siwn 
 
 FRIEND 
 
 I : I 
 
FRIENDS 
 THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 A TALE OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 c/ I 
 
 V 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY, 
 
 Author of "In Times of Perii," "The, Young Franc-Tirwn? 
 "The Young Bugler*:' etc., etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HURST & COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS. 
 

PREFACE. 
 
 MY DEAR .LADS: Although so long a time has elapsed 
 since the great civil war in England, men are still almost 
 as much divided as they were then as to the merits of 
 the quarrel, almost as warm partisans of the one side or 
 the other. Most of you will probably have formed an 
 opinion as to the rights of the case, either from your 
 own reading, or from hearing the views of your elders. 
 
 For my part, I have endeavored to hold the scales 
 equally, to relate historical facts with absolute accuracy, 
 and to show how much of right and how much of wrong 
 there was upon either side. Upon the one hand, the 
 king by his instability, bad faith, and duplicity alien- 
 ated his best friends, and drove the Commons to far greater 
 lengths than they had at first dreamed of. Upon the 
 other hand, the struggle, begun only to win constitu- 
 tional rights, ended owing to the ambition, fanaticism, 
 and determination to override all rights and all opinions 
 save their own, of a numerically insignificant minority 
 of the Commons, backed by the strength of the army 
 in the establishment of the most complete despotism 
 England has ever seen. 
 
 It may no doubt be considered a failing on my part 
 that one of my heroes has a very undue preponderance of 
 adventure over the other. This I regret; but after the 
 scale of victory turned, those on the winning side had 
 little to do or to suffer, and one's interest is certainly 
 with the hunted fugitive, or the slave in the Bermudas, 
 rather than with the prosperous and well-to-do citizen. 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 G. A. HENTY. 
 
 M189747 
 
ri CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Pablic Events , ,. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 An Attempt to Rescue the King , , . , 168 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 A Riot in the City , .., 180 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Execution of King Charles . . , 193 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Siege of Drogheda 205 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Slaves in the Bermudas , . . . . 219 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 A Sea Fight a 232 
 
 CHAPTER XX, 
 With the Scotch Army 245 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The Path Across the Morass 258 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Kidnaped. 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 The Battle of Worcester ,283 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Across the Sea 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 A Plot Overheard. ,,., . . ...... , 3v 7 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Rest at Last.......... 321 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE EVE OF THE WAR. 
 
 IT was a pleasant afternoon in the month of July, 1642, 
 when three young people sat together on a shady bank 
 at the edge of a wood some three miles from Oxford. 
 The country was undulating and picturesque, and a little 
 more than a mile in front of them rose the lofty spire of 
 St. Helen's, Abingdon. The party consisted of two lads, 
 who were about fifteen years of age, and a girl of ten. 
 The lads, although of about the same height and build, 
 were singularly unlike. Herbert Rippinghall was dark 
 and grave, his dress somber in hue, but good in material 
 and well made. Harry Furness was a fair and merry- 
 looking boy; good humor was the distinguishing char- 
 acteristic of his face; his somewhat bright and fashionably 
 cut clothes were carelessly put on, and it was clear that 
 no thought of his own appearance or good looks entered 
 his mind. He wore his hair in ringlets, and had on his 
 head a broad hat of felt with a white feather, while his 
 companion wore a plain cap, and his hair was cut closely 
 to his head. 
 
 "It is a bad business, Harry," the latter said, "but 
 there is one satisfaction that, come what may, nothing 
 can disturb our friendship. We have never had a quar- 
 rel since we first met at the old school down there, six 
 
THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 years ago. We have been dear friends always, and my 
 only regret has been that your laziness has prevented our 
 being rivals, for neither would have grudged the other 
 victory/' 
 
 "No, indeed, Herbert. But there was never a chance 
 of that. You have always been Mr. Gregory's prize 
 boy, and are now head of the school; while I have al- 
 ways been in his bad books. But, as you say, Herbert, 
 we have been dear friends, and, come what will, we'll 
 continue so. We cannot agree on the state of the king- 
 dom, and shall never do so. We have both taken our 
 views from our parents; and indeed it seems to me that 
 the question is far too difficult a one for boys like us to 
 form any opinion of it. When we see some of the best and 
 wisest in the land ranging themselves on either side, it 
 is clear that even such a wise noddle as yours to say 
 nothing of a feather brain like mine cannot form any 
 opinion on a subject which perplexes our elders and 
 betters." 
 
 "That is true, Harry; but still " 
 
 "No, no, Herbert, we will have no argument. You 
 have the best of it there, and I fall back upon author- 
 il.y. My father, the colonel, is for the king; yours for 
 the Parliament. He says that there are faults on both 
 sides, and indeed, for years he favored the Commons. 
 The king's acts were unconstitutional and tyrannical, 
 and my father approved of the bold stand which Sir 
 George Elliot made against him. Now, however, all 
 this has been changed, he tells me, and the Commons 
 seek to rule without either king or peers. They have 
 sought to impose conditions which would render them 
 the lords absolute of England, and reduce the king to a 
 mere puppet. They have, too, attacked the Church, 
 would abolish bishops, and interfere in all matters spirit- 
 ual. Therefore, my father, while acknowledging the 
 
FRIENDS, 2 HO VQH DIVIDED. 3 
 
 faults which the king has committed, and grieving over 
 the acts which have driven the Parliament to taking up 
 a hostile attitude to him, yet holds it his duty to sup- 
 port him against the violent men who have now assumed 
 power, and who are aiming at the subversion of the con- 
 stitution and the loss of the country." 
 
 "I fear, also," Herbert said, "that the Commons have 
 gone grievously beyond their rights, although, did my 
 father hear me say so, I should fall under his gravest 
 displeasure. But he holds that it is necessary that 
 there should be an ecclesiastical sweep, that the prelates 
 should have no more power in the land, that popery 
 should be put down with an iron hand, and that, since 
 kings cannot be trusted to govern well, all power should 
 be placed in the hands of the people. My own thoughts 
 do incline toward his; but, as you say, when one sees 
 men like my Lord Falkland, who have hitherto stood 
 among the foremost in the ranks of those who demand 
 that the king shall govern according to law, now siding 
 with him against them, one cannot but feel how grave 
 are the difficulties, and how much is to be said on either 
 side. How is one to choose? The king is overbearing, 
 haughty, and untrue to his word. The Parliament is 
 stiff-necked and bent upon acquiring power beyond what 
 is fair and right. There are, indeed, grievous faults on 
 both sides. But it seems to me that should the king 
 now have his way and conquer the Commons, he and 
 his descendants will henceforth govern as absolute mon- 
 archs, and the liberty of the people will be endangered; 
 while on the other hand, should the Parliament gain the 
 upper hand, they will place on a firm basis the liberties 
 of Englishmen, and any excesses which they may commit 
 will be controlled and modified by a future parliament, for 
 the people of England will no more suffer tyranny on the 
 part of the Commons than of the king; but while they 
 
4 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 cannot change the one, it is in their power to elect whom 
 they will, and to send up men who will govern things 
 moderately and wisely." 
 
 "At any rate/' Harry said, "my father thinks that 
 there is neither moderation nor wisdom among the 
 zealots at Westminster; and as I hear that many nobles 
 and country gentlemen throughout England are of the 
 same opinion, methinks that though at present the Par- 
 liament have the best of it, and have seized Portsmouth, 
 and the Tower, and all the depots of arms, yet that in 
 the end the king will prevail against them." 
 
 "I trust," Herbert continued earnestly, "that there 
 will be no fighting. England has known no civil wars 
 since the days of the Roses, and when we see how France 
 and Germany are torn by internal dissensions, we should 
 be happy indeed that England has so long escaped such 
 a scourge. It is indeed sad to think that friends should 
 be arrayed against each other in a quarrel in which both 
 sides are in the wrong." 
 
 "I hope," Harry said, "that if they needs must fight, 
 it will soon be over, whichever way fortune may turn." 
 
 "I think not," Herbert answered. "It is a war of 
 religion as much as a war for power. The king and the 
 Commons may strive who shall govern the realm; but 
 the people who will take up arms will do it more for the 
 triumph of Protestantism than for that of Pym and 
 Hampden." 
 
 "How tiresome you both are," Lucy Rippinghall in- 
 terrupted, pouting. "You brought me out to gather 
 flowers, and you do nothing but talk of kings and Par- 
 liament, as if I cared for them. I call it very rude 
 Herbert is often forgetful, and thinks of his books more 
 than of me; but you, Master Harry, are always polite 
 and gentle, and I marvel much that you should be so 
 changed to-day." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. ft 
 
 "Forgive me," Harry said, smiling. "We have been 
 very remiss, Miss Lucy; but we will have no more of high 
 politics, and will, even if never again," he said sadly, 
 "devote all our energies to getting such a basket ot 
 flowers for you as may fill your rooms with beaupots. 
 Now, if your majesty is ready to begin, we are your most 
 obedient servants." 
 
 And so, with a laugh, the little party rose to theif 
 feet, and started in quest of wild flowers. 
 
 The condition of affairs was at the outbreak of th* 
 civil war such as might well puzzle older heads than 
 those of Harry Furness or Herbert Rippinghall, t<i 
 choose between the two powers who were gathering arms, 
 
 The foundations of the difficulty had been laid in th 
 reigu of King James. That monarch, who in figure, 
 manners, and mind was in the strongest contrast to all 
 the English kings who had preceded him, was infinitely 
 more mischievous than a more foolish monarch could 
 have been. Coarse in manner a buffoon in demeano* 
 so weak, that in many matters he suffered himself to 
 be a puppet in the hands of the profligates who sur- 
 rounded him, he had yet a certain amount of cleverness, 
 and an obstinacy which nothing could overcome. H* 
 brought with him from Scotland an overweening opinion 
 of the power and dignity of his position as a king. 
 The words absolute monarchy had hitherto meant 
 only a monarch free from foreign interference; to Jame* 
 they meant a monarchy free from interference on tha 
 part of Lords or Commons. He believed implicitly im 
 the divine right of kings to do just as they chose, and 
 in all things, secular and ecclesiastical, to impose their 
 will upon their subjects. 
 
 At that time, upon the Continent, the struggle of 
 Protestantism and Catholicism was being fought out 
 everywhere. In France the Huguenots were gradual!* 
 
6 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 losing ground, and were soon to be extirpated. In Ger- 
 many the Protestant princes had lost ground. Austria, 
 at one time halting between two opinions, had now es- 
 poused vehemently the side of the pope, and save in 
 Holland and Switzerland, Catholicism was triumphing 
 all aloLg the line. While the sympathies of the people 
 of England were strongly in favor of their co-religionists 
 upon the Continent, those of James inclined toward 
 Catholicism, and in all matters ecclesiastical he was at 
 variance with his subjects. What caused, if possible, 
 an even deeper feeling of anger than his interference in 
 church matters, was his claim to influence the decisions 
 of the law courts. The pusillanimity of the great mass 
 of the judges hindered them from opposing his outra- 
 geous claims, and the people saw with indignation and 
 amazement the royal power becoming infinitely greater 
 and more extended than anything to which Henry VIII. 
 or even Elizabeth had laid claim. The negotiations of 
 the king for a marriage between his son and the Infanta 
 of Spain raised the fears of the people to the highest 
 point. The remembrance of the Spanish armada was 
 still fresh in their minds, and they looked upon an 
 alliance with Spain as the most unholy of contracts, and 
 as threatening alike the religion and liberties of Eng- 
 lishmen. 
 
 Thus when at King James' death King Charles 
 ascended the throne, he inherited a legacy of trouble. 
 Unhappily, his disposition was even more obstinate tKan 
 that of his father. His training had been wholly bad, 
 and he had inherited the pernicious ideas of his father 
 in reference to the rights of kings. Even more unfor- 
 tunately, he had inherited his father's counselors. The 
 Duke of Buckingham, a haughty, avaricious, and ambi- 
 tious noble, raised by King James from obscurity, urged 
 him to follow the path of his father, and other evil coun- 
 
FRIENDB. THOUGH DIVIDED. 7. 
 
 selors were not wanting. King Charles, indeed, had ar. 
 advantage over his father, inasmuch as his person was 
 stately and commanding, his manner grave and digni- 
 fied, and his private life irreproachable. The conflicts? 
 which had continued throughout the reign of his father 
 between king and Parliament speedily broke out afresh. 
 The Commons refused to grant supplies, unless the 
 king granted rights and privileges which he deemed 
 alike derogatory and dangerous. The shifty foreign 
 policy of England was continued, and soon the breach 
 was as wide as it had been during the previous reign. 
 
 After several Parliaments had been called and dis- 
 solved, some gaining advantage from the necessities of 
 the king, others meeting only to separate after discus- 
 sions which imbittered the already existing relations, for 
 ten years the king dispensed with a Parliament. The 
 murder of the Duke of Buckingham by Felton brought 
 no alleviation to the situation. In Ireland, Wentworth, 
 Earl of Strafford, ruled with tyrannical power. He was 
 a man of clear mind and of great talent, and his whole 
 efforts were devoted to increasing the power of the king, 
 and so, as he considered, the benefit of the country. In 
 Ireland he had a submissive Parliament, and by the aid 
 of this he raised moneys, and ruled in a rrariner which, 
 tyrannical as it was, was yet for the benefit of that coun- 
 try. The king had absolute confidence in him, and hia 
 advice was ever on the side of resistance to popular 
 demands. In England the chief power was given 'to Arch- 
 bishop Laud, a high church prelate, bent upon restoring 
 many of the forms of Catholic worship, and bitterly 
 opposed to the Puritan spirit which pervaded the great 
 mass of the English people. 
 
 So far the errors had been entirely upon the side of 
 the king. The demands of the Commons had been 
 justified by precedent and constitutional rule. The 
 
g JRIEND8, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 doings of the king were in equal opposition to these. 
 When at last the necessities of the situation compelled 
 Charles to summon a Parliament, he was met by them 
 in a spirit of absolute defiance. Before any vote of sup- 
 ply would be taken, the Commons insisted upon the 
 impeachment of Straflord, and Charles weakly consented 
 to this. The trial was illegally carried on, and the evi- 
 dence, weak and doubtful. But the king's favorite was 
 marked out for destruction, and to the joy of the whole 
 kingdom was condemned and executed. /. similar fate 
 befell Laud, and encouraged by these successes, the de- 
 mands of the Commons became higher and higher. 
 
 The ultimatum which at last the Puritan party in Par- 
 liament delivered to the king, was that no man should 
 remain in the royal council who was not agreeable to 
 Parliament; that no deed of the king should have 
 validity unless it passed the council, and was attested 
 under their hands; that all the officers of the state and 
 principal judges should be chosen with consent of Par- 
 liament, and enjoy their offices for life; that none of 
 the royal family should marry without consent of Par- 
 liament or the council; that the penal laws should be 
 executed against Catholics; that the votes of popish lords 
 should not be received in the Peers, and that bishops 
 should be excluded from the House; that the reforma- 
 tion of the liturgy and church government should be 
 carried out acccording to the advice of Parliament; that 
 the ordinances which they had made with regard to the 
 militia should be submitted to; that the justice of Par- 
 liament should pass upon all delinquents, that is, upon 
 all officials of the state and country who had assisted in 
 carrying out the king's ordinances for the raising of 
 taxes; that a general pardon should be granted, with 
 such exceptions as should be advised by Parliament; that 
 the fort and castles should be disposed of by consent of 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 9 
 
 Parliament; and that no peers should be made but with 
 the consent of both Houses. The} 7 demanded also that 
 they should have the power of appointing and dismiss- 
 ing the royal ministers, of naming guardians for the 
 royal children, and of virtually controlling military, 
 civil, and religious affairs. 
 
 As it was clear that these demands went altogether 
 beyond the rights of the Commons, and that if the king 
 submitted to them the power of the country would be 
 solely in their hands, while he himself would become a 
 cipher, he had no course open to him but to refuse as- 
 sent, and to appeal to the loyal nobility and gentry of 
 the country. 
 
 It is true that many of these rights have since been 
 obtained by the Houses of Parliament; but it must be 
 remembered that they were altogether alien at the time 
 to the position which the kings of England had hitherto 
 held, and that the body into whose hands they would be 
 intrusted would be composed solely of one party in the 
 state, and that this party would be controlled by the 
 fanatical leaders and the ministers of the sects opposed 
 to the Established Church, which were at that time bit- 
 ter, narrow, and violent to an extent of which we have 
 now no conception. 
 
 The atittude thus assumed by Parliament drove from 
 their ranks a great many of the most intelligent and 
 enlightened of those who had formerly sided with them 
 in their contest against the king. These gentlemen felt 
 that intolerable as was the despotic power of a king, still 
 more intolerable would it be to be governed by the 
 despotic power of a group of fanatics. The liberty of 
 Englishmen was now as much threatened by the Com- 
 mons as it had been threatened by the king, and to loyal 
 gentlemen the latter alternative was preferable. Thus 
 there were on both sides earneat and conscientious men 
 
10 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 who grieved deeply at being forced to draw sworcjs in 
 such a quarrel, and who felt that their choice of sides 
 was difficult in the extreme. Falkland was the typical 
 soldier on the royal side, Hampden on that of tha 
 Commons. 
 
 It is probable that were England divided to-morrow 
 under the same conditions, men would be equally 
 troubled upon which side to range themselves. At this 
 period of the struggle, with the exception of a few hot- 
 headed followers of the king and a few zealots on the 
 side of the Commons, there was a general hope that mat- 
 ters would shortly be arranged, and that one conflict 
 would settle the struggle. 
 
 The first warlike demonstration was made before the 
 town of York, before whose walls the king, arriving 
 with an armed force, was refused admittance by Sir 
 John Hotham, who held the place for the Parliament. 
 This was the signal for the outbreak of the war, and 
 each party henceforth strained every nerve to arm them- 
 selves and to place their forces in the field. 
 
 The above is but a brief sketch of the circumstances 
 which led the Cavaliers and Puritans of England to arm 
 themselves for civil war. Many details have been 
 omitted, the object being not to teach the history of the 
 time, but to show the general course of events which 
 had led to so broad and strange a division between the 
 people of England. Even now, after an interval of two 
 hundred years, men still discuss the subject with some- 
 thing like passion, and are as strong in their sympathies 
 toward one side or the other as in the days when their 
 ancestors took up arms for king or Commons. 
 
 It is with the story of the war which followed the con- 
 versation of Harry Furness and Herbert Rippinghall 
 that we have to do, not with that of the political occur- 
 rences which preceded it. As to these, at least, no 
 
FRIENDS, TROUGH DIVIDED. \\ 
 
 doubts or differences of opinion can arise. The incidents 
 of the war, its victories and defeats, its changing for- 
 tunes, and its final triumph, are matters beyond the 
 domain of politics, or of opinion; and indeed when once 
 the war began politics ceased to have much further 
 sway. The original questions were lost sight of, and 
 men fought for king or Parliament just as soldiers now- 
 adays fight for England or France, without in any way 
 concerning themselves with the original grounds of the 
 quarrel. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDBD. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FOR THE KING. 
 
 IT was late that evening when Sir Henry Furness re- 
 turned from Oxford; but Harry, anxious to hear the all- 
 absorbing news of the day, had waited up for him. 
 
 "What news, father?" he said, as Sir Henry alighted 
 at the door. 
 
 4 'Stirring news, Harry; but as dark as may be. War 
 appears to be now certain. The king has made every 
 concession, but the more he is ready to grant, the more 
 those Puritan knaves at Westminster would force from 
 him. King, peers, bishops, Church, all is to go down 
 before this knot of preachers; and it is well that the 
 king has his nobles and gentry still at his back. I have 
 seen Lord Falkland, and he has given me a commission 
 in the king's name to raise a troop of horse. The royal 
 banner will be hoisted at Nottingham, and there he will 
 appeal to all his loyal subjects for aid against those who 
 seek to govern the nation/' 
 
 "And you think, sir, that it will really be war now?" 
 Harry asked. 
 
 "Ay, that will it, unless the Commons go down on 
 their knees and ask his majesty's pardon, of which there 
 is, methinks, no likelihood. As was to be expected, the 
 burghers and rabble of the large towns are everywhere 
 with them, and are sending up petitions to the Commons 
 to stand fast and abolish everything. However, the 
 country is of another way of thinking, and though the 
 bad advisers of the king have in times past taken nieas- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 13 
 
 ure's which have sorely tried our loyalty, that is all for- 
 gotten now. His majesty has promised redress to all 
 grievances, and to rule constitutionally in future, and I 
 hear that the nobles are calling out their retainers in all 
 parts. England has always been governed by her kings 
 since she was a country, and we are going to try now 
 whether we are to be governed in future by our kings or 
 by every tinker, tailor, preacher, or thief sent up to 
 Westminster. I know which is my choice, and to- 
 morrow I shall set about raising a troop of lads of the 
 same mind." 
 
