"Laughed out of it!"
"Just so--and little you know of Ireland if that surprises you."
After acknowledging that such an event was perfectly possible, from what I myself had seen of that country, I obtained the following very brief account of my companion"s reasons for foreign travel: "Well, sir," began he, "it is about four months since I brought up to Dublin from Galway a little chesnut mare, with cropped ears and a short tail, square-jointed, and rather low--just what you"d call a smart hack for going to cover with--a lively thing on the road with a light weight. n.o.body ever suspected that she was a clean bred thing--own sister to Jenny, that won the Corinthians, and ran second to Giles for the Riddlesworth--but so she was, and a better bred mare never leaped the pound in Ballinasloe. Well, I brought her to Dublin, and used to ride her out two or three times a week, making little matches sometimes to trot--and, for a thorough bred, she was a clipper at trotting--to trot a mile or so on the gra.s.s--another day to gallop the length of the nine acres opposite the Lodge--and then sometimes, back her for a ten pound note, to jump the biggest furze bush that could be found--all or which she could do with ease, n.o.body thinking, all the while, that the c.o.c.k-tailed pony was out of Scroggins, by a "Lamplighter mare." As every fellow that was beat to-day was sure to come back to-morrow, with something better, either of his own or a friend"s, I had matches booked for every day in the week--for I always made my little boy that rode, win by half a neck, or a nostril, and so we kept on day after day pocketing from ten to thirty pounds or thereabouts.
"It was mighty pleasant while it lasted, for besides winning the money, I had my own fun laughing at the spoonies that never could book my bets fast enough. Young infantry officers and the junior bar--they were for the most part mighty nice to look at, but very raw about racing. How long I might have gone on in this way I cannot say; but one morning I fell in with a fat, elderly gentleman, in shorts and gaiters, mounted on a dun cob pony, that was very fidgety and hot tempered, and appeared to give the rider a great deal of uneasiness.
""He"s a spicy hack you"re on, sir," said I, "and has a go in him, I"ll be bound."
""I rayther think he has," said the old gentleman, half testily.
""And can trot a bit, too."
""Twelve Irish miles in fifty minutes, with my weight." Here he looked down at a paunch like a sugar hosghead.
""Maybe he"s not bad across a country," said I, rather to humour the old fellow, who, I saw, was proud of his poney.
""I"d like to see his match, that"s all." Here he gave a rather contemptuous glance at my hack.
"Well, one word led to another, and it ended at last in our booking a match, with which one party was no less pleased than the other. It was this: each was to ride his own horse, starting from the school in the Park, round the Fifteen Acres, outside the Monument, and back to the start--just one heat, about a mile and a half--the ground good, and only soft enough. In consideration, however, of his greater weight, I was to give odds in the start; and as we could not well agree on how much, it was at length decided that he was to get away first, and I to follow as fast as I could, after drinking a pewter quart full of Guinness"s double stout--droll odds, you"ll say, but it was the old fellow"s own thought, and as the match was a soft one, I let him have his way.
