Peveril of the Peak Read online

  CHAPTER XXIV

  We meet, as men see phantoms in a dream, Which glide, and sigh, and sign, and move their lips, But make no sound; or, if they utter voice, 'Tis but a low and undistinguish'd moaning, Which has nor word nor sense of utter'd sound. --THE CHIEFTAIN.

  We said, at the conclusion of the last chapter, that a female formappeared at the door of Moultrassie Hall; and that the well-knownaccents of Alice Bridgenorth were heard to hail the return of herfather, from what she naturally dreaded as a perilous visit to theCastle of Martindale.

  Julian, who followed his conductor with a throbbing heart into thelighted hall, was therefore prepared to see her whom he best loved,with her arms thrown around her father. The instant she had quitted hispaternal embrace, she was aware of the unexpected guest who had returnedin his company. A deep blush, rapidly succeeded by a deadly paleness,and again by a slighter suffusion, showed plainly to her lover thathis sudden appearance was anything but indifferent to her. He bowedprofoundly--a courtesy which she returned with equal formality, but didnot venture to approach more nearly, feeling at once the delicacy of hisown situation and of hers.

  Major Bridgenorth turned his cold, fixed, grey, melancholy glance,first on the one of them and then on the other. "Some," he said gravely,"would, in my case, have avoided this meeting; but I have confidence inyou both, although you are young, and beset with the snares incidentalto your age. There are those within who should not know that ye havebeen acquainted. Wherefore, be wise, and be as strangers to each other."

  Julian and Alice exchanged glances as her father turned from them, andlifting a lamp which stood in the entrance-hall, led the way to theinterior apartment. There was little of consolation in this exchange oflooks; for the sadness of Alice's glance was mingled with fear, and thatof Julian clouded by an anxious sense of doubt. The look also was butmomentary; for Alice, springing to her father, took the light out of hishand, and stepping before him, acted as the usher of both into the largeoaken parlour, which has been already mentioned as the apartment inwhich Bridgenorth had spent the hours of dejection which followedthe death of his consort and family. It was now lighted up as for thereception of company; and five or six persons sat in it, in the plain,black, stiff dress, which was affected by the formal Puritans of thetime, in evidence of their contempt of the manners of the luxuriousCourt of Charles the Second; amongst whom, excess of extravagance inapparel, like excess of every other kind, was highly fashionable.

  Julian at first glanced his eyes but slightly along the range of graveand severe faces which composed this society--men sincere, perhaps, intheir pretensions to a superior purity of conduct and morals, but inwhom that high praise was somewhat chastened by an affected austerityin dress and manners, allied to those Pharisees of old, who made broadtheir phylacteries, and would be seen of man to fast, and to dischargewith rigid punctuality the observances of the law. Their dress wasalmost uniformly a black cloak and doublet, cut straight and close, andundecorated with lace or embroidery of any kind, black Flemish breechesand hose, square-toed shoes, with large roses made of serge ribbon. Twoor three had large loose boots of calf-leather, and almost every one wasbegirt with a long rapier, which was suspended by leathern thongs, to aplain belt of buff, or of black leather. One or two of the elder guests,whose hair had been thinned by time, had their heads covered with askull-cap of black silk or velvet, which, being drawn down betwixt theears and the skull, and permitting no hair to escape, occasioned theformer to project in the ungraceful manner which may be remarked in oldpictures, and which procured for the Puritans the term of "prickearedRoundheads," so unceremoniously applied to them by their contemporaries.

  These worthies were ranged against the wall, each in his ancienthigh-backed, long-legged chair; neither looking towards, nor apparentlydiscoursing with each other; but plunged in their own reflections, orawaiting, like an assembly of Quakers, the quickening power of divineinspiration.

