PURITANS WlfE 
 
 I uivi iniiiJ ?? it JL
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT

 
 A Puritans Wife 
 
 BY MAX PEMBERTON 
 ^ ^Author of "The Littlt Huguenot" >e 
 
 EING the Story of Hugh Peters.theSon of Jonathan 
 Peters ol Warboys in the County of Hunting- 
 don; and the nephew of that Hugh Peters 
 who was Chaplain to the Lord-General, Crom- 
 well. On which account, and by reason of what he did 
 after the Great Battle ot Worcester, many perils befell 
 him, as are hereinafter set out; together with the History 
 of Lady Marjory, the Daughter of John, Earl of Quinton, 
 in so far as her story is his own. All of which is to be 
 read in the great Lib r ?rv at Warboys; as it has been by 
 this present writer, who here makes record of his labours, 
 
 New York 
 
 International Association of Newspapers and Authors 
 1901
 
 Copyright, T<9S*> 
 Br DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY- 
 
 Geo. M. Hill Co. 
 
 Printers and Binders 
 
 Chicago, 111.
 
 I 
 A PUKITAN'S WIFE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 1 FALL TO THINKING OF OLD DATS 
 
 I WAS ever a light sleeper, but upon that 
 morning of May, when Master Ford came to> 
 visit me as I lay in the woods of Ainbresbury, 
 the eun was not up so soon as I ; nor was the 
 forest awake until I had lifted my voice in 
 praise to God that he had given to me har- 
 bourage during another night from the perils 
 which beset my path. 
 
 I know not why it was, nor could I think of 
 any reason at the first moment of waking, but 
 the break of the day seemed to carry my mind 
 back to the years which I would well have 
 forgotten. When I had dwelt upon it a little 
 while, I remembered that it was my birthday, 
 and that I was then thirty years old. And at 
 this I gave thanks again, though I could not 
 forget in what poor circumstances I then found 
 
 939763
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 mysel f ; nor what little likelihood there was 
 that I should live through another year of 
 such hazard and peril as had come to me in 
 the year which it had now pleased God to add 
 to my unhappy life. Indeed, I had no heart 
 then that I should hope to live at all ; and 
 when in the sweet of the morning I went out 
 a little way into the forest, yet with so light a 
 foot that the deer continued to drink as I 
 passed them by, I would have thought it 
 happiness to have heard that the end of it 
 -all was at hand, and that the king's men were 
 even then upon their way to my place of 
 hiding. 
 
 This thought, I say, came to me; yet no 
 sooner had it found a place of abiding in my 
 mind than I put it from me again. Ill were 
 it that I, who of Heaven's bounty had reaped 
 so rich a harvest, should cast aside the sickle 
 lightly, and forget those many blessings which 
 had been vouchsafed to me. To what worth 
 of mine, I asked, did I owe it that I was here 
 safe harboured in the forest by Epping, when 
 many of those that had been comrades with 
 me were lying in their graves, or were banished 
 beyond the sea? By what work of grace 
 abounding had I merited this clemency, that I
 
 THINKING OF OLD DAYS 
 
 should breathe the breath of the morning air 
 and enjoy the sweetness of the woods when 
 my kinsmen were lying in jail, remembered of 
 none, nor likely to be remembered until the 
 hangman should think of them? By God's 
 mercy, my health and my liberty remained to 
 me. There was no silent place of the forest 
 of which I did not, to my own content, seem 
 lord and master. Even the fallow deer had 
 come to know me, and were frightened no- 
 longer at my approach. The very marsh- 
 marigolds, which made a golden pillow for 
 my head, reminded me always of little Mar- 
 jory and the days when I had played with her 
 in her father's park at Warboys. The lark 
 singing breathed her name for me as he 
 winged upward from the meadows ; the wind 
 gave it to me for the message of its music. 
 There was no sound in all the woods which 
 did not carry me back in the folly of my 
 thoughts to my old home, and to all that had 
 made it so dear to me before this great trouble-, 
 came upon my country. 
 
 There were some who would teach me in 
 
 my youth that exceeding love of woman is .a 
 
 sin not to be committed by one to whom 
 
 salvation has come ; but this is no doctrine 
 
 8
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 of the law to my mind. And if it be, then 
 God forgive me who hath BO loved this little 
 wife of mine that all else iu the world is as 
 nothing to my memory of her. Sleeping or 
 waking, at my work or at my rest, I thought 
 to hear her voice bidding me be of good cheer 
 in the days of my adversity. Often in the 
 dark of a winter's night, when I have returned 
 to my little hut, lying here by the pool at 
 Ambresbury, and have thrown myself upon 
 my bed of rushes, praying that I might rise 
 from it no more, her face has seemed to be 
 near mine, and her hand to clasp my own, 
 raising me up from the slough of my distress 
 to the hope of that day, if ever it was to be 
 mine, when I should hold her in my arms 
 again. And this was my exceeding folly 
 both to believe that she was my wife, and 
 that she so much as remembered the name of 
 Hugh Peters that had called himself her friend. 
 If this be an overbold thing to write, a 
 little word upon it will justify all that I 
 feared then and during the season of doubt 
 which followed so closely upon that morning 
 of my birthday. Seven years had passed since 
 I had seen her whom I called, and would ever 
 call, my wife. She was the second child of 
 4
 
 THINKING OF OLD DAYS 
 
 my lord the Earl of Quinton, whose estates 
 in the county of Huntingdon lay as close to 
 my father's house as two eggs might lie in a 
 nest together; and though he fell fighting 
 the king at Worcester, and my father had 
 ever a leaning, though not so much as to risk 
 anything thereby, to the cause of the Lord 
 Protector, there was little of these things to 
 be heard at our home ; nor any of that wicked 
 hate of kinsman for kinsman which these late 
 troubles have bred in the land. So it came 
 about that when the earl was killed in the 
 great battle, and all his lands were given to 
 them that knew best how to beg them of the 
 Lord-General, little Marjory came to our 
 house and there got a home with us. I had 
 entered upon my nineteenth year then; she 
 was in her fourteenth, the only friend beyond 
 Parson Ford, my father's minister, that I had 
 ever known. Nay, there is no year so far 
 back that some little word of Marjory's is 
 not remembered for it; and when she came 
 at last to my home, it seemed to me that in 
 her heart she had always been there, and that 
 she was sent to us as one for whom we had 
 long waited, to be the light and the happiness 
 of oar days. 
 
 5
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I had come back from the war three years 
 then, being sent thereto by my father, who, 
 desiring that he should stand well with the 
 Lord-General, yet willing to take no part that 
 would imperil him if the king came to his 
 own again, offered me for the service. He 
 said that it became every man that was a 
 man to learn that which war alone could teach 
 him, the right use of mnsket and sword and 
 the mastery of his horse. There were few 
 more skilful with the rapier than he ; and even 
 Parson Ford, the minister, was taught by 
 him so to hold himself that he was as good as 
 any other man when blade touched blade and 
 the green was merry with the beating of the 
 feet. Many is the great affair we have had 
 in our own garden, when the parson so warmed 
 himself in the work that he drank as much 
 sack as any roaring devil of a Cavaliersman, 
 and swore such foul-mouthed oaths when an- 
 other pinked him that he would spend hours 
 in his closet afterwards begging the Lord's 
 mercy for his sin. Admirable Master Ford, 
 what would I not have given to have heard 
 his voice in the silence of the woods of 
 Ambresbury ! 
 
 I went out to the war, and for my uncle's 
 6
 
 THINKING OF OLD DAYS 
 
 sake was made one of the Lord-Geaeral's 
 own. It is not for me to speak here of the 
 part I played at Worcester ; nor of kow it 
 befell that I was sent with them that kunted 
 Charles Stuart at Boscobel. Few remembered 
 these things while the Commonwealth was ; 
 but when General Monk brought the king 
 from the Hague, and all the talk was of 
 mercy and of pardon, none were so bold as to 
 plead for Hugh Peters, nor to ask that he 
 should find clemency. Nay, they dragged 
 m.y uncle upon a hurdle to the scaffold, and 
 they put a price upon my own head, so that 
 any man might strike me down where he 
 should find me, and have nothing but profit 
 of my hurt. What fair word my father could 
 have spoken for me was not to be uttered; 
 for he, mighty anxious to be first amongst 
 those that went out to greet King Charles, 
 was brought to bed of a fever at Scheveling ; 
 and there he died, more concerned to make 
 his peace with Heaven than to ask mercy for 
 those who were left to mourn him. Here- 
 after, I was alone with my troubles, for our 
 home was given to strangers ; and all my 
 thought was not of my possessions, but only 
 how I might escape the king's men. Three 
 7
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 years I dwelt in France, owing much to my 
 mother's sister, who had married a gentle- 
 man of Paris, and there I heard often of 
 Parson Ford, but rarely of little Marjory. 
 They said that her brother had come to be 
 the earl, and that she was in great favour 
 with the Papist woman whom the king's 
 brother then admitted to be his wife. I had 
 news of her, now that she was with her kins- 
 man, Sir Allen Apsley, at his house in Lin- 
 coln's Inn Fields, now that she had become 
 lady to the duchess ; but they spoke always 
 of her exceeding prettiness and of her new 
 pride that she had come to such great estate. 
 And at this I remember the day when I was 
 married to her in the woods about Warboys ; 
 and I laughed aloud when I told myself that 
 she was my wife. 
 
 All this, I say, was in my mind when I 
 walked abroad that May morning. I had 
 been in England nigh three months then, yet 
 never once could I bring myself to set foot 
 ontside the sure retreat that I had in the 
 forest of Ambresbury. The same love of 
 country, and love of my dear wife, which 
 brought me out of Paris, happen what might, 
 was tempered so soon as I came to England
 
 THINKING OF OLD DATS 
 
 by that love of life which is God-give in 
 every man. I thought that they would hare 
 forgotten Hugh Peters, five years being past ; 
 but they had better memories. It was known 
 all along that I was in the French king's city, 
 and my departure therefrom did bnt add to 
 their suspicions about me. A new writ was 
 put abroad offering five hundred guineas to 
 him who would take me. I heard that they 
 watched the seaports for my coming. Hunted 
 by day and night, like some evil thing that 
 must be stamped upon and destroyed, I hid 
 myself at last in the woods of Epping, and 
 there amid the cut-purses, and rogues, and 
 robbers that make a hell of these fair places, 
 I found that rest which three years of wan- 
 dering had not given to me. 
 
 Twice by favour of Morley, the king's 
 keeper that was long servant to my own 
 father, did I write to Master Ford telling him 
 how things stood with me. No answer was 
 brought back ; and at this I fell to thinking 
 that the old minister was dead and that no 
 friend in all the country remained to me. 
 But in this I was wrong, as you shall learn 
 presently ; for I had walked but a little way 
 through the woods on the morning of which 
 9
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I write when what should I hear but the 
 voice of one singing, very dolefully, a verse 
 from the thirty-first Psalm ; and at that, the 
 blood went rushing to my head for the joy of 
 it, and I ran on through the thicket crying 
 for very gladness that I should have found a 
 friend again. 
 
 10
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 PARSON FORD COMES TO AMBRE8BORY. 
 
 THE sun had risen now, and his light canne 
 winging through the pollards so plenteously 
 that all the pool below was shining as with 
 little waves of gold. Never, I vow, has man 
 looked upon a more bewitching place than 
 those banks of Ambresbury as they were then 
 at the first of the morning, when the grass 
 drank in her draught of refreshing dew, and 
 the marsh marigolds opened their petals to the 
 warming sunbeams, and the air was hot with 
 the odour of roses. Many a time and oft have 
 I stood in that very spot to think that in no 
 other country but my own could you hap 
 upon a harbourage of such sweet solitude, or 
 find a forest so fair in all the truest gifts of 
 God. And now when out of the silence of 
 the day, a call, like a call of the years which 
 were dead, came to me from the thicket about 
 my little hut, then, indeed, was my heart 
 11
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 robbed of half its sorrow and all my joy of 
 life was given back to me. 
 
 I ran on through the thicket, I say, brush- 
 ing back the bush and fern from the rarely- 
 trodden path ; and when I had gone perhaps 
 a half way through it, I saw Master Ford, 
 riding slowly toward me upon a great black 
 horse. And treading upon his heels, so to 
 speak, was none other than his servant Gideon, 
 who was ever a man of huge stature; but 
 riding as he was then upon a poor lean beast 
 that could scarce have served for a boy at his 
 school, he appeared to me to be the tallest 
 man I had ever seen. Yet who could write 
 of my joy to behold their faces again, or to 
 watch them coming, ay, so slowly, to* my 
 place of hiding, and knowing not, I vow, if 
 he whom they sought were alive or dead ? 
 
 " Oh, Master Ford, Master Ford ! " cried I. 
 able to bear with it no more, and running 
 now even to the head of his great horse, " the 
 Lord Jesus be glorified that I have lived for 
 this day, nay, speak to me, for I want words 
 for my lips! And you, Gideon, oh, for a 
 truth, it is the Gideon I have loved long 
 
 ago!" 
 I do believe that tears came into my eyes 
 
 12
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 when Master Ford held out his hand to me, 
 and I took it in both my own. Five years 
 had passed, and I had been a stranger among 
 those who cared only for the day when I 
 should leave them. But here was one who 
 could bring with him all the love and memory 
 of my home ; and the measure of my happi- 
 ness overflowed even before he spake. .Nay, 
 I can see him to this day, sitting there with 
 his stern face, and his little twinkling eyes 
 that looked round one into the other, and his 
 legs sticking out from the sides of his horse 
 like bones from a fish's back, and his staff 
 held like a pike in his hand. And my love 
 for him is no less than it was when he an- 
 swered me, not as father to son, but as min- 
 ister to him that hath fallen back. Nay, he 
 spoke a word of the Scriptures. 
 
 " For Thou, Lord God, knowest Thy ser- 
 vant," he said, looking up to the blue heaven 
 above him; "for Thy word's sake, and ac- 
 cording to Thine own heart, hast Thou done 
 all these great things to make Thy servant 
 know them ! " 
 
 But Gideon said : 
 
 " Surely thou art flesh of my flesh and bone 
 f my bone, and the Lord hath given tfcee 
 13
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 back to us. Oh, great be the day, that I have 
 lived to see it ! " 
 
 I wrung the honest fellow's hand very 
 heartily, and then my old master began to 
 forget that he was a minister and to re- 
 member that he had come upon an errand 
 of mercy. 
 
 " Oh, Hugh, Hugh," he cried, putting his 
 hand upon my shoulder very kindly, as he 
 was wont to do when I was a little lad, " that 
 we meet again thus ; thou that wast a son to 
 me, dear beyond all mine own ! And now 
 they hnt thee like a deer and I, God help 
 me, what comfort can I bring to thee? " 
 
 I told him that it was comfort enough to 
 see him there in that desolate place : and 
 talking, I verily believe, of twenty things at a 
 breath, I led his horse down the bridle-path, 
 and so to the door of the woodlander's hut, 
 which was hidden away in the copse like a 
 blackbird's nest in a thick-set hedge. He 
 drew rein a moment at the mouth of the path, 
 that he might cast his eyes over the forest 
 about us, and then he seemed more contented 
 with aay situation. 
 
 44 Well," he said, "it is a poor hovel 
 of a place that they have given thee ; but 
 14
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 surely, for this day thou wilt lie here in 
 safety " 
 
 "For this day/' cried I, laughing, yet 
 gladly, at his words, "nay, and for many a 
 day, Master Ford, must I keep company with 
 the herons. Have you not heard that there is 
 a new writ put out against me ? " 
 
 "Ay, surely, have I heard; and there .was 
 little beyond to give me news of thee. They 
 talk of it in all the town, how thou hast come 
 back with great secrets from the Court of the 
 French king, and how, presently, thou wilt 
 better thyself in the people's eyes thereby. 
 And now thou must write to me so that 
 others may put abroad thy place of hiding, 
 and it may be a refuge for thee no more. O 
 Hugh, my lad, was it for this that I taught 
 thee prudence ten years? Truly art thou as a 
 little child, and there is no guile in thee." 
 
 He spoke very kindly, but there was no 
 manner of change in his talk since the day 
 I had been as a son to him. He forgot, I 
 make sure, that I was now long come to man's 
 estate ; and at this, had it been any other, I 
 had laughed aloud. 
 
 " I wrote to you," said I, " since there is no 
 one but yourself in all my country who cares 
 15
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 whether I live or die, except my Lady Mar- 
 jory perchance and she, I think, must now 
 be too great in pride to remember Hogh Peters 
 who was her playmate. Yet how it came that 
 my letters fell into other hands I do not know, 
 nor can I imagine what secrets they think 
 that I have brought from the Court of France 
 
 nnless it were this, to know the truth of 
 adversity, and to be in hunger often. Nay, 
 God has dealt hardly with me, Master Ford, 
 
 there is little but my strength of body left 
 to me now." 
 
 "The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath 
 taken away. Blessed be the name of the 
 Lord," now cried the honest Gideon ; and 
 then remembering for what he bad come, 
 he took it upon him to rebuke his master. 
 
 "Sir," said he, "my master's words are 
 well enough in the pulpit, where he hath a 
 cushion to beat upon ; but here, in the forest 
 of Epping, I doubt not that you will prefer 
 his gifts which I now bear upon my pack, 
 and in the safeguarding of which I have 
 lately killed two rogues, whose bodies lie no 
 more than a hundred paces from Chingford 
 Church. For what saith the Scriptures : 
 ' And be lodged that same night, and took of 
 16
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 that which came to his hand a present for 
 Esan his brother.' (Item, two wheaten 
 loaves.) For he said, ' I will appease him 
 with the present that goeth before me/ (Item, 
 a flask of the wine of France. ) ' And after- 
 wards I will see his face.' (Item, a ham of 
 York. ) ' And Jacob lifted up his eyes and 
 looked ' If there be any better beef with- 
 out Aldgate than the loin I now carry to you, 
 the Lord teach me to fast even as these 
 Papists do." 
 
 There was no laugh upon his face when he 
 made this sermon to us ; and he sat bolt up- 
 right in his saddle, looking like some fierce 
 man of Muscovy about to do a cruelty. But 
 his words brought us to a remembrance of 
 Master Ford's warning, and now we hastened 
 to tether the horses to the little gate of the 
 hut, and soon we were all three within, and 
 our stomachs warming with the wine which 
 they had carried for me. It was new to me 
 to see Parson Ford draining a cup, but I had 
 learnt the habit in France, and was mighty 
 glad to resume it. As for the parson, he was 
 mot wanting a word of authority for his 
 comfort. 
 
 " Thou must know, Hugh," said ke, " tbat 
 2 17
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I am as Timothy, taking a little wine for nay 
 stomach's sake. Yet this is no time to ask, 
 what men eat or what men drink. Let the 
 glory be given that I set eyes upon thee 
 again. And first, when thou art able to 
 speak for lack of any more will to eat, thou 
 shalt tell of thy years in France, and I, in 
 turn, will make known how it was that I 
 came to thee, and at whose bidding I carry 
 thee hence this night, God willing that we 
 escape the perils which now hover over us. 
 For they are perils, my lad, and the Lord's 
 hand alone shall deliver thee from them, if 
 it be that thou hast found favour in the sight 
 of heaven." 
 
 Gideon answered to his prayer with a loud 
 "Amen," the first word he had spoken since 
 he sat to the food ; and I, my whole body 
 seeming to be full of new blood from the wine 
 I had taken, told him how that I had come 
 back from France for love of my country 
 for of my love for little Marjory I dared not 
 to speak to one so stern. I asked him how it 
 was that they could give me no news of him 
 at Warboys, whither I had gone first to seek 
 him; only then coming to Epping in my 
 terror of the king's men that had nigh taken 
 18
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 me into the town of Huntingdon. To all of 
 which he listened very kindly, and afterwards 
 answered me with the whole story of it. 
 
 *' Thou didst not hear of me at Warboys, 
 Hugh," said he, "because three years have 
 come and gone since I was driven from my 
 - home by this Convention Parliament, and 
 j must leave my flock to the wolves that hurried 
 1 hither from the Low Countries at the king's 
 return. It was in the month of thy going 
 that little Marjory went from my house to 
 her brother, who came to his own again when 
 the king got his crown ; and now she who was 
 thy playmate is like a star at the Court, and 
 pride sits upon her as a garment. Not that I 
 make any complaint of her good fortune. In 
 all this Job sinned not nor charged God fool- 
 ishly. But I have it in my mind that a word 
 of remembrance from one that hath the king's 
 ear would be a kindness of much service to 
 me. Little have they left me of my substance, 
 Hugh ; yet they put no bridle upon my tongue, 
 and where the sheep are there is the shepherd's 
 voice exhorting them." 
 
 This was all very well to hear, but I was 
 impatient to get at the reason of his coming ; 
 and now I pressed him more closely, first 
 19
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 expressing my sorrow that he should tell such 
 things of his own condition. 
 
 ' You speak, old friend," said I, " of carry- 
 ing me hence to-night, and of being bidden 
 to do it. Who, then, is he that would help 
 Hugh Peters upon such a day ? " 
 
 " Ay," chimed in Gideon, "and that 's what 
 he is coining to though, Lord's mercy, he is 
 as long o' the road as a waggon from France. 
 Who would do thee a service, Master Hugh? 
 ask him that, ask him that. There's water 
 in the well if you do go but dee'p enough." 
 
 " You are both pleased to speak in para- 
 bles," said I, "yet give me a plain word and 
 I quit Ambresbury. I warn you fairly that I 
 will go hence on no fool's errand. Here, I 
 have a pillow for my head and a haunch for 
 my belly, but God knows how long I may say 
 the same if the Constable of Epping takes it 
 into his head to put his warders upon the 
 road by which I must pass out. I love my 
 life for all that it has brought to me, Master 
 Ford. If I am to put it in another's keeping, 
 he shall be one who can speak in a tongue 
 which I am able to understand " 
 
 I was now a little heated, seeing them both 
 smile at me, and Master Ford stopped me 
 20
 
 ?ARSON FORD 
 
 wtth a gesture, as he would do in the old 
 time. 
 
 44 Tut, tut," cried he, " what talk is this of 
 fair word and plain tongue? Hark to the 
 lad that is as mine own son with his haunch 
 and his pillow, and his Constable of Epping, 
 and his God's mercy! he will be drawing 
 \ fas sword upon me next." 
 
 44 If he could give thee a little prick that 
 would bring thee to the point, Master, I 
 would even offer thanks myself," said Gideon. 
 41 What a tongue is that which must go lap 
 up the butter and leave the meat in the dish ! 
 Tell him what he asks, that it is my Lady 
 Marjory who now sends for him, and that we 
 find horses when the sun is gone down." 
 
 I looked at both of them, while my heart 
 i beat as though to burst. 
 
 44 Gideon," said I, 44 what tale is this ? " 
 
 "As much a tale as yon bone is a good 
 York ham. Ask my master who knows? " 
 
 4 ' It is, indeed, no tale, Hugh," said Master 
 Ford, who rather took a pride in the old 
 serving-man's forwardness than made any 
 haste to resent it; " had there not been so 
 much of mine own to speak to thee about, I 
 would have told thee at my first coming. 
 21
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Lady Marjory sends for thee out of the for- 
 est, and sends for thee now, since dost thou 
 remain here another day there will be others 
 looking for thee with the morrow's sun." 
 
 " My Lady Marjory sends for me ! " I cried. 
 " My " 
 
 It was upon my lips, I vow, to say " my 
 wife," and I can well imagine with what sur- 
 prise Master Ford would have heard so 
 strange a tale ; but while I was all tingling 
 with delight, and a great longing to be up and 
 going was already upon me, I held my tongue, 
 and so saved myself from the shame of it 
 
 " Nay," said I, pretending indifference ; 
 "how should little Marjory so much as re- 
 member my name ? " 
 
 " She remembers it because it hath lately 
 been whispered in her ear by one, Morley, 
 the king's keeper, who says that there is game 
 by the banks of Ambresbury which other 
 hands than his may come to hunt presently. 
 And great lady that she is, Hugh, she can 
 think still of those that were her playmates at 
 "Warboys. Oh, surely, she remembers thee so 
 well that when she heard all this talk of the 
 Puritan Hugh Peters, who was come from 
 France to be a thorn in the king's side, what 
 22
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 must she do but send her servants to search 
 out Son of Humility Ford, and bid him come 
 to Ambresbury for thee, and so carry thee to 
 "Windsor, whither she goes with the duchess. 
 There I doubt not she will find place of hiding 
 for thee, even if it be so low as in her kitchen. 
 They say that the king will dance when she 
 pipes. Why, then, should she not pipe a tone 
 that was in her ears in the long ago? Nay, 
 she has promised it though God grant she 
 has a better memory for thee than for me." 
 
 " Amen to that," said I, though I was 
 smarting still at his word that my lady should 
 make me one of her serving-men. But this I 
 hid from them. 
 
 " You speak," I continued, " of our setting 
 out this night, and going so far as Windsor. 
 It seems to me that I would do better to lie 
 here until my lady has piped the tune of 
 which you speak. In this place I have but 
 my hunger and my loneliness; and these I 
 can support. Once upon the road, God 
 knows what may wait for me. And I do not 
 forget that if I am to go, it must be upon my 
 feet. Would you have me walk, Master Ford, 
 or share a pack saddle with old Gideon ? " 
 
 " Would I have thee sit upon the tail of a 
 23
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 cow? O Hugh, Hugh, when wilt thou learn 
 the lessons which I was ten years teach- 
 ing thee ! Am I one to put the pack saddle 
 upon the ox? The Lord give thee patience. 
 Hadst thou but listened, I would have told 
 thee that thou must set out to-night because 
 this is the day when the earl shall be back in 
 the forest again, bringing with him those that 
 will beat every copse and thicket for thee as 
 they would for a deer that is to be hunted. 
 Even now there is talk in the town of Epping 
 of the King's Guards, who are to come in at 
 sundown. To-morrow's dawn, dost thou 
 await it here, will see thee upon the road to 
 Newgate jail, where, if the gibbet pass thee by 
 assuredly thou wilt die of the plague, which, as 
 thou mayest know, is the talk of all the city." 
 "Ay," said old Gideon, "and there will 
 not be many dawns after before a rope shall 
 swing thee up to the saints which the Lord 
 forbid. Would to heaven, Master Hugh, 
 that one we love could tell thee a plain tale. 
 For what does he mean by his oxen and his 
 asses, his * woulds ' and his ' shoulds ' ? Why, 
 God's mercy, he would say that my Lady 
 Marjory has sent thee a horse and a cioaK, 
 and a sword for thy belt; and thinking that 
 24
 
 none will look for thee if thou be bold enough 
 to ride straight for Windsor, she is of the 
 mind to employ thee at once and we carry 
 thee to her at dark. Is that to thy liking, 
 master? Nay, I vow it is. Ho, Ho, I'll 
 swear on it a bonnier serving-man shall not 
 be found out of Scotland, nor a sweeter mis- 
 tress. Pillars of grace! that it should come 
 to a laugh with me." 
 
 He spoke no trcth when he said that he 
 laughed, for he only sst very stiff against the 
 wooden walls of my little hut and chuckled 
 most dismally, to the great anger of his mas- 
 ter. But this was of great unconcern to him, 
 for presently he fell to singing a verse writ by 
 the papist poet Southwell : 
 
 " In lowly vales I mount 
 
 To pleasure's highest pitch ; 
 My silly shroud true honor brings, 
 My poor estate to rich." 
 
 And with this on his lips he tumbled into a 
 deep sleep. 
 
 "Well, well," said the parson, content now 
 
 that his tongue was stilled, "he has ridden 
 
 far, and he means well to thee, Hugh. He 
 
 has said all that I would have said, and wa 
 
 25
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 have nothing now to do but to wait until the 
 sun is set, and Keeper Morley is come with 
 the horses. Until that shall be, I would 
 speak with thee a little of thy soul ; for oh, 
 my lad, what shall it profit a man " 
 
 But I heard no more ; for I could think of 
 nothing but this, that I was to ride forth at 
 sundown to meet her whom Tom Honeydew, 
 the wine-bibbing parson of Quinton, had mar- 
 ried to me for a jest in the woods of Warboys 
 now nine years ago. 
 
 And I knew that I should find my little 
 Marjory no more and, God knows, I dared 
 not to hope that she would remember that 
 play beneath the trees when ranting Tom had 
 made us man and wife, as he said, for the 
 jest's sake.
 
 CHAFIER III 
 
 WE ARE ESCORTED BY THE NIGHT BIRDS 
 
 I HAD a little sleep during the heat of .the 
 day ; dreaming much of my youth at Warboys, 
 when I had feared Master Ford and had 
 smarted often at the swish of his twigs. But 
 I awoke while the forest was still golden with 
 the sunshine, and I found then that Gideon 
 had been before me and was broiling a piece 
 of the meat upon a fire of logs which he had 
 kindled at our door. The parson still slept, 
 however, and the heaviness of his breathing 
 was like the deeper note of a trumpet. 
 
 " Let him lie, for God's sake," said old 
 Gideon, as I came out of the cottage; "a 
 prettier man in his sleep was never made; 
 yet, look you, Master Hugh, the Lord surely 
 slipped when he took the measure of his 
 tongue. Pillars of grace ! that I should speak 
 ill of him whom I have cared for from his 
 youth up I that am in peril for mine old 
 soul ! " 
 
 27
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 ** He has been asleep long?" I asked. 
 
 "He fell off at his thirdly. 'T is an odd 
 thing to tell, sir, but I have so accustomed 
 myself to his voice that when he sleeps, I 
 wake. And that 's God Providence. Thou 
 hast slept a little thyself, maybe ay, surely, 
 and now wilt take meat ; for of what are the 
 Lord's servants made but of sleep and meat, 
 and a cup of good sack when that is to be 
 had?" 
 
 " Have you seen aught of Keeper Morley, 
 or the horses he was to bring ? " I asked, as I 
 threw myself upon the sweet grass by the side 
 of his blazing fire. 
 
 " Not so much as the hoof of one though 
 the Lord forbid I should say that of Master 
 Morley. It was at sundown we were to look 
 for him, as thou mayest remember. Until he 
 shall come there be plenty here to remind us 
 of where we are and upon what errand we 
 venture. Nay, for hard-swearing, lewd, and 
 vainglorious cut-purses, Master Hugh, I would 
 commend these banks of Ambresbury against 
 any oopee, thicket, or warren in the two king- 
 doms. Lord, to see their dirty faces through 
 yonder trees as I have seen them this hour or 
 more I Surely, the devil is fled from this 
 28
 
 ESCORTED BY THE NIGHT BIRDS 
 
 place, and the lowest of his angels keeps 
 watch upon it. Thou knowest the old legend 
 how that in the cities of the good the hosts 
 of darkness rest not day nor night ; while so 
 much as one little devil upon the wall will 
 serve for the city of the evil-doers! No? 
 Then I will even expound " 
 
 " Nay, Gideon," said I, " there is too much 
 in my head to-day that I should love your 
 legends. I think it strange that you have 
 seen these fellows from the warren, for in all 
 my months here I have counted scarce ten of 
 them. You say they came to grin at you ?" 
 .- "Naught else; and one drew so close that 
 I must shut his mouth with a faggot, and see 
 his teeth go flying down his throat like pills 
 from a surgeon's counter. A scurvy rascal, I 
 make sure, that should long have been food 
 for the gibbet. But, thanks be to God, sir, I 
 am still the man I was and as for thee, 
 Lord's mercy, was there ever a quicker blade 
 or a better lad come out of France than Hugh 
 Peters ? Oh, surely, we shall lie snug in the 
 iorest of Windsor before the King's Guard 
 
 yet." 
 
 "And then, Gideon?" 
 " And then, Master Hugh ? Why, then we 
 29
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 wiH turn to Him whose word is a lantern unto 
 our feet and a light unto our paths. And if 
 thou art not the one to whisper prettily into 
 the ears of her that was thy playmate, I 
 know not the man. Pillars of grace ! that I 
 should fall to talking of a maid ! " 
 
 It was horrible, I swear, to hear old Gideon 
 when he chuckled and mumbled to himself as 
 then he did. I was in no mood for his jest ; 
 nor could I rest in any one place for long to- 
 gether, so did the thought that I was to see 
 Marjory again burn me. A hundred schemes 
 and plans and reckonings rushed upon my 
 mind. I walked away into the copse to be 
 alone with my hopes and fears ; and while the 
 sun's rays fell soft through the ripe green 
 leaves, and the violets made a carpet for my 
 feet, and the birds went winging at my com- 
 ing, I said to myself that I, surely, was as 
 one called from death to life ; that to-morrow 
 would be my new year's day, when I should 
 see my dear wife and tell her nay, I knew 
 not what. Yet it was good to whisper her name 
 here in the silence of the thickets ; sweet to re- 
 member how pure a thing our love was when, 
 for the jest's sake, Tom Honeydew, the tipsy 
 parson, had married us, the boy and girl, 
 30
 
 ESCORTED BY THE NIGHT BIRDS 
 
 nnder the old yew tree in the great park at 
 Warboys. "Would she remember that folly? 
 Would it have any hold upon the law? I 
 asked myself these things as I had asked 
 them a hundred, nay, a thousand times. God 
 alone could answer me ; yet I was no ninny to 
 believe that the great lady would stoop quickly 
 to him who was the farmer's son ; nor be so 
 wanting in her pride as to acknowledge that 
 which lacked all witness and all probability. 
 Or if she did, what help were that to me 
 who was an outcast from my people, a hue 
 and cry for all that would stop to read the 
 king's will? Never, for a truth, did the cup 
 of happiness so play with a man as with Hugh 
 Peters upon that day he set out from the for- 
 est by Ambresbury. 
 
 I had left Gideon, as I have told, broiling 
 a piece of meat at the door of my hut, but 
 when I returned to him presently there was 
 another with him, a lad of Chingford, who led 
 a great bay mare by the bridle-rein, and was 
 even then delivering the message which keeper 
 Morley had sent to us. 
 
 "My master says, sirs," he explained, 
 " that he must not appear in this matter, but 
 what he can do he has done. Ye will find the 
 31
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 mare well-conditioned and good in the gallop 
 as any this side of London. ' Let them be 
 gone as soon as the sun,' says my master, and 
 thank God, say I, to see the quarters of such 
 a squealing devil as this same mare I now 
 bring to you ; for of all the kicking, peevish, 
 wicked and that reminds me, masters, ye 
 will find the great cloak safe in the pack, and 
 as for my wage, that I am well content to 
 leave to your honourable worships." 
 
 "Holy Samuel! heard ever a man such a 
 talker?" cried Gideon, whose hands were 
 already upon the pack, while I had the bridle 
 of the mare. " Hark ye, boy, if ye do but 
 spit it out like that all your life long, Lord ! ye 
 shall end as big in law as the Commons at 
 Westminster. Get back now to Master Mor- 
 ley with a silver sixpence in your pocket, and 
 tell him that if he seek us to-morrow he will 
 know where we lie." 
 
 The lad took the sixpence, and, running off> 
 called back to us from the wood that his mas 
 ter would come presently with a spade to 
 bury him who rode the mare. His bawling 
 woke Parson Ford from his sleep ; and when 
 we had made a meal, and I had put on the 
 great black cloak, and the honest sword, which 
 32
 
 ESCORTED BY THE NIGHT BIRDS 
 
 were my lady's gifts, we were ready to set 
 out. The sun was quite gone down then, and 
 only a shimmer of grey light lit up the hollow 
 between the thickets or gave a silvery face to 
 the silent pools. The whole forest seemed to 
 sleep; and when we knelt upon the grass 
 to ask help of our God in the journey be- 
 fore us, our voices came winging back to 
 us from a hundred places in the woods, 
 and all the groves answered with their 
 *' Amens." 
 
 Our devotions being done, we mounted our 
 beasts; I, the first upon the great mare, who 
 set back her ears very threateningly, but 
 stood quite still when I had my legs about 
 her. 
 
 *' She knows that she has found a master," 
 exclaimed Parson Ford, very merrily ; and 
 then he went on to say: "A long fare- 
 well to Ambresbury, Hugh, and hey-day for 
 little Marjory. By my soul! the cloak 
 has made a soldier of thee again. I would 
 not meet thee in a dark place for a hundred 
 crowns." 
 
 " 'Tis little thou wouidst be worth to rob, 
 master," said old Gideon, as he climbed upon 
 his pony ; but I said nothing. As I live, the 
 33
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 whole forest about me, which had seemed 
 drear and dark and silent as the grave a 
 moment before, was now alive with moving 
 figures; and a hundred black forms were 
 shaping above the dewy grass.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 I WAS one who could look into the heart 
 of the woods and behold things which a man 
 bred in a city might never find there. 
 Though it was near now to being quite 
 dark, and the figures of the rogues who 
 lurked behind the trees were scarce to be 
 distinguished from the trunks which hid them, 
 I saw plainly that we were watched. Yet for 
 what purpose, if it were not for robbery, I 
 could not conceive ; and I knew too well with 
 what manner of men we had to deal to think 
 of any overt act which would bring them out 
 upon us. If, I said, we were to get to the 
 high-road at all, then must we push on while 
 these fellows yet hesitated to show themselves. 
 And so thinking I led the way down the 
 bridle-path towards the warren, meaning 
 thus to strike upon Crown Hill and so upon 
 the great road to Waltham. 
 35
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 "We were an odd company, I vow. As for 
 myself, I was a hybrid thing in my tattered 
 suit of homespun and my new finery which 
 had come to me of my lady's bounty to say 
 nothing of the vixenish mare which would 
 go neither straight forward nor straight back, 
 but only sideways, and that ill-temperedly. 
 I had bidden Master Ford ride at my heels, 
 that his great black horse might not trip him 
 in the rough of the path ; but Gideon, whose 
 feet brushed the ground while he rode, lagged 
 some way behind us, and we could tell where 
 he was only by the doleful singing and swear- 
 ing with which he ever cheered himself. 
 
 It was in this order that we rode, it may be 
 for the third of a mile. The others, I was 
 sure, had seen nothing of the rogues in the 
 thickets, their eyes being set on the path 
 before them ; but I, who watched the woods 
 unrestingly, felt my heart grow colder and 
 colder when I observed that newcomers were 
 added to the number of those that followed 
 us, and that all the glades about were now 
 alive with men. And this was even more 
 strange that the rogues should follow us 
 thus silently, neither speaking one to the 
 other, nor making the least show to do us 
 36
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 hurt. It was only when I remembered that 
 we were riding directly for the warren, which 
 was, above all, the Stronghold of the unnum- 
 bered outlaws who then hid themselves in the 
 forest, that I divined their purpose and read 
 for the first time what ill it boded to us. -. 
 
 " Master Ford," said I, drawing rein sud- 
 denly, " it seems that we have company." 
 
 He looked up quickly, for I believe he had 
 been near to sleeping. 
 
 " Eh, Hugh," cried he, " what was that ? " 
 
 I pointed to a place of the forest into which 
 the moonlight now fell abundantly a very 
 glade of the fairies, with its gnarled trunks 
 and its sweet grasses, and a little lake nestling 
 prettily in its hollow. There were, perhaps, a 
 dozen rogues gathered at this spot, and it 
 was clear that they had begun to consult 
 together. 
 
 " Now," said I, when the parson, who 
 suffered some weakness of his eyes, had seen 
 what I had seen, "yon fellows have followed 
 us from the hut. We shall have trouble with 
 them by-and-by." 
 
 Master Ford stuck out his legs more than 
 ever from his horse's back, and answered 
 scornfully. 
 
 37
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 "What!" cried he, "you draw rein be- 
 cause a dozen rogues gape together in a 
 thicket. Shame ori you, Hugh, that was a 
 lad of spirit. God's mercy! I would worst 
 the dozen of them with my cudgel. Where is 
 Gideon?" 
 
 He turned round in his saddle, and at this 
 moment Gideon rode up to us, labouring for 
 his breath most painfully. 
 
 "Sirs," said he, "surely this horse was 
 born on a Friday, and, the Lord willing, 
 another Friday shall not pass " 
 
 "Hush, Gideon," said I, "and tell me what 
 you think of yon company." 
 
 I had let my mare go at the walk again, 
 fearing to draw the night-birds down upon 
 us, and the others followed, speaking of the 
 affair with hushed voices. 
 
 "A scurvy pack, that would break our 
 heads for a crown!" muttered Gideon. 
 
 "Lord deliver me from the burden of this 
 serving-woman," exclaimed Master Ford, who 
 was the readiest man in a brawl that I ever 
 clapped eyes upon. 
 
 "Come/' said I, hushing Gideon's angry 
 protest; "this is no place for words. If we 
 bide here long, I'm thinking we shall lack 
 38
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 tongues to speak them. The path opens out, 
 as you see. It is my plan that we go alto- 
 gether, looking neither to the right nor to the 
 left until we come upon the king's high-road. 
 And you, Gideon, forget your songs, for 
 God's sake." 
 
 "Ay, sir, surely," said he; "though the 
 Lord knows what I will do with my tongue 
 if I have not a psalm to keep it still. 'T would 
 be well at the same time could ye prevail 
 upon my master to bide swinging his cudgel 
 until he shall have a head to break it upon." 
 
 " Gideon," said the parson, " you are an 
 impertinent fellow, and some day you will 
 commit the unpardonable sin." 
 
 It was beyond endurance to me to hear the 
 pair talk so ; and I knew well that they were 
 very ignorant of those who now gathered 
 about us in the grove. Of all the cut-purses 
 and thieves to be found in the woods near to 
 London, none were so much to be dreaded 
 by honest folk as these footpads of Epping. 
 They would slit our throats, I said, as quick 
 as crack a nut ; yet here were the two ninnies, 
 at my side disporting themselves with the 
 airs of men who sat by their own hearths. 
 For my part, I had begun to believe that we 
 39
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 should never get out of the grove at all and 
 it came very near to that, as you will see 
 presently. 
 
 "We were upon the outskirts of the warren 
 which was the proper home of these outlaws, 
 when the thing came to a head. Many little 
 fires burning upon the grass in the hollows 
 between the trees were to be observed here ; 
 and there were other tokens of the camp 
 which the rogues had pitched in this place 
 since man could remember. Had it been 
 possible for me to venture out by way of the 
 Epping road, I had avoided so dangerous a 
 spot altogether ; but I knew well that if all 
 Parson Ford's words about the King's Guards 
 were true, then, indeed, did my safety lie 
 in these dangerous places of the woods. Nor 
 had I time to debate upon it very long, 
 for the vixenish mare carried me forward, 
 whether I would or no ; and scarce were we 
 again under the trees, when the rogues, who 
 had held back so long, sprang of a sudden 
 from their hiding-places, and began to swarm 
 about us like wild beasts about their prey. 
 
 The first man that came was a huge fellow 
 dressed in a ragged suit of green, and wear- 
 ing a little round cap, like the cap of a pop- 
 40
 
 ish cardinal, set far back upon his head. He 
 sprang from the shelter of a tree, and put 
 his hand very playfully upon the bridle-rein 
 of Master Ford's pony; but hardly was it 
 placed there when I saw the parson swing 
 his cudgel swiftly in the air and bring it 
 down upon the man's head with a blow that 
 was like the blow of a blacksmith's hammer 
 upon a forge. 
 
 " One," cried the parson very methodically, 
 as the man rolled upon the grass with all th 
 sense knocked out of him ; and then, turning 
 to the ugly fellows who pressed upon him, he 
 continued : 
 
 " Hark ye, my friends : I am one of the 
 Lord's ministers come to Epping upon a work 
 of mercy. My name is Son of Humility 
 Ford ; my place of living is without the bars 
 of Aldgate ; and, as God is my witness, I 
 will so split the head of the next man who 
 puts hand upon my bridle, that all the sur- 
 geons in the kindred shall not mend the 
 pieces. Ye hear that? Then keep your dis- 
 tance, rogues." 
 
 They answered him with a merry laugh; 
 but presently a wench among them cried out 
 *hat Tom Hill was surely murdered (mean- 
 41
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 ing, I suppose, the man whom Master Ford 
 had struck), and at this there went up from 
 them such an angry shout that I thought 
 they had made an end of it upon the spot. 
 It seemed to me that the moonlight fell upon 
 a sea of upturned faces, and that these faces 
 were white with passion; while of all the 
 surly-looking villains I have ever beheld, 
 none was so ugly or ill-visaged as the one 
 who appeared to be their leader, and who 
 now tried to lay his hand upon my cloak. 
 
 "What," cried he, "your ranter turns 
 upon Tom Hill and cracks his skull! Hell 
 take you for the French spy that you are. 
 What say you, boys? How shall we do to 
 them that have killed Tom Hill?" 
 
 Their answer was like the roar of a tempest. 
 
 "Hang them at Abbot's Oak;" "Burn 
 them in the brake;" "Leave them to Joe 
 the Smith ; " " Dip them in the king's pond." 
 These and a hundred like cries were all 
 screamed together, both by the hussies who 
 had run out from the tents of the gypsies 
 and by the men who were their masters. 
 For my own part I had hesitated a while 
 to draw a sword upon the villains, and had 
 regretted bitterly the blow which Parson 
 42
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 Ford was so ready to give ; but now I saw 
 that it was my life or the life of the man 
 who sought to grapple with me, and of 
 a sudden my blade leaped in the air and 
 passion burned in my veins. 
 
 " That for your Abbot's Oak, and that 
 for your Joe the Smith," cried I ; and with 
 each word I cut or thrust. And first I struck 
 the great leader and laid open his throat, 
 so that he fell, all bleeding, under the legs 
 of my mare. Nor can I remember what 
 happened to me for a spell after he had 
 gone down. It seemed to me that I was 
 carried, beast and all, away from the more 
 open glade towards the darker place of the 
 brake; yet there was no moment when my 
 sword was not darting and leaping; and 
 my arm quivered again and again as I 
 struck through warm flesh. For the blows 
 of fists or of sticks that were falling thick 
 upon my head and shoulders I cared no 
 more than for the beat of a twig. I was 
 mad in fight; and shouting, slashing, and 
 swearing, my beast helping me with her great 
 lunges and her fierce kicking, I rode in and 
 out, back and back again, now crushing 
 through the brushwood, now galloping through 
 43
 
 the glade but always with those angry 
 faces turned up to mine, and my ears full 
 of the oaths and blasphemies which followed 
 in my path like the raging of devils. 
 
 I say that the great mare helped me; but 
 that is a poor word for all that she did. 
 Never was I, nor any man, upon a beast 
 so bred to war. Let but any rogue press 
 upon her, and out went her heels like cannon 
 shots. Twice I heard men's breasts crushed 
 by her hoofs, like an egg is crushed with 
 the hand ; three times did she lay hold of 
 a man's arm and wound it horribly with 
 her teeth. Wherever she carried me, there 
 did you hear woeful cries of pain and agony ; 
 and anon, when I could see the glade again 
 for the rogues were now all beaten away 
 from me in terror of her I vow that some 
 little battle seemed to have been waged in 
 the place. Five men, as I counted, lay 
 huddled upon the grass whether dead or 
 only wanting their senses, I could not learn ; 
 twice that number were howling and scream- 
 ing most dolefully for pain of their hurts. 
 As for the wenches, their cries were dread- 
 ful to hear; and clear above all the hub- 
 bub and the din was the fife-like voice of 
 44
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 Parson Ford, or the deep baying note of old 
 Gideon. 
 