"The next morning the Phoenix was crowded as if for a review. There were all the Dublin notorieties, swarming in barouches, and tilburies, and outside jaunting-cars--smart clerks in the post-office, mounted upon kicking devils from Dycer"s and Lalouette"s stables--attorney"s wives and daughters from York-street, and a stray doctor or so on a hack that looked as if it had been lectured on for the six winter months at the College of Surgeons. My antagonist was half an hour late, which time I occupied in booking bets on every side of me--offering odds of ten, fifteen, and at last, to tempt the people, twenty-five to one against the dun. At last, the fat gentleman came up on a jaunting-car, followed by a groom leading the cob. I wish you heard the cheer that greeted him on his arrival, for it appeared he was a well-known character in town, and much in favour with the mob. When he got off the car, he bundled into a tent, followed by a few of his friends, where they remained for about five minutes, at the end of which he came out in full racing costume --blue and yellow striped jacket, blue cap and leathers--looking as funny a figure as ever you set eyes upon. I now thought it time to throw off my white surtout, and show out in pink and orange, the colours I had been winning in for two months past. While some of the party were sent on to station themselves at different places round the Fifteen Acres, to mark out the course, my fat friend was a.s.sisted into his saddle, and gave a short preliminary gallop of a hundred yards or so, that set us all a-laughing. The odds were now fifty to one in my favour, and I gave them wherever I could find takers. "With you, sir, if you please, in pounds, and the gentleman in the red whiskers, too, if he likes--very well, in half sovereigns, if you prefer it." So I went on, betting on every side, till the bell rung to mount. As I knew I had plenty of time to spare, I took little notice, and merely giving a look to my girths, I continued leisurely booking my bets. At last the time came, and at the word "Away!" off went the fat gentleman on the dun, at a spluttering gallop, that flung the mud on every side of us, and once more threw us all a-laughing. I waited patiently till he got near the upper end of the park, taking bets every minute; and now that he was away, every one offered to wager. At last, when I had let him get nearly half round, and found no more money could be had, I called out to his friends for the porter, and, throwing myself into the saddle, gathered up the reins in my hand. The crowd fell back on each side, while from the tent I have already mentioned came a thin fellow with one eye, with a pewter quart in his hand: he lifted it up towards me, and I took it; but what was my fright to find that the porter was boiling, and the vessel so hot I could barely hold it. I endeavoured to drink, however: the first mouthful took all the skin off my lips and tongue--the second half choked, and the third nearly threw me into an apoplectic fit--the mob cheering all the time like devils. Meantime, the old fellow had reached the furze, and was going along like fun. Again I tried the porter, and a fit of coughing came on that lasted five minutes. The pewter was now so hot that the edge of the quart took away a piece of my mouth at every effort. I ventured once more, and with the desperation of a madman I threw down the hot liquid to its last drop. My head reeled--my eyes glared--and my brain was on fire. I thought I beheld fifty fat gentlemen galloping on every side of me, and all the sky raining jackets in blue and yellow. Half mechanically I took the reins, and put spurs to my horse; but before I got well away, a loud cheer from the crowd a.s.sailed me. I turned, and saw the dun coming in at a floundering gallop, covered with foam, and so dead blown that neither himself nor the rider could have got twenty yards farther. The race was, however, won. My odds were lost to every man on the field, and, worse than all, I was so laughed at, that I could not venture out in the streets, without hearing allusions to my misfortune; for a certain friend of mine, one Tom O"Flaherty--"
"Tom of the 11th light dragoons?"
"The same--you know Tom, then? Maybe you have heard him mention me --Maurice Malone?"
"Not Mr. Malone, of Fort Peak?"
"Bad luck to him. I am as well known in connexion with Fort Peak, as the Duke is with Waterloo. There is not a part of the globe where he has not told that confounded story."
As my readers may not possibly be all numbered in Mr. O"Flaherty"s acquaintance, I shall venture to give the anecdote which Mr. Malone accounted to be so widely circulated.
CHAPTER XLVI.
AN ADVENTURE IN CANADA.
Towards the close of the last war with America, a small detachment of military occupied the little block house of Fort Peak, which, about eight miles from the Falls of Niagara, formed the last outpost on the frontier. The Fort, in itself inconsiderable, was only of importance as commanding a part of the river where it was practicable to ford, and where the easy ascent of the bank offered a safe situation for the enemy to cross over, whenever they felt disposed to carry the war into our territory.
There having been, however, no threat of invasion in this quarter, and the natural strength of the position being considerable, a mere handful of men, with two subaltern officers, were allotted for this duty--such being conceived ample to maintain it till the arrival of succour from head-quarters, then at Little York, on the opposite side of the lake. The officers of this party were our old acquaintance Tom O"Flaherty, and our newly-made one Maurice Malone.