  Major Bridgenorth glided along this formal society with noiseless step,and a composed severity of manner, resembling their own. He pausedbefore each in succession, and apparently communicated, as he passed,the transactions of the evening, and the circumstances under which theheir of Martindale Castle was now a guest at Moultrassie Hall. Eachseemed to stir at his brief detail, like a range of statues in anenchanted hall, starting into something like life, as a talisman isapplied to them successively. Most of them, as they heard the narrativeof their host, cast upon Julian a look of curiosity, blended withhaughty scorn and the consciousness of spiritual superiority; though,in one or two instances, the milder influences of compassion weresufficiently visible.--Peveril would have undergone this gantlet ofeyes with more impatience, had not his own been for the time engaged infollowing the motions of Alice, who glided through the apartment;and only speaking very briefly, and in whispers, to one or two of thecompany who addressed her, took her place beside a treble-hooded oldlady, the only female of the party, and addressed herself to her in suchearnest conversation, as might dispense with her raising her head, orlooking at any others in the company.

  Her father put a question, to which she was obliged to return ananswer--"Where was Mistress Debbitch?"

  "She has gone out," Alice replied, "early after sunset, to visit someold acquaintances in the neighbourhood, and she was not yet returned."

  Major Bridgenorth made a gesture indicative of displeasure; and, notcontent with that, expressed his determined resolution that Dame Deborahshould no longer remain a member of his family. "I will have those," hesaid aloud, and without regarding the presence of his guests, "and thoseonly, around me, who know to keep within the sober and modest bounds ofa Christian family. Who pretends to more freedom, must go out from amongus, as not being of us."

  A deep and emphatic humming noise, which was at that time the mode inwhich the Puritans signified their applause, as well of the doctrinesexpressed by a favourite divine in the pulpit, as of those delivered inprivate society, ratified the approbation of the assessors, and seemedto secure the dismission of the unfortunate governante, who stood thusdetected of having strayed out of bounds. Even Peveril, although he hadreaped considerable advantages, in his early acquaintance with Alice,from the mercenary and gossiping disposition of her governess, couldnot hear of her dismissal without approbation, so much was he desirous,that, in the hour of difficulty which might soon approach, Alice mighthave the benefit of countenance and advice from one of her own sex ofbetter manners, and less suspicious probity, than Mistress Debbitch.

  Almost immediately after this communication had taken place, a servantin mourning showed his thin, pinched, and wrinkled visage in theapartment, announcing, with a voice more like a passing bell than theherald of a banquet, that refreshments were provided in an adjoiningapartment. Gravely leading the way, with his daughter on one side,and the puritanical female whom we have distinguished on the other,Bridgenorth himself ushered his company, who followed, with littleattention to order or ceremony, into the eating-room, where asubstantial supper was provided.

  In this manner, Peveril, although entitled according to ordinaryceremonial, to some degree of precedence--a matter at that timeconsidered of much importance, although now little regarded--was leftamong the last of those who quitted the parlour; and might indeed havebrought up the rear of all, had not one of the company, who was himselflate in the retreat, bowed and resigned to Julian the rank in thecompany which had been usurped by others.

  This act of politeness naturally induced Julian to examine the featuresof the person who had offered him this civility; and he started toobserve, under the pinched velvet cap, and above the short band-strings,the countenance of Ganlesse, as he called himself--his companion on thepreceding evening. He looked again and again, especially when all wereplaced at the supper board, and when, consequently, he had frequentopportunities of observing this person fixedly without any breach ofgood manners. At first he wavered in his belief, and was much inc
linedto doubt the reality of his recollection; for the difference of dresswas such as to effect a considerable change of appearance; and thecountenance itself, far from exhibiting anything marked or memorable,was one of those ordinary visages which we see almost without remarkingthem, and which leave our memory so soon as the object is withdrawnfrom our eyes. But the impression upon his mind returned, and becamestronger, until it induced him to watch with peculiar attention themanners of the individual who had thus attracted his notice.

  During the time of a very prolonged grace before meat, which wasdelivered by one of the company--who, from his Geneva band andserge doublet, presided, as Julian supposed, over some dissentingcongregation--he noticed that this man kept the same demure and severecast of countenance usually affected by the Puritans, and which rathercaricatured the reverence unquestionably due upon such occasions. Hiseyes were turned upward, and his huge penthouse hat, with a high crownand broad brim, held in both hands before him, rose and fell with thecadences of the speaker's voice; thus marking time, as it were, to theperiods of the benediction. Yet when the slight bustle took place whichattends the adjusting of chairs, &c., as men sit down to table, Julian'seye encountered that of the stranger; and as their looks met, thereglanced from those of the latter an expression of satirical humour andscorn, which seemed to intimate internal ridicule of the gravity of hispresent demeanour.