 4 'You mean to take me, sir, I hope," Harry said. 
 
 "Take you?" his father repeated, laughing. "To do 
 what?" 
 
 "To fight, certainly," Harry replied. "I am sure 
 that among the tenants there is not one who could use 
 the small sword as I can, for you have taught me your- 
 self, and I do not think that I should be more afraid of 
 the London pikemen than the best of them." 
 
 "No, no, Harry," his father said, putting his hand on 
 the boy's shoulder; "I do not doubt your bravery. You 
 come of a fighting stock indeed, and good blood cannot 
 lie. But you are too young, my boy." 
 
 "But if the war goes on for a couple of years, father." 
 
 "Ay, ay, my boy; but I hope that it will be ended in 
 a couple of months. If it should last which God for- 
 bid! you shall have your chance, never fear. Or, 
 Harry, should you hear that aught has happened to me, 
 mount your horse at once, my boy; ride to the army, and 
 take your place at the head of my tenants. They will 
 of course put an older hand in command; but so long as 
 a Furness is alive, whatever be his age, he must ride at 
 the head of the Furness tenants to strike for the king. 
 I hear, by the way, Harry, that that Puritan knave, Bip- 
 pinghall, the wool-stapler, is talking treason among his 
 
14 fRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 hands, and says that he will add a brave contingent t 
 the bands of the Commons when they march hither. 
 Hast heard aught about it?" 
 
 "Nothing, father, but I hope it is not true. I know, 
 however, that Master Rippinghall's thoughts and opin- 
 ions lie in that direction, for I have heard from Her- 
 bert " 
 
 "Ah, the son of the wool-stapler. Hark you, Harry, 
 this is a time when we must all take sides for or against 
 the king. Hitherto I have permitted your acquaintance 
 with the wool -stapler's son, though, in truth, he be by 
 birth no fit companion for you. But times have changed 
 now. The sword is going to be drawn, and friends of 
 the king can no longer be grip hands with friends of the 
 Commons. Did my own brother draw sword for Parlia- 
 ment, we would never speak again. Dost hear?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; and will of course obey your order, should 
 you determine that I must speak no more to Herbert. 
 But, as you say, I am a boy yet, too young to ride to 
 the wars, and Herbert is no older. It will be time for 
 us to quarrel when it is time for us to draw the sword." 
 
 "That is so, Harry, and I do not altogether forbid 
 you speaking with him. Still the less you are seen to- 
 gether, the better. I like the lad, and have made him 
 welcome here for your sake. He is a thoughtful lad, 
 and a clever one; but it is your thoughtful men who 
 plot treason, and until the storm be overpast, it is best 
 that you see as little of him as may be. And now I have 
 eaten my supper, and it is long past the time that you 
 should have been in bed. Send down word by Thomas 
 Hardway to Master Drake, my steward, to bid him send 
 early in the morning notices that all my tenants shall 
 assemble here to-morrow at four in the afternoon, and 
 bid the cook come to me. We shall have a busy day to- 
 morrow, for the Furness tenantry never gather at the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 15 
 
 hall and go out empty. And short though be the 
 notice, they shall not do so this time, which to some of 
 us may, perchance, be the last." 
 
 The next day there was bustle and hurry at Furness 
 Hall. The ponds were dragged for fish; the poultry 
 yard was scoured for its finest birds; the keepers were 
 early afield, and when they returned with piles of hares 
 and rabbits, these were seized by the cook and converted 
 into huge pies and pasties. Two sheep were slaughtered, 
 and the scullions were hard at work making confections 
 of currants, gooseberries, plums, and other fruits from 
 the garden. In the great hall the tables were laid, and 
 when this was done, and all was in readiness, the serving 
 men were called up to the armory, and there, through- 
 out the day, the cleaning of swords and iron caps, the 
 burnishing of breast and back pieces, the cleaning of 
 firelocks, and other military work went on with all haste. 
 
 The Furness estates covered many a square mile of 
 Berkshire, and fifty sturdy yeomen dismounted before 
 Furness Hall at the hour named by Sir Henry. A num- 
 ber of grooms and serving men were in attendance, and 
 took the horses as they rode up, while the major-domo 
 conducted them to the great picture gallery. Here they 
 were received by Sir Henry with a stately cordiality, and 
 the maids handed round a great silver goblet filled with 
 spiced wine. 
 
 At four exactly the major-domo entered and an- 
 nounced that the quota was complete, and that every one 
 of those summoned was present. 
 
 "Serve the tables then," Sir Henry said, as he led the 
 way to the great dining-hall. 
 
 Sir Henry took the head of the bioad table, and bade 
 Harry sit on his right hand, while the oldest of the 
 tenants faced him at the opposite end. Then a troop of 
 servants entered bearing smoking joints, cold boars' 
 
16 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 heads, fiah, turkeys, geese, and larded capons. Thes* 
 were placed upon the table, with an abundance of French 
 wine, and of strong ale for those who preferred it, to 
 wash down the viands. The first courses were followed 
 by dishes of meats and confections, and when all was 
 finished and cleared away Sir Henry Furness rose to his 
 feet. 
 
 "Fill your glasses all/' he said; "and bumpers. The 
 toast which I give you to-day is 'The king, God bless 
 him.' Never should Englishmen drink his health more 
 earnestly and solemnly than to-day, when rebels have 
 driven him from his capital, and pestilent traitors threat- 
 ened him with armed force. Perhaps, my friends, you, 
 like me, may from time to time have grumbled when 
 the tax-collectors have come round, and you have seen 
 no one warrant for their demands. But if the king has 
 been forced so to exceed his powers, it was in no slight de- 
 gree because those at Westminster refused to grant him 
 the sums which were needful. He has, too, been sur- 
 rounded by bad advisers. I myself loved not greatly 
 either Strafford or Laud. But I would rather bear their 
 high-handed ways, which were at least aimed to 
 strengthen the kingdom and for the honor of the king, 
 than be ground by these petty tyrants at Westminster, 
 who would shut up our churches, forbid us to smile on a 
 Sunday, or to pray, except through our noses; who 
 would turn merry England into a canting conventicle, 
 and would rule us with a rod to which that of the king 
 were as a willow wand. Therefore it is the duty of all 
 true men and good to drink the health of his majesty the 
 king, and confusion to his enemies." 
 
 Upstanding, and with enthusiastic shouts, the whole 
 of the tenants drank the toast. Sir Henry was pleased 
 with the spirit which was manifested, and when the 
 cheering had subsided and quiet was again restored, he 
 went on: 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 17 
 
 "My friends, I have summoned you here to tell you 
 what many of you no doubt know already that the 
 king, driven from London by the traitors of Parliament, 
 who would take from him all power, would override the 
 peers, and abolish the Church, has appealed to his faith- 
 ful subjects to stand by him, and to maintain his cause. 
 He will, ere a fortnight be past, raise his banner at Not- 
 tingham. Already Sir John Hotham, the rebel Gov- 
 ernor of York, has closed the gates of that city to him, 
 and it is time that all loyal men were on foot to aid his 
 cause. Lord Falkland has been pleased to grant me a 
 commission to raise a troop of horse in his service, and I 
 naturally come to you first, to ask you to follow me." 
 
 He paused a moment, and a shout of assent rang 
 through the hall. 
 
 "There are," he said, "some among you whom years 
 may prevent from yourselves undertaking the hardships 
 of the field, but these can send substitutes in their sons. 
 You will understand that none are compelled to go; but 
 I trust that from the long-standing friendship between 
 us, and from the duty which you each owe to the king, 
 none will hold back. Do I understand that all here are 
 willing to join, or to furnish substitutes?" 
 
 A general shout of "All" broke from the tenants. 
 
 "Thank you, my friends, I expected nothing else. 
 This will give me fifty good men, and true, and I hope 
 that each will be able to bring with him one, two, or 
 more men, in proportion to the size of his holding. I 
 shall myself bear the expense of the arms and outfit of 
 all these; but we must not strip the land of hands. 
 Farming must still go on, for people must feed, even if 
 there be war. As to the rents, we must waive our agree- 
 ments while the war lasts. Each man will pay me what 
 proportion of his rent he is able, and no more. The 
 king will need money as well as men, and as all I receive 
 
18' FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 will be at his service, I know that each of you will puy 
 as much as he can to aid the common cause. I have 
 here a list of your names. My son will take it round to 
 each, and will write down how many men each of you 
 may think to bring with him to the war. No man must 
 be taken unwillingly. I want only those whose hearts 
 are in the cause. My son is grieving that he is not old 
 enough to ride with us; but should aught befall me in 
 the strife, I have bade him ride and take his place 
 among you." 
 
 Another cheer arose, and Harry went round the table 
 taking down the names and numbers of the men, and 
 when his total was added up, it was found that those 
 present believed that they could bring a hundred men 
 with them into the field. 
 
 "This is beyond my hopes/* Sir Harry said, as amid 
 great cheering he announced the result. "I myself will 
 raise another fifty from my grooms, gardeners, and 
 keepers, and from brave lads I can gather in the village, 
 and I shall be proud indeed when I present to his majesty 
 two hundred men of Furness, ready to die in his de- 
 fense." 
 
 After this there was great arrangement of details. 
 Each tenant gave a list of the arms which he possessed 
 and the number of horses fit for work, and as in those 
 days, by the law of the land each man, of whatsoever 
 his degree, was bound to keep arms in order to join the 
 militia, should his services be required for the defense 
 of the kingdom, the stock of arms was, with the con- 
 tents of Sir Henry's armory, found to be sufficient for 
 the number of men who were to be raised. It was eight 
 o'clock in the evening before all was arranged, and the 
 party broke up and separated to their homes. 
 
 For the next week there was bustle and preparation 
 on the Furness estates, as, indeed, through all England, 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 19 
 
 As yet, however, thi R'lHiument were gathering men 
 far more rapidly than the king. Tho Royalists of Eng- 
 land were slow to perceive how far the Commons in- 
 tended to press their demands, and could scarcely be- 
 lieve that civil war was really to break out. The friends 
 of the Commons, however, were everywhere in earnest. 
 The preachers in the conventicles throughout the land 
 denounced the king in terms of the greatest violence, 
 and in almost every town the citizens were arming and 
 drilling. Lord Essex, who commanded the Parliamen- 
 tary forces, was drawing toward Northampton with ten 
 thousand men, consisting mainly of the train-bands of 
 London; while the king, with only a few hundred follow- 
 ers, was approaching Nottingham, where he proposed to 
 unfurl his standard and appeal to his subjects. 
 
 In a week from the day of the appeal of Sir Henry 
 two troops, each of a hundred men strong, drew up in 
 front of Furness Hall. To the eye of a soldier accus- 
 tomed to the armies of the Continent, with their bands 
 trained by long and constant warfare, the aspect of this 
 troop might not have appeared formidable. Each man 
 was drebsed according to his fancy. Almost all wore 
 jack-boots coming nigh to the hip, iron breast and back 
 pieces, and steel caps. Sir Henry Furness and four gen 
 tlemen, his friends, who had seen service in the Low 
 Countries, and had now gladly joined his band, took 
 their places, Sir Henry himself at the head of the body, 
 and two officers with each troop. They, too, were clad 
 in high boots, with steel breast and back pieces, thick 
 buff leather gloves, and the wide felt hats with feathers 
 which were worn in peace time. During the war some 
 of the Royalist officers wore iron caps as did their foes. 
 But the majority, in a spirit of defiance and contempt of 
 their enemies, wore the wide hat of the times, which, 
 picturesque and graceful as it was, afforded but a poor 
 
$0 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 defense for the head. Almost all wore their hair long, 
 and in ringlets, and across their shoulders were the white 
 scarfs typical of their loyalty to the king. Harry be- 
 strode a fine horse which his father had given him, and 
 had received permission to ride for half the day's march 
 by his Bide at the head of the troop. The trumpeter 
 sounded the call, Sir Henry stood up in his stirrups, 
 drew his sword and waved it over his head, and shouted 
 "For God and King." Two hundred swords flashed in 
 the air, and the answering shout came out deep and full. 
 Then the swords were sheathed, the horses' heads 
 turned, and with a jingle of sabers and accoutermeuts 
 the troop rode gayly out through the gates of the park. 
 
 Upon their way north they were joined by more than 
 one band of Cavaliers marching in the same direction, 
 and passed, too, several bodies of footmen, headed by 
 men with closely-cropped heads, and somber figures, 
 beside whom generally marched others whom their attire 
 proclaimed to be Puritan preachers, on their way to join 
 the army of Essex. The parties scowled at each other 
 as they passed; but as yet no sword had been drawn on 
 either side, and without adventure they arrived at 
 Nottingham. 
 
 Having distributed his men among the houses of the 
 town, Sir Henry Furness rode to the castle, where his 
 majesty had arrived the day before. He had already 
 the honor of the personal acquaintance of the king, for 
 he had in one of the early parliaments sat for Oxford. 
 Disgusted, however, with the spirit that prevailed among 
 the opponents of the king, and also by the obstinacy and 
 unconstitutional course pursued by his majesty, he had 
 at the dissolution of Parliament retired to his estate, 
 and when the next House was summoned, declined to 
 stand again for his seat. 
 
 "Welcome, Sir Henry," his majesty said graciously 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 21 
 
 -to him, "you are among the many who withstood me 
 -omewhat in the early days of my reign, and perchance 
 you were right to do so; but who have now, in my need, 
 rallied round me, seeing whither the purpose of these 
 traitorous subjects of mine leads them. You are the 
 more welcome that you have, as I hear, brought two 
 hundred horsemen with you, a number larger than any 
 which has yet joined me. These," he said, pointing to 
 two young noblemen near him, "are my nephews, Rupert 
 and Maurice, who have come to join me." 
 
 Upon making inquiries, Sir Henry found that the 
 prospects of the king were far from bright. So far, the 
 Eoyalists had been sadly behindhand with their prepara- 
 tions. The king had arrived with scarce four hundred 
 men. He had left his artillery behind at York for want 
 of carriage, and his need in arms was even greater than 
 in men, as the arsenals of the kingdom had all been 
 seized by the Parliament. Essex lay at Northampton 
 with ten thousand men, and had he at this time ad- 
 vanced, even the most sanguine of the Royalists saw 
 that the struggle would be a hopeless one. 
 
 The next day, at the hour appointed, the royal 
 standard was raised on the Castle of Nottingham, in the 
 midst of a great storm of wind and rain, which before 
 many hours had passed blew the royal standard to the 
 ground an omen which those superstitiously inclined 
 deemed of evil augury indeed. The young noblemen 
 and gentlemen, however, who had gathered at Northamp- 
 ton, were not of a kind to be daunted by omens and 
 auguries, and finding that Essex did not advance and 
 hearing news from all parts of the country that the loyal 
 gentlemen were gathering their tenants fast, their hopes 
 rose rapidly. There was, indeed, some discontent when 
 it was known that, by the advice of his immediate 
 councilors, King Charles had dispatched the Earl of 
 
22 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Southampton with Sir John Collpeper and Sir William 
 Uveclale to London, with orders to treat with the Com- 
 mons. The Parliament, however, refused to enter into 
 any negotiations whatever until the king lowered his 
 standard and recalled the proclamation which he had 
 issued. This, which would have been a token of abso* 
 lute surrender to the Parliament, the king refused to do. 
 He attempted a further negotiation; but this also failed. 
 
 The troops at Nottingham now amounted to eleven 
 hundred men, of which three hundred were infantry 
 raised by Sir John Digby, the sheriff of the county. The 
 other eight hundred were horse. Upon the breaking off 
 of negotiations, and the advance of Essex, the king, sen- 
 sible that he was unable to resist the advance of Essex, 
 who had now fifteen thousand men collected under him, 
 fell back to Derby, and thence to Shrewsbury, being 
 joined on his way by many nobles and gentlemen with 
 their armed followers. At Wellington, a town a day's 
 march from Shrewsbury, the king had his little army 
 formed up, and made a solemn declaration before them 
 in which he promised to maintain the Protestant reli- 
 gion, to observe the laws, and to uphold the just privi- 
 leges and freedom of Parliament. 
 
 The Furness band were not present on that occasion, 
 as they had been dispatched to Worcester with some 
 other soldiers, the whole under the command of Prince 
 Eupert, in order to watch the movements of Essex, who 
 was advancing in that direction. While scouring the 
 ground around the city, they came upon a body of Par- 
 liamentary cavalry, the advance of the army of Essex. 
 The bands drew up at a little distance from each other, 
 and then Prince Rupert gave the command to charge, 
 With the cheer of "For God and the king!*' the troop 
 rushed upon the cavalry of the Parliament with such 
 force and fury that they broke them utterly, and kill- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 23 
 
 ing many, drove them in confusion from the field, with 
 but small loss to themselves. 
 
 This was the first action of the civil war, the first 
 blood drawn by Englishmen from Englishmen since the 
 troubles in the commencement of the reign of Mary. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A BRAWL AT OXFORD. 
 
 NEWS in those days traveled but slowly, and England 
 was full of conflicting rumors as to the doings of the 
 two armies. Every one was unsettled. Bodies of men 
 moving to join one or other of the parties kept the 
 country in an uproar, and the Cavaliers, or rather the 
 roughs of the towns calling themselves Cavaliers, brought 
 much odium upon the royal cause by the ill-treatment 
 of harmless citizens, and by raids on inoffensive country 
 people. Later on this conduct was to be reversed and 
 the Royalists were to suffer tenfold the outrages now 
 put upon the Puritans. But there can be no doubt that 
 the conduct of irresponsible ruffians at that time did 
 much to turn the flood of public opinion in many places, 
 where it would otherwise have remained neutral, against 
 -the crown. 
 
 To Harry the time passed but slowly. He spent his 
 days in Abingdon hearing the latest news, and oceca- 
 sionally rode over to Oxford. This city was throughout 
 the civil war the heart of the Royalist party, and its loss 
 was one of the heaviest blows which befell the crown. 
 Here Harry found none but favorable reports current. 
 Enthusiasm was at its height. The university was even 
 more loyal than the town, and bands of lads smashed the 
 windows of those persons who were supposed to favor 
 the Parliament. More than once Harry saw men pur- 
 sued through the streets, pelted with stones and mud, 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 25 
 
 and in some cases escaping barely with their lives. 
 Upon one occasion, seeing a person in black garments 
 and of respectable appearance so treated, the boy's in- 
 dignation was aroused, for he himself, both from his 
 conversations with his friend Herbert, and the talk with 
 his father, was, although enthusiastically Eoyalist, yet 
 inclined to view with respect those who held opposite 
 opinions. 
 
 "Run down that alley!" he exclaimed, pushing his 
 horse between the fugitive and his pursuers. 
 
 The man darted down the lane, and Harry placed him- 
 self at the entrance, and shouted to the rabble to abstain. 
 
 A yell of rage and indignation replied, and a volley 
 of stones was thrown. Harry fearlessly drew his 
 sword, and cut at some of those who were in the fore- 
 ground. These retaliated with sticks, and Harry was 
 forced backward into the lane. This was too narrow 
 to enable him to turn his horse, and his position 
 was a critical one. Finding that he was a mark for 
 stones, he leaped from the saddle, thereby disappearing 
 from the sight of those in the ranks behind, and sword 
 in hand, barred the way to the foremost of his assail- 
 ants. The contest, however, would have been brief had 
 not a party of young students come up the lane, and 
 seeing from Harry's attire that he was a gentleman, and 
 likely to be of Cavalier opinions, they at once, without 
 inquiring the cause of the fray, threw themselves into 
 it, shouting "Gown! gown!" They speedily drove the 
 assailants back out of the lane; but these, reinforced by 
 the great body beyond, were then too strong for them. 
 The shouts of the young men, however, brought up 
 others to their assistance, and a general melee took 
 place, townsmen and gownsmen throwing themselves 
 into the fray without any inquiry as to the circumstances 
 from which it arose. The young students carried swords. 
 
26 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 which, although contrary to the statutes of the univer- 
 sity, were for the time generally adopted. The towns- 
 people were armed with bludgeons, and in some cases 
 with hangers, and the fray was becoming a serious one, 
 when it was abruptly terminated by the arrival of a troop 
 of horse, which happened to be coming into the town to 
 join the royal forces. The officer in command, seeing 
 so desperate a tumult raging, ordered his men to charge 
 into the crowd, and their interference speedily put an 
 end to the fight. 
 