Whatever may be the merits of commanding officers, one virtue they certainly can lay small claim to--viz. any insight into character, or at least any regard for the knowledge. Seldom are two men sent off on detachment duty to some remote quarter, to a.s.sociate daily and hourly for months together, that they are not, by some happy chance, the very people who never, as the phrase is, "took to each other" in their lives. The grey-headed, weather-beaten, disappointed "Peninsular" is coupled with the essenced and dandified Adonis of the corps; the man of literary tastes and cultivated pursuits, with the empty headed, ill informed youth, fresh from Harrow or Westminster. This case offered no exception to the rule; for though there were few men possessed of more a.s.similating powers than O"Flaherty, yet certainly his companion did put the faculty to the test, for any thing more unlike him, there never existed. Tom all good humour and high spirits--making the best of every thing--never non-plussed--never taken aback--perfectly at home, whether flirting with a Lady Charlotte in her drawing-room, or crossing a grouse mountain in the highlands--sufficiently well read to talk on any ordinary topic--and always ready-witted enough to seem more so. A thorough sportsman, whether showing forth in the "park" at Melton, whipping a trout-stream in Wales, or filling a country-house with black c.o.c.k and moor-fowl; an unexceptionable judge of all the good things in life, from a pretty ancle to a well hung tilbury--from the odds at hazard to the "Comet vintage." Such, in brief, was Tom. Now his confrere was none of these; he had been drafted from the Galway militia to the line, for some election services rendered by his family to the government candidate; was of a saturnine and discontented habit; always miserable about some trifle or other, and never at rest till he had drowned his sorrows in Jamaica rum--which, since the regiment was abroad, he had copiously used as a subst.i.tute for whiskey. To such an extent had this pa.s.sion gained upon him, that a corporal"s guard was always in attendance whenever he dined out, to convey him home to the barracks.
The wearisome monotony of a close garrison, with so ungenial a companion, would have damped any man"s spirits but O"Flaherty"s. He, however, upon this, as other occasions in life, rallied himself to make the best of it; and by short excursions within certain prescribed limits along the river side, contrived to shoot and fish enough to get through the day, and improve the meagre fare of his mess-table. Malone never appeared before dinner--his late sittings at night requiring all the following day to recruit him for a new attack upon the rum bottle.
Now, although his seeing so little of his brother officer was any thing but unpleasant to O"Flaherty, yet the ennui of such a life was gradually wearing him, and all his wits were put in requisition to furnish occupation for his time. Never a day pa.s.sed without his praying ardently for an attack from the enemy; any alternative, any reverse, had been a blessing compared with his present life. No such spirit, however, seemed to animate the Yankee troops; not a soldier was to be seen for miles around, and every straggler that pa.s.sed the Fort concurred in saying that the Americans were not within four day"s march of the frontier.
Weeks pa.s.sed over, and the same state of things remaining unchanged, O"Flaherty gradually relaxed some of his strictness as to duty; small foraging parties of three and four being daily permitted to leave the Fort for a few hours, to which they usually returned laden with wild turkeys and fish--both being found in great abundance near them.
Such was the life of the little garrison for two or three long summer months--each day so resembling its fellow, that no difference could be found.
As to how the war was faring, or what the aspect of affairs might be, they absolutely knew nothing. Newspapers never reached them; and whether from having so much occupation at head-quarters, or that the difficulty of sending letters prevented, their friends never wrote a line; and thus they jogged on, a very vegetable existence, till thought at last was stagnating in their brains, and O"Flaherty half envied his companion"s resource in the spirit flask.
Such was the state of affairs at the Fort, when one evening O"Flaherty appeared to pace the little rampart that looked towards Lake Ontario, with an appearance of anxiety and impatience strangely at variance with his daily phlegmatic look. It seemed that the corporal"s party he had despatched that morning to forage, near the "Falls," had not returned, and already were four hours later than their time away.