 I had lost sight of these two in the time of 
 my own need though not for a moment 
 did I cease to hear the voice of the parson ; 
 but now, when I beheld them again, they 
 were a sight that cheered the heart to see. 
 Master Ford still sat upon his great black 
 horse, swinging his cudgel with all the cun- 
 ning of a smith at the anvil ; but old Gideon 
 had come down from his pony, and, with 
 his back set against the trunk of a hornbeam, 
 he was crying "A Hugh! A Hugh!" with 
 all his lungs ; while at every blow of his staff 
 a rogue reeled back and the circle of robbers 
 around him spread out the more. I knew 
 well that he had little need of my help ; but 
 for the parson I feared exceedingly. Twice 
 I saw a blow from stick or cudgel fall upon 
 his stooping shoulders ; stones flew about 
 his head as thick as flakes of driven snow ; 
 women beat his back with their fists, and 
 their blows were like blows struck upon a 
 drum. Yet never once did he cease to rail 
 at them, nor to defy them with all that lusty 
 love of combat which neither years nor calling 
 could subdue. 
 
 45
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Who is the King of Glory?" I heard him 
 cry again and again; "it is the Lord, strong 
 and mighty," and then he would turn to mock 
 them, saying : " Where is your Joe the Smith? 
 Has he no word for the parson's ear? The 
 Lord make my right arm strong. A hit ! a 
 hit ! Hast said thy prayers, rascal ; then go 
 say them in hell. What ! thy skull is thick as 
 steel. Oh, have at them ! have at them ! " 
 
 It was a pretty thing to behold, I vow, this 
 jewel of a man sitting there upon the great 
 horse, with the moon sending her aureola of 
 light into the glade, and all the woods awake 
 to the strange cries of the night. And surely 
 God put it into the hearts of the rogues who 
 attacked us to save their fire-arms if it was 
 that they had any lest that should bring the 
 king's men down upon their place of hiding. 
 Never once in these fierce moments of our 
 trouble with them did they try to use aught 
 but their clubs and their knives and their 
 sticks; and I make sure that we owed our 
 lives as much to the cowardice of the pack as 
 to our own strong arms. Rage as they would, 
 few dared to close with us ; yet it would have 
 gone ill with Parson Ford, even before I could 
 have ridden to his help, but for a new and 
 46
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 very sudden turn which affairs took at the 
 very moment of his peril, and one which, as 
 you shall see, carried me at the first rather to 
 worse things than to better. And the manner 
 of it was this : 
 
 The thing befell at the very moment when 
 they had pulled Master Ford from his horse 
 and had got him down upon the grass, intend- 
 ing, it was plain, to make an end of him 
 there and then. I saw him fall ; yet, for the 
 life of me, I could not drive the great mare 
 up to his side, for she had become peevish 
 again, and now stood stock-still, with her fore- 
 legs set out very obstinately and her ears 
 backed with her tempers. At this, I called 
 loudly to Gideon to run to his master's help ; 
 but before he could take a step there was a 
 horn blown at the far side of the thicket, and 
 at the second blast of it a musket was fired, 
 and again another and another ; while a great 
 halloaing from all sides of the grove made it 
 plain that we were surrounded, though by 
 whom or for what purpose it was impossible 
 to tell. I thought at the first that the King's 
 Guards were surely come down upon us ; and 
 this, too, was the thought of the villains ; for 
 no sooner was the horn winded than away 
 47
 
 A PUKITAN'S WIFE 
 
 they went, helter-skelter, into the thicket; 
 and at the second musket-shot not a man of 
 them was to be seen. As for myself, what 
 with my fear that the soldiers had come and 
 m y Jy to be quit of the rogues, I could do 
 nothing for a spell but bawl to Master Ford, 
 asking him sillily if he were killed or no; 
 while old Gideon, long after the combat was 
 done with, went on running up and down the 
 glade, crying to the rogues that if they were 
 men they would show themselves again. 
 When at last I could prevail upon him to go 
 to his master's help, he did so complainingly ; 
 but I saw now to my great content that the 
 parson sat up on the grass ; and presently he 
 found his legs and staggered towards his 
 horse. 
 
 "Is it thee, Hugh? " he asked, holding his 
 hand to his head and shading his eyes that he 
 might see me, " God be my witness that I 
 did well to them a scurvy pack, by my soul ! 
 Hast thou any wine in the flask, Gideon? 
 Lord's mercy, I have blood upon my hands 
 like a butcher ! " 
 
 " Have they hurt you, Master Ford?" cried 
 I, striking viciously at the brute I rode, for a 
 more obstinate beast never mouthed a bit 
 48
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 "How should they hurt me? Am I the 
 man to mind the beat of a cudgel ? yet, if I 
 must tell the3, Hugh, I believe that I have 
 even got a prick from one of their knives in 
 my back, to say nothing of my arms. The 
 Lord be praised that I wore a corselet under 
 my cloak, or surely I had been a dead man. 
 Dost know who fired the muskets?" 
 
 I was about to tell him that I knew no 
 more than the dead, when there came, as if 
 in answer to him, another great report, and 
 this from the thicket almost upon my left 
 hand. So sudden was it, and so loud, that my 
 ill-tempered mare leaped up when she heard 
 it; and, being now fretted beyond control, 
 she began to gallop through the warrens with 
 me, and this put me to greater peril than any 
 I had yet known. What with the branches 
 to strike me from the saddle, and the holes 
 without number in which the mare might have 
 broken her legs, I said at every stride that 
 my last hour had come, and that there was an 
 end to Hugh Peters and to all his new-gotten 
 hopes. Yesterday, it may be, when I cared 
 not for man or devil, I had laughed at such a 
 ride as this; yet, what must I do now but 
 begin to remember that my little wife was 
 4 49
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 waiting for me at Windsor, and that but for 
 this vixen which carried me, I might be with 
 her again before the sun had risen twice. 
 And at that I could have dashed myself to the 
 ground in my anger ; and I spurred the mare 
 until my legs ached with their work, and we 
 flew on as though the furies were at our heels. 
 I have ridden many a fine horse in my day 
 there was never a better beast born than 
 old Rupert, who carried me at Worcester and 
 afterwards in pursuit of Charles Stuart but 
 for speed in the heat of the gallop and for 
 risk to him that rode, I would wager Keeper 
 Morley's mare against any in the kingdom. 
 God's Providence alone brought me safely out 
 of the forest that night. Though many years 
 have passed since the affair of the warrens, I 
 could tell every moment of that ride as .when it 
 happened : how the branches cut my face ; 
 how the woods seemed to open and shut as I 
 passed them by ; how I saw little camp-fires 
 burning, yet saw them but for seconds of 
 time ; how there were spells of darkness when 
 we crashed through the thickets, and again 
 spells of light where the moon fell soft in the 
 sleeping glades; how the cut-purses rushed 
 out of their beds to stare at me, yet were 
 50
 
 THE AFFAIR IN THE WARREN 
 
 gone again in an instant ; how the wind blew 
 fresh upon my face like a breeze sweeping up 
 from the sea. Nay, it was a mad moment to 
 live; and when I found myself at last out 
 upon the high-road which goes over Cfown 
 Hill, I thought that I must have dreamed it, 
 and that no man could have done such a thing 
 unless it were that he had done it in a dream. 
 
 Once upon the road, I thought surely that 
 the she-devil beneath me would make an end 
 of it and answer to her bit ; but she was of 
 another mind. The greater freedom put new 
 heart into her. She began to roar with her 
 pleasure ; and, giving three or four great 
 kicks, she set off again towards a farmhouse 
 near by. 
 
 And then it was that I saw by the moon's 
 clear light the glitter of the trappings and the 
 shining corselets of a troop of the King's 
 Guards, who were riding out from the stablea 
 of the farm. 
 
 51
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 SIR NATHANIEL GOULDING LIES AT WALTHAM 
 
 I SAW the troops, and my heart seemed to 
 stand still, remembering as I did what Master 
 Ford had said of their business in Ambres- 
 bury, and how they were to serve the Earl of 
 Middlesex in his pursuit of me. I knew well 
 that they had come to the quest of Hugh 
 Peters ; yet was I so ready to put my neck in 
 a noose that I must go galloping toward them 
 on the back of a great brute which was never 
 meant to carry an honest man, but only to be 
 the death of rogues. Nor could I think of 
 anything more contrary than this that the 
 quarry should make straight for the hounds, 
 and that no act of his should be able to turn 
 him from his journey. For that was how it 
 stood with me. The mare went the faster now 
 with every stride she took. The foam from 
 her mouth splashed all my face and ran down 
 upon my cloak. While I was near to cutting 
 52
 
 SIR NATHANIEL GOULDING 
 
 her tongue through with the bit, she heeded it 
 no more than the tickle of a fly. Nay, she 
 did but gallop the more ; past the white mill 
 and the keeper's cottage ; straight over the 
 brook at the hill's foot, yet always toward the 
 troopers, and I, beating her with my fists, or 
 rolling back in my saddle as I threw my 
 weight upon the reins, or sawing at her mouth 
 like one saws parchment with a string, was 
 carried with her straight, as it seemed to 
 me, to the jail of Newgate and the hangman's 
 noose. 
 
 There were moments when I had the 
 thought to throw myself from the saddle and 
 take risk of the hurt which should follow 
 upon that ; but some good instinct kept me to 
 my seat ; and when we turned the bend of the 
 road, and I beheld the troopers, not in any 
 good order, but all straggling the one behind 
 the other, some devil seemed to spur me on ; 
 and, rather than seek to curb the mare, I 
 urged her to the very top of her speed. Lord ! 
 what a child's courage filled my veins in that 
 instant ! The sight of the troopers sent all my 
 fears flying from me, and bade me defy them. 
 With a shout such a shout as I had uttered 
 in my first ride at "Worcester I made 
 53
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 straight at the men before me; and they 
 newly come, as I learned afterwards, from 
 their supper at the farm, and not a little 
 stupid with the ale they had drunk had no 
 will but to draw rein and let me pass. Thafc 
 I was he whom they hunted was a thought 
 which never so much as entered their heads. 
 They took me for some king's man tipsy 
 with wine and bound upon a pressing errand. 
 Nay, they gave me a halloa when I passed 
 them, and one called after me that he would 
 risk a guinea for my mare. 
 
 I passed them by some lolling drunkenly 
 in their saddles, some trolling idle songs, some 
 staring sleepily ; yet for many minutes I dared 
 not to believe that I had escaped them. 
 " Surely," said I, " they will discover their 
 mistake presently, and be up and after me." 
 Yet, quick as my ears were, they told of no 
 lioofs upon the road behind me. I turned 
 round in my saddle and could shape nothing 
 out of the darkness of the hollow. The road 
 seemed to be deserted not so much as a 
 single horseman rode between me and the 
 farm I had passed. Anon, when my silly 
 mare began to pant and to stagger, and stood 
 quite still at last with scarce strength enough 
 54
 
 NATHANIEL GOULDLN6 
 
 to keep upon her legs, I looked down from the 
 little height of the hill and observed the troop- 
 ers still riding slowly towards the town of Ep- 
 ping but two of them were dismounted, and 
 seemed to be quarrelling, while a third was 
 talking to a wench who had run after. him 
 from the farm. I knew then that the wildest 
 trick man ever played had been capped with 
 success, and, giddy with the excitement and 
 the pleasure of it, I laughed aloud for joy. 
 
 "A Hugh! Hugh I" cried I, "to-morrow 
 shall see me at Windsor to-morrow, to- 
 morrow " 
 
 " Dost thou shoot like that, sir? " answered 
 a voice from the further side of the hedge; 
 " to-morrow will see thy heels in the air. Put 
 bit upon thy tongue, man. Here is Master 
 Ford crossing the fallow with them that saved 
 us to-night no others than Captain Gould- 
 ing and Keeper Morley, who planned you 
 pretty trick in the hollow. Lord's mercy! 
 there were but three of them in all, and yet, 
 with their muskets and their horns, they must 
 play the part of a king's company. Pillars of 
 grace 1 I have been near to a laugh upon it i " 
 
 It was old Gideon who spoke, he having 
 ridden to the hill-top by the short cut out of 
 55
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 the wood. And when he stood by my side, 
 and I had told him of my ride, and pointed 
 to the tipsy troopers below, I asked him for a 
 further word about his news. 
 
 "Who, then, is Captain Goulding that he 
 should help Hugh Peters ? " said I. 
 
 *' Out upon thee for a simpleton," he 
 answered ; but after a minute he said : ' ' yet, 
 how shouldst thou know nay, 't is for love of 
 little Marjory, sir, whom they say he is to 
 marry at Whitsun." 
 
 "How, Gideon," cried I; ll he is to 
 marry " 
 
 But I could say no more, for his words 
 seemed to strike me like a blow, and all 
 the ground went whirling round before my 
 eyes. 
 
 Indeed, I thought for some minutes that I 
 must tumble from my mare like a silly girl 
 overtaken by a sickness; and while I could 
 find no word with which to answer Gideon, 
 I said to myself that there, for a truth, was 
 the last blow upon the little house of my 
 dreams. 
 
 It was an odd thing ; but talk of this Cap- 
 tain Goulding had never come to me before. 
 Many as were the thoughts which went wing- 
 56
 
 SIR NATHANIEL GOULDING 
 
 Ing through my mind while we stood for a 
 minute upon the hill-top, the desire to see 
 him and to know what sort of a man he was 
 prevailed above any of them. My surprise,* 
 then, is to be judged when at last he rode 
 through the broken gate ; and I beheld by 
 the moon's rich light no fop nor gallant of 
 the Court, but a gentleman of some age (he 
 being fifty years old, as I learnt afterwards), 
 and one who at the first sight invited both 
 the respect and confidence of his fellows. A 
 properer man in speech I never listened to; 
 and though I would have held myself back 
 from him, as from one who was my enemy 
 though I would have done this, I say yet so 
 kind was his greeting to me, and so evident 
 his desire to do me a service, that I found 
 myself playing the child again, and listening 
 to him with the air of a son who hears a 
 father. 
 
 " So this is our madcap Puritan," cried he, 
 drawing rein in the road, and laughing 
 heartily when he beheld my mare. " Ventre- 
 bleu t Master Peters, I see plainly why there 
 be those who hunt for you in Epping. A 
 man might ride many a mile to find such a 
 beast as that. St. John, you went at them 
 57
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 like the devil ! I 've seen nothing like it 
 since Naseby." 
 
 " Ay, lad," chimed in Master Ford, who 
 was at the Captain's heels; "'twas a ride to 
 make the heart beat. Lord, that thou shouldst 
 sit there as dumb upon it as a scold in th 
 pillory. Hast no word for him who brought 
 us out of the wood yonder? This is Cap- 
 tain Goulding, sent by one who thinks of 
 thee often, to carry thee to Windsor in his 
 company. Dost not thank him, rascal? 
 Lord, that I should have nested such a 
 booby ! " 
 
 I was nettled at this, and I turned upon 
 him sharply. 
 
 " Master Ford," said I, "it seems to me 
 that I owe my coming out of the wood as 
 much to the beast which 1 ride as to any help 
 of strangers, whosoever they be. Had I 
 stopped to pay my compliments to this gen- 
 tleman surely, I had run upon the King's 
 Guards in the hollow, and then " 
 
 "Tut, tut, tut," cried the parson and I 
 went near to laughing at him, so ill had they 
 bandaged his eye which was hurt, and his 
 nose which was cut "a plague upon thy 
 loutish manners. Hast lost thy senses, Hugh ? 
 58
 
 SIR NATHANIEL GOULDING 
 
 God's mercy, I have the mind to lay my stick 
 upon thy back." 
 
 *' Come, come, Master," now cried old 
 Gideon, " wouldst be blind in both eyes? 
 Leave the lad alone until he shall have his 
 breath again. For the matter of that; he 
 would be the better for a cup of sack as 
 would the rest of us. But we shall be want- 
 ing it until we come to Waltham town, and a 
 pretty maid to serve us. You would not hold 
 us here all night in the argument, sir?" 
 
 " Well said," exclaimed Sir Nathaniel, turn- 
 ing his horse up the road; "a truce to talk, 
 unless it be as we go. I am waiting to see 
 the paces of Master Hugh's mare, and will 
 even make him my body-guard. Two men 
 that are both of Paris should not complain of 
 each other's company.'* 
 
 He looked at me out of the corner of his 
 cunning eyes, and the moon's light falling 
 upon his face plenteous y, I observed that his 
 beard was well-trimmed, and that he did not 
 wear his own hair as the King's men did, but 
 had a periwig, nicely curled and tied with silk, 
 which helped him to make light of his years. 
 There was, moreover, the fashion of France 
 to be observed in all his clothes ; and his way 
 59
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 of speaking, for he used many French words, 
 was that of a man who had been long out of 
 England. Nay, he was all vanity in his talk ; 
 and though I had the wish to draw rein and 
 let him ride on by himself, I found that I 
 could not help myself, but, well or ill, must 
 listen to him. Nor did he rest his tongue at 
 all when, we two going before, our little com- 
 pany set out for Waltham yet none with so 
 heavy a heart as Hugh Peters. 
 
 " It may be a surprise to you, Master 
 Hugh," he began, without waiting for any 
 word of compliment from me, " that I should 
 speak of your coming out of France ; but am 
 I wrong in supposing that you were some years 
 there in the company of your kinswoman, 
 Madame de Pontac ? " 
 
 "Sir," said I, sullenly, "it is as you sup- 
 pose; yet why should you call me by that 
 name, or why should you concern yourself 
 with my affairs, is a thing I have yet to learn. 
 I am ' Master Hugh ' to my friends, and not 
 to every stranger that rides a horse upon the 
 King's high-road ! " 
 
 I could see him bite his lip at this, and he 
 made a movement of impatience, not to be 
 concealed from me. 
 
 60
 
 SIR NATHANIEL GOULDING 
 
 " Saint Dennis," he cried, with the air of a 
 man affronted in a friendship, "you have a 
 strange way of requiting a service, Master 
 Peters. If I did not wish very well to you, I 
 would surely ride on and leave you to the 
 hangman, whose acquaintance you came near 
 to making this night. Do you not see, ami, 
 that I concern myself with your affairs because 
 if some one does not stretch out a hand to you 
 now, to-morrow or the morrow after that will 
 find you where neither day nor night will be 
 in your reckoning. Dame, you can ask me 
 these things, and forget in the same breath 
 that you met the Abbe Pregnani in the French 
 king's city, and called him a cheat to his face ! 
 Body of St. John, a prince's ransom would not 
 save your neck if the King's men laid hands 
 upon you ! Know you not what hopes they 
 hold of the Abbe's work when he shall come 
 here presently to persuade the King upon a 
 matter which you heard talked of every day at 
 Madame Kerovalle's house ? " 
 
 It was all like the Greek tongue to me, I 
 vow ; and I knew no more than the dead of 
 what he talked. 
 
 " Sir," said I, "you speak of those whose 
 names, truty, I heard often in Paris, yet of 
 61
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 their deeds I know as much as the Prince of 
 Muscovy. What is all this to do with me that 
 am a plain man, seeking, God knows, but mine 
 own safety and the rights which my country- 
 men enjoy. Yet, if it be as you say, and hurt 
 is likely to come to me of these affairs, then 
 what friendship is it to carry me to the park 
 of Windsor, where the first King's man I meet 
 may cry out upon me to my cost? " 
 
 I could see him thinking for a moment upon 
 his answer; and he never lifted his prying 
 little eyes from my face. 
 
 " Master Peters," he said at last, " they do 
 not look in the door for the key which is lost. 
 I play the daring part, yet so well do I under- 
 stand it, that I will answer for your life with 
 my own. You are going into the castle of 
 Windsor to-morrow, not as a traveller come 
 from the North, but as the servant of Sir 
 Nathaniel Goulding, whom no one will ques- 
 tion. You will lie there until those who 
 have your interests at heart can secure your 
 pardon, or some safer lodging for you. I will 
 not ask you how it was that you could dwell 
 for two years in Paris with ears which heard 
 nothing and eyes which were shut. You 
 know best what part you choose to play 
 62
 
 SIR NATHANIEL GOULDING 
 
 both before your friends and your enemies. 
 When the day comes, and it will soon, for you 
 to reckon me a friend, I doubt not that you 
 will be more open with me and to your own 
 profit. What I have done this night was done 
 for the sake of one, to please whom I would 
 ride to the world's end. She has all the heart 
 to help you, and it rests with you so to carry 
 yourself before her that you do not lose her 
 friendship. To-morrow she will speak for 
 herself. We shall pass into the castle at sun- 
 down, and my men must so handle you that 
 your own brother would not pick you from a 
 hundred. What happens after will depend 
 upon your own discretion ; fmt you will not 
 forget that your life hangs by a thread, which 
 a whispered word may sever. I say no more 
 now yonder are the lights of Waltham town. 
 Let us press on to supper and to bed." 
 
 He gave spurs to his horse, and I followed 
 him thinking nothing of all his talk, but 
 only of little Marjory and of Gideon's words. 
 
 " She is my wife," I said in my heart, 
 " Oh, God knows, she is my wife."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 WE COME TO THE PARK AT WINDSOR. 
 
 WE lay until dawn at Waltham ; but being 
 in our saddles as soon as the sun was up, we 
 struck upon the village of Barnet before the 
 people were yet abroad. It was still the 
 sweet of the morning when we observed the 
 spires of the school and church at Harrow, 
 standing up bofdly upon their great green 
 hill. In this place I learnt to my vexation 
 that Master Ford proposed to turn back to 
 London, leaving me henceforth to the care of 
 Sir Nathaniel Goulding, who, as he was per- 
 suaded, could do the more for me. 
 
 " I cannot forget mine own people, Hugh," 
 said he, "and what can be done for thee 
 will be done now by those of whom thou 
 hast the better right to ask it. I counsel thee, 
 put not such a bitter face upon it when thou 
 be come to "Windsor ; but recall to thy little 
 playmate that once she was very willing to 
 64
 
 THE PARK AT WINDSOR 
 
 ask aid of thee as now thou askest it of her. 
 And if any do thee hurt, remember what thy 
 father taught thee upon the green at War- 
 boys. Nay, I have no fear for thee if thou 
 wilt but look upon it lightly. God's mercy ! 
 when I had thy years I would have crossed a 
 sword with all the rogues in the country, and 
 reckoned it a pastime. A prayer upon thy 
 lips, and an honest hilt for thy hand, what 
 more wouldst thoa have unless it be a word 
 of memory for him to whom thou wast, and 
 art, as his own son. The God of Abraham 
 bless thee, my lad, and shield thee from know- 
 ing aught of that tribulation to which I must 
 now return." 
 
 He raised his hand in blessing, and drawing 
 me a little apart from the others, he said 
 cunningly : 
 
 "Keep watch upon thy lips when thou 
 speakest to yon gentleman. I like him, 
 and yet I like him not. It might even be 
 that a threat but thou wilt judge. He is 
 out of France, they tell me; and spoken of 
 as one that is to know more of little Marjory 
 than the rest of us. Yet if he is to be hus- 
 band to her, we should do well to be discreet ; 
 and to that I exhort thee." 
 6 65
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 His words were ill enough for me to hear, 
 though I believed them not; but I remem- 
 bered that I should gain naught by wrestling 
 in argument with him. And so I left him ; 
 he taking the King's road to London, while 
 we struck upon the lane which should carry 
 us to Uxbridge. Often after we had said our 
 last word, I turned about in my saddle and 
 beheld him still watching us from his perch 
 upon the great black horse ; while Gideon 
 sat like a man of stone at his side, neither 
 raising his hand nor -making any other sign 
 that this was a moment of parting. Only 
 when the hill hid them from our sight did I 
 begin to think again of this- Captain Gould- 
 ing, to whom I had now trusted my life, and 
 in whose honour and fair-play all my hope 
 must rest. And he, I said bitterly, was to 
 be the husband of her for whom I would 
 have shed the last drop of blood in my body. 
 Never did God deal so hardly with a man ! 
 
 I say that we struck upon the Uxbridge 
 road ; but it must not be thought that we 
 went where all the world could see us. Nay, 
 our path lay through leafy lanes and pleasant 
 woods, where few gave us " Good-day; " and 
 no man was bold enough to ask our errand. 
 GO
 
 THE PARK AT WINDSOR 
 
 I found my companion, who had now six 
 servants in his train, to be a person of little 
 speech, but of so proper a manner that my 
 blood tingled when I remembered what part 
 gossip was making him play. I asked myself 
 if it were not right that a young girl should 
 think of such a one before a plain soldier, that 
 had only his ragged clothes and his honest 
 heart with which to dower her. I began 
 even to upbraid my presumption in telling 
 myself that I had any claim upon her 
 memory. " Lord," said I, " what mad dream 
 is this which Hugh Peters is dreaming? what 
 folly is plaguing his head?" And then, do 
 what I would, I seemed to hear Tom Honey- 
 dew's voice in the old park again, and his 
 words: "Whom God has joined together, 
 let no man put asunder," were like sweet oils 
 in my ears. 
 
 " Oh," thought I, "if she will but remem- 
 ber that day as I remember it ! " 
 
 "With these troubles and dreams for com- 
 pany I journeyed on through the heat of the 
 afternoon. Captain Goulding changed few 
 words with me ; and it was not until the 
 sun began to sink and we rode into the great 
 wooded park of Windsor, and to the house of 
 67
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 a keeper there, that he talked at all of the 
 plan by which he was to bring me into the 
 castle. But at the house he drew rein ; and 
 one coming out to meet him, we all went into 
 a little room of the cottage, and he began to 
 tell me what he would do. 
 
 "Now, Master Peters," said he, "let me 
 beg of you to wear a prettier face than I 
 have seen at rny side all day. Pardieu, man, 
 they will pick you from a hundred do you 
 show them eyes like those. I might even 
 suggest that, should you laugh but once 
 while we go through the gate, all the King's 
 men in Berkshire would never mistake you 
 for your father's son. And remember, it is a 
 hanging matter which so much as a silly 
 whisper may bring to a head. God's life, 
 my friend, if yon constable knew that Hugh 
 Peters rode into Windsor with Nathaniel 
 Goulding this night, it might even be that the 
 pair of us would swing at dawn." 
 
 " Sir," said I, "is it right that you should 
 stake so much for one " 
 
 " Tais-toi, tais-toi" he cried, with an impa- 
 tient motion of a hand that was as small and 
 delicate as the hand of a woman ; " this is 
 no day for 'ifs' and 'ans.' Get into the 
 68
 
 THE PARK AT WINDSOR 
 
 clothes we have brought for you; and then 
 remember upon what errand you come. You 
 can speak your word of thanks by-and-by, 
 to her who has most right to them ; and I 
 doubt not you will make a good enough 
 serving-man 
 
 " Captain Goulding," I exclaimed hotly, 
 for he wore a cunning look when he spoke 
 the words, "I was never yet known to serve 
 any one, and by my soul, I will draw sword 
 on the man " 
 
 " Oh," cried he, raising his hands as one 
 who despairs; "was there ever such a 
 fellow to thrust his neck into the noose 
 rather than play a part until the good hour 
 comes ! " 
 
 I was a little abashed at this, and I knew 
 that my face was all red with the hot blood 
 which went up to my head. 
 
 "If, indeed, it be as you say," cried I, 
 " and this is done for my safety's sake, then I 
 beg you to forget the words " 
 
 " They are forgotten already, Master 
 Peters," he answered very pleasantly; " only 
 make haste to do as my men bid you, or the 
 Southe Porte will be shut, and little supper 
 will there be for you or me to-night." 
 69
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Saying this he left me to his men, who 
 had brought a very plain, but good, suit of 
 grey stuff for my body and a periwig for my 
 head such a thing as I had never worn ali 
 my life long. Nay, I do not think that 
 Master Ford would have known me when 
 they had done with me so changed was I 
 from the Hugh Peters who lay yesterday by 
 the banks of Ambresbury. Even the cap- 
 tain was pleased with my new appearance, 
 and clapped his hands when I came out of the 
 cottage to mount my horse again. 
 
 *' Oh ! good, good, good,'' he cried out, in 
 his quick fashion of speaking. " "Who would 
 have thought they could do so well! And 
 now, my man, I will trouble you to ride 
 at my heels with yon fellows, and if you 
 cannot hold your tongue then say your 
 prayers with it, for certainly you will hang to- 
 morrow." 
 
 He pointed to the serving-men behind him ; 
 but as I turned to mingle with them, a wood- 
 lander, who had come out of the cottage and 
 had been holding my bridle-rein, suddenly 
 spake a word, but in so low a tone that I only 
 heard. 
 
 "Sir," he whispered, "for God's sake be- 
 70
 
 THE PARK AT WINDSOR 
 
 ware. Yon knave is leading you to a trap. 
 If you love your life, do not pass the gates of 
 Windsor with him." 
 
 And with that, he turned sharply upon hia 
 heel and went into the cottage again. 
 
 71
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 I PASS THE GATES 
 
 I HAD turned my horse while the wood- 
 lander spoke, and for a moment my heart 
 went thumping against my sides, and the 
 warning which the man had uttered seemed to 
 be echoed again and again in my ears. 
 
 "What am I doing?" I asked myself, as I 
 drew rein suddenly. "Who is this Captain 
 Goulding? How have I found a friend here 
 in this strange place? Do I, truly, ride to my 
 death?" 
 
 Dazed and giddy at the new alarm, per- 
 plexed as man never was before, I sat there 
 upon my horse, and all the great trees seemed 
 to dance towards me. " Oh," I cried in my 
 heart, "if Master Ford had not left me!" 
 But I knew that I stood alone ; that seven 
 swords would leap from their scabbards did I 
 but touch my own. Nor could I hope to ride 
 away from men so well mounted as Captain 
 Goulding's company. They had put me upon 
 72
 
 I PASS THE GATES 
 
 a sorry beast at Waltham, and he was already 
 winded, and I doubted no longer that this was 
 done for their intention. 
 
 There are occasions in all men's lives when, 
 knowing that they nave taken a wrong road, 
 they must follow it yet awhile until the true 
 way be discerned. So was it with me' that 
 night. Notwithstanding my perplexity and 
 my suspicion, I said that I should gain noth- 
 ing by bringing the rogues to account there in 
 the park at Windsor, but must look for other 
 opportunity. As the thing went, I had Parson 
 Ford's word for it that little Marjory was 
 even then in the castle ; and while the risks 
 were twofold, one from the King's men dis- 
 covering me, the other from the knavery of 
 the new-gotten friend, I declared that I 
 would face them both if thereby I might 
 touch once more the hand of her I loved so 
 dearly. 
 
 "And," said I, "God help that man who 
 first turns upon me, for surely I will rip him 
 open like a sack." 
 
 This gave me a little of the courage I had 
 
 known in the old time when I was first in the 
 
 charge at Worcester. I began to remember 
 
 that they had feared Hugh Peters then, hold- 
 
 73
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 1ng him the equal at sword-play of any two in 
 his company. 
 
 " If," said I, "it be my life or this man's, 
 then the Lord strengthen my arm." Nay, I 
 knew well that did it prove true, as Gideon 
 declared, that he were the lover of my Lady 
 Marjory, then, though I must die for it, 
 would I yet find pretext to cross a blade with 
 him. 
 
 We were out in the park now, and the 
 golden light of the setting sun had touched 
 the spires and towers of the mighty castle 
 which rose up like a very city in our path. I 
 could see the great keep lifting its head 
 proudly above the turrets and steeples ; and all 
 its stones shone blood red under a heaven of 
 crimson. Here and there upon the ramparts 
 the pike of a guard was to be discerned ; or 
 the black nozzle of a cannon pointing down 
 grimly upon the silent thickets of the park. 
 
 There was something to bring the mind to 
 silence and to melancholy in the contempla- 
 tion of this vast work of man's ; so forbidding, 
 so triumphant in its strength that man might 
 never prevail against it. Indeed, its aspect to 
 me was that of a little city of God shining 
 now in the light of the eternal throne. And 
 74
 
 I PASS THE GATES 
 
 even while I watched it, the sun sank behind 
 the distant hills, and his passing recalled to 
 me the coming night of my own hopes, nay, 
 a night which might even be the night of 
 my death. 
 
 It was almost dark when at last we crossed 
 the stone bridge above the deep castle ditch, 
 and Sir Nathaniel Goulding challenged the 
 sentry there. I heard the clanging of the 
 arms, and the echo of the password as it 
 went winging from man to man along the 
 ramparts. Then we rode up together to the 
 gate, and the guard, the better to observe us, 
 began to thrust his lantern close to our faces. 
 It was a moment when a strong man's heart 
 might have quaked ; and do what I would to 
 remember Captain Goulding's wish, that I 
 should carry myself bravely, no good thought 
 would come to me. Indeed, I sat there like 
 a figure of marble, so that even the sentry 
 stopped when the rays from his lantern fell 
 upon my eyes. 
 
 " Body of the devil, and who is this fel- 
 low ? " was the man's cry. 
 
 I said nothing, leaving it to the captain to 
 speak for me. 
 
 "That is Jacques Froibert, newly out of 
 75
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 France," answered Sir Nathaniel; "he has 
 no English, or I doubt not he would speak 
 as pleasantly as he looks." 
 
 The man shrugged his shoulders, thrust- 
 ing his lantern the closer to my face ; and, 
 for a truth, he was so near to me that I 
 made sure he would hear the beating of my 
 heart. 
 
 "Oh," said he, "out of France, is he? 
 then the Lord take him back again to- 
 morrow. Saw any one such a villainous coun- 
 tenance? Hast lost thy purse, Captain?" 
 
 The captain laughed. 
 
 " Did I give yon man the French of your 
 words," said he, "it is likely that you would 
 lose your nose before dawn. There is no 
 finer swordsman in Paris." 
 
 At this the guard drew back suddenly. 
 
 "Oh," cried he, " I want no quarrel with 
 the gentleman out of France. Pray pass 
 on, sir, and the devil sit lightly on your 
 shoulders." 
 
 He made way for us, and we crossed the 
 bridge to the great upper ward in whose 
 windows many lights were now twinkling. 
 And here one of the others took my horse 
 from me, and the captain bade me follow him 
 76
 
 I PASS THE GATES 
 
 to a room on that side of the court where 
 the household was lodged. 
 
 " Come," said he, "my lady will be wait- 
 ing for you we must not keep her from 
 supper. Ventrebleu, Master Peters, you are 
 a lucky man." 
 
 But I did not answer him, for his words 
 were scarce spoken when I stood in the pres- 
 ence of my little wife, and her greeting 
 was in my ears.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 MY LADY MAEJOEY FOEGETS 
 
 SHE stood in the ingle nook of a large 
 room, which had oaken walls and ceiling. 
 Though it was now May, a fire of logs 
 blazed upon the hearth and cast a ruddy 
 light upon her girlish face, to its advantage. 
 I saw her look up when I came in; but 
 she turned away her eyes directly, and re- 
 mained with head cast down and restless foot 
 the while she spoke to us. I observed that 
 she had now come to some maturity of 
 womanhood; and her dress, of mighty fine 
 stuff, together with the diamonds that glis- 
 tened upon her breast, gave to her an air 
 of wondrous dignity, as of a great court 
 <lame. Indeed, she was a picture for a man 
 to see, and never did I think that any one 
 could feel so silly as Hugh Peters, when he 
 stood blundering before her. 
 
 "So," she said, yet looking still away 
 from me, "so you have come safely with 
 your charge, Sir Nathaniel?" 
 78
 
 MY LADY MAEJORY FORGETS 
 
 "As you see," he answered, with those 
 proper manners for which I hated him the 
 more; "as you see, my lady we have 
 made the journey; yet it is no fault of 
 Master Peters that he is not still in the 
 forest of Epping. Dame, I had as much 
 trouble to persuade him as to lure quarry 
 to the hounds." 
 
 " Sir," cried I, breaking out at this, " that 
 is not well said. I was ready enough to 
 3ome to Windsor, could you but assure me 
 ..at those here meant well to me." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders ; while my lady 
 held out her hand to me. 
 
 " Oh," she said, " surely this is the Hugh 
 Peters I knew at Warboys ever a lad to 
 blow hot and cold like a day of April." 
 
 " Nay," said I, meaningly, " methinks that 
 I am not the one against whom that is tc 
 be charged. There are others, my lady " 
 
 " Oh, come, come," exclaimed the captain, 
 " this is no time for silly talk, sir. You have 
 been seeking a quarrel with this man or that 
 ever since we turned our backs upon the hole 
 we tooK you from. Have you no manners 
 to thank those that befriend you?" 
 
 * Sir," said I, "if you will point my 
 79
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 friends out to me, I will make haste to do 
 my duty." 
 
 My mistress laughed at this the first 
 time since we had come into the room. As 
 for me, what with the giddy light of the 
 candles and the heat of the fire and the 
 bitter thoughts at my heart for the cold 
 word spoken to me, I seemed to act like 
 one walking in sleep; and all the room and 
 the people in it were dancing before my 
 eyes. 
 
 My mistress laughed, I say; but it was 
 a hard little laugh, like the tap of a stick 
 upon a board. And presently she said : 
 
 ' ' Perchance we had done better, Sir 
 Nathaniel, had we not meddled at all in the 
 affairs of so ungrateful a fellow. But as we 
 have him here, and must in honour's sake 
 answer for his safety, I will even ask you 
 to instruct him in that which he must do 
 the while he is at Windsor. The King comes 
 at the beginning of the month, they tell me 
 until he be here, and I may speak a word 
 to him, you will lodge Master Peters in the 
 Devil's Tower, and number him among my 
 pages. He will be wise enough to see 
 where his safety lies, and to obey with- 
 80
 
 MY LADY MARJORY FORGETS 
 
 out question such orders as you shall give 
 him." 
 
 Sir Nathaniel bowed very gallantly. 
 
 " It is all done as you desire, my lady," 
 said he " though you might find many a 
 prettier page. He shall lie to-night with my 
 own servants for his better security,, and 
 afterwards we will contrive together some 
 good place of hiding for him. And if he 
 show any temper, we have but to shout it 
 out in yon ward that Hugh Peters lies in 
 the Devil's Tower, and the guard will come 
 to reason with him." 
 
 It was beyond bearing to me, I swear, 
 to hear the taunts of this man now that 
 he had got me through the gates of the 
 castle. Yet with him I could have borne 
 but for the cruel coldness of my lady, who 
 laughed and jested and aired her pretty 
 graces before me as though we two had 
 known each other but a day. Wait as I 
 might for one generous word from her, she 
 gave me none nor yet a look from the 
 eyes which used to be so close to mine in 
 the old time. Nay, I thought she seemed 
 to relish my discomfiture ; and at this my 
 love turned sour in my heart, and I called 
 6 81
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 God to witness that I would abase myself 
 neither before her nor the man whose pres- 
 ence was so welcome to her. 
 
 u Sir," said I, "you have been pleased to 
 bespeak a plan for me, but now that your 
 word is done, hark to me a moment. And 
 first I would say this : that I will be menial to 
 no man, nor woman neither, whoever they be. 
 You brought me here with your tale that you 
 meant well by me. Is it well that I must lie 
 with servants? God bear witness that I will 
 even sleep on the stones first. And since it 
 comes to threats between me that trusted and 
 you that gave the pledge, the Lord help me 
 to teach you that I am a gentleman born, and 
 as pretty a man with the sword as any King's 
 pimp come out of Paris." 
 
 I said this, and the speech so worked upon 
 me that my sword leaped from its scabbard 
 even while I was in the argument ; and, by 
 heaven ! I believe that but for my Lady Mar- 
 jory I had slit his throat upon the spot. Nay,. 
 I can see it all to this day the black room 
 lit up by the tapers' light, the great fire blazing 
 upon the hearth, the gentle hand of my mis- 
 tress laid lovingly upon my arm, the sneering 
 face of the King's man as he stepped back- 
 82
 
 MY LADY MAEJORY FORGETS 
 
 ward to the wall and his fingers gripped tht. 
 hilt of his undrawn sword. And even now I 
 hear little Marjory's cry as she began to rea- 
 son with me. 
 
 " Hugh, Hugh," she said, forgetting all her 
 mighty manner, " for shame to think of that ! 
 Is this your gentleman's teaching? Put up 
 your sword, you silly boy. Indeed you shall 
 tell Sir Nathaniel that you are very sorry. 
 Oh, how like to the Hugh of Warboys, who 
 was never happy but in some brawl upon the 
 green ! " 
 
 She held me tightly now, and her touch was 
 to me as the touch of an armlet of roses. I 
 could see her breast heaving with the quickness 
 of her breathing; I could look deep into her 
 sparkling eyes and try to find my message 
 there. Yet this was the pleasure of a mo- 
 ment's durance, for Sir Nathaniel quickly 
 spoke again, and at the sound of his voice she 
 drew back and looked at me no more. 
 
 " Put up your sword, Master Hugh," said 
 he, not unkindly ; " I know how the wind of a 
 young man's temper blows. "We have ridden 
 far, both, and would be the better for a cup of 
 wine and a dish of meat. That we shall find 
 in my own room, where I will even now per- 
 83
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 suade you what a wrong you do me. You 
 may wait for morning to make me your 
 apologies. Nay, I bear no grudge, as my lady 
 shall witness." 
 
 "Most readily, Sir Nathaniel," said my 
 lady, who had gone to stand by the fire again, 
 " and he shall remember then that one who is 
 gentleman-born does not draw his sword in the 
 presence of his mistress." 
 
 They meant well to me, it would seem, and 
 yet, I vow, tears stood in my eyes when I 
 walked from the room; and my feet were 
 heavy, as though lead were in my boots. 
 
 For I said always, " She has forgotten the 
 Jest" 
 
 84
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 IN THE DEVIL'S TOWER 
 
 IT was ten of the clock when they took me 
 through the upper ward of the castle to the 
 bed-chamber Sir Nathaniel Goulding had 
 found for me in that tower, which to this 
 day is called the Devil's Tower. Late as the 
 hour was, I observed that they played a mask 
 under the moon's light in one of the gardens 
 near by the tennis court ; and, Lord ! to watch 
 the tipsy cavaliers with their coats of gold and 
 silver and the giddy jades they toyed with ! 
 And this was the strange part of it, that they 
 should be bold in their sins here under the 
 very windows of the Papish Church, which the 
 Lord-General's men had gone near to destroy- 
 ing in their anger. I could not help but re- 
 member, then, how my country was fallen, that 
 all this wickedness and evil-doing should be 
 the sport even of them who stood nearest to 
 the King's throne. 
 
 85
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 They had put me in the Devil's Tower, I 
 say, in a little square room of stone, like to a 
 prisoner's cell; but my word with Captain 
 Goulding had so far prevailed that I lay 
 alone ; and this to my great content. I had 
 found the captain mighty pleasant over the 
 wine ; though he talked always of France and 
 of a certain Abbe Pregnani, whom I had met 
 but once at Madame de Pontac's house in 
 that city. It was his wish to convince me 
 that I had been much with the abbe ; and had 
 been loud in my talk, when I was in Paris, 
 that if the man ever came to my country I 
 would have him hanged for a French spy and 
 a charlatan. I knew that such a thing had 
 never so much as entered my head; but he 
 would not hear my " nay," and I left him 
 doubting of it. 
 
 There was a little window in the turret 
 where I slept ; and, being come into my room, 
 I stood awhile to look out upon the moonlit 
 park and the garden, where many lanterns of 
 pretty colours were lighted. It was pleasant 
 enough to watch that fine company, as gay as 
 players in a booth; yet, Lord! so mighty 
 proud and so noisy in their laughter and talk 
 that all the peace of the night was broken, 
 86
 
 IN THE DEVIL'S TOWER 
 
 and Satan seemed to be come into the castle 
 with them. For the matter of that I had gone 
 to my bed at once, and left them to their 
 music and their sill}' dancing had not I seen 
 my lady Marjory as bold as any among them 
 ay, and better gowned and prettier than 
 ny hussy there. She was talking to Sir 
 Nathaniel Goulding when I saw her, and he 
 held her hand, not as a friend might have 
 done, but as lover holds the hand of mistress. 
 Once I saw his face bent down very close to 
 hers; and, I vow, she looked up at him so 
 willingly that I could bear with it no longer, 
 and flung myself upon my bed, to rage in 
 my heart more bitterly than I had ever 
 done. 
 
 " Lord," said I, " what a folly to think that 
 she who sits at Charles Stuart's feet will re- 
 member the farmer's son ! That was done 
 with long ago, when they took her from "War- 
 boys to her kinsman's great house in London. 
 I am naught but a serving-man in her eyes 
 a booby whom she may laugh at. Did I tell 
 her that there was a day when we two, boy 
 and girl together, pledged our love before 
 Tom Honeydew, the tipsy parson, and were 
 by him made man and wife, she would call a 
 87
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 groom to whip me for the saying. But of that 
 she shall never hear from me. Let her find a 
 lover where she will," said I, " and God judge 
 between us." 
 
 This was my determination, but it went ill 
 with me when I recalled that day upon which 
 I had held her in my arms iir the park at 
 Warboys, and we had kissed and kissed 
 again ; building, in our pretty fancies, a little 
 house for ourselves, and peopling it with the 
 children of our love. There were tears upon 
 my pillow, I believe, when I fell to sleep at 
 last ; and my dreams were troubled, so that I 
 thought to* see men standing by my bedside, 
 and to hear one say to the other, " I could 
 pick him from a hundred." For a truth, so 
 real was it, that I sprang up from my couch, 
 and ran to the door of my chamber, which 
 was now unlocked a very strange thing, 
 since I had barred it with my own hands so 
 soon as I was come into the tower. 
 
 It must have been about the hour before 
 daybreak. The whole castle slept, and there 
 was no longer any light of the moon above 
 the park. I stood upon the cold stones of 
 my chamber, and listened at the stairs' head 
 for any sound that might break my dream;
 
 IN THE DEVIL'S TOWER 
 
 but while at the first I did not hear so much 
 as the creak of a door, by-and-by I made sure 
 that some one moved upon the landing below 
 me. And at this I remembered the wood- 
 lander's warning, and cold sweat burst out 
 upon my limbs. Nay, I feared to sleep any 
 more, lest this should be indeed the danger of 
 which he spake, and I sat long upon my bed, 
 holding my drawn sword in my hand, and 
 swearing that the first man who came in 
 should reckon with me for his venture. But 
 though my ears were never resting, and my 
 eyes kept ever upon the door, I heard no 
 other footfall until the dawn lifted the curtain 
 of night from the forest again, and all the 
 woods were awake to the merry music of the 
 song-bird. 
 
 The dawn came, I say, yet still sleep was 
 not for me. Fearing, I knew not what, I 
 stood at my window while the herald of the 
 morning drove night from the garden below 
 me, and all the blossoms lifted up their heads 
 that they might welcome him. Sweet it was 
 there above that pretty bower, with the per- 
 fume of the gillyflowers strong in the air, 
 and the breeze to blow freshly upon the face, 
 and the silence of the new-born day to rest 
 89
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 the mind; yet I was soon to think of other 
 things, for scarce had the great clock struck 
 five when whom should I see in the gar- 
 den but my lady Marjory and she was 
 alone. 
 