 Harry returned to their rooms with some of his pro- 
 tectors and their wounds were bound up, and the circum- 
 stances of the fight were talked over. Harry was much 
 blamed by the college men when he said that he had been 
 drawn into the fray by protecting a Puritan. But when 
 his new friends learned that he was as thoroughly Royal- 
 ist as themselves, and that his father had gone with a 
 troop to Nottingham, they took a more favorable view 
 of his action, but still assured him that it was the height 
 of folly to interfere to protect a rebel from the anger of 
 the townspeople. 
 
 "But, methinks," Harry said, "that it were unwise 
 in the extreme to push matters so far here. In Oxford 
 the Royalists have it all their own way, and can, of 
 course, at will assault their Puritan neighbors. But it 
 is different in most other towns. There the Roundheads 
 have the upper hand and 'might retort by doing ill to 
 the Cavaliers there. Surely it were better to keep these 
 unhappy ditferences out of private life, and to trust the 
 arbitration of our cause to the arms of our soldiers in 
 the field. " 
 
 There was a general agreement that this would indeed 
 be the wisest course; but the young fellows were of 
 opinion that hot heads on either side would have their 
 way, and that if the war went on attacks of this kind 
 by the one party on the other must be looked for. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 27 
 
 Harry remained for some time with his friends in 
 Christ church, drinking the beer for which the college 
 was famous. Then, mounting his horse, he rode back 
 to Abingdon. 
 
 Two days later, as he was proceeding toward the town, 
 he met a man dressed as a preacher. 
 
 "Young sir/' the latter said, "may I ask if you are 
 Master Furness?" 
 
 "I am," the lad replied. 
 
 "Then it is to you I am indebted for my rescue from 
 those who assaulted me in the streets of Oxford last 
 week. In the confusion I could not see your face, but 
 I inquired afterward, and was told that my preserver 
 was Master Furness, and have come over to thank you 
 for your courtesy and bravery in thus intervening on be- 
 half of one whom I think you regard as an enemy, for I 
 understand that Sir Henry, your father, has declared for 
 the crown." 
 
 "I acted," Harry said, "simply on the impulse, of 
 humanity, and hold it mean and cowardly for a number 
 of men to fall upon one." 
 
 "We are," the preacher continued, "at the beginning: 
 only of our troubles, and the time may come when 1, 
 Zachariah Stubbs, may be able to return to you the good 
 service which you have done me. Believe me, young 
 sir, the feeling throughout England is strong for the 
 Commons, and that it will not be crushed out, as some 
 men suppose, even should the king's men gain a great 
 victory over Essex which, methinks, is not likely. 
 There are tens of thousands throughout the country who 
 are now content to remain quiet at home, who would 
 assuredly draw the sword and go forth to battle, should 
 they consider their cause in danger. The good work 
 has begun, and the sword will not be sheathed until the 
 oppressor is laid low." 
 
28 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "We should differ who the oppressor is/' Harry 
 replied coldly. "I myself am young to discuss these 
 matters, but my father and those who think with him 
 consider that the oppression is at present on the side of 
 the Commons, and of those whose religious views you 
 share. While pretending to wish to be free, you endeavor 
 to bind others beneath your tyranny. While wishing to 
 worship in your way unmolested, you molest those who 
 wish to worship in theirs. However, I thank you for 
 your offer, that should the time come your good services 
 will be at my disposal. As you say, the issue of the con- 
 flict is dark, and it may be, though I trust it will not, 
 that some day you may, if you will, return the light 
 service which I rendered you." 
 
 "You will not forget my name?''* the preacher said 
 "Zachariah Stubbs, a humble instrument of the Lord, and 
 a preacher in the Independent chapel at Oxford. 
 Thither I cannot return, and am on my way to London, 
 where I have many friends, and where I doubt not a charge 
 will be found for me. I myself belong to the east coun- 
 tries, where the people are strong for the Lord, and I 
 doubt not that some of those I know will come to the 
 front of affairs, in which case my influence may perhaps 
 be of more service than you can suppose at present. 
 Farewell, young sir, and whatever be the issues of this 
 struggle, I trust that you may safely emerge from them." 
 
 The man lifted his broad black hat, and went on his 
 way, and Harry rode forward, smiling a little to himself 
 at th& promise given him. 
 
 The time passed slowly, and all kinds of rumors filled 
 the land. At length beacon fires were seen to blaze 
 upon the hills, and, as it was known that the Puritans 
 had arranged with Essex that the news of a victory was 
 so to be conveyed to London, the hearts of the Royalists 
 sank, for they feared that disaster had befallen their 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 29 
 
 cause. The next day, however, horsemen of the Paiiia- 
 ment galloping through the country proclaimed that 
 they had been defeated; but it was not till next day 
 that the true state of affairs became known. Then the 
 news came that the battle had indeed been a drawn one. 
 
 On the 26th of October Charles marched with his army 
 into Oxford. So complete was the ignorance of the in- 
 habitants as to the movements of the armies that at 
 Abingdon the news of his coming was unknown, and 
 Harry was astonished on the morning of the 27th at hear- 
 ing a great trampling of horsemen. Looking out, he 
 beheld his father at the head of the troop, approaching 
 the house. With a shout of joy the lad rushed down- 
 stairs and met his father at the entrance. 
 
 "I did not look to be back so soon, Harry," Sir Henry 
 said, as he alighted from his horse. "We arrived at 
 Oxford last night, and I am sent on with my troop to 
 see that no Parliament bands are lurking in the neigh- 
 borhood." 
 
 Before entering the house the colonel dismissed his 
 troop, telling them that until the afternoon they could 
 return to their homes, but must then re-assemble and 
 hold themselves in readiness to advance, should he re- 
 ceive further orders. Then, accompanied by his officers, 
 he entered the house. Breakfast was speedily prepared, 
 and when this was done justice to Sir Henry proceeded 
 to relate to Harry, who was burning with impatience to 
 hear his news, the story of the battle of Edgehill. 
 
 "We reached Shrewsbury, as I wrote you," he said, 
 "and stayed there twenty days, and during that time 
 the army swelled and many nobles and gentlemen joined 
 us. We were, however, it must be owned, but a motley 
 throng. The foot soldiers, indeed, were mostly armed 
 with muskets; but many had only sticks and cudgels. 
 On the 12th we moved to Wolverhampton, and so on 
 
'30 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 through Birmingham and Kenilworth. We saw nothing 
 of the rebels till we met at Edgecot, a little hamlet 
 near Banbury, where we took post on a hill, the rebels 
 being opposite to us. It must be owned," Sir Henry 
 went on, "that things here did not promise well. There 
 were dissensions between Prince Eupert, who com- 
 manded the cavalry, and Lord Lindsey, the general in 
 chief, who is able and of great courage, but hot-headed 
 and fiery. In the morning it was determined to engage, 
 as Essex's forces had not all come up, and the king's troops 
 were at least as numerous as those of the enemy. We 
 saw little of the fighting, for at the commencement of 
 the battle we got word to charge upon the enemy's left. 
 We made but short work of them, and drove them head- 
 long from the field, chasing them in great disorder for 
 three miles, and taking much plunder in Kineton among 
 the Parliament baggage-wagons. Thinking that the 
 fight was over, we then prepared to ride back. When 
 we came to the field we found that all was changed. 
 The main body of the Roundheads had pressed hotly 
 upon ours and had driven them back. Lord Lindsey 
 himself, who had gone into the battle at the head of the 
 pikemen carrying a pike himself like a common soldier, 
 had been mortally wounded and taken prisoner, and 
 grievous slaughter had been inflicted. The king's 
 standard itself had been taken, but this had been happily 
 recovered, for two Royalist officers, putting on orange 
 scarfs, rode into the middle of the Roundheads, and 
 pretending that they were sent by Essex, demanded the 
 flag from his secretary, to whom it had been intrusted. 
 The scrivener gave it up, and the officers, seizing it, 
 rode through the enemy and recovered their ranks. 
 There was much confusion and no little angry discus- 
 sion in the camp that night, the footmen accusing the 
 horsemen of having deserted them, and the horsemen 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 31 
 
 grumbling at the foot, because they had not done their 
 work as well as themselves. In the morning the two 
 armies still faced each other, neither being willing to 
 budge a foot, although neither cared to renew the bat- 
 tle. The rest of the Parliamentary forces had arrived,, 
 and they might have struck us a heavy blow had they 
 been minded, for there was much discouragement in our 
 ranks. Lord Essex, however, after waiting a day and 
 burying his dead, drew off from the field, and we, re- 
 maining there, were able to claim the victory, which, 
 however, my son, was one of a kind which was scarce 
 worth winning. It was a sad sight to see so many men 
 stretched stark and dead, and these killed, not in fight- 
 ing with a foreign foe, but with other Englishmen. It 
 made us all mightily sad, and if at that moment Lord 
 Essex had had full power from the Parliament to treat, 
 methinks that the quarrel could have been settled, all 
 being mightily sick of such kind of fighting." 
 
 "What is going to be done now, father?" Harry asked. 
 
 "We are going to move forward toward London. Essex 
 is moving parallel with us, and will try to get there 
 first. From what we hear from our friends in the city, 
 there are great numbers of moderate men will be glad ta 
 see the king back, and to agree to make an end of this 
 direful business. The zealots and preachers will of 
 course oppose them. But when we arrive, we trust that 
 our countenance will enable our friends to make a good 
 front, and to overcome the opposition of the Puritans. 
 We expact that in a few days we shall meet with offers 
 to treat. But whether or no, I hope that the king will 
 soon be lodged again in his palace at Whitehall." 
 
 "And do you think that there will be any fighting,, 
 sir?" 
 
 "I think not. I sincerely hope not," the colonel said 
 
 "Then if you think that there will only be a peaceablu, 
 
22 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 entry, will you not let me ride with you? It will be 21 
 brave sight to see the king enter London again; one to 
 tell of all one's life." 
 
 The colonel made no reply for a minute or two. 
 
 "Well, Harry, I will not say you nay/' he said at 
 length. "Scenes of broils and civil war are not for lads 
 of your age. But, as you say, it would be a thing to 
 talk of to old age how you rode after the king when he 
 entered London in state. But mind, if there be fight- 
 ing, you must rein back and keep out of it." 
 
 Harry was overjoyed with the permission, for in truth 
 time had hung heavily on his hands since the colonel 
 had ridden away. His companionship with Herbert had 
 ceased, for although the lads pressed hands warmly when 
 they met in Abingdon, both felt that while any day 
 might bring news of the triumph of one party or the 
 other, it was impossible that they could hold any warm 
 intercourse with each other. The school was closed, for 
 the boys of course took sides, and so much ill-will was 
 caused that it was felt best to put a stop to it by closing 
 the doors. Harry therefore had been left entirely upon 
 his own resources, and although he had ridden about 
 among the tenants and, so far as he could, supplied his 
 father's place, the time often hung heavy on his hands, 
 especially during the long hours of the evening. After 
 thanking his father for his kindness, he rushed wildly 
 off to order his horse to be prepared for him to accom- 
 pany the troop, to re-burnish the arms which he had 
 already chosen as fitting him from the armory, and to 
 make what few preparations were necessary for the 
 journey. 
 
 It was some days, however, before any move was made. 
 The king was occupied in raising money, being sorely 
 crippled by want of funds, as well as of arms and muni- 
 tions of war. At the beginning of November the ad- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 33 
 
 was made, Sir Henry with his troop joining Prince 
 Rupert, and advancing through Reading without oppo- 
 sition as far as Maidenhead, where he fixed his quarters. 
 Two days later he learned that Essex had arrived with 
 his army in London. On the llth King Charles was at 
 Coin brook. Here he received a deputation from the 
 Houses of Parliament, who proposed that the king 
 should pause in his advance until committees of both 
 Houses should attend him with propositions "for the 
 removal of these bloody distempers and distractions." 
 The king received the deputation favorably, and said 
 that he would stop at Windsor, and there receive the 
 propositions which might be sent him. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, the hopes which were now 
 entertained that peace would be restored, were dashed 
 to the ground by an action which was ascribed by the 
 Royalists to the hotheadedness of Prince Rupert, but 
 which the king's enemies affirmed was due to the duplic- 
 ity of his majesty himself. On this point there is no 
 evidence. But it is certain that the advance made after 
 this deputation had been received rendered all further 
 negotiation impossible, as it inspired the Commons with 
 the greatest distrust, and enabled the violent portion al- 
 ways to feign a doubt of the king's word, and great fears 
 as to the keeping of any terms which might be made, 
 and so to act upon the timid and wavering. The very 
 day after the deputation had left, bearing the news to 
 London of the king's readiness to treat, and inspiring all 
 there with hope of peace, Prince Rupert, taking advan- 
 tage of a very thick mist, marched his cavalry to within 
 half a mile of the town of Brentford before his advance 
 was discovered, designing to surprise the train of artil- 
 lery at Hammersmith and to push on and seize the Com- 
 mons and the city. 
 
 The design might Lave been successful, for the ex- 
 
34 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 ploits of Rupert's horse at the battle of Edgehill had 
 struck terror into the minds of the enemy. In the town 
 of Brentford, however, were lodged a regiment of foot, 
 under Hollis, and these prepared manfully to resist. 
 Very valiantly the prince, followed by his horse, charged 
 into the streets of Brentford, where the houses were bar- 
 ricaded by the foot soldiers, who shot boldly against 
 them. Many were killed, and for three hours the con- 
 test was resolutely maintained. The streets had been 
 barricaded, and Prince Rupert's men fought at great 
 disadvantage. At length, as evening approached, and 
 the main body of the Cavaliers came up, the Parliament 
 men gave way, and were driven from the town. Many 
 were taken prisoners, and others driven into the river, 
 the greater portion, however, making their way in boats 
 safely down the stream. The delay which their sturdy 
 resistance had made saved the city. Hampden was 
 bringing his men across from Acton. Essex had marched 
 from Chelsea Fields to Turnham Green, and the road 
 was now blocked. After it was dark the Train-Bands 
 advanced, and the Parliament regiments, reinforced by 
 them, pushed on to Brentford again; the Royalists, 
 finding that the place could not be held, fell back to the 
 king's quarters at Hounslow. 
 
 The chroniclers describe how wild a scene of confusion 
 reigned in London that evening. Proclamations were 
 issued ordering all men to take up arms; shops were 
 closed, the apprentice boys mustered in the ranks, and 
 citizens poured out like one man to defend the town. 
 They encamped upon the road, and the next day great 
 trains of provisions sent by the wives of the merchants 
 and traders reached them, and as many came out to see 
 the forces, the scene along the road resembled a great 
 fair. 
 
 In this fight at Brentford Harry Furness was en- 
 
FRIEXDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 35 
 
 *aged. The Royalists bad anticipated no resistance 
 here, not knowing that Llcllis held the place, and Sir 
 Henry did riot think of ordering Harry to remain behind. 
 At the moment when it was found that Hollis was ir? 
 force and the trumpets sounded the charge, the lad was 
 riding in the rear of the troop, talking to one of the. 
 officers, and his father could take no step to prevent his 
 joining. Therefore, when the trumpets sounded and 
 the troops started off at full gallop toward the town, 
 Harry, greatly exulting in his good luck, fell in with 
 them and rode down the streets of Brentford. The 
 musketry fire was brisk, and many of the troop rolled 
 from their horses. Presently they were dismounted and 
 ordered to take the houses by storm. With the hilts of 
 their swords the} 7 broke in the doors, and there was fierce 
 fighting within. 
 
 Harry, who was rather bewildered with the din and 
 turmoil of the fight, did as the rest, and followed two or 
 three of the men into one of the houses, whose door had 
 been broken open. They were assailed as they entered 
 by a fire of musketry from the Parliament men within. 
 Those in front fell, and Harry was knocked down by the 
 butt of a pike. 
 
 When he recovered he found himself in a boat drift- 
 ing down the stream, a prisoner of the Roundheads. 
 
 For a long time Harry could hear the sounds of the 
 guns and cannon at Brentford, and looking round at the 
 quiet villages which they passed on the banks, could 
 scarce believe that he had been engaged in a battle and 
 was now a prisoner. But little was said to him. The 
 men were smarting under their defeat and indulged in 
 the bitterest language at the treachery with which, after 
 negotiations had been agreed upon, the advance of the 
 Royalists had been made. They speedily discovered the 
 youth of their captive, and, after telling him brutally 
 that he would probably be hung when he got to London, 
 
86 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 they paid no further attention to him. The boat wa8 
 heavily laden, and rowed by two oars, and the journey 
 down was a long one, for the tide met them when at the 
 village of Hammersmith, and they were forced to remain 
 tied up to a tree by the bank until it turned again. 
 This it did not do until far in the night, and the morn- 
 ing was just breaking when they reached London. 
 
 It was perhaps well for Harry that they arrived in the 
 dark, for in the excited state of the temper of the citi- 
 zens, and their anger at the treachery which had been 
 practiced, it might have fared but badly with him. He 
 was marched along the Strand to the city, and was con- 
 signed to a lock-up in Finsbury, until it could be settled 
 what should be done to him. In fact, the next day his 
 career was nearly being terminated, for John Lilburn, a 
 captain of the Train Bands, who had been an apprentice 
 and imprisoned for contumacy, had been captured at 
 Brentford, and after being tried for his life, was sen- 
 tenced to death as a rebel. Essex, however, sent in 
 word to the Eoyalist camp that for every one of the Par- 
 liament officers put to death, he would hang three Royal- 
 ist prisoners. This threat had i|s effect, and Harry 
 remained in ignorance of the danger which had threat- 
 ened him. 
 
 The greatest inconvenience which befell him was that 
 he was obliged to listen to all sorts of long harangues 
 upon the part of the Puritan soldiers who were his 
 jailers. These treated him as a misguided lad, and did 
 their best to convert him from the evil of his ways. At 
 last Harry lost his temper, and said that if they wanted 
 to hang him, they might; but that he would rather put 
 up with that than the long sermons which they were in 
 the habit of delivering to him. Indignant at this rejec- 
 tion of their good offices, they left him to himself, and 
 days passed without his receiving any visit save that of 
 the soldier who brought his meals. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 i 
 
 BREAKING PRISON". 
 
 HARRY'S place of confinement was a cell leading off a 
 guardroom of the Train Bands. Occasionally the door 
 was left open, as some five or six men were always there, 
 and Harry could see through the open door the citizens 
 of London training at arms. Several preachers were in 
 the habit of coming each day to discourse to those on 
 guard, and so while away the time, and upon these occa- 
 sions the door was generally left open, in order that the 
 prisoner might be edified by the sermons. Upon one 
 occasion the preacher, a small, sallow-visaged man, 
 looked into the cell at the termination of his discourse, 
 and seeing Harry asleep on his truckle bed, awoke him, 
 and lectured him severely on the wickedness of allowing 
 such precious opportunities to pass. After this he made 
 a point of coming in each day when he had addressed 
 the guard, and of offering up a long and very tedious 
 prayer on behalf of the young reprobate. These preach- 
 ings and prayings nearly drove Harry out of his mind. 
 Confinement was bad enough; but confinement tem- 
 pered by a course of continual sermons, delivered mostly 
 through the nose, was a terrible infliction. At last the 
 thought presented itself to him that he might manage 
 to effect his escape in the garb of the preacher. He 
 thought the details over and over in his mind, and at 
 last determined at any rate to attempt to carry them 
 into execution. 
 
j}8 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 One day he noticed, when the door opened for the 
 entry of the preacher, that a parade of unusual magni- 
 tude was being held in the drill yard, some officer of 
 importance having come down to inspect the Train Band. 
 There were hut four men left in the guardroom and 
 these were occupied in gazing out of the window. The 
 preacher came direct into the cell, as his audience in 
 the guardroom for once were not disposed to listen to 
 him, and shutting the door behind him, he addressed a 
 few words of exhortation to Harry, and then, closing his 
 eyes, began a long prayer. When he was fairly under 
 way, Harry sprang upon him, grasping him by the 
 throat with both hands, and forced him back upon the 
 bed. The little preacher was too much surprised to 
 offer the smallest resistance, and Harry, who had drawn 
 out the cords used in supporting the sacking of the 
 bed, bound him hand and foot, keeping, while he did 
 so. the pillow across his face, and his weight on the top 
 of the pillow, thereby nearly putting a stop to the 
 preacher's prayers and exhortations for all time. Hav- 
 ing safely bound him, and-finding that he did not strug- 
 gle in the least, Harry removed the pillow, and was 
 horrified to see his prisoner black in the face. He had, 
 however, no time for regret or inquiry how far the man 
 had gone, and stuffing a handkerchief into his mouth, to 
 prevent v his giving any alarm should he recover breath 
 enough to do so, Harry placed his high steeple hat upon 
 his head, his Geneva bands round his throat, and his 
 long black mantle over his shoulders. He then opened 
 the door and walked quietly forth. The guards were 
 too much occupied with the proceedings in the parade 
 ground to do more than glance round, as the apparent 
 preacher departed. Harry strode with a long and very 
 stiff step, and with his figure bolt upright, to the gate 
 of the parade ground, and then passing through the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 39 
 
 crowd who were standing there gaping at the proeedings 
 within, he issued forth a free man. 
 