Every imaginable mode of accounting for their absence suggested itself to his mind. Sometimes he feared that they had been attacked by the Indian hunters, who were far from favourably disposed towards their poaching neighbours. Then, again, it might be merely that they had missed their track in the forest; or could it be that they had ventured to reach Goat Island in a canoe, and had been carried down the rapids. Such were the torturing doubts that pa.s.sed as some shrill squirrel, or hoa.r.s.e night owl pierced the air with a cry, and then all was silent again. While thus the hours went slowly by, his attention was attracted by a bright light in the sky. It appeared as if part of the heavens were reflecting some strong glare from beneath, for as he looked, the light, at first pale and colourless, gradually deepened into a rich mellow hue, and at length, through the murky blackness of the night, a strong clear current of flame rose steadily upwards from the earth, and pointed towards the sky. From the direction, it must have been either at the Falls, or immediately near them; and now the horrible conviction flashed upon his mind that the party had been waylaid by the Indians, who were, as is their custom, making a war feast over their victims.
Not an instant was to be lost. The little garrison beat to arms; and, as the men fell in, O"Flaherty cast his eyes around, while he selected a few brave fellows to accompany him. Scarcely had the men fallen out from the ranks, when the sentinel at the gate was challenged by a well-known voice, and in a moment more the corporal of the foraging party was among them. Fatigue and exhaustion had so overcome him, that for some minutes he was speechless. At length he recover sufficiently to give the following brief account:-- The little party having obtained their supply of venison above Queenston, were returning to the Fort, when they suddenly came upon a track of feet, and little experience in forest life soon proved that some new arrivals had reached the hunting grounds, for on examining them closely, they proved neither to be Indian tracks, nor yet those made by the shoes of the Fort party. Proceeding with caution to trace them backwards for three or four miles, they reached the bank of the Niagara river, above the whirlpools, where the crossing is most easily effected from the American side. The mystery was at once explained: it was a surprise party of the Yankees, sent to attack Fort Peak; and now the only thing to be done was to hasten back immediately to their friends, and prepare for their reception.
With this intent they took the river path as the shortest, but had not proceeded far when their fears were confirmed; for in a little embayment of the bank they perceived a party of twenty blue coats, who, with their arms piled, were lying around as if waiting for the hour of attack. The sight of this party added greatly to their alarm, for they now perceived that the Americans had divided their force--the foot-tracks first seen being evidently those of another division. As the corporal and his few men continued, from the low and thick brushwood, to make their reconnaisance of the enemy, they observed with delight that they were not regulars, but a militia force. With this one animating thought, they again, with noiseless step, regained the forest, and proceeded upon their way. Scarcely, however, had they marched a mile, when the sound of voices and loud laughter apprised them that another party was near, which, as well as they could observe in the increasing gloom, was still larger than the former. They were now obliged to make a considerable circuit, and advance still deeper into the forest--their anxiety hourly increasing, lest the enemy should reach the Fort before themselves. In this dilemma it was resolved that the party should separate--the corporal determining to proceed alone by the river bank, while the others, by a detour of some miles, should endeavour to learn the force of the Yankees, and, as far as they could, their mode of attack. From that instant the corporal knew no more; for, after two hours" weary exertion, he reached the Fort, which, had it been but another mile distant, his strength had not held out for him to attain.
However gladly poor O"Flaherty might have hailed such information under other circ.u.mstances, now it came like a thunderbolt upon him. Six of his small force were away, perhaps ere this made prisoners by the enemy; the Yankees, as well as he could judge, were a numerous party; and he himself totally without a single adviser--for Malone had dined, and was, therefore, by this time in that pleasing state of indifference, in which he could only recognise an enemy, in the man that did not send round the decanter.
In the half indulged hope that his state might permit some faint exercise of the reasoning faculty, O"Flaherty walked towards the small den they had designated as the mess-room, in search of his brother officer.
