"If your Father will do me any honour, so;
If not, let him kill the next Percy himself;
I look to be either Earl or Duke, I can assure you."
— FalstaffManual cast several discontented and sullen looks from his captors to the remnant of his own command, while the process of pinioning the latter was conducted, with much discretion, under the directions of Sergeant Drill, when meeting, in one of his dissatisfied glances, with the pale and disturbed features of Griffith, he gave vent to his ill-humour, by saying—
"This results from neglecting the precautions of military discipline. Had the command been with me, who, I may say, without boasting, have been accustomed to the duties of the field, proper picquets would have been posted, and instead of being caught like so many rabbits in a burrow, to be smoked out with brimstone, we should have had an open field for the struggle, or we might have possessed ourselves of these walls, which I could have made good for two hours at least, against the best regiment that ever wore King George's facings."
"Defend the outworks before retreating to the citadel!" cried Borroughcliffe; "'tis the game of war, and shows science; but had you kept closer to your burrow, the rabbits might now have allbeen frisking about in that pleasant abode. The eyes of a timid hind were greeted this morning, while journeying near this wood, with a passing sight of armed men, in strange attire, and as he fled, with an intent of casting himself into the sea, as fear will sometimes urge one of his kind to do, he luckily encountered me on the cliffs, who humanely saved his life, by compelling him to conduct us hither. There is often wisdom in science, my worthy contemporary in arms, but there is sometimes safety in ignorance."
"You have succeeded, sir, and have a right to be pleasant," said Manual, seating himself gloomily on a fragment of the ruin, and fastening his looks on the melancholy spectacle of the lifeless bodies, as they were successively brought from the vault and placed at his feet; "but these men have been my own children, and you will excuse me if I cannot retort your pleasantries. Ah! Captain Borroughcliffe, you are a soldier, and know how to value merit. I took those very fellows, who sleep on these stones so quietly, from the hands of nature, and made them the pride of our art. They were no longer men, but brave lads, who ate and drank, wheeled and marched, loaded and fired, laughed or were sorrowful, spoke or were silent, only at my will. As for soul, there was but one among them all, and that was in my keeping! Groan, my children, groan freely now; there is no longer a reason to be silent. I have known a single musket-bullet cut the buttons from the coats of five of them in a row, without raising the skin of a man. I could ever calculate, with certainty, how many it would be necessary to expend in all regular service, but this accursed banditti business has robbed me of the choicest of my treasures. You 'stand at ease'
"That are not weakened by undue burthens of this nature," interrupted his captain, significantly; "if we let the news of this affair reach the ears of those hungry dragoons, they would charge upon us, open mouthed, like a pack of famished beagles, and claim at least half the credit, and certainly all the profit."
"But, your honour, there was not a man of them even—"
"No matter, Drill; I've known troops that have been engaged, and have suffered, cheated out of their share of victory by a well-worded despatch. You know, fellow, that in the smoke and confusion of a battle, a man can only see what passes near him, and common prudence requires that he only mention in his official letters what he knows can't be easily contradicted. Thus your Indians, and, indeed, all allies, are not entitled to the right of a general order, any more than to the right of a parade. Now, I dare say, you have heard of a certain battle of Blenheim?"
"Lord! your honour, 'tis the pride of the British army, that and the Culloden! 'Twas when the great Corporal John beat the French king, and all his lords and nobility, with half his nation in arms to back him!"
"Ay! there is a little of the barrack readings in the account, but it is substantially true; know you how many French were in the field, that day, Mister Drill?"
"I have never seen the totals of their muster, sir, in print, but judging by the difference betwixt the nations, I should suppose some hundreds of thousands."
"And yet, to oppose this vast army, the duke had only some ten or twelve thousand well-fed Englishmen! You look astounded, sergeant!"
"Why, your honour, that does seem rather anover-match for an old soldier to swallow; the random shot would sweep away so small a force."
"And yet the battle was fought, and the victory won! but the Duke of Marlborough had a certain Mr. Eugene, with some fifty or sixty thousand High-Dutchers, to back him. You never heard of Mr. Eugene?"
"Not a syllable, your honour; I always thought that Corporal John—"
"Was a gallant and great general; you thought right, Mister Drill. So would a certain nameless gentleman be also, if his majesty would sign a commission to that effect. However, a majority is on the high road to a regiment, and with even a regiment a man is comfortable! In plain English, Mister Drill, we must get our prisoners into the abbey with as little noise as possible, in order that the horse may continue their gambols along the coast, without coming to devour our meal. All the fuss must be made at the war-office. For that trifle you may trust me; I think I know who holds a quill that is as good in its way as the sword he wears. Drill is a short name, and can easily be written within the folds of a letter."