 90
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 I TALK WITH MY LADY IN THE GARDEN 
 
 I SAW my lady, and scarce had I seen her 
 when the impulse took me to dress myself and 
 run down to her. I knew well that we had 
 talked but ill yesterday she being held back 
 by the presence of others; while all that I 
 would have said stuck in my throat when 
 Captain Goulding angered me. 
 
 "But now," cried I, " she shall speak her 
 whole heart ; " and with this thought quicken- 
 ing my feet, I ran down the stone steps and 
 stood, quite of a sudden, in the path before 
 her. 
 
 There be many who say that a woman looks 
 her best when the candles are lit, and she is 
 dressed for mask or play; but this is no 
 opinion of mine. Let me see her, say I, in 
 the first of the morning, when she is rested by 
 her sleep, and the dew sparkles not with the 
 brightness of her eyes, nor the rose-leaves 
 91
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 shame her cheeks in the blush. Long years 
 had come between that yesterday when I was 
 returned to Marjory again and the day she 
 had given me ' ' Good-bye " at War boys ; but 
 I had been too strong in my tempers last 
 night to think of anything but her hard say- 
 ing ; and must wait for this morning hour to 
 see how the years had dealt with her, and 
 how pretty she was now grown. Nay, with 
 her womanhood she had put on the riper 
 beauty, yet thereby she lost nothing of that 
 which pleased most in her girlhood; and 
 when I saw her now in the garden reading 
 from a book I knew not what I vowed that 
 no fairer woman was to be found in all the 
 world. 
 
 I came into the garden, and scarce had shut 
 the gate behind me when she heard my step 
 upon the path, and closed her book quickly. 
 She was near by a bush of white roses then ; 
 and when she saw who it was walking toward 
 her, she began to pick the petals of the 
 flowers, and there was a little flush of the 
 blood to her face. For my part, I thought 
 only of my servant's coat and, Lord! never 
 was man so shamed of his clothes as Hugh 
 Peters in that moment. As I live, they 
 92
 
 I TALK WITH MY LADY 
 
 seemed to put a great gulf 'twixt me and her ; 
 and the ready word stuck to my tongue when 
 I looked, first at them and then at the laces 
 about her throat, and the shining pearls upon 
 her neck. 
 
 "Lord," said I, "that I should have this 
 humiliation upon me ! " 
 
 Speech stuck upon my tongue, I say, and 
 she it was who first spoke, yet not kindly, as 
 I had hoped, but proudly, as a mistress to one 
 who must obey. 
 
 "Well, Master Peters," she said, "and 
 what brings you abroad at this hour ? " 
 
 "My lady," said I, for I dared not yet to 
 call her Marjory, " my lady, is there any need 
 to ask me that? Nay, surely, we have walked 
 at the dawn too often together that we should 
 put the question one to the other why 
 is it?" 
 
 She crushed a rose leaf in her hands, and 
 turned away her head, as though looking to 
 find others in the garden. 
 
 "You are pleased to remind me of your 
 father's charity, Master Peters," she exclaimed 
 presently. " Oh, be assured, I am not like to 
 forget that, as you yourself shall bear witness, 
 since you are here safeguarded in the castle of 
 93
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Windsor, when you might very well have 
 been in the hands of the King's Guards at 
 Epping ' 
 
 " My lady," said I, for I was angered with 
 her, " have shame to say that. You know 
 well that never was I one to speak of that 
 which my father did in friendship. Such 
 kindness as you have shown to me if, in- 
 deed, it were a kindness to bring me to this 
 place at all for that I thank you dutifully. 
 Yet how I am safeguarded here among the 
 King's men, where twenty may remember 
 Hugh Peters, is a thing you have yet to teach 
 me. Nay, it seems to me that had you sought 
 my undoing, you could not have set about it 
 in a prettier way " 
 
 I spoke in much temper, losing myself in 
 the heat of it, at which she drew herself up 
 mighty proud. 
 
 "If that was your thought, Master Peters," 
 said she, " where was your prudence, then> 
 that you are here at all ? " 
 
 " Oh," cried I, my heart beating with long- 
 ing for her, "you can ask that you, the 
 little Marjory that played with me at War- 
 boys." 
 
 Her face flushed quite crimson at the ques- 
 94
 
 I TALK WITH MY LADf 
 
 tion, and she looked all about her to see that 
 none listened. 
 
 " Hush, hush, Hugh," cried she, " this is no 
 time to speak so you know not what it 
 means I command you, talk not to me of 
 that again." 
 
 " Marjory," said I, for the pain it gave was 
 easy to be understood by me, "trouble your- 
 self not at al 1 that I forget how I stand before 
 you, nor think that I do not know very well 
 why you would close my lips. Oh, believe 
 me, if Hugh Peters' memory can minister to 
 your happiness, you shall find it obedient as a 
 child. He remembers nothing ; he bids you 
 act and speak as though Warboys had never 
 been, nor them that lived in it." 
 
 Her confusion at this, it might be her 
 shame, was very plain to see. As for me, I 
 knew then that she loved this man whom the 
 common tongue had named for her husband ; 
 and with my hope all the beauty of the 
 garden seemed to perish before my eyes. I 
 began to say that the sun should not set be- 
 fore I left Windsor, and trusted my poor life 
 again to the God who had brought me through 
 so many perils. And so I would have told 
 her had she not now begun to speak once 
 95
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 more ; and to my surprise, with a little laugh 
 which seemed to be in scorn of me. 
 
 "Oh, Master Peters," she cried, looking 
 away from me the while, " that you should 
 break the morning with your angers. And 
 that I should be held in argument with you 
 here in the garden where twenty eyes may 
 see. Silly lad, to come from your room at all 
 until the King's pardon is gotten by one who 
 will still be your friend remember or forget 
 as it pleases you to do. Go back now, and 
 hide your face until those who have the right 
 shall summon you to show it. You have my 
 word for it that no harm shall come to you 
 here. Though the Constable himself should 
 know where you lie, yet shall he not put hand 
 upon you until the King be come. Think you 
 that we are children, Sir Nathaniel and I? 
 You must think it." 
 
 "Marjory," said I, for her words perplexed 
 me sorely, " I wish to God that we were both 
 children again, with naught before us but our 
 playtime in the park at Warboys." 
 
 Her face was grave at this, and she looked 
 
 up to me with eyes in which I seemed to find 
 
 something of that which I had waited for all 
 
 along. But the look passed away on the in 
 
 96
 
 I TALK WITH MY LADY 
 
 etant, and when she spoke it was not of 
 Warboys. 
 
 "Come," she said, with one of her pretty 
 gestures of impatience which I loved to see, 
 "we do well, indeed, to stand here when all 
 ttoe castle is waking. What, Master Hugh, if 
 one should stop to say : ' That great fellow 
 there with the big hands, and the red hair 
 peeping from his fine periwig, that is Hugh 
 Peters sent from France to make trouble 
 among us.' Nay, look not so angry they 
 are big, methinks and oh, my friend, what a 
 picture has a periwig made of you ! " 
 
 She was laughing openly at me now, and I 
 stood before her, grinding the stones beneath 
 my heeL 
 
 " Laugh if it please you," said I, bitterly, 
 "I am as God made me; and I would the 
 sooner be what I am than all the King's pups 
 come out of Paris. There was a day, mis- 
 tress, when you were well enough pleased that 
 my hands should be big and my arm should be 
 stout a day when few but Hugh Peters 
 would fetch and carry for the daughter of the 
 great earl that was earl no longer. God be 
 praised, I can now make haste to forget that 
 day, as you have forgotten it." 
 7 97
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 1 spoke the words bluntly, for I said that I 
 would spare her no longer. And I have 
 always thought that my life would have been 
 different had it been given to us to talk a 
 little while longer there in the garden of the 
 keep. But that was not to be, for while she 
 had the word of answer upon her lips, Captain 
 Goulding came through the gate; and no 
 sooner did she see him than she drew away 
 from me as though in shame that we had been 
 discovered together. As for Sir Nathaniel, 
 he was under no politeness to conceal his 
 anger, and having looked quickly from one to 
 the other, he began to speak his mind upon it. 
 
 " God in heaven, Master Peters, what folly 
 is this?" he cried, as he stood before us. 
 *' Is your neck then so ready for the noose 
 that you must go seeking the hangman in any 
 place you can find him ? Back to your room, 
 man, or, by the Lord, I will wash my hands 
 of so pestilent a fellow on the instant." 
 
 I was in no mood to wrestle with him ; and 
 without so much as a look at my lady, I went 
 back to my room again. 
 
 93
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A MAN STANDING IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 I HAD been at Windsor five days before I 
 had any feeling of security in my lodging; 
 but when that time was passed, I began to 
 learn how well they had done in choosing a 
 hiding-place for me under the very nose of the 
 King's men. For the matter of that, I saw no 
 face in all the castle that I had ever seen in 
 my life before. The Constable and his fel- 
 lows were too set upon their own idle pleas- 
 ures to ask of every serving-man, " whence 
 come you, and whither do you go ? " Few of 
 them had been at the wars, or, indeed, had 
 ever heard of my name, much less of my 
 eventful life. My new clothes, and the new 
 fashion of wearing my hair so changed me, 
 that my own kinsman might have been sore 
 tried to say if this were Hugh Peters or no. 
 Above all, I learnt very soon how well my 
 lady Marjory and Sir Nathaniel stood with 
 99
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 the King ; and what an overbold man that 
 would have been who set himself to question 
 one enjoying their protection. Sir Nathaniel 
 himself had been given lodgings in the castle 
 as soon as he came over from France; and 
 my lady Marjory had got an apartment there 
 when she was made one of the Duchess's 
 women. As for me, they gave it out that I 
 was brought from Paris to be servant to my 
 lady ; and this was the beginning and the end 
 of the talk about me. 
 
 Five days I had been in the castle, I say, 
 yet I heard or saw nothing of the King, nor 
 of any the jades who followed his steps. As 
 for the Duchess, she was at the castle ; but 
 only waiting word for the Duke's quitting of 
 his ship, when she was to go with her ladies to 
 meet him at Greenwich. I did not fail to 
 reckon with the day when I must be left alone 
 in Windsor with Sir Nathaniel again; and 
 that day I knew would be little to my content. 
 Nay, every finger pointed to my lady and to 
 this man as them who were soon to be hus- 
 band and wife; every tongue spake of their 
 amours. I had never such shame nor bitter- 
 ness in my life as when I went to play my 
 part in little Marjory's rooms ; and must see 
 100
 
 STANDING IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 this fine dog of Paris so carrying himself that 
 all the world might learn what he would do 
 presently. Twice every day I stood in the 
 antechamber, for the play's sake ; and, Lord, 
 what a humility to see them pass me by as 
 though I had been, indeed, a serving- man, 
 and she was never my playmate at "Warboys ! 
 Not once, I vow, in all those hours, save 
 when we talked in the garden, did she so 
 much as seem to remember that I lived not 
 once did she turn her eyes upon me nor speak 
 a word of greeting. "Well enough to say, as 
 this rogue of France said often to me, that it 
 was for my safety's sake. I knew well that 
 no woman would have so treated a man that 
 was in her heart's keeping ; and I lay awake 
 the night long, telling myself that I must love 
 her ever, even though she forgot that Hugh 
 Peters had lived to plague her. And this, I 
 vow, was the darkest hour of my life. 
 
 There had been rain upon my fifth day at 
 Windsor, and after I had taken supper with 
 Captain Goulding, as often I did, for it was 
 his abiding love to talk of Paris with me, and 
 chiefly of pretty Madame Keroualle, whom I 
 had known there as waiting-woman to the 
 Duchess of Orleans, after I had taken sup- 
 101
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 per, I say, I went to my room in the Devil's 
 Tower and got quickly into my bed. I could 
 hear the note of fiddle and hautbois over in my 
 lady's apartment ; and once I caught sight of 
 her speaking to them that sat at a card-table. 
 Her dress was mighty rich that night, I re- 
 member, and her pretty brown hair lay spread 
 saucily upon the whitest neck man ever 
 clapped eyes upon. I thought that she looked 
 nigh as young then as when first I had left 
 her to go to my father at Scheveling ; nay, it 
 seemed to me that she was still a child in the 
 haste and carelessness of her speech, and in 
 love of all those plaguing tricks which ill be- 
 come the mistress. And this brought me to 
 remember that a child won is but a woman to 
 be woo'd. Lord, said I, that I should think 
 the old jest gave me the right to be before 
 others with her ! 
 
 I lay long awake that night, dreaming again, 
 as I had done when first I came to Windsor, 
 that a man watched me while I slept. It was 
 an ill dream, for it woke me from my sleep 
 with such a start that I must sit bolt upright 
 in my bed, and rub my eyes like a lad scared 
 by a bogle. At first I thought that day had 
 oome, so mellow was the light of the moon's 
 102
 
 STANDING IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 beams shining in the tower ; but when my 
 sight was cleared, and I had begun to ask 
 what waked me, I became aware, all on the 
 instant, that a man, ill-dressed, but of great 
 stature, was standing quite close to my bed and 
 watching me. I could see him as plainly as- 
 though the sun had been up and day with us ? 
 and while a great felt hat was drawn over his 
 eyes, it did not hide from me the pointed 
 beard and the long curling hair of a cavalier 
 man; nay, the fellow was laughing as he 
 stood; and though his hand was upon the 
 hilt of his sword and his eyes were never 
 turned away from my face, he wore rather the 
 air of a jester than of one bent upon an ill 
 deed. 
 
 I watched the man, it might be for a 
 minute, and then, with a quickness he had 
 never looked to see, I sprang from my bed 
 and made to reach my sword. It was lying 
 with my clothes upon an old oaken bench, 
 beneath the window of the tower, and I 
 must cross the room to get it, a thing he 
 had waited for, since he, taken on a sudden 
 as he was, could yet make a move to come 
 between me and the window. And this he 
 did, kicking me upon my naked shin with 
 103
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 his heavy boot so that I cried out at the hurt, 
 and fell headlong upon the floor. The next 
 instant, his sword was pricking my breast, 
 and I lay trembling with the sweat of 
 death. 
 
 " Lie still, you devil's cub," he snarled, 
 ' ' for as God lives you are going to sing 
 your psalms in hell." 
 
 He pricked me the more at this, and I 
 could feel the blood trickling down my chest. 
 His sword seemed to be searching for my 
 very heart. 
 
 "Now, Hugh Peters," he went oil pres- 
 ently, yet never once taking the steel from 
 my flesh, ' ' how dost feel now ? Hast said 
 thy prayers ? Ho, ho, that they should bring 
 thee into Windsor, thinking that none would 
 see through thy pretty French wig ! 'T was 
 a good day, for me, by my life, that am but 
 a poor soldier." 
 
 It was horrible to me to hear the man 
 laugh so ; yet as I lay looking up into his 
 face, I could find no hope of mercy there. 
 
 " Oh, my God," cried I aloud, " he means 
 to kill me." 
 
 " True, Hugh Peters," he answered, with 
 another mocking laugh, " when yon ray of 
 104
 
 STANDING IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 the moon's light shall fall upon thy face, 
 I will even stick thee like a pig. Whisper 
 a word of prayer then, and have a care 't is 
 but a whisper. God's mercy! are there not five 
 hundred guineas upon thy head ? Think 
 you that I will call the guard, and share 
 them with another ! Nay, I am no such 
 simpleton." 
 
 Death is very cruel when he holds us long 
 in talk and makes no haste to strike us. As 
 I lay upon that stone floor, I seemed to die 
 ten times; and yet death did not come to 
 me. Though he had bidden me pray to my 
 God, and I would tell myself that this was 
 the moment when I should know the eternal, 
 I could bring no prayer to my lips. Only 
 the thought of the hurt which the steel 
 would give me when presently he plunged 
 it to my heart came to me. Nay, I asked 
 myself, why does he hold his hand? and at 
 this, I scanned his face again, but could read 
 nothing there. 
 
 The ray of the moon was, perhaps, a 
 hand's breadth from my head when he bade 
 me pray. I watched it now, yet had not 
 the wish that it should be held back, but 
 only that it might touch my face swiftly. 
 105
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 And never did moon's light creep on so 
 timidly. 
 
 "Lord," I exclaimed, "let it be swift 
 to come, that I may have no pain of it." 
 And to him I made the same prayer. 
 
 ' ' Do your work now why hold your 
 hand?" I gasped. 
 
 " Nay," said he, watching me curiously, 
 ' ' I have promised thee a minute for prayer, 
 Hugh Peters, and I am a man of my 
 word." 
 
 At this saying he cut me again a little 
 with his sword; but as he slit my flesh, I 
 divined a tremor of the sword in his hand ; 
 and I knew then why he did not strike on 
 the instant. Like many a man put to the 
 trial, he could not bring himself to kill me. 
 His arm, which had been strong in the plan, 
 failed him in the action. He touched my 
 flesh, and was frightened as a woman when 
 the blood ran out upon my naked breast. 
 Had I cried out but once for help, the call 
 would have nerved him to my death. It 
 was evfen possible that when the moon's 
 beam fell upon my face, it would compel 
 him to strike as he had promised. 
 
 There is no pain which man can bear sur- 
 106
 
 STANDING IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 passing the pain from tbe wounds of steeL 
 So sore cut was I now, that I gnashed my 
 teeth to hush the cry upon my lips ; and the 
 nails of my fingers were torn as they sought 
 to clutch the stone of the floor. This he 
 saw, and it seemed to frighten him' the 
 more. 
 
 " Dost fear death, lad? " he asked. " Nay, 
 we all fear it. Yet, surely, will I kill 
 thee, for there are five hundred guineas 
 upon thy head. Oh, that will be wealth 
 to me, Hugh Peters, who am but a poor 
 soldier. Did I spare thee, others would 
 share it, and God knows what I might get. 
 Nay, I must kill thee when the time be 
 come." 
 
 He spoke with so plain a ring of pity in his 
 voice that I was emboldened to plead with 
 him again. 
 
 " Show me mercy for the love of God," 
 cried I, " and you shall not want five hundred 
 guineas. I have friends here, as you must 
 know. Speak to Sir Nathaniel Goulding, and 
 he will deal with you." 
 
 It was an unlucky word, and he answered it 
 quickly. 
 
 "What," he said, "the French spy pay 
 107
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 money to save thy neck! That is & fine 
 thing to hear. Surely, he would give five 
 hundred guineas to know that thou wert 
 dead as thou wilt be now on the instant. 
 God forgive me, there is moon's light upon 
 thy face." 
 
 It was as he said. The beam fell blindingly 
 upon my eyes; nevertheless I saw him draw 
 back a step to strike me, and I put my arm 
 upon my bleeding chest, that the steel should 
 first cut that. Twice he raised his hand; 
 twice he could not bring himself to the blow ; 
 yet at every motion I had the terror of death 
 in my heart, and at last I could bear with n 
 no longer, but screamed aloud in my agony. 
 Never was such a sorry assassin born as this 
 man who had the mind, but not the hand, to 
 kill me. 
 
 " Devil," he cried, " would you bring the 
 guard ! God's life, I will close " 
 
 He had the will now to strike me, I make 
 sure, but the word he went to utter gurgled 
 suddenly upon his lips, and with a horrid 
 sound gulping in his throat, he fell headlong 
 across my knees. 
 
 A man, whose very eyes were muffled up in 
 a black coat, had stabbed him as he stood, 
 108
 
 STANDING IN THE MOONLIGHT 
 
 and so hard was the long dagger driven that 
 it stuck out from his heart even, and cut my 
 knee when he fell upon me. And at that 
 the whole room swam before my eyes, and I 
 fainted. 
 
 109
 
 CHAFIER XII 
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 A GREAT star blazed in the heavens, a star 
 of transcendent lights, floating in a cloud of 
 golden spray. Swift it seemed to go, so that 
 the other stars hid their faces, and all the 
 mighty vault of the night was emblazoned 
 with the fires which the big star shed, I 
 watched it long, lying upon my back, and 
 saying surely that I was in a boat upon the 
 sea ; and that all the waters must be tossing 
 the gold foam from the blazing planet above 
 me. Or, closing my eyes for a little while, I 
 told myself that I had been carried up from 
 the earth to the mysteries of God, and that 
 all the air was full of the jewels which fall 
 from the throne of Him that was, and is, and 
 is to be. 
 
 I saw the star, and then a sleep of weakness 
 held my mind again. When I awoke for the 
 second time, the heavens were still full of the 
 MO
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 dazzling light, and a rain of gold appeared 
 showering at the zenith. But now I knew 
 that my dream of death was a silly one ; and 
 that I, indeed, lived upon the earth, as distant 
 as ever I was from the City of the Eternal. 
 Nay, I would have lifted my hand, but it was 
 bound close to my side ; and when my mind 
 had gone wandering yet a little while longer, 
 it was restored to me all on an instant ; and I 
 could say that I was roped to the back of a 
 horse, and that the horse carried me through a 
 forest. In which way had this ridiculous 
 thought that I was in a boat come to me ? 
 If we be very weak from wounds or sick- 
 ness, we are often content to rest and to ask 
 naught of the place we rest in or of them that 
 have brought us to it. And so was it with 
 me when I awoke upon the horse's back, and 
 lay long looking up at the branches above me, 
 and at the great blazing star shining with 
 such fiery lights upon the slender tracery of 
 the blossoming trees. Though I had burning 
 pain at my chest, and my feet were benumbed 
 with aching cold, I was content for a little 
 while to be rocked by the sway of the saddle, 
 and to remember nothing of the earlier night 
 and of the peril which I had passed. Only 
 111
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 when the horse was put, of a sudden, to the 
 trot, and my wounds seemed about to burst 
 again with the pressure of the ropes, did I re- 
 call the dreadful hour in my bed-chamber at 
 Windsor, and the death of him who had 
 wished to compass my death. Then I must 
 have cried out aloud, for one answered me im- 
 mediately, and presently a man bent over 
 my saddle and looked at me, and I saw the 
 veiled face of him that had struck down the 
 cavalier. 
 
 He was still wrapped all about in his great 
 black coat, but his eyes shone bright between 
 the folds of it, and his voice, while harsh as 
 the croak of a marsh bird, was not lacking 
 kindness. 
 
 " Hush, Master Peters,'* he said in some 
 kindness, " bear with it a little while, and then 
 I will ease thee. 'T is better to laugh at thy 
 cuts than to dance with the hangman. An- 
 other hour and we will do better for thee." 
 
 " Who are you?" cried I, groaning again, 
 for he was whipping my horse now. " Who 
 are you, and whither do you carry me? " 
 
 " Canst ask that," he exclaimed, " after 
 what I did in thy chamber? Nay, hold thy 
 tongue, man. We ride in the forest of Wind- 
 112
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 sor, and the Constable and twenty of his men 
 are at our heels. God send the dawn soon, or 
 we shall never see another." 
 
 With this he fell to lashing his own horse, 
 and he called to another in his company not to 
 spare whip or spur. 
 
 "Dost hear them, Tom Robinson?" he 
 bawled, "dost hear them? A plague upon 
 this swinish thicket ! Lord, that I should lose 
 my way I, that know the forest like my own 
 devil's face." 
 
 There was a moment of silence after this ; 
 but presently the man, whoever he was, 
 answered, as it seemed to me, from some 
 distant place of the copse through which we 
 rode. 
 
 "Ay, Master Israel, I hear them, and, by 
 , they have loosed the hounds." 
 
 My guide swore a great oath when the 
 words were uttered, and pushed still deeper 
 into the brake. I could hear already the deep 
 baying of the hounds in the forest behind us, 
 and so great was my fear that I raised myself 
 a little from my horse, and looked round at 
 him who rode with nie. His cloak had fallen 
 back from his face now, but when he turned 
 to speak, remembrance both of my situation 
 8 113
 
 and of the hounds passed away, and I called 
 out again for very terror. He had the face 
 not of a man, but of a devil, as he said ; and 
 no vulture was ever such an ill thing to look 
 upon as this guide in whose keeping my life 
 lay. 
 
 For a truth, it was a horrid sight to see, 
 and many minutes passed and found me lying 
 quite still upon my horse's back, silent for 
 very fear of the face. . I knew that the man 
 had heard me call out, and I looked for some 
 stern word of answer from him ; but he gave 
 me none, speaking gently, as, indeed, he ever 
 did, and encouraging me rather to think of 
 the peril from which we fled. 
 
 "God's truth, you show little liking for 
 me, Master Peters," cried he; "yet I doubt 
 not you will find me better company than 
 yon hounds. Hark ! dost hear them baying ? 
 They bark for blood ; and blood they will get 
 if my eyes do not lead me to the road again. 
 Lord, that Israel "Wolf should lose his way 
 within a mile of "Windsor town ! " 
 
 It is an odd thing to tell, but the words of 
 this man, whose face I could not bear to look 
 upon, were always words of seeming friend- 
 ship. Weak and sick as I was, I said that I 
 114
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 would sooner stand with him than with the 
 enemies I had left in the castle behind me. 
 Yet what he would do, or how turn the peril, 
 I knew no more than the dead; and I lay 
 back upon my saddle, shutting my eyes that 
 I might not see his face, but content already 
 to believe that he meant well to me. 
 
 We had drawn rein now at the brink of a 
 burn whose waters I could hear tumbling 
 and splashing upon a pebbly bed. There was 
 a beautiful stillness of the night here ; the 
 shadow of the trees so hid us that we looked 
 out, as from a bower of darkness, upon the 
 groves all lit by the full light of the moon 
 at her zenith. The hounds were still baying 
 from the heart of the distant brake ; and 
 anon they drew so close that foxes ran from 
 the copse, and hinds galloped, all mad to- 
 gether, through the tangle of the thicket. I 
 could hear the winding of horns and the loud 
 shouts of men from the more open meadows 
 of the park. The whole forest awoke, as it 
 were, to the note of this emprise, so that we 
 appeared to be surrounded by them that pur- 
 sued us ; and every moment brought their 
 cries more clearly to us, the ring of voices was 
 drawn the closer at every tick of time. 
 115
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I have written that we had drawn rein a 
 moment at the burn ; and though that looked 
 a mad thing to do, I was yet so willing to 
 trust the men who had carried me thither in 
 safety that I made no complaint, but waited 
 for them while they rode, now up, now down 
 the stream, searching upon the opposite bank 
 for some path which, I made sure, was a way 
 to shelter both from the dogs and those that 
 nsed them. Once, indeed, I thought to hear 
 the tread of a man quite close to my horse's 
 quarters, but I dared not call to Master Wolf ; 
 and before there was another sound, he rode 
 up to me again, crying that he had found the 
 path. More he did not say, for the words 
 were still upon his lips when the bushes behind 
 us opened with a great snapping of twigs, and 
 a hound and two men sprang out together. 
 I saw the brute leap up, foam dripping from 
 his jaws, and so quick was he to get at his 
 work that he fell short by a yard of the mark 
 he sprang at, and his teeth shut with a horrid 
 snap upon the throat of Master Wolf's horse. 
 It was pitiful, I vow, to hear the poor beast 
 snorting with his pain, and so put to it, in 
 fear of the hound, that he went rolling back- 
 ward into the burn, and the deep waters of 
 116
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 the stream splashed upon the three of them. 
 As for the men who had followed the dog, 
 they cared nothing for Master Wolf nor his 
 safety; but directly they clapped eyes upon 
 me, bound there upon the horse, they ran 
 forward with a loud halloaing, and called, 
 one to the other, that the quarry surely was 
 taken. 
 
 "It is Hugh Peters, by the Lord," exclaimed 
 the first, while he put his hands roughly upon 
 my throat. "Hugh Peters, and no other. I 
 could pick him from a hundred. What ! you 
 mind my touch, man? Out on you for a 
 pretty spy, with the noose already about your 
 dog's neck ! " 
 
 His hands were busy now with the ropes 
 which bound me ; and while his companion 
 called to him to go gently, as the Constable 
 commanded, he made merry with it ; and soon 
 had dragged me from my horse and set me on 
 my legs, though I reeled like a man drunk 
 with wine, and the wound in my leg burst 
 again so much that the blood ran down into 
 my boot. 
 
 " Now," roared he, thrusting me from the 
 saddle to which I would have clung, " stand 
 up, you nsalm-singing devil do you hear me J 
 117
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 God's truth, you shall dance right merrily 
 presently, when they swing you from yon tree. 
 Have no fear, Master Peters ; I will even read 
 you the burial myself." 
 
 With this he thrust me away from him 
 again, and I thought that I must fall head- 
 long upon the grass of the knoll. All the 
 trees about me were rocking to my sight 
 now ; my head swam with horrid giddiness ; 
 and only hatred of this man, who stood there 
 and pointed the finger at me, kept me upon 
 my legs. 
 
 " God ! " I cried, " if I might hold a sword 
 in my hand before I die." 
 
 " Nay, Hugh Peters," said he, "I will deny 
 you nothing. You have my word for it. 
 No sooner shall you dangle from yonder 
 branch than I will even lend you my own 
 blade. What, to refuse a man with a rope 
 round his neck! That would be t. shabby 
 sin." 
 
 It was all a fine taunt, and he laughed to 
 see me so helpless before him, my eyes 
 misted, and my wound bleeding anew. And 
 this taunt I think it was that saved me then. 
 A great passion and anger against him filled 
 my veins, on a sudden, as with the strength 
 118
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 of two men ; and I struck him with my 
 clenched hand full in the face so heavy a 
 blow that he reeled backward from me with 
 all his senses gone. His companion, who had 
 stood silent while we talked, turned upon me 
 savagely when he saw what was done; but 
 before he could put a hand to my throat, I 
 heard him utter a loud cry and crying still, 
 he sank upon the grass. Master Wolf come, 
 I know not how, from the burn had stabbed 
 him as he stood ; and the dagger was not 
 drawn from the wound before he who held it 
 bade me get again upon my horse. 
 
 " Up, man, up ! " he cried, helping me with 
 both his lusty arms ; "we shall have a whole 
 company out upon us if you show no better 
 haste. Hold to the bridle as best you may. 
 Dost thou hear them shouting? Wolves tear 
 their reedy throats ! Once across the burn 
 we will draw rein to laugh at them. There 
 was never hound yet to pass blood that Israel 
 Wolf knew. And, God's word, you bleed 
 like a torn stag." 
 
 He had forced me into the saddle while 
 
 he was speaking, and, springing up behind 
 
 me, he held me firm with his right arm, 
 
 while with his left he took the rein and put 
 
 119
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 the horse at the water. Already in the brake 
 behind us we heard the tread of men and the 
 music of hounds, deep, sonorous, and threaten- 
 ing. I knew that it was a race for life ; yet 
 so did I abhor the touch of Israel Wolf that, 
 had the strength been mine, I believe I had 
 thrown myself to the ground and there have 
 faced them that tracked me. But the more I 
 sought to free myself from his strong embrace, 
 the closer did he grip me ; and, muttering to 
 himself strange words I could make nothing 
 of, he forced the jaded horse through the 
 burn, and the bushes closed behind us as we 
 passed. We had struck a bridle path that 
 appeared to carry us down to the very pit of 
 the forest. 
 
 For ten minutes, perhaps, Master Wolf 
 kept the horse at the top of his speed. Then 
 he let him go at a walk, seeming to think 
 that we had reason for haste no longer. 
 
 "The plague burn their bodies!" he cried 
 savagely ; "let them follow an it please them. 
 There was never born yet the man who could 
 track Israel Wolf when he had his feet upon 
 the right road. Dost hear them roaring up at 
 the brook yonder? I told you that no hound 
 would pass blood. Nay, bear with my touch 
 120
 
 I SEE THE BLAZING STAR 
 
 a little yet and you shall see me no more. 
 I ask nothing of you, Master Peters. God 
 knows, I bear my own burden and expect 
 nothing of any man." 
 
 There was a world of bitterness in his voice, 
 and yet a great kindness. I could distinguish 
 the distant note of shouting in the wood ; but 
 it was plain that the dogs had not passed the 
 burn, and that I owed my life to this very 
 man whose touch was abhorrent to me, and 
 the sight of whose face made me shudder 
 with loathing. Nay, I tried to thank him, 
 but the speech stuck in my throat; and, 
 weaker still from my wound, I sank back 
 close in his arms, and he held me at last as 
 a woman may hold a child. 
 
 And so the day came cold and chill through 
 the tangle of the forest ; and with the first 
 warming ray of the sun I fell into a deep 
 sleep.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 WILL MONK HAS A WORD WITH ME 
 
 MY sleep was broken by many dreams, but 
 chiefly by dreams of Master Wolf and of great 
 kindness put upon me by him. I thought 
 that I lay in a woodlander's hut, and that my 
 guide was ever at my bedside, dressing my 
 wounds or pressing cooling drink upon me. 
 Or again I rode with him through meadows 
 and woods, he holding me upon a horse as he 
 had done in the night of the peril at "Windsor ; 
 and when that vision passed, I sat in a coach 
 at the dark of the moon, and Master Wolf 
 watched me, being close to me against my will. 
 Nor did I know that all these things were not 
 of my sleep, but, indeed, true happenings, as 
 I was to learn afterwards. 
 
 If these memories be but misted like a 
 sheet of glass upon which a man has breathed, 
 the moment of my ultimate awakening is vei*y 
 plain in my mind. I remember well that 
 there was a ray of the sun's light burning 
 122
 
 MONK HAS A WORD WITH ME 
 
 strong upon my eyes when I opened them, 
 and then, after I had raised myself in my bed, 
 I found myself in a room of some size ; but so 
 poor a place that I had the thought to be in 
 jail. Walls, which dripped with wet, seemed 
 to fill the whole chamber with their choking 
 dampness. The floor was rough and broken ; 
 the carved oaken chimney all tumbling down 
 from the rottenness of the supports ; the glass 
 of the window cracked and half hidden by 
 boards nailed over it. Save one chair of a 
 shabby shape, and the poor thing of a bed 
 upon which I lay, the apartment lacked any 
 sort of ornament ; nor was there so much as 
 a cup of water set by my bed for my comfort. 
 As for my clothes, they were partly laid upon 
 me to give me warmth, but my boots stood 
 out in the centre of the great bare floor, and 
 the blood which had run down from my leg 
 had left a great black stain which was plain 
 to be seen. 
 
 I was mighty weak at my first awakening, 
 and sweat broke freely from my body ; for the 
 day was one of exceeding heat, and the sun 
 burned like fire. Though I had no pain from 
 my wound, I suffered bitterly from thirst, and 
 eo little was this to be borne that I got out of 
 123
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 my bed at last and limped, as well as might 
 be, to the door hoping to make some servant 
 hear me. I found that my room was one of a 
 number opening upon the landing of a square 
 hall of noble size ; a hall which was once, I 
 make sure, very fine to see. But now it was 
 as ill-kept as the room I had left. Oaken 
 boards, often chipped and stained ; panelling 
 which had been pulled from the walls so that, 
 here and there, the bricks thrust themselves 
 upon your view; a few pictures hanging 
 crookedly from a rod beneath the mouldy 
 frieze, all spoke of the past of riches and the 
 present of decay. Even the beautiful window 
 of painted glass, which shed a lustre of pretty 
 lights upon the dingy woodwork, wanted 
 many a figure ere it would tell the legend 
 again. In truth, the sun's rays came flooding 
 through the broken panes of it, drawing a 
 golden circle upon the rotting floor, and 
 searching every nook and cranny in the path 
 of their shining bow. They lit up a scene of 
 loneliness and desolation like to none I have 
 ever beheld. In all that great place, which 
 once, surely, was the house of princes, no 
 sound was to be heard, no human thing to be 
 observed. I opened two of the doors near to 
 124
 
 MONK HAS A WORD WITH ME 
 
 mine upon the landing ; but the rooms which 
 I entered were as bare as dungeons. Vast 
 and once splendid as they must have been, 
 their painted ceilings were now gone to ugly 
 daubs of running colour ; the tapestries hung 
 raggedly upon their walls ; their windows, were 
 broken ; their flooring but so much food for 
 rats. The very air in them was a poisoned 
 odour to the nostrils, and, in my sick state, 
 went near to choking me when I breathed it. 
 Nay, I made haste, as well as I could, to 
 get me out of them; and, fatigued beyond 
 endurance with the paltry effort, I lay again 
 on my own bed, and watched the day waxing 
 to its zenith. 
 
 Many thoughts, you may be sure, came to 
 trouble my mind in that hour of thirst and 
 weakness and desertion. Where was Israel 
 Wolf, I asked again and again ? Odd to tell, 
 I hungered for the company of that man with 
 the devil's face. Never in all my life had I 
 met with one who inspired me with emotions 
 so contrary now of abhorrence of his face, 
 now of trust in his friendship. I saw that if 
 he had brought me to this house of ruin, he 
 had done it for my safety's sake. Full well I 
 knew what a hue and cry would be set up for 
 125
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 me about Windsor now. I remembered the 
 two men that had died and told myself that 
 there, at last, was a long good-day to all the 
 fair lands of my promises. Never again 
 could I hope to see her whom I loved oh, 
 beyond all that was on earth. Henceforth, I 
 must be the quarry of all that knew me and 
 cared for the pastime of the hunt. My lady 
 would marry the man who had professed him- 
 self to be my friend. Lord, cried I, what a 
 proud word of my conceit was that when I 
 called her wife ! And then I fell to thinking 
 of her prettiness in the garden, and of the 
 strange word she spoke there; a word of 
 friendship and yet not of friendship, a memory 
 of the old time at Warboys yet a memory 
 choked before her lips could fashion it. 
 
 This, and much more besides, was the play- 
 thing of my mind during the long afternoon 
 of that burning day. Though I was devoured 
 by thirst so that my tongue cleaved to the 
 roof of my mouth, and I would have cooled 
 it even against the glass of the window, 
 no one answered to my call nor moved in 
 the deserted house. Once, when the sun 
 began to wane, I heard the report of a 
 musket from some place near the window; 
 126
 
 MONK HAS A WORD WITH ME 
 
 and the bells of a neighbouring church struck 
 the hours and the quarters, so that I had the 
 time and could count the weary minutes until 
 night fell. But it was not until six of the 
 clock 'that any one came to me ; and I had 
 fallen again to a broken sleep then. . So 
 strong, nevertheless, was the thirst upon me 
 that at the first sound of a footfall in the 
 chamber I opened my eyes, and saw that 
 a man stood at my bedside. He was very 
 plainly dressed in a suit of brown stuff, with 
 silver buttons upon his coat and black ribbons 
 at his knees ; and his manner was that of 
 a serving-man grown old in the practice 
 of servilities until they had become an abid- 
 ing habit with him. I observed that he 
 had the flat face and the shaven chin which, 
 I know not why, we find often in them that 
 tend horses. His hair was very dark and 
 cut short, but not after the manner in which 
 the Lord's men wear it. There was a smile 
 ever upon his face ; the smile of a man who 
 was born into the world ^aughing at man's 
 follies, and will go out of it still amused by 
 them ; and he never once forgot to laugh 
 when he spoke to me. 
 
 44 Sir," said he, while I continued to search 
 127
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 him with my eyes, "I thought that I heard 
 you call me." 
 
 I answered his question with another. 
 
 " Where is Master Wolf? " I asked. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders, as much as to 
 say that he did not know. 
 
 " I am not his keeper," said he, " and if I 
 were, he should not be at the King's house 
 in the village of Hampstead." 
 
 I thought upon his answer a little while, 
 and then I said, 
 
 " Whose house is this, and why am I 
 here?" 
 
 "Sir," said he, very civilly, "you are in 
 the house of Sir Nathaniel Goulding, and I 
 am here to do your bidding. I trust that 
 you will find me in all things a worthy 
 servant." 
 
 My hope sank very low while I heard this, 
 and I remained silent when the clock might 
 have ticked ten. It seemed to me that I 
 was trapped as surely as a rabbit in a 
 snare. , 
 
 " Well,*' cried I at last, observing that he 
 
 waited for me to speak, " what thanks I owe 
 
 to Captain Goulding shall be paid presently. 
 
 I knew not even that he had a place at 
 
 128
 
 MONK HAS A WORD WITH ME 
 
 Hampstead; much less that it was so fine 
 a place as this." 
 
 The meaning of my word was not to be 
 hidden from him, and he continued to smile 
 neither more nor less than he had done when 
 first I saw him. 
 
 "Oh," said he, "as for the place, it is a 
 poor sort of place enough, Master Peters; 
 that I will not deny. But it is better, I swear, 
 than the jail at Newgate, as you might think 
 if the King's men laid hands upon you. Are 
 you not among friends here ? " 
 
 " Friends ! " cried I. 
 
 " Ay, surely," said he, with a sneer which 
 was not to be overlooked by me, "friends, 
 Master Peters, as I hope you will say pres- 
 ently. For the matter of that, you may 
 command me in anything. I have Sir 
 Nathaniel's orders, and I know how to 
 obey." 
 
 " Well," said I, " if you have any mind 
 to serve me, for God's sake bring me water 
 to drink and a little food." 
 
 " That you shall have this very minute," 
 
 cried he; "my master is sorry enough to 
 
 have no shelter for you but such as you 
 
 may find in this old house. It was once 
 
 9 129
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 a gay place, as you may think, sir; but 
 Sir Nathaniel has been long in France, and 
 wind and weather bide no man's absence. 
 Still, you will make shift with it, I don't 
 doubt, until the road be clear, and a ship 
 found to carry you to France." 
 
 " To France ! " exclaimed I. 
 
 "Ay," said he, "to France or the Low 
 Countries, if you have the mind. England 
 is no place for you now, Master Peters. 
 Why, they tell it everywhere, how you went 
 cloaked into Windsor to lay your hands on 
 the Constable's money, and then stuck Jack 
 Hawkins as though he had been a pig. He 
 would be a bold man who would ask pardon 
 for that night's work." 
 
 He looked at me very closely, thinking, 
 I suppose, that this saying would fire me 
 to some heat of speech ; but I had begun 
 to judge both him and his master now ; and 
 all the devilish net they weaved about me 
 stirred me to new resources. I was ever 
 obstinate under misfortunes : and my mis- 
 fortunes pressed upon me sorely in that 
 hour. But to the serving-man I made no 
 complaint, asking only for water to quench 
 my burning thirst. 
 
 130
 
 MONK HAS A WORD WITH ME 
 
 "How do they call you?" I inquired, as 
 he turned to leave the room. 
 
 "They call me Will Monk," cried he. 
 
 "The Lord find me a sword that I may 
 yet quicken your steps," thought I. And so I 
 lay listening to his tread upon the creaking 
 stair. 
 
 181
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 I SEE LONDON FROM AFAR 
 
 THOUGH "Will Monk had found for my 
 supper no better fare than a cup of water 
 and a little bread and fruit, he promised 
 that [he would do better for me in the morn- 
 ing; and when day came, he kept his word 
 so far as to bring me a draught of milk 
 and a dish of meat but Lord, so poor 
 and ill-cooked that only my hunger drove 
 me to eat of it. Nevertheless, I had some 
 return of strength when it was down ; and 
 while I was exceeding lame and my wound 
 still very sore, I yet had the will to get 
 up from my bed, and walk to the window, 
 that I might look out upon the distant city. 
 As for Monk, he had gone to bed with 
 a laugh upon his cunning face; and with 
 a laugh he stood beside me now k when he 
 pointed out to me all that he wished me 
 to see in the prospect. 
 
 4k Yonder, sir," said he, pointing to a low 
 132
 
 I SEE LONDON FROM AFAR 
 
 cloud of mist upon the farther side of the 
 wood which sheltered a few houses in its 
 heart as I could tell by the loom of the 
 smoke above the trees "yonder, sir, is 
 London city, as I will show you when the 
 wind has lifted the cloud a little. You can 
 see Paul's as plain, as your hand if the 
 day be bright; and we clock by Bow Bells 
 should there be no time in the village." 
 
 The air was very sweet at the open win- 
 dow ; and I soon discovered in what kind of 
 a situation this King's house lay. It was 
 built upon the east side of the hill at Hamp- 
 stead ; and a great green wood girded it about, 
 so that you see nothing of the village in the 
 vale, but only the mighty city which lay in 
 the distant valley as a kernel may lie in a 
 nut. Or, looking out from the back of the 
 house, the spire of Harrow church was plainly 
 to be seen, with the long ridge of heights 
 where Barnet is; and beyond Barnet, the 
 town of St. Albans. Nearer to my view was 
 the squat tower of the church at Hampstead, 
 with a line of houses upon either side very 
 tall and built of brick, but with no prettiness, 
 to my mind. Yet had I good words of praise 
 for the old garden which was a part of Sir 
 133
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Nathaniel's place ; and so sweet with gilly- 
 flowers and wild thyme and bushes of scented 
 roses that the air was ever warmed with its 
 delicious perfumes. A great wall ran round 
 this wooded haven of blossoms; and I was 
 quick to observe that what the French call a 
 chevaux-de-frise was set upon the top of it, 
 while the gate was well spiked with iron, and 
 twice barred against any that would pass out. 
 But whether it was so barred against a possi- 
 ble attack from an enemy or as a measure for 
 my better security was not to be learnt. 
 
 " You show me a fair view, Master Monk," 
 said I, when we had stood at the window a 
 little while, " yet if I were your master I 
 would know better than to let a house like this 
 come to such a state. He has been long in 
 France, you say?" 
 
 " He was many years there, to and fro ; but 
 not in the Lord-General's day," he answered, 
 readily. " Tis time, for a truth, that he 
 looked to his own now as he will do pre- 
 sently, when he has gotten a wife to keep him 
 and the reward of his work. Trust a woman, 
 Master Peters, to hitch the f aiding to the 
 fee." 
 
 He looked full at me when he said this ; 
 134
 
 I SEE LONDON FROM AFAR 
 
 but I was as good in play now as he ; and I 
 made no manner of sign that he angered me. 
 
 " Your master is to marry, then? " I asked, 
 as though I cared nothing for his answer. 
 
 " He is to marry the sister of my Lord of 
 Quinton as soon as he has settled this present 
 business which he has in his keeping. And 
 that is like to be difficult enough, with the 
 sickness strong in the city, and the Court 
 soon to be at Salisbury. They tell me this 
 morning that they have buried twenty-nine 
 of the plague in St. Giles, and the bill grows 
 even to the city's gates. It is no day for a 
 man to go to London who has any place of 
 shelter out of it. Why, they begin to lumber 
 the roads already with their waggons ; and 
 the rich are running by like frightened sheep 
 from a pen. A dreadful day, sir, when those 
 that are well at dawn are in the pit before 
 the sun is sunk. God have mercy on us all, 
 I say." 
 
 Master Ford' had said something to me of 
 the sickness in the city, but not of any over- 
 whelming pestilence such as this; nor could 
 I imagine that things went so ill with us as 
 Will Monk would have it. For the matter 
 of that, the silly laugh ever upon his face, and 
 135
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 his quiet way of speaking, gave no truth to his 
 report, and when we had talked a little while 
 longer upon it though not with seriousness 
 I asked him if I might be helped into the 
 garden there to breathe the air. But this he 
 refused me, and he spoke no more as one who 
 obeys, but as the master. 
 