  Julian again sought to fix his eye, in order to ascertain that he hadnot mistaken the tendency of this transient expression, but the strangerdid not allow him another opportunity. He might have been discovered bythe tone of his voice; but the individual in question spoke little, andin whispers, which was indeed the fashion of the whole company, whosedemeanour at table resembled that of mourners at a funeral feast.

  The entertainment itself was coarse, though plentiful; and must,according to Julian's opinion, be distasteful to one so exquisitelyskilled in good cheer, and so capable of enjoying, critically andscientifically, the genial preparations of his companion Smith, asGanlesse had shown himself on the preceding evening. Accordingly, uponclose observation, he remarked that the food which he took upon hisplate remained there unconsumed; and that his actual supper consistedonly of a crust of bread, with a glass of wine.

  The repast was hurried over with the haste of those who think it shame,if not sin, to make mere animal enjoyments the means of consumingtime, or of receiving pleasure; and when men wiped their mouths andmoustaches, Julian remarked that the object of his curiosity used ahandkerchief of the finest cambric--an article rather inconsistent withthe exterior plainness, not to say coarseness, of his appearance. Heused also several of the more minute refinements, then only observed attables of the higher rank; and Julian thought he could discern, at everyturn, something of courtly manners and gestures, under the precise andrustic simplicity of the character which he had assumed.[*]

  [*] A Scottish gentleman _in hiding_, as it was emphatically termed, for some concern in a Jacobite insurrection or plot, was discovered among a number of ordinary persons, by the use of his toothpick.

  But if this were indeed that same Ganlesse with whom Julian had met onthe preceding evening, and who had boasted the facility with which hecould assume any character which he pleased to represent for the time,what could be the purpose of this present disguise? He was, if his ownwords could be credited, a person of some importance, who dared to defythe danger of those officers and informers, before whom all ranks atthat time trembled; nor was he likely, as Julian conceived, without somestrong purpose, to subject himself to such a masquerade as the present,which could not be otherwise than irksome to one whose conversationproclaimed him of light life and free opinions. Was his appearance herefor good or for evil? Did it respect his father's house, or his ownperson, or the family of Bridgenorth? Was the real character of Ganlesseknown to the master of the house, inflexible as he was in all whichconcerned morals as well as religion? If not, might not the machinationsof a brain so subtile affect the peace and happiness of AliceBridgenorth?

  These were questions which no reflection could enable Peveril toanswer. His eyes glanced from Alice to the stranger; and new fears, andundefined suspicions, in which the safety of that beloved and lovelygirl was implicated, mingled with the deep anxiety which alreadyoccupied his mind, on account of his father and his father's house.

  He was in this tumult of mind, when after a thanksgiving as long as thegrace, the company arose from table, and were instantly summoned tothe exercise of family worship. A train of domestics, grave, sad,and melancholy as their superiors, glided in to assist at this act ofdevotion, and ranged themselves at the lower end of the apartment.Most of these men were armed with long tucks, as the straight stabbingswords, much used by Cromwell's soldiery, were then called. Several hadlarge pistols also; and the corselets or cuirasses of some were heard toclank, as they seated themselves to partake in this act of devotion. Theministry of him whom Julian had supposed a preacher was not used onthis occasion. Major Bridgenorth himself read and expounded a chapter ofScripture, with much strength and manliness of expression, although soas not to escape the charge of fanaticism. The nineteenth chapter ofJeremiah was the portion of Scripture which he selected; in which,under the type of breaking a potter's vessel, the prophet presages thedesolation of the Jews. The lecturer was not naturally eloquent; buta strong, deep, and sincere conviction of the truth of what he saidsupplied him with language of energy and fire, as he drew parallelbetween the abominations of the worship of Baal, and the corruptionsof the Church of Rome--so favourite a topic with the Puritans of thatperiod; and denounced against the Catholics, and those who favouredthem, that hissing and desolation which the prophet directed against thecity of Jerusalem. His hearers made a yet closer application than thelecturer himself suggested; and many a dark proud eye intimated, by aglance on Julian, that on his father's house were already, in some part,realised those dreadful maledictions.