 For awhile he walked at a brisk pace, and then, feel- 
 ing secure from pursuit, slackened his speed; keeping 
 westward through the city, he passed along the Strand 
 'ind out into the country beyond. He wore his beaver 
 well down over his eyes, and walked with his head down 
 as if meditating deeply, in order to prevent any passers- 
 by from observing the youthf ulness of his face. When 
 he arrived at the village of Chelsea, he saw, in front of 
 a gentleman's house, a horse hitched up to a hook 
 placed there for that purpose. Conceiving that for a 
 long journey four legs are much more useful than two, 
 and that when he got beyond the confines of London he 
 should attract less suspicion upon a horse than if strid- 
 ing alone along the road, he took the liberty of mount- 
 ing it and riding off. When he had gone a short dis- 
 tance he heard loud shouts; but thinking these in no way 
 to concern him, he rode on the faster, and was soon be- 
 yond the sound of the voices. He now took a northerly 
 direction, traveled through Kensington, and then keep- 
 ing east of Acton, where he knew that some Parliament 
 droops were quartered, he rode for the village of Harrow. 
 He was aware that the Royalists had fallen back to 
 Oxford, and that the Parliament troops were at Reading. 
 He therefore made to the northwest, intending to cir- 
 cuit round and so reach Oxford. He did not venture to 
 go to an inn, for although, as a rule, the keepers of these 
 places were, being jovial men, in no way affected toward 
 the Commons, yet he feared meeting there persons who 
 might question and detain him. He obtained some 
 provision at a small village shop, in which he saw a 
 buxom woman standing behind her counter. She ap- 
 peared vastly surprised when he entered and asked for a 
 manchet of bread, for the contrast between his ruddy 
 
40 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 countenance and his Puritan hat and bands was so strik- 
 ing that they could not fail to be noticed. The good 
 woman looked indeed too astonished to be able to attend 
 to Harry's request, and he was obliged to say, "Mother, 
 time presses, and I care not to be caught loitering here." 
 
 Divining at once that he was acting a part, and proba- 
 bly endeavoring to escape the pursuit of the Commons, 
 the good woman at once served him with bread and 
 some slices of ham, and putting these in the wallets of 
 the saddle, he rode on. 
 
 The next morning, in riding through the village of 
 Wickham, his career was nearly arrested. Just as he 
 passed a sergeant followed by three or four Parliament 
 soldiers came out from an inn, and seeing Harry riding 
 past, addressed him: 
 
 "Sir, will it please you to alight, and to offer up a few 
 words of exhortation and prayer?" 
 
 Harry muttered something about pressing business. 
 But in his sudden surprise he had not time to think of 
 assuming either the nasal drone or the scriptural words 
 peculiar to these black-coated gentry. Struck by his 
 tone, the sergeant sprang forward and seized his bridle. 
 
 "Whom have we here?" he said; "a lad masquerading 
 in the dress of a preacher. This must be explained, 
 young sir." 
 
 "Sergeant," Harry said, "I doubt not that thou art a 
 good fellow, and not one to get a lad in a scrape. I am 
 the son of a London citizen; but he and my mother are 
 at present greatly more occcupied with the state of their 
 souls than with the carrying on of their carnal business. 
 Being young, the constant offering up of prayers and 
 exhortations has 7exed me almost to desperation, and 
 yesterday, while the good preacher who attends them 
 was in the midst of the third hour of his discourse I 
 stole downstairs, and borrowing his hat and oloak, to- 
 
FRIENDS, TliuUGH DIVIDED. 41 
 
 gether with his horse, determined to set out to join my 
 uncle, who is a farmer down in Gloucestershire, and where 
 in sooth the companionship of his daughters girls of 
 my own age suits my disposition greatly better than 
 that of the excellent men with whom my father consorts." 
 
 The soldiers laughed, and the sergeant, who was not 
 at heart a bad fellow, said : 
 
 "I fear, my young sir, that your disposition is a god- 
 less one, and that it would have been far better for you 
 to have remained under the ministration of the good 
 man whose hat you are wearing than to have sought the 
 society of your pretty cousins. However, I do not know 
 but that in the unregenerate days of my own youth I 
 might not have attempted an escapade like yours. I 
 trust," he continued, "you are not tainted with the evil 
 doctrines of the adherents of King Charles." 
 
 "In truth," Harry said, "I worry not my head with 
 politics. I hear so much of them that I am fairly sick 
 of the subject, and have not yet decided whether the 
 Commons is composed of an assembly of men directly 
 inspired with power for the regeneration of mankind, or 
 whether King Charles be a demon in human shape. 
 Methinks that when I grow old enough to bear arms it 
 will be time enough for me to make up my mind against 
 whom to use them. At present, a clothyard is the stick 
 to which I am mcst accustomed, and as plows and 
 harrows are greatly more in accord with my disposition, 
 I hope that for a long time I shall not see the interior of 
 a shop again; and I trust that the quarrels which have 
 brought such trouble into this realm, and have well-nigh 
 made my father and mother distraught, will at least 
 favor my sojourn in the country, for I am sure that my 
 father will not venture to traverse England for the sake 
 of bringing me back again." 
 
 "I am not sure," the sergeant said, "that my duty 
 
42 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 would not bo to arrest you and to send you back to Lon- 
 don. But as, in truth, I have no instructions to hinder 
 travelers, I must even let you go." 
 
 With a merry farewell to the group, and a laugh far 
 more in accordance with his years than with the costume 
 which he wore, Harry seb spurs to his horse and again 
 rode forward. 
 
 He met with no further adventure on the road. When 
 he found by inquiries that he had passed the outposts of 
 the Parliament forces, he joyfully threw the hat, the 
 bands, and cloak into a ditch, for experience had taught 
 him that, however useful as a passport they might be 
 while still within the lines of the troops of the Com- 
 mons, they would be likely to procure him but scant 
 welcome when he entered those of the Royalists. Round 
 Oxford the royal army were encamped, and Harry 
 speedily discovered that his father was with his troop at 
 his own place. Turning his head again eastward, he 
 rode to Abingdon, and quickly afterward was at the 
 hall. 
 
 The shout of welcome which the servitor who opened 
 the door uttered when he saw him speedily brought his 
 father to the enWance, and Sir Henry was overjoyed at 
 seeing the son whom he believed to be in confinement in 
 London. Harry's tale was soon told, and the colonel 
 roared with laughter at the thought of his boy masque- 
 rading as a Puritan preacher. 
 
 ''King Charles himself," he said, "might smile over 
 your story, Harry; and in faith it takes a great deal 
 to call up a smile into his majesty's face, which is, 
 methinks a pity, for he would be more loved, and not less 
 respected, did he, by his appearance and manner, do 
 something to raise the spirits of those around him." 
 
 When once seated in the hall Harry inquired of his 
 father what progress had been made since he was taken 
 prisoner, for he had heard nothing from his guards. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 43 
 
 "Things are as they were," his father said. "After 
 our unfortunate advance we fell back hither, and for six 
 weeks nothing was done. A fortnight since, on the 2d 
 of January, a petition was brought by deputies from the 
 Common Council of London, asking tne king to return 
 to the capital when all disturbance should be suppressed. 
 King Charles, however, knew not that these gentlemen 
 had the power to carry out their promises, seeing that 
 the seditious have the upper hand in the capital, and 
 answered them to that effect. EKs answer was, however, 
 methinks, far less conciliatory and prudent than it 
 might have been, for it boots not to stir up men's minds 
 unnecessarily, and with a few affectionate words the 
 king might have strengthened his party in London. The 
 result, however, was to lead to a fierce debate, in which 
 Pym and Lord Manchester addressed the multitude, and 
 stirred them up to indignation, and I fear that prospects 
 of peace are further away than ever. In other respects 
 there is good and bad news. Yorkshire and Cheshire, 
 Devon and Cornwall, have all declared for the crown; 
 but upon the other hand, in the east ohe prospects are 
 most gloomy. There, the seven counties, Norfolk, 
 Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, Herts, Lincoln, and Hunting- 
 don, have joined themselves into an association, and 
 the king's followers dare not lift their heads. At Lich- 
 field, Lord Brook, a fierce opponent of bishops and 
 cathedrals, while besieging a party of Cavaliers who had 
 taken possession of the close, was shot in the eye and 
 killed. These are the only incidents that have taken 
 place." 
 
 For some weeks no event of importance occurred. On 
 the 22d of February the queen, who had been absent on, 
 the Continent selling her jewels and endeavoring to 
 raise a force, landed at Burlington, with four ships, hav- 
 ing succeeded in evading the ships of war which the 
 
44 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Commons had dispatched to cut her off, under the com- 
 mand of Admiral Batten. That night, however, the 
 Parliament fleet arrived off the place, and opened fire 
 upon the ships and village.- The queen was in a house 
 near the shore, and the balls struck in all directions 
 round. She was forced to get up, throw on a few 
 clothes, and retire on foot to some distance from the 
 village to the shelter of a ditch, where she sat for two 
 hours, the balls sometimes striking dust over them, and 
 singing round in all directions. It was a question 
 whether the small force which the queen brought with 
 her was not rather a hindrance than an assistance to the 
 royal cause, for the Earl of Newcastle, who had been 
 sent to escort her to York, was authorized by the king 
 to raise men for the service, without examining their 
 consciences, that is to say, to receive Catholics as well as 
 Protestants. The Parliament took advantage of this to 
 style his army the Catholic Army, and this, and some 
 tamperings with the Papists in Ireland, increased the 
 popular belief that the king leaned toward Roman Cathol- 
 icism, and thus heightened the feelings against him, 
 and embittered the religious as well as the political 
 quarrel. 
 
 Toward the end of March commissioners from the 
 Parliament, under the Earl of Northumberland, came to 
 Oxford with propositions to treat. It is questionable 
 whether the offers of the Commons were sincere. But 
 Charles, by his vacillation and hesitation, by yielding 
 one day and retracting the next, gave them the oppor- 
 tunity of asserting, with some show of reason, that he 
 was wholly insincere, and could not be trusted; and so 
 the commission was recalled, and the war went on again. 
 
 On the 15th of April Parliament formally declared 
 the negotiations to be at an end, and on that day Essex 
 marohed with his army to the siege of Reading. The 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 45 
 
 place was fortified, and had a resolute garrison; but by 
 some gross oversight no provisions or stores had been 
 collected, and after an unsuccessful attempt to relieve 
 the town, when the Royalist forces failed to carry the 
 bridge at Caversham, they fell back upon Wallingford, 
 and Reading surrendered. Meanwhile skirmishes were 
 going on all over the country. Sir William Waller was 
 successful against the Royalists in the south and west. 
 In the north Lord Newcastle was opposed to Fairfax, 
 and the result was doubtful; while in Cornwall the 
 Royalists had gained a battle over the Parliament men 
 under Lord Stamford. 
 
 Meanwhile, the king was endeavoring to create a party 
 in the Parliament, and Lady Aubigny was intrusted with 
 the negotiations. The plot was, however, discovered. 
 Several members of Parliament were arrested, and two 
 executed by orders of the Parliament. 
 
 Early in June Colonel Furness and his troop were 
 called into Oxford, as it was considered probable that 
 some expeditions would be undertaken, and on the 17th 
 of that month Prince Rupert formed up his horse and 
 sallied out against the outlying pickets and small troops 
 of the Parliament. Several of these he surprised and 
 cut up, and on the morning of the 19th reached Chal- 
 grove Field, near Thame. Hampden was in command 
 of a detachment of Parliamentary troops in this neigh- 
 borhood, and sending word to Essex, who lay near, to 
 come up to his assistance, attacked Prince Rupert's 
 force. His men, however, could not stand against the 
 charge of the Royalists. They were completely de- 
 feated, and Hampden, one of the noblest characters of 
 his age, was shot through the shoulder. He managed 
 to keep his horse, and ride across country to Thame, 
 where he hoped to obtain medical assistance. After six 
 days of pain he died there, and thus England lost the 
 
46 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 only man who could, in the days that were to come, have 
 moderated, and perhaps defeated, the ambition of 
 Cromwell. 
 
 Essex arrived upon the scene of battle a few minutes 
 after the defeat of Hampden's force, and Prince Rupert 
 fell back, and crossing the Thames returned to Oxford, 
 having inflicted much damage upon the enemy. 
 
 Shortly after this event, one of the serving men rushed 
 in to Harry with the news that a strong band of Parlia- 
 ment horse were within three or four miles of the place, 
 and were approaching. Harry at once sent for the 
 steward, and a dozen men were summoned in all haste. 
 On their arrival they set to work to strip the hall of its 
 most valued furniture. The pictures were taken down 
 from the wallf, the silver and plate tumbled into chests, 
 the arms and armor worn by generations of the Furnesses 
 removed from the armory, the choicest articles of furni- 
 ture of a portable character put into carts, together with 
 some twenty casks of the choicest wine in the cellars, 
 and in four hours only the heavier furniture, the chairs 
 and tables, buffets and heavy sideboards remained in 
 their places. 
 
 Just as the carts were filled news came that the 
 enemy had ridden into Abingdon. Night was now com- 
 ing on, and the carts at once started with their contents 
 for distant farms, where the plate and wine were to be 
 buried in holes dug in copses, and other places little 
 likely to be searched by the Puritans. The pictures and 
 furniture were stowed away in lofts and covered deeply 
 with hay. 
 
 Having seen the furniture sent off, Harry awaited the 
 arrival of the Parliament bands, which he doubted not 
 would be dispatched by the Puritans among the towns- 
 people to the hall. The stables were already empty 
 except for Kollo, Harry's own horse. This he had at once, 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 4? 
 
 upon the alarm being given, sent off to a farm a mile 
 distant from the hall, and with it its saddle, bridle, and 
 his arms, a brace of rare pistols, breast and back pieces, 
 a steel cap with plumes, and his sword. It cost him an 
 effort to part with the last, for he now carried it habitu- 
 ally. But he thought that it might be taken from him, 
 and, moreover, he feared that he might be driven into 
 drawing it, when the consequences might be serious, not 
 only for himself, but for the mansion of which his father 
 had left him in charge. 
 
 At nine a servitor came in to say that a party of men 
 were riding up the drive. Harry seated himself in the 
 colonel's armchair, and repeated to himself the deter- 
 mination at which he had arrived of being perfectly 
 calm and collected, and of bearing himself with patience 
 and dignity. Presently he heard the clatter of horses' 
 hoofs in the courtyard, and two minutes later, the tramp 
 of feet in the passage. The door opened, and an officer 
 entered, followed by five or six soldiers. 
 
 This man was one of the worst types of Roundhead 
 officers. He was a London draper, whose violent 
 harangues had brought him into notice, and secured for 
 him a commission in the raw levies when they were first 
 raised. Harry rose as he entered. 
 
 "You are the son of the man who is master of this 
 house?" the officer said roughly. 
 
 "I am his son and representative," Harry said calmly. 
 
 "I hear that he is a malignant fighting in the ranks of 
 King Charles." 
 
 "My father is a colonel in the army of his gracious 
 majesty the king," Harry said. 
 
 "You are an insolent young dog!" the captain ex- 
 claimed. "We will teach you manners," and rising 
 from the seat into which he had thrown himself on en 
 tering the hall, he struck Harry heavily in the face. 
 
48 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 The boy staggered back against the wall; then with a 
 bound he snatched a sword from the hand of one of the 
 troopers, and before the officer had time to recoil or 
 throw up his hands, he smote him with all his force 
 across the face. With a terrible cry the officer fell back, 
 and Harry, throwing down the sword, leaped through 
 the open window into the garden and dashed into the 
 shrubberies, as half a dozen balls from the pistols of the 
 astonished troopers whizzed about his head. 
 
 For a few minutes he ran at the top of his speed, as he 
 heard shouts and pistol shots behind him. But he knew 
 that in the darkness strangers would have no chance 
 whatever of overtaking him, and he slackened his 
 pace into a trot. As he ran he took himself to task for 
 not having acted up to his resolution. But the reflec- 
 tion that his father would not disapprove of his having 
 cut down the man who had struck him consoled him, 
 and he kept on his way to the farm where he had left 
 his horse. In other respects, he felt a wild delight at 
 what had happened. There was nothing for him now 
 but to join the Royal army, and his father could hardly 
 object to his taking his place with the regiment. 
 
 "I wish I had fifty of them here," he thought to him- 
 self; "we would surround the hall, and pay these traitors 
 dearly. As for their captain, I would hang him over 
 the door with my own hands. The cowardly ruffian, to 
 strike an unarmed boy! At any rate I have spoiled his 
 beauty for him, for I pretty nearly cut his face in two. 
 I shall know him by the scar if I ever meet him in bat- 
 tle, and then we will finish the quarrel. 
 
 "I shall not be able to see out of my right eye in the 
 morning," he grumbled; "and shall be a nice figure 
 when I ride into Oxford." 
 
 As he approached the farm he slackened his speed to 
 a walk, and neared the house very carefully, for he 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 49 
 
 thought it possible that one of the parties of the enemy 
 might already have taken up his quarters there. The 
 silence that reigned, broken by the loud barking of 
 dogs as he came close, proved that no stranger had yet 
 arrived, and he knocked loudly at the door. Presently 
 an upper window was opened, and a woman's voice in- 
 quired who he was, and what he wanted. 
 
 "I am Harry Furness, Dame Arden," he said. "The 
 Eoundheads are at the hall, and I have sliced their cap- 
 tain's face; so I must be away with all speed. Please 
 get the men up, and lose not a moment; I want my arms 
 and horse." 
 
 The farmer's wife lost no time in arousing the house, 
 and in a very few minutes all was ready. One man sad- 
 dled the horse, while another buckled on Harry's breast 
 and back pieces; and with a hearty good-by, and amid 
 many prayers for his safety and speedy return with the 
 king's troops, Harry rode off into the darkness. For 
 awhile he rode cautiously, listening intently lest he might 
 fall into the hands of some of the Roundhead bands. 
 But all was quiet, and after placing another mile or two 
 between himself and Abingdon, he concluded that he 
 was safe, drew Kollo's reins tighter, pressed him with 
 hi* knsti, and started at full gallop for Oxford. 
 
50 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDMD. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A MISSION OF STATB. 
 
 WHEN Harry rode into Oxford wiih the news that the 
 Roundheads had made a raid as far as Abingdon, no time 
 was lost in sounding to boot and saddle, and in half an* 
 hour the Cavalier horse were trotting briskly in that 
 direction. They entered Abingdon unopposed, and 
 found to their disgust that the Roundheads had departed 
 an hour after their arrival. A party went up to Fur- 
 ness Hall, and found it also deserted. The Roundheads, 
 in fact, had made but a flying raid, had carried off one 
 or two of the leading Royalists in the town, and had, on 
 their retirement, been accompanied by several of the 
 party favorable to the Commons, among others, Master 
 Rippinghall aL 1 the greater portion of his men, who 
 had, it was suspected, been already enrolled for the serv- 
 ice of the Parliament. Some of the Royalists would fain 
 have sacked the house of the wool-stapler; but Colonel 
 Furness, who had accompanied the force with his troop, 
 opposed this vehemently. 
 
 4< As long as we can," he said, "let private houses be 
 respected. If the Puritans commence, it will be time 
 for us to retort. There are gentlemen's mansions all 
 over the country, many of them in the heart of Round- 
 head neighborhoods, and if they had once an excuse in 
 our proceedings not one of these would be safe for a 
 minute " 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 51 
 
 Leaving a strong force of horse in Abingdon, Prince 
 Kupert returned to Oxford, and Colonel Furness again 
 settled down in his residence, his troop dispersing to their 
 farms until required, a small body only remaining at 
 Furness Hall as a guard, and in readiness to call the others 
 to arms if necessary. The colonel warmly approved of 
 the steps that Harry had taken to save the valuables, 
 -ind determined that until the war was at an end these 
 should remain hidden, as it was probable enough that 
 the chances of the strife might again lead the Round- 
 heads thither. 
 
 "I hope, father," Harry Furness said the following 
 day, "that you will now permit me to join the troop. I 
 am getting on for sixteen, and could surely bear myself 
 as a man in the fray." 
 