 " What," said he, " you would walk where 
 the first gossip may cry upon you? For 
 shame, Master Peters. Is that the way you 
 thank those who risk their life in harbouring 
 you? Out on you for a silly fellow! You 
 shall not leave your room while I have the 
 say on it. 'T would be a fine story to carry 
 to Sir Nathaniel that the second day of my 
 charge saw you upon the road to Newgate. 
 Let us speak of it no more." 
 
 It was very fine to make such a pretence of 
 planning my safety ; but I knew, as soon as 
 he had done, that I was a prisoner in the 
 King's house at Hampstead, and when he left 
 me and locked my door behind him to save 
 me, as he declared, from my follies no jail- 
 bird could have been caged more surely. For 
 my part, I would the sooner have been in the 
 gigger at Newgate than where I was wanting 
 friends and even decent food; and I began 
 136
 
 I SEE LONDON FROM AFAR 
 
 to learn how clever were the wits that now 
 opposed themselves to mine. 
 
 "They fear," said I, u to let me fall into 
 the hands of the King's men lest perchance I 
 should Jtell some tale of that which I heard in 
 France. And now they have brought me 
 here for what?" 
 
 Nay, I could give but one answer ; that 
 they had brought me to my death. 
 
 I spent the greater part of that day in my 
 bed very ill and lonesome, as one whom all 
 the world has left. A great gulf seemed to 
 have opened again between me and the living. 
 I heard, ever and anon, the sound of voices in 
 the woods about the house ; the ring of hoofs 
 upon a hard road spoke of men riding in or 
 out of London, to places where they should 
 find good words and company; but for me 
 they had no message. All that was done 
 wit'n where Hugh Peters was concerned. 
 "They will persuade little Marjory it is for 
 my well-being," I said, "and she will believe. 
 Parson Ford will never know that I am not 
 still at Windsor. If it be their intent to make 
 an end of my life, here in this ruin of a house, 
 they can do it without so much as a whisper 
 of talk." Such, indeed, seemed the whole 
 137
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 secret of my journey. Yet I could not forget 
 that if Captain Goulding had desired my life, 
 he might well have left me to the night birds 
 of Epping when he had ridden to carry me 
 out of the forest. The apprehension fitted ill 
 with the fact, and set a new train of doubt 
 busy in my head, so that I feared some greater 
 mystery I knew not what, but one which 
 was enshrouding my life and shutting me from 
 all that I would well have lived for. 
 
 It was sunset when Will Monk returned to 
 me again. I was then famished with hunger, 
 and so gone in thirst that, God knows, I 
 could have lapped water from a gutter very 
 willingly ; but when I began to speak of my 
 condition, he made a shifty way for himself, 
 declaring that he was the one who suffered. 
 
 "Lord!" said he, "that you should com- 
 plain to me, who have spent the. day walking 
 into London for your better comfort. Think 
 you that such things as you need will be 
 dropped down from heaven upon your bed? 
 I tell you, Master Peters, that he will be a 
 lucky man soon who can find bread for his 
 mouth, let alone a dish of meat and a jug of 
 ale. The whole city talks of nothing but the 
 sickness, and will talk of it the more pres- 
 138
 
 I SEE LONDON FROM AFAR 
 
 ently. Men fall dead in the streets, and few 
 stay to ask what shall I eat or what shall 
 I drink. But such things as were to be had, 
 I have bought for you ; and others will come 
 to-morrow to make a change in your room 
 here. Until that be done, try to bear with 
 it, sir, and to remember that it is, after all, 
 a place of friendship." 
 
 This was very fair to hear ; but when, after 
 so much talk, he set upon my table only a 
 small cup of a very poor ale and a piece of 
 coarse bread with a little meat and some 
 mouldy cheese, I hated him the more for the 
 very excuses he made. And it seemed to me 
 that there was no longer any mystery in my 
 condition. 
 
 "As God lives," said I to myself, "their 
 weapon is hunger."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 SIR NATHANIEL MAKES AN OFFER 
 
 FOR the best part of a month, as my reckon- 
 ing goes, I lay a prisoner in the King's house 
 at Hampstead. Twice every day Will Monk 
 came to me with the bread and ale which, he 
 declared, was all that the village could offer 
 him ; but he smiled ever when he brought it ; 
 and he promised always, as I have heard the 
 Spaniards do, that to-morrow he would have 
 it better for me. Yet to-morrow came, and 
 nothing was done ; and each day found me 
 the weaker in my health. Nay, God knows 
 if there be a man that was ever so miser- 
 able as Hugh Peters during those days of his 
 captivity within the sound of Bow bells. 
 
 Often in the morning would I get up from 
 my bed, and wish that the sickness, which 
 was raging now so terribly without, might 
 strike me dead before the night came again. 
 Hunger and wounds had so worked upon me 
 140
 
 NATHANIEL MAKES AN OFFER 
 
 that the tears would start to my eyes when 
 I thought upon all that I had suffered and 
 must suffer in that house of cruelties. Had 
 one then come to speak a kind word to me, I 
 know well that I must have wept outright, like 
 a silly woman with her sentiment. And this, 
 I TOW, is the punishment of captivity, that 
 it eats the manhood from the heart, and strikes 
 
 at that within which is the best of God's 
 
 
 gifts. Night and day, sun or cloud, the heat 
 
 of summer or the cold of winter, the hour of 
 youth and love, the harvest time of age and 
 of the soul's uplifting, what has the captive 
 to do with these ? The very walls build them- 
 selves about his heart; his ears are closed 
 to all words but those of freedom; he will 
 worship only the god of his liberty, but that 
 god must first be found. 
 
 I say that I had come to believe that they 
 wished to starve me in the King's house ; but 
 when the month was past, I knew that such 
 was not their intention ; but only to put upon 
 me what poverty they could, and to bring me 
 to great lowness of will and 'to servility. This 
 I proved for myself upon the very first day of 
 the second month of my imprisonment, when 
 I awoke in the early morning to hear some 
 141
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 clamour in the courtyard below ; and, going 
 to my window, whom should I see in the 
 stable-yard but Captain Goulding and two 
 men with him, all very finely dressed, and 
 their horses white with dust, as though new 
 from some long spell upon the road. Hardly 
 were my eyes fixed upon them, when in came 
 Will Monk, who smiled unctuously while he 
 told me that my breakfast was set in the 
 Mining-room below. 
 
 " Oh," cried I, " this is a change, indeed 
 so I am to be freed, Master Monk?" 
 
 He raised his hands with the air of one 
 very much astonished. 
 
 * ' Are you not among friends ? " exclaimed 
 he. " How can you be otherwise than free? 
 Surely that is a very odd saying, Master 
 Peters." 
 
 "You know well what I mean," answered 
 I; "you should have shame to play at this 
 surprise." 
 
 He shook his head slowly, as though he did 
 not understand. 
 
 "You must speak to my master," said he. 
 " I am the servant, and do as they bid me. 
 You will find Sir Nathaniel below, sir. I am 
 sure that he will hear you readily." 
 142
 
 NATHANIEL MAKES AN OFFER 
 
 Excusing himself so, he lead the way to the 
 great room, whither I followed him with legs 
 that would scarce bend at the stairs. Sir 
 Nathaniel, very prettily dressed in a suit of 
 blue velvet with boots drawn nearly up to his 
 hips, was resting his elbow upon the mantel 
 of the carved chimney; but when he saw 
 me he advanced quickly, putting out both 
 hands to hold mine ; and Lord ! meeting me 
 with such a face that he might have been my 
 own brother come home again from the perils 
 of the seas. 
 
 " Master Hugh," he cried loudly, " God be 
 praised that I see you again even though it 
 be in this cockpit of a house. Nay, my lad, 
 give me no thanks. What I have done has 
 been done as much for love of* you as for her 
 who made me your friend. And she is well, 
 let me tell you, and would be remembered in 
 affection of you. St. Dennis! that I should 
 return to give her such a poor account of 
 your present condition. Hast seen a sur- 
 geon yet ? No ; then you shall see one this 
 very day. Never did I look upon a face so 
 white." 
 
 His tongue ran away with him in this 
 manner for whole minutes together, until he 
 143
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 would have persuaded me that no other in the 
 world meant so well to me as he. 
 
 " Captain Goulding," cried I, " your inten- 
 tion may be what you say ; but I can judge 
 of it only by your acts and the acts of your 
 servants; and I would have you know that 
 what I suffer is neither my misfortune nor 
 my hurts, but the unkindness they have put 
 upon me here in your house. As God is my 
 witness, no prisoner in Newgate was ever 
 treated so ill no, nor to food so poor and 
 a bed so beggarly. Let us speak of this first 
 and of our friendship after." 
 
 He heard me out, feigning to be so aston- 
 ished that he could scarce find words to 
 answer me. 
 
 " How ! " he cried ; " you have been treated 
 as you say? God's word, my lad, somebody 
 shall pay for this ! Where is Will Morgan 
 name of the devil ; the rogue's back shall 
 smart. To serve a guest of mine as though 
 he were a prisoner St. Dennis, I want 
 breath for my anger." 
 
 His flurry was very pretty ; he walking up 
 
 and down the great room with his cloak flying 
 
 and his face in a flush, and the manner of him 
 
 all put about as one in a mighty passion. But 
 
 144
 
 NATHANIEL MAKES AN OFFER 
 
 when "Will Morgan came Lord ! to hear the 
 comedy they played was as good as one of 
 Killigrew's, though God forgive me for speak- 
 ing of such a rogue. 
 
 "Here you, Morgan a plague upon your 
 laughing face listen to what Master Peters 
 has to lay against you. Is it true, man ? Be 
 quick, lest I lay my stick upon your back be- 
 fore your tale is told. That a guest of mine 
 should speak so of my friendship ! " 
 
 Will Morgan looked up at this, and an- 
 swered him very humbly. 
 
 " Sir Nathaniel," said he, " when Master 
 Peters shall be pleased to charge me, then 
 will I answer him." 
 
 " Oh," said I, " what need to charge you 
 when for a month or more I have been fed 
 like a jail-bird, and. have not known an hour 
 in all those days when I might breathe God's 
 air in your garden. You know well that this 
 is the whole truth of it the Lord be my 
 judge." 
 
 " Sir," he answered, looking down upon the 
 floor of the room very meekly, " if I have 
 given you poor food, there have been days 
 when I have fasted that you might not go 
 wanting. And how shall I make bread, or 
 10 145
 
 A PUKITAN'S WIFE 
 
 find it in the village where men fall dead of 
 the sickness every hour, and each thinks of 
 his own need and not of others. As for that 
 which you charge against me, that I kept you 
 to your room, would you have thanked me to 
 let you walk where the first passer-by might 
 have seen you and gone with his gossip to the 
 Spanish inn yonder? Nay, I am only a poor 
 man, and one who tries to obey them that be 
 set above me. And in all I have sought to 
 act as my master would have wished had he, 
 happily, been here to welcome you." 
 
 It was a cunning tale, I swear, and little 
 pleasant for me, seeming, as it did, to give 
 me the wrong of it, and make me out an un- 
 grateful fellow. Sir Nathaniel, moreover, was 
 swift to have the advantage of it. 
 
 " You hear, Master Peters," said he ; " it is 
 as I thought. Yon good fellow has gone fast- 
 ing that you might eat, and now you turn 
 upon him. He speaks well when he tells of 
 men falling dead from the plague, like dried 
 leaves from a tree. The whole city is full of 
 the story. It is nothing but death, turn 
 where you will. Every second man asks him- 
 self if he have the spots upon him. What 
 can we do for you in times like these ? Dame, 
 146
 
 NATHANIEL MAKES AN OFFER 
 
 it is a day to thank God for life and to think 
 nothing of our bellies." 
 
 Though I knew that I had the right of it, 
 I could make no answer to such a plain tale ; 
 and when he had offered many apologies for 
 the state of his house called the King's 
 house, as he showed me, because the Spanish 
 King Philip had passed one night there we 
 sat down to a good enough breakfast. This 
 dining-room was not gone to seed like many 
 of the other rooms in the house, but had 
 oaken furniture, prettily carved, while the 
 floor of it was matted, and many big pictures 
 hung upon its walls. I found the captain 
 mighty pleasant over a cup of canary wine, 
 which warmed my body like a cordial water, 
 and when I had sat with him long, listening to 
 his good sayings and his jests, I was almost 
 of the mind to think that I judged him ill 
 when I doubted of his honour, and that, after 
 all, he might prove my friend. And it was 
 then that he broached his plan to me. 
 
 " Master Peters," he cried of a sudden, as 
 though it were a notion just come to him, 
 " have you any fancy to go to France 
 again ? " 
 
 "Sir," said I quickly, for I divined his pur- 
 147
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 pose instantly, " you do not blame me because 
 I love my own country? " 
 
 " Not at all, not at all," he exclaimed with 
 a friendly touch of his hand upon my shoulder, 
 " the misfortune is that your country loves 
 you so little. Nay, if she could but discover 
 you, there would be a hanging upon the day. 
 It is not to be hidden from you, friend, that 
 they make more talk about this prying rogue 
 which honest Israel Wolf greeted at Windsor 
 than a company of guardsmen slain in a 
 brawl." 
 
 "Israel Wolf is known to you, then?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " Sang bleu I known to me? He is my alter 
 ego, my servant of servants. And he should 
 be very well known to you also, since he, and 
 he alone, brought you out of Windsor at my 
 bidding. That, however, is neither here nor 
 there. The question you have to ask your- 
 self is, whether you would the sooner play the 
 gentleman in France with guineas in you** 
 pocket, or remain here in England where the 
 first greedy rogue who learns of your resting- 
 place may sell you to the Constable. I will 
 not disguise it from you that there was a time 
 when I, and those who have your interests at 
 148
 
 NATHANIEL MAKES AN OFFER 
 
 heart, looked to get the King's pardon for 
 you. That hope has passed now when this 
 new charge is on every tongue, and a thou- 
 sand guineas are offered for you, dead or 
 alive " 
 
 " They offer that ! " cried I. " Then God 
 help me." 
 
 "Ay," said he, "it is a thing which might 
 bring a stronger man than you to his knees. 
 Happily, Master Peters, your friends are likely 
 to have more last in them than your tempers. 
 They come to you now with this fair word, 
 that you shall be carried out of England to 
 Madame de Pontac's house in Paris, where a 
 home and a hundred guineas for your pocket 
 await you. There is a condition, of course " 
 
 " Which is ? " I asked. 
 
 " That you pledge your honour not to set 
 foot out of France until I give you leave." 
 
 He leant across the table when he made his 
 offer, and betrayed a little, I thought, of his 
 earnest wish that I should make the bond good 
 upon the spot. On my part a great suspicion 
 of him came rushing upon my mind to delay 
 the word. One saying, and one alone, guided 
 me: "They would put the sea between me 
 and my little wife," I thought. And this it 
 149
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 was which drove the answer at last from my 
 lips. 
 
 " Captain Goulding," said I, " for the offer 
 of your help, I thank you, but I will stay in 
 England, though my life be the forfeit." 
 
 I said the thing hotly and with a burning 
 face, and for a moment we two looked, the 
 one at the other, as though to read the mind 
 to the end. Then he rose from his chair, and 
 with no sign given of anger or of regret, he 
 took his farewell. 
 
 "Master Peters," said he, laughing pleas- 
 antly, " you will be of another mood presently. 
 I will return when ten days are gone, to have 
 your answer. The offer is new to you, and 
 you need to weigh it well. In the meantime, 
 count me your friend." 
 
 He held out his hand, and I took it, though, 
 God knows, in my heart I could have wished 
 nothing so much as to see him fall dead at 
 my feet. 
 
 150
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 MY LADY MARJORY COMES TO HAMPSTEAD 
 
 OP the ten days which Captain Goulding 
 had given me in which to consider his propo- 
 sition, nine were passed before anything hap- 
 pened in the King's house new enough to 
 remain in my memory. I had thought to be 
 a prisoner no more after that which passed 
 between us at the breakfast table. But what 
 a game of trickery and cunning they played 
 upon me then ! No sooner was I awake next 
 day than I found the door of my room to be 
 locked as before ; and when Will Monk came to 
 me, he had the same shabby dole of bread and 
 bacon for my breakfast, and the same excuse 
 upon his lying lips. Nor did I argue with 
 him at all, for my affair appeared to be at its 
 head now ; and I could well suffer for ten 
 days that which I had suffered for a month 
 and more already. 
 
 151
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Nine days came and went, I say, and found 
 me ever busy with the offer which had been 
 made to me. Often I would lie the whole 
 night through, listening to the strange cries 
 and groans which came up from the wood 
 about the house for many lay dying in the 
 fields now with the dreadful sickness I had 
 been told of and I would ask myself what 
 kept me in England when I might be a free 
 man in Paris and jingle guineas in my pocket 
 with the best of them ? I knew well that she 
 whom I had, in folly, called my wife, cared 
 no longer what course I took. I said that all 
 she had done had been done because my father 
 gave her shelter in the old time. It was flung 
 to me as one would fling bread to a-beggar. 
 Did I go to France at the bidding of her 
 friend, she would boast to all the world, "I 
 saved his life," and that she would account 
 payment. Or, if I braved Captain Goulding's 
 threats, she would cry, " He gave himself up 
 for the folly's sake." But being rid of me, 
 she would marry to her greater content, and, 
 it might be, would lay in his arms before the 
 ship had carried me to France. 
 
 The perplexity which raged in my mind 
 when I set these alternatives clear before me 
 152
 
 MARJORY COMES TO HAMPSTEAD 
 
 is one which no pen may tell. Often my 
 prayers turned to oaths upon ray lips when I 
 flung myself against the door of my prison ; 
 or remembered what little strength I had, 
 either of mind or body, to pit against my 
 enemies. One day, indeed, I stood at my 
 window, and, looking down fifty feet to the 
 court below, a voice cried in my ear, " Throw 
 thyself and make an end." And I believe 
 that I had done so but for a sudden vision of 
 her I loved, standing between me and the hell 
 which opened at my feet. 
 
 This was upon the morning of the tenth 
 day, a day when, looking out of my window 
 towards the hill where is Finchley Common, 
 I saw a great number of tents, and of people 
 camping by the roadside all, I did not doubt, 
 fled out of the city for fear of the sickness. 
 It was very early in the morning then, but 
 the bells of Hampstead church had not struck 
 six of the clock before Will Monk came in to 
 tell me that breakfast would be set in the 
 great dining-room, and that his master was 
 to ride over from Whitehall at the top of the 
 morning. 
 
 "He goes to Salisbury to-day," said he, 
 ** and would settle your affair before he leaves. 
 1*3
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 It 's no business of mine, Master Peters, but I 
 am friend enough to you to be glad that all 
 this is coming to an end. I am sure you do 
 very well to go to Paris, as my lady will tell 
 you presently." 
 
 " How," cried I, " others come in with }'our 
 master?" 
 
 " Ay, surely," said he, " my lady Marjory 
 rides with him on her way toward the town of 
 Hatfield. You have heard nothing, sir " 
 
 I turned swiftly round upon my heels, and 
 looked ven" hard at him. He was holding a 
 silver cup in his hand then, and his eyes were 
 fixed upon it cunningh T , but this did not hide 
 the pleasure that he had in provoking me. 
 
 " You know that I have heard nothing," 
 answered I. 
 
 " Not that m}* lady is to be married from 
 her brother's house at Potter's Bar ? it 's the 
 talk of all the town a week or. more. Surely 
 my master spoke of that, sir." 
 
 I drummed upon the window with my 
 fingers, and then stood a while to breathe the 
 sweetness of the morning air. Though the 
 sun shone already with the heat of a mid- 
 summer day, it seemed to me that a shadow 
 lay upon the beauty of the garden. 
 154
 
 MARJORY COMES TO HAMPSTEAD 
 
 " At what time does your mistress come? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " I look for her within the hour," he re- 
 plied ; "it might even be that you would care 
 to wait for her in the garden, sir. Yon village 
 is too busy with its dead nowadays to think of 
 men that have a price upon their heads " 
 
 ' ' Oh," said I, " this is news indeed. Strange 
 that you should remember it for the first time 
 now." 
 
 " Well," cried he, mighty impudently, "I 
 was never a man to be first in things ; and if 
 you will lead now, I will even make haste to 
 follow you." 
 
 With this he held the door open for me, 
 and I went with a strangely light step down 
 the broad oaken stairs, and so through the 
 hall which the sunlight lit up as with the 
 smiles of forgotten friends into the garden 
 beyond. And Lord, what an exquisite delight 
 to stand there where a fountain splashed, and 
 the white water-lilies lifted their heads, and 
 the pink blossom hid the trees, and the very 
 air was the breath of the spirit of roses. Nay, 
 it was a garden of delights, and though a 
 great wall girded it about and seemed to tell 
 me again that here was the place of my 
 155
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 captivity, there were long minutes when I 
 stood to breathe the morning air, and, thank- 
 ing God because I lived, forgot all else in this 
 joy of flowers and sweet grasses and the music 
 of the trees. And I was still so standing 
 when I heard voices from the open door 
 behind me, and, turning round, beheld my 
 Lady Marjory and Sir Nathaniel at her side. 
 She was prettily gowned in a riding dress of 
 green velvet, and she had one hand holding 
 the skirt of it while the other was busy with 
 her whip; she beating her foot impatiently 
 when she hesitated a moment at the open 
 window of the dining-room. She was paler 
 than when I had seen her last; and black 
 rings beneath her eyes spoke of trouble of the 
 mind, if not of the body but the sun, striking 
 upon her pretty hair, seemed to cap her little 
 head with golden curls; and I thought that 
 her very beauty was a thing which might 
 compel the strongest man to some awe of her. 
 Nor could I bring myself to believe that this 
 was the little Marjory I had played with at 
 Warboys so much she seemed above my 
 state, and so cold was the stately air she ever 
 wore. Indeed, I remained stuck to the ground 
 like a silly fellow who could make no compli- 
 156
 
 MARJORY COMES TO HAMPSTEAD 
 
 ment and even when she spoke to me, call- 
 ing me " Hugh" to my great content still 
 there was that in her voice which forbade me 
 to answer her with any familiarity or to forget 
 who I was and what my condition had come 
 to. Yet, Lord! thought I, did I but cry it 
 out here in this garden that she was my wife 
 who should gainsay me ? I knew that 
 none could, and my great secret lay rustling 
 close to my heart as a dove may flutter in 
 the arms of a woman who holds it lovingly. 
 
 " Well, Hugh," she said, resting still by 
 the window, " do you not give me good- morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 "My lady," said I, coming forward now 
 with a quick step, " that would be the easier 
 did your face speak of better health. Never 
 saw I one so changed since we last met." 
 
 She laughed at this, and turned to Sir 
 Nathaniel with a gesture of her hand a 
 gesture which, had she made it for me, would 
 have been the prettiest that ever was. 
 
 "You hear, Sir Nathaniel, what tricks a 
 month in the matted gallery has played with 
 me. Master Hugh says that I am changed 
 ay, surely, I must be for him to speak of it" 
 
 "Dame," said he, "you are as much 
 157
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 changed as a flower that has been abroad a 
 week with the tapers. You cannot stand 
 friends to the night and look for the morn- 
 ing's favour, my lady. And, if I may say it, 
 there was never one that loved the night as 
 you." 
 
 Her ej'es met mine and she flushed a little ; 
 showing some temper that he reminded her of 
 her follies. 
 
 "Oh," she cried, "the child that was bred 
 in the dark may well clap its hands wken it 
 see a little light " 
 
 " If thereby its fingers be not burned," said 
 I, with some heat. 
 
 " True, Master Peters," answered the cap- 
 tain, "you speak wise words though fchey 
 would be better from a pulpit than in this 
 sunny garden. I trust that they have done 
 well with you since I was here ? " 
 
 " Sir," said I, " they have given me bread 
 for my food and a bed for my body if that 
 be well, then it is for you to praise them. I 
 have now been a prisoner five weeks in your 
 house " 
 
 " A prisoner! " exclaimed my lady, casting 
 a quick glance at the other. 
 
 " Exactly." answered Sir Nathaniel, with a 
 158
 
 MARJORY COMES TO HAMPSTEAD 
 
 sneer, " that is Master Hugh's opinion on it. 
 My man watches night and day to save him 
 from his follies, and he shows his gratitude by 
 prating ever of his prison. Do you open your 
 ears wide enough, he will rack your nerves 
 with a finer tale of woe than old John Foxe 
 put into his Acts and Monuments." 
 
 Marjory shook her head, her pale face more 
 troubled than when she was come first into the 
 garden. 
 
 "Oh, Hugh, Hugh," cried she, "when will 
 you have done with your obstinacy and your 
 ingratitude ? " 
 
 " My lady," said I, "they will last longer 
 than the friendship which seme seek to put 
 upon me." 
 
 It would have grown to a quarrel there upon 
 the spot, I swear, but for the sudden coming 
 of Will Morgan, who told us that the break- 
 fast was set in the dining-room ; and all going 
 in, we found a table bright with many flowers 
 and much plate come I know not whence. 
 Nor was there any talk of bread and simple 
 meats when Captain Goulding ate at Hamp- 
 stead. The King himself might have been 
 content with the great pasties and the French 
 clarets and the rare old sack they now offered 
 ' 159
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 os ; while for serving-men we had six of the 
 captain's attendants; all in fine liveries of 
 brown and gold; and so grown in conceit 
 that, Lord, they might have been the gentle- 
 men and we the grooms. Nor could I hide 
 it from myself that all this was done for little 
 Marjory's sake ; that she might know what 
 sort of a man was to be husband to her. 
 Scarce a minute passed but Sir Nathaniel 
 amused her with some jest or quip which 
 would never have come into my head had I 
 thought upon it the year long. And there I 
 must sit like a dumb booby, while they spoke 
 of this jade and of that ; of the things which 
 the King had said ay, silly enough for the 
 most part and Lord ! of adventures which 
 should have put any honest woman to the 
 blush. But, I said ever, that had I sword in 
 my hand I would make as pretty a show as 
 my lady's man ; and it was good to tell my- 
 self that at the leaping or the riding or the 
 chase I was a better man than this pip of 
 Paris, who should by right have been gowned 
 in a fardingale, with his hair in a comb. 
 
 Through all this talk nothing had been said 
 of the bond which the captain had required of 
 me when last he was at the King's house. I 
 160
 
 MARJORY COMES TO HAMPSTEAD 
 
 begun to think that all recollection of it had 
 escaped him ; but when we were again in the 
 shade of the garden after our breakfast, he, of 
 a sudden, turned to me and said : 
 
 *' Well, Master Hugh, so we go to Paris to- 
 gether at the fall of the month? " 
 
 "Sir," said I, taken all aback, "I have 
 given no word " 
 
 ''Exactly, and the better reason to give it 
 now. I must be a week there before July is 
 done, and will be, very willingly, yoar com- 
 panion in the journey. You have convinced 
 yourself by this time, I am sure, that your 
 own country is no longer a home for you. 
 But in Paris you will be a free man, with 
 guineas in your pocket and, who knows, a 
 pretty French maid to nurse you to your old 
 health. Ventrebleu, lad, if I had your years, 
 I would know well what to do with them. 
 And your choice is between this journey and 
 the scaffold, let me tell you. Oh, I have no 
 doubt of your answer." 
 
 He spoke as one who can command and 
 persuade in the same voice, and I, stammering 
 like a silly boy, seemed to give him my con- 
 sent. Yet, God knows, my brain was all 
 giddy with the things I would have said., 
 11 161
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE. 
 
 and could not so strong did he compel 
 me. As for my lady, when I raised my eyes 
 to hers, I saw that her face was flushed 
 scarlet, while her lips were close shut together, 
 as the lips of one who has the impulse but 
 not the wish to speak. 
 
 " Sir Nathaniel," cried I at last, "if it be 
 my lady Marjory's wish that I go to Paris, 
 then you shall find me a willing companion." 
 
 "You hear that," said he, turning his 
 searching eyes full upon her; "you hear 
 that, my lady if it be your wish, he is my 
 willing companion. What say you then? " 
 
 I could see her breast rise and fall with 
 the effort she had to speak. Then, looking 
 away from us both, she answered 
 
 " It is my wish." 
 
 Before the next hour was struck upon the 
 bell at Hampstead I heard them ride together 
 from the house. But, God, I lay upon my 
 bed with my tears choking me, and all the 
 sunshine could not lift fche darkness from 
 my eyes. 
 
 162
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 I SEE ISRAEL WOLF AGAIN 
 
 FOB more than a week after my lady rod* 
 away from the King's house I lived like a 
 man im a dream. Do what I would, my mind 
 had no activity. A strange lethargy pos- 
 sessed my body, so that I lay whole days 
 upon my bed, caring not that the sun shone 
 or that summer was now with us. Nor 
 did I heed Will Monk when he told me 
 that I might go into the garden if I pleased. 
 The house was my prison no longer ye? 
 had I no liberty, no, nor will to wish it. 
 Only a great longing, a longing for my 
 little wife, which ate up my very heart, con- 
 sumed me. I went near to a fever of the 
 brain, and hours passed with all my limbs 
 burning and only a sweet cold upon my 
 lips, because I thought, in my dream, that 
 she whom I loved bent to kiss me while I 
 slept. 
 
 163
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 This fever had passed somewhat at the 
 eighth day, and when the evening was come, 
 I made bold to go out to the garden and 
 sit awhile in the shade of a cypress tree 
 which grew very fine there. No one moved 
 in the house when I let myself out, nor 
 was there any sound save that which came 
 from the woods, where all the dying sent 
 up their horrid cries, and the living prayed 
 for the forgiveness of their sins. I found 
 the air of the night very sweet to breathe, 
 and stayed long listening to the splash 
 of the brook which was at the garden's 
 end. In truth, it fell full dark, and I be- 
 lieve I had sat there half the night but 
 for a step upon the path near to me ; and 
 a knowledge, very sudden, that a stranger 
 came toward the house. This waked me 
 well enough; and I waited, with my heart 
 in my mouth, to learn who came to the 
 King's house at such an hour. Nor was 
 it until the man walked almost to the foun- 
 tain's edge that I knew him, and with a glad 
 word of welcome put out both my hands 
 to touch his. 
 
 "Israel Wolf," cried I; "oh, God be 
 praised for this hour ! It is, indeed, thou." 
 164
 
 I SEE ISRAEL WOLF AGAIN 
 
 For a spell he stood quite silent, his eyes 
 shining bright above the black cloak with 
 which his face was veiled. But when he 
 had looked at me long, he of a sudden set 
 down the unlighted lantern upon the grass 
 at his side and gripped my hands as I had 
 wished him to do. 
 
 " Master Hugh," he said in a low voice, 
 " there was never one so spoke to me since 
 my mother died. God, that I, who am 
 hated of men, should find a friend in thee." 
 
 " Oh," exclaimed I, " thou art, indeed, a 
 friend, and so I will account thee always. 
 Do not I owe my life to thee? It was well 
 when thou wast with me; but now I am 
 alone, and, God knows, there is none that 
 cares. They have done ill to me in this 
 house, Master Wolf, and I am sunk ver^ 
 low." 
 
 " Nay, Master," said he, drawing me out 
 of the shade so that the moon fell full upon 
 my face, " there is no need of words to 
 tell me that. But I am come with better 
 news for thee; and since thy jailor is like 
 to be returned while we are yet warm in 
 the talk, I will even make haste to do the 
 bidding. Let us go up to the house, that 
 165
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 them mayst read what is written. It is a 
 letter from Master Ford which I carry." 
 
 "From Master Ford," cried I, going hot 
 and cold with the joy of it. 
 
 "From no other," he replied, beginning to 
 walk toward the house ; "he heard bat yester- 
 day that thou wert here, and he has a strange 
 tale upon his lips you shall answer it 
 presently, ay or no. He is much concerned 
 about thee. His own people die like leaves 
 in autumn, or he would have been at thy 
 side to-day." 
 
 "Well," said I, "he might have knocked 
 long upon this door without one answering 
 him. Yet, since you are here, there must 
 be another way. How came you in, Master 
 Wolf?" 
 
 He laughed his deep, short laugh. 
 
 " It would be a strong house that, would 
 keep out Israel Wolf had he the mind to 
 enter," he answered, and so saying we passed 
 to the hall; and he lit his lantern, that I 
 might read the parson's letter, 
 
 There are moments in all our lives which 
 
 remain vivid memories to us, even when 
 
 the years have passed. Such a moment was 
 
 the one when, taking the paper in my hand, 
 
 166
 
 I SEE ISRAEL WOLF AGAIK 
 
 I beheld again that strange writing which 
 I had seen, and feared, so often in my 
 childhood. But now I feared it no longer; 
 every word was a precious message to me 
 the message of the living friend to one that 
 is shut out from the world ; a message of 
 hope new come and of friendship restored- 
 And my hope was very high when Haste:' 
 Wolf, holding the lantern, and the mists 
 clearing presently from my eyes, I read the 
 letter. 
 
 Its first lines spoke of the parson's love for 
 me, and asked me of my condition at the 
 King's house ; he giving me great news of the 
 plague in the city and of his own sorrows at 
 the sufferings of his people. From that he 
 passed to gossip of my lady, but quite sud- 
 denly he broke off his thread to write a thing 
 which set my heart dancing and seemed like 
 a word whispered by an angel in my ear. 
 
 "And this reminds me, Hugh," he wrote, 
 after a great dash to cut the gossip short,. 
 " there was one visited me yesterday whom 
 you knew well at Warboys Tom Honeydew ; 
 him they called the ' tipsy parson.' He tells 
 me a strange tale of my lady and of thee ; a 
 tale of the years when she was thy father^ 
 167
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 guest. I will not plague thee with the whole, 
 but the end of it is this, that one day, when 
 he passed through the park and found thee 
 playing lover to the child, he married thee to 
 her for the jest's sake. He was ever a prating 
 fellow; and this, I doubt not, is one of his 
 tipsy humours. I conjure thee, tell the 
 bearer if it be so or no for were it as he has 
 told us, then, surely, she is thy wife, though 
 the King himself deny thee. But, Hugh, it 
 cannot be, for, as God lives, if thou wert her 
 husband yet let me hold my pen from such 
 follies.' The jest is that I should mention so 
 silly a thing in my letter to thee." 
 
 I put down the writing, but my head was so 
 light with joy that I fell to laughing very 
 drolly ; nor, upon my We, could I say a word 
 to Master Wolf, but must titter away like a 
 girl grown hysterical. He, however was 
 quick to bring me to reason. 
 
 44 Well," said he, watching me closely, 
 " do I carry 4 ay ' or * no ' to Parson Ford ? " 
 
 " Oh, Master Israel," cried I, breaking 
 down upon it altogether, " you shall carry 
 4 ay ' a hundred times, ' ay,' ' ay.' She is 
 my wife, God knows ; she is my wife, though 
 all the world deny me." 
 168
 
 I SEE ISRAEL WOLF AGAIN 
 
 I sank down upon the oaken seat now, and, 
 fending the letter as if it had been a treasure 
 of gold, I buried my face in my hands, and the 
 tears of weakness and of gladness trickled 
 upon my fingers. Long had my secret lain 
 like a heavy burden upon my mind. But now 
 the burden was lifted suddenly from me, and 
 the joy was a joy hardly to be borne. Nor 
 was there ever one so gentle to another in 
 trouble as Israel Wolf to me in that hour. 
 
 4i Master Hugh," said he, laying his hand 
 apon my arm to comfort me, "if it be indeed 
 as thou sayest, then is this a great day for 
 thee. God witness that midnight shall not be 
 struck twice and find us in the King's house. 
 My time is spent now, and to delay here 
 .onger would be to imp :ril thee , but to-morrow 
 at this hour you shall hear me in the garden ; 
 and if I am the bearer of ill news then, why 
 eay that another and not old Israel comes to 
 thee ! Meanwhile, should Will Monk trouble 
 thee, here is that which may hold him to 
 obedience. He means ill to thee, and there 
 is that abroad which may make this the night 
 of thy greatest danger. I say no more 
 watch him well, and do not forget that a man 
 heavy in sleep is death's neighbour. Count 
 169
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 me friend always, for the words which thou 
 hast spoken to him with the devil's face." 
 
 He drew his cloak the closer about his 
 bright eyes, and snatching up the lantern, he 
 passed into the dark of the garden. Long I 
 listened to the fall of his foot upon the gravel 
 walk; and only when a great stillness fell 
 upon the house did a moonbeam show me 
 what it was he had left behind him upon the 
 table. 
 
 But when the ray fell there, I saw a dagger, 
 such as the French use, and all the hilt of it 
 was sparkling with shining gems. 
 
 170
 
 CHAFFER XVHJ 
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 THE church bell at Hampstead made it ten 
 tit the clock before I moved from my seat in 
 the hall of the King's house. It seemed odd 
 beyond compare to me that one hour should 
 bring such great tidings ; should, as it were, 
 strip the cloak of my foreboding from me 
 and leave me my own self, the Hugh Peters 
 that was ever up in the charge at Worcester, 
 and reckoned the best man among them when 
 Charles Stuart was to be taken. Yet this 
 was the wonder which old Israel worked. 
 His very word of greeting seemed like a 
 trumpet-blast in my eyes. I asked myself 
 what sort of a ninnyhammer I had become 
 that I should vex and fret for the want of 
 a little meat, or bend my pride readily to 
 the burden of Master Monk's impertinenee. 
 Three years had peril been my portion, awake 
 or asleep, peril of the sea, peril of the 
 King's men and them that hunted me yet 
 171
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 never once had tears* come to my eyes nor 
 my heart grown heavy as it did often in this 
 French rogue's house. But that woman's day 
 was gone now. Dagger in my hand, I swore 
 that I was as proper a man as any in Hamp- 
 stead. And had not old Israel brought me 
 the letter which spoke of better days for me ? 
 aye, and of something which brought blood 
 to my head when I did but think of it a 
 moment, as a lover may turn shyly to look at 
 a mistress before his head is bowed again. 
 
 I say that I was ;h -nged as never man was, 
 and this is a word I will hasten to make good. 
 For the silence and the darkness of the King's 
 house I cared nothing now. " Let Master 
 Monk come as soon as it may please him," 
 said I, " and we will see what sort of a match 
 we make." Never was there an apothecary's 
 draught which ministered to a si man like 
 those words which Israel Wolf had spoken to 
 me. I began to hunger for the air of free- 
 dom; but it was the hunger of hope about 
 to be fulfilled. "To-morrow," cried , to- 
 morrow we shall ride, I know not whither, 
 I know not how, but spurs will jingle upon 
 my heels again ; the King's high-road will be 
 open to me ; it may even be that we shall 
 172
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 t^^, 
 
 turn our faces to the north as my lady has 
 done." The expectation made me like a man 
 giddy with wine. I heard the church bells 
 strike, and their echo had not died away be- 
 fore I thrust the dagger under my vest and 
 began to pace the hall again. "To-morrow," 
 I said, ever repeating the word as a delicious 
 thing to be kept long upon the tongue, 
 " to-morrow, I shall see the man with the 
 devil's face again." And so mighty pleased 
 was I that I must have spoken my thoughts 
 aloud, for some one of a sudden answered 
 me from the darkness of the hall ; and when 
 I turned quickly, there was Master Monk, 
 come like a shadow to watch me in my 
 pleasure. 
 
 "Well, Hugh Peters," cried he, very tipsily, 
 for he had been drinking at the Spanish inn, 
 "and what of to-morrow?" 
 
 "Oh," said I, with poor cunning, "to- 
 morrow, perchance, we will sum our scores, 
 Master Monk, and see what charge I have 
 against you. 'T would be odd if I could 
 demand no reckoning for that which you 
 have done to me in this house you and 
 the man out of France who pays your dirty 
 
 173
 
 A PURITsAN'S WIFE 
 
 He was all taken aback at this, you may be 
 ure; and for a long while he said nothing, 
 only fumbling with his hands to strike a 
 spark for his lantern, which he did very ill 
 and clumsily. When at last he had the light, 
 I beheld his face, and for the first time that I 
 knew of he had forgot his jade's titter. 
 
 " Look you," said he, being hard put to it 
 when he would have walked across the hall, 
 . "look you, Master Psalm-Singer, what if I 
 were no longer the servant of him you name ? 
 How say you then? Do you reckon the 
 lighter with me? God's truth, I am an hon- 
 est man. Who gainsays that must answer 
 Will Monk. To the devil with your Nathaniel 
 Goulding ! is my word ; and here 's my hand 
 upon it." 
 
 I was mightily astonished to hear him 
 speak so ; and, as I live, the saying was not 
 to be understood by me. Nor was he in any 
 state to let me know his meaning, for the ale 
 had knotted his tongue ; and he stood there, 
 very foolishly, holding out his hand and cry- 
 ing to me that I should take it. When he 
 saw that I would not, he bestirred himself 
 to make fast the doors and windows of the 
 hail ; and bringing himself to something of 
 174
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 his old manner presently, he ordered me to 
 my bed with a tipsy anger which was a silly 
 thing to see. 
 
 "Come, Master Peters," cried he, "'tis ten 
 of the clock ten of the clock, and you 
 abroad. What shall I say to the captain my 
 master? Shall I say nothing? A plague on 
 the pair of you! Would you have me held 
 in blame ? Out on you for a pestilent fellow ! 
 I will be blamed for no such blockhead. I 
 am an honest man, little Psalm-Singer 
 dost hear ? " 
 
 What more he would have done in his 
 tipsy blindness I know not, for he fell, all 
 on the instant, while he was seeking to come 
 at me ; and the lantern being broke, we two 
 were in the black darkness, he staggering 
 after me, and I running round and round the 
 hall as merry as a lad at the play. God 
 knows I feared Master Monk no longer then. 
 All my old spirit seemed to be breathed back 
 into my heart. Nay, I laughed aloud at him, 
 crying, "Catch that catch can!" and only 
 when he lay like one dead upon the floor did 
 I leave him and go up to my bedroom ; yet 
 not to sleep, so busy was my head with the 
 morrow which awaited me. I could not forget 
 175
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 at such a time that old Israel had spoken of 
 this being the night of my greatest danger. 
 The man of France would not come until 
 three weeks were gone ; Will Monk, him that 
 I hated as never I hated a man yet, lay 
 wanting life in his legs upon the boards below. 
 Who then could harm me in that hour of 
 waiting ? 
 
 I put this question to myself standing at 
 the open window of my shabby room and 
 looking over towards Barnet, whither my lady 
 had ridden to be married, as they said, in the 
 house of her brother at Potter's Bar. The 
 great highway toward York, given over to 
 robbers and footpads at such an hour, if the 
 times be ordinary, was upon this night very 
 busy with waggons passing, and them that 
 feared the plague rolling in their coaches 
 away past the common of Finchley. I could 
 see many tents of the poorer people, fled from 
 the city; and once I beheld a naked man 
 run out from such a habitation and fall dead 
 upon the grass, raising so dreadful a cry 
 when he tumbled that some wild beast might 
 have been abroad killing in the woods. This 
 frighted me a good deal, and I drew back for 
 a spell ; but when I returned to the window, 
 176
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 a woman and three children were kneeling 
 about the body of the man, seeking to drag 
 it towards the pool in the hollow. And watch- 
 ing them at their work, though careful to keep 
 a field between him and the dead man, was 
 one of the King's Guard, riding upon a. great 
 black horse. 
 
 Odd to tell, I watched this man for some 
 while without any thought coming to me that 
 he should be abroad upon my business. It 
 was pretty to see the clear light making silver 
 of all the bright buckles and of the arms he 
 carried ; playing now upon the muzzle of a 
 pistol stuck out of the holster, now upon the 
 steel of his harness or the sheath of his sword 
 as it hung loose against his saddle-cloth. 
 And when anon he put the horse to a trot and 
 passed beneath my very window, I watched 
 him as a boy may watch troopers come to the 
 bivouac in his village. I had been so long 
 out of the world that the littlest thing pleased 
 my eyes and held me in amusement. And so 
 I stood, begrudging the guard even the horse 
 which, as I said, was to carry him to London. 
 He, however,. had not ridden a musket-shot 
 from our place when he turned and came back 
 the same way ; only this time he looked hard 
 12 177
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 at the King's house, and even drew rein, as 
 though he would knock upon the gate. This 
 it was, I think, which awakened me to the 
 danger ; and knowing well now what his 
 business must be, I drew back from the win- 
 dow, telling myself that they had sold me to 
 the King's men, and that here was the peril 
 of which Master Wolf spoke. 
 
 It wanted at this time a quarter to the hour 
 of eleven, and the quiet of night seemed to 
 have come at length even upon the sick in the 
 neighbouring meadows and woods. I knew 
 that this trooper could have no work to do in 
 the village of Hampstead at such an hour; 
 and when my first bewilderment had gone by, 
 which it was not overquick to do, I began to 
 tell myself that I had the dagger which Israel 
 Wolf had left to me; and that Will Monk 
 being no man for such a time, there was but 
 one against me, and he with the gate yet to 
 break down before he could come at me. 
 This gave me courage, and I ran round to the 
 back of the house, wherefrom you can see 
 Paul's on a bright day ; and, looking over the 
 garden, I searched all the vale with my eyes, 
 but no one was abroad there, not even a sick 
 man come out to die. I knew then that, could 
 178
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 I best this fellow who patrolled the road, I 
 might yet cheat the snare they had laid for 
 me. God is my witness, I had been in many 
 a place of greater peril than the King's house 
 seemed to be on that night; and never was 
 my spirit higher than when I stood at my win- 
 dow for the third time and watched the 
 trooper, whom I judged to be the messenger 
 of my misfortune. 
 
 I had thought, when I ran round to the 
 eastern turret of the house, that the man was 
 about to knock boldly upon our door, and so 
 to come in for me without any idle parley; 
 but it was not so. Though it fell a little dark 
 while I waited, there was yet so much light 
 that I could see him halted in the shadow of a 
 great beech tree, which borders upon the road 
 at a spot, it may be, a hundred paces from our 
 door. He had got off his horse now, and was 
 buckling the girth of his saddle; but when 
 the moon shone again, I saw him take a pistol 
 from his holster and prime it ; and no sooner 
 was this work done than a low whistling was 
 to be heard from the further side of the 
 thicket, and presently three more, like to him, 
 rode up over the grass and leaped their horses 
 but on to the road. There were now four in 
 179
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 all that I could count, though, Lord knows, 1 
 doubt not that many more lay behind them in 
 the woods. For the matter of that, I would 
 stay at my window no longer; but, holding 
 my dagger bare in my hand, I ran down the 
 stairs very swiftly, telling myself that if I 
 could find no way out of the garden, then was 
 this the last night which Hugh Peters might 
 hope to live. 
 
 There was moonlight in the hall when I en- 
 tered it, but for a little while I saw nothing of 
 Will Monk. I had forgot, very foolishly, that 
 all the doors were fast locked, and the lower 
 windows shuttered, before I went to my bed ; 
 and now, when I turned the handle of the 
 great door, this was remembered to my con- 
 fusion. As well might I have sought to pass 
 the wall of the King's tower as have shaken 
 this stout barrier which stood between me and 
 my liberty. Abashed and angry, hope re- 
 fusing to befriend me, I drew back from the 
 door. Little it availed that I had been of 
 good spirit in my bed-chamber if I must wait 
 here in the darkness of the hall until the 
 troopers were come in to take me. I could 
 have bit my hand at the thought ; but I was 
 not the man of yesterday, and my will being 
 180
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 hardened at this rebuff, I said, " Let it be be- 
 tween Will Monk and me, and God help the 
 weaker man." 
 
