"Sir Thurio, give us leave, I pray, awhile "We have some secrets to confer about." Two Gentlemen of Verona
During the preceding exhibition of riot and degradation, in the dock-square, a very different state of things existed beneath the roof of a proud edifice that stood in an adjacent street. As was usual at that hour of the night, the windows of Province-house were brilliant with lights, as if in mockery of the naked dreariness of the neighbouring church, and every approach to that privileged residence of the representative of royalty, was closely guarded by the vigilance of armed men. Into this favoured dwelling it now becomes necessary to remove the scene, in order to pursue the thread of our unpretending narrative.
Domestics, in rich military liveries, might be seen gliding from room to room, in the hurry of a banquet—some bearing vessels of the most generous wines into the apartment where Howe entertained the leaders of the royal army, and others returning with the remnants of a feast; which, though sumptuously served, having felt the scarcity of the times, had offered more to the eyes than to the appetites of the guests. Idlers, in the loose undress of their martial profession, liotered through the balls, and many a wistful glance, or lingering look followed the odorous scents, as humbler menials received the viands to transport them into the more secret recesses of the building. Notwithstanding the life and activity which prevailed, every movement was conducted in silence and regularity; the whole of the lively scene affording a happy illusstration of the virtues and harmony of order.
Within the walls of that apartment to which every eye seemed directed as to a common centre, in anticipation of the slightest wish of those who revelled there, all was bright and cheerful. The hearth knew no want of fuel; the coarser workmanship of the floor was hid beneath rich and ample carpets, while the windows were nearly lost within the sweeping folds of curtains of figured damask. Every thing wore an air of exquisite comfort, blended with a species of careless elegance. Even the most minute article of the furniture had been transported from that distant country which was then thought to monopolize all the cunning arts of handicraft, to administer to the pleasures of those, who however careless of themselves in moments of trial, courted the most luxurious indulgencies in their hours of ease.
Along the centre of this gay apartment was spread the hospitable board of the entertainer. It was surrounded by men in the trappings of high military rank, though here and there might he seen a guest, whose plainer attire and dejected countenance, betrayed the presence of one or two of those misjudging colonists, whose confidence in the resistless power of the crown, began already to waver. The lieutenant of the King held his wonted place at the banquet, his dark visage expressing all the heartiness of a soldier's welcome, while he pointed out this or that favourite amongst an abundant collection of wines, that included the choicest liquors of Europe.
"For those who share the mess of a British general, you have encountered rude fare to-day, gentlemen," he cried; "though, after all, 'tis such as a British soldier knows how to fatten on, in the service of his master. Fill, gentlemen; fill in loyal bumpers, for we have neglected our allegiance."
Each glass now stood sparkling and overcharged with wine, when, after a short and solemn pause, the host pronounced aloud, the magical words—"The King."—Every voice echoed the name, after which there literally succeeded a breathless pause; when an old man, in the uniform of an officer of the fleet, first proving his loyalty by flourishing on high his inverted glass, added, with hearty will—
"God bless him!" repeated the graceful leader, who has already been more than once named in these pages; "and grant him a long and glorious reign! and should there be no treason in the wish, in death, a Grave like yourself, worthy admiral— `Sepulchrum sine sordibus extrue."'
"Like me!" echoed the blunt seaman, whose learning was somewhat impaired by hard and long service—"I am, it is true, none of your cabinwindow gentry, but his majesty might stoop lower than by favouring a faithful servant, like me, with his gracious presence."
"Your pardon, sir, I should have included, `permissum arbitrio."'
The equivoque had barely excited a smile, when the sedate countenance of the commander-in-chief indicated that the subject was too serious for a jest. Nor did the naval chieftain appear to relish the unknown tongue; for quite as much, if not a little more offended with the liberty taken with his own name, than with the privileged person of the sovereign, he somewhat smartly retorted—
"Permitted or not permitted, I command the fleet of his majesty in these waters, and it shall be noted as a cheerful day in our log-books, when you gentlemen of the army dismiss us to our duty again, on the high-seas. A sailor will grow as tired of doing nothing, as ever a soldier did of work, and I like `elbow-room,' even in my coffin ha, ha, ha—what d'ye think of that, master wit— ha, ha, ha—what d'ye say to that?"