 "If the time should come, Harry, when the fortune of 
 war may compel the king to retire from Oxford which 
 I trust may never be I would then grant your request, 
 for after your encounter with the officer who commanded 
 the Roundheads here, it would not be safe for you to 
 remain behind. But although you are too young to 
 take part in the war, I may find you employment. After 
 a council that was held yesterday at Oxford, I learned, 
 from one in the king's secrets, that it was designed to 
 send a messenger to London with papers of impor- 
 tance, and to keep up the communication with the king's 
 friends in that city. There was some debate as to who 
 should be chosen. In London, at the present time, all 
 strangers are closely scrutinized. Every man is sus- 
 picious of his neighbor, and it is difficult to find one of 
 sufficient trust whose person is unknown. Then I have 
 thought that maybe you could well fulfill this important 
 mission. A boy would be unsuspected, where a man's 
 every movement would be watched. There is, of course, 
 some danger attending the mission, and sharpness and 
 
52 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 readiness will be needed. You have shown that you 
 possess these, by the manner in which you made your 
 escape from London, and methinks that, did you offer, 
 your services would be accepted. You would have, of 
 course, to go in disguise, and to accept any situation which 
 might appear conformable to your character and add to 
 your safety." 
 
 Harry at once gladly assented to the proposal. He 
 was at the age when lads are most eager for adventure, 
 and he thought that it would be great fun to be living in 
 London, watching the doings of the Commons, and, so 
 far as was in his power, endeavoring to thwart them. 
 Accordingly in the afternoon he rode over with Sir 
 Henry to Oxford. They dismounted in the courtyard 
 cf the building which served as the king's court, and 
 entering, Sir Henry left Harry in an antechamber, and, 
 craving an audience with his majesty, was at once ushered 
 into the king's cabinet. A few minutes later he re- 
 turned, and motioned to Harry to follow him. The 
 latter did so, and the next moment found himself in the 
 presence of the king. The latter held out his hand for 
 the boy to kiss, and Harry, falling on one knee, and 
 greatly abashed at the presence in which he found him- 
 self, pressed his lips to King Charles' hand. 
 
 "I hear from your father, my trusty Sir Henry Fur- 
 ness, that you are willing to adventure your life in our 
 cause, and to go as our messenger to London, find act 
 there as our intermediary with our friends. You seem 
 young for so delicate a work; but your father has told 
 me somewhat of the manner in which you escaped from 
 the hands of the traitors at Westminster, and also how 
 you bore yourself in the affair with the rebels at his resi- 
 dence. It seems to me, then, that we must not judge 
 your wisdom by your years, and that we can safely con- 
 fide our interests in your hands. Your looks are frank 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 53 
 
 and boyish, and will, therefore, excite far less suspicion 
 than that which would attend upon an older and graver- 
 looking personage. The letters will be prepared for you 
 to-morrow, and, believe me, should success finally crown 
 our efforts against these enemies of the crown, your loyalty 
 and devotion will not be forgotten by your king." 
 
 He again held out his hand to Harry, and the boy left 
 the cabinet with his heart burning with loyalty toward 
 his monarch, and resolved that life itself should be held 
 cheap if it could be spent in the service of so gracious 
 and majestic a king. 
 
 The next morning a royal messenger brought out a 
 packet of letters to Furness Hall, and Harry, mounting 
 with his father and the little body of horse at the hall, 
 rode toward London. His attire was that of a country 
 peasant boy. The letters were concealed in the hollow 
 of a stout ashen stick which he carried, and which had 
 been slightly weighted with lead, so that, should it be 
 taken up by any but its owner, its lightness would not 
 attract attention. Sir Henry rode with him as far as it 
 was prudent to do toward the outposts of the Parliament 
 troops. Then, bidding him a tender farewell, and im- 
 pressing upon him the necessity for the utmost cauti u 9 
 both for his own sake and for that of the king, he left 
 him. 
 
 It was not upon the highroad that they parted, but 
 near a village some little distance therefrom. In his 
 pocket Harry had two or three pieces of silver, and be- 
 tween the soles of his boots were sewn several gold coins. 
 These he did not anticipate having to use; but the 
 necessity might arise when such a deposit would prove 
 of use. Harry walked quietly through the village, where 
 his appearance was unnoticed, and then along the road 
 toward Beading. He soon met a troop of Parliament 
 horsemen; but as he was sauntering along quietly, as if 
 
54 FRIENDS. THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 merely going from one village to another, no attention 
 whatever was paid to him, and he reached Heading with- 
 out the slightest difficulty. There he took up his ahode 
 for the night at a small hostelry, mentioning to the host 
 that his master had wanted him to join the king's forces, 
 but that he had no stomach for fighting, and intended 
 to get work in the town. The following morning he 
 again started, and proceeded as far as Windsor, where 
 he slept. The next day, walking through Hounslow and 
 Brentford, he stopped for the night at the village of 
 Kensington, and the following morning entered the city. 
 Harry had never before been in the streets of London, 
 for in his flight from his prison he had at once issued 
 into the country, and the bustle and confusion which 
 prevailed excited 'great surprise in his mind. Even 
 Oxford, busy as it was at the time, and fall of the troops 
 of the king and of the noblemen and gentlemen who 
 had rallied to his cause, was yet quiet when compared 
 with London. The booths along the main streets were 
 filled with goods, and at these the apprentices shouted 
 loudly to all passers-by, "What d'ye lack? What d'ye 
 lack?" Here was a mercer exhibiting dark cloths to a 
 grave-looking citizen; there an armorer was showing the 
 temper of his wares to an officer. Citizens' wives were 
 shopping and gossiping; groups of men, in high steeple 
 hats and dark cloaks, were moving along the streets. 
 Pack horses carried goods from the ships at the wharves 
 below the bridge to the merchants, arid Harry was jostled 
 hither and thither by the moving crowd. Ascending the 
 hill of Ludgate to the great cathedral of St. Paul's, he 
 saw a crowd gathered round a person on an elevated 
 stand in the yard, and approaching to see what was 
 going on, found that a preacher was pouring forth 
 anathemas against the king and the Royal party, and 
 inciting the citizens to throw themselves heart and soul 
 
FRISND8, THOUGH DIVIDED. 55 
 
 into the cause. Especially severe was he upon waverers, 
 who, he said, were worse than downright enemies, as, 
 while the one withstood the Parliament openly in fair 
 tight, the others were shifted to and fro with each 
 breeze, and none could say whether they were friends or 
 enemies. Passing through the cathedral, where regular 
 services were no longer held, but where, in different 
 corners, preachers were holding forth against the king, 
 and where groups of men strolled up and down, talking 
 of the troubles of the times, he issued at the eastern 
 door, and entering Cheapside, saw the sign of the mer- 
 chant to whom he had been directed. 
 
 This was Nicholas Fleming, a man of Dutch descent, 
 and well spoken of among his fellows. He dealt in silks 
 and velvets from Genoa. His shop presented less out- 
 ward appearance than did those of his neighbors, the 
 goods being too rich and rare to be exposed to the 
 weather, and he himself dealing rather with smaller 
 traders than with the general public. The merchant a 
 grave-looking man was sitting at his desk when Harry 
 entered. A clerk was in the shop, engaged in writing, 
 and an apprentice was rolling up a piece of silk. Harry 
 removed his hat, and went up to the merchant's table, 
 and laying a letter upon it, said: 
 
 "I have come, sir, from Dame Marjory, my aunt, who 
 was your honor's nurse, with a letter from her, praying 
 you to take me as an apprentice." 
 
 The merchant glanced for a moment at the boy. He 
 was expecting a message from the Eoyalist camp, and 
 his keen wit at once led him to suspect that the bearer 
 stood before him, although his appearance in nowise 
 justified such a thought, for Harry,, had assumed with 
 his peasant clothes a look of stolid stupidity which cer- 
 tainly gave no warrant for the thought that a keen spirit 
 lay behind it. Without a word the merchant opened 
 
56 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the letter, which, in truth, contained nearly the same 
 words which Harry had spoken, but whose signature was 
 sufficient to the merchant to indicate that his suspicions 
 were correct. 
 
 "Sit down," he said to the lad. "I am busy now; 
 but will talk with you anon." 
 
 Harry took his seat on a low stool, while the merchant 
 continued his writing as before, as if the incident were 
 too unimportant to arrest his attention for a moment. 
 Harry amused himself by looking round the shop, and 
 was specially attracted by the movements of the appren- 
 tice, a sharp-looking lad, rather younger than himself, 
 and who, having heard what had passed, seized every 
 opportunity, when he was so placed that neither the 
 merchant nor his clerk could observe his face to make 
 grimaces at Harry, indicative of contempt and derision. 
 Harry was sorely tempted to laugh; but, with an effort, 
 he kept his countenance, assuming only a grin of wonder 
 which greatly gratified Jacob, who thought that he had 
 obtained as companion a butt who would afford him 
 infinite amusement. 
 
 After the merchant had continued his writing for an 
 hour, he laid down his pen, and saying to Harry "Follow 
 me; I will speak to Dame Alice, my wife, concerning 
 thee," left the shop and entered the inner portion of 
 the house, followed by Harry. The merchant led him 
 into a sitting-room on the floor above, where his wife, a 
 comely dame, was occupied with her needle. 
 
 "Dame," he said, "this is a new apprentice whom my 
 nurse, Marjory, has sent me. A promising-looking 
 youth, is he not?" 
 
 His wife looked at him in surprise. 
 
 "I have never heard thee speak of thy nurse, Nicholas, 
 and surely the lad looks not apt to learning the mysteries 
 of a trade like thine." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 57 
 
 The merchant smiled gravely. 
 
 "He must be more apt than he looks, dame, or he 
 would never have been chosen for the service upon which 
 he is engaged. Men do not send fools to risk their lives; 
 and I have been watching him for the last hour, and 
 have observed how he bore himself under the tricks ot 
 that jackanapes, Jacob, and verily the wonder which I 
 at first felt when he presented himself to me has passed 
 away, and what appeared to me at first sight a strange 
 imprudence, seems now to be a piece of wisdom. But 
 enough of riddles," he said, seeing that his wife's aston- 
 ishment increased as he went on. "This lad is a mes- 
 senger from Oxford, and bears, I doubt not, important 
 documents. What is thy true name, boy?'* 
 
 "I am Harry Furness, the son of Sir Henry Furness, 
 one of the king's officers," Harry said; "and my papers 
 are concealed within this staff." 
 
 Thereupon he lifted his stick and showed that at the 
 bottom a piece of wood had been artfully fitted into a 
 hollow, and then^ by being rubbed upon the ground, so 
 worn as to appear part of a solid whole. Taking his 
 knife from his pocket, he cut off an inch from the lower 
 end of the stick, and then shook out on to the table a 
 number of slips of paper tightly rolled together. 
 
 "I will examine these at my leisure," the merchant 
 said; "and now as to thyself. What instructions have 
 you?" 
 
 "I am told, sir, to take up my abode with you, if it so 
 pleases you; to assume the garb and habits of an appren- 
 tice; and, moreover, to do such messages as you may 
 give me, and whi<jh, perhaps, I may perform with less 
 risk of observation, and with more fidelity than any 
 ordinary messenger." 
 
 "The proposal is a good one," the trader said. "I 
 am often puzzled how to send notes to those of my 
 
58 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 neighbors with whom I am in correspondence, for the 
 lad Jacob is sharp too sharp, indeed, for my purpose, 
 and might suspect the purport of his goings and com- 
 ings. I believe him to be faithful, though overapt to 
 mischief. But in these days one cares not to risk one's 
 neck unless on a surety. The first thing will be, then, 
 to procure for thee a suit of clothes, suitable to thy new 
 position. Under the plea that at present work is but 
 slack for indeed the troubles of the times have well-nigh 
 ruined the trade in such goods as mine, throwing it all 
 into the hands of the smiths I shall be able to grant 
 thee some license, and to allow thee to go about and see 
 the city and acquaint thyself with its ways. Master 
 Jacob may feel, perhaps, a little jealous; but this mat- 
 ters not. I somewhat misdoubt the boy, though perhaps 
 unjustly. But I know not how his opinions may go 
 toward matters politic. He believes me, I think, as do 
 other men, to be attached to the present state of things; 
 but even did his thoughts jump otherwise, he would not 
 have opened his lips before me. It would be well, there- 
 fore, for you to be cautious in the extreme with him, 
 and to find out of a verity what be his nature and dis- 
 position. Doubtless, in time, he will unbosom to you, 
 and you may see whether he has any suspicions, and how 
 far he is to be trusted. He was recommended to me by 
 a friend at Poole, and I know not the opinions of his 
 people. I will come forth with you now and order the 
 clothes without delay, and we will return in time for 
 dinner, which will be at twelve, of which time ifc now 
 lacks half an hour." 
 
 Putting on his high hat, the merchant sallied out with 
 Harry into the Cheap, and going to a clothier's was able 
 to purchase ready-made garments suitable to his new 
 position as a 'prentice boy. Returning with these, he 
 bade the lad mount to the room which he was to share 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 59 
 
 \vith Jacob, to change with all speed, and to come down 
 to dinner, which was now nearly ready. 
 
 The meal was to Harry a curious one. The merchant 
 sat at one end of the table, his wife at the other. The 
 scrivener occupied a place on one side, and his fellow- 
 apprentice and himself on the other. The merchant, 
 spoke to his wife on the troubles of the times in a grave, 
 oracular voice, which appeared to be intended chiefly 
 for the edification of his three assistants, who ate their 
 dinner in silence, only saying a word or two in answer to 
 any question addressed to them. Harry, who was accus- 
 tomed to dine with his father, was somewhat nice in his 
 Avays of eating. But, observing a sudden look of interest 
 and suspicion upon the face of the sharp boy beside him 
 at his manner of eating, he, without making so sudden 
 a change as to be perceptible, gradually fell into the way 
 of eating of his companion, mentally blaming himself 
 severely for having for a moment forgotten his assumed 
 part. 
 
 "I shall not need you this afternoon, Roger," the 
 merchant said; "and you can go out and view the sights 
 of the city. Avoid getting into any quarrels or broils, 
 and especially observe the names writ up on the corner 
 of the houses, in order that you may learn the streets 
 and so be able to find your way about should I send you 
 with messages or goods." 
 
 Harry spent the afternoon as directed, and was 
 mightily amused and entertained by the sights which he 
 witnessed. Especially was he interested in London 
 Bridge, which, covered closely with houses, stretched 
 across the river, and at the great fleet of vessels which 
 lay moored to the wharves below. Here Harry spent 
 the greater portion of the afternoon, watching the 
 numerous boats as they shot the bridge, and the barges 
 -eceiving merchandise from the vessels. 
 
60 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 At five o'clock the shop was shut, and at six supper 
 v7as served in the same order as dinner had been. At 
 eight they retired to bed. 
 
 "Well, Master Roger," said Jacob, when they were 
 alone, "and what is thy father?" 
 
 "He farms a piece of land of his own," Harry said. 
 "Sometimes I live with him; but more often with my 
 uncle, who is a trader in Bristol a man of some wealth, 
 and much respected by the citizens." 
 
 "Ah! it is there that thou hast learnt thy tricks of 
 eating," Jacob said. "I wondered to see thee handle 
 thy knife and fork so daintily, and in a manner which 
 4ssuredly smacked of the city rather than of the farm." 
 
 "My uncle," Harry said, "is a particular man as to 
 his habits, and as many leading citizens of the town 
 often take their meals at his house, he was ever worry- 
 ing me to behave, as he said, more like a Christian than 
 a hog. What a town is this London! What heaps of 
 people, and what wonderful sights!" 
 
 "Yes," the apprentice said carelessly. "But you 
 have as yet seen nothing. You should see the giant with 
 ight heads, at the Guildhall." 
 
 "A giant with eight heads?" Henry exclaimed won- 
 deringly. "Why, he have five more than the giant 
 whom my mother told me of when I was little, that was 
 killed by Jack, the Giant Killer. I must go and see 
 him of a surety." 
 
 "You must mind," the apprentice said; "for a boy is 
 served up for him every morning for breakfast." 
 
 "Now you are trying to fool me," Harry said. "My 
 mother warned me that the boys of London were wickedly 
 disposed, and given to mock at strangers. But I tell 
 thee, Master Jacob, that I have a heavy fist, and was 
 considered a fighter in the village. Therefore, mind 
 how thou triest to fool me. Mother always said I was 
 not such a fool as I looked." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 61 
 
 "You may well be that/' Jacob said, "and yet a very 
 big fool. But at present I do not know whether your 
 folly is more than skin deep, and methinks that the re-, 
 spectable trader, your uncle, has taught you more than 
 how to eat like a Christian." 
 
 Harry felt at once that in this sharp boy he had a 
 critic far more dangerous than any he was likely to meet 
 elsewhere. Others would pass him unnoticed; but his 
 fellow-apprentice would criticise every act and word^ 
 and he felt somewhat disquieted to find that he had 
 fallen under such supervision. It was now, he felt, all- 
 important for him to discover what were the real senti- 
 ments of the boy, and whether he was trustworthy to 
 his master, and to be relied upon to keep the secret 
 which had fallen into his possession. 
 
 "I have been," he said, in the big church at the end 
 of this street. What a pother the preachers do surely 
 keep up there. I should be sorely worried to hear them 
 long, and would rather thrash out a load of corn than 
 listen long to the clacking of their tongues." 
 
 "Thou wilt be sicker still of them before thou hast done 
 with them. It is one of the duties of us apprentices to 
 listen to the teachers, and if I had my way, we would 
 have an apprentices' riot, and demand to be kept to the 
 terms of our indentures, which say nothing about 
 preachers. What is the way of thinking of this uncle of 
 yours?" 
 
 "He is a prudent man," Roger said, "and says but 
 little. For myself, I care nothing either way, and can- 
 not understand what they are making this pother about. 
 So far as I can see, folks only want to be quiet, and do 
 their work. But even in our village at home there is 
 no quiet now. Some are one way, some t'other. There 
 are the Church folk, and the meeting-house folk, and it 
 is as much as they can do to keep themselves from going 
 
Q2 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 at each other's throats. I hear so much about it that my 
 brain gets stupid with it all, and I hate Parliament and 
 king worse than the schoolmaster who used to whack me 
 for never knowing the difference between one letter and 
 another." 
 
 "But you can read and write, I suppose?" Jacob said; 
 "or you would be of little use as an apprentice." 
 
 "Yes, I can read and write," Roger said; "but I can- 
 not say that I love these things. I doubt me that I am 
 not fitter for the plow than for a trade. But my Aunt 
 Marjory was forever going on about my coming to Lon- 
 don, and entering the shop of Master Nicholas Fleming, 
 and as it seemed an easy thing to sell yards of silks and 
 velvets, I did not stand against her wishes, especially as 
 she promised that if in a year's time I did not like the 
 life, she would ask Master Nicholas to cancel my inden- 
 tures, and let me go back again to the farm." 
 
 "Ah, well," Jacob said, "it is useful to have an aunt 
 who has been nurse to a city merchant. The life is not 
 a bad one, though our master is strict with all. But 
 Dame Alice is a good housewife, and has a light hand at 
 confections, and when there are good things on the 
 table she does not, as do most of the wives of the traders, 
 keep them for herself and her husband, but lets us 
 have a share also." 
 
 "I am fond of confections," Harry said; "and my 
 Aunt Marjory is famous at them; and now, as I am very 
 sleepy, I will go off. But methinks, Jacob, that you 
 take up hugely more than your share of the bed." 
 
 After a little grumbling on both sides the boys dis- 
 posed themselves to sleep, each wondering somewhat 
 over the character of the other, and determining to make 
 a better acquaintance shortly. 
 
FRIENDS. THOUGH DIVIDED. 63 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 A NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 DURING the next few days Harry was kept hard at 
 work, delivering the various minute documents which 
 he had hrought in the hollow of his stick. Sometimes 
 of an evening he attended his master to the houses where 
 he had taken such messages, and once or twice was called 
 in to be present at discussions, and asked to explain 
 various matters connected with the position of the king. 
 During this time he saw but little of the apprentice 
 Jacob, except at his meals, and as the boy did not touch 
 upon his frequent absence, or make any allusion to polit- 
 ical matters, when in their bedroom alone at night, 
 Harry hoped that his suspicions had been allayed. 
 
 One morning, however, on waking up, he saw the boy 
 sitting upright in bed, staring fixedly at him. 
 
 "What is the matter, Jacob, and what are you doing?" 
 
 "I am wondering who and what you are!" the boy 
 said. 
 
 "I am Roger, your fellow apprentice/' Harry replied., 
 laughing. 
 
 "I am not sure that you are Roger; I am not sure 
 that you are an apprentice," the boy said. "But if you 
 were, that would not tell me who you are. If you were 
 merely Roger the apprentice, Dame Alice would not pick 
 out all the tit-bits at dinner, and put them on your 
 plate, while I and Master Hardwood have to put up 
 
64 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 with any scraps which may come. Nor do I think that, 
 even for the purpose of carrying his cloak, our master 
 would take yn with him constantly of an evening. He 
 seems mighty anxious too, for you to learn your way 
 about London. I do not remember that he showed any 
 such care as to my geographical knowledge. But, of 
 course, there is a mystery, and I want to get to the bot- 
 tom of it, and mean to do so if I can." 
 