 Until this moment I had seen nothing of 
 Monk ; nor did I remember where he lay, 
 drunkenly, upon the floor. The ill-shaped 
 patches of moonlight, getting the forms of 
 strange figures when they came flooding over 
 the top of the shutters and through the fine 
 picture window, showed me no form of a man 
 sleeping. Three times I paced the hall with 
 the steps of one feeling for an obstacle, yet 
 never did my foot touch one ; nor my ear tell 
 me that a man breathed in the place. And 
 all the time there was this in my head, that 
 the troopers must be even now at the gate ; if, 
 indeed, Monk himself had not drawn bolt to 
 them. God knows how my heart beat when I 
 stood to listen for any sound in the courtyard ; 
 even for the bark of a dog or the groan of a 
 hinge upon the turn. But of these warnings 
 there was none, not so much as the whinny of 
 one horse to another. The very fall of my 
 own foot echoed like an omen in the chamber ; 
 the unbodied armour around me seemed filled 
 with spirits of the dead come back to mock 
 me. I sank down upon a bench at last, crying 
 181
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 to God to help me, since no longer could I 
 hope to find any help for myself. 
 
 This stupor, for such it was, lasted, it might 
 be, for the space of ten minutes. I was 
 awakened from it by as strange a thing as 
 ever man lived to see ; for what should 
 happen, while I sat there upon the bench, but 
 that the little door of the hall opened slowly, 
 and in came Will Monk, a lighted lantern in 
 his left hand, a great rope of keys in his 
 right. I knew well that he had been drunk 
 with wine when I had gone to my bedcham- 
 ber; and it was plain to me that sleep had 
 done nothing to give him his legs again, for he 
 reeled into the hall like a tipsy sailor, and his 
 face was a horrid thing to see. Well for him 
 if ale had brought him to this condition : but 
 the hand of God was heavy upon him in that 
 hour. No sooner did he open his lips than I 
 drew back, crying out that he should not come 
 near me; while he, very pitifully, stretched 
 out his arms to touch me, and implored me, in 
 the most woeful voice, that I would save him 
 from the grave. 
 
 " My God, my God ! " he cried. " I have 
 the spots upon me. Oh, Master Peters, you 
 wiD not let me die. Dost hear ? .' am struck 
 ".82
 
 AN OUT GUARD OF THE NIGHT 
 
 with the sickness. Lord Jesus, I can feel the 
 earth upon my face ; it blinds my eyes. Wilt 
 not help me, Master Hugh? Oh, never will 
 the sun shine for me again. I have the death 
 at my heart already." 
 
 He raised his voice until his woeful crying 
 was like that of a multitude of men raving in 
 the house. And he pursued me with horrid 
 groans, while the sweat fell in great drops 
 from my head, and my body was wet as the 
 body of one who had stood long in the rain. 
 
 Strong as my fear of the troopers riding in 
 the road might be, I feared this hastening 
 death the more. To be prisoned with it 
 there in the hall was a thing to make the 
 brain turn. Nay, I screamed out aloud in 
 my terror of him, and showing him my 
 dagger, I swore that he should feel the blade 
 of it in his heart if he did not stand away 
 from me. At which he drew back, and begin- 
 ning to sob like a woman weak in pain, he 
 knelt at last upon the floor and cried to God 
 for forgiveness of his sins, or fell to most 
 horrid blasphemies against the death which 
 was now sure upon him. And so the end 
 came, swift and sudden, and in mercy; and 
 with a long-drawn shriek of fear lest they 
 18?
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 would throw his body into the pit, he ceased 
 to breathe. 
 
 But I turned my face away from him, and 
 stretching myself upon the floor that I might 
 touch his rope of keys with the tip of my 
 -fingers, drew his burden from him. Then I 
 let myself out into the garden, and ran long, 
 fearing in my folly that the dead man still 
 followed me.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 I 
 
 I CAME into the garden, I say ; fear of the 
 plague driving me rather than the fear of the 
 King's men. But the strength and cool of 
 tfoe air soon brought me to sense ; and if 
 they were not enough, a loud rapping of 
 muskets-butts upon the great gate of the 
 house told me very plainly how I stood. I 
 could hear the troopers now, calling loudly 
 to Will Monk to open to them ; while one, 
 strong in voice above the others, bawled that 
 they came in the King's name, and would 
 even find a door for themselves if they were 
 not answered quickly. Well, I knew that I 
 had but a minute, before I should see them 
 after me in the garden ; yet, though one had 
 held a pistol at my head, I could find no way ; 
 no, nor gate nor wall that was to be climbed. 
 Had the King's house been a prison, they 
 could not have set a stouter fence about it. 
 185
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Everywhere the forbidding barrier of stone 
 raised its spiked head into the loom of the 
 night above me. I ran this way, and that ; 
 now seeking a tree to help me, now thinking 
 that some arbour or cellar might give me 
 hiding, yet got no further only to this, 
 that I stamped upon the ground in my anger, 
 and. swore that I would stab the first who 
 touched me, though my life paid forfeit for 
 the folly. And so resolving, I began to run 
 again; but I had not taken twenty paces 
 when I heard a step behind me, and at the 
 first sound of it I -fled with new strength 
 now across the lawns, now through the 
 bushes, now back toward the house. Nor 
 was this flight broken until, wanting breath 
 and staggering in my steps, I reeled against 
 a wall, and waited, dagger in hand, until the 
 man should come up to me. 
 
 He came over slowly, one hand held up in 
 warning, the other upon his lantern. 
 
 I thought it a strange thing that he did 
 not call out to me ; but he said nothing, only 
 beckoning me to follow him. And so I let 
 him advance until the moon's beams struck 
 upon his face, when I saw that no King's 
 man was after me, but only old Israel, and 
 186
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 he wanting breath to speak. Never did the 
 Lord send pursuer so welcome. 
 
 " Oh, Israel Wolf," cried I, running out to 
 him gladly, " cursed be the night when I 
 have turned from thee! Dost hear the 
 troopers beating upon the door? Thou wilt 
 help me, Israel?" 
 
 His answer was a single word, spoke low. 
 
 " Follow," he said ; and with this com- 
 mand he led me swiftly through the garden, 
 until he stood at the very foot of the green 
 where the grounds run out into the lap of the 
 hollow. There was here an old flight of stone 
 steps, much chipped; but they appeared to 
 lead nowhere, except it were to the wall, in 
 which no door was to be seen. I had never 
 looked for a harbourage in such a spot, though 
 I had lived for a hundred years ; but Master 
 Wolf went without halt to the steps, and ran 
 down them. I observed now that a pick, such 
 as masons use, stood ready at the foot of the 
 flight; and this in hand, my guide began to 
 lay some heavy blows upon the face of the 
 stone; and at the third stroke he found an 
 iron ring, which was nothing less than the 
 ring of a trap let in flush with the buttress, 
 like a shutter in the frame of a window. To 
 187
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 open the trap was work beyond ordinary ; but 
 we pulled hard upon it together; and pres- 
 ently it fell with some noise and a great flying 
 of dust and rubbish. Then I saw beyond it 
 the mouth of a black hole which, had I not 
 soon proved it otherwise, I might have named 
 the mouth of a well. 
 
 All this was quick work, you may be sure ; 
 but to me, who heard the clamour which the 
 King's men were now making at the outer 
 gate, it seemed like the thing of a day rather 
 than of a minute. Often I besought Master 
 "Wolf that he would hasten ; but he gave me 
 no answer other than that of his acts, which 
 were as well ordered as the acts of a man 
 sipping his ale in a tavern. Once he had the 
 trap down, he knew well what he was doing ; 
 and the dust scarce settled before his lantern 
 swung in the hole which he had laid bare, and 
 he himself made ready to follow the light. 
 
 " Now, Master Hugh," he cried, while he 
 let himself into the well and began to go 
 down with steps which showed me that he 
 trod the rungs of a ladder, ' ' a long good- 
 night to yon brawlers. Make sure that your 
 courage comes down here with you, for 
 Heavens knows if there be a stranger place 
 188
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 in all Middlesex. You will find the iron 
 rings at your heel if you do but follow me. 
 'T is better at the worst than the company 
 of the devils who wait yonder. And once 
 passed, the day shall find us beyond Barnet. 
 God's word, they must have broke the gate! 
 Dost hear them bawling for Will Monk ? 'T is 
 odd if they can wake him to-night ! " 
 
 His laugh was a thing rusted with long 
 disuse, and very harsh to hear. I had a 
 shudder upon me when he spake of them 
 waking Will Monk ; but it passed at once, 
 for I was well assured that the King's men 
 were now in the courtyard, and that life was 
 to be had or lost upon the moment. Nay, 
 I watched him descend with greedy eyes, and 
 discovered immediately that the hole went 
 deep into the ground, having slimy walls and 
 stones upon which creeping things moved, 
 and a tangle of roots thrusting themselves 
 from the nooks and crannies. All this the 
 lantern showed me, and when it had dropped 
 so far down that it was but a twinkling star 
 in the depths, I heard Israel call to me to 
 shut the trap and follow him. Nor were ten 
 seconds ticked before I stood beside him, to 
 find myself at the mouth of a narrow archway 
 189
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 which seemed to lead into the very bowels of 
 the earth. 
 
 It was a place to awe a bolder man ttoan 
 Hugh Peters, being dark beyond any cellar 
 that I have known, and chill with the damp 
 of the clammy earth, and very full of lizards 
 and great worms and horned beetles, which 
 were scared by the light and running blindly. 
 Here and there water dripped upon the slimy 
 floor, which was soft and oozy like to the 
 floor of a water-pit; while the air came very 
 weighty and went hot to the lungs, so that 
 we were hard put to it to get our breath. 
 Had any other than Israel Wolf guided me, 
 I would the sooner have faced the troopers 
 than embarked upon such an emprise ; but 
 wherever the man walked there courage fol- 
 lowed. I stood by him with the trust that a 
 child may place in his father, saying that he 
 surely knew. Yet was I not one whit the 
 wiser as to the plan he had ; nor did I see 
 what safety we had gotten from hiding in such 
 a well, when the first walk round the garden 
 must bring the troopers to the trap, of which 
 I made mention, but he silenced me at once, 
 hurrying me on into the tunnel, and saying 
 that all was now well. 
 
 190
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 " Yon rogues may bark now an it please^ 
 them, Master Hugh," cried he, holding the 
 lantern high above his head that I might 
 guard my steps. "The night is ours, and 
 when the day shall come, we will have horses 
 under us. There are but three men ' in 
 Hampstead that know of this place ; yet I 
 will wager there is none other beside Israel 
 Wolf who would venture it. Dost hear water- 
 falling ? It is the burn which runs from High- 
 gate, and we are even about to cross it." 
 
 "Well," said I, pressing close upon his- 
 heels, though I had a great dread of the living 
 things and of the darkness, "why should 
 they not follow us here, Israel? Where two 
 have come, ten may search. Surely they will 
 find the trap." 
 
 " Sir," said he, " this is no night for words. 
 Give me but a half hour, and I will listen like- 
 a scholar. You ask me why they may not 
 follow yonder is my answer." 
 
 He bent down very low now, and showed 
 me the mouth of a well, exceeding large and 
 dark and green with slime. A single plank 
 spanned the orifice ; and when he let his lan- 
 tern a little way down into the hole, I saw 
 water flowing swiftly ; the spray of it being; 
 191
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 like a foam of jewels, the song of it like 
 voices afar and murmuring. 
 
 "The burn is here, Master," cried Israel, 
 the while he knelt that he might prove the 
 condition of the bridge. " It runs below our 
 feet, and our path lies across it. If you love 
 your life do not breast the plank until I am 
 over. It may even be that it will break ; in 
 which event, you are like to call long for 
 Israel Wolf and to find him dumb. Nay, 
 none will make less merry if I be gone. And 
 hark ye, they are behind us at the trap." 
 
 It was as he said. We could hear in the 
 tunnel behind us the sound of heavy blows 
 falling upon the wood ; and great as was my 
 fear for the life of him I had learned to love, 
 I had no word when he began to cross the 
 plank upon his hands and knees. But every 
 quiver and bend of it set my nerves twitching, 
 and I scarce dared to breathe until I saw that 
 it held him. It was a mighty relief to me 
 when he stood up, clear to be seen, on the 
 opposite side, and bade me cross as he had 
 done. At any other time I would the sooner 
 have cut off my hand than have trod a bridge 
 so frail ; but I knew that the troopers were 
 already in the tunnel, and I thought of them 
 192
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 rather than of the foul place below tne when 
 I clung to the plank and began to breast it. 
 And I was the heavier man, I make sure; 
 for the wood wormed and twisted beneath 
 me at every step, and there was no moment 
 when I did not see the flowing water and 
 the walls of green slime, and even rats of 
 monstrous size running in and out between 
 the crevices of the bricks. Indeed, I said to 
 myself often that I must surely fall, and I 
 remember that my mind would picture for 
 me the terror of lying down there with the 
 filthy water flowing upon my face, and the 
 rats touching my flesh, and all the weed and 
 dirt upon my hands ; for the lantern showed 
 these things very clearly, and Israel's cry that 
 I should hasten was ever dinning in my ears. 
 "For God's sake be a little quicker, Master 
 Hugh ! " exclaimed he at last ; and then : 
 ' ' Surely they tread the tunnel now ; " or 
 again : " Hold up thy hands, the plank 
 gives." These things he said ; while I felt 
 the wet wood doubling at my weight, and 
 became aware all on the instant that it wa. 
 breaking with me. God ! it was to die a 
 cruel death that I should fall into the dark- 
 ness of the well. 
 
 13 193
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 The plank went, I say, with a great crash. 
 So sudden was it, that I threw up my arms, 
 crying pitifully to Israel that he should not 
 let me fall. Then I seemed to be held in 
 mid -air ; and I swung to and fro in the abyss, 
 seeing nothing but the face of Israel with the 
 dim light shining upon it, and knowing not 
 that he had caught my hand and so held me. 
 Presently, a grip like the grip of an iron ring 
 upon my arm spake his message ; and inch by 
 inch, with a fearful wrenching in the socket 
 of my shoulder and an overwhelming terror 
 of the pit blinding me, I was drawn to the 
 bank. Nor was I up upon the ground before 
 two troopers appeared at the head of the 
 tunnel, and called to us that we should stand. 
 
 " In the King's name," cried the first that 
 came up. But him old Israel answered with 
 a bullet; and when he fired his pistol, it 
 seemed to me that thunders shook the pit 
 and that all the air was full of smoke. 
 
 "In the King's name," repeated Master 
 Wolf, mocking him very merrily. " Ay, sure- 
 ly, that is a name we know ; and we will even 
 answer your call when you shall bring us a 
 bridge for the pit, my friend. Dost need to 
 wash thyself there is water below if you 
 194
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 do but stoop to find it. I give you good- 
 night, master." 
 
 His full laugh rang round and sonorous IB 
 the pit ; but the man gave shot for shot, and 
 brought a sod from the ceiling above us; 
 which quickened our steps better than -any 
 fiddler's music. I was by no means recovered 
 from my great fright ; though fear is a fine 
 surgeon, and fear it was which kept me at 
 Master Wolf's heels, while he ran on through 
 the tunnel, and soon was beyond either shot 
 or hearing. For a hundred paces, it may be, 
 we continued to go down, the path being 
 rough and steep beneath us ; but when we 
 had accomplished so much, we came upon a 
 little pool of water, and this deepened so 
 quickly that it ran above our ankles almost/ 
 before my eyes had seen it. 
 
 " Think nothing of it, lad," said Israel, 
 turning to me to be sure that I had kept 
 close. *' *Tis but a swill at the worst, and 
 will not touch thy knees at least, it should 
 be so, if it stands as it did in the Lord- 
 General's day. We will give thee dry clothes 
 directly, when we find Master Ford at the 
 birling of the wine. Ay, for a truth, the 
 night is near done." 
 
 195
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 With this he took my hand to lead me; 
 but soon we learnt that the passage was 
 changed since he had last trod it, for the 
 water came above our knees at the third 
 step, and we had not made twenty paces 
 when it flowed about our waists. 
 
 *' God send that I have brought thee to 
 no trap ! " cried Israel, holding the lantern to 
 observe what lay before us. " Never did I 
 hear of a flood in the hollow of the vale. 
 Canst swim, Master Peters?" 
 
 I told him that I had never done such a 
 thing in all my life, which was poor help to 
 his intention ; but presently he had heart 
 for it, and began to go on again, 
 
 " Shouldst lose thy legs, put hand upon 
 my shoulder, if thou dost not fear to touch 
 me as most do," he cried ; and, so saying, he 
 walked boldly forward, and the water ran up 
 to our breasts and went near to carrying 
 us off our feet. What was worse, there was 
 no shallowing of it then, for every step we 
 took landed us the deeper in it; so that it 
 came at length even to flow cold about my 
 chin, and I called out to him that I was done 
 with. 
 
 Fear of water brings panic quick to them 
 196
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 that have no skill in it. I might live long, 
 yet never forget that moment when I stood 
 with head bent back and little waves flowing 
 upon my mouth ; while old Israel besought 
 me not to clutch him, and for answer I did 
 but hold to him the more. I could see the 
 roof of the tunnel very plainly then the 
 loathsome spiders upon it, the weed hanging- 
 green, the beetles running. I knew that we 
 were down, as it were, in the very depths of 
 the earth, and I told myself that far above 
 us there was moonlight shining upon the 
 meadows, and the sweet night air, and the 
 great sky in which the stars roll. Nor did I 
 wonder any more that men feared the grave 
 exceedingly ; so dread was the thought of 
 being shut down there whence no cry could 
 pass out, no, nor sob be heard, nor voice of 
 man be answered. It seemed to me that God 
 had willed it that I should die in the pit, 
 with the water for my shroud and the rats 
 to keep vigil, and the eternal silence in my 
 ears. No longer had I any mastery of my 
 reason, but clung to Master Wolf; and he, 
 beseeching me, even striking me, was all the 
 while struggling for his foothold, so that we 
 went under at last together, and our lantern 
 197
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 was soused, and the very dark of death en- 
 Teloped us. 
 
 We went down, I say, like stones into the 
 pit; and we struggled together, it might 
 have been for minutes, while the water ran 
 -cold in my windpipe and began to gurgle in 
 my throat. I had never known a worse hurt ; 
 and whenever they talk now of the pleasures 
 of them who get their death by drowning, 
 that night comes back to me in clear remem- 
 brance. For never did I lose the right use 
 of my senses the whole time and God 
 knows how long that was we struggled 
 in the hole. Once, indeed, I had foot upon 
 the earth, and so got an instant of delay, 
 during which my arm-pits rose above the 
 surface of the pool ; and I beheld Israel, still 
 thrusting me from him. Yet was it but an 
 instant before the water was in my ears again, 
 roaring there like the fall of some mighty 
 'Cataract. And this time I thought it to be 
 the end; for it was as though I had knives 
 in my right side, and every breathing was 
 a, new hurt. 
 
 I thought it to be the end, God witness, 
 and such it was, though not such an end as I 
 had looked for. That very weakness which 
 198
 
 I FOLLOW ISRAEL WOLF 
 
 now came upon me was my saviour, since it, 
 compelled me to let go of Israel, and thereby 
 to give him his freedpm. How he did it I 
 know not. He has said ever that I, in my 
 violent fears, pushed him headlong upon the 
 shallows ; but of this I remember nothing, 
 only that I thought myself to be gone, and 
 was astonished presently to find that I lived 
 still, though the pain in my side was hardly 
 to be borne, and the noise in my ears was 
 like that of a bee buzzing. Whichever way 
 it was, we came to our feet again most 
 miraculously, as I shall tell to my dying day ; 
 and when we had both rested face downward 
 to the earth, that the water might run out of 
 us, I heard old Israel speak. 
 
 " Canst see to touch ine, lad? " he asked. 
 
 I searched for my voice and found it. The 
 sound of it was like that of a worn fife, high 
 and tremulous in the darkness. 
 
 " Ay, Israel," cried I. " God be praised, 
 I feel thy hand." 
 
 " Then let me help thee to thy feet," said 
 he, " yonder is the light of the inn." 
 
 I raised my head, and saw far away, like the 
 glow of a lantern in the passage, an aureole 
 of light shining from above straight down.
 
 into the tunnel. It was the light from the 
 kitchen of the tavern at Finchley ; and ten 
 minutes after we had seen it, Parson Ford 
 was filling me a cup of steaming ale, the 
 while Gideon carried my clothes to be diieu 
 at the fire. 
 
 200
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 NORTHWARD UPON THE GREAT ROAD 
 
 THEY had been waiting for us at the stair's 
 head ; and now when we came up, all dripping 
 like dogs, and green with the slime of the 
 water, they held their tongues, and were the 
 busier thereby to give us those comforts of 
 which we had such pressing need. There is 
 a picture in my mind to this day of the parson 
 stirring a great wassail bowl of ale by the 
 kitchen fire, while the tavern man's dame ran 
 hither and thither, beseeching us that we 
 should not bring the soldiers down upon her 
 house ; for, she said, she was a poor woman, 
 and had lost her son already of the sickness. 
 But a guinea placed beneath the candle's light 
 brought her quickly to another mind ; and 
 when old Israel and I were blanketed at her 
 hearth, and our clothes hung in the ingle, 
 she forgot that any soldiers were so much as 
 abroad that night. Not so the parson, 
 201
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 whose first word was one which bade us 
 hasten. 
 
 "Hugh, my lad," said he, doing this and 
 that and everybody's business beside, " I 
 shall be a very old man when I forget this 
 night ay, and so much upon my tongue 
 that a second glass would not see me through 
 it ; but Israel has told thee ? " 
 
 I gave him ay, between my sipa at the 
 ale ; and Israel made the word good. 
 
 "Master Ford," said he, " an you give us 
 a discourse, we are surely lost. 'T is but a 
 mile from here to the King's house. Does 
 any man point the road to them, we may 
 look for the troopers before the hour is 
 struck." 
 
 44 Ay," chimed in old Gideon, "trust my 
 master to salt the pork when it would be the 
 better plain; but ye must know that we 
 have the watchers out. That gives ye the 
 start of them by ten minutes, and the horses 
 ready, Master Israel." 
 
 " 'T is good," said Israel, turning his coat 
 with his own hands ; " give me but a meadow 
 for my grace, and I will find a horse to gallop 
 any King's beast in the county. Do yon 
 bear news, Master Ford?" 
 202
 
 UPON THE GREAT ROAD 
 
 The Parson drew a chair to the fire very 
 methodically. When he had filled himseif 
 a glass of ale he began to tell us. 
 
 " I have news," said he, in the manner 
 of one reckoning how much he should dis- 
 close. " I have news, Israel ; and first it 
 is of my lady. She has gone to Potter's Bar, 
 as we heard. Unless the Lord shall see fit 
 to make us his ministers, she will be a wife 
 before two Sabbaths are fled." 
 
 " She being as none can deny, the wife of 
 him that I have loved from my youth up," 
 cried old Gideon, with very poor manners 
 as I thought. But Parson Ford was not 
 put out at this. 
 
 " Hugh," he said, turning to me and it 
 was wonderful how civil they all spoke to 
 me after they heard of the strange thing at 
 Warboys "Hugh, I know well now that 
 thy tale is no lad's boast. But of this they 
 have told thee, since my letter spoke of 
 Tom Honeydew's confession. Would to 
 God that we had other proof to stand be- 
 tween my lady and the sin she is coming to 
 presently I " 
 
 "Master Ford," exclaimed I very eagerly, 
 " what proof is needed beyond the witness 
 203
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 of him that married us? Will he not speak 
 before other men even as he spoke before 
 you?" 
 
 "Nay," said the parson, setting down the 
 glass quickly; "Tom Honeydew will never 
 apeak again, my lad. He died of the sick- 
 ness yesterday." 
 
 It was a cruel word for me to hear, coming 
 like a thunderbolt upon my new-gotten hopes. 
 I could say nothing to them for a long while ; 
 and we were all very silent in the room. 
 When the Parson spoke again, he laid his 
 hand upon my own, as though he would 
 have softened the hurt. 
 
 "Hugh," said he, " I cannot think that 
 the Lord has put the cup to thy lips to snatch 
 it from thee by the death of this man. And 
 so I bid thee ride to Potter's Bar, if it be 
 that thou canst come there without harm. I 
 have writ a letter for thee to my lady. 
 Should she marry when that is read, then 
 indeed is she a wanton and no worthy wife 
 to any man. More we cannot do. For who 
 would listen to our story? and how mayest 
 thou tell that story with a price upon thy 
 head and all the world protesting that thou 
 art a spy come out of France on the French 
 204
 
 UPON THE GREAT ROAD 
 
 King's business? Nay, we have nothing but 
 our exhortation, and what is the worth of 
 that to a woman who has the mind for a 
 man?" 
 
 This was very true, though you must know 
 that Parson Ford was the last man in all the 
 town to speak of a woman's whim ; he, I 
 swear, never having so much as pressed the 
 hand of one. Nevertheless he reasoned with 
 some sense, and this intention that I should 
 ride to Potter's Bar was very pleasing to me. 
 " I shall at least be near her," said I to 
 myself; "it may be, shall talk with her." 
 And this was no little thing to one who had 
 thought to be carried soon out of his own 
 country, and set where he might never dare 
 to remember the old time and all the sweet- 
 ness of it. In which spirit I thanked the 
 Parson, and said that I was too ready to 
 ride whensoever he wished. Thereafter, and 
 with much talk, an hour passed, and our 
 clothes were fit for our backs again, though 
 still very wet and like to give us pains. 
 
 It was at this time that the Parson pro- 
 mised me that he himself would come to 
 Potter's Bar when the Sabbath was over, the 
 night being that of Saturday, and the needs 
 205
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 of his poor people whom the sickness was 
 killing beyond number, detaining him so long 
 in London. 
 
 "When I come, Hugh," said he, "there 
 shall be no gloved word found ; no, nor want 
 of plain speaking it may be at the very 
 Lord's table where they marry her. She 
 should be at Potter's Bar ere this. You may 
 trust old Israel to carry a letter to her, though 
 God grant that she does not look upon his 
 face. She had a maid of the name of Kitty 
 with her when she set out from Whitehall. 
 It would be a service to hold me in the 
 remembrance of the wench. Dost mind, 
 lad? no great affection of the message, 
 but just the word that Parson Ford has not 
 forgot little Kitty, and some day would speak 
 with her iigain. That would be at eve to- 
 morrow, when thy own business is done. 
 Thou wilt not fail to let me know of this, 
 lest, perchance, my coming be delayed and 
 Monday find me still within the bar at 
 Aldgate?" 
 
 1 told him that I would do his bidding 
 
 very faithfully ; and when he had given me 
 
 the letter and we were agreed to lie in the 
 
 woods by Barnet until opportunity was found 
 
 206
 
 UPON THE GREAT ROAD 
 
 of putting the writing into the hand of her 
 whose name it bore, a man came running 
 in from the hill-top to say that the troopers 
 were now gone galloping toward Hornsey ; 
 though whether they would turn presently and 
 come by our road he could not tell. At which 
 we bustled out of the house very quickly, 
 and so stood in the great road which runs 
 all the way from London to the city of York, 
 and further than that, as the tale goes. 
 There I took farewell of the Parson, thanking 
 him for all he had done ; but he would hear 
 none of it, saying again, for he forgot 
 that he had said it already, 
 
 " My lady had a maid by the name of 
 Kitty with her when she set out. If it can 
 be done conveniently, and thou wouldst re- 
 call me to her mind, just a word of re- 
 membrance, Hugh, I would be gratef ul to 
 thee." 
 
 I told him that I would, being careful to 
 put him to no shame ; and when it was said, 
 I answered old Israel, and sprang upon the 
 horse they had found for me. Many a fare- 
 well I waved to them, and long after their 
 voices had died away I saw the twinkling 
 lights of the tavern and the figure of my 
 2CT
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 master very plain to be seen in the middle 
 of the road. 
 
 And, God knows, my heart was light 
 because so many had learned to love Hugh 
 Peters. 
 
 208
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 WE PASS THE MAN IN THE WAGGON 
 
 IT was very dark when we struck the Great 
 North Road. A mount of storm-cloud hung 
 heavy above the hill at Hampstead, and I 
 could see the lamps of the village behind us 
 like stars upon the hillside ; but the air was 
 full of the omen of storm, and anon the 
 heavens began to tremble and to be flecked 
 with rushing fires. Fast as we went and 
 never was man better served than I with the 
 shapely horse they had found me the tem- 
 pest drew upon us, covering up all the open 
 fields of the heaven ; so that it left at last but 
 a great arc in the east, and soon that was 
 hidden by the accumulation of the vapours. 
 Anon big drops of rain began to pit upon 
 the docks at the hedge's foot. I felt them 
 upon my hand and saw them glistening about 
 niy holsters ; but upon my face they did not 
 come, so well did the great hat I wore give 
 proteetion to my eyes. 
 209
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Storm ever carries foreboding in its path 1 , 
 and though we had no good ground of com- 
 plaint because darkness thus came down to 
 shield us, old Israel and I were tongue-tied 
 for the first half hour after we had ridden 
 away from the inn. And I was well content 
 that he should point the road ; I following at 
 his heels, and always within pistol-shot of 
 him. There were few abroad at such an hour, 
 though we passed, it may have been, twenty 
 waggons before we came to the inn where 
 the junction of the roads is ; and once we 
 happed upon a coach with a nobleman asleep 
 inside it, and his man stretched out upon the 
 grass In the ditch. But at the junction we 
 saw lights and heard the clamour of voices ; 
 so much so, that Israel checked his horse and 
 began to look about for me. 
 
 " Were it any other time," said he, when 
 I rode up, " we would put the meadow 
 between yon brawlers and ourselves. But 
 I make bold to like their company better 
 than that of the soldiers, Master Hugh. If 
 it please you, we will steal upon them at the 
 walk, and then go by when they least look 
 for us. You have pistol in your holster, and 
 I doubt not you will know how to use it if 
 210
 
 THE MAN IN THE WAGGON 
 
 any molest you. Maybe 't is some matter of 
 the sickness which brings them from their 
 beds ; and do we but go cautiously, we shall 
 pass observation." 
 
 He held in his horse with a firm hand now, 
 and we rode up to the tavern so stealthily 
 that none of the shouting rogues heard us at 
 the first. For the matter of that, they were 
 too deep in contemplation of a spectacle 
 which only such a time could show them. I 
 observed that a waggon was drawn before 
 the door of the tavern, while a man within 
 the waggon begged some favour of the men 
 who stood round about him, a favour which 
 they denied, for they threatened him with 
 their cudgels and hayforks ; and beyond that, 
 they had lit a great fire in the street of the 
 village, the better to keep the plague front 
 them. Nor could I imagine, upon the instant, 
 why they charged this man with a wish to 
 carry the death to them; but presently I 
 saw the body of him that had driven the 
 waggon lying huddled by the forewheel, and 
 the ropes, which were his reins, yet lay be- 
 tween his fingers. It was plain then that he 
 had fallen from his seat at the very moment of 
 his passing the junction, and having died with 
 211
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 no grace, as so many did in that year of 
 the visitation, all the villagers came running 
 out to tell one another that they would have 
 the spots upon them next day, and that here 
 was the harbinger of their misfortunes. With 
 which thought, I imagine, they lit the fires 
 and prevented the master of the man coming 
 down from his waggon. 
 
 This was how the thing stood at the moment 
 when we rode up. The man begged pitifully 
 for help, both for his servant and for himself ; 
 the people of the place answered him with a. 
 threat of instant death if he did not at once 
 quit their village, and take the body of the 
 other with him. So strong were they in the 
 argument that our horses were at their very 
 backs before they knew it; and I had told 
 myself already that we should pass them by 
 without hurt, when a burly fellow, bigger than 
 the others, unfortunately caught sight of usv 
 and began to cry out that we had ridden in 
 from London and must surely be folks tainted 
 with the pestilence. At which he ran after 
 us, and stretching out his arms very wide, 
 like the sails of a mill, he bade Master Wolf 
 stand. 
 
 ** Sir," said he, "I am the Constable of 
 212
 
 THE MAN IN THE WAGGON 
 
 Finchley, and I forbid you passage by this 
 road." 
 
 *' Sir," answered Master "Wolf very civilly, 
 " we thank you for your words, and will even 
 commit them to our memories. How say you, 
 the Constable of Finchley? God's truth, you 
 enjoy no sweating employment, my master. 
 I may even make bold to tell you that you 
 grow fat in it." 
 
 The man was very angry, and protested 
 upon it. 
 
 " Sir," ventured he, " do you ride over the 
 King's Constable?" 
 
 "Ay, surely," exclaimed Master Wolf, "over 
 two of them if there be the need. Do you 
 but lie down the tick of a clock, good sir, and 
 my horse shall so deal with you that all the 
 village must cry out upon your slimness." 
 
 The big man, who had little command of 
 his temper,' a thing I have observed often 
 in men of his quality, now burst out into a 
 great passion. 
 
 " Sir," said he, " my men shall carry you to 
 the pound upon the spot. Do you mock the 
 law, sir ; God be my witness, I am the law, 
 and no plague-stricken townsman shall pass 
 through Finchley while I draw breath." 
 213
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 " Sir," said Master Wolf, still very civilly, 
 " as for your drawing breath, I doubt not it is 
 always a labour to you and hark ye, as for 
 your law, I mind it no more than the crack 
 of a nut. You talk of the sickness. Know, 
 then, that I have left seven dead in the house 
 I come from. Nay, you will find the spots 
 upon my own body, as I will show you an I 
 come back from York. The best of the night 
 to you, master. 'T is like to prove hard on 
 God's earth when they shall dig a hole to put 
 you in." 
 
 With this he let his cloak drop upon his 
 shoulders, and when the Constable saw his 
 face which was, as I have said often, the 
 ugliest face man ever wore he turned tail 
 upon the instant, crying out that a devil had 
 come to the village. At the same time Master 
 Wolf tipped him a blow with his booted foot, 
 and so planted it upon his flank that he lay 
 sprawling upon his hands and knees, while all 
 the lads gathered round and shouted out that 
 he was taken with the pains. 
 
 We, nevertheless, made haste to ride out of 
 
 the village, and we had not got very far upon 
 
 our road when the fields began to be shaped 
 
 to our view, and a world created at the first 
 
 214
 
 THE MAN IN THE WAGGON 
 
 winging of the dawn as though the Lord 
 had opened the door f heaven to look down 
 upon his handiwork. And ao we made the 
 hill at Barnet : Master Wolf content because 
 the danger lay behind us ; I glad as never 
 man was, since they had put me upon the 
 road to see my lady again. 
 
 215
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 MY LADY CALLS FROM THE WOOD 
 
 WE drew rein in Barnet to beg a cup of 
 milk and a loaf of bread from a hag that was 
 abroad as soon as the dawn ; and when these 
 were gotten, we asked her of the road beyond 
 the town, and especially to the house of my 
 Lord of Quinton, which lay at Potter's Bar. 
 For answer she told us a strange tale so 
 strange that I was of a mind not to hearken 
 to her at all. But Master Wolf, who knew of 
 these things, leant a ready ear until she had 
 done. 
 
 "You'll be from London, masters," said 
 she. "Ay, surely, 'tis many of your quality 
 that has gone by here this summer long. 
 But you '11 find no road to-day, hark ye, for 
 they have the sickness in Potter's Bar, and it 
 has come to Stabans, " by which she meant 
 St. Albans, "so that they let no more pass ; 
 and even great dames must lie in the woods 
 like cattle until their health be proved. Bat 
 213
 
 MY LADY CALLS 
 
 yesternight, there came one in here to tell us 
 that my Lord of Quinton had three sick men 
 in his house, and was gone away to Oxford. 
 God have mercy upon us all, I say. 'Tis the 
 judgment of Heaven, masters, the great and 
 dreadful day. Oh, woe to them that have 
 bairns as I have ! Who shall give them 
 bread when I be gone? Ay, Lord, that I have 
 lived to see the year ! " 
 
 She fell to sobbing, as many a woman did 
 in those times, even upon little provocation ; 
 but we had no ears for her distress, only for 
 the news she told of sickness in my Lord of 
 Quinton's house. Of this we talked while 
 we rode away to the Woods of Hadleigh, 
 wherein we meant to lie awhile, and eat our 
 bread, and sleep if that might be. 
 
 " I will not hold it from you, Master 
 Hugh," said Israel, " that this times ill with 
 my intention, which was to carry Master 
 Ford's letter to Potter's Bar this very night. 
 Yet if the Earl be gone away, then surely will 
 there be no spousals of my lady before the 
 second Sabbath, unless it prove that she be 
 gone with him, and they are all at Oxford 
 now. Of that we must learn presently. 
 Until the time be come you shall lie in the 
 217
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 woods here while I pass on to the village, and 
 gather what I may in gossip. It is possible 
 that this hag speaks truth, and that the road 
 is barred. But they will never look to find 
 Hugh Peters at a bivouac, and I make sure 
 it is for you safety." 
 
 "Israel," said I, " whatever your wish is, 
 let that be done. God knows, my head has 
 been a-wandering since you brought me out 
 of the King's house at Hampstead. I am like 
 a lad newly come to his play, and troubled to 
 know what game he may put his hand to first. 
 But in all I do, your love for me is never to 
 be forgot. Nay, I know not why you love 
 me so, Master Wolf." 
 
 " Sir," said he very quietly, "'t were odd if 
 one who may never know what it is to get 
 a child of his own should not answer when a 
 son be found for him. Never spake they 
 a gentle word to me in the old time, Master 
 Hugh. As God hears, the mother who bore 
 me was the only one who did not turn from 
 the man with the devil's face. You talk of 
 that which I have done for you. Ill indeed 
 if my servide end there. I am the sucked 
 orange, master; but let them who cast the 
 skin away beware lest they trip upon it. I 
 218
 
 MY LADY CALLS 
 
 speak of one who is hated by you. The 
 Lord send that I reckon with him soon." 
 
 This was a word beyond my understanding ; 
 but we had ridden up to the edge of the 
 wood now, and we saw that a guard of 
 warders was set around it to make sure that 
 those who passed in did not come out again 
 until a bill of health was given to them. 
 They told us very plainly that we might enter 
 if we willed, but, said they, " Sirs, the Lord 
 knows when leave will be given you to go 
 forth." None the less were our minds fixed 
 upon the purpose, and so we passed them, 
 old Israel making bold to whisper in my ear 
 that, had he the mind, he would ride over 
 fifty of them for a cup of ale. 
 
 "We were in the heart of the woods now, 
 and ever and anon we saw tents such as 
 soldiers use, pitched in the glades and groves 
 and sheltered places ; or the carriages of 
 rich folk, made for the nonce habitations 
 wherein the great dwelt. Here and there trees 
 painted with red crosses were to be observed, 
 these being tokens that some poor creatures 
 lay dead of the plague beneath the sods. All 
 of which made us exceeding sorrowful; but 
 being come, we must on ; and presently we 
 219
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 entered a little glade, like to a bower beneath 
 a wide-spreading beech, and watered by a rill 
 which was very fresh and sparkling, as though 
 it bubbled up from some hidden spring. Here 
 we tethered our horses, and having drunk a 
 long draught at the brook, we ate our bread 
 and then would to sleep; for the day fell 
 mighty hot, and even in the shade the air 
 came scorching to the lungs. 
 
 Fatigue lay upon me then like a burden. 
 My limbs ached with the riding; I had the 
 dust of the road in my eyes ; yet was this 
 very fatigue in some sort a pleasure; and 
 never, I vow, was I better pleased than when 
 I stretched my limbs upon the turf, and felt 
 the soft grass beneath my head. Nor was 
 I conscious of the moment of losing sense, 
 or of my coming to it again. I remem- 
 ber that I lay watching a green canopy of 
 leaves above my head, ahd that I thought the 
 sun to be very white and large in his orb 
 as I viewed him between the branches, and 
 then for a little while I did not see him ; but 
 opening my eyes once more, I beheld the 
 same thatch of leaves, but no sun. A great 
 cool was in the air now, the chill of the early 
 night, and all the woods were red with the 
 220
 
 MY LADY CALLS 
 
 shining lights of the setting. For my part, 
 I was stiff and cold with my sleep, and 1 
 turned round to speak to Master Wolf, wish- 
 ing to know if he waked. But he was not 
 there, and a loud call brought me no answer 
 from the neighbouring thickets. I made sure 
 then that he had gone out toward the village 
 of Potter's Bar, that thereby he might get 
 the tidings; and when I had waited a little 
 while, I ventured to walk some way but not 
 very far from the horses, still calling 
 him. 
 
 I had walked thus it might have been a 
 hundred paces from the glade before any 
 voice answered mine. Indeed, I was upon 
 the point of turning back again, when, from 
 a bush upon my right hand, I heard some one 
 call very merrily, " Master "Wolf, Master 
 "Wolf ! " And my surprise is to be imagined 
 when, turning round sharply, I beheld my 
 lady herself, habited still for riding, but very 
 white and dusted in her dress, and laughing 
 at me ay, as though I played some Merry 
 Robin in the wood, and she was mighty 
 pleased with it. 
 
 44 Master Wolf, Master Wolf ! " she mocked 
 again; and the wench who was with her 
 221
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 taking up the cry, they fell to laughing like a 
 pair of schoolgirls, though not unkindly, for 
 presently she came out of the thicket and 
 held out both her hands to me. 
 
 " Oh, surely," said she, " here is my friend 
 Hugh, come a-camping to Hadleigh. Foolish 
 boy, to be abroad at such time ; and yet, 
 upon my word, Master Hugh, I am very 
 pleased to see you." 
 
 I bent and kissed her hands ; and it seemed 
 to me in that moment that the forest was my 
 Eldorado, and that the earth and sky and 
 waters were aflame with the lights from the 
 golden city. 
 
 222
 
 CHAPTER XXm 
 
 I WITHHOLD THE LETTER 
 
 Mr lady withdrew her hands from mine 
 presently, and turned to walk a little way 
 through the woods with me. There were a 
 hundred things upon my tongue, both ques- 
 tions and answers, but to my discomfort I 
 found none of them ready; and as for the 
 letter which Parson Ford had written, it lay 
 against my breast like a burning parchment. 
 Nor was she any the readier to put off the 
 distraint between us; but she walked with a 
 slow step, and stooped often to pick the 
 buttercups while she walked. Only the serv- 
 ing-jade was merry, and to her I spoke first. 
 
 " How do they call you, girl?" asked I. 
 
 "If it please you, sir," said she, laughing 
 the while very sly and cunning, " if it please 
 you, sir, you shall call me as you will." 
 
 " But that pleases me ill," said I j " surely 
 your name is Kitty." 
 
 223
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 " 'Twas so at my baptism, master," said 
 she ; " yet I have been called so many names 
 since then that I am become like a hound who 
 answers to the whistle. Do you but whistle 
 ever so gently, sir, you shall find me at your 
 bidding." 
 
 " Nay," cried I, " that is no office of mine ; 
 if any must pucker his lips, let it be Master 
 Ford, who has clone it often, I doubt not." 
 
 The wench tossed her head at this ; though 
 she could not hide from me her cheeks, which 
 were red as rosy apples. As for my lady, 
 she began to laugh very merrily. 
 
 "Oh," said she, "and what is this of Mas- 
 ter Ford?" 
 
 "God knows," I answered, "save that he 
 would stand well in the remembrance of your 
 maid whose name is Kitty. Yet if this be the 
 wench or another, I am at a 'loss to tell, mis- 
 tress." 
 
 The jest put us upon a good footing of talk, 
 and when the girl had run away from our 
 laughter I turned to my lady to speak of more 
 serious things. 
 
 "Marjory," said I, "odd that we two 
 should walk together in the woods again, like 
 boy and girl born dumb. They told me you 
 224
 
 I WITHHOLD THE LETTER 
 
 were gone away to Oxford upon what 
 errand I may not say." 
 
 She walked a little further in silence, keep- 
 ing her eyes away that I might not read them. 
 
 " Hugh," said she, of a sudden turning 
 round and looking me full in the face; " is 
 there anything in the grove here which brings 
 a day of the old time back to you ? " 
 
 " Oh," cried I, standing stock-still upon the 
 instant, though the blood was hot in my 
 head, and my tongue trembled with expecta- 
 tion "oh, my lady, if it be the day of which 
 you speak, then do I remember it well. For it 
 was a day upon which two children, childish 
 in their years, yet grown man and woman in 
 their love, played together in the arbour by the 
 fish-pond of Warboys. And there they 
 builded a little house for themselves, and 
 prayed that the light of God might shine 
 upon a home of theirs ; and that going hence- 
 forth together upon the way of life, they 
 might find a world of their affections, neither 
 narrow nor sunless, a world which should be 
 peopled with the children of their pledge and 
 outlast the plainer day of life, and be a world 
 to them through all their years. Oh, well do 
 I remember that day, mistress, for I have 
 16 225
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE. 
 
 dreamed of it often in the times of my banish- 
 ment, and my misted tears have shown it to 
 me again as a picture painted upon a window 
 that is perished and broken. Many a time 
 over the voice of the tempest and the cries of 
 them that hunted me, have I heard the words 
 ' Whom God hath joined together let no man 
 put asunder.' Nay, how should I forget that 
 day while life be still mine to remember ? " 
 
 We had come very close together by this ; 
 and in my heat of speaking for I had a 
 wondrous tenderness toward her in that mo- 
 ment I found that I had somehow got her 
 hand again. Nor did she resist me now, only 
 uplifting to mine a face rosy with a flush, yet 
 sad still in the eyes, as though doubt lingered 
 to plague her. 
 
 " It is your whole wish to be bound by that 
 pledge you gave ? " she asked coyly. 
 
 " Marjory," whispered I, " let me first ask 
 thee, hast thou no desire to remember the day 
 we think of?" 
 
 She did not speak at once, but her trembling 
 fingers began to unknot the lace about her 
 throat; and I, seeing what she would do, 
 helped her, so that presently her pretty white 
 neck was laid bare, and I beheld an amulet of 
 226
 
 I WITHHOLD THE LETTER 
 
 gold there, shaped like a little golden box. 
 This she had the will to open, but so much did 
 her fingers tremble that she could not get at 
 the catch ; and it was long before our clumsy 
 efforts caused the lid to fly up and the contents 
 to be shown. When at last we came by them, 
 they proved nothing but two dirty scraps of 
 paper. 
 
 " There," cried she, bidding me take them, 
 " is there any thought of that in thy memory 
 of the day, Hugh?" 
 
 I put the papers together, and when I had 
 read them, not once, but twenty times, there 
 was no more surprised man in all England 
 than Hugh Peters. For that which she had 
 kept about her neck so long was the leaf of 
 the book which Tom Honeydew had torn the 
 day he married us; and there was written 
 upon it his testimony that we were man and 
 wife, not only in the eyes of God but of the 
 law. 
 