"Quite fair, well deserved, and cuttingly severe, admiral," returned the undisturbed soldier, smiling with perfect self-possession, as he sipped his wine. "But as you find confinement and leisure so irksome, I will presume to advise your seizing some of these impudent Yankees who look into the port so often, not only robbing us of our stores, but offending so many loyal eyes with their traitorous presence.
"I command a parley to be beaten," interrupted the commander-in-chief, "and a truce to further hostilities. Where all have done their duty, and have done it so well, even wit must respect their conduct. Let me advise you to sound the contents of that dusty-looking bottle, Mr. Graves; I think you will approve the situation as an anchorage for the night."
The honest old seaman instantly drowned his displeasure in a glass of the generous liquor, and smacking his lips after the potations, for he repeated the first on the moment, he exclaimed—
"Ah! you are too stationary, by half, to stir up the soul of your liquors. Wine should never slumber on its lees until it has been well rolled in the trough of a sea for a few months; then, indeed, you may set it asleep, and yourself by the side of it, if you like a cat's nap."
"As orthodox a direction for the ripening of wine as was ever given by a bishop to his butler!" exclaimed his adversary. Another significant glance from his dark-looking superior, again checked his wilful playfulness, when Howe profited by the silence, to say with the frank air of a liberal host—
"As motion is, just now, denied us, the only means I can devise, to prevent my wine from slumbering on its lees, is to drink it."
"Besides which, we are threatened with a visit from Mr. Washington, and his thirsty followers, who may save us all trouble in the matter, unless we prove industrious. In such a dilemma, Mr. Graves will not hesitate to pledge me in a glass, though it should be only to disappoint the rebels!" added Burgoyne, making a graceful inclination to the half-offended seaman.
"Ay, ay, I would do much more disagreeable things to cheat the rascals of their plunder," returned the mollified admiral, good-naturedly nodding his head before he swallowed his bumper— "If there be any real danger of the loss of such liquid amber as this, 'twould be as well to send it along-side my ship, and I will hoist it in, and find it a birth, though it shares my own cott. I believe I command a fortress which neither Yankee, Frenchman, nor Don, would like to besiege, unless at a respectful distance."
The officers around him looked exceedingly grave, exchanging glances of great meaning, though all continued silent, as if the common subject of their meditations was too delicate to be loudly uttered in such a presence. At length the second in command, who still felt the coldness of his superior, and who had, hitherto, said nothing during the idle dialogue, ventured a remark, with the gravity and distance of a man who was not certain of his welcome.
"Our enemies grow bold as the season advances," he said, "and it is past a doubt that they will find us employment in the coming summer. It cannot be denied but they conduct themselves with great steadiness in all their batteries, especially in this last, at the water-side; nor am I without apprehension that they will yet get upon the islands, and render the situation of the shipping hazardous."
"Get upon the islands! drive the fleet from their anchors!" exclaimed the veteran sailor, in undisguised amazement; "I shall account it a happy day for England, when Washington and his rabble trust themselves within reach of our shot!"
"God grant us a chance at the rascals with the bayonet in the open field," cried Howe, "and an end of these winter-quarters! I say winter-quarters, for I trust no gentleman can consider this army as besieged by a mob of armed peasants! We hold the town, and they the country; but when the proper time shall come—well, sir, your pleasure," he continued, interrupting himself to speak to an upper servant at his elbow.
The man, who had stood for more than a minute, in an attitude of respectful attention, anxious to catch the eye of his master, muttered his message in a low and hurried voice, as if unwilling to be heard by others, and at the same time conscious of the impropriety of whispering. Most of those around him turned their heads in polite indifference, but the old sailor, who sat too near to be totally deaf, had caught the words, "a lady," which was quite enough to, provoke all his merriment, after such a free indulgence of the bottle. Striking his hand smartly on the table, he exclaimed, with a freedom that no other present could have presumed to use—
"A sail! a sail! by George a sail! under what colours, friend; king's, or rebels? Here has been a blunder, with a vengeance! The cook has certainly been too late, or the lady is too early! ha, ha, ha—Oh! you are wicked, free livers in the army!"
