and rosemary, and autumn gilliflowers. + And there was a dish of apples on the table: he knew it by their smell; + the very same old apples which he used to gather when he was a boy. He put + out his hand, and took them, and felt them over, and played with them, + just as if the twenty years had never been: and as he fingered them, the + whole of his past life rose up before him, as in that strange dream which + is said to flash across the imagination of a drowning man; and he saw all + the places which he had ever seen, and heard all the words which had ever + been spoken to him—till he came to that fairy island on the Meta; + and he heard the roar of the cataract once more, and saw the green tops of + the palm-trees sleeping in the sunlight far above the spray, and stept + amid the smooth palm-trunks across the flower-fringed boulders, and leaped + down to the gravel beach beside the pool: and then again rose from the + fern-grown rocks the beautiful vision of Ayacanora—Where was she? He + had not thought of her till now. How he had wronged her! Let be; he had + been punished, and the account was squared. Perhaps she did not care for + him any longer. Who would care for a great blind ox like him, who must be + fed and tended like a baby for the rest of his lazy life? Tut! How long + his mother was away! And he began playing again with his apples, and + thought about nothing but them, and his climbs with Frank in the orchard + years ago. + </p> + <p> + At last one of them slipt through his fingers, and fell on the floor. He + stooped and felt for it: but he could not find it. Vexatious! He turned + hastily to search in another direction, and struck his head sharply + against the table. + </p> + <p> + Was it the pain, or the little disappointment? or was it the sense of his + blindness brought home to him in that ludicrous commonplace way, and for + that very reason all the more humiliating? or was it the sudden revulsion + of overstrained nerves, produced by that slight shock? Or had he become + indeed a child once more? I know not; but so it was, that he stamped on + the floor with pettishness, and then checking himself, burst into a + violent flood of tears. + </p> + <p> + A quick rustle passed him; the apple was replaced in his hand, and + Ayacanora's voice sobbed out: + </p> + <p> + “There! there it is! Do not weep! Oh, do not weep! I cannot bear it! I + will get you all you want! Only let me fetch and carry for you, tend you, + feed you, lead you, like your slave, your dog! Say that I may be your + slave!” and falling on her knees at his feet, she seized both his hands, + and covered them with kisses. + </p> + <p> + “Yes!” she cried, “I will be your slave! I must be! You cannot help it! + You cannot escape from me now! You cannot go to sea! You cannot turn your + back upon wretched me. I have you safe now! Safe!” and she clutched his + hands triumphantly. “Ah! and what a wretch I am, to rejoice in that! to + taunt him with his blindness! Oh, forgive me! I am but a poor wild girl—a + wild Indian savage, you know: but—but—” and she burst into + tears. + </p> + <p> + A great spasm shook the body and soul of Amyas Leigh; he sat quite silent + for a minute, and then said solemnly: + </p> + <p> + “And is this still possible? Then God have mercy upon me a sinner!” + </p> + <p> + Ayacanora looked up in his face inquiringly: but before she could speak + again, he had bent down, and lifting her as the lion lifts the lamb, + pressed her to his bosom, and covered her face with kisses. + </p> + <p> + The door opened. There was the rustle of a gown; Ayacanora sprang from him + with a little cry, and stood, half-trembling, half-defiant, as if to say, + “He is mine now; no one dare part him from me!” + </p> + <p> + “Who is it?” asked Amyas. + </p> + <p> + “Your mother.” + </p> + <p> + “You see that I am bringing forth fruits meet for repentance, mother,” + said he, with a smile. + </p> + <p> + He heard her approach. Then a kiss and a sob passed between the women; and + he felt Ayacanora sink once more upon his bosom. + </p> + <p> + “Amyas, my son,” said the silver voice of Mrs. Leigh, low, dreamy, like + the far-off chimes of angels' bells from out the highest heaven, “fear not + to take her to your heart again; for it is your mother who has laid her + there.” + </p> + <p> + “It is true, after all,” said Amyas to himself. “What God has joined + together, man cannot put asunder.” + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + From that hour Ayacanora's power of song returned to her; and day by day, + year after year, her voice rose up within that happy home, and soared, as + on a skylark's wings, into the highest heaven, bearing with it the + peaceful thoughts of the blind giant back to the Paradises of the West, in + the wake of the heroes who from that time forth sailed out to colonize + another and a vaster England, to the heaven-prospered cry of Westward-Ho! + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Westward Ho!, by Charles Kingsley + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WESTWARD HO! *** + +***** This file should be named 1860-h.htm or 1860-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/6/1860/ + +Produced by Donald Lainson and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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