As he entered the apartment, little disposed as he felt to mirth at such a moment, the tableau before him was too ridiculous not to laugh at. At one side of the fire-place sat Malone, his face florid with drinking, and his eyeb.a.l.l.s projecting. Upon his head was a small Indian skull cap, with two peac.o.c.k feathers, and a piece of scarlet cloth which hung down behind. In one hand he held a smoking goblet of rum punch, and in the other a long, Indian Chibook pipe. Opposite to him, but squatted upon the floor, reposed a red Indian, that lived in the Fort as a guide, equally drunk, but preserving, even in his liquor, an impa.s.sive, grave aspect, strangely contrasting with the high excitement of Malone"s face. The red man wore Malone"s uniform coat, which he had put on back foremost--his head-dress having, in all probability been exchanged for it, as an amicable courtesy between the parties. There they sat, looking fixedly at each other; neither spoke, nor even smiled--the rum bottle, which at brief intervals pa.s.sed from one to the other, maintained a friendly intercourse that each was content with.
To the hearty fit of laughing of O"Flaherty, Malone replied by a look of drunken defiance, and then nodded to his red friend, who returned the courtesy. As poor Tom left the room, he saw that nothing was to be hoped for in this quarter, and determined to beat the garrison to arms without any further delay. Scarcely had he closed the door behind him, when a sudden thought flashed through his brain. He hesitated, walked forward a few paces, stopped again, and calling out to the corporal, said-- "You are certain they were militia?"
"Yes, sir; quite sure."
"Then, by Jove, I have it," cried O"Flaherty. "If they should turn out to be the Buffalo fencibles, we may get through this sc.r.a.pe better than I hoped for."
"I believe you are right, sir; for I heard one of the men as I pa.s.sed observe, "what will they say in Buffalo when it"s over?"."
"Send Mathers here, corporal; and do you order four rank and file, with side-arms to be in readiness immediately."
"Mathers, you have heard the news," said O"Flaherty, as the sergeant entered. "Can the Fort hold out against such a force as Jackson reports? You doubt; well, so do I; so let"s see what"s to be done. Can you remember, was it not the Buffalo militia that were so tremendously thrashed by the Delawares last autumn?"
"Yes, sir, they chased them for two days and nights, and had they not reached the town of Buffalo, the Delawares would not have left a scalp in the regiment."
"Can you recollect the chief"s name--it was Carran--something, eh?"
"Caudan-dacwagae."
"Exactly. Where is he supposed to be now?"
"Up in Detroit, sir, they say, but no one knows. Those fellows are here to-day, and there to-morrow."
"Well then, sergeant, here"s my plan." Saying these words, O"Flaherty proceeded to walk towards his quarters, accompanied by the sergeant, with whom he conversed for some time eagerly--occasionally replying, as it appeared, to objections, and offering explanations as the other seemed to require them. The colloquy lasted half an hour--and although the veteran sergeant seemed difficult of conviction, it ended by his saying, as he left the room, "Well, sir, as you say, it can only come to hard knocks at worst. Here goes--I"ll send off the scout party to make the fires and choose the men for the out picquets, for no time is to be lost."
In about an hour"s time from the scene I have mentioned, a number of militia officers, of different grades, were seated round a bivouac fire, upon the bank of the Niagara river. The conversation seemed of an angry nature, for the voices of the speakers were loud and irrascible, and their gestures evidenced a state of high excitement.
"I see," said one, who seemed the superior of the party--"I see well where this will end. We shall have another Queenston affair, as we had last fall with the Delawares."
"I only say," replied another, "that if you wish our men to stand fire to-morrow morning, the less you remind them of the Delawares the better. What is that noise? Is not that a drum beating?"
The party at these words sprung to their legs, and stood in an att.i.tude of listening for some seconds.
"Who goes there?" sung out a sentinel from his post; and then, after a moment"s delay, added--"Pa.s.s flag of truce to Major Brown"s quarters."
Scarcely were the words spoken, when three officers in scarlet, preceded by a drummer with a white flag, stood before the American party.
"To whom may I address myself?" said one of the British--who, I may inform my reader, en pa.s.sant, was no other than O"Flaherty--"To whom may I address myself as the officer in command?"
"I am Major Brown," said a short, plethoric little man, in a blue uniform and round hat--"And who are you?"
"Major O"Flaherty, of his majesty"s fifth foot," said Tom, with a very sonorous emphasis on each word--"the bearer of a flag of truce and an amicable proposition from Major-General Allen, commanding the garrison of Fort Peak."