The tough old tar enjoyed his joke exceedingly, chuckling with inward delight at his discovery. He was, however, alone in his merriment, none of the soldiers venturing to understand his allusions, any further than by exchanging a few stolen looks of unusual archness. Howe bit his lips, with obvious vexation, and sternly ordered the man to repeat his errand in a voice that was more audible.
"A lady," said the trembling menial, "wishes to see your excellency, and she waits your pleasure, sir, in the library."
"Among his books, too!" shouted the admiral— "that would have better become you, my joking friend! I say, young man, is the girl young and handsome?"
"By the lightness of her step, sir, I should think her young; but her face was concealed under a hood."
"Ay! ay! the jade comes hooded into the house of the king! Damn me, Howe, but modesty is getting to be a rare virtue amongst you gentlemen on shore!"
"'Tis a plain case against you, sir, for even the servant, as you find, has detected that she is light of carriage," said the smiling Burgoyne, making a half motion towards rising. "It is probably some applicant for relief, or for permission to depart the place. Suffer me to see her, and spare yourself the pain of a refusal?"
"Not at all," said Howe, gaining his feet with an alacrity that anticipated the more deliberate movement of the other—"I should be unworthy of the trust I hold, could I not lend an occasional ear to a petition. Gentlemen, as there is a lady in the case, I presume to trespass on your indulgence. Admiral, I commend you to my butler, who is a worthy fellow, and can give you all the cruises of the bottle before you, since it left the island of Madeira."
He inclined his head to his guests, and passed from the room with a hurried step, that did not altogether consult appearances. As he proceeded through the hall, his ears were saluted by another burst from the hearty old seaman, who, however, enjoyed his humour alone, the rest of the party immediately turning to other subjects, with well-bred dullness. On entering the room already mentioned, Howe found himself in the presence of the female, who, notwithstanding their apparent indifference, was at that very moment occupying the thoughts, and exercising the ingenuity of every man he had left behind him. Advancing at once to the centre of the apartment, with the ease and freedom of a soldier who felt himself without a superior, he asked, with a politeness somewhat equivocal—
"Why am I favoured with this visit? and why has a lady whose appearance shows she might command friends at any time, assumed this personal trouble?"
"Because I am a supplicant for a favour that might be denied to one who petitioned coldly," returned a soft, tremulous voice, deep within the covering of a silken calash. "As time is wanting to observe the usual forms of applications I have presumed to come in person, to prevent delay."
"And surely, one like you, can have little reason to dread a repulse," said Howe, with an attempt at gallantry, that would have better become the man who had offered to be his substitute. While speaking he advanced a step nigher to the lady, and pointing to her hood, he continued—"Would it not be wise to aid your request, with a view of a countenance that I am certain can speak better than any words—whom have I the honour to receive, and what may be the nature of her business?"
"A wife who seeks her husband," returned the female, dropping the folds of her calash, and exposing to his steady eyes, the commanding loveliness of the chaste countenance of Cecil The sudden annunciation of her character was forced from the lips of the unclaimed bride, by the freedom of a gaze to which she was unused; but the instant she had spoken, her eyes fell on the floor in embarrassment, and she stood deeply blushing at the strength of her own language, though preserving all the apparent composure and dignity of female pride. The English general regarded her beauty for a moment, with a pleased, though doubting eye, before he continued—
"Is he whom you seek within or without the town?"
"And you would follow him into the camp of the rebels? This is a case that may require some deliberation. I feel assured I entertain a lady of great beauty; might I, in addition, know how to address her?"
"For my name I can have no reason to blush," said Cecil, proudly—" 'tis noble in the land of our common ancestors, and may have reached the ears of Mr. Howe—I am the child of the late colonel Dynevor." '
"The niece of Lord Cardonnell!" exclaimed her auditor, in amazement, instantly losing the equivoeal freedom of his manner in an air of deep respect—"I have long known that Boston contained such a lady; nor do I forget that she is accused of concealing herself from the attentions of the army, like one of the most obdurate of our foes—attentions which every man in the garrison would be happy to show her, from myself down to the lowest ensign—do me the honour to be seated?"
Cecil bowed her acknowledgments, but continued standing—
"I have neither time nor spirits to defend myself from such an imputation," she answered— "though should my own name prove no passport to your favour, I must claim it in behalf of him I seek."