 Long I held the paper like a precious thing, 
 scarce daring to look at little Marjory now, or 
 to speak all my thoughts. When release came 
 to me, I made swift to take her in my arms, 
 wherein I held her as though never more 
 should she escape that embrace. Nor was 
 227
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 she coy in the moment nay, nor unwilling, 
 for she lifted her lips to mine, and our arma 
 linking us together, we remembered that we 
 were man and wife, and forgot all else in the 
 entrancing pleasure which was ours the 
 gladness of the new day which had risen upon 
 our enduring night. 
 
 The sun was almost sunk in the west before 
 we two found our tongues again. A fringe 
 of crimson light yet hovered above the 
 horizon, painting it with fiery colours; yet 
 from these the gold now began to fade, leav- 
 ing but the dull pink hues, and, above them, 
 the sober greys of evening time. In the 
 woods themselves the birds had already gone 
 to roost ; and only the cry from some camper's 
 tent, or the wail of the sick, or the blast of a 
 horn away by the northern road broke in 
 upon the stillness of the hour. As for myself, 
 I dared not to speak of present things. It 
 had all come upon me with such bewildering 
 suddenness ; I was so surprised by it that I 
 knew not whether I imagined it or did 
 indeed hold my little wife within my arms. 
 Well had I been content to sit there until 
 the sun came up glowing in the heavens 
 again; but my lady, who was ever quick 
 228
 
 I WITHHOLD THE LETTER 
 
 and clever beyond me, soon made haste to 
 remind me how things stood with us, and 
 in what a place of peril we found our- 
 selves. 
 
 "Hugh," said she, drawing a little way 
 back from me, but continuing to hold my 
 hands, " dear husband, what folly is this 
 that we sit here together forgetting all we 
 have to do and all the hurt others would 
 do for us ! Any hour they may bring them 
 to look for me both my brother and he 
 who bears thee little love." 
 
 "Ay," said I, "that is well thought of; 
 yet I know not, little Marjory, how it comes 
 that thou art in the woods of Hadleigh at 
 all. They said that thou wert ridden away 
 to Oxford, and, God knows, I did not wish 
 to hear that." 
 
 She was silent awhile after this, but pres- 
 ently she lifted her pretty eyes to mine, and 
 began to tell me all that had happened, and 
 to speak more fully of our lives than ever 
 she had done since we were met again. 
 
 "Hugh," she asked, " what have they told 
 thee of Sir Nathaniel and myself? " 
 
 " Oh," cried I, " that is soon answered. 
 All the world said that thou wert ridden 
 229
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 away to Potter's Bar to marry him in the 
 house of thy brother, the Earl." 
 
 She laughed at the tale, but a little sadly, 
 as though it were no matter for the jest. 
 
 "They told thee that,'' said she. "How 
 well the world loves a lie when a woman is 
 to be hurt thereby ! Didst hearken to them, 
 Hugh?" 
 
 " Nay," said I, " there was none to speak 
 for thee." 
 
 "And my acts told thee nothing? Oh! 
 what a simple boy is this who plays a man's 
 game with the eyes of a little lad ! Dost not 
 see, Hugh, that I have set my wits against 
 him who came from France that I might hold 
 him silent until the King's pardon could be 
 had for thee ? Nay, I will not say that I 
 have not liked him a little, for he wears very 
 pretty manners, and long I thought he meant 
 well to thee. Nevertheless, if they have 
 reported that it would go to such an end, 
 they talked ill. Hast never stopped to re- 
 member that Captain Goulding is newly out 
 of Paris, wherefrom he brings tidings of thy 
 work? Did he but lift a hand, he might send 
 thee to the scaffold. How, then, should I 
 seem to be other than his friend, until that 
 230
 
 I WITHHOLD THE LETTER 
 
 day at least when I could get the King's 
 ear and say that thou wert no spy from 
 Paris, but a good lad whose sword and heart 
 he might surely count upon? And so for 
 thy safety I was deaf to their gossip. Then 
 came the sickness, and all was undone. The 
 King went to Salisbury, and my brother the 
 Earl, hearing from Tom Honeydew of the 
 jest we had played, sent for me to come 
 to Potter's Bar. I doubt not he likes thee 
 but ill, Hugh, and that thou hast now two 
 enemies in the place of one. Nor may we 
 look any longer for Sir Nathaniel's favour 
 since thou hast broke from his house and 
 gone he knows not whither. They tell me 
 that the Earl has sworn already to kill thee 
 should fortune put you both upon the same 
 road. Nay, dear husband, we are become 
 dreamers again, and the little house we 
 build will surely tumble if thou hast no 
 courage of thy love to carry thee through 
 so many perils. But I am at thy side now ; 
 and, God knows, if thou be willing, no 
 danger nor threat shall carry thee from me 
 
 It was good to hear her speak so, and I 
 thanked her, as lovers will, with kisses upon 
 231
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 her pretty face, ay, even upon her eyes and 
 hair and cheeks, holding her like some pre- 
 cious burden long wished-for but newly 
 gotten; and, Lord, there never once came 
 into my head a thought of the great station 
 she had come to, or of the gulf of place and 
 money that lay between us. But she seemed 
 to be my little Marjory of Warboys again, 
 and as such I spoke to her. 
 
 "Little wife," said I, ''well do you say 
 that I' have been blind, and my eyes like 
 a lad's, that I have not seen these things 
 nor even dreamed of them. Yet why, if 
 Sir Nathaniel has all this in his mind, did 
 not he leave me to the King's men, who 
 surely would have done his work for him? " 
 
 "Oh," exclaimed she, "if thou dost not 
 see that, never hope to be a cunning man, 
 my Hugh, nor to play the game of life as 
 others play it for thee. Surely the King, 
 and those with him who sit like beggars at 
 the doors of Louis of France, fear that thou 
 hast some tidings of their intentions, and will 
 tell them presently to all the world. They 
 fear to bring thee before the judges, Hugh 
 yet not publicly ; so that if any constable 
 puts his hand upon thee they dare not say 
 232
 
 I WITHHOLD THE LETTER 
 
 him nay. I knew well that thou wast in 
 safety at Windsor from all that were in 
 power there. It was an old trooper of thy 
 acquaintance who went near to undoing thee. 
 But they had set Israel Wolf to watch thy 
 room, and he it was who got thee from 
 the castle. Then Sir Nathaniel made promise 
 that thou shouldst find shelter in his house ; 
 and I said once more that it would be a 
 respite for thee until the King could be told. 
 Thereafter I went to Whitehall, but with 
 no success, and must at last speak the word 
 that thou shouldst go to France until thy 
 pardon was to be had." 
 
 It was all clear to me now both her 
 cleverness in the plan and her love for me. 
 But it stung me a little that a woman should 
 be so discerning where I had proved such 
 a witless lad ; and I was vexed to silence 
 while she told me how that, her brother 
 having^ sent for her to Potter's Bar she 
 not having gone there on any business of 
 the spousals at all it proved that he had 
 fled from the sickness the day before she 
 rode into the village. And, being frightened 
 by it herself, she rode away again to a cot- 
 tage in the woods, meaning to rest there 
 233
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 until her brother sent a messenger or Sir 
 Nathaniel was come in as he promised. 
 
 " This is no day to quarrel with them 
 now, Hugh," she said, " but only to plan 
 for the hiding of thee until the day be ripe. 
 I make sure that thou wilt find the Earl 
 no more gentle an enemy than the man 
 of France ; and it would be an ill day did 
 they find us here in the woods together. Of 
 all that, however, we will speak when old 
 Israel is come back, for he, I make sure, 
 is thy friend. It grows full dark now, and 
 you know not what dreadful sights and 
 sounds are to be heard in these woods when 
 the sun is set. Let us go hence, dear love, 
 and remember only the morrow of our 
 affection." 
 
 She rose at this, and, I holding her hand, 
 we two dreamers went through the woods 
 together. 
 
 284
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 I WOULD PLAY NARCISSUS 
 
 I SAID farewell to my lady at the door of 
 the keeper's cottage, and then ran back to finci 
 old Israel that I might tell him, ay, with 
 words a many and glad heart, all that had 
 happened since he had left me. My dear wife 
 willed that I should return to our place of 
 bivouac, there to sleep until the dawn. 
 "But," said she, "you shall look for me at 
 sunrise by the five elms, and, perchance, sir, 
 you shall find me with news both of my 
 brother and Sir Nathaniel." Nor could I 
 answer except to kiss her hands and to tell 
 her that never one loved as I had loved, and 
 would love while my years were. 
 
 There are hours of joy in all our lives, I 
 make sure, when we do best to be alone in 
 some place, be it the privacy of our garden or 
 our closet, where none can hear the words we 
 speak nor mock the little things which are 
 the outcome of our exceeding content. For 
 my part, I was very willing to find myself in 
 235
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 the darkness and the secrecy of the forest 
 that night. God knows how light was my 
 step and what follies I told myself while I 
 ran from thicket to thicket in my quest of 
 Israel Wolf, and of the surprise I was to bring 
 upon him. Often, indeed, I stopped to whisper 
 my story to the sky above me, as though 
 some answering message would be given back 
 to me' when I cried, "She loves me! my 
 little wife remembers." Never had I thought 
 that a place could be so beautiful as those 
 woods of Hadleigh and the cottage where my 
 mistress lay. In my foolish fancy I would 
 think of her as a queen of the elves, sleeping 
 there in a bed white with the whiteness of 
 angels' wings ; and from the heaven above a 
 star sent down its light to make golden her 
 unbound hair, and to banish the night from 
 her face. The very forest was a heavenly 
 place to me, so that I said I could make my 
 home for ever in it, and ask nothing of all 
 the world but to live my days upon the soft 
 carpet of the grasses with my lady's hand in 
 mine, and her kisses warm upon my lips. 
 
 It is to be imagined how thoughts such as 
 these quickened my step and brought blood 
 to my veins; yet I was ever one to up 
 236
 
 I WOULD PLAY NARCISSUS 
 
 and down like a burn in April; and I had 
 gone but a little way through the woods when 
 a voice of my own doubts began to whisper 
 to me and to ask me how I stood that all this 
 content should be mine. I could not forget 
 that our night's work was so much play jof 
 children, well enough for the hour, but prom- 
 ising nothing for the morrow. "At dawn,' r 
 said I, " they may come for her and hear that 
 Hugh Peters is at Hadleigh. It is even possi- 
 ble that the Earl will use his power to make 
 Tom Honeydew's work of no avail. She will 
 go to the King again then ; and I Lord, no 
 outcast shall find less pity." For what was it 
 to me that they feared to clap me in the jail 
 at Newgate the while my wife was taken from 
 me and I was writ down a spy so that any 
 man might profit by my death. Nor could I 
 put it from me that my lady had confessed to 
 some little liking for the man who had done 
 me this hurt. Nay, I remembered my life 
 and station, and began to wonder that any 
 woman could find a kind word for me or look 
 twice upon my face. 
 
 This reflection vexed me sorely, and I stood 
 to think upon it, resting awhile at the bank 
 of a deep pool. Well might I wish that the 
 237
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 sun would shine and let me play Narcissus; 
 yet not as he played, but only to ask myself 
 if the glass should bear me any hope, or tell 
 me that my lady played with me. For that 
 were possible still. I knew long since the 
 report they gave of her at Windsor both of 
 her love of jesting and of her fine airs before 
 those who sought her out. "Lord," cried I, 
 44 what if this be but a pastime to her where- 
 in she may beguile herself until her man be 
 come?" Had she not confessed to a little 
 love for him? I had that in remembrance, 
 ay, above all else of the night, and it was gall 
 and wormwood to my mind. " Lord," said I, 
 *' send this French rogue where he and I shall 
 cross a blade in fair fight." It seemed to me 
 that all my life henceforth was in this man's 
 keeping ; for how should I be content in my 
 new happiness while he lived and she loved 
 him a little as her own word told ? 
 
 These were the doubts that came to plague 
 me while I stood, by the pond and the night 
 stalked swift through the woods. Silly fellow 
 that I was, I would remember none of those 
 things which might have been set down for 
 my consolation, but only those which minis- 
 tered to my foreboding. It was ever in my 
 238
 
 I WOULD PLAY NARCISSUS 
 
 mind that I had been bred one of the Lord's 
 people, which all the world now mocked. Ill 
 that I, who had lived a soldier's life, and not 
 that of a godly man at least to my discom- 
 fort in little matters must now be branded 
 with the iron of this common slander. "If," 
 said I, " fortune had not dealt so ill with 
 me, I might be wearing a laced coat and 
 jingling my spurs like the best of them." God 
 knows I had no tongue for all the weary 
 business of religion which Master Ford pro- 
 fessed ; nor did I remember to have sat out 
 a parson's discourse when I could avoid it. 
 Yet my lady called me " psalm-singer " to my 
 face, and reckoned it as rare as a fast day to 
 see me laugh. How, then, I asked, will she 
 be content to live with such a one? Will 
 she not, when she has grown a little cold in 
 her protesting, fear that I shall be the usher 
 of her pleasures, the whip upon all those 
 fashions which she has lately made her own ? 
 I blamed myself that I had not given the lie 
 to the report already, nor promised her that 
 she should continue as she had begun since 
 Charles Stuart was come to his own again. 
 Indeed, I was half of a mind to send into 
 London that Master Ford might help me to 
 239
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 a better station in my dress ; but this I soon 
 scouted, telling myself that I was a man, and 
 that if she would not have Hugh Peters as he 
 was that day, then, better that she should go 
 her way and forget that she had known him. 
 " But," said I, " in the matter of her little 
 love for the man of France, God be my help, 
 I will reckon with that so soon as there shall 
 be opportunity." 
 
 I had been occupied long with thoughts 
 such as these when a bell at Barnet struck 
 ten of the clock and awoke me to a sense of 
 my folly. I bethought me that Master Wolf 
 would be waiting at our sleeping-place, and 
 mighty concerned if I was not there to greet 
 him. So I took heart and ran on again. It 
 was then that I had cause to remember my 
 lady's word, .how that the thickets would show 
 strange sights when night was down. Every 
 step I took carried me to some scene of deso- 
 lation and of suffering. By here and there I 
 saw whole families huddled at some tree's 
 foot, the men of which would cry out as I 
 passed, bidding me stand off lest I should 
 carry the sickness to them. Or, again, com- 
 ing suddenly upon a stagnant pool lying in a 
 cup of the brake, I beheld a poor wretch lap* 
 240
 
 I WOULD PLAY NARCISSUS 
 
 ping the water as a dog might have done, 
 yet praying all the while that the Lord would 
 have mercy upon his soul. Anon a man, 
 near naked, burst out from the bushes upon 
 my right hand, he having a flaming torch in 
 his right hand, and this he held up high above 
 his head while he ran on like a wild beast, 
 screaming out loud that he was taken with 
 the pains. Him I followed long by the light 
 of his flambeau, and when that was hid from 
 me, I could still hear his woeful cry raised like 
 the wail of some animal come out of his 
 lair at the setting of the sun. Never until 
 this moment had there been brought to my 
 mind the truth of all those reports winch 
 Master Wolf and Parson Ford had made me 
 of the plague in London ; but now I believed 
 their word and repented of the wish I had so 
 lately uttered that I might have been born a 
 king's man and worn his reputation. God 
 knows, the thought of death was very bitter 
 to me with my lady's kisses still burning upon 
 my lips. 
 
 I began to have a great fear and dread of 
 
 the forest now, a fear which set me running 
 
 as though the sick man pursued me ; nor did 
 
 I once stop until I espied the place of our 
 
 16 241
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 encampment, and beheld old Israel himself 
 busy by a great watch-fire he had kindled. 
 He saw me before I had come through the 
 trees, and ran a little way out to meet me. 
 On my part, I was too gone for want of 
 my breath to give him any greeting, but held 
 his hand the while he looked about as though 
 to see them who pursued me. When he had 
 satisfied himself that we were alone, he led 
 me to the fireside and pointed to the supper 
 which lay broiling upon the faggots. 
 
 " Master Hugh," said he, " I had begun to 
 think that I must sup alone. You have 
 news, surely, that you consent to fast so 
 long?" 
 
 For answer, I told him all as readily as I 
 would have told my own mother and as 
 gladly. 
 
 "She is my wife, Israel," said I; "and 
 how should I think of hunger or thirst when 
 I was in the woods with her? Oh, God be 
 thanked ! she remembers all, and there was 
 never any forgetfulness, and she had the leaf 
 of the book worn like a jewel about her 
 throat, and she did but wait for me to speak, 
 and she likes the French rogue but little, and 
 I will reckon with him dost understand? 
 242
 
 I WOULD PLAY NARCISSUS 
 
 there is no gladder man than Hugh Peters in 
 all England this night." 
 
 He laughed a little at my readiness ; nor 
 was he willing to lead me on overmuch. 
 
 "Good tidings for a truth, Master Hugh," 
 said he soberly; "yet lover's tidings, and 
 scarce to be writ down for circumstance.' I 
 have learnt already that Mistress Marjory came 
 to Hadleigh for no purpose of the spousals,. 
 but only at her brother's bidding. That she 
 remembers the day you name is a welcome 
 thing for me to hear. It remains now that 
 we ride away from here as soon as may be 
 possible, lest they put a bit upon the venture 
 I have in my mind. And so I have cooked 
 a little meat against your coming; and the 
 horses, which you stabled so prettily, are now 
 ready for bridle." 
 
 He said this very slyly, meaning to rebuke 
 me because I had run away from the glade 
 and left the beasts to the first band that 
 should be put upon them. "When I remem- 
 bered the thing, I had some shame of it. 
 
 "Nay, Israel," cried I; "wouldst have 
 
 me love with no stomach, like him Wfli 
 
 Shakespeare spoke of in his play? I did 
 
 but go a little way through the forest whem 
 
 243
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I heard her call to me ; and could I remember 
 aught after that? Perchance thou hast loved 
 thyself, and wilt know how these things come 
 to be?" 
 
 I had forgot that he was a man with a face 
 upon which no woman might look ; and it 
 cut my heart to hear how bitter he spoke the 
 reply. 
 
 " Nay, Master Peters," said he, " woman's 
 love is not for me, no, nor man's, except it be 
 thy love, which goes warm to my heart even 
 in the winter of my life. Let us speak no 
 more of this. We have other work to do, 
 which will not wait. And first, of the man 
 out of France : 't is said that they look for 
 him at Hadleigh any day, and that he is con- 
 cerned overmuch to hear that thou art abroad 
 and gone he knows not whither. I have 
 thought upon it long, and have found a place 
 of hiding for thee, which is none other than 
 a house under the shadow of Paul's, where 
 none will seek thee in this day of the sickness. 
 Thither we ride to-night ; and when we are 
 come so far, then will I tell thee more of that 
 which is running in my mind both for the 
 manner of getting thee a pardon and of send- 
 ing this French spy to his home again. Mean- 
 244
 
 while, let me see thee eat, for thy face tells 
 of hunger. I doubt not thou hast had little 
 care for thy stomach this day." 
 
 He set food before me when he had done 
 speaking; but I, rather than thank him for 
 what he promised, was vexed because he 
 spoke of my leaving Hadleigh. 
 
 " Israel," said I, " there have been few 
 hours of gladness in all my life, and such as 
 God sends me, those I will not turn from. I 
 have given my word to meet my lady at the 
 five elms before sunrise.. You will not say me 
 nay, old friend? What matter that we lose 
 the night if you be here ? God knows, I value 
 your help above a king's company. And I 
 could not ride away with no word passed nor 
 message sent. It seems to me that I have 
 found my home in these woods. Well could 
 I be content to live and die here if Mistress 
 Marjory were at my side, Israel." 
 
 Master Wolf shook his head cunningly, and 
 began to stir a faggot of the fire. Then of a 
 sudden he turned away from me, saying, 
 
 "Master Hugh, I lied to you just now. 
 
 There was a day when I, too, loved the place 
 
 where a woman lay. That was long ago; 
 
 though your words bring to me a remembrance 
 
 245
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 which I thought to have forgotten. We will 
 even lie the night in Hadleigh, though one of 
 us pays thereby with his life. Would to God 
 that I could rest with such thoughts in my 
 heart as you hold in yours. Oh, my lad, there 
 is naught else in all the world like a woman's 
 love." 
 
 It seemed to me that there was a sob in his 
 voice when he spoke, and his sorrow lay upon 
 me like a burden. But I fell to sleep at last 
 with him lying near by; and while I slept a 
 voice cried down from heaven that God had 
 looked upon the face of Israel Wolf and made 
 it to shine with the celestial liglit. 
 
 946
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 PABSON FORD FINDS A MERKT OCCUPATION 
 
 I WAS up at the first grey of dawn ; yet not 
 so soon as old Israel, who broiled me a break- 
 fast while I dressed. The morning air waked 
 me to fine spirits, so that I could laugh at 
 every little thing; but more particularly at 
 Master Wolf's cunning, when he would to help 
 me with my clothes and the combing of my 
 hair. Nor did I care to eat much only a 
 little of the meat and a draught of the ale ; 
 and when this was down, and we had washed 
 in the burn, I gave him God-speed, and ran 
 off to the trysting-place. 
 
 " You will not forget, Master Hugh," he 
 had said, " that they look for Sir Nathaniel 
 this very day. Prudence should be your best 
 friend on such a journey. You will find me 
 here at sunset, ready with the horses. And 
 let me counsel you : lose nothing of the occa- 
 sion, but beat the iron while it is hot. Sht 
 247
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 will love you none the less if you do but com- 
 mand her love a little. Upon my word, there 
 is many a lad between here and London town 
 who might gape with envy at the figure of 
 Hugh Peters this day." 
 
 I was very glad to hear him ; and I ran off, 
 asking myself if indeed it were true that I 
 might play Narcissus at the pond, and get 
 content thereby. Never had the thought 
 come to me that I was such a man as a woman 
 might fancy ; but now that he had named it, 
 I took courage of the hour and was at the five 
 elms, all expectant and little doubting, just as 
 the sun found the place and began to warm it 
 with the white light of a summer's morning. 
 There was a little bower here, removed some 
 way from the place of the common encamp- 
 ment ; and I bethought me that Marjory had 
 named it because of the privacy we should en- 
 joy therein which pleased me mightily. But 
 she had not come when I found the elms ; and 
 near an hour went by before I espied her, 
 most prettily dressed, walking very slowly 
 toward the glade. And at this I remembered 
 my own haste, and told myself that she could 
 not love as I did, or never would she lag upon 
 such a journey. Indeed, my heart beat at her 
 248
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 coming, and the blood coloured my face, while 
 my tongue was 1 busy with twenty things I 
 might first whisper to her yet could find 
 none to please me. 
 
 She walked up, I say, looking to the right 
 and to the left, but not to the place where I 
 stood waiting. When at last I stepped out to 
 greet her, she made pretence of being surprised 
 thereby ; as though Hugh Peters were the last 
 person she had come to the five elms to see. 
 And this vexed me not a little. 
 
 " Well," she said, while she stepped back 
 from my embrace ; " so you are here, Master 
 Hugh?" 
 
 " Marjory," cried I, " what means all this 
 you know well that T amf here. Have I not 
 waited for you since the clock struck four?" 
 
 " How," she cried ; " you have waited for 
 me? Nay, by the look of you when I came 
 up, I thought that you had lost a crown upon 
 the grass, Master Hugh, and were even search- 
 ing for it." 
 
 " Oh! " said I, " God forbid that I should 
 strut like these king's men do. I walk as the 
 Lord taught me, my lady ; and will better it 
 for no one." 
 
 It was not to be hid from her that I was 
 249
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 put out, very justly, at her coldness ; and this 
 shamed her after a while so that she laid her 
 hand upon my arm coaxingly. 
 
 " Nay," she said very merrily, " 't was not 
 to quarrel that we came into the forest this 
 morning, my Hugh. Forgive me if I do jest 
 with thee." 
 
 " Thou art forgiven already, little wife," 
 said I; "there is nothing in all the world I 
 would not forgive thee nor do for thee. " 
 
 " You mean that, dear Hugh? " she asked. 
 
 " God be my witness " cried I. 
 
 " Then you shall walk a little way into the 
 forest with me, and by and by I will even let 
 you sing me a psalm." 
 
 I went all hot at this, and had it been any- 
 one else I had been mighty angered. But 
 with Marjory that was not to be. She couid 
 plague a man, and yet so cunningly and with 
 so sweet a grace, that he must cloak his vex- 
 ation and bear himself befcre her as one lov- 
 ing the jest. 
 
 " Mistress," said I, " there is that upon my 
 tongue of which I would make mention to 
 thee. Thou hast spoken often of me as one 
 who loves the company of those that walk in 
 the way straightly, worshipping God with 
 250
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 long discourses, and holding it a sin so much 
 as to look upon a woman, or to do any of 
 those things which all the world does nowa- 
 days. I was never a man like that, and I 
 would tell thee now " 
 
 " Hugh," she cried, turning upon me 
 suddenly with all the laughter gone from her 
 eyes, " Hugh, art going to deny thy religion 
 as Peter did and for a woman's love? " 
 
 I could have bit my tongue that she rebuked 
 me so ; but I knew that I had deserved it of 
 her ; and I stood dumb with flaming cheeks 
 and bent head, I make sure. 
 
 "Well," said I, after a spell, "it was for 
 love of thee, lest, peradventure, thou shouldst 
 turn from me as one who would chain thee 
 to a home of gloom, Marjory. Nay, God 
 knows, thy will shall be my will if ever the day 
 come that I can find a house for thee." 
 
 She burst out laughing now, but not un- 
 kindly, and presently she took me by the arm 
 and led me further into the brake ; the while 
 she said : 
 
 " Surely I begin to know thee well, Hugh, 
 
 and how that thou wouldst stand friend to all 
 
 the world, if only thy tempers would let thee. 
 
 We are like children playing a game, and 
 
 251
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 this pleases us best when we dream the most. 
 Have we not our day of love before us? 
 Bring the morrow what it may. Nay, I could 
 make believe that we were at War boys again, 
 and that these were the woods about my 
 father's house." 
 
 It was a merry conceit, and she had forgot 
 all her seriousness when she spake it. From 
 that time we were, I vow, but two children 
 gaming in the brake, or gathering posies of 
 the marsh marygolds, or playing catch that 
 catch can, yet very gently, so that, whenever I 
 caught her, she would rest in my arms to be 
 kissed ; and whenever she caught me which 
 was no great labour to her she would tell 
 me again that my eyes were blue. Nor could 
 I find the colour of hers, but must look and 
 look again to make sure. And so the morn 
 sped yet Lord ! how quickly the lovers' 
 hours passed ! For the bell at Barnet struck 
 nine of the clock while we were yet hot in the 
 game that only lovers may play truly. 
 
 The chiming of the hour put a little cold 
 upon our ardour, she remembering that she 
 was to breakfast in the cottage at eight of the 
 clock. She had contrived it so that I should 
 be brought in with her and none know of it. 
 252
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 ** I do not think that my brother will ride 
 in to-day," she said, "or if that be so, then 
 shall we have timely news of it. As for Sir 
 Nathaniel, he should be at Oxford now, busy 
 upon the King's affairs. I doubt not, Hugh, 
 that he will repent him of his anger presently ; 
 and if he will not, then I have still friends to 
 help me. Nay, I do not mistrust him alto- 
 gether, for he has ever professed friendship 
 for me, and I could not be displeased at 
 that." 
 
 " I doubt not," said I, mighty stiffly, " that 
 you were very pleased with so proper a man.' 
 
 " And why not? " said she. " Is there born 
 yet the woman who could shut her ears to the 
 fair things which a man speaks ? I like him 
 very well, my Hugh, and will like him the 
 better when he learns to love thee even a lit- 
 tle. Perchance I shall yet find a way to com- 
 pel him so to do, for there is something in my 
 mind how, dost thou not wish to hear me ? 
 Silly boy that is up in his angers like a bird 
 on the wing ! I will even keep it to myself, 
 then, and if thou wilt hear thou shalt come 
 to the cottage presently to beg it on thy 
 knees." 
 
 She kissed her hand to m^ upon this, and 
 253
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 ran away through the thicket, leaving me sore 
 troubled and peevish, yet with no good cause 
 of quarrel against her; which vexed me the 
 more. I was content to say for a little while 
 that she should wait long before Hugh Peters 
 came to beg any favour of her ; and as for put- 
 ting myself upon my knees, Lord ! there was 
 no woman in the country who could bring me 
 to that. But when I saw her so girlish and 
 sweet and full of her play, running lightly 
 over the sward, yet stooping often to pick a 
 flower as she went, I repented of my resolution 
 all on the instant, and began to follow after ; 
 calling often to her that I had a word of good 
 argument with which to answer her. But she 
 ran the more at this, and went swiftly like a 
 hunted thing, so that I should never have 
 overtaken her but for something which she 
 hap'd upon in her flight, and was held thereby 
 to the place in a sudden amusement not to be 
 passed by. When I came up she had a finger 
 to her lips to command my silence ; and so I 
 trod the grass upon the tip of my toes and 
 stood by her presently to enjoy the thing with 
 her. 
 
 Forsooth, it was a merry play which she 
 had come upon, and I wondered no longer 
 2.54
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 that she stood to see it out. For there, seated 
 side by side upon the green at the foot of a 
 great oak-tree, were Parson Ford and little 
 Kitty; and never did two lovers at a booth 
 cuddle more diligently. As for the wench v 
 she lay almost her length upon the grass, 
 resting her chin upon her hands, while the- 
 parson was busy plaiting bluebells into her 
 hair. Often he would stop to look round- 
 about very foolish, and when he kissed her, 
 Lord ! it was but a snatch upon the tip of her 
 nose, just as a hen may peck at the corn which 
 is flung. I could have cried aloud in my 
 laughter that he should ape the lover thus, but 
 little Marjory pressed my hand to still me; 
 and so we watched them long, until, indeed,. 
 Master Ford espied us and jumped up quickly 
 like a school-lad caught in naughtiness. Then 
 we both ran out, unable to hold our laughter 
 any longer, and my dear wife took both the 
 parson's hands and raised her pretty face to 
 kiss him. 
 
 " Oh, Master Ford, Master Ford," cried 
 she, " what a day is this ! That you should 
 deceive my maid, and I be there to see it. 
 done ! " 
 
 * Come," said I, chiming in merrily, *' and 
 255
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 what says Paul now ? 'I would that all 
 should be even as I am.' Oh, Master Ford, 
 Master Ford, this is a black day's work." 
 
 " Nay," said he, speaking now for the first 
 time yet never had he worn so red a face 
 " nay, I have found a daughter the Lord be 
 praised, I have found a daughter." 
 
 "We laughed the more at this, greatly to his 
 confusion, and presently little Marjory, feign- 
 ing to be angered, stamped with her foot 
 upon the ground, and cried mighty sternly, 
 
 " How, Master Ford, you do not mean well 
 by this wench. For shame, sir and she an 
 orphan and unprotected that hath need of an 
 honest man's arm. What! would you play 
 the rogue in my very house? A daughter, 
 indeed. Upon my word, she shall find many 
 fathers to play such a game but you that I 
 have loved! Oh, I burn with shame for 
 you ! " 
 
 He could suffer our jesting no longer, and 
 he walked away all confused towards the 
 cottage, whither we followed him merry in 
 our approval of the play. Nor had we gone 
 very far before old Gideon stalked out from a 
 place of ambush in the trees and raised his 
 hands in a gesture very doleful. 
 256
 
 PARSON FORD 
 
 "Pillars of Grace !" cried he, " that it should 
 have come to a wench with him ! The Lord 
 forgive him, for he hath kissed her twenty 
 times upon the nose. And that, mistress,'" 
 said he very slyly , " is no abiding-place where- 
 on to kiss any wench.* 
 
 257
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 WE HEAR A GREAT PLAN 
 
 IT was a merry meeting in the cottage, and 
 the food and drink helped us all to great 
 content. I had never seen Master Ford in 
 so gay a state, nor so ready to forget his con- 
 dition. As for the wench, she went to her 
 work as brazen as the best of them. For a 
 truth, she called the parson " father," which 
 pleased us mightily ; since it made a Papist 
 of him, and that was a rdle he was new in. 
 Only when the food was all done and the 
 heat of the day lay heavy upon the forest 
 did we turn to speak of serious things ; but 
 chiefly of this, that a place of safety should 
 be found for me the while Marjory could 
 bring that plan of hers to the execution. 
 And then I told them of old Israel's offer, 
 and how that I was to ride to Paul's a thing 
 which frightened them exceedingly. 
 
 " What? " cried the parson ; " he would 
 take thee into the town where men fall dead 
 258
 
 WE HEAR A GREAT PLAN 
 
 in number like the leaves. Surely, that is a 
 very pretty plan to put thee where neither 
 king's men nor French spies may trouble 
 thee, Hugh. Nay, old Israel lacks his cun- 
 ning, and has become a dreamer. I tell thee, 
 it is a city of death to which he would carry 
 thee, lad. No man knoweth his hour, nor his 
 day ; and all he asks his neighbour is of the 
 bill which they make at the pit's mouth. 
 Happy is he that can breathe God's air, even 
 in such a place of refuge as this." 
 
 " You speak a good word," said I; "yet 
 how shall I be better for breathing God's air 
 at Hadleigh when any day may bring them 
 who will hunt me ay to my death, as you 
 know well, Master Ford? Hast any better 
 plan than Israel's, that you should hold 
 him in blame when your own tongue lacks 
 counsel?" 
 
 He was all up in anger now, just as he used 
 to be in the old time when I was brought to 
 the block of a false quantity in my Latin. 
 
 " Tut, tut ! " exclaimed he, " what froward- 
 ness is this which sets son against father? 
 Would'st deny me to my face ? Out on thee 
 for the blockhead I have bred! Nay, thou 
 shalt follow my plan at the cudgel's bidding,, 
 259
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 sir. And I will even read tbee a lesson in 
 manners before the day is done." 
 
 I was silent upon this, choking down my 
 anger for love of him ; yet not very readily. 
 Perchance, it had come to a good quarrel 
 with us but for my dear wife, who turned 
 it very prettily with a memory of the morn- 
 ing. 
 
 41 Oh, Master Ford ! " cried she, " how shall 
 we need a lesson after that you taught us at 
 the tree's foot? Surely, we are ready pupils." 
 
 It was a hit, upon my word; and when 
 Master Ford had coloured up because of the 
 remembrance, he took a drink of wine, and 
 then fell to laughing. 
 
 **Ye are rogues both," said he, " and I 
 know not why I concern myself with your 
 affairs; but since I am come, I will even 
 carry out my intention, which is " here he 
 paused and put on his accustomed gravity, 
 looking hard at me the while " which is to 
 make you man and wife upon the spot" 
 
 "Master Ford," cried I, amazed at his 
 words, " is there any need of that? " 
 
 "My lad," said he, kindly enough, " if thou 
 hast no other testimony of thy marriage than 
 the leaf of the book which my lady holds, it 
 260
 
 is likely to go ill with thee when the Earl 
 shall carry the matter before the judges. But 
 if I be there to make it known to all the 
 world that thou hast found a wife as God and 
 the Church hath ordained, then mayest thou 
 hold up thy head before all the country." 
 
 It was a mighty clever thought, one which 
 had never come to me in all my reasoning 
 about the business. Yet no sooner had he 
 made mention of it than I saw the advantage 
 we were like to derive thereby, and the ex- 
 ceeding wisdom that had led Master Ford to 
 his intention. As for my lady, she was all 
 joy at the first, jumping up to kiss the parson ; 
 but after a while, she had some shame of her 
 readiness, arid fell to a little coyness. 
 
 "Come," she said, "there be need of two 
 in any bargain such as you name, Master Ford. 
 What if one of them be not willing ? " 
 
 But the parson was never a man to jest 
 upon holy things, and he rebuked her to my 
 great content very sharply. 
 
 " Child," said he, " this is no hour to come 
 to the Lord with a laugh upon your lips. 
 Thank him for those infinite mercies which 
 have carried one you love through so many 
 perils until this moment. Well, I see that 
 261
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 ye are both as little children running blindly 
 you know not to what, except it be to the 
 darkness of pleasure, which shall hide the peril 
 from you both. Yet if ye be not both earnest 
 upon this purpose, avowing that God hath 
 drawn you together here that your exceeding 
 love may be witnessed against all the world, 
 then will I have no say upon nay, I will 
 ride back to London this very hour." 
 
 The rebuke was well spoken, and I knew 
 that she had deserved it ; yet must I feel my 
 love waxing strong while he upbraided her, 
 and I took her hand presently and held it in 
 my lap. Shame on me if I had forgot in that 
 hour the difference of our station and the 
 high place to which fortune had called her ; 
 yet here she was, content to come down from 
 the castle of her dreams that she might re- 
 member Hugh Peters, whom all the world 
 had cried upon and the very dogs had hunted. 
 Oh, shame upon me, I say, if I had not loved 
 her with all my heart and soul when I thought 
 upon her kindness and how that she had but 
 me now in all the world ; and, God knows, 
 but ill equipped to shield and protect her 
 f-rorn the hurt they would have put upon her. 
 
 The parson made an end of his rebuke, 
 262
 
 WE HEAR A GREAT PLAN 
 
 and delayed no more to carry out his purpose. 
 And there in the little room of the cottage 
 with the sunlight to make a golden pavement, 
 and the song of the birds, very merry, through 
 the unglassed windows, he knelt down ta 
 offer a prayer for us ; his fine voice sweeter 
 to my mind than any music of the King's 
 singers; and his face made noble in that 
 earnest pleading with his Maker. When the 
 prayer was done, he read the form as it is to 
 be found in the second prayer-book of King 
 Edward; and thereafter he pronounced us man 
 and wife, calling old Gideon and the woman 
 that kept the cottage to bear witness thereto ; 
 so that no one, not even the king himself, 
 could have undone that thing which he did that 
 morning. 
 
 He married us, I say, and then, mounting 
 upon his horse, he rode away to London, 
 again saying that he would return irpon the 
 morrow to let us know how we should put 
 the thing abroad, with any other counsel he 
 could devise. We watched him, standing at 
 the cottage door ; and there was this in my 
 heart as he went, that I bad found a friend 
 in him such as is given to few upon this, 
 earth. 
 
 263
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 " The God of our fathers bless you both," 
 cried he, turning about in his saddle at the 
 mouth of the brake, " and put His shield 
 before you and give you light to lead your 
 steps." 
 
 And so he rode away, and left us to our love. 
 Nor did we stand long at the cottage door, 
 since we knew that one would wait to give 
 him God-speed at the thicket's edge ; and we 
 would not willingly have spied upon him for 
 the second time that day. 
 
 264
 
 CHAFfER XXVH 
 
 I DRAW SWORD AT THE BURN SIDE 
 
 IT was six of the clock before I so much as let 
 my dear wife draw har hand from mine after 
 that Master Ford had left us in the cottage, 
 but the hour being struck, I remembered me 
 of Master Wolf ; and said that I would run 
 and bring him to the place that he might 
 know of our new intentions, and sup with us 
 rather than at the bivouac where he waited. 
 For we were well intentioned now as to the 
 plan we would follow, being come to this : 
 that I should lay hid at Hadleigh so long as 
 might be possible while my lady rode away to 
 Oxford where the Court was ; there publicly 
 to avow that she was my wife and to beg the 
 Kind's clemency. Save for this business of 
 the Paris man and the tale he told of me, I 
 had hoped for the venture, trusting all to my 
 little wife's cleverness, she being powerful to 
 persuade a man, ay, above any I have known. 
 But we had heard nothing of Sir Nathaniel 
 265
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Goulding the whilr we were in the WOOCL. ; 
 and God knows what a shadow lay upon mj 
 life while he was abroad and full of his angers 
 against me. 
 
 I left Marjory, I say, at the gate of the 
 thicket, yet very unwillingly, returning often 
 to kiss her, and then again finding some word 
 which I must speak to her ay, though I was 
 to be gone but the half of an hour. Perchance 
 she had come with me but for the things 
 which were to be heard and seen in the 
 woods when night opened the door of death, 
 and wickedness and dreadful sights were 
 abroad in the brake. I remember that she 
 wished me to go with my sword drawn and 
 a great pistol in my hand ; the while I laughed 
 at her fears, asking her if Hugh Peters was so 
 changed that he must cry out like a wench 
 did he but hear a word of threat, or spy an 
 over-bold fellow by the way. And so kissing 
 her to content, I ran on, more joyful than any 
 man in England. 
 
 That day, for a truth, was the one I would 
 the soonest live again of any day in my 
 eventful life. There were times when I stood 
 still in the silence of a glade or hollow and 
 looked all about to know if I were indeed 
 266
 
 I DRAW SWORD 
 
 in my own country, if the things I saw were 
 real or the creatures of my fancy. But yester- 
 day I had gone with broken step and hang- 
 ing head, knowing thai I was outcast and 
 exile ; to-day I could walk with the best of 
 them, holding myself boldly as if to tell all 
 the world, " She is my wife." Not that I could 
 yet venture to raise my eyes, as it were, to a 
 prospect of the new condition I might did 
 God will enjoy as my lady's husband. Nay, 
 I put it aside from me as a precious thing 
 to be toyed with yet not to be handled. 
 Enough for me to have my lips warmed with 
 her kisses, to carry remembrance of the tender 
 embraces she had given me, to run on, nay, 
 I swear to dance on, touching the bushes 
 with the tips of my fingers like any urchin in 
 his running; and promising myself, ay, that 
 I would make old Israel open his eyes and 
 give him such a show and proof of my love 
 presently as he had never had in all his days. 
 It was, at a ready venture, the half of a 
 mile from the cottage to the glade wkereia 
 we had tethered our horses ; yet so quickly 
 did I go that I was at the burn side, which is 
 but a hundred paces from our bivouac, while 
 I was yet hot in my plan. Never once did I> 
 267
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 as I went, look at them who passed by me or 
 ran out of their hiding places to change a 
 word of news. When I came to the burn 
 itself, I doubt not that the same haste would 
 have carried me over, but for a man who 
 stood on the bridge and was halted there, 
 seeming not to know whether to cross over or 
 go back. At any other time I had passed him 
 without remark, but as I stood to wait his 
 pleasure, I did not fail to observe that he was 
 habited beyond ordinary for one of my own 
 countrymen, having the black frock and the 
 broad hat of a French priest ; which, indeed, 
 I soon saw that he was. For the matter of 
 that, he appeared to be no less astonished to 
 see me than I was to find him there upon the 
 bridge; and when we had watched one an- 
 other, it might be for a minute, he called out 
 loudly in the French tongue, and was an- 
 swered by a voice from the bushes upon the 
 further side of the brook. Then I knew who 
 his companion was ; for the second voice 1 
 had heard often, both upon the road to Wind- 
 sor and again at Hampstead. Nor was I 
 at all surprised, after I had heard it, to ob- 
 serve the bushes open and Sir Nathaniel 
 Goulding himself step out upon the bridge. 
 268
 
 I DRAW SWORD 
 
 He saw me at once, drawing back upon im- 
 pulse ; but when it was plain to him that he 
 could not conceal himself, what must he do 
 but feign a pleasure to see me and cross the 
 bridge with both hands held out. 
 
 "St. Denis," cried he, "but we are well 
 met, Master Peters. No other brings me to 
 the town of Barnet, I swear. That I should 
 run upon you in the woods sacre bleu, 't was 
 ever my fortune to find you at the lucky mo- 
 ment. Yet methinks you are not overpleased 
 to see me, ami. Body of John, dost come 
 from playing the gravedigger, lad, that you 
 should stand there so." 
 
 My blood was hot in my veins at this, and 
 I drew back from him, thanking my God that 
 I had found him in the woods. 
 
 " Sir," said I, " my pleasure I keep for my 
 friends, and if I must play the gravedigger, I 
 will the first find a body which has need 
 thereof. I pray you stand aside from the 
 bridge, for an you do not, we will even see 
 who has the right of passage. Oh, surely we 
 are well met this night, Captain Goulding ! 
 Draw back your hands, I beg of you, for I 
 like not their colour. There is water in yon 
 burn if you would wash." 
 269
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I had hoped that this would move him to 
 come to the business I intended; for God 
 knows I had but one thought when I beheld 
 him, and it was this, that we should reckon 
 then and there. But he was ever a man to 
 be cunning in the argument ; and now he 
 burst out laughing at me, repeating the jest 
 to the French abb who stood with him. 
 Presently, the two of them went back over 
 the bridge and engaged a little while in dis- 
 pute, with many gestures in the manner of 
 them of Paris. I heard the priest telling him 
 loudly, in the French tongue, that he had 
 never seen me before ; which he repeated 
 many times. On my part my hand was even 
 then upon the hilt of my sword, and I lusted 
 for the fight ay, as I have never lusted in 
 the heat of battle. 
 
 The two stood in dispute, I say, and when 
 it was done they both came over the bridge 
 together ; the Captain first, and very merry, as 
 one who has heard a fine thing. He did not 
 seem to remember that I had affronted him, 
 for he walked up to me without any word of 
 parley, putting his hand boldly upon my 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Master Peters," cried he. " if you will 
 270
 
 I DRAW SWORD 
 
 ride with me as far as Barnet, I will tell you 
 the best jest you have heard this many a day. 
 Name of the devil ! If I had not the abbe's 
 word for it, I would not believe it even upon 
 oath. But he speaks for you, declaring that 
 you are not the man that has come out of 
 Paris to do us a mischief ; and what he says 
 I must heed. I would that I had known it 
 when first I clapped eyes on you at Epping. 
 St. Denis ! I had been spared three months 
 of unrest about you, while you nay, man, 
 you should have played the lover the quicker. 
 Not that you have been a laggard in your 
 business, friend Hugh. Oh, I hear great 
 tales of your employment these three days 
 past. And hark ye, a word upon that : pluck 
 the blossom while you may, for others have 
 picked petals, and you are like to get but a 
 sorry flower if you do not hasten. You un- 
 derstand me nay, look not so glum, for 
 verily, I mean well to you." 
 
 He said this with a smile very evil to see ; 
 the while the French abbe was there to point 
 the saying with his laughter. But I had come 
 to the full of ray anger now, and when he 
 spoke so of my dear wife, I stepped back and 
 struck him upon the mouth. All my hate of 
 271
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 him, all that I had suffered by his doing, and 
 strong above this, the remembrance that my 
 lady liked him a little, gave me the devil's 
 arm to strike the blow. God ! I thought 
 that I had killed so did the blood flow over 
 his silvered vest and upon the hand he raised 
 to shield himself. Nevertheless, he was only 
 skin hurt ; and after he had stood silent be- 
 fore me, it might be for the half of a minute, 
 he gave a great oath and drew sword. The 
 Lord be my witness, it was a moment I had 
 lived for since he had carried me to the castle 
 at Windsor, and with a devil's cry like his 
 own, I made my blade leap that I might come 
 to the engagement. 
 