The Americans, who were evidently taken by surprise at their intentions of attack being known, were silent, while he continued-- "Gentlemen, it may appear somewhat strange that a garrison, possessing the natural strength of a powerful position--supplied with abundant ammunition and every muniment of war--should despatch a flag of truce on the eve of an attack, in preference to waiting for the moment, when a sharp and well-prepared reception might best attest its vigilance and discipline. But the reasons for this step are soon explained. In the first place, you intend a surprise. We have been long aware of your projected attack. Our spies have tracked you from your crossing the river above the whirlpool to your present position. Every man of your party is numbered by us; and, what is still more, numbered by our allies --yes, gentlemen, I must repeat it, "allies"--though, as a Briton, I blush at the word. Shame and disgrace for ever be that man"s portion, who first a.s.sociated the honourable usages of war with the atrocious and b.l.o.o.d.y cruelties of the savage. Yet so it is: the Delawares of the hills"--here the Yankees exchanged very peculiar looks--"have this morning arrived at Fort Peak, with orders to ravage the whole of your frontier, from Fort George to Lake Erie. They brought us the information of your approach, and their chief is, while I speak, making an infamous proposition, by which a price is to paid for every scalp he produces in the morning. Now, as the general cannot refuse to co-operate with the savages, without compromising himself with the commander-in-chief, neither can he accept of such a.s.sistance without some pangs of conscience. He has taken the only course open to him: he has despatched myself and my brother officers here"--O"Flaherty glanced at two privates dressed up in his regimentals--"to offer you terms"-- O"Flaherty paused when he arrived thus far, expecting that the opposite party would make some reply; but they continued silent: when suddenly, from the dense forest, there rung forth a wild and savage yell, that rose and fell several times, like the pibroch of the highlander, and ended at last in a loud whoop, that was echoed and re-echoed again and again for several seconds after.
"Hark!" said O"Flaherty, with an accent of horror--"Hark! the war-cry of the Delawares! The savages are eager for their prey. May it yet be time enough to rescue you from such a fate! Time presses--our terms are these--as they do not admit of discussion, and must be at once accepted or rejected, to your own ear alone can I impart them."
Saying which, he took Major Brown aside, and, walking apart from the others, led him, by slow steps, into the forest. While O"Flaherty continued to dilate upon the atrocities of Indian war, and the revengeful character of the savages, he contrived to be always advancing towards the river side, till at length the glare of a fire was perceptible through the gloom. Major Brown stopped suddenly, and pointed in the direction of the flame.
"It is the Indian picquet," said O"Flaherty, calmly; "and as the facts I have been detailing may be more palpable to your mind, you shall see them with your own eyes. Yes, I repeat it, you shall, through the cover of this brushwood, see Caudan-dacwagae himself--for he is with them in person."
As O"Flaherty said this, he led Major Brown, now speechless with terror, behind a ma.s.sive cork tree, from which spot they could look down upon the river side, where in a small creek sat five or six persons in blankets, and scarlet head-dresses; their faces streaked with patches of yellow and red paint, to which the glare of the fire lent fresh horror. In the midst sat one, whose violent gestures and savage cries gave him the very appearance of a demon, as he resisted with all his might the efforts of the others to restrain him, shouting like a maniac all the while, and struggling to rise.
"It is the chief," said O"Flaherty; "he will wait no longer. We have bribed the others to keep him quiet, if possible, a little time; but I see they cannot succeed."
A loud yell of triumph from below interrupted Tom"s speech. The infuriated savage--who was no other than Mr. Malone--having obtained the rum bottle, for which he was fighting with all his might--his temper not being improved in the struggle by occasional admonitions from the red end of a cigar, applied to his naked skin by the other Indians--who were his own soldiers acting under O"Flaherty"s orders.
"Now," said Tom, "that you have convinced yourself, and can satisfy your brother officers, will you take your chance? or will you accept the honoured terms of the General--pile your arms, and retreat beyond the river before day-break? Your muskets and ammunition will offer a bribe to the cupidity of the savage, and delay his pursuit till you can reach some place of safety."