  The lecture finished, Bridgenorth summoned them to unite with him inprayer; and on a slight change of arrangements amongst the company,which took place as they were about to kneel down, Julian found hisplace next to the single-minded and beautiful object of his affection,as she knelt, in her loveliness, to adore her Creator. A short timewas permitted for mental devotion; during which Peveril could hear herhalf-breathed petition for the promised blessings of peace on earth, andgood-will towards the children of men.

  The prayer which ensued was in a different tone. It was poured forth bythe same person who had officiated as chaplain at the table; and was inthe tone of a Boanerges, or Son of Thunder--a denouncer of crimes--aninvoker of judgments--almost a prophet of evil and of destruction. Thetestimonies and the sins of the day were not forgotten--the mysteriousmurder of Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey was insisted upon--and thanks andpraise were offered, that the very night on which they were assembled,had not seen another offering of a Protestant magistrate, to thebloodthirsty fury of revengeful Catholics.

  Never had Julian found it more difficult, during an act of devotion, tomaintain his mind in a frame befitting the posture and the occasion; andwhen he heard the speaker return thanks for the downfall and devastationof his family, he was strongly tempted to have started upon his feet,and charged him with offering a tribute, stained with falsehood andcalumny, at the throne of truth itself. He resisted, however, an impulsewhich it would have been insanity to have yielded to, and his patiencewas not without its reward; for when his fair neighbour arose from herknees, the lengthened and prolonged prayer being at last concluded, heobserved that her eyes were streaming with tears; and one glance withwhich she looked at him in that moment, showed more of affectionateinterest for him in his fallen fortunes and precarious condition, thanhe had been able to obtain from her when his worldly estate seemed somuch the more exalted of the two.

  Cheered and fortified with the conviction that one bosom in thecompany, and that in which he most eagerly longed to secure an interest,sympathised with his distress, he felt strong to endure whatever wasto follow, and s
hrunk not from the stern still smile with which, one byone, the meeting regarded him, as, gliding to their several places ofrepose, they indulged themselves at parting with a look of triumph onone whom they considered as their captive enemy.

  Alice also passed by her lover, her eyes fixed on the ground, andanswered his low obeisance without raising them. The room was now empty,but for Bridgenorth and his guest, or prisoner; for it is difficult tosay in which capacity Peveril ought to regard himself. He took an oldbrazen lamp from the table, and, leading the way, said at the same time,"I must be the uncourtly chamberlain, who am to usher you to a place ofrepose, more rude, perhaps, than you have been accustomed to occupy."

  Julian followed him, in silence, up an old-fashioned winding staircase,within a turret. At the landing-place on the top was a small apartment,where an ordinary pallet bed, two chairs, and a small stone table, werethe only furniture. "Your bed," continued Bridgenorth, as if desirous toprolong their interview, "is not of the softest; but innocence sleeps assound upon straw as on down."

  "Sorrow, Major Bridgenorth, finds little rest on either," repliedJulian. "Tell me, for you seem to await some question from me, what isto be the fate of my parents, and why you separate me from them?"

  Bridgenorth, for answer, indicated with his finger the mark which hiscountenance still showed from the explosion of Julian's pistol.

  "That," replied Julian, "is not the real cause of your proceedingsagainst me. It cannot be, that you, who have been a soldier, and are aman, can be surprised or displeased by my interference in the defenceof my father. Above all, you cannot, and I must needs say you do not,believe that I would have raised my hand against you personally, hadthere been a moment's time for recognition."

  "I may grant all this," said Bridgenorth; "but what the better are youfor my good opinion, or for the ease with which I can forgive you theinjury which you aimed at me? You are in my custody as a magistrate,accused of abetting the foul, bloody, and heathenish plot, for theestablishment of Popery, the murder of the King, and the generalmassacre of all true Protestants."