 It is in my memory that the sun was upon 
 the line of the lower trees when our blades 
 crossed. A deep red light, playing about 
 his face, shone down from a sky hung with 
 crimson and red at the zenith, but curtained 
 below with the fringe of the forest and the 
 clouds of night. Save for the splash of the 
 burn there was a great silence in the brake. 
 The very wind had died down until the aspens 
 were fallen to a breath of sleep. We had 
 chosen for our standing-place a bank of mud 
 baked hard in the sun, which had made it like 
 272
 
 I DRAW SWORD 
 
 the floor of a court for tennis players; but 
 here the advantage was with him, for he 
 stood somewhat above me. Quick as they 
 call me in play, I could not forget that he 
 had learnt the art of fence in Paris, where all 
 are quick. Indeed, we had thrust but tw.ice 
 when I said to myself that it must be no boy's 
 work, but a reckoning heavy to the last line. 
 And he was mighty cool from the beginning : 
 casting a taunt in my teeth of my being a 
 farmer's son, and bidding me sing him a 
 psalm, which provoked me to lose myself 
 early in anger; and, if this were not enough, 
 there came to me a vision of my little wife 
 standing in an open place of the thicket. I 
 knew that it was but a vision, yet the remem- 
 brance which it commanded that I might 
 die by this French rogue's hand after all 
 was like lead upon my mind. 
 
 They were wont to say in Paris, at the 
 school of my master, that I had as pretty a 
 touch with the rapier as any man in France. 
 It is not for me to extol their judgment in 
 this place, save to explain the sorry figure I 
 cut that night at Hadleigh. Perchance, had 
 I but set about it with less heat, I had been 
 more than a match for this Captain Gould- 
 is 273
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 ing; but I was old in my impulse and full of 
 hate of him, which made me gnash my tee* 
 like a brute thing, and roar out to all tee 
 forest that I would surely kill him. He an- 
 swered me with a sneer, which racked my 
 temper and made me fly at him so wildly 
 that I went near to striking his sword from 
 his hand. Twice I cut over and lunged in 
 sixte; there was no trick Maitre Antonio 
 had taught me which I did not employ but, 
 Lord! savagely and ill done, like a lad at 
 his lesson. As I live, I could feel his laugh- 
 ter shaking upon his blade: his touch was 
 firm and sure, like the touch of a man who 
 has grasped victory. I can see him to this 
 day looking me through and through with bis 
 steady eyes; the sun crfmson upon his face, 
 the jeer upon his lips. God! it was a humil- 
 iation beyond all bearing to me that he should 
 prove my master, after I had waited so long 
 for the reckoning. And all the while the 
 French abbe* was beseeching him to forbear, 
 running hither and hither like a man dis- 
 tracted, or kneeling down to pray God that 
 He would bring us to our senses. 
 
 I was fighting savagely now, with breath 
 quick and firm hand. The beat of my foot 
 274
 
 I DRAW SWORD 
 
 upon the ground fell heavy like a hammer; 
 my veins were full of blood and outstanding. 
 If there were moments when I must ask my- 
 self, "Shall I ever see my dear wife again?" 
 other moments in which I said, "She likes 
 him a little," quickened my arm and warmed 
 my heart. I knew that I had the will to 
 drive my blade through him ay, twenty 
 times again and again, until his body 
 should be still upon the grass at my side. 
 But never was there shield more sure than his 
 sword. Like a wall of stone it stood betwixt 
 us. I slashed at him and was parried with a 
 bend of the wrist; I rushed upon him and 
 was driven back to the engagement with the 
 touch of the master's hand. I played a feint 
 and was answered with the exhortation to 
 remember myself : Lord ! that it should have 
 been he who spoke so to me ! 
 
 "Master Peters," was his word, "I see 
 plainly that you want your breath. Go a 
 little more gently, I beseech you. Did they 
 teach you no better than that in Paris ? Give 
 me but an hour and I will find a farmer's lad 
 with whom you shall have a merry bout and 
 more at your ease. Observe, I turn by sixte, 
 octave, and half-counter. St. Denis! only 
 275
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 a child would have made BO ill a stroke as 
 that." 
 
 I had driven him back a little at this time 
 back until he was almost at the burn's 
 edge. For the first time I had the heart to 
 believe that he should eat his words. The 
 message of his blade, read upon my arm, 
 seemed to tell me that his jeers belied him, 
 and that he faltered. But that was a sorry 
 guess, and went to my undoing. For at the 
 very moment when I cried out that I had 
 him, and played from the high line to the 
 low, he met me with the counter, and sent 
 my sword flying in the air. Then, and with 
 the same turn, he thrust me in the shoulder, 
 and I felt the steel running deep into my flesh 
 with a horrid pain which turned me sick and 
 dizzy. It was odd, I swear, yet long minutes 
 passed, and still I did not know that he had 
 worsted me. Nay, I stood like one dumb- 
 founded : my eyes upon my sword, which lay 
 shining like a silver snake in the grass; my 
 hand pressed to my shoulder because of the 
 hurt. He, on his part, had lowered his point 
 that he might watch me more closely; and I 
 remember that the French abbe was at his side 
 imploring him to have done with. 
 276
 
 I DRAW SWORD 
 
 "Oh," said he, "that is as Master Peters 
 wishes. I have no cause of quarrel with him. 
 Dame! it is a pleasure to me to teach him 
 how the sword should be held. Does he wish 
 it, we will even play the game again." 
 
 "Sir," said I, "it is my wish," and with 
 that I made a step to pick up my sword ; but 
 the blood gushed out of my wound when I 
 stooped, and I fell sick and dizzy upon the 
 green. Before I could rise again, the old 
 abbe's arms were round about me, and he 
 was comforting me with a voice gentle as a 
 woman's. 
 
 "My son, my son," cried he, "look up to 
 God, for surely you are dying." 
 
 " Oh! " cried I, " how shall I look up to 
 God when he has killed me?" and so say- 
 ing, the woods and the men and the crimson 
 of the sky were hid in darkness from my 
 eyes, and I fainted. 
 
 277
 
 CHAPTER XXVIH 
 
 I HEAR A GREAT THING OF SIR NATHANIEL 
 
 MY swoon passed quickly. When I opened 
 my eyes again I was still pillowed upon the 
 abbe's arm, the while Captain Goulding stood 
 watching, he having both his sword and my 
 own in his hand. I saw at once that they 
 had torn my vest from my throat, and had 
 bound my wound with a strip of linen rent 
 from my own shirt. There was a great pain 
 in my shoulder as though one had touched it 
 with a glowing iron, and I was very weak in 
 my limbs ; yet it seemed to me that I was not 
 to die, and I know not whether I took com- 
 fort or despair of this. The abbe was the 
 first to speak to me. 
 
 "Courage, my son," cried he; "the good 
 God has saved you. Oh, surely you will 
 live now." 
 
 He gave me to drink of a cordial water in 
 a horn rimmed with silver; and when he had 
 bathed my forehead ay, as tenderly as a 
 278
 
 I HEAR A GREAT THING 
 
 woman might have done with a little water 
 from the brook, he passed a word to the other, 
 and got a gesture for his answer. 
 
 " Come, Master Peters," now cried Sir 
 Nathaniel, " I am sorry to see you thus; but 
 you will not hold me in blame thereby. It is 
 but a scratch, as the abbe says. Can you 
 contrive with our help to get so far as yonder 
 town ? a chirurgeon shall dress you. I be- 
 seech you forgive me for the hurt I have 
 given." 
 
 It was a kindly word, and all my anger 
 seemed to have run out with my blood, so 
 that I had the will but not the voice to thank 
 him. As I live, I had never spoken so to him 
 had he been prone upon the grass, and I min- 
 istering to him. When he had done, they 
 gave me the support of their arms, and, being 
 careful to go with slow steps, we gained the 
 edge of the wood, and passed by the pickets 
 upon the showing of the captain's bill of 
 health, and his voucher that he would answer 
 for my hurt being no more than a sword's 
 thrust. The house which he had named lay 
 a little back from the road upon the out- 
 skirts ; and here he brought a chirurgeon out 
 of Barnet, who made light of the cut I had 
 279
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 got, and gave me good relief with a lotion of 
 oils. 
 
 " Sir," said the fellow, " you will please to 
 lie the night in this house, and to make no 
 movement which will trouble your wound. 
 I promise you, do you but rest a while, that 
 you shall be yourself when a week has passed. 
 There is nothing touched to set up the fever, 
 and you are a young man. Oh, sir, there is 
 no drug against a sickness like a lusty and 
 a well-kept youth. I beg you, be content to 
 rest until I shall pronounce you factus et 
 reductus ad sanitatem. Odds, sirs, 't is as 
 fine a case for the post hoc to follow upon the 
 propter as ever I saw. Lucky to see such a 
 thing in these days, when men are struck, not 
 with any visible sword, gentlemen, but with 
 the sword of the Almighty. Who shall stand 
 against that? Nay, you answer me by your 
 looks; yet if you would have a sure and 
 certain preventative against the plague, gen- 
 tlemen, I can even sell you one for the matter 
 of a crown. Yon is a scratch medicus 
 nihil aliud est quam animi consolatio. Let 
 the young gentleman lie twenty hours in the 
 composition of melodious trifles, nugseque 
 canorae, as Horace hath writ, and his mistress 
 280
 
 I HEAR A GREAT THING 
 
 shall spy neither faltering step nor weak 
 heart." 
 
 I laughed at him upon this, for he was a 
 mighty pompous fellow, and his promise to 
 give us a preventative against the sickness 
 for a. crown was a ridiculous thing to hear. 
 But at the mention of my mistress it came 
 upon me very suddenly that little Marjory 
 would be even then waiting for me at the 
 cottage. This gave me so sudden a start, 
 that I might well have burst my wound again. 
 Nor dare I tell them how it stood with me; 
 but could only lie back upon my couch and 
 swear that wound or no wound I would be 
 with her before the morn. In which resolve 
 and plan very foolish both I hearkened 
 to Captain Goulding when he drew a chair to 
 my conch and spoke with me. 
 
 "You hear, Master Peters?" cried he. 
 "Twenty hours upon that bed and afterward 
 where you will. Believe me that I regret 
 this night's work. 'T was none of my doing, 
 as you can bear witness. And I will even 
 tell you another thing, that I care not now, 
 except for your own sake, whether you be 
 free or prisoner. It is plain to me that all 
 the talk of your coming here upon this French 
 281
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 business was foolish talk on the part of ttiose 
 who mistook you for another. As for myself, 
 I confess that I weary of this England of mine 
 and all that I have seen and heard here. My 
 heart is in the French city, where the heart 
 of every gentleman must be. God helping 
 me, I will even cross the seas this week to 
 return no more. But you will find my ser- 
 vants ready to do. your bidding, and, I pray 
 you, command them as your own. It is well 
 known to me in what employment you have 
 engaged yourself since you came to Hadleigh. 
 Forgive me if I had stood well with Mistress 
 Marjory. You will understand without word 
 of mine, Master Peters, that a woman's ear is 
 not to be despised by him who embarks upon 
 a venture needing many ears. I can jest with 
 you upon that matter the easier since I have 
 a wife of my own in Paris and three children, 
 who might well stand with your mistress for 
 sisters. You are a bold fellow, and your 
 courage is very pretty. Let an old man con- 
 jure you to add a little thought to it some- 
 times ; for the head is stronger than the sword, 
 and will be while the world runs. I shall 
 carry to Paris good remembrances of our 
 meeting; nor will you, when all is done* 
 282
 
 I HEAR A GREAT THING 
 
 think so ill of the man who brought you out 
 of Epping. To-night I ride to London. 
 Permit me, at least, to go there as one with 
 no cause of quarrel against any man." 
 
 He held out his hand to me, and I swear 
 all my hate of him changed to love upon the 
 instant. Hurt and anger, and that which he 
 had put upon me at Hampstead, what were 
 these to me when I knew that he had a wife 
 in Paris ? Lord, thought I, what a thing to 
 tell Marjory, and to bring her to shame that 
 she liked him a little ! It were as though all 
 my strength came back to me at the saying. 
 I had the will to leap up from my couch and 
 jump about the room; nor did I any longer 
 withhold my hand, but thanked him as though 
 he had been my own father. 
 
 "Sir," said I, "it is very plain to me that 
 I have done wrong by you. Let there be no 
 more remembrance of it. I will think of you 
 often among the number of my friends. You 
 shall not find me ingrate if ever the day 
 come. Nay, you make me forget my pain. 
 I doubt not, if it were fought over again, and 
 I had the high place of the bank but of 
 that we will not speak." 
 
 He smiled very cunningly when he heard 
 283
 
 me; and after we had taken a little supper 
 together, and I had thanked the French abbe 
 for his kindness, they rode away to London, 
 leaving me to the care of the hag that kept 
 the house. I had never meant from the first 
 to pay heed to the pompous chirurgeon ; and 
 now, when the place was still and the hag 
 gone to her bed, I made bold to rise from my 
 seat and to see if I could walk at all. Though 
 I must crawl upon my hands and knees, I 
 swore that I would cross the wood to my 
 little wife's side. It was very sweet to re- 
 member that I might lay my head upon her 
 shoulder and be comforted in her kiss, and 
 feel her gentle hands about my wound. When 
 I stood up at last, it was to find myself a 
 little dizzy in the head and stiff in my limbs, 
 like one who has lain long upon dewy grass. 
 But I pressed my hand firm against my shoul- 
 der, that the wound might not gape again; 
 and taking up my sword, though not buckling 
 it, I unlatched the door of the house, and so 
 came out into the strip of garden which bor- 
 ders upon the Great North Road. 
 
 It was a summer's night, lacking moon, 
 but with so great a brightness of the stars in 
 the heavens, that one mighf almost have seen 
 284
 
 I HEAR A GREAT THING 
 
 to read print. I made sure that there would 
 be no one abroad at such an hour, and I went 
 boldly to the gate of the garden and so out on 
 to the highway. There I had taken, it may 
 have been, ten steps when some one called to 
 me, pleasantly, and with the voice of a man 
 who would pass me good-night. 
 
 "Well met, Hugh Peters, upon my word," 
 cried the man. And so I turned round to 
 find that one of the King's guards had his 
 hand laid upon my shoulder, and that he was 
 no other than the trooper I had seen from 
 the window of my bedchamber at Hampstead. 
 
 And, as I live, I could think of nothing 
 else but the cunning laugh with which Sir 
 Nathaniel Goulding had left the room to ride 
 away to London. 
 
 285
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE CLOAKED MAN IS KNOWN TO ME 
 
 THERE were five troopers with him who had 
 taken me; he, I saw, being the captain of 
 the company, as his trappings showed me. 
 Whether they had just ridden up or had been 
 halted there against my coming I knew not, 
 nor could I think. It were as though a bolt 
 from heaven had dropped to strike my heart 
 dead. 
 
 " The King fears my tale no longer," said 
 I to myself; "and so they carry me to my 
 death." All the treacherous cunning of it, 
 the dreadful thought that I was cut off from 
 my little wife forever, that I had known but 
 one day of life in all my years, stupefied me. 
 Not a word could I speak when the guard 
 touched me; I had anger neither against 
 God nor man. I was like one struck dumb by 
 misfortune, robbed even of the mind to grieve, 
 silent in the very weight of my misery. 
 286
 
 THE CLOAKED MAN 
 
 The guard greeted me pleasantly, I say; 
 nor could he understand my silence. 'T was 
 a common thing for such as him to make 
 suffering a bed-fellow and death his play- 
 mate. He named me coward, I make sure, 
 and began to have some contempt for me in 
 his heart. He did not know that my wife's 
 kiss was still warm upon my lips, that I 
 longed for her then as man has never longed 
 for anything on God's earth; no, not for 
 gold, nor place, nor station, nay, nor life. 
 He found me but a sorry knave, meet for the 
 gallows, a common spy. If he gave me a 
 kind word, it was of his pity, not of his love. 
 
 "Come, Hugh Peters," said he, "would 
 you make me think that I have laid hands on 
 a wench? God's truth, did I set up your 
 face for a bogle in yon field, there would be 
 no rooks left in all Middlesex. Take heart 
 of it, man, and go like a merry fellow. 'T is 
 as easy as crack a nut any time, and all the 
 jades in town there to see you dance. Dost 
 fear the rope ? Out on you for a craven ! " 
 
 " Sir," said I, for his words stung me. 
 "Perchance I fear death no more than my fel- 
 lows. If it be God's will that I must die, 
 then I will show you whether I be craven or 
 287
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 no. You have heard, I doubt not, that I 
 carry the hurt of a new wound, which your 
 usage of me has gone near to burst again. 
 Yet could I hold a sword in my hand but 
 that is idle talk, for I am weak, and sick, 
 and without friends, as you see." 
 
 It was far from me to beg his pity, I vow; 
 but I shall ever carry a remembrance of Cap- 
 tain Harry Seymour as one of a true heart 
 and a friend. No sooner did I make men- 
 tion of my wound than he sprang from his 
 horse and stood by my side, bidding a corporal 
 light a lantern that he might see my face. 
 
 " Master Peters," cried he, very kindly, " I 
 swear upon my honour that I knew nothing 
 of this. You have a hurt, you say how 
 came you by that ? " 
 
 I told him of the affair in the wood, and 
 how that Sir Nathaniel had sold me after 
 passing his word. 
 
 "Yes," said I, "give me the high place of 
 the bank, and I will worst him to-morrow. 
 He is old in cunning. I had but a lad's head, 
 and there was one waiting for me but that 
 is my affair, sir. Deal gently with me for 
 God's sake, for I have been used very ill." 
 
 " Nay," exclaimed he, " } t was a sorry trick 
 288
 
 THE CLOAKED MAN" 
 
 to pass his word and then to bring us hither. 
 Believe me, Master Peters, I have no heart 
 in this night's work. But carry you to 
 London I must, for to that am I sent. Let 
 me put you upon my saddle until we be come 
 to Baruet, and I can get you a cup of sack 
 and a second horse. You may be sure that 
 we find the business ill enough, and are like 
 to remember it. They say that the town has 
 now no grave big enough for its dead. The 
 grass grows within the very gates. Who 
 shall ride to London at such a time and say 
 that the morrow will not find his body in the 
 pit? God bear witness I am not over given 
 to thoughts of my condition, Master Peters, 
 but willingly would I pay a hundred guineas 
 to be quit of this employment." 
 
 It was plain to me that reflection upon the 
 danger of riding into the city was no new 
 thing to him ; and the faces of the others in 
 his company were an echo of his foreboding. 
 I heard a low talking, and many a whispered, 
 " Lord have mercy upon us! " which was the 
 cry in that day of them who were afflicted. 
 But Captain Harry was quick to pass the thing 
 by; and when he had lifted me upon his 
 horse, he held to my leather and began to 
 19 289
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 walk by my side, feigning to be merry and 
 of a good heart. 
 
 "A plague upon all this! " cried he. "Who 
 knows that a bolt may not drop from heaven 
 and strike us dead before we come to London 
 city at all? Were I in your shoes, I would 
 hope the best from such times as these, Mas- 
 ter Peters. For where shall you find a hang- 
 man in a city of dead men, and how will Jack 
 Ketch wet his weasand with a drink of 
 physic when naught else is to be had within 
 the gates? Odds, sir, 'tis a very pretty wager 
 to lay that you shall not hang this three 
 months ; and I will even condition it with you 
 to be paid to them you name if the thing 
 be lost, or to be got from your assigns shall 
 it come to me." 
 
 All the guard laughed at his humour; and 
 one they called Corporal Jack cried out that 
 Master Harry Seymour was ever a devil in the 
 matter of a wager; but another said, " God 
 save us all when we be come to Hoi born 
 Bars," and to this all echoed a loud "Amen." 
 Nor could Master Harry bring them again to 
 merriment, but, very silent and doleful, we 
 rode up to the inn at Barnet, and there called 
 for the ostler. 
 
 290
 
 THE CLOAKED MAN 
 
 This was about the hour of midnight, when 
 by ordinary custom the town should have 
 been long abed and only watch-dogs barking. 
 But in those dreadful days all was out of the 
 common, so that night brought neither sleep 
 nor silence. The town was, for a truth, full 
 of clamour and confusion when we rode in. 
 So thick was the press of coaches and of 
 waggons about the inn door that we must bawl 
 over a barrier of wheels, or stand to watch 
 serving men run hither and thither, some 
 with torches, some with wine-cups all very 
 wan and anxious like men long lacking beds. 
 Scarce a minute went by without bringing 
 now a horseman, now a coach up the hill 
 where is the road to London; and Lord! to 
 hear their tales of the city, how that the dead 
 lay in the very gutters for want of pits big 
 enough to hold them the while men and 
 women flung themselves into the waters in 
 their agonies was a thing to still the heart. 
 Nor did we find it any better in the parlour 
 of the inn itself, where men stood together 
 in a great press some to tell that further 
 passage by that road was impossible others 
 again, very hot and excited in their talk, 
 swearing that they would go on, by God. 
 291
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 We saw plainly enough that we should get no 
 shelter there; and Master Harry, though he 
 declared that he would drive them out with 
 the flat of his sword presently, must perforce 
 go out to the stables and command that wine 
 should be brought him there. 
 , "And hark ye, my man," cried he very 
 I boldly to the landlord; " make haste to serve 
 me, or I will even burn your house about 
 your ears. Dost not see that I am abroad 
 upon the King's business? Harry Seymour 
 is my name, and, by my soul, you shall 
 remember it long an you do not bestir." 
 
 I was sorry for that man so did his com- 
 pany plague him ; and what with the clamour 
 in the street and the flare of the torches and 
 the cries of the horsemen, I seemed to be in 
 k a world afar, beholding all things but dimly, 
 and awake not at all to my condition. But 
 I remember that Captain Harry led me to the 
 stable-yard of the inn, and was about to enter 
 a stall there when a man, whose face was 
 hid by a black cloak, stepped before him and 
 greeted him very civilly. 
 
 " Sir," said he, " if you have any love 
 for your life, I pray you will not enter 
 there." 
 
 292
 
 THE CLOAKED MAN 
 
 "And why, sir?" asked the Captain very 
 proudly. 
 
 " Because, do your eyes follow the light of 
 my lantern, you will even see the bodies of 
 three men lying in the straw. Hush ! put it 
 not abroad ; for what can the master of this 
 place do when many fall dead at his door, 
 and others are struck with the cup at their * 
 lips? God's word, ye will be well advised 
 to get upon your horse again and to make for 
 London with what speed you may." 
 
 I have never seen a man more astonished 
 than Master Seymour when he looked into 
 the stall. And I think he was frighted, too, 
 for he drew back at the word and walked 
 some paces down the yard. 
 
 " I know not who you may be, sir," ex- 
 claimed he, "but surely you have done me a 
 service. Could I but get a horse, I would 
 hasten on as you say yet how shall a horse 
 be found?" 
 
 " Captain," said the other very quickly, "I 
 have business in London myself, and if I 
 may ride there so far in your company, the 
 horse that you lack shall be at yon gate before 
 the clock strikes again." 
 
 The Captain thanked him, and called his
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 men from the parlour. But I stood wonder- 
 struck and speechless. 
 
 For he who spake the promise to Master 
 Seymour was none other than old Israel Wolf, 
 whom I had left at dawn in the glade of the 
 woods.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE man went upon his errand, I say, and 
 Captain Harry fell to pacing the stable-yard, 
 he being now low in spirit and scarce ready 
 with a jest even for the wenches of the inn- 
 But so much as he lost heart did I gain it. 
 The coming of Israel was like a gift of blood 
 to my veins. Never once since they carried 
 me from Hadleigh had I thought until thia 
 time of that which day would do for me. 
 Death and the omen of death robbed my mind 
 even of the power to think at all. I said that 
 I was come at last to the snare they set for 
 me. The King feared my tale of Paris no 
 longer. He was content now to send me to 
 Newgate, there to be tried for that same 
 offence which had brought my uncle to the 
 scaffold. Idle to cheat myself with any hope 
 now that the guard had got me and was upon 
 the point of carrying me to that prison whence 
 295
 
 I might never hope to go forth, save it were 
 to the place of my death at Tyburn. But 
 now, at the instant, a great freshet of cour- 
 age burst upon my heart. I knew not why; 
 I had no thought of plan or plot. This only 
 would I remember, that the man with the 
 devil's face was to ride with us to London. 
 Perchance I held him, as a child holds his 
 father, to be all powerful in the hour of need 
 or adversity. I care not how it was save 
 to remember that all the lights of the inn 
 seemed of a sudden to be bright to my eyes, 
 that the very whinny of the horses was music 
 to my ears, that I said ever, "Master "Wolf is 
 here, Master "Wolf is here." 
 
 My new temper, you may imagine, was not 
 to be hid from Captain Seymour. He had 
 left me to stand by the door of the yard while 
 he walked to and fro, but now he came up 
 and was mighty astonished that I had rallied 
 so much. 
 
 " Upon my word, Master Peters," said he, 
 " a draught of sack is very pretty physic. 
 You put me to shame with your smile I beg 
 you carry yourself as well when you pass by 
 Tyburn field presently. Odds, man, what 
 matter, to-day or to-morrow, this year or 
 296
 
 GRASS GREW IN LONDON CITY 
 
 next year: a cup or two of wine the more, a 
 kiss from a wench's lips, a full purse or a 
 beggar's burden, an hour of love or of a 
 woman's tears, will you weep for these when 
 the earth be upon your eyes and all the trum- 
 pets in the world blown together impotent to 
 wake you ? Consider my own case I that 
 am lusty and bear a woman's message in my 
 heart, what justice is it to bid me ride into 
 the death-place to-morrow that they may put 
 a rope about your neck? Nay, mine is the 
 misfortune, as you must see, comrade!" 
 
 I told him that it was very willingly, and 
 was going on with my lack of wit to speak 
 of many things when we heard a voice bawl- 
 ing to us from the road without ; and all the 
 guard being now come together, we found 
 Master Wolf mounted upon a black horse and 
 leading another by the bridle-rein. I had 
 forgot all pain of my wound in the pleasure of 
 seeing him, and I made bold to mount with- 
 out any help ; but Israel himself bent over the 
 saddle when I was up, and the others being 
 busy with their horses, he said very softly, 
 
 " There is a pistol in the holster, Master 
 Hugh. When you shall see me for the second 
 time, you will know how to use it." 
 297
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 He said no more, but fell back to ride with 
 the Corporal. And this was in my head to 
 perplex me, that he should speak of my 
 seeing him for the second time. But I held 
 my peace; and very excited and wondering, 
 I beheld the* lights of Barnet high behind us, 
 and heard Master Seymour's word that we 
 should be in London city before the dawn. 
 
 There were many folks abroad upon the 
 road to Finchley both horsemen and poor 
 families in their waggons. This was the 
 season when the rich had for the most part 
 gone their ways, as far as might be, from the 
 sickness; but the poorer people, willing to 
 stand by their affairs until all hope of trading 
 was taken from them, were but now begin- 
 ning to flee the pestilence. Nor do I think 
 that we overtook one traveller who had his 
 ' face toward London. It were as though a 
 great battle had been fought at some place 
 by the hills of Hampstead, and that these 
 were the refugees we now happed upon, mak- 
 ing what escape they could from the pursuing 
 armies behind them. Not a word did they 
 change with us; no, not a man, ^oman, nor 
 child among them. If they had anv surprise 
 that men should be so bold as to go into the 
 298
 
 GRASS GREW IN LONDON CITY 
 
 death-place they had quitted, so well did they 
 keep their eyes to the north that they never 
 spake it. And it was woeful to see the line 
 of dead that lay in their path, here a man 
 stark and stiff in the very hollow of the way; 
 there a horseman with foot yet in the stirrup, 
 but hand that would never draw rein again 
 while this world should be ; or anon, a woman 
 walking very quickly, and crying to her folk 
 that they should not forsake her, the while 
 they commanded her to stand off the waggon, 
 and even threatened her with their cudgels. 
 Lord! it was a dreadful thing to behold, 
 this visitation which could rob us of our 
 natural wills, and so change men aye, and 
 women too that they were become like the 
 very beasts of the field. 
 
 You may imagine to what a depth of fore- 
 boding sights such as these carried my com- 
 panion and those who rode with him. He, 
 who had railed upon me that I feared death, 
 was now brought so low himself that he had 
 no word for his tongue, but must go very 
 silently like one dreaming an ill dream at the 
 first waking from sleep. Twice I spake and 
 had no answer from him. Odd, I vow, that 
 I, who had as much to fear from the plague 
 299
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 as any of them, should find no thought of it 
 in my head. God knows what danger of the 
 visitation I had brought upon them, that must 
 I share with them. Yet I rode the whole way 
 making naught of all I saw, but content only 
 to remember that Israel was of the company, 
 and had spoken of my seeing him for the 
 second time. This, perchance, was a solace 
 of my exceeding folly. Had I been patient 
 a little while to reckon upon my standing, it 
 must have come to me that one man, what- 
 ever friendship he had for me, could but lose 
 his own life did he set himself against the 
 King's men who then held me. But of this 
 I would not think; nor had I any care to 
 remind myself that as soon as we were within 
 the city Master Seymour might add to the 
 number of his troop whenever it pleased him 
 so to do. If there were any weight of gloom 
 upon my heart, I set it down to the recol- 
 lection that my dear wife then lay at the 
 waiting-place in Hadleigh Woods, knowing 
 not how it was that I turned from the gift she 
 offered me of her love. And I prayed in my 
 heart that I might hear her voice again, even 
 if it must be on the morning of my death. 
 Well or ill, the image of my mistress 
 300
 
 GRASS GREW IN LONDON CITY 
 
 seemed in the air wherever I looked that 
 night. The very stars shining down upon the 
 city of death were, I said, the heavenly lamps 
 upon which her eyes might even then be 
 turned. 1 pictured her, in my fancy, running 
 a little way out in the woods to seek for me, 
 yet not far, because of the sights therein ; or 
 crying, "He will come when the clock has 
 struck ; " or telling herself that I surely loved 
 her, and that misfortune kept me back. 
 There was a conceit in my heart that tears 
 would be warm upon her cheeks, and, God 
 knows, I would have given half my years 
 could I have come silently to kneel by her 
 and bid her weep no more. But this was a 
 dream born of the stillness of the night, and 
 the darkness of the road, and that gulf be- 
 twixt mind and body which meditation may 
 open. Nay, so truly was I, in my thoughts, 
 at Hadleigh, that I forgot all even my own 
 peril, the men I rode with, and the pain of 
 my wound. The poor folk in the coaches and 
 waggons were no longer the cause of word or 
 wonder to me. The gentle sway of my horse's 
 body, the sweet air of the night, lulled me to 
 a sleep which was not wholly a sleep, but 
 only a resting-hour of the mind dulled already 
 301
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 by the heavy burden of misfortune. And I 
 might even had ridden into London so, obliv- 
 ious of all about me, even of old Israel, but 
 for a sudden call from one of the troopers, 
 who craved Master Seymour's leave to get a 
 cup of sack at the tavern by the parting of 
 the ways. This man's voice I heard, at the 
 first, like a sound droning afar; but anon a 
 bright light flashed in my face and brought 
 me to an awakening. Then all my vision 
 turned to darkness ; and I remembered that I 
 was a prisoner upon the road to Newgate 
 Jail. 
 
 We had all come together again at this 
 place, which was no other than the inn where 
 Master Wolf and I had seen the man in the 
 waggon, and crossed a word with the Con- 
 stable of Finchley. A lusty beating upon the 
 door of the house brought the landlord out 
 very quickly to serve the soldiers ; and while 
 we stood in the aureole of light which fell 
 about his window, I observed Israel deep in 
 talk with Captain Seymour. But to me he 
 spake no word, nor did I expect it. Never- 
 theless, I was mighty astonished presently 
 when he gave a "Good-night!" to the cor- 
 poral, and, setting spurs to his horse, galloped 
 302
 
 GRASS GREW IN LONDON CITY 
 
 fast in the direction of Hampstead. I had 
 thought surely that he was to go \vith us into 
 London; and when he rode away thus, he 
 seemed to take with him all that had upheld me 
 through the night. Nay, I could have cried 
 after him, imploring him of his pity to bide 
 with me yet; but so swift did he go that he 
 had turned the bend of the road, and was hid 
 from sight while the silly word was shaping 
 upon my lips. I was still deep in my wonder 
 when I remembered very suddenly, and to my 
 confusion, his saying that I should see him 
 for the second time, and would know, when he 
 came, how to use the pistol which lay ready 
 in the holster. And this brought me to such 
 a new hope and excitement that I could 
 scarce sit still upon my saddle. 
 
 " Master Seymour," cried I, bubbling over 
 with talk, like men wild in a notion will, 
 *' does yon fellow carry so little that he would 
 bed with the footpads of Finchley?" 
 
 "God's word!" exclaimed he, looking at 
 the cloud of dust which yet whirled above 
 the road, " I doubt not that he is own brother 
 to them. Yet we are the better for his com- 
 pany by the horse you ride; and that is a 
 guinea's worth, Hugh Peters. I am told to 
 303
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 inquire for him at the Sign of the Ship in 
 Temple Bar Without. 'T would be a sorry 
 gentleman of the road who would waste his 
 time with such a fellow. Didst see how he 
 covered his knave's face? Nay, surely 'tis 
 a gallow's bird we have escorted, and in the 
 King's name, too!" 
 
 " Sir," said the corporal, who was now at 
 my side, " 'tis no gallow's bird but a plain, 
 honest gentleman who goes covered for fear 
 of the sickness. He has an affair which 
 presses in the village of Hampstead, and 
 would be there before the dawn. He bids us 
 ride in to the city by the Tyburn Road, and 
 so to Holborn, where, he says, we shall be 
 like to pass the dead-cart by, and the pits 
 they have lately digged. 'T is a fair word, 
 and God grant we may profit of it. Odd 
 that five must die because they would hang 
 one. Yet it will come to that, Master 
 Seymour, if the Lord show us no mercy this 
 night." 
 
 He spoke very dolefully; and I could see 
 his fellows waiting for the captain's word, as 
 though he would go back now at the last. 
 But he was no faint heart; and when the 
 corporal had done, he turned upon him with 
 ,304
 
 GRASS GREW IN LONDON CITY 
 
 a loud oath, swearing that he would shoot the 
 first man who made mention of the sickness 
 again. 
 
 "What?" roared he, "you would have 
 them cry upon Harry Seymour that he turned 
 from the spots like a wench from a bogle? 
 Out on you for faint heart! And you, Jack 
 God's truth, they shall drum you through 
 the regiment with a farthingale about your 
 boots. Would'st cry oranges at the Duke's 
 house, man? Forsooth, you shall make a 
 merry jade presently ! " 
 
 The corporal hung his head when Master 
 Harry rated him so; and the others being 
 brought to obedience at the word, we fell in 
 again, and began to go all very close together 
 toward the common of Finchley. We had 
 taken the eastern road at the junction, since 
 this would carry us out in High Street, and 
 so to Holborn Bars ; but the nearer we drew 
 to the city the more plainly did my compan- 
 ions show their displeasure. Tt was very 
 clear now that Master Seymour, whatever 
 his words, carried little pleasure in his heart. 
 As for me, I was in a better mood than ever 
 I had been from the beginning of it. The 
 hurt of my wound and the gloomy looks of 
 20 305
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 my companions were of no moment to me. By 
 what right instinct I know not, nevertheless 
 it was in my head that old Israel would not 
 have ridden away without good purpose. I 
 began to wish exceedingly that I might behold 
 the lights of the great city herself. There 
 was a strong desire in my heart, that I might 
 be among many men again, up and doing, 
 with the clash of swords in my ears and a 
 horse at the gallop to carry me. The secrecy 
 of Master Wolf's departure was like physic 
 to my brain, working upon me until I had the 
 impulse to cry out aloud, or to lash my beast, 
 or to talk incessantly of any trivial thing that 
 came into my mind. Even Captain Seymour 
 observed how changed I was, and must re- 
 mark upon it. 
 
 " Come, Hugh Peters," cried he, when we 
 had left the village of Finchley some way 
 behind us, "I begin to think that I have done 
 you a wrong. Odds, man, I shall tell them 
 that yon carried yourself like a very pretty 
 fellow. And why not, I ask ? Nay, we are 
 as like as not to go into the pit before you, 
 and that without any King's warranty. Look 
 at yon light in the sky. God's truth, I lore 
 a beacon as well as any man, but I would 
 306
 
 GRASS GREW IN LONDON CITY 
 
 give a hundred guineas if I might pass those 
 fires by." 
 
 I knew well what he meant, for the sky 
 above the distant city was red and lurid, as 
 with a running of blood before the heavenly 
 throne. These were the days when they had 
 lighted great fires in all the streets of Lon- 
 don, if possible to burn out the pestilence 
 from the air; and now we beheld their radi- 
 ance of scarlet upon the great arc of the 
 heaven above us. It was a moment of awe, 
 indeed, when we halted for a spell, and looked 
 down upon the mighty pit of death as into 
 the very shades of hell itself. The lamps of 
 London twinkled now in the windows of a 
 thousand houses. We could observe from 
 the hill-top the spot where Paul's lay; and it 
 seemed to us that a terrible scorching wind 
 was breathed out by the city, to come hot 
 and burning into our lungs and to fill us with 
 the pestilence. I wondered no more that my 
 companions feared to go into that dreadful 
 place; and I began to think of naught else 
 but the raging death below and the cries then 
 winging up to God from unnumbered tongues 
 soon to be stilled until the eternal day. 
 
 307
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT 
 
 WE came into London past Tottenham 
 Fields and the booths of the players, then 
 gone to decay and to sorry desolation. Like 
 men who had looked to behold very dreadful 
 things, we were a little surprised at the 
 first to find the city so still in sleep for 
 there were no fires lighted in these' parts, 
 nor were any watchers abroad in the night. 
 Indeed, we rode a mile toward St. Giles 
 before we saw anything which so much as 
 told us that they had sickness in the town; 
 and then it was but a house, all shut up and 
 dark, yet showing a red cross upon its door, 
 and the words " Lord have mercy upon us " 
 writ there. We passed it quickly, turning to 
 the Tyburn Road, where my companions, 
 who had begun to take heart a little, drew 
 rein suddenly and cried one to another that 
 they must find a better way. There was a 
 great fire lit here, and men and women drank 
 308
 
 THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT 
 
 round about it ; the while a cart was halted at 
 the place, and the driver asked of them if they 
 had any dead. It turned me sick in my head 
 to see this cart quite full of bodies, not one 
 of them so much as wrapped about with' a 
 shrouding, but all pitched together like dumb 
 beasts in the slaughter. And it was worse 
 to see the indifference of the common folk 
 how they continued at their bout and wicked- 
 ness, no man seeming to remember that God 
 might call him upon the instant to the throne 
 of the heavenly judgment. 
 
 We had come into the city, I say, and had 
 begun to think that they had told us an idle 
 tale of its condition; but that opinion was 
 soon changed. Every step we took now 
 toward the gates carried us to some new and 
 dreadful sight, the like to which mine eyes 
 have never beheld and, God grant, may 
 never see again. There was scarce a house 
 in all our way down Holborn Without-the- 
 Bars that had not the cross upon its door. 
 We heard the tinkling death-bell at every 
 corner; the grey dawn-light showed us men 
 and women ay, and little children, too 
 all awake, as though they must know sleep no 
 more until the sleep of death should come to 
 309
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 them. And, as if this were not enough of 
 itself to wake us, we came often upon some 
 poor wretch that had fallen down dead, even 
 as he walked along the street ; and, having 
 none to tend him, lay all stiff and cold upon 
 the sidewalk, or out in the hollow of the road 
 itself for any coach to crush his body. Many 
 & time that night did I hear a fearful cry 
 come out of some house, and, following upon 
 it, watch the flight of some sick man, who 
 would run from his bed, and be held by none 
 from going stark-naked to the streets ay, 
 even so far as the waters of the river, that 
 he might cast himself therein. Once, indeed, 
 a poor girl, wild in agony with her pains, 
 came running out of a house by Gray's Inn 
 Walks to lay hands upon the bridle of Master 
 Seymour's horse, and beg him of his pity to 
 save her from the grave ; but he beat her off 
 with the hilt of his sword, and, Lord, his face 
 was turned white like stone, and I could 
 see his hand trembling upon his rein. 
 
 " My God, Hugh Peters!" cried he; "did 
 you see that? She breathed into my face, 
 and her hand touched mine. What can save 
 Harry Seymour now ! " 
 
 I could not give him any helping word, and 
 310
 
 THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT 
 
 Heaven be my witness that I was in no better 
 state myself. What with the pale light of 
 morning, and the dreadful crosses upon the 
 houses, and the silence of the city (save for 
 the cries of them in pain and the woeful 
 ringing of the bells), it seemed to me that I 
 had come down into a very pit of death, 
 whence I might never go out, save it were to 
 the pits then digged for the mighty multitude 
 of bodies. God knows the things I saw and 
 heard turned me sick and giddy, until I went 
 near to falling from my horse. For this was 
 a city stilled and stricken dumb in agonj r , a 
 city where there was no thought of to-day, 
 nor to-morrow, nor of the years after; a city 
 where no coaches rolled nay, nor lovers 
 talked, nor fathers thought of sons, nor sons 
 of mothers ; but all turned one from another, 
 saying surely that the end was now, and that 
 God would speak presently, and the curtain 
 of heaven be drawn back. Never once in 
 this woeful ride did I remember that we were 
 now within sight of Newgate jail, and that 
 they would carry me thither before the sun 
 was up. My mind would dwell upon noth- 
 ing but the horrid recollection that I might 
 have taken the sickness from the woman who 
 311
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 laid hands upon Master Seymour's bridle. 
 I began to tell myself that I should cry out 
 presently as she had done, or to ask if I had 
 not the spots already on me. God ! the very 
 thought turned my blood to fire and sent me 
 reeling in the saddle. 
 
 We were descending the hill to the church 
 of St. Andrew Within-the-Bars when this 
 foreboding came to a head; but anon, so 
 soon as I could see the white stones of the 
 prison of Newgate, I fell of a sudden back 
 to a remembrance of my journey and of that 
 which it boded for me. My wonder at all I 
 saw in the city had been so great that never 
 once until this time had I asked news of Israel, 
 or recalled his words at Barnet, and the prom- 
 ise that I should see him for the second time. 
 But now the thing again came back to me 
 jike a sudden blow upon my heart. The 
 great jail, lying but the half of a mile from 
 us, loomed up above me like some mighty 
 fortress, wherein no voice of pity should be 
 raised nor prayer be heard. "Nothing now," 
 said I, "can keep me from the punishment 
 that they have willed me to suffer. All the 
 city will point the finger at Hugh Peters and 
 tell how he is to be hanged before the month 
 312
 
 THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT 
 
 is done." I knew that they had named me 
 for a French spy, ay, that they desired my 
 death exceedingly. Since old Israel was 
 gone, I stood alone among them, with none 
 to stretch out a hand to me nor to believe my 
 word, but only to say that I deserved to die. 
 This latter thought drove me to a sort of 
 madness. I swore by God that they should 
 not carry me to Newgate, though I died at 
 their feet in the road. I began to upbraid 
 Master Wolf, declaring foolishly that he had 
 sold me. An overwhelming impulse to strike 
 one blow for my lite possessed me like a fever. 
 God knows to what folly I had not come if 
 our ride had been straight on to the gates and 
 to the lanes of the prison itself. But that 
 was not to be. I, who had merited nothing 
 of my God but to die for my sins, was now 
 to learn of His surpassing mercy and love. 
 For He carried me forth in the moment of 
 my greatest peril, as you shall see presently 
 ay, and no miracle that was ever heard of 
 was more wonderful than the thing which I 
 saw there at the foot of Holborn Hill, at the 
 very moment when we stood upon the thresh- 
 old of the prison. 
 
 It was full light now but a morning of cloud 
 813
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 and heavy air, there being no sun, though the 
 hour for his rising was come. We had got 
 so far as the bridge across the Fleet when 
 the thing happened. There is here, as all the 
 world knows, a great number of booths and 
 fairs: Fleet Market, which is ever full of low 
 fellows and the worst sort in the town, being 
 upon our right hand; Snow Hill standing up 
 before us. We held back our horses almost 
 to the walk, for many men moved upon the 
 bridge above the dirty river; and the tavern 
 where the bargemen congregate was now 
 awake to the day, and exceeding noisy. Mas- 
 ter Seymour himself, who had begun to tell 
 me to be of good courage for the hour was 
 come, broke off in the word to learn how he 
 might pass the press of waggons and carts, 
 of which there were a full score in this very 
 place. As for me, my ears were deaf to all 
 that went on; the prison itself stood up be- 
 fore me; my eyes were set upon it as upon 
 some haunting vision of the night. It was 
 just then, while Master Seymour was crying 
 to the waggoners tq draw aside, that I beheld 
 the wonder sudden and quick and bewilder- 
 ing, like a flash of fire in the heavens. I 
 heard a great shouting come up from the 
 314
 
 THE CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT 
 
 wharf by the river, a crying of many voices 
 like the roar of a multitude. Anon, while 
 the roaring was still in my ears, three men, 
 half naked and dripping wet with the water 
 of the river, came flying out of the tavern, 
 bidding all to stand from them since they 
 were surely struck. It was a horrid appari- 
 tion, I swear, the naked figures with their 
 long beards dripping upon their white breasts 
 and their eyes staring as though some devil 
 pursued them. Nor did they seem to know 
 whither they were running, for they came 
 headlong toward our troop ; and one of them, 
 catching at the bridle of Master Seymour's 
 horse, roared to him to get down, for, by 
 God, said he, he was bent upon riding to 
 hell, and that quickly. Never did I see in 
 all my life a man so frighted as the captain 
 when this poor wretch, hot with the pains, 
 laid hands upon him and began to drag him 
 from his horse. Neither could the others of 
 the troop help him, for two of them were in 
 like straits ; and a great multitude, crying to 
 us for God's sake to strike the madmen down, 
 was now gathered at the inn door, and began 
 to press upon us, a horrid crew of butchers 
 and ship's men and keepers of the booths, all 
 315
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 stinking with wine and like to nothing but 
 roaring beasts of the iorest. Never in all my 
 years did I hear anything to pass the bellow 
 of their voices, nor see faces so savage, nor 
 men so fierce. Mocking, cursing, fighting, 
 they split up our little company as twigs may 
 be blasted with a gun. For one moment I saw 
 Master Seymour slashing at them with his 
 sword; I heard the corporal call out that he 
 was surely a dead man; there was a melee 
 wherein you beheld many upturned and angry 
 faces, and horses plunging madly, and the 
 bright habiliments of the troopers, and, above 
 these again, the gables of the silent houses with 
 here and there a woman looking down upon the 
 brawl. These things I saw in a flash, as one 
 sees a house in the instant of lightning; but 
 while the thing was still hot and going, some- 
 one clasped me firm about the waist and 
 dragged me from my horse. There was a 
 whisper in my ear that I should be silent and 
 say nothing; they carried me swiftly into 
 the tavern and to the garden beyond; and 
 then, setting me upon my feet, the man who 
 had me cried, 
 
 "Master Hugh, I have come for the second 
 time, and will leave you no more." 
 31 6
 
 THE CITY OF DREADFUL MGHT 
 
 As I live, it \vas old Israel who spake the 
 word. Nor could I answer him for very sur- 
 prise of it. The whole thing had come so 
 suddenly, the din and confusion in the street 
 were so violent, the sullen faces about me so 
 savage, that I stood for a moment like a 
 hunted man who haps upon a parting of the 
 ways. But this was no hour for wonder; and 
 scarce was I upon my feet when Master Wolf 
 bade me follow him and began to run down 
 by the river side and into the very heart of 
 the market. You may be sure that I did not 
 delay to do his bidding, but fled with all the 
 strength I had ay, and so swiftly that 
 some devil seemed in my feet. Lord! it was 
 an hour to live, we flying like two that had 
 wolves upon our heels, now doubling by the 
 booths, now through the filthy dens which the 
 butchers kept, now back again to cheat them 
 with the ruse, now turning aside to avoid 
 those places where the bodies of the sick lay; 
 but on ay, for our very lives, on while the 
 sweat rolled in heavy drops from our faces, 
 and our limbs went near to giving under us, 
 and our feet were cut with the stones, on 
 through the alleys and the lanes, past the 
 bridge at Ludgate, past Bridewell, to the very 
 317
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 river's bank itself. Thereafter I know not 
 how it fared with us. I had such a hurt to 
 get my breath that fire seemed in my lungs; 
 I remember that I saw old Israel running over 
 the mud by the water and calling to a man 
 that stood by a boat there. For a spell, I 
 saw Paul's and the spires of the Minster 
 Church ; I can mind me that my feet sank deep 
 into the mud of the bank, and that the air 
 from the water blew very sweet upon my fore- 
 head. I know that I came up to the boat at 
 last and tumbled headlong into it, lying there 
 like a dead thing, and telling myself that it 
 would be good never to rise again. 
 