Major Brown heard the proposal in silence, and at last determined upon consulting his brother officers.
"I have outstaid my time," said O"Flaherty, "but stop; the lives of so many are at stake, I consent." Saying which, they walked on without speaking, till they arrived where the others were standing around the watch-fire.
As Brown retired to consult with the officers, Tom heard with pleasure how much his two companions had worked upon the Yankees" fears, during his absence, by details of the vindictive feelings of the Delawares, and their vows to annihilate the Buffalo militia.
Before five minutes they had decided. Upon a solemn pledge from O"Flaherty that the terms of the compact were to be observed as he stated them, they agreed to march with their arms to the ford, where, having piled them, they were to cross over, and make the best of their way home.
By sunrise the next morning, all that remained of the threatened attack on Fort Peak, were the smouldering ashes of some wood fires--eighty muskets piled in the fort--and the yellow ochre, and red stripes that still adorned the countenance of the late Indian chief,--but now snoring Lieutenant Maurice Malone.
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE COURIER"S Pa.s.sPORT.
A second night succeeded the long dreary day of the diligence, and the only one agreeable reflection arose in the feeling that every mile travelled, was diminishing the chance of pursuit, and removing me still further from that scene of trouble and annoyance that was soon to furnish gossip for Paris--under the t.i.tle of "The Affaire O"Leary."
How he was ever to extricate himself from the numerous and embarra.s.sing difficulties of his position, gave me, I confess, less uneasiness than the uncertainty of my own fortunes. Luck seemed ever to befriend him--me it had always accompanied far enough through life to make its subsequent desertion more painful. How far I should blame myself for this, I stopped not to consider; but brooded over the fact in a melancholy and discontented mood. The one thought uppermost in my mind was, how will Lady Jane receive me--am I forgotten--or am I only remembered as the subject of that unlucky mistake, when, under the guise of an elder son, I was feted and made much of. What pretensions I had, without fortune, rank, influence, or even expectations of any kind, to seek the hand of the most beautiful girl of the day, with the largest fortune as her dowry, I dare not ask myself--the reply would have dashed all my hopes, and my pursuit would have at once been abandoned. "Tell the people you are an excellent preacher," was the advice of an old and learned divine to a younger and less experienced one--"tell them so every morning, and every noon, and every evening, and at last they will begin to believe it." So thought I. I shall impress upon the Callonbys that I am a most unexceptionable "parti." Upon every occasion they shall hear it--as they open their newspapers at breakfast--as they sip their soup at luncheon--as they adjust their napkin at dinner--as they chat over their wine at night. My influence in the house shall be unbounded--my pleasures consulted--my dislikes remembered. The people in favour with me shall dine there three times a-week--those less fortunate shall be put into schedule A. My opinions on all subjects shall be a law--whether I p.r.o.nounce upon politics, or discuss a dinner: and all this I shall accomplish by a successful flattery of my lady--a little bullying of my lord--a devoted attention to the youngest sister--a special cultivation of Kilkee--and a very "p.r.o.nonce" neglect of Lady Jane. These were my half-waking thoughts, as the heavy diligence rumbled over the pave into Nancy; and I was aroused by the door being suddenly jerked open, and a bronzed face, with a black beard and moustache, being thrust in amongst us.
"Your pa.s.sports, Messieurs," as a lantern was held up in succession across our faces, and we handed forth our crumpled and worn papers to the official.
The night was stormy and dark--gusts of wind sweeping along, bearing with them the tail of some thunder cloud--mingling their sounds with a falling tile from the roofs, or a broken chimney-pot. The officer in vain endeavoured to hold open the pa.s.sports while he inscribed his name; and just as the last scrawl was completed, the lantern went out. Muttering a heavy curse upon the weather, he thrust them in upon us en ma.s.se, and, banging the door to, called out to the conducteur, "en route."