"Lord, your honour!" said the gratified halberdier, "I'm sure such an honour is more—but your honour can ever command me."
"I do; and it is, to be close, and to make your men keep close, until it shall be time to speak, when, I pledge myself, there shall be noise enough." Borroughcliffe shook his head, with a grave air, as he continued—"It has been a devil of a bloody fight, sergeant! look at the dead and wounded; a wood on each flank—supported by a ruin in the centre. Oh! ink! ink! can be spilt on the details with great effect. Go, fellow, and prepare to march."
Thus enlightened on the subject of his commander'sulterior views, the non-commissioned agent of the captain's wishes proceeded to give suitable instructions to the rest of the party, and to make the more immediate preparations for a march. The arrangements were soon completed. The bodies of the slain were left unsheltered, the seclusion of the ruin being deemed a sufficient security against the danger of any discovery, until darkness should favour their removal, in conformity with Borroughcliffe's plan, to monopolize the glory. The wounded were placed on rude litters, composed of the muskets and blankets of the prisoners, when the conquerors and vanquished moved together in a compact body from the ruin, in such a manner as to make the former serve as a mask to conceal the latter from the curious gaze of any casual passenger. There was but little, indeed, to apprehend on this head, for the alarm and the terror consequent on the exaggerated reports that flew through the country, effectually prevented any intruders on the usually quiet and retired domains of St. Ruth.
The party was emerging from the wood, when the cracking of branches, and rustling of dried leaves, announced, however, that an interruption of some sort was about to occur.
"If it should be one of their rascally patroles!" exclaimed Borroughcliffe, with very obvious displeasure; "they trample like a regiment of cavalry! but, gentlemen, you will acknowledge yourselves, that we were retiring from the field of battle when we met the reinforcement, if it should prove to be such."
"We are not disposed, sir, to deny you the glory of having achieved your victory single handed," said Griffith, glancing his eyes uneasily in the direction of the approaching sounds, expecting to see the pilot issue from the thicket in which heseemed to be entangled, instead of any detachment of his enemies.
"Clear the way, Cæsar!" cried a voice at no great distance from them;" "break through the accursed vines, on my right, Pompey!—press forward, my fine fellows, or we may be too late to smell even the smoke of the fight."
"Hum!" ejaculated the captain with his philosophic indifference of manner entirely re-established, "this must be a Roman legion just awoke from a trance of some seventeen centuries, and that the voice of a Centurion. We will halt, Mister Drill, and view the manner of an ancient march!"
While the captain was yet speaking, a violent effort disengaged the advancing party from the thicket of brambles in which they had been entangled, when two blacks, each bending under a load of fire-arms, preceded Colonel Howard into the clear space where Borroughcliffe had halted his detachment. Some little time was necessary to enable the veteran to arrange his disordered dress, and to remove the perspiring effects of the unusual toil from his features, before he could observe the addition to the captain's numbers.
"We heard you fire," cried the old soldier, making, at the same time, the most diligent application of his bandanna, "and I determined to aid you with a sortie, which, when judiciously timed, has been the means of raising many a siege; though, had Montcalm rested quietly within his walls, the plains of Abram might never have drunk his blood."
"Oh! his decision was soldierly, and according to all the rules of war," exclaimed Manual, "and had I followed his example, this day might have produced a different tale!"
"Why, who have we here!" cried the colonel in astonishment; "who is it that pretends to criticise battles and sieges, dressed in such a garb!"
"'Tis a dux incognitorum, my worthy host," said Borroughcliffe, "which means, in our English language, a captain of marines in the service of the American Congress."
"What! have you then met the enemy! ay! and by the fame of the immortal Wolfe you have captured them!" cried the delighted veteran; "I was pressing on with a part of my garrison to your assistance, for I had seen that you were marching in this direction, and even the report of a few muskets were heard."
"A few!" interrupted the conqueror; "I know not what you call a few, my gallant and ancient friend; you may possibly have shot at each other by the week in the days of Wolfe, and Abercrombie, and Braddock, but I too have seen smart firing, and can hazard an opinion in such matters. There was as pretty a roll made by firearms at the battles on the Hudson, as ever rattled from a drum; it is all over, and many live to talk of it; but this has been the most desperate affair, for the numbers, I ever was engaged in! I speak always with a reference to the numbers. The wood is pretty well sprinkled with dead, and we have contrived to bring off a few of the desperately wounded with us, as you may perceive."
"Bless me!" exclaimed the surprised veteran, "that such an engagement should happen within musket shot of the Abbey, and I know so little of it! My faculties are on the wane, I fear, for the time has been when a single discharge would rouse me from the deepest sleep."