 "Even supposing that there was a mystery," Harry 
 said, "what good would it do to yon to learn it, and 
 what use would you make of your knowledge?" 
 
 "I do not know," the boy said carelessly. "But 
 knowledge is power." 
 
 "You see," Harry said, "that supposing there were, 
 as you say, a mystery, the secret would not be mine to 
 tell, and even were it so before I told it, I should want 
 to know whether you desired to know it for the sake of 
 aiding your master, if possible, or of doing him an 
 injury. 
 
 "I would do him no injury, assuredly," Jacob said. 
 "Master Fleming is as good a master as there is in Lon- 
 don. I want to find out, because it is my nature to find 
 out. The mere fact that there is a mystery excites my 
 curiosity, and compels me to do all in my power to get 
 to the bottom of it. Methinks that if you have aught 
 that you do not want known, it would be better to take 
 Jacob Plummer into your confidence. Many a man's 
 head has been lost before now because he did not know 
 whom to trust." 
 
 "There is no question of losing heads in the matter," 
 Harry said, smiling. 
 
 "Well, you know best," Jacob replied, shrugging his 
 shoulders; "but heads do not seem very firmly on at 
 present." 
 
 When he went out with Master Fleming that evening 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 65 
 
 Harry related to him the conversation which he had had 
 with Jacob. 
 
 "What think you, Master Furness? Is this malapert 
 boy to be trusted, or not?" 
 
 "It wore difficult to say, sir," Harry answered. "His 
 suspicions are surely roused, and as it seemed to me that 
 his professions of affection and duty toward yourself 
 were earnest, methinks that you might enlist him in 
 your cause, and would find him serviceable hereafter, 
 did you allow me frankly to speak to him. He has 
 friends among the apprentice boys, and might, should 
 he be mischievously inclined, set one to follow us of a 
 night, and learn whither you go; he might even now do 
 much mischief. I think that it is his nature to love 
 plotting for its own sake. He would rather plot on your 
 side than against it; but if you will not have him, he 
 may go against you." 
 
 "I have a good mind to send him home to his friends," 
 the merchant said. "He can know nothing as yet." 
 
 "He might denounce me as a Royalist," H^^v said; 
 "and you for harboring me. I will sound him again 
 to-night, and see further into his intentions. But 
 methinks it would be best to trust him." 
 
 That night the conversation was again renewed. 
 
 "You see, Jacob," Harry said, "that it would be a 
 serious matter, supposing what you think to be true, to 
 intrust you with the secret. I know not whether you 
 are disposed toward king or Parliament, and to put the 
 lives of many honorable gentlemen into the hands of 
 one of whose real disposition I know little would be but 
 a fool's trick." 
 
 "You speak fairly, Roger," the boy said. "Indeed, 
 what I said to you was true. I trouble my head in no 
 way as to the politics and squabbles of the present day; 
 but I mean to rise some day, and there is no better way 
 
66 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 to rise than to be mixed up in a plot. It is true that 
 the rise may be to the gallows; but if one plays for high 
 stakes, one must risk one's purse. I love excitement, 
 and believe that I am no fool. I can at least be true to 
 the side that I engage upon, and of the two, would 
 rather take that of the king than of the Parl.ament, 
 because it seems to me that there are more fools on his 
 side than on the other, and therefore more chance for a 
 wise head to prosper." 
 
 Harry laughed. 
 
 "You have no small opinion of yourself, Master 
 Jacob." 
 
 "No," the boy said; I always found myself able to 
 hold my own. My father, who is a scrivener, predicted 
 me that I should either come to wealth or be hanged, 
 and I am of the same opinion myself." 
 
 After further conversation next day with the mer- 
 chant, Harry frankly confided to Jacob that evening that 
 he was the bearer of letters from the king. Of their 
 contents he said that he knew nothing; but had reason 
 to believe that another movement was on foot for bring- 
 ing about the overthrow of the party of Puritans who 
 were in possession of the government of London. 
 
 "I deemed that such was your errand," the boy said. 
 "You placed your part well; but not well enough. You 
 might have dece A , : grown-up people; but you would 
 hardly take in a boy of your own age. Now that you 
 have told me frankly, I will, if I can, do anything to 
 aid. I care nothing for the opinions of one side or the 
 other; but as I have to go to the cathedral three times 
 on Sunday, and to sit each time for two hours listening to 
 the harangues of Master Ezekiel Proudfoot, I would 
 gladly join in anything which would be likely to end by 
 silencing that fellow and his gang. It is monstrous 
 that, upon the only day in itie week we hav to our- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 67 
 
 selves, we should be compelled to undergo the punish- 
 ment of listening to these long-winded divines." 
 
 When Harry was not engaged in taking notes, back- 
 ward and forward, between the merchant and those with 
 whom he was negotiating, he was occupied in the shop. 
 There the merchant kept up appearances before the 
 scrivener and any customers who might come in, by in- 
 structing him in the mysteries of his trade; by showing 
 him the value of the different velvets and silks; and by 
 teaching him his private marks, by which, in case of the 
 absence of the merchant or his apprentice, he could state 
 the price of any article to a trader who might come in. 
 Harry judged, by the conversations which he had with 
 his host, that the latter was not sanguine as to the suc- 
 cess of the negotiations which he was carrying on. 
 
 "If," he said, "the king could obtain one single vic- 
 tory, his friends would raise their heads, and would 
 assuredly be supported by the great majority of the 
 population, who wish only for peace; but so long as the 
 armies stood facing each other, and the Puritans are all 
 powerful in the Parliament and Council of the city, men 
 are afraid to be the first to move, not being sure how 
 popular support would be given." 
 
 One evening after work was over Harry and Jacob 
 walked together up the Cheap, and took their place 
 among a crowd listening to a preacher at Paul's Cross. 
 He was evidently a popular character, and a large num- 
 ber of grave men, of the straitest Puritan appearance, 
 were gathered round him. 
 
 "I wish we could play some trick with these somber- 
 looking knaves," Jacob whispered. 
 
 "Yes," Harry said; "I would give much to be able to 
 do so; but at the present moment I scarcely wish to 
 draw attention upon myself." 
 
 "Let us get out of this, then." Jacob said, "if there 
 
68 FRIENDS. THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 is no fun to be had. I am sick of these long-winded 
 orations." 
 
 They turned to go, and as they made their way 
 through the crowd, Harry trod upon the toe of a small 
 man in a high steeple hat and black coat. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," Harry said, as there burst from 
 the lips of the little man an exclamation which was 
 somewhat less decorous than would have been expected 
 from a personage so gravely clad. The little man stared 
 Harry in the face, and uttered another exclamation, this 
 time of surprise. Harry, to his dismay, saw that the 
 man with whom he had come in contact was the preacher 
 whom he had left gagged on the guardroom bed at 
 Westminster. 
 
 "A traitor! A spy!" shouted the preacher, at the top 
 of his voice, seizing Harry by the doublet. The latter 
 shook himself free just as Jacob, jumping in the air, 
 brought his hand down with all his force on the top of 
 the steeple hat, wedging it over the eyes of the little 
 man. Before any further effort could be made to seize 
 them, the two lads dived through the crowd, and dashed 
 down a lane leading toward the river. 
 
 This sudden interruption to the service caused con- 
 siderable excitement, and the little preacher, on being 
 extricated from his hat, furiously proclaimed that the 
 lad he had seized, dressed as an apprentice, was a malig- 
 nant, who had been taken prisoner at Brentford, and 
 who had foully ill-treated him in a cell in the guard- 
 room at Finsbury. Instantly a number of men set off in 
 pursuit. 
 
 "What had we best do, Jacob?" Harry said, as he 
 heard the clattering of feet behind them. 
 
 "We had best jump into a boat," Jacob said, "and 
 row for it. It is dark now, and we shall soon be out of 
 their sight. " 
 
.,.. ^.... _ *:* j.'J-^J i n,!r.'i I1l,f.> .V:.-^ flffeU ;nJv 
 
 THE APPRENTICES AMONG THE PREACHERS. Page 68. 
 
 F. though D } 
 
FRIENDS, TROUGH DIVIDED. 69 
 
 At the bottom of the lane were some stairs, and at 
 these a number of boats. As it was late in the evening, 
 and the night a foul one, the watermen, not anticipating 
 fares, had left, and the boys, leaping into a boat, put 
 out the sculls, and rowed into the stream, just as their 
 pursuers were heard coming down the lane. 
 
 "Which way shall we go?" Harry said. 
 
 "We had better shoot the bridge," Jacob replied. 
 "Canst row well?" 
 
 "Yes," Harry said; "I have practiced at Abingdon 
 with an oar." 
 
 "Then take the sculls," Jacob said, "and I will steer. 
 It is a risky matter going through the bridge, I tell you, 
 at half tide. Sit steady, whatever you do. Here they 
 come in pursuit, Roger. Bend to the sculls," and in a 
 couple of minutes they reached the bridge. 
 
 "Steady, steady," shouted Jacob, as the boat shot a 
 fall, some eight feet in depth, with the rapidity of an 
 arrow. For a moment it was tossed and whirled about 
 in the seething waves below, and then, thanks to Jacob's 
 presence of mind and Harry's obedience to his orders, 
 it emerged safely into the smooth water below the bridge. 
 Harry now gave up one of the sculls to Jacob, and the 
 two boys rowed hard down the stream. 
 
 "Will they follow, think you?" Harry said. 
 
 "I don't think," Jacob laughed, "that any of those 
 black-coated gentry will care for shooting the bridge. 
 They will run down below, and take boat there; and as 
 there are sure to be hands waiting to carry fares out to the 
 ships in the pool, they will gain fast upon us when once 
 they are under way." 
 
 The wind was blowing briskly with them, and the tide 
 running strong, and at a great pace they passed the 
 ships lying at anchor. 
 
 "There is the Tower," Jacob said; "with whose inside 
 
70 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 we may shance to make acquaintance, if we are caught. 
 Look," he said, ' 'there is a boat behind us, rowed by 
 four oars! I fear that it is our pursuers." 
 
 "Had we not better land, and take our chance?" 
 Harry said. 
 
 "We might have done so at first," Jacob said; "it is 
 too late now. We must row for it. Look," he con- 
 tinued, "there is a bark coming along after the boat. 
 She has got her sails up already, and the wind is bring- 
 ing her along grandly. She sails faster than they row, 
 and if she comes up to us before they overtake us, it may 
 be that the captain will take us in tow. These sea-dogs 
 are always kindly." 
 
 The boat that the boys had seized was, fortunately, a 
 very light and fast one, while that in pursuit was large 
 and heavy, and the four watermen had to carry six sit- 
 ters. Consequently, they gained but very slowly upon 
 the fugitives. Presently a shot from a pistol whizzed 
 over the boys' heads. 
 
 "I did not bargain for this, friend Roger," Jacob said. 
 "My head is made rather for plots and conspiracies than 
 for withstanding the contact of lead." 
 
 "Row awayl" Harry said. "Here is the ship just 
 alongside now." 
 
 As the vessel, which was a coaster, came along, the 
 crew looked over the side, their attention being called 
 by the sound of the pistol and the shouts of those in. 
 chase. 
 
 "Throw us a rope, sir," Jacob shouted. "We are not 
 malefactors, but have been up to a boyish freak, and 
 shall be heavily punished if we are caught." 
 
 Again the pistol rang out behind, and one of the 
 sailors threw a rope to the boys. It was caught, and in 
 minute the boat was gliding rapidly along in the wake 
 of the ship. She was then pulled up alongside, the boys 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 71 
 
 clambered on board, and the boat was sent adrift- The 
 pursuers continued the chase for a few minutes longer, 
 but seeing the ship gradually drawing away from them, 
 they desisted, and turned in toward shore. 
 
 "And who are you?" the captain of the brig said. 
 
 "We are apprentices, as you see," Jacob said. "We 
 were listening to some preaching at Paul's Cross. In 
 trying to get out from the throng being at length weary 
 of the long-winded talk of the preacher we trod upon 
 the feet of a worthy divine. He, refusing to receive our 
 apologies, took the matter roughly, and seeing that the 
 crowd of Puritans around were going to treat us as 
 malignant roisterers, we took the liberty of driving the 
 hat of our assailant over his eyes, and bolting. As- 
 suredly, had we been caught, we should have been put 
 in the stocks and whipped, even if worse pains and 
 penalties had not befallen us, for ill-treatment of one of 
 those who are now the masters of London." 
 
 "It was a foolish freak," the captain said, "and in these 
 days such freaks are treated as crimes. It is well that I 
 came along. What do you purpose to do now?" 
 
 "We would fain be put ashore, sir, somewhere in 
 Kent, so that we may make our way back again. Our 
 figures could not have been observed beyond that we 
 were apprentices, and we can enter the city quietly, 
 without fear of detection." 
 
 The wind dropped in the evening, and, the tide turn- 
 ing, the captain brought to anchor. In the morning he 
 sailed forward again. When he neared Gravesend he 
 saw a vessel lying in the stream. 
 
 "That is a Parliament ship," he said. 
 
 At that moment another vessel of about the same size 
 as that in which they were was passing her. She iired a 
 gun, and the ship at once dropped her sails and brought 
 up. 
 
72 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "What can she be doing now, arresting the passage of 
 ships on their way down? If your crime had been a 
 serious one, I should have thought that a message must 
 have been brought down in the night for her to search 
 vessels coming down stream for the persons of fugitives, 
 What say you, lads? Have you told me the truth?" 
 
 "We have told you the truth, sir/' Harry said; "but 
 not the whole truth. The circumstances are exactly as 
 my friend related them. But he omitted to say that the 
 preacher recognized in me one of a Cavalier family, and 
 that they may suspect that I was in London on business 
 of the king's." 
 
 "Is that so?" the captain said. "In that case, your 
 position is a perilous one. It is clear that they do not 
 know the name of the ship in which you are embarked, 
 or they would not have stopped the one which we see 
 far ahead. If they search the ship, they are sure to find 
 you." 
 
 "Can you swim, Jacob?" Harry asked the other. 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 "There is a point,'* Harry said, "between this and 
 the vessel of war, and if you sail close to that you will 
 for a minute or two be hidden from the view of those on 
 her deck. If you will take your ship close to that 
 corner we will jump overboard and swim on shore. If 
 then your vessel is stopped you can well say that you 
 have no fugitives on board, and let them search." 
 
 The captain thought the plan a good one, and at once 
 the vessel's head was steered over toward the' side to 
 which Harry had pointed. As they neared the corner 
 they for a minute lost sight of the hull of the man-of- 
 war, and the boys, with a word of thanks and farewell to 
 the captain, plunged over and swam to the bank, which 
 was, but some thirty yards away. Climbing it, they lay 
 down among the grass, and watched the progress of the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 73 
 
 vessel. She, like the one before, was brought up by a 
 gun from the man-of-war, and a boat from the latter put 
 out and remained by her side for half an hour. Then 
 they saw the boat return, the vessel hoist her sails again, 
 and go on her way. 
 
 "This is a nice position into which you have brought 
 rne, Master Roger," Jacob said. "My first step in tak- 
 ing part in plots and conspiracies does not appear to me 
 to lead to the end which I looked for. However, I am 
 sick of the shop, and shall be glad of a turn of freedom. 
 Now let us make our way across the marshes to the high 
 land. It is but twenty miles to walk to London, if that 
 be really your intent/' 
 
 "I shall not return to London myself," Harry said, 
 "but shall make my way back to Oxford. It would be 
 dangerous now for me to appear, and I doubt not that a 
 sharp hue and cry will be kept up. In your case it is 
 different, for as you have been long an apprentice, ar-d 
 as your face will be entirely unknown to any of them, 
 there will be little chance of your being detected." 
 
 "I would much rather go with you to Oxford," the 
 lad said. "I am weary of velvets and silks, and though 
 I do not know that wars and battles will be more to my 
 taste, I would fain try them also. You are a gentleman, 
 and high in the trust of the king and those around him. 
 If you will take me with you as your servant I will be a 
 faithful knave to you, and doubt not that as you profit 
 by your advantages, some of the good will fall to my 
 share also." 
 
 "In faith," Harry said, "I should hardly like you to 
 be my servant, Jacob, although I have no other office to 
 bestow at present. But if you come with me you shall 
 be rather in the light of a major-domo, though I have 
 no establishment of which you can be the head. In 
 these days, however, the distinctions of master and serr. 
 
74 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 ant are less broad than before, and in the field we shall 
 be companions rather than master and follower. So, if 
 you like to cast in your fortunes with mine, here is my 
 hand on it. You have already proved your friendship 
 to me as well as your quickness and courage, and believe 
 me, you will not find me or my father ungrateful. But 
 for you, I should now be in the cells, and your old mas- 
 ter in no slight danger of finding himself in prison, to 
 say nothing of the upset of the negotiations for which I 
 came to London. Therefore, you have deserved well, 
 not only of me, but of the king, and the adventure may 
 not turn out so badly as it has begun. We had best 
 strike south, and go round by Tunbridge, and thence 
 keeping west, into Berkshire, and so to Oxford. In 
 this way we shall miss the Parliament men lying round 
 London, and those facing the .Royalists between Read- 
 ing and Oxford." 
 
 This order was carried out. The lads met with but 
 few questioners, and replying always that they were 
 London apprentices upon their way home to visit their 
 friends for a short time, passed unsuspected. At first 
 the want of funds had troubled them, for Harry had for- 
 gotten the money sewn up in his shoe. But presently, 
 remembering this, and taking two gold pieces out of 
 their hiding-place, they went merrily along the road and 
 in five days from starting arrived at Oxford. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDHD. 75 
 
 OHAPTBK VIL 
 
 IN A HOT PLACE. 
 
 MAKING inquiries, Harry found that his father was 
 living at a house in the college of Brazenose, and thither 
 he made his way. Not a little surprised was the trooper, 
 who was on guard before the door, to recognize his mas- 
 ter's son in one of the two lads who, in the clothes of 
 apprentices shrunk with water and stained with mud 
 and travel, presented themselves before him. Harry 
 ascended at once to Sir Henry's room, and the latter was 
 delighted to see him again, for he had often feared that 
 lie had acted rashly in sending him to London. Harry 
 briefly told his adventures, and introduced his friend 
 Jacob to his father. 
 
 Sir Henry immediately sent for a clothier, and Harry 
 was again made presentable; while a suit of serviceable 
 clothes adapted to the position of a young gentleman of 
 moderate means was obtained for Jacob. Then, accom- 
 panied by his son, Sir Henry went to the king's cham- 
 bers, and informed his majesty of all that had happened. 
 As, from the reports which had reached the king of the 
 temper of the people of London, he had but small hope 
 that anything would come of the attempt that was being 
 made, he felt but little disappointed at hearing of the 
 sudden return of his emissary. Harry was again asked 
 in, and his majesty in a few words expressed to him his 
 satisfaction at the zeal and prudence which he had 
 shown, and at his safe return to court. 
 
76 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 On leaving the king Harry awaited anxiously T 
 his father would determine concerning his future, 
 was delighted when Sir Henry said, "It is now a year 
 since these troubles began, Harry, and you have so far 
 embarked upon them, that I fear you would find it diffi- 
 cult to return to your studies. You have proved your- 
 self possessed of qualities which will enable you to make 
 your way in the world, and I therefore think the time 
 has come when you can take your place in the ranks. I 
 shall ask of the king a commission for you as captain in 
 my regiment, and as one of my officers has been killed 
 yon will take his place, and will have the command of a 
 troop." 
 
 Harry was delighted at this intimation; and the fol- 
 lowing day received the king's commission. 
 
 A few days afterward he had again to ride over to 
 Furness Hall, which was now shut up, to collect some 
 rents, and as he returned through Abingdon he saw 
 Lucy Rippinghall walking in the streets. Rather proud 
 of his attire as a young cavalier in full arms, Harry dis- 
 mounted and courteously saluted her. 
 
 "I should hardly havo known you, Master Furness," 
 she said. "You look so fierce in your iron harness, and 
 so gay with your plumes and ribands. My brother 
 would be glad to see you. My father, as you know, is 
 away. Will you not come in for a few minutes?" 
 
 Harry, after a few moments' hesitation, assented. He 
 longed to see his old friend, and as the latter was still 
 residing at Abingdon, while he himself had already made 
 his mark in the royal cause, he did not fear that any 
 misconstruction could be placed upon his visit to the 
 Puritan's abode. Herbert received him with a glad 
 smile of welcome. 
 