 " Let me lie, for God's sake ! " I cried to 
 them ; and so, aching in all my limbs, with 
 my clothes torn and the sweat thick upon my 
 face, and the wound in my shoulder burning 
 with pain intolerable, I felt the boat rock 
 upon the waves, and knew that we were free 
 upon the water. Yet, Heaven judge me lightly, 
 if it ever should be again that I must buy my 
 life at such a price, then God bear witness 
 how willingly I would die. 
 
 318
 
 CHAPTER XXXH 
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 THE boat was rowed out into the river, I say,. 
 and being come to the deep water, we found 
 that a barge lay there waiting for the tide to 
 carry her up toward Richmond. I had re- 
 covered a little by this time, and made haste , 
 as Israel wished, to get into the cabin of 
 the ship, while the man roped up his little 
 boat and set to work with a great sweep 
 to bring us out of that bight and beyond the 
 Parliament house at Westminster. But it 
 was not until Paul's had passed from our 
 sight, and we, with infinitely great labour of 
 the man, were come almost to the Bishop's 
 Palace that Master Wolf would so much as 
 quit the deck or speak with me. Only when 
 he found that there was no pursuit upon the 
 water did he command the fellow to do the 
 best he might, and himself begin to tell me 
 his news. 
 
 " Master Hugh," cried he, " I have been in 
 many a pretty affair in my life, but never did 
 319
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I see anything like yon. That a troop ot the 
 King's guard should run away from three 
 butchers of the Fleet is a thing to tell in all 
 the town. Word of God! they ran like 
 rabbits from a dog." 
 
 "Nay, Israel," said I; "and well they 
 might. Were not the three you name all 
 stricken with the sickness ? " 
 
 "Master Peters," cried he, very merry, " I 
 will take leave to tell you that there was not 
 a sick man among them. They did but leave 
 then* smocks in our hands the while they 
 dipped their faces in the Fleet. Holy Job ! 
 they have as much sack in them as would fill 
 a barrel. Didst see Master Seymour's face 
 when Tom Robertson took him by the throat? 
 'T was as good as Joe Haines at the Duke's 
 House ay, and nothing ever writ hath 
 made me laugh so well." 
 
 I was mighty astonished at this, as you may 
 think, and I begged him to make it a little 
 more plain to me. 
 
 " Lord ! " said I, " it is a thing not to be 
 understood by me, Israel. How say you : 
 they were not struck at all? Oh, surely the 
 town shall laugh at them presently." 
 
 " Ay," said he, " there shall be a laugh 
 320
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 heard from Lud Gate to the city of Oxford, 
 if I have any word in it. Yet I doubt not, 
 Master Peters, that a laugh would help us but 
 a little way upon our road had we no other 
 equipment. I have thought of that, and you 
 shall learn from another when we be come to 
 Richmond what plan I propose, and how it 
 may serve you." 
 
 He fell to great gravity now, as he would 
 sometimes ; but after a spell he said, 
 
 " Nay, but it shall help thee well, lad thee 
 and my lady ; and some day, perchance, thou 
 shalt learn to remember Master Wolf, and 
 to think kindly of him as one that was thy 
 friend." 
 
 ** Israel," cried I, " speak not so Art thou 
 not my friend ay, the best man ever had? 
 Distant be the day when I forget thee, or 
 hold thee in aught but a remembrance of my 
 love. Nay, I have no other friend in all the 
 country." 
 
 I spoke from my heart as ever I did to 
 Master Wolf, and was mighty content to tell 
 him of my gratitude. Well to have shame if 
 I forgot what he had done for me. 
 
 " Lord ! " said I, " what a day that would 
 be did I lack love of thee, old comrade, who* 
 21 321
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 hath stood by me in this the hour of my dark- 
 ness when all the world was turned from me. 
 For surely it is an hour of peril, Israel, and 
 this is but a breathing space. Dost think 
 they will follow upon the water? " 
 
 *' Master Hugh," said he, very plainly, " if I 
 had thought that, would I be here upon this 
 boat? You know that I would not. Nay, I 
 will wager that they are even now beating the 
 market for you, the while soldiers ride out 
 toward Tyburn and Whitehall. Dost give 
 Master Seymour any credit of his wits ? Out 
 on the estimation ! He is but a poor rogue 
 that hath not the brains of a little child. 
 When I fell in with you upon the road to 
 Finchley last night, I knew well that I might 
 snatch you from those fellows as easy as crack 
 a nut. Didst not hear me tell the corporal 
 that he had but to look in the face of a man 
 that was struck to find himself in the pit 
 directly? Lord! he had a woman's ears for 
 the tale ; and when Jack Atkins touched MM 
 this morning no woman ever wailed so. But 
 it would have done little good to have carried 
 you no further than the Fleet Bridge ; and so 
 I thought of this boat, in which, under 
 God's providence, Master Hugh, we will 
 322
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 even pass the bounds, and be set down this 
 night where no King's men shall look for 
 us." 
 
 It was a great thing to hear, and I had 
 such gladness of it that I clapped my hands 
 when he had done, though very foolishly, 
 since did I reflect upon it a little I must 
 remember what small hope there was that 
 his word would be justified, or that we should 
 ever pass by the search which would follow 
 upon my flight. For the matter of that, I 
 had little desire of my liberty if it should 
 not carry me to the arms of my dear wife, 
 who lay waiting for me in Hadleigh Woods 
 last night, and must now, I thought, be 
 sore hurt that I had not come to her. And 
 of this I spake to him ; though he had no 
 consolation for me, but was very sly and 
 cunning. 
 
 " If you will have a little patience, Master 
 Hugh," said he, " we will venture the acquaint- 
 ance of some young waterman who shall carry 
 us swift to Richmond. Odds, man, there is 
 many a wench in that town and what would 
 you? Dost show no thankfulness that you 
 are brought out of yon peril? As I live, 
 another quarter on the clock would have seen 
 323
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 you in Newgate but for me and them that 
 aided me." 
 
 "Well said, Master Wolf," exclaimed I; 
 "yet what is that to me if I may not see my 
 lady again? You know well she was a wife 
 to me in the woods of Hadleigh." 
 
 " Oh ! " said he, mighty loftily, " as for that, 
 it is no affair of mine, Master Hugh. Bear 
 with it, I beg of you, until this pursuit be 
 done, and we have horses under us once more. 
 And if yoi be advised by me, you will make 
 haste to get a little food, for we are like to go 
 far upon our hunger when we be come to the 
 bank again." 
 
 I could make nothing of his saying, nor 
 of that perplexing secrecy with which he tor- 
 mented me. But I was far gone in hunger 
 now, and very glad of the food which the 
 bargeman offered us ; though it was but coarse 
 meat and biscuit, and cordial water very 
 strong to the stomach. It was well to have 
 Master Wolfs word that I might come on 
 deck again, for the cabin was exceeding hot, 
 and stunk mightily with an ill odour of fishes 
 and oils which overpowered me. But up 
 above it was pleasant enough ; the full 
 morning sun now shining brightly, and 
 
 324
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 the water rippling with glad music of its 
 waves upon our rounded prow. I saw that 
 we had passed Whitehall, and the place at 
 Chelsea where the King and my lords 
 bathed often in the river he being a right 
 good swimmer, as all the world knows. 
 Thereafter we could see the rushes, thick 
 and green upon the banks at Chelsea, and 
 the house of my Lord of Cheyne, with the 
 palace oAhe Bishop (my Lord of Winchester), 
 and other great houses, all very noble, yet 
 none more so than the manor at Fauxhall 
 which my Lord of Worcester hath bought 
 lately to make a college of artisans. In the 
 observation of which things, and brought to 
 new strength by the fresh breezes of the day, 
 we passed an hour very well, though our 
 eyes were often upon the water behind us ; 
 and Lord ! I thought every minute to hear a 
 clamour upon the bank, and to see the King's 
 men waiting to take me with a wherry. But 
 we saw none, save a few who lived in barges 
 for fear of* the plague, and here and there a 
 camp of poor men and women set out in the 
 fields. And so it was to Putney village, where 
 I learned that we had done with him who 
 towed us. 
 
 325
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 " He is an honest fellow, and I have given 
 him that which will tie his tongue," said old 
 Israel, who had hailed a wherry from the 
 steps. " It is now time that we went with 
 more haste, lad, for one waits for us, and I 
 like little to delay. Dost see yon fellow in 
 the orange livery? he is even going to show 
 us his skill so far as Richmond. There, 
 Master Hugh, we shall find horses for our legs 
 and go like decent folk once more." 
 
 It was upon my tongue to ask whither ; but 
 the boat had now come up to us ; and after 
 
 that the two he who rowed the barge and 
 
 
 
 the fellow in the orange coat had passed 
 
 a word, very bawdy and ill to my ears, we 
 made haste to take our places, and soon were 
 carried swift by the oars and the tide toward 
 the village of Mortlake, and thereafter to Kew. 
 It was two of the afternoon when at last we 
 beheld the inn at Richmond, and were brought 
 there to find that the landlord looked for our 
 coming, and was all ready to further our 
 intention. 
 
 " Sir," said he, " the horses wait but for 
 
 bridles, and if it be your wish, you shall set 
 
 out upon the instant. Yet I have a barrel of 
 
 good French claret in my cellar, and a loin of 
 
 326
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 beef, which you shall not better between here 
 and Portsmouth. You may very well see the 
 sun down upon that, gentlemen, if you can 
 bide so long." 
 
 "It is well done, Master William," said 
 Israel, as he led the way to the kitchen of 
 the house. " For myself, let me ride in the 
 cool of the night when I may, and a plague 
 upon all your sunny roads. Haste to bring 
 your claret, friend, that we may join you in 
 praise of it ; and if you have beds, we will 
 even sleep an hour. Odds, man, we ride to 
 the King, and perchance will whisper to 
 some of the great folk there that they 
 would do well to come with their wenches 
 even to the Sign of the Jolly "Waterman at 
 Richmond." 
 
 The man went off in great haste and pleas- 
 nre when he heard this ; but I laughed to think 
 that old Israel had tricked him so. 
 
 " Oh," said I, " that is a pretty tale to tell 
 Hugh Peters to see the King." 
 
 "Nay," cried old Israel, "you shall like 
 the tale better presently." 
 
 It was vexing, I swear, that he should have 
 hid so much from me, both of his intention 
 and his plan ; but I had been wanting sleep 
 327
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 for nigh twenty hours now, and was so gone 
 in fatigue that scarce I had lips for the wine 
 when the good fellow brought it Expectation 
 and doubt and peril had sustained me to this 
 time ; but no sooner was my head laid upon a 
 pillow than I tumbled into a deep sleep, from 
 which no man came to wake me until the sun 
 was sunk and the moonlight rippling upon the 
 silent river. It was full eleven of the clock 
 then, and old Israel was already booted and 
 up for the ride (God knew whither) , as anxious 
 and full-headed a man as I have known in all 
 my life. 
 
 " Come, Master Hugh," said he, "the affair 
 grows in haste, and we must n tarry. There 
 is one waits for us Ux ridge who will give 
 us good welcome. I beg you bring despatch 
 to your assistance, and dress quickly the while 
 I look to the horses. There is meat in the 
 parlour, and you will do well to ride on a full 
 belly. Nay, I know not if we shall eat again 
 until the thing be done." 
 
 I was well awake now, and refreshed ex- 
 ceedingly; and I hastened to do as he had 
 willed, setting to the meat with mighty relish, 
 and finding the French claret as good as any 
 ipothecary's drug. He, meantime, had led 
 328
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 the horses to the door a great bay for him- 
 self, and a shapely grey for me. Neither had 
 he forgot our need of arms, for I observed 
 two swords in his hand ; and the ostler who 
 held the horses was putting pistols in- the 
 holsters when I came out It was wonderful 
 to me, who knew nothing of his purpose, to 
 see with what deliberation he ordered all 
 things : swift, and yet no overlooking ; with 
 quick hands, and yet ever sure. So well, in- 
 deed, did he contrive it, that the church clock 
 had struck but a half after eleven when we 
 rode out of the yard and went clattering 
 through the shuttered streets of the village 
 until we struck the road to Hounslow and 
 the confines of the bush-brown heath that lies 
 about the town. And once past there we had 
 a fair road before us ; for it was to Uxbridge 
 that we turned. 
 
 We went fast, I say, two black figures upon 
 the moon-white road. Our horses were fresh, 
 and willing of the night; we carried the 
 strength of sleep in our limbs, the pleasant 
 burden of hope in our hearts. It was to me 
 like a very gift of God to think that the 
 great and awful city lay far behind me ; that 
 I had been brought out of that pit of hell to 
 329
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 breathe the sweetness of the night, and to 
 look upon the meadows once more. I caved 
 nothing for the yesterday that was past or 
 the morrow to come. My mind lay under a 
 spell, refusing to plague me with any thought 
 of why or whither. I cared only that I was 
 upon the road again ; out upon the broad 
 grasses of the heath; a free man to speak 
 and carry myself like other men. There was 
 no desire in my will to question Israel, nor 
 to converse with him ; well enough to dream 
 an hour, if thereby an hour of content should 
 come. 
 
 This I said while we drew near to the 
 village of Uxbridge, and heard a clock make 
 it one of .the new day. It had been in my 
 mind that Master Wolf knew some good place 
 of hiding for me in that village ; and I was 
 upheld in this hazard when, having ridden 
 through the little street of the town, he turned 
 to his right and began to follow an avenue 
 exceeding dark and narrow. Long before we 
 were come out of this, a watch-dog voiced 
 a warning of our approach; and when we 
 turned the bend and could see the house to 
 which the path led, I observed lights shining 
 from the windows ; and, anon, someone came 
 330
 
 ISRAEL TELLS OF A GREAT JEST 
 
 running out to us but first to me. Lord, 
 that I should write it ! For who else but my 
 beloved wife did I behold standing there, 
 and calling to me so sweetly that tears gushed 
 up in my eyes and I was dumb from my ex- 
 ceeding love of her.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 I LEARN THAT WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 " HUGH," she said, " dear Hugh oh, how 
 I have waited for thee! And now I touch 
 thy hand. Oh, God be praised, who has given 
 thee back to me." 
 
 I saw that she was all carried away by her 
 love as she had never been in our lives before 
 no, not since the day when first she kissed 
 me. It was a glad thing for me to learn that 
 I was held in so much love by her ; and when 
 I leaped from my horse to take her in my 
 arms, I seemed to harvest affection of her 
 lips, holding her so close that her heart beat 
 upon my own. 
 
 " Dearest wife," cried I, again and again, 
 * ' surely the Lord Jesus hath heard my prayer, 
 and I am come out of the valley of death to 
 forget all in this exceeding happiness. Nay, 
 draw not back from me, sweetest, for I love 
 thee ; God knows I love thee as man never 
 loved woman yet." 
 
 332
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 She suffered me a little while ; but after- 
 wards, she withdrew herself very coyly from 
 my embrace, and must go running up to old 
 Israel to kiss his hands and tell him that she 
 would never forget wlrile her life was. I liked 
 not to see her so kind toward him ; but when 
 I remembered what he had done for us, I 
 made haste to join my thanks to hers. 
 
 " Surely," said I, "but for thee, old friend, 
 we. had never known this hour. The Lord 
 be praised; this is the gladdest day Hugh 
 Peters has lived in all his years. And how 
 shall we thank thee, Israel ! ay, what thanks 
 can be given to him who hath wrought such a 
 work of his exceeding love ? " 
 
 I said this, and took his hand as my lady 
 had done ; but he, overborne by our affection, 
 hushed us with a gesture. 
 
 " Nay," cried he, " ye are like two children 
 a-maying in the woods, and ye see not the 
 storm which broods upon your pleasure. Bide 
 yet, I beg of you ; nor speak to me of thanks 
 until we be come to Oxford and have the 
 King's permission." 
 
 "To Oxford?" cried I, for this was the 
 first I had heard of it. 
 
 u Ay, surely, to Oxford, Master Hugh, 
 333
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 where we must be as soon as the day. I 
 doubt not you will find my lady all ready for 
 the venture ; and if I may speak, the sooner 
 we set out upon it the better shall we fare 
 therein." 
 
 44 'T is well said," exclaimed Marjory, now 
 falling to some gravity ; " if we be not at 
 Oxford to-morrow, we are like to get little 
 good of the going. As for me, I am ready 
 upon the instant. You will find the horses 
 bitted and all else as you have commanded, 
 Master "Wolf. It needs but to get a cup of 
 wine and to learn if he who was hurt is able 
 to go so far." 
 
 44 Indeed," cried I, much vexed to hear that 
 she knew of my hurt, "'t was but a flesh cut 
 in the shoulder. If it were fought again 
 to-morrow, I doubt not that I would have a 
 good tale to tell. You must understand, 
 Marjory, that he had the high place of 
 the bank, which carried the advantage, as 
 any honest man will admit. Yet I make 
 sure " 
 
 I would have said more, to let them know 
 
 how it was that the man out of France had 
 
 worsted me ; but she commanded silence with 
 
 a kiss upon my lips, and bidding Master Wolf 
 
 334
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 to follow, she led us to the great room of the 
 house, where supper was set, and two ser- 
 Tants, mighty fine and overbearing, waited 
 our pleasure. 
 
 "You must know, Hugh," she said, "that 
 this is the house of my kinsman, Sir Allen 
 Apsley, who was always a true friend to me. 
 When I learnt from Master Wolf that they 
 had taken you, I rode hither, being well 
 assured that he would bring you out though 
 a hundred of the guard held you. We shall 
 find none to spy upon us in this place; 
 though, if God be willing, we may laugh at 
 our enemies to-morrow." 
 
 " Marjory," said I, " you speak still in 
 riddles; for how shall any man help me 
 that am a felon fled from the prison gates ? 
 Well may you keep your secret if you have 
 Jio better plan than this idle affair you name 
 to me. Think you that the King will listen 
 to Hugh Peters ? Nay, it is a folly not to be 
 borne." 
 
 I spoke with some heat so that she laughed 
 at me, and the great serving-fellows looked 
 one at the other very slyly. Lord! it was 
 intolerable to me to have them standing there 
 in observation of me, and very willingly 
 335
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 could I have given both of them a box upon 
 the ears. But Master Wolf now came in 
 with his word, and mighty serious to my 
 relief. 
 
 " Mistress," said he, " do you, I beg, per- 
 suade Master Peters, as I have done often, 
 to drink a cup of wine quickly and cloak his 
 curiosity until we be in Oxford. The night 
 goes swift, and the day will be to our un- 
 doing. I beseech you, remember our condi- 
 tion, and all that must be done before we 
 better it." 
 
 " For a truth you speak well, Master Wolf," 
 said she; " the horses shall be brought upon 
 the instant, and as for Master Hugh, I 
 promise you, he shall not put another ques- 
 tion until we behold the lights of Oxford." 
 
 It was pretty to see how well she could put 
 her hand upon the fire of quarrel and press it 
 out. I loved her the more when she appeared 
 to command me; and full well I knew that 
 Israel was not the man to carry me to the 
 King should harm come to me thereby. "If," 
 said I, "my questions Dlague them, I will 
 even be dumb to the end of it," Yet never 
 was a faller hope mine or so tender a glad- 
 ness as when I rode away from the house at 
 336
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 Uxbridge and turned my horse's head towards 
 the town of Wycombe and the great hills 
 which barred the road to Oxford. 
 
 The night had fallen very dark now, with 
 white mists in the meadows and mounts of 
 rolling cloud shutting the moon from our 
 sight. We were in all a company of five, 
 two servants following my mistress, and old 
 Israel going before us, very silent and melan- 
 choly, as though foreboding sat heavy upon 
 his mind. But we two, who shared nothing 
 of his thoughts, were very willing to ride 
 side by side, often clasping our hands or 
 suffering our horses to come close that we 
 might whisper some new word of our love. 
 Anon, however, Israel began to press forward 
 at the gallop, and for near two hours we rode 
 very fast, until, indeed, we made the town of 
 Wycombe. Dawn was showing in the sky 
 when we baited the half of an hour in the inn; 
 but we were across the great hill when the sun 
 was yet low in the heavens, and the bell of a 
 parish church struck eight of the clock when 
 our little company, sore dusted and with 
 steaming horses, set glad eyes upon the spires 
 of the fair city and knew that our journey 
 was done. 
 
 22 337
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 Until this time Master Wolf had spoken 
 rarely to us; but so soon as we were in the 
 High Street of the town, and had begun to 
 observe the schools and chapels and great 
 colleges of learning, he turned to my mistr^ 1 * 
 and began to make mention of the business 
 which had carried us so far. 
 
 " My lady," said he, " here is the letter of 
 which I spake. It will be well if it can be 
 carried to the King while the day is yet new. 
 Say naught beyond that which is writ there r 
 unless you of your love shall choose to re- 
 member my name and to be of any service to 
 me. You will know where to find me when 
 the work is done. Tell them who ask that 
 Israel Wolf waits the King's pleasure at the 
 sign of the Mitre. I bid you delay not lest 
 others be before us. Nay, here is the inn; 
 and, if it please you, I will hasten to learn 
 how best you may come at his Majesty." 
 
 He gave her a letter when he had done, and 
 leaving us at the door of the tavern, he was 
 away perhaps the quarter of an hour. Yet, 
 on my part, I took heed neither of his coming 
 nor his going. I seemed to stand in a new 
 world, a world full of noble people and 
 scholars in their gowns, and doctors, very/ 
 338
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 learned, and jades rolling in their coaches ; a 
 city of churches and spires and domes gay 
 in the sunshine; yet withal a world upon 
 which there breathed a spirit of knowledge 
 as of God's best gift and token of his love. 
 All the yesterday of tribulation went winging 
 back to the confines of time's obscurities. A 
 wizard might have carried me ay, even out 
 of jail, as the Lord carried His apostle, to 
 set me here with my wonder. The steeples 
 towering above me were as spires conjured 
 up from the very earth to cheat me ; the bells, 
 ringing, spoke a message like a message from 
 the city of enchantment. Nay, I swear that 
 I forgot even my dear wife at my side, but, 
 spell-bound in surprise and dreaming, I lived 
 a life in those moments. 
 
 Master Wolf was away from us it might 
 have been while one quarter struck upon the 
 clock of the Cardinal's college. When he 
 came out, he was still in talk with the master 
 of the house, and both walked up to us very 
 full of news. 
 
 " You are in fortune's way; do you seek 
 
 the King, my lady ? " said the stranger. " Hie 
 
 bides here but another day, and will ride 
 
 away to Milton at the dawn. He is even now 
 
 339
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 gone to walk in the meadows which lie behind 
 the great church. I doubt not you will find 
 some one among the company who will be- 
 friend you in an audience should you ride 
 there upon the instant." 
 
 " Ay," said old Israel; " and since I hear 
 that my Lord Buckhurst is but just passed, 
 you will do well to press on at once. Never 
 was his Majesty known to turn from a pretty 
 face; this day, I make sure, shall not find 
 him changed so much. You will not forget, 
 my mistress, that I wait his Majesty's pleas- 
 ure here in this house. Nay, he is like to 
 send for me quick enough when he has read 
 yon letter." 
 
 We did not understand the meaning of this 
 saying then, when he delivered it at the inn 
 door; but very excited both, and conscious 
 that he had some affair of moment in his 
 mind, we rode away to the door of Cardinal's 
 college, and there left our horses. I was 
 afraid at the first that they would never let us 
 pass; but after we had stood awhile in dis- 
 putation with the keeper what should happen 
 but that my Lord Buckhurst came up, and he, 
 knowing my lady well and mighty pleased to 
 see her, offered his services upon the instant 
 340
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 ** Mistress Marjory, as I live ! " exclaimed 
 he. "Nay, his Majesty shall thank me for 
 the tidings. Odds, he has heard but poor 
 news of you this month past. Yet he has not 
 forgot your pretty face, I dare swear. I will 
 ask audience for you at once, if this good fel- 
 low, who does not love me, I think, will 
 make acquaintance of the porter while we be 
 gone. Saw ever man a rogue so fierce ? " 
 
 " Sir," cried I, " an we had not come upon 
 an affair of some importance, I would even 
 make you take back that word. Though you 
 had all the gold in the country upon your 
 stomach, you should make haste to learn that 
 I can handle a sword very prettily ** 
 
 "Tut, tut," said my lady, laughing very 
 merrily, "wouldst fight the gentleman, Hugh? 
 Put down your hand, silly boy, and anger not 
 one I love so well as my Lord of Buckhurst. 
 He is even going to carry us to the King. 
 Wouldst have him say that I am wedded to 
 a bumpkin who has no manners for his 
 guerdon ? " 
 
 My lord drew back at this, and looked at 
 
 us both as though we played a jest upon him. 
 
 It was not to be hid from me that Marjory 
 
 coloured when put to the ordeal; and, Lord! 
 
 341
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 thought I, it is for shame of me. God 
 knows, I had some little shame myself that 
 my clothes were so ill and dusted from the 
 ride yet that she should colour because 
 the world knew of her love was a thing not to 
 be borne. Nay, I had the impulse to turn 
 away from her and go I knew not whither, 
 save it were to some place where she should 
 never hap upon me, no, nor be put to confu- 
 sion for her love of me. But she, of a sudden 
 remembering herself, took my hand very 
 prettily in hers, and faced my Lord Buckhurst 
 with all that great courage which has been 
 my abiding pride since the day when first I 
 knew her. 
 
 " My lord/' said she, laughing no more, 
 " you were ever a friend to me. Never had 
 I the need of your friendship as upon this 
 day. Take me to the King that I may speak 
 a word for him I love; do this, and you 
 shall find none more grateful in all the city." 
 
 " Mistress," said he, and his voice was now 
 very kind, as of one who had a great regard 
 for her, " I will even carry you to the King 
 at once ; and to your word my own shall be 
 added," 
 
 He bowed to her with a fine air which put 
 342
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 me to envy; and bidding us follow at his 
 heels, he led the way by the great court, and 
 afterwards to the gardens themselves, very 
 sweet with flower ami shade, and trees grown 
 old in leaf, and silent places where lovers now 
 thrust forth the scholars, and themselves were 
 busy with the book of good amours. But the 
 King was not here ; and we went on yet until 
 we were out in the open meadows, and had 
 the river in our view, and great acres of green 
 grasses, and the buildings of the college upon 
 our left hand. Here we espied at a distance 
 a company of fine folk, both men and women : 
 the sun being bright upon the silver and gold 
 of their vests and swords, and their plumes 
 waving like boughs in the wind of morning. 
 I perceived plainly that his Majesty must be 
 among the number of these, and for the first 
 time there came a great awe upon me. 
 "God!" said I, "he will remember that I 
 hunted him at Worcester, when he was an 
 outcast, and I the first among them." And, 
 Lord! it was an awful thing to tell myself 
 that I had lusted for his blood in the olden 
 time, I, the farmer's son, that was now but 
 a worm at his feet. God knows I had the 
 impulse to draw back, though it were at the 
 343
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 ultimate moment of our emprise; but a re- 
 membrance of the soldier's heart that once had 
 beat under my corselet upheld me. I knew 
 thart I had wrought then such things as the 
 Lord had commanded me; and if I had been 
 the enemy of Charles Stuart, it was God's 
 will which set enmity in my mind. "Nay,** 
 said I at last, " let him do what he will, and 
 I will show him what the Lord-General hath 
 taught me, King though he be." There was 
 upon me in that moment a breath of the spirit 
 of him I had loved and followed, of him that 
 made my arms like bows of iron and poured 
 into my heart the fire of his own courage 
 a fire burning strong in battle to scorch the 
 enemies of God. I began to remember again 
 how poor and worthless were all these bawbles 
 to cloak the wickedness and the weakness of 
 them who now flaunted their sins before my 
 country, and cried to all the world that 
 this was merry England. "Oh!" said I, 
 "that none should be found in this day to 
 bear the Lord-General's sword and bid us 
 up, in the Lord's name, to put evil-doers to 
 their punishment, and to make this my 
 country merry indeed in the gladness of her 
 righteousness!" 
 
 344
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 All this passed in my impulse, I say, and 
 held me silent while the gay company ap- 
 proached. Had they offered me a kingdom 
 for the word, I could not have said aught to 
 better myself in that moment. For a truth, 
 I stood like a dumb man, seeing the people 
 and yet not seeing them. I can mind me 
 that there were several that I knew in the 
 throng : my Lord Lauderdale in a suit of grey 
 and silver, very fine and sparkling; Sir 
 George Carteret ill dressed in a coat of black, 
 but no lace upon his stomacher ; Master Harry 
 Sidney him that they declared to be in love 
 with the Duchess wondrous fine, in a white 
 dress with gold wrought upon his vest; my 
 Lord Brouncker; my Lord Sandwich these 
 and many others, with a dozen noble ladies 
 and jades, very merry, but odd-looking, with 
 their hair combed up like towers, and mighty 
 spreading skirts, whereunder you could per- 
 ceive rich laces and other robes white and 
 brdidered. All these I beheld, and in the 
 midst of them Charles Stuart himself, gay of 
 the morning, with a suit of violet silk sitting 
 shapely upon him, and a falcon at his wrist, 
 and full of talk for all about him. Nor did 
 he, I think, spy us at once as we stood there, 
 345
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 confused and hesitating, beneath the shade 
 of a great oak-tree, but came on regardless 
 of us until my Lord Buckhurst stepped before 
 "him and began to make his purpose known. 
 Scarce, however, had he said two words when 
 the King turned his eyes toward us, and, 
 observing little Marjory, advanced swift to 
 meet us. 
 
 , "God's life!" said he, "whom have we 
 here? Why, 'tis our little runaway come 
 back with a footpad. Nay, rise, little mis- 
 tress, for we give you good welcome. " 
 
 I burned to tell him that I was no footpad, 
 but an honest yeoman's son whom he had 
 once feared exceedingly; but my tongue 
 refused me, and somehow I think that they 
 pulled me I found myself kneeling before 
 him, a thing I had sworn never to do, yet 
 now did mighty foolishly and with ill grace. 
 As for my dear wife, she made courtesy sweet 
 to behold; and then the fine folk standing all 
 about us, most curious and laughing, with the 
 sun falling strong through the leaves of the 
 tree, and the spires of the beautiful city 
 standing out clear in the morning air, and 
 the river all silvered and shining below, little 
 Marjory spake gently to the King. 
 34 fi
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 ** Your Majesty," she cried, " there was a 
 day when you said of your good will that 
 aught I asked of you should be given unto 
 me. I make bold to kneel before you, and 
 to remind you of the bond even to this', 
 that my husband shall find favour in your 
 sight, both for your love of me and for that 
 service which is told in the letter I bear. 
 Nay, your Majesty, read, I beg, for these are 
 matters of life and death, not to be hid from 
 you any longer ! " 
 
 She spake wondrous sweetly, her fair face 
 all rosy with the breath of morning, and her 
 breast telling "lainly how her heart beat. 
 !For my part, I could say nothing; but, 
 abashed and silent, I watched the King while 
 he took the letter not with any fixed pur- 
 pose, but idly and indifferently, looking in 
 astonishment both at my wife and at me, the 
 while the gay folks were all a-titter and undis- 
 guised in their amusement thereby. 
 
 The King, I say, took the letter, and, 
 holding it with seal unbroken in his hand,- 
 he cried 
 
 "St. Louis! what a tale is this? Nay, 
 sweet, how shall an affair of importance 
 bring me so pretty a messenger ? Say, rather, 
 347
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 that yon rogue has tried to do thee a hurt, 
 and that I am to have him hanged upon the 
 instant." 
 
 They all made haste to laugh again at this ; 
 but my lady, with a wondrous tenderness for 
 me, at which I loved her the more, was quick 
 to make her mind known. 
 
 " Oh, your Majesty, speak not so for 't i 
 Hugh Peters who kneels to you, and he was 
 husband to me in the days long ago. And if 
 he must die, then, indeed, am I content to die 
 with him ! " 
 
 She shamed them with the speech. Even 
 Charles Stuart was moved thereby, and mocked 
 her no longer, but put out his hand to her and 
 drew her near to him. 
 
 " Surely," said he, " I will pardon half the 
 rogues in the kingdom sooner than see tears 
 in those pretty eyes. Come, little one, we go 
 to breakfast. Make bold to walk with us a 
 little way the while we have your story. And 
 as for your paper let my Lord Buckhurst 
 read it that he may pen us a comedy against 
 the day we ride to London." 
 
 My lady was frighted at this. 
 
 " Oh, sir," she cried, " if you love your life, 
 command that yon be read upon the spot, or 
 348
 
 WE RIDE TO THE KING 
 
 they will surely kill you. 'T is a very great 
 matter writ there and he that wrote it is the 
 best of men." 
 
 There were murmurs from the great folk 
 now, and all gathered close about the King, 
 while Sir George Carteret broke the seal of 
 the letter, and he and my Lord Buckhurst 
 read it together. When they had done they 
 spoke to their master in low voices ; and 
 many being come round them to have the news, 
 my Lord Sandwich cried presently, 
 
 " Where shall we hear of the fellow that 
 hath written this ? " 
 
 "He is at the Sign of the Mitre, where 
 your Majesty shall find him until sunset," 
 answered my lady. 
 
 " Then let him be taken at once," cried my 
 Lord Lauderdale, who turned to the King for 
 his orders. 
 
 44 Not so quick, my lord," exclaimed Charles 
 Stuart ; " it may even be that all he says is 
 writ of his honesty. They will never kill me 
 to make James their King." 
 
 41 Sire, is that wise ? " said my .Lord Buck- 
 hurst. "This man, who admits that he was 
 to be their instrument, may even be come to 
 Oxford upon their business." 
 349
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 I had listened to all this in wonder, for I 
 was slow to perceive that old Israel had made 
 some great confession in his letter. But 
 while they talked, I began to understand the 
 thing and to remember how he had spoken, 
 very covertly, of Sir Nathaniel Gould ing and 
 of work he would do. " By God. v said I at 
 last, "the man of France meant to kill the 
 King by the hand of Master Wolf, who now 
 hath staked his life for ours. Oh, Master 
 Wolf, Master Wolf, what a love is this ! " 
 
 The thing came to me like a voice from on 
 high, both the understanding of Israel's 
 purpose, and the intention to lay hands upon 
 him. And thereafter I could keep silent no 
 more; but, throwing myself at the King's 
 feet, I cried 
 
 ** Sire, oh! for God's sake, think not ill of 
 Master Wolf. Has he not come here to warn 
 your Majesty, when he could have betaken 
 himself ay, where no King's man could have 
 hap'd upon him. Sire, he loves you well. 
 There is no sword like the sword of Israel 
 Wolf in all the world, no, nor heart so brave, 
 nor courage so good. Will your Majesty turn 
 from such a one? Nay, surely, take my life 
 for his, I that am outcast from the world. 
 350
 
 WE KIDE TO THE KING 
 
 Oh, Sire, it will be good to die if the life of 
 Israel Wolf be given to me.'* 
 
 They heard me in a great silence, the King 
 much impressed, and little Marjory looking 
 down upon me very sweetly. I heard- a 
 whispered talk among them, and presently 
 his Majesty spake to me. 
 
 " So this is Master Peters," cried he "a 
 pretty fellow to answer for any rogue. Nay, 
 I like not thy looks, man yet I dare swear 
 thou hast an honest heart." 
 
 "Your Majesty," cried I, "do you but 
 command me in aught, and you shall learn 
 whether I be honest or no. What I speak 
 now I speak of my affection. Oh, for the 
 love of God, let no harm come to Master 
 Wolf ! " 
 
 There was more talk among them now, and 
 my lady, being moved to great grief, fell out 
 of a sudden in sobs and weeping. Nay, she 
 made bold to kiss the King's hand, and I saw 
 her tears running upon it. 
 
 " Your Majesty," cried she, "you did not 
 love to see me hurt in the old time. Surely 
 you are not changed toward me so much." 
 
 " God's life," cried the King, " you speak a 
 true word, little mistress. Let us go now to
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 breakfast. When that is done, we will take 
 counsel upon this affair. Command that 
 Master Wolf wait upon me at Magdalen 
 College. I promise that no hurt shall come 
 to him, and if he prove honest, we shall know 
 how to thank him." 
 
 I heard the promise with a surpassing joy. 
 Nor did I care that my wife was carried off 
 by them to breakfast at the college ; but, 
 being strong with a great gladness, I ran back 
 to the inn, and began to call loudly for Master 
 Wolf.
 
 CHAPTER XXXTV 
 
 AT THE PARTING OF THE WATS 
 
 HE had been looking for my news mighty 
 anxiously ; and now when I told him all that 
 had come to pass, and bade him bet out for 
 Magdalen College at once, he had no mistrust 
 of the venture. 
 
 " 'T is as simple as the hour upon the clock," 
 cried he. "I doubt not I shall make it plain 
 to the King, Master Peters. Nay, thank me 
 not at all. Sufficient that you hold me your 
 friend ..." 
 
 "Israel," cried I, "there is no friend like 
 thee in all the world. Yet I am dumb upon it 
 to my shame. Things are misted to my eyes, 
 and I have naught clear before me but this, 
 that thou art in peril. Oh, surely, they 
 shall not harm thee, Israel ! " 
 
 " Master Hugh," cried he, " fear not at all 
 for me, neither for my life nor my deeds. 
 Odd were it that I, who have borne my 
 23 353
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 harden against the world since the day my 
 mother died, should turn now from a score of 
 men that have lace upon their stomachs and 
 the hearts of women 'neath their cloaks. 
 God's word, I would best the city for a sack 
 of ale and think naught of the achievement 
 Well enough that I should tell them how 
 they stand,- and what manner of man this 
 Nathaniel Goulding is to set up the Pope's 
 religion among them and to make James their 
 King." 
 
 " Ay," cried I, " that is a great tale to tell ; 
 and you have proof, old Israel ? " 
 
 " I have the letter writ by Captain Goulding 
 now two months gone. Therein it is set 
 down how that the time is ripe to strike the 
 blow, and I am bidden to be their instrument. 
 Charles Stuart was to be taken the while he 
 rode to Windsor ; the friends of the Duke 
 were to be ready upon the instant to proclaim 
 him, with Louis of France and the Pope of 
 Rome at their backs. Thinkest thou that I 
 would put my hand to such devil's work? 
 God be my witness, I would the sooner cut it 
 off." 
 
 " Was it to this end," asked I, "that the 
 man came out of France?" 
 354
 
 AT THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 
 
 " Not at the first, but only when the busi* 
 ness of the French alliance was in peril. He 
 believed that thou hadst wind of the mischief 
 and knew from thy kinsmen in Paris of his 
 intent. Thereafter he set out to hunt thee 
 yet dared not to kill thee because thou wast 
 Mistress Marjory's friend. I doubt not he 
 used her well, both to have information of 
 that which passed at Whitehall and of all that 
 concerned thy life." 
 
 " Lord," cried I, " that thou shouldst make 
 me see it all so, Master Israel ! 'T is as clear 
 as a play yet I doubt not that they will lay 
 hands upon him." 
 
 " Nay," said he, " the man who would put 
 hands upon Sir Nathaniel Goulding must 
 even go to Paris for the purpose. He took 
 ship the day they took thee, Master Hugh." 
 
 " Would to God I had killed him ! " said I. 
 ** If the high place of the bank but that 
 is known to thee, Israel. Go now to the 
 King, and Almighty God be thy shield in this 
 hour." 
 
 It was mighty astonishing to me to perceive 
 
 how slow Master Wolf was, both then and at 
 
 other times, to discern peril in his path. 
 
 Never was there man so bold in an emprise 
 
 355
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 or so ready to make naught of his own life. 
 He set out now to Magdalen College as merry 
 as a jester at a fair ; nor did he once remem- 
 ber my word that they had willed to put him 
 under arrest. 
 
 " Leave me to myself, lad," cried he ; 
 "there is no prison in Oxford city to hold 
 Israel "Wolf, no, nor jailer. You shall see 
 me again within the hour." 
 
 It was good to hear him speak so, and I 
 believed him, being content now that he 
 should go, yet looking expectantly to see him 
 return with my dear wife. But the hour 
 passed, and upon that, another; and I saw 
 nothing of them, and must pace the street 
 wearily, telling myself a hundred foolish 
 things, that they had taken my mistress 
 from me and never again should I behold 
 her. 
 
 Indeed, it was four of the clock, and I was 
 sick with fatigue and waiting, when at last 
 a coach rolled up to the door of the inn, and 
 I beheld, to my surpassing joy, little Marjory 
 within it, and my Lord Buckhurst and an- 
 other, very fine in a dress of violet Lord ! it 
 was gladness to find a laugh upon my mis- 
 tress's sweet face and to perceive the merri- 
 356
 
 AT THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 
 
 ment of old time in ker eyes even the jest 
 upon her lips. 
 
 "Dearest Hugh," she cried, running up 
 gladly to me, "they are to carry thee from 
 the city upon the instant. Art not glad ? " 
 
 " How?" said I, " tjjey carry me from the 
 city " 
 
 But she lacked answer for her laughing; 
 and presently, my Lord Buckhurst coming 
 up, they all set to plague me : one saying that 
 I must ride to Paris forthwith ; another that 
 the King willed to send me to Bergen, 
 whereat I must spend ten years before they 
 would hearken to the tale of my marriage. 
 Nor could I learn the truth from them, but 
 must sit down like a booby while they made 
 merry with my dear wife, and called for the 
 French wines, and shamed me with their gay 
 talk very witty and past me, God knows. 
 We were in the very midst of this when we 
 heard a clatter of hoofs in the street without ; 
 and whom should we see but the King him- 
 self and a great cavalcade with him, and 
 many coaches and the Duchess and other 
 jades, slyly peeping from the windows at the 
 gallants about them. To my wonder, they 
 all drew rein at the door of the inn, and Sir 
 357
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 George Carteret calling for me a thing I 
 had never waited for if I had lived to be a 
 hundred I found myself presently standing 
 before his Majesty, and he speaking to me 
 mighty seriously. 
 
 "Master Peters," cried he, " I owe you no 
 love, nor can I find any for you. Give you* 
 gratitude, then, to those who have earned it, 
 and especially to your dear wife, whom wa 
 hold in our affections. I take a great burden 
 upon me in doing this thing; but for her 
 sake, and the service which your friend Israel 
 Wolf has done me, I now remember you and 
 am even going to pronounce your pardon. 
 Your father's house at Warboys yet stands, 
 I think. Carry yourself there, I command 
 you, and let none in London hear so much 
 as a word from you until the year be done. 
 My Lord Buckhurst knows my wishes in this 
 matter. Hearken to him then ; and when 
 they speak of your King, see that no evil word 
 is found upon your tongue." 
 
 He waited neither for my thanks nor my 
 assent ; but permitting Mistress Marjory once 
 more to kiss his hand, and saluting her very 
 affectionately, he set spurs to his horse and 
 passed from my sight. Long I stood watch- 
 358
 
 AT THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 
 
 ing the gay cavalcade as it followed him out 
 of the city ; but when the last coach was no 
 more to be seen, I turned round swift to hold 
 my mistress in a sweet embrace. 
 
 For the night of my years had passed,- and 
 God of his mercy had given me the day. 
 
 We left Oxford at the setting of the sun; 
 my lady and I, with the two servants that had 
 followed her from Uxbridge. Glad words of 
 happiness were upon our lips ; the glory of 
 the sinking day flushed in our hearts and 
 warmed them to our surpassing love. There 
 was this only to trouble us that we perforce 
 had quitted the city without word from Master 
 Wolf ; nor could we learn how it had fared 
 with him. 
 
 "Though I would well have given him some 
 new token of gratitude," said my lady, "I 
 doubt not that he is content with the King's 
 favour. 'T was a promise to me that no harm 
 should come to Israel Wolf." 
 
 " Sweetheart," said I, "let that be a name 
 held fresh in our affection while we have life. 
 God knows if ever I loved one as I love 
 Master Wolf. Nay, I look for the day when 
 he shall come to us at Warboys, to be forever 
 359
 
 A PURITAN'S WIFE 
 
 with us, he and Master Ford, and them that 
 stood with me in this evil time. Ay, to tell 
 Master Ford of this day's work ! Surely that 
 shall be a pretty writing ! " 
 
 "Dear Hugh," cried she, "it is good to 
 hear thee talk so. Draw close and tell me 
 that thou art content." 
 
 I told her as lovers will, kissing her hand 
 often, and holding it still even as we rode. 
 We had left the city now, and could see it 
 shining as with fires in the valley below us, 
 the sun striking its towers with a full light of 
 crimson, and all the buildings rising up nobly 
 in the golden setting. But our road lay to 
 the north ; and when we had ridden to the 
 parting of the ways, whereat you turn west- 
 ward to London, we espied a horseman com- 
 ing after us at the gallop. It was no other 
 than Master Wolf himself ; and when we saw 
 him, we were back upon the instant to over- 
 whelm him 'with our words of love. 
 
 "God's blessing be upon thee, old Israel," 
 cried I. "Surely we have hungered for news 
 of thee, and knew not how it was that thou 
 didst not return to the inn. But now we have 
 thee, and no more " 
 
 He hushed me with his hand, the while he 
 360 ...
 
 AT THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 
 
 reined his great horse with labour, and made 
 it clear that he was pressed. 
 
 "Master Hugh," said he, "I go to Paris 
 upon the King's business. When I come 
 back, you shall hear of me, you and her you 
 love, and those that will come presently to be 
 held in new affection of you. Nay, trouble 
 not at all about me, for this is my day. The 
 King hath entrusted me with an affair of 
 great moment, and I look to profit thereby 
 as I have never done in all my life. You 
 shall hear of me from Paris presently, and of 
 great doings. I give thee farewell, lad; but 
 thy love is in my heart, and black be the day 
 when I forget thee." 
 
 He would hear no more of our protesta- 
 tions, but, stooping to kiss my dear wife's 
 hands, he galloped away presently toward 
 London, and was lost to our sight. 
 
 And, God knows, I prayed in my heart that 
 ke would come back to me once more to be 
 my friend through all the years. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 861
 
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