"The bayonet is a silent weapon," returned the composed captain, with a significant wave of his hand; "'tis the Englishman's pride, and every
"The Cacique is a man of discretion," observed the captain, with his usual dryness of manner, "and will doubtless recollect his obligations to posterity and himself, though he be found entangled in the mazes of a combat. But I marvel that he does not return, for some time has now elapsed since the schooner struck her flag, as my own eyes have witnessed."
"You will pardon me, gentlemen," said Griffith, advancing towards them with uncontrollable interest; "but I have unavoidably heard part of your discourse, and cannot think you will find it necessary to withhold the whole truth from a disarmed captive; say you that a schooner has been captured this morning?"
"It is assuredly true," said Borroughcliffe, with a display of nature and delicacy in his manner that did his heart infinite credit; "but I forbore to tell you, because I thought your own misfortunes would be enough for one time. Mr. Griffith, this gentleman is Colonel Howard, to whose hospitality you will be indebted for some favours before we separate."
"Griffith!" echoed the colonel, in quick reply, "Griffith! what a sight for my old eyes to witness!—the child of worthy, gallant, loyal Hugh Griffith a captive, and taken in arms against his prince! Young man, young man, what would thy honest father, what would his bosom friend, my own poor brother Harry, have said, had it pleased God that they had survived to witness this burning shame and lasting stigma on thy respectable name?"
"Had my father lived, he would now have been upholding the independence of his native land," said the young man, proudly; "I wish to respect even the prejudices of Colonel Howard, and beg he will forbear urging a subject on which I fear we never shall agree."like yours," returned Griffith; "this war must soon terminate."
"This war!" echoed the Colonel, shaking loose the grasp which Griffith held on his arm; "ay! what of this war, young man? Is it not an accursed attempt to deny the rights of our gracious sovereign, and to place tyrants, reared in kennels, on the throne of princes! a scheme to elevate the wicked at the expense of the good! a project to aid unrighteous ambition, under the mask of sacred liberty and the popular cry of equality! as if there could be liberty without order! or equality of rights, where the privileges of the sovereign are not as sacred as those of the people!"
"You judge us harshly, Colonel Howard," said Griffith—
"I judge you!" interrupted the old soldier, who, by this time, thought the youth resembled any one rather than his friend Hugh; "it is not my province to judge you at all; if it were! but the time will come, the time will come. I am a patient man, and can wait the course of things; yes, yes, age cools the blood, and we learn to suppress the passions and impatience of youth; but if the ministry would issue a commission of justice for the colonies, and put the name of old George Howard in it, I am a dog, if there should be a rebel alive in twelve months. Sir," turning sternly to Borroughcliffe, "in such a cause, I could prove a Roman, and hang—hang! yes, I do think, sir, I could hang my kinsman, Mister Christopher Dillon!"
"Spare the Cacique such an unnatural elevation, before his time," returned the captain, with a grave wave of the hand; "but, sir," pointing towards the wood, "there is a more befitting subprudentprudent to halt; nay, by heaven, they counter-march to the rear. Holla! Colonel Howard, my worthy host, fall back on your reinforcements; the wood is full of armed men; they cannot escape us; I only wait for the horse to cut off the retreat."
The veteran, who had advanced to within a short distance of the single man, who thus deliberately awaited the attack, halted at this summons, and, by a glance of his eye, ascertained that he stood alone. Believing the words of Borroughcliffe to be true, he slowly retired, keeping his face manfully towards his enemy, until he gained the support of the captain.
"Recall the troops, Borroughcliffe!" he cried, "and let us charge into the wood; they will fly before his majesty's arms like guilty scoundrels, as they are. As for the negroes, I'll teach the black rascals to desert their master at such a moment. They say Fear is pale, but d—e, Borroughcliffe, if I do not believe his skin is black."
"I have seen him of all colours; blue, white, black, and party-coloured," said the captain; "I must take the command of matters on myself, however, my excellent host; let us retire into the Abbey, and trust me to cut off the remainder of the rebels."
In this arrangement, the colonel reluctantly acquiesced, and the three followed the soldier to the dwelling, at a pace that was adapted to the infirmities of its master. The excitement of the onset, and the current of his ideas, had united, however, to banish every amicable thought from the breast of the Colonel, and he entered the Abbey with a resolute determination of seeing that justice was dealt to Griffith and his companions, even though it should push them to the foot of the gallows.
As the gentlemen disappeared from his view, among the shrubbery of the grounds, the Pilot replaced the weapon that was hanging from his hand, in his bosom, and, turning with a saddened and thoughtful brow, he slowly re-entered the wood.