  "And on what grounds, either of fact or suspicion, dare any one accuseme of such a crime?" said Julian. "I have hardly heard of the plot, saveby the mouth of common rumour, which, while it speaks of nothing else,takes care to say nothing distinctly even on that subject."

  "It may be enough for me to tell you," replied Bridgenorth, "and perhapsit is a word too much--that you are a discovered intriguer--a spiedspy--who carries tokens and messages betwixt the Popish Countess ofDerby and the Catholic party in London. You have not conducted yourmatters with such discretion, but that this is well known, and can besufficiently proved. To this charge, which you are well aware you cannotdeny, these men, Everett and Dangerfield, are not unwilling to add, fromthe recollection of your face, other passages, which will certainly costyou your life when you come before a Protestant jury."

  "They lie like villains," said Peveril, "who hold me accessory to anyplot either against the King, the nation, or the state of religion; andfor the Countess, her loyalty has been too long, and too highly proved,to permit her being implicated in such injurious suspicions."

  "What she has already done," said Bridgenorth, his face darkening ashe spoke, "against the faithful champions of pure religion, hathsufficiently shown of what she is capable. She hath betaken herself toher rock, and sits, as she thinks, in security, like the eagle reposingafter his bloody banquet. But the arrow of the fowler may yet reachher--the shaft is whetted--the bow is bended--and it will be soonseen whether Amalek or Israel shall prevail. But for thee, JulianPeveril--why should I conceal it from thee?--my heart yearns for thee asa woman's for her first-born. To thee I will give, at the expense of myown reputation--perhaps at the risk of personal suspicion--for who, inthese days of doubt, shall be exempted from it--to thee, I say, I willgive means of escape, which else were impossible to thee. Thestaircase of this turret descends to the gardens--the postern-gate isunlatched--on the right hand lie the stables, where you will find yourown horse--take it, and make for Liverpool--I will give you creditwith a friend under the name of Simon Simonson, one persecuted by theprelates; and he will expedite your passage from the kingdom."

  "Major Bridgenorth," said Julian, "I will not deceive you. Were I toaccept your offer of freedom, it would be to attend to a higher callthan that of mere self-preservation. My father is in danger--my motherin sorrow--the voices of religion and nature call me to their side. Iam their only child--their only hope--I will aid them, or perish withthem!"

  "Thou art mad," said Bridgenorth--"aid them thou canst not--perish withthem thou mayst, and even accelerate their ruin; for, in addition to thecharges with which thy unhappy father is loaded, it would be no slightaggravation, that while he meditated arming and calling together theCatholics and High Churchmen of Cheshire and Derbyshire, his son shouldprove to be the confidential agent of the Countess of Derby, who aidedher in making good her stronghold against the Protestant commissioners,and was despatched by her to open secret communication with the Popishinterest in London."

  "You have twice stated me as such an agent," said Peveril, resolved thathis silence should not be construed into an admission of the charge,though he felt it was in some degree well founded--"What reason have youfor such an allegation?"

  "Will it suffice for a proof of my intimate acquaintance with yourmystery," replied Bridgenorth, "if I should repeat to you the lastwords which the Countess used to you when you left the Castle of thatAmalekitish woman? Thus she spoke: 'I am now a forlorn widow,' she said,'whom sorrow has made selfish.'"

  Peveril started, for these were the very words the Countess had used;but he instantly recovered himself, and replied, "Be your information ofwhat nature it will, I deny, and I defy it, so far as it attaches aughtlike guilt to me. There lives not a man more innocent of a disloyalthought, or of a traitorous purpose. What I say for myself, I will,to the best of my knowledge, say and maintain on account of the nobleCountess, to whom I am indebted for nurture."

  "Perish, then, in thy obstinacy!" said Bridgenorth; and turning hastilyfrom him, he left the room, and Julian heard him hasten down the narrowstaircase, as if distrusting his own resolution.

  With a heavy heart, yet with that confidence in an overruling Providencewhich never forsakes a good and brave man, Peveril betook himself to hislowly place of repose.