The Abbot Read online

  Chapter the Sixth.

  Thou hast each secret of the household, Francis. I dare be sworn thou hast been in the buttery, Steeping thy curious humour in fat ale, And in thy butler's tattle--ay, or chatting With the glib waiting-woman o'er her comfits-- These bear the key to each domestic mystery. OLD PLAY.

  Upon the morrow succeeding the scene we have described, the disgracedfavourite left the castle; and at breakfast-time the cautious oldsteward and Mrs. Lilias sat in the apartment of the latter personage,holding grave converse on the important event of the day, sweetened by asmall treat of comfits, to which the providence of Mr. Wingate had addeda little flask of racy canary.

  "He is gone at last," said the abigail, sipping her glass; "and here isto his good journey."

  "Amen," answered the steward, gravely; "I wish the poor deserted lad noill."

  "And he is gone like a wild-duck, as he came," continued Mrs. Lilias;"no lowering of drawbridges, or pacing along causeways, for him. Mymaster has pushed off in the boat which they call the little Herod,(more shame to them for giving the name of a Christian to wood andiron,) and has rowed himself by himself to the farther side of the loch,and off and away with himself, and left all his finery strewed about hisroom. I wonder who is to clean his trumpery out after him--though thethings are worth lifting, too."

  "Doubtless, Mistress Lilias," answered the master of the household,"in the which case, I am free to think, they will not long cumber thefloor."

  "And now tell me, Master Wingate," continued the damsel, "do not thevery cockles of your heart rejoice at the house being rid of thisupstart whelp, that flung us all into shadow?"

  "Why, Mistress Lilias," replied Wingate, "as to rejoicing--those whohave lived as long in great families as has been my lot, will be in nohurry to rejoice at any thing. And for Roland Graeme, though he may be agood riddance in the main, yet what says the very sooth proverb, 'Seldomcomes a better.'"

  "Seldom comes a better, indeed!" echoed Mrs. Lilias. "I say, never cancome a worse, or one half so bad. He might have been the ruin of ourpoor dear mistress," (here she used her kerchief,) "body and soul, andestate too; for she spent more coin on his apparel than on any fourservants about the house."

  "Mistress Lilias," said the sage steward, "I do opine that our mistressrequireth not this pity at your hands, being in all respects competentto take care of her own body, soul, and estate into the bargain."

  "You would not mayhap have said so," answered the waiting-woman, "hadyou seen how like Lot's wife she looked when young master took hisleave. My mistress is a good lady, and a virtuous, and a well-doinglady, and a well-spoken of--but I would not Sir Halbert had seen herlast evening for two and a plack."

  "Oh, foy! foy! foy!" reiterated the steward; "servants should hear andsee, and say nothing. Besides that, my lady is utterly devoted to SirHalbert, as well she may, being, as he is, the most renowned knight inthese parts."

  "Well, well," said the abigail, "I mean no more harm; but they that seekleast renown abroad, are most apt to find quiet at home, that's all; andmy Lady's lonesome situation is to be considered, that made her fain totake up with the first beggar's brat that a dog brought her out of theloch."

  "And, therefore," said the steward, "I say, rejoice not too much, or toohastily, Mistress Lilias; for if your Lady wished a favourite to passaway the time, depend upon it, the time will not pass lighter now thathe is gone. So she will have another favourite to choose for herself;and be assured, if she wishes such a toy, she will not lack one."

  "And where should she choose one, but among her own tried and faithfulservants," said Mrs. Lilias, "who have broken her bread, and drunk herdrink, for so many years? I have known many a lady as high as she is,that never thought either of a friend or favourite beyond their ownwaiting-woman--always having a proper respect, at the same time, fortheir old and faithful master of the household, Master Wingate."

  "Truly, Mistress Lilias," replied the steward, "I do partly see the markat which you shoot, but I doubt your bolt will fall short. Mattersbeing with our Lady as it likes you to suppose, it will neither be yourcrimped pinners, Mrs. Lilias, (speaking of them with due respect,) normy silver hair, or golden chain, that will fill up the void which RolandGraeme must needs leave in our Lady's leisure. There will be a learnedyoung divine with some new doctrine--a learned leech with some newdrug--a bold cavalier, who will not be refused the favour of wearing hercolours at a running at the ring--a cunning harper that could harp theheart out of woman's breast, as they say Signer David Rizzio did toour poor Queen;--these are the sort of folk who supply the loss ofa well-favoured favourite, and not an old steward, or a middle-agedwaiting-woman."

  "Well," replied Lilias, "you have experience, Master Wingate, and trulyI would my master would leave off his picking hither and thither,and look better after the affairs of his household. There will be apapestrie among us next, for what should I see among master's clothesbut a string of gold beads! I promise you, _aves_ and _credos_ both!--Iseized on them like a falcon."

  "I doubt it not, I doubt it not," said the steward, sagaciously noddinghis head; "I have often noticed that the boy had strange observanceswhich savoured of popery, and that he was very jealous to conceal them.But you will find the Catholic under the Presbyterian cloak as often asthe knave under the Friar's hood--what then? we are all mortal--Rightproper beads they are," he added, looking attentively at them, "and mayweigh four ounces of fine gold."