 "Ah, Harry," he said, "so you have fairly taken to 
 man's estate. Of course, I think you have done wrong; 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 77 
 
 but we need not argue on that now. I am glad indeed 
 to see you< Lucy," he said, "let supper be served at 
 once." 
 
 It was a pleasant meal, and the old friends chatted of 
 their schooldays and boyish pastimes, no allusion being 
 made to the events of the day, save that Herbert said, 
 "I suppose that you know that my father is now a cap- 
 tain in the force of the Commons, and that I am doing 
 my best to keep his business going during his absence." 
 
 "I had heard as much," Harry answered. "It is a 
 heavy weight to be placed on your shoulders, Herbert." 
 
 "Yes," he said, "I am growing learned in wools, and 
 happily the business is not falling off in my hands." 
 
 It was characteristic of the civil war in England that 
 during the whole time of its existence the affairs of the 
 country went on as usual. Business was conducted, life 
 and property were safe, and the laws were enforced just 
 as before. The judges went their circuits undisturbed 
 by the turmoil of the times, acting under the authority 
 alike of the Great Seals of the King and Parliament. 
 Thus evildoers were repressed, crime put down, and the 
 laws of the land administered just as usual, and as if no 
 hostile armies were marching and fighting on the fair 
 fields of England. In most countries during such 
 troubled times, all laws have been at an end, bands of 
 robbers and disbanded soldiers have pillaged and ruined 
 the country, person and property alike have been unsafe, 
 private broils and enmities have broken forth, and each 
 man has carried his life in his hand. Thus, even in 
 Abingdon, standing as it did halfway between the 
 stronghold of the crown at Oxford, and the Parliament 
 army at Beading, things remained quiet and tranquil. 
 Its fairs and markets were held as usual, and the course 
 of business went on unchecked. 
 
 On his return to Oxford Harry learned that the king, 
 
78 ISIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 a portion of the army, was to set out at once for 
 Gloucester, to compel that city, which had declared for 
 the Commons, to open its gates. With a force of thirteen 
 thousand men the king moved upon Gloucester. When 
 he arrived outside its walls, on the 10th of August, he 
 sent a summons to the town to surrender, offering par- 
 don to the inhabitants, and demanding an answer within 
 two hours. Clarendon has described how the answer 
 was returned. "Within less than the time described, 
 together with a trumpeter, returned two citizens from 
 the town with lean, pale, sharp, and bad visages, indeed, 
 laces so strange and unusual, and in such a garb and 
 posture, that at once made the most severe countenances 
 merry, and the most cheerful heart sad, for it was impos- 
 sible such ambassadors could bring less than a defiance. 
 The men, without any circumstance of duty or good 
 manners, in a pert, shrill, undismayed accent, said that 
 they brought an answer from the godly city of Glouces- 
 ter to the king, and were so ready to give insolent and 
 seditious answers to any questions, as if their business 
 were chiefly to provoke the king to violate his own safe- 
 oonduct." The answers which these strange messengers 
 brought was that the inhabitants and soldiers kept the 
 city for the use of his majesty, but conceived themselves 
 "only bound to obey the commands of his majesty signi- 
 fied by both houses of Parliament." Setting fire to the 
 houses outside their walls, the men of Gloucester pre- 
 pared for a resolute resistance. The walls were strong 
 and well defended, and the king did not possess artillery 
 sufficient to make breaches therein, and dreading the 
 .great loss which an assault upon the walls would inflict 
 upon his army, he determined to starve the city into 
 submission. The inhabitants, although reduced to sora 
 straits, yet relying upon assistance coming to them, heli 
 <mt, and their hopes were not disappointed, as Essex, at 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 79 
 
 the head of a great army, was sent from London to re- 
 lieve the place. Upon his approach, the king and his 
 councilors, deciding that a battle could not he fought 
 with advantage, drew off from the town, and gave up 
 the siege. 
 
 Both armies now moved in the direction of London; 
 but Prince Rupert, hearing that a small body of Parlia- 
 ment horse were besieging the house of Sir James 
 Strangford, an adherent of the crown, took with him 
 fifty horse, and rode away to raise the siege, being ever 
 fend of dashing exploits in the fashion of the knights of 
 old. The body which he chose to accompany him was 
 the troop commanded by Harry Furness, whose gayety 
 of manner and lightness of heart had rendered him a 
 favorite with the prince. The besieged house was situ- 
 ated near Hereford; and at the end of a long day's march 
 Prince Rupert, coming in sight of the Roundheads, 
 charged them with such fury that they were overthrown 
 with scarce any resistance, and fled in all directions. 
 Having effected his object, the prince now rode to 
 Worcester, where he slept, and thence by a long day's 
 march to a village where he again halted for the night. 
 
 An hour after his arrival, a messenger came in from 
 Lady Sidmouth, the wife of Sir Henry Sidmouth, asking 
 him to ride over and take up his abode for the night at 
 her house. Bidding Harry accompany him, the prince 
 rode off, leaving the troop under the charge of Harry's 
 lieutenant, Jacob, who had proved himself an active 
 soldier, and had been appointed to that rank at Glouces- 
 ter. The house was a massive structure of the reign of 
 Henry VIII.; but being built at a time when the castel- 
 lated abodes were going out of fashion, was not capable 
 of standing a siege, and had not indeed been put in any 
 posture of defense. Sir Henry was with the king, and 
 only a few retainers remained in the house. Prince 
 
80 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Kupert was received at the entrance by Lady Sidmouthj 
 \vho had at her side her daughter, a girl of fourteen, 
 whom Harry thought the most beautifuj creature he had 
 ever seen. The prince alighted, and doffing his broad 
 plumed hat, kissed the lady's hand, and conducted her 
 into the house again, Harry doing the same to her 
 daughter. 
 
 "You must pardon a rough reception," the lady said 
 to the prince. "Had I had notice of your coming, I 
 would have endeavored to receive you in a manner more 
 befitting; but hearing from one of my retainers, who 
 happened to be in the village when you arrived, of your 
 coming, I thought that the accommodation poor as it 
 is would be better than that which you could obtain 
 there." 
 
 Prince Kupert replied gayly, and in a few minutes they 
 were seated at supper. The conversation was lightly 
 kept up, when suddenly a tremendous crash was heard, 
 shouts of alarm were raised, and a retainer rushed into 
 the hall, saying that the place was attacked by a force of 
 Roundheads. 
 
 ''Defense is hopeless," the lady said, as Prince Rupert 
 and Harry drew their swords. "There are but five or 
 six old men here, and the door appears to be already 
 yielding. There is a secret chamber here where you can 
 defy their search." 
 
 Prince Rupert, dreading above all things to be taken 
 prisoner, and seeing that resistance would be, as their 
 hostess said, vain, followed her into an adjoining room 
 hung with arras. Lifting this, she showed a large stone. 
 Beneath it, on the floor was a tile, in no way differing 
 from the others. She pressed it, and the. stone, which 
 was but slight, turned on a hinge, and disclosed an iron 
 door. This she opened with a spring, showing a small 
 room within, with a ladder leading to another above. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 81 
 
 "Mount that/' she said. "You will find in the cham- 
 ber above a large stone. Pull the ladder up with you 
 and lower the stone, which exactly fits into the opening. 
 Even should they discover this chamber, they will not 
 suspect that another lies above it." 
 
 Prince Rupert, taking a light from her hands, hastily 
 mounted, followed by Harry, and pulled the steps after 
 him, just as they heard the iron door close. It needed 
 the united strength of the prince and Harry to lift the 
 stone, which was a large one, with an iron ring in the 
 center, and to place it in the cavity. Having done this, 
 they looked round. The room was about eight feet long 
 by six wide, and lighted by a long narrow loophole ex- 
 tending from the ground to the roof. They deemed 
 from its appearance that it was built in one of the turrets 
 of the building. 
 
 "That was a narrow escape, Master Harry," the prince 
 said. "It would have been right bad news for my royal 
 uncle if I had been caught here like a rat in a trap. I 
 wonder we heard nothing of a Roundhead force in this 
 neighborhood. I suppose that they must have been 
 stationed at some place further north, and that the news 
 of our passing reached them. I trust that they have no 
 suspicion that we are in the house; but I fear, from this 
 sudden attack upon an undefended building, that some 
 spy from the village must have taken word to them." 
 
 Lady Sidmouth had just time to return to the hall 
 when the doors gave way, and a body of Roundheads 
 burst into the room. They had drawn swords in their 
 hands, and evidently expected an attack. They looked 
 round with surprise at seeing only Lady Sidmouth and 
 her daughter. 
 
 "Where is the malignant Rupert?" the leader ex- 
 claimed. "We have sure news that he rode, attended 
 by an officer only, hither, and that he was seen to enter 
 your house." 
 
82 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "If you want Prince Rupert, you must find him/' the 
 lady said calmly. "I say not that he has not been here; 
 but I tell you that he is now beyond your reach." 
 
 "He has not escaped/' the officer said, "for the house 
 is surrounded. Now, madam, I insist upon your telling 
 me where you have hidden him." 
 
 "I have already told you, sir, that he is beyond your 
 reach, and nothing that you can do will wring any 
 further explanation from me." 
 
 The officer hesitated. For a moment he advanced a 
 step toward her, with a menacing gesture. But, heated 
 as the passions of men were, no violence was done to 
 women, and with a fierce exclamation he ordered his 
 troopers to search the house. For a quarter of an hour 
 they ransacked it high and low, overturned every article 
 of furniture, pulling down the arras, and tapping the 
 walls with the hilts of their swords. 
 
 "Take these two ladies away," he said to his lieuten- 
 ant, "and ride with them at once to Storton. They will 
 have to answer for having harbored the prince." 
 
 The ladies were immediately taken off, placed on pil- 
 lions behind two troopers, and carried away to Storton. 
 In the meantime the search went on, and presently the 
 hollow sound given by the slab in the wall was noticed. 
 The spring could not be discovered, but crowbars and 
 hammers being brought, the slab of stone was presently 
 shivered. The discovery of the iron door behind it 
 further heightened their suspicion that the place of con- 
 cealment was found. The door, after a prolonged resist- 
 ance, was battered in. But the Koundheads were filled 
 with fury, on entering, to discover only a small, bare 
 cell, with no signs of occupation whatever. The search 
 was now prolonged in other directions; but, becoming 
 convinced that it was useless, and that the place of con- 
 cealment was too cunningly devised to admit of discov- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 83 
 
 ery, the captain ordered the furniture to be piled 
 together, and setting light to it and the arras in several 
 places, withdrew his men from the house, saying that if 
 a rat would not come out of his hole, he must be smoked 
 in it. 
 
 The prince and Harry from their place of concealment 
 had heard the sound of blows against the doors below. 
 
 "They have found the way we have gone," the prince 
 said, "but 1 think not that their scent is keen enough to 
 trace us up here. If they do so, we will sell our lives 
 dearly, for I will not be taken prisoner, and sooner or 
 later our troop will hear of the Roundheads' attack, and 
 will come to our rescue." 
 
 They heard the fall of the iron door, and the exclama- 
 tions and cries with which the Roundheads broke into 
 the room below. Then faintly they heard the sound of 
 voices, and muffled knocks, as they tried the walls. 
 Then all was silent again. 
 
 "The hounds are thrown off the scent," the prince 
 said. "It will need a clever huntsman to put them on 
 it. What will they do next, I wonder?" 
 
 Some time passed, and then Harry exclaimed: 
 
 "I perceive a smell of something burning, your royal 
 highness." 
 
 "Peste! methinks I do also," the prince said. "I had 
 not thought of that. If these rascals have set fire to the 
 place we shall be roasted alive here." 
 
 A slight wreath of smoke was seen curling up through 
 the crevice of the tightly-fitting stone. 
 
 "We will leap out, and die sword in hand, "the prince 
 said; and seizing the ring, he and Harry pulled at it. 
 Ere they raised the stone an inch, a volume of dense 
 smoke poured up, and they at once dropped it into ita 
 place again, feeling that their retreat was cut off. The 
 prince put his sword in its scabbard. 
 
84 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "We must die, my lad," he said. "A strange death, 
 too, to be roasted in a trap. But after all, whether by 
 that or the thrust of a Roundhead sword makes little 
 difference in the end. I would fain have fallen in the 
 field, though." 
 
 "Perhaps," Harry suggested, "the fire may not reach 
 us here. The walls are very thick, and the chamber 
 below is empty." 
 
 The prince shook his head. 
 
 "The heat of the fire in a house like this will crack 
 stone walls," he said. 
 
 He then took off his cloak and threw it over the stone", 
 pressing it down tightly to prevent the smoke from curl- 
 ing in. Through the loophole they could now hear a 
 roar, and crackling sounds, and a sudden glow lit up the 
 country. 
 
 "The flames are bursting through the windows/' 
 Harry said. "They will bring our troop down ere long.''' 
 
 "The troop will do us no good," Prince Rupert re- 
 plied. "All the king's army could not rescue us. But 
 at least it would be a satisfaction before we die to see 
 these crop-eared knaves defeated." 
 
 Minute after minute passed, and a broad glare of light 
 illumined the whole country round. Through the slit 
 they could see the Roundheads keeping guard round 
 the house in readiness to cut off any one who might seek 
 to make his escape, while at a short distance off they had 
 drawn up the main body of the force. Presently, com- 
 ing along the road at a rapid trot, they saw a body of 
 horse. 
 
 "There are our men," the prince exclaimed. 
 
 The Roundheads had seen them too. A trumpet was- 
 sounded, and the men on guard round the house leaped 
 to their horses, and joined the main body, just as the 
 Cavaliers charged upon them. The Roundheads fought 
 
FRIENDS,^ THO UGH DIVIDED. 85 
 
 stoutly; but the charge of the Cavaliers was irresistible. 
 Furious at the sight of the house in flames, and ignorant 
 of the fate which had befallen their prince and their 
 master's son, they burst upon the Eoundheads with a 
 force which the latter were unable to withstand. For 
 four or five minutes the fight continued, and then such 
 of the Roundheads as were able clapped spurs to their 
 horses and galloped off, hotly pursued by the Cavaliers. 
 The pursuit was a short one. Several of the Cavaliers 
 were gathered at the spot where the conflict had taken 
 place, and were, apparently, questioning a wounded 
 man. Then the trumpeter who was with them sounded 
 the recall, and in a few minutes the Royalist troops came 
 riding back. They could see Jacob pointing to the 
 burning building and gesticulating with his arms. Then 
 a party dashed up to the house, and were lost to sight. 
 
 The prince and Harry both shouted at the top of their 
 voices, but the roar of the flames and the crash of falling 
 beams deadened the sound. The heat had by this time 
 become intense. They had gradually divested them- 
 selves of their clothing, and were bathed in perspiration. 
 
 "This heat is terrific," Prince Eupert said. "I did 
 not think the human frame could stand so great a heat 
 Methinks that water would boil were it placed here." 
 
 This was indeed the case the human frame, as is now 
 well known, being capable of sustaining a heat considera- 
 bly above that of boiling water. The walls were now so 
 hot that the hand could not be borne upon them for an 
 instant. 
 
 "My feet are burning!" the prince exclaimed. 
 "Reach down that ladder from the wall." 
 
 They laid the ladder on the ground and stood upon it, 
 thus avoiding any contact with the hot stone. 
 
 "If this goes on," Prince Rupert said, with a laugh, 
 u there will be nothing but our swords left. We are 
 
86 FRIENDS, TROUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 melting away fast, like candles before a fire. Truly I 
 do not think that there was so much water in a man as 
 has floated down from me during the last half-hour." 
 
 Harry was so placed that he could command a sight 
 through the loophole, and he exclaimed, "They are rid- 
 ing away!" 
 
 This was indeed the case. The whole building was 
 now one vast furnace, and having from the first no hope 
 that their friends, if there, could have survived, they 
 had, hearing that Lady Sidmouth and her daughter had 
 been taken to Storton, determined to ride thither to take 
 them from the hands of the Roundheads, and to learn 
 from them the fate of their leaders. 
 
 Another two hours passed. The heat was still tre- 
 mendous, but they could not feel that it was increasing. 
 Once or twice they heard terrific crashes, as portions of 
 the wall fell. They would long since have been roasted, 
 were it not for the cool air which flowed in through the 
 long loophole, and keeping up a circulation in the cham- 
 ber, lowered the temperature of the air within it. At 
 the end of the two hours Harry gave a shout. 
 
 "They are coming back." 
 
 The light had now sunk to a quiet red glow, so that 
 beyond the fact that a party was approaching, nothing 
 could be seen. They rode, however, directly toward the 
 turret, and then, when they halted, Harry saw the 
 figures of two ladies who were pointing toward the loop- 
 hole. Harry now stepped from the ladder on to the 
 floor and shouted at the top of his voice through the 
 loophole. The reply came back in a joyous shout. 
 
 "We are being roasted alive," Harry cried. "Get 
 ladders as quickly as possible, with crowbars, and break 
 down the wall." 
 
 Men were seen to ride off in several directions in- 
 stantly, and for the first time a ray of hope illumined 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 87 
 
 the minds of the prince and Harry that they might be 
 saved. Half an hour later long ladders tied together 
 were placed against the wall, and Jacob speedily made 
 his appearance at the loophole. 
 
 "All access is impossible from the other side/' he said, 
 "for the place where the house stood is a red-hot furnace. 
 Most of the walls have fallen. We had no hope of find- 
 ing you alive." 
 
 "We are roasting slowly," Harry cried. "In Heaven's 
 name bring us some water." 
 
 Soon a bottle of water was passed in through the loop- 
 hole, and then three or four ladders being placed in posi- 
 tion, the men outside began with crowbars and pickaxes 
 to enlarge the loophole sufficiently for the prisoners to 
 escape. It took three hours' hard work, at the end of 
 which time the aperture was sufficiently wide to allow 
 them to emerge, and utterly exhausted and feeling, as 
 the prince said, "baked to a turn," they made their way 
 down the ladder, being helped on either side by the 
 men, for they themselves were too exhausted to main- 
 tain their ieet. 
 
tit; FB2WD8, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DEFENSE OF AN OUTPOST. 
 
 THE effect of the fresh air and of cordials poured down 
 their throats soon restored the vigor to Prince Rupert 
 and Harry Furness. They were still weak, for the great 
 effort which nature had made to resist the force of the 
 heat during those long hours had taxed their constitu- 
 tions to the utmost. 
 
 Lady Sidmouth was rejoiced indeed to find them alive, 
 for she had made sure that they were lost. It was not 
 until she had been placed in a room strongly barred, 
 and under a guard at Storton, that she perceived the 
 Jight arising from her residence, and guessed that the 
 men of the Commons, unable to find the hiding-plac* of 
 Prince Rupert, had set it or fire. Then she had knocked 
 loudly at the door; but the sentry had given no answer 
 either to that or to her entreaties for a hearing. She 
 soon, indeed, desisted from her efforts, for the fire which 
 blazed up speedily convinced her that all hope was gone. 
 When Jacob and the Royalists arrived, driving out the 
 small remnant of the Roundheads who remained in the 
 village, he had found Lady Sidmouth and her daughter 
 bathed in tears, under the belief that their guests had 
 perished in the old house that they loved so well. It 
 was with no hope that they had mounted on the instant, 
 and ridden at full gallop to the castle, and it was not 
 until they saw that that wall was still standing that 
 even the slightest kope entered their minds. Even then 
 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 89 
 
 \t appeared incredible that any one could be alive, and 
 the shout from the loophole had surprised almost as 
 much as it had delighted them. 
 
 In the course of three or four hours, refreshed and 
 strengthened by a hearty breakfast and draughts of 
 burgundy, the prince and Harry mounted their horses 
 Lady Sidmouth determined to remain for a few days at 
 one of her tenant's houses, and then to go quietly on to 
 Oxford for by this time the main army of Essex was 
 rapidly moving east, and the country would soon be 
 secure for her passage. The prince and Harry rode at 
 full speed to rejoin the army. That night, by riding 
 late, they reached it. They found that Essex had, in 
 his retreat, surprised Oirencester and had passed 
 Farringdon. 
 
 The prince, with five thousand horse, started, and 
 marching with great rapidity, got between Reading and 
 the enemy, and, near Newbury, fell upon the Parlia- 
 ment horse. For several hours sharp skirmishing went 
 on, and Essex was forced to halt his army at Hunger- 
 ford. This gave time for the king, who was marching 
 at the head of his infantry, to come up. The royal 
 army occupied Newbury, and by the position they had 
 taken up, were now between the Roundheads and 
 London. 
 
 On the morning of the 20th of September the outpost 
 of each force became engaged, and the battle soon raged 
 along the whole line. It was to some extent a repetition 
 of the battle of Edgehill. Prince Rupert, with his 
 Cavaliers, swept away the horse of the enemy; but the 
 pikemen of London, who now first were tried in combat, 
 forced back the infantry of the king. Prince Rupert, 
 returning from the pursuit, charged them with all ]his 
 cavalry; but so sharply did they shoot, and so steadily 
 did the line of pikes hold together, that the horse coulr* 
 make no impression upon them. 
 