"Should he be the veriest rebel in the train of Washington, he has great reason to be proud of his fortune!"
"So far from ranking among the enemies of the king, he has already been lavish of his blood in behalf of the crown," returned Cecil, unconsciously raising the calash again, with maiden bashfulness, as she felt the moment was approaching when she must declare the name of the man, whose influence over her feelings she had already avowed.
The answer was given to this direct question, in a low but distinct voice. Howe started when he heard the well-known name of an officer of so much consideration, though a meaning smile lighted his dark features, as he repeated her words in surprise—
"Major Lincoln! his refusal to return to Europe, in search of health, is then satisfactorily explained! Without the town did you say! there must be some error."
The harsh features of the leader contracted again into their sternest look, and it was apparent how much he was disturbed by the intelligence.
"This is presuming too far on his privilege," he muttered in an under tone.—"Left the place, say you, without my knowledge and approbation, young lady?"
"But on no unworthy errand!" cried the almost breathless Cecil, instantly losing sight of herself in her anxiety for Lionel—"private sorrows have driven him to an act, that, at another time, he would be the first to condemn, as a soldier."
Howe maintained a cool, but threatening silence, that was far more appalling than any words could be. The alarmed wife gazed at his lowering face for a minute, as if to penetrate his secret thoughts, then yielding, with the sensitiveness of a woman, to her worst apprehensions, she cried—
"Oh! you would not avail yourself of this confession to do him harm! Has he not bled for you; lingered for months on the verge of the grave, in defence of your cause; and will you now doubt him! Nay, sir, though chance and years may have subjected him, for a time, to your controul, he is every way your equal, and will confront each charge before his Royal Master, let who may bring them against his spofless name!"
" 'Twill be necessary," the other coldly replied.
"Nay, hearken not to my weak, unmeaning words," continued Cecil, wringing her hands, in doubting distress; "I know not what I say, He has your permission to hold intercourse with the country weekly?"
"For the purpose of obtaining the supplies necessary to his past condition."
"And may he not have gone on such an errand, and under favour of the flag you yourself have cheerfully accorded?"
"In such a case would I not have been spared the pain of this interview!"
Cecil paused a moment, and seemed collecting her scatiered faculties, and preparing her mind for some serious purpose. After a little time, she attempted a painful smile, saying, more calmly—
"I had presumed too far on military indulgence, and was even weak enough to believe the request would be granted to my name and situation."
"No name, no situation, no circumstances, can ever render"—
"Speak not the cruel words, least they once more drive me from my recollection," interrupted Cecil. "First hear me, sir—listen to a wife and a daughter, and you will recall the cruel sentence."
Without waiting for a reply, she advanced with a firm and proud step to the door of the room, passing her astonished companion with an eye and a face beaming with the fullness of her object. In the outer passage, she beckoned from among the loiterers in the hall, to the stranger who had accompanied her in the visit to the warehouse, and when he had approached, and entered the room, the door once more closed, leaving the spectators without, wondering whence such a vision of purity could have made its way within the sullied walls of Province-house.
Many long and impatient minutes were passed by the guests in the banqueting-room, during the continuance of this mysterious interview. The jests of the admiral began to flag, just as his companions were inclined to think they were most merited, and the conversation assumed that broken and disjointed character which betrays the wandering of the speakers' thoughts.
At length a bell rang, and orders came from the commander-in-chief, to clear the hall of its curious idlers. When none were left but the regular domestics of the family, Howe appeared, supporting Cecil, closely hooded, to the conveyance that awaited her presence at the gate. The air of their master communicated a deep respect to the manners of the observant menials, who crowded about their persons, to aid the departure, with officious zeal. The amazed sentinels dropped their arms, with the usual regularity, to their chieftain, as he passed to the outer portal in honour of his unknown companion, and eyes met the expressive glances of eyes, as all who witnessed the termination of this visit, sought in the countenances of those around them, some solution of its object.
When Howe resumed his seat at the table, another attempt was made by the admiral to renew the subject; but it was received with an air so cold, and a look so pointedly severe, that even the careless son of the ocean forgot his humour under the impression of so dark a frown.