  "And I will have them melted down presently," she said, "before they bethe misguiding of some poor blinded soul."

  "Very cautious, indeed, Mistress Lilias," said the steward, nodding hishead in assent.

  "I will have them made," said Mrs. Lilias, "into a pair of shoe-buckles;I would not wear the Pope's trinkets, or whatever has once borne theshape of them, one inch above my instep, were they diamonds insteadof gold.--But this is what has come of Father Ambrose coming about thecastle, as demure as a cat that is about to steal cream."

  "Father Ambrose is our master's brother," said the steward gravely.

  "Very true, Master Wingate," answered the Dame; "but is that a goodreason why he should pervert the king's liege subjects to papistrie?"

  "Heaven forbid, Mistress Lilias," answered the sententious major-domo;"but yet there are worse folk than the Papists."

  "I wonder where they are to be found," said the waiting-woman, with someasperity; "but I believe, Master Wingate, if one were to speak to youabout the devil himself, you would say there were worse people thanSatan."

  "Assuredly I might say so," replied the steward, "supposing that I sawSatan standing at my elbow."

  The waiting-woman started, and having exclaimed, "God bless us!" added,"I wonder, Master Wingate, you can take pleasure in frightening onethus."

  "Nay, Mistress Lilias, I had no such purpose," was the reply; "but lookyou here--the Papists are but put down for the present, but who knowshow long this word _present_ will last? There are two great Popish earlsin the north of England, that abominate the very word reformation; Imean the Northumberland and Westmoreland Earls, men of power enough toshake any throne in Christendom. Then, though our Scottish king be,God bless him, a true Protestant, yet he is but a boy; and here is hismother that was our queen--I trust there is no harm to say, God blessher too--and she is a Catholic; and many begin to think she has had buthard measure, such as the Hamiltons in the west, and some of our Borderclans here, and the Gordons in the north, who are all wishing to see anew world; and if such a new world should chance to come up, it is likethat the Queen will take back her own crown, and that the mass and thecross will come up, and then down go pulpits, Geneva-gowns, and blacksilk skull-caps."

  "And have you, Master Jasper Wingate, who have heard the word, andlistened unto pure and precious Mr. Henry Warden, have you, I say, thepatience to speak, or but to think, of popery coming down on us like astorm, or of the woman Mary again making the royal seat of Scotland athrone of abomination? No marvel that you are so civil
to the cowledmonk, Father Ambrose, when he comes hither with his downcast eyes thathe never raises to my Lady's face, and with his low sweet-toned voice,and his benedicites, and his benisons; and who so ready to take themkindly as Master Wingate?"

  "Mistress Lilias," replied the butler, with an air which was intendedto close the debate, "there are reasons for all things. If I receivedFather Ambrose debonairly, and suffered him to steal a word now andthen with this same Roland Graeme, it was not that I cared a brassbodle for his benison or malison either, but only because I respectedmy master's blood. And who can answer, if Mary come in again, whether hemay not be as stout a tree to lean to as ever his brother hath provedto us? For down goes the Earl of Murray when the Queen comes by herown again; and good is his luck if he can keep the head on his ownshoulders. And down goes our Knight, with the Earl, his patron; and whoso like to mount into his empty saddle as this same Father Ambrose? ThePope of Rome can so soon dispense with his vows, and then we should haveSir Edward the soldier, instead of Ambrose the priest."

  Anger and astonishment kept Mrs. Lilias silent,--while her old friend,in his self-complacent manner, was making known to her his politicalspeculations. At length her resentment found utterance in words ofgreat ire and scorn. "What, Master Wingate! have you eaten my mistress'sbread, to say nothing of my master's, so many years, that you could liveto think of her being dispossessed of her own Castle of Avenel, by awretched monk, who is not a drop's blood to her in the way of relation?I, that am but a woman, would try first whether my rock or his cowl wasthe better metal. Shame on you, Master Wingate! I If I had not heldyou as so old an acquaintance, this should have gone to my Lady's earsthough I had been called pickthank and tale-pyet for my pains, as when Itold of Roland Graeme shooting the wild swan."

  Master Wingate was somewhat dismayed at perceiving, that the detailswhich he had given of his far-sighted political views had produced onhis hearer rather suspicion of his fidelity, than admiration of hiswisdom, and endeavoured, as hastily as possible, to apologize and toexplain, although internally extremely offended at the unreasonableview, as he deemed it, which it had pleased Mistress LiliasBradbourne to take of his expressions; and mentally convinced that herdisapprobation of his sentiments arose solely out of the consideration,that though Father Ambrose, supposing him to become the master of thecastle, would certainly require the services of a steward, yet thoseof a waiting-woman would, in the supposed circumstances, be altogethersuperfluous.

  After his explanation had been received as explanations usually are, thetwo friends separated; Lilias to attend the silver whistle which calledher to her mistress's chamber, and the sapient major-domo to the dutiesof his own department. They parted with less than their usual degree ofreverence and regard; for the steward felt that his worldly wisdom wasrebuked by the more disinterested attachment of the waiting-woman, andMistress Lilias Bradbourne was compelled to consider her old friend assomething little better than a time-server.