Again we rumbled on, and, ere we cleared the last lamps of the town, the whole party were once more sunk in sleep, save myself. Hour after hour rolled by, the rain pattering upon the roof, and the heavy plash of the horses" feet contributing their mournful sounds to the melancholy that was stealing over me. At length we drew up at the door of a little auberge; and, by the noise and bustle without, I perceived there was a change of horses. Anxious to stretch my legs, and relieve, if even for a moment, the wearisome monotony of the night, I got out and strode into the little parlour of the inn. There was a cheerful fire in an open stove, beside which stood a portly figure in a sheepskin bunta and a cloth travelling cap, with a gold band; his legs were cased in high Russia leather boots, all evident signs of the profession of the wearer, had even his haste at supper not bespoke the fact that he was a government courier.
"You had better make haste with the horses, Antoine, if you don"t wish the postmaster to hear of it," said he, as I entered, his mouth filled with pie crust and vin de Beaune, as he spoke.
A lumbering peasant, with a blouse, sabots, and a striped nightcap, replied in some unknown patois; when the courier again said-- "Well, then, take the diligence horses; I must get on at all events; they are not so presse, I"ll be bound; besides it will save the gens-d"armes some miles of a ride if they overtake them here."
"Have we another vise of our pa.s.sports here, then?" said I, addressing the courier, "for we have already been examined at Nancy?"
"Not exactly a vise," said the courier, eyeing me most suspiciously as he spoke, and then continuing to eat with his former voracity.
"Then, what, may I ask, have we to do with the gens-d"armes?"
"It is a search," said the courier, gruffly, and with the air of one who desired no further questioning.
I immediately ordered a bottle of Burgundy, and filling the large goblet before him, said, with much respect, "A votre bonne voyage, Monsier le Courier."
To this he at once replied, by taking off his cap and bowing politely as he drank off the wine.
"Have we any runaway felon or a stray galerien among us?" said I, laughingly, "that they are going to search us?"
"No, monsieur," said the courier; "but there has been a government order to arrest a person on this road connected with the dreadful Polish plot, that has just eclated at Paris. I pa.s.sed a vidette of cavalry at Nancy, and they will be up here in half an hour."
"A Polish plot! Why, I left Paris only two days ago, and never heard of it."
"C"est bien possible, Monsieur? Perhaps, after all, it may only be an affair of the police; but they have certainly arrested one prisoner at Meurice, charged with this, as well as the attempt to rob Frascati, and murder the croupier."
"Alas," said I, with a half-suppressed groan, "it is too true; that infernal fellow O"Leary has ruined me, and I shall be brought back to Paris, and only taken from prison to meet the open shame and ignominy of a public trial."
What was to be done?--every moment was precious. I walked to the door to conceal my agitation. All was dark and gloomy. The thought of escape was my only one; but how to accomplish it! Every stir without suggested to my anxious mind the approaching tread of horses--every rattle of the harness seemed like the clink of accoutrements.
While I yet hesitated, I felt that my fate was in the balance. Concealment where I was, was impossible; there were no means of obtaining horses to proceed. My last only hope then rested in the courier; he perhaps might be bribed to a.s.sist me at this juncture. Still his impression as to the enormity of the crime imputed, might deter him; and there was no time for explanation, if even he would listen to it. I returned to the room; he had finished his meal, and was now engaged in all the preparations for encountering a wet and dreary night. I hesitated; my fears that if he should refuse my offers, all chance of my escape was gone, deterred me for a moment. At length as he wound a large woollen shawl around his throat, and seemed to have completed his costume, I summoned nerve for the effort, and with as much boldness in my manner as I could muster, said-- "Monsieur le Courier, one word with you." I here closed the door, and continued. "My fortunes--my whole prospects in life depend upon my reaching Strasbourg by to-morrow night. You alone can be the means of my doing so. Is there any price you can mention, for which you will render me this service?--if so, name it."
"So then, Monsieur," said the Courier, slowly--"so, then, you are the--"
"You have guessed it," said I, interrupting. "Do you accept my proposal?"