90 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 The night fell upon an undecided battle, and the next 
 morning the Roundheads, as at Edgehill, drew off from 
 the field, leav'^ to the Royalists the honor of a nominal 
 success, a a^c^os, however, which was in both cases 
 taiitamGtii: j 'o & repulse. 
 
 Three leading men upon the king's side fell Lords 
 Falkland, Carnarvon, and Sunderland. The former, 
 one of the finest characters of the times, may be said to 
 have thrown away his life. He was utterly weary of the 
 terrible dissensions and war in which England was 
 plunged. He saw the bitterness increasing on both sides 
 daily the hopes of peace growing less and less; and as 
 he had left the Parliamentary party, because he saw that 
 their ambition was boundless, and that they purposed to 
 set up a despotic tyranny, so he must have bitterly grieved 
 at seeing upon the side of the king a duplicity beyond 
 all bounds, and want of faith which seemed to forbid all 
 hope of a satisfactory issue. Thus, then, when the day 
 of Newbury came, Falkland, whose duties in nowise led 
 him into the fight, charged recklessly and found the 
 death which there can be little doubt he sought. 
 
 Although the Cavaliers claimed Newbnry as a great vic- 
 tory, instead of advancing upon London they fell back 
 as usual to Oxford. 
 
 During the skirmishes Harry had an opportunity of 
 doing a service to an old friend. The Parliament horse, 
 although valiant and better trained than that of the 
 Royalists, were yet unable to withstand the impetuosity 
 with which the latter always attacked, the men seeming, 
 indeed, to be seized with a veritable panic at the sight of 
 the gay plumes of Rupert's gentlemen. In a fierce skir- 
 mish between Harry's troop and a party of Parliament 
 horse of about equal strength, the latter were defeated, 
 and Harry, returning with the main body, found a Puri- 
 tan officer dismounted, with his back against a tree, 
 
K though D.J 
 
 - THIS is TREASON AND TREACHERY J "~Pag ox. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 91 
 
 defending himself from the attacks of three of his men, 
 Harry rode hastily up and demanded his surrender. 
 The officer looked up, and to his surprise Harry saw h s 
 friend Herbert. 
 
 ' 'I am your prisoner, Harry," Herbert said, as he lo v~ 
 ered the point of his sword. 
 
 "Not at all!" Harry exclaimed. "It would indeed be 
 a strange thing, Herbert, were I to make you a prisoner. 
 I thought you settled at Abingdon?" 
 
 Ordering one of his troopers to catch a riderless horse 
 which was galloping near,, he spoke for a moment or two 
 with his friend, and then, as the horse was brought up, 
 he told him to mount and ride. 
 
 "But you may get into trouble for releasing me," 
 Herbert said. 
 
 "I care not if I do," Harry replied. "But you need 
 not be uneasy about me, for Prince Kupert will stand 
 my friend, and hold me clear of any complaint that may 
 be made. I will ride forward with you a little, till you 
 can join your friends," 
 
 As Harry rode on by the side of Herbert a Royalist 
 officer, one Sir Ralph Willoughby, dashed up. 
 
 "What means this?" he exclaimed. "Do I see an 
 officer of his majesty riding with one of the Roundheads? 
 This is treason and treachery!" 
 
 "I will answer to the king, if need be," Harry said, 
 "for my conduct. I am not under your orders, Sir 
 Ralph, and shall use my discretion in this matter. This 
 gentleman is as a brother to me." 
 
 "And I would cut down my brother," Sir Ralph said 
 furiously, "if I found him in the ranks of the enemy!" 
 
 "Then, sir, we differ," Harry replied, "for that would 
 not I. There are your friends," he said to Herbert, 
 pointing to a body of Roundheads at a short distance. 
 "Give me your word, however, that you will not draw 
 sword again to-day." 
 
92 FRIENDS, TUOVGU DIVIDED. 
 
 Herbert readily gave the required promise, and riding 
 off, was soon with his friends. Sir Ralph and -Harry 
 came to high words after he had left; and the matter 
 might then and there have been decided by the sword, 
 had not a party of Roundheads, seeing two cavalry 
 officers so near to them, charged down, and compelled 
 them to ride for their lives. 
 
 The following day Sir Ralph reported the circum- 
 stance to the general, and he to Prince Rupert. The 
 prince laughed at the charge. 
 
 "Harry Furness," he said, "is as loyal a gentleman as 
 draws sword in our ranks, and as he and I have been well- 
 nigh roasted together, it were vain indeed that any com- 
 plaint were made to me touching his honor. I will 
 speak to him, however, and doubt not that his explana- 
 tion will be satisfactory.' 7 
 
 The prince accordingly spoke to Harry, who explained 
 the circumstances of his relations with the young Round- 
 head. 
 
 "Had he been a great captain, sir," Harry said, "I 
 might have deemed it my duty to hold him in durance, 
 however near his relationship to myself. But as a few 
 weeks since he was but a schoolboy, methought that the 
 addition of his sword to the Roundhead cause would 
 make no great difference in our chances of victory that 
 afternoon. Moreover, I had received his pledge that he 
 would not draw sword again in the battle." 
 
 As even yet, although the bitterness was quickly in- 
 creasing, it was far from having reached that point 
 which it subsequently attained, and prisoners on both 
 sides were treated with respect, no more was said regard- 
 ing Harry's conduct in allowing his friend to escape. 
 But from that moment, between himself and Sir Ralph 
 Wiiloughby there grew up a strong feeling of animosity, 
 which only needed some fitting pretext to break out. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 93 
 
 It was, indeed, an unfortunate point in the royal 
 cause, that there was very far from being unity among 
 those who fought side by side. There were intrigues 
 and jealousies. There were the king's men, who would 
 have supported his majesty in a^l lengths to which he 
 might have gone, and who were ever advising him to 
 resist all attempts at pacification, and to be content 
 with nothing less than a complete defeat of his enemies. 
 Upon the other hand, there were the grave, serious men, 
 who had drawn the sword with intense reluctance, and 
 who desired nothing so much as peace a peace which 
 would secure alike the rights of the crown and the 
 rights of the people. 
 
 They were shocked, too, by the riotous and profligate 
 ways of some of the wilder spirits, and deemed that their 
 cause was sullied by the reckless conduct and wild ways 
 of many of their party. Sir Henry Furness belonged to 
 this section of the king's adherents, and Harry, who had 
 naturally imbibed his father's opinions, held himself a 
 good deal aloof from the wild young spirits of the king's 
 party. 
 
 Skirmishes took place daily between the cavalry out- 
 posts of the two armies. Sir Henry was asked by the 
 prince to send some of his troops across the river to 
 watch the enemy, and he chose that commanded by 
 Harry, rather for the sake of getting the lad away from 
 the temptations and dissipation of Oxford than to give 
 him an opportunity of distinguishing himself. The 
 troop commanded by Sir Ralph Willoughby was also on 
 outpost duty, and lay at no great distance from the 
 village in which Harry quartered his men after crossing 
 the river. The Roundhead cavalry were known to be 
 but three or four miles away, and the utmost vigilance 
 was necessary. 
 
 Harry gave orders that the troops should be distributed 
 
94 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 through the village n>e men to a house. Straw was to 
 be brought in at night, and laid on the floor of the 
 kitchens, and the men were there to sleep, with their 
 arms by their sides, ready for instant service. One of 
 each party was to stand sentry over the five horses which 
 were to be picketed to the palings in front of the house, 
 At the first alarm he was at once to awake his comrades, 
 who were to mount instantly, and form in column in the 
 street. Two pickets were placed three hundred yards 
 from the village, and two others a quarter of a mile 
 further in advance. Harry and Jacob took up their resi- 
 dence in the village inn, and arranged alternately to 
 visit the pickets and sentries every two hours. 
 
 "They shall not catch us napping, Jacob. This is my 
 first command on detached duty. You and I have often 
 remarked upon the reckless ways of our leaders. We 
 have an opportunity now of carrying our own ideas into 
 effect." 
 
 At three o'clock Jacob visited the outposts. All was 
 still, arid nothing had occurred to give rise to any sus- 
 picion of the vicinity of an enemy. Half an hour later 
 one of the advanced pickets galloped in. They heard, 
 he said, a noise as of a large body of horse, away to the 
 right, and it seemed as if it was proceeding toward Chal- 
 combe, the village where Sir Ralph Willoughby's troop 
 was quartered. Two minutes later, thanks to Harry's 
 arrangements, the troop were mounted and in readiness 
 for action. 
 
 The first faint dawn of day had begun. Suddenly the 
 stillness was broken by the sound of pistol shots and 
 shouts from the direction of Chalcombe, which lay a 
 mile away. 
 
 "it is likely/' Harry said, "that Sir Ralph has been 
 caught napping. He is brave, but he is reckless, and 
 the discipline of his troop is of the slackest. Let us 
 ride to his rescue." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 9ft 
 
 The troop filed out from the village, and turned 
 down the snk< road leading to Chalcornbe. Harry set 
 spurs to his horse and led the column at a gallop. Th* 
 sound of shots continued without intermission, an<i 
 presently a bright light shot up. 
 
 "Methinks." Harry said to Jacob, "the Roundheadt 
 have caught our men asleep, and it is an attack upon 
 the houses rather than a cavalry fight." 
 
 It was scarcely five minutes from the time they started 
 when they approached the village. By the light of a 
 house which had been set on fire, Harry saw that his 
 conjecture was well founded. The Roundheads wer* 
 dismounted, and were attacking the houses. 
 
 Halting just outside the village, Harry formed his 
 men with a front across the whole road, and directed th* 
 lines to advance, twenty yards apart. Then, placing 
 himself at their head, he gave the word, and charge'! 
 down the street upon the Roundheads. The latter, 
 occupied by their attack upon the houses, were uncon- 
 scious of the presence of their foe until he was clos* 
 upon them, and were taken utterly by surprise. Th 
 force of the charge was irresistible, and the Roundheads, 
 dispersed and on foot, were cut down in all directions 
 Groups of twos and threes stood together and attempted 
 resistance, but the main body thought only of regain 
 ing their horses. In three minutes after the Royalistt 
 entered the village the surviving Roundheads were i 
 full flight, hotly pursued by the victorious Cavaliers. 
 These, being for the most part better mounted, overtook 
 and slew many of the Roundheads, and not more tha* 
 half the force which had set out returned to their quar 
 ters at Didcot. The pursuit continued to within half * 
 mile of that place, and then Harry, knowing that ther* 
 was a force of Roundhead infantry there, drew off fror* 
 the pursuit, and returned to Chalcombe. He ound th> 
 
96 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 more than half of Sir Ralph Willoughy ? s men had been 
 killed, many having been cut down before they could 
 betake themselves to their arms, those quartered in the 
 inn, and at two or three of the larger houses, having 
 alone maintained a successful resistance until the arrival 
 of succor. 
 
 Sir Ralph Willoughby was furious. The disaster was 
 due to his own carelessness in having contented himself 
 with placing two pickets in advance of the village, and 
 permitting the whole remainder of his force to retire to 
 bed. Consequently the picket, on riding in upon the 
 approach of the enemy, were unable to awake and call 
 them to arms before the Roundheads were upon them. 
 In his anger he turned upon Harry, and fiercely de- 
 manded why he had not sent him news of the approach 
 of the enemy, 
 
 "You must have known it," he said. "Your men 
 were all mounted and in readiness, or they could not 
 have arrived here so soon. You must have been close at 
 hand, and only holding off in order that you might boast 
 of having come to my relief." 
 
 Harry, indignant at these words, turned on heel with- 
 out deigning to give an answer to the angry man, and at 
 once rode back to his own quarters. Two hours later 
 Prince Rupert rode up. The firing had been reported, 
 and Prince Rupert had ridden with a body of horse to 
 Chalcombe. Here he had heard Sir Ralph Willonghby's 
 version of the story, and had requested that officer to 
 ride with him to Harry's quarters. The prince, with 
 several of his principal officers, alighted at the inn, out- 
 side which Harry received him. Prince Rupert led the 
 way into the house. 
 
 "Master Furness," he said, "Sir Ralph Willoughby 
 accuses you of having played him false, and left his 
 party to be destroyed on account of the quarrel existing 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 9? 
 
 between you, touching that affair at Newbury, What 
 have you to say to this? He alleges that you must have 
 been close at hand, and moved not a finger to save him 
 until half his troop was destroyed." 
 
 "It is wholly false, sir/' Harry saido "Seeing that 
 the enemy were so close, I had placed my pickets well in 
 advance, and ordered my men to lie down in their 
 clothes, with their arms beside them, on straw in the 
 kitchens, ready to mount at a moment's warning. I 
 quartered five in each house, having their horses fastened 
 in front, and one of each party stationed at the door, 
 where he could observe the horses and wake the men on 
 the instant. Thus, when my pickets came in with the 
 news that troops were heard moving toward Chalcombe, 
 my troop was in less than two minutes in the saddle< 
 As we rode out of the village we heard the first shot, 
 and five minutes later charged the Roundheads in the 
 streets of the village. Had we not hastened, methinks 
 that neither Sir Ralph Willoughby nor any of his troops 
 would have been alive now to tell the tale. You can 
 question, sir, my lieutenant, or any of my troopers, and 
 you will hear that matters went precisely as I have told 
 yon." 
 
 "You have done well indeed, Master Furness," Prince 
 Kupert said warmly, "and I would that many of my 
 other officers showed the same circumspection and care 
 as you have done. Now, Sir Ralph, let me hear what 
 arrangements you made against surprise." 
 
 "I set pickets in front of the village," Sir Ralph said 
 sulkily. 
 
 "And what besides?" the prince asked. "Having 
 done that, did you and your officers and men go quietly 
 to sleep, as if the enemy were a hundred miles away?" 
 
 Sir Ralph was silent. 
 
 "Fie, for shame, sir!" the prince said sternly. 
 
98 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDKD 
 
 own carelessness has brought disaster upon you, and in- 
 stead of frankly owning your fault, and thanking Master 
 Furness for having redeemed your error, saved ths 
 remnant of your troop, and defeated the Roundheads 
 heavily, your jealousy and envy of the lad have wrought 
 yon to bring false accusations against him. Enough, 
 sir," he said peremptorily, seeing the glance of hatred 
 which Sir Ralph cast toward Harry. "Sufficient harm 
 has been done already by your carelessness see that no 
 more arises from your bad temper. I forbid this quarrel 
 to go further; until the king's enemies are wholly de- 
 feated there must be no quarrels between his friends. 
 And should I hear of any further dispute on your part 
 with Master Furness, I shall bring it before the king, 
 and obtain his warrant for your dismissal from this 
 army." 
 
 The following day Harry and his troop moved further 
 down the river, the enemy having fallen back from 
 Didcot. He was placed at a village where there was a 
 ford across the river. The post was of importance, as 
 its position prevented the enemy from making raids 
 into the country, where stores of provisions and cattle 
 had been collected for the use of the army at Oxford. 
 Harry 's force was a small one for the defense of such a 
 post; but there appeared little danger of an attack, as 
 Prince Rupert, with a large force of cavalry, lay but a 
 mile or two distant. A few days after their arrival, 
 however, Prince Rupert started with bis horse to drive 
 back a party of the enemy whom he heard were lying 
 some miles north of Reading. 
 
 "Prince Rupert never seems to have room for two 
 ideas in his head at the same time," Jac >* said. "The 
 moment he hears of an enemy off he ridos at full gallop, 
 forgetting that h>> has left us alone hf>r It is well if 
 the Roundheads at Reading do not sail u i and attack 
 us, seeing how useful this ford would bo to them." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 99 
 
 "I agree with you, Jacob, and we will forthwith set to 
 work to render the place as defensible as we may." 
 
 "We had best defend the other side of the ford, if they 
 advance," Jacob said. "We could make a far better 
 stand there." 
 
 "That is true, Jacob; but though we could there bar 
 them from entering our country, they, if they obtained 
 the village, would shut the door to our entering theirs. 
 No, it is clear that it our duty to defend the village as 
 long as we can, if we should be attacked." 
 
 Harry now set his men to work to make loopholes in 
 the cottages and inclosure walls, and to connect the 
 latter by banks of earth, having thorn branches set on 
 the top., Just at the ford itself stood a large water-mill, 
 worked by a stream which here ran into the river. 
 Harry placed sacks before all the windows, leaving only 
 loopholes through which to fire. Some of the troop 
 carried pistols only; others had carbines; and some, 
 short, wide-mouthed guns, which carried large charges 
 of buckshot. Pickets were sent forward a mile toward 
 Heading. 
 
 Early in the afternoon these galloped in with the news 
 that a heavy column of infantry and cavalry, with two 
 pieces of artillery, were approaching along the road. 
 Harry at once dispatched a messenger, with orders to 
 ride until he found Prince Rupert, to tell him of the 
 state he was in, and ask him to hurry to his assistance, 
 giving assurance that he would hold the village as long 
 as possible. All now labored vigorously at the works of 
 defense. Half an hour after the alarm had been given 
 the enemy were seen approaching. 
 
 "There must be over five hundred men. horse and 
 foot," Jacob said, as from the upper story-of the mill he 
 watched with Harry the approach of the enemy. "With 
 fifty men we shall never be able to defend the circuit of 
 the village.* 1 
 
IOC FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "Not if they attack all round at once," Harry agreed. 
 ''But probably they will fall upon us in column, and be- 
 hind stone walls we can do much. We must keep them 
 out as long as we can; then fall back here, and surround 
 ourselves with a ring of fire." 
 
 As soon as it was known that the enemy were ap- 
 proaching Harry had given orders that all the inhabit- 
 ants should evacuate their houses and cross the river, 
 taking with them such valuables as they could carry. 
 There were several horses and carts in the village, and 
 these were at once put in requisition, and the people 
 crossing and recrossing the river rapidly carried most of 
 their linen and other valuables over in safety, the men 
 continuing to labor for the preservation of their goods, 
 even after the fight commenced. 
 
 The Roundheads halted about four hundred yards 
 from the village. Just as they did so there was a 
 trampling of horses, and Sir Ralph Willoughby, with his 
 troop, now reduced to thirty strong, rode into the vil- 
 lage. He drew up his horse before Harry. 
 
 "Master Furness," he said, "Prince Rupert has for- 
 bidden me to test your courage in the way gentlemen 
 usually do so. But there is now a means open. Let us 
 see which will ride furthest you or I into the ranks of 
 yonder horsemen/' 
 
 Harry hesitated a moment; then he said gravely: 
 
 "My life is not my own to throw away, Sir Ralph, 
 My orders are to hold this place. That I can best do 
 on foot, for even if our troops united were to rout the 
 enemy's cavalry, their footmen would still remain, and 
 would carry the village. No, sir, my duty is to fight 
 here.'* 
 
 "I always thought you a coward!" Sir Ralph ex- 
 claimed; "now I know it," and, with a taunting laugh, 
 he ordered his men to follow him, issued from the vil- 
 
FRIENDS, THOVGIZDIYlSBty /s'l/^ ^ 
 
 lage, and prepared, with his little band, to charge the 
 Koundhead horse, about a hundred and fifty strong. 
 
 Just as they formed line, however, the enemy's guns 
 opened, and a shot struck Sir Kalph full in the chest, 
 hurling him, a shattered corpse, to the ground. 
 
 His men 3 dismayed at the fall of their leader, drew 
 rein. 
 
 "Fall back, men," Harry shouted from behind, "fall 
 back, and make a stand here. You must be cut to 
 pieces if you advance." 
 
 The troop, who had no other officer with them, at 
 once obeyed Harry's orders. They had heard the con- 
 versation between him and their leader, and although 
 prepared to follow Sir Ralph, who was the landlord of 
 most of them, they saw that Harry was right, and that 
 to attack so numerous a body of horse and foot was but 
 to invite destruction. 
 
c i (?2 f&Wf&M 1HO UOll Dl VIDEO. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A STUBBORN DEFENSE. 
 
 A HALF-DOZEN or so of Sir Ralph Willoughby's troop- 
 ers declared that now their lord was dead they would 
 fight no further, and straightway rode off through the 
 village and across the ford. The rest, however, seeing 
 that a brave tight against odds was about to commence, 
 declared their willingness to put themselves under 
 Harry's orders. They were at once dismounted and scat- 
 tered along the line of defenses. After the Roundhead 
 cannon had fired a few shots their cavalry charged, 
 thinking to ride into the village. But the moment Sir 
 Ralph's troopers had re-entered it Harry had heaped up 
 across the road a quantity of young trees and bushes 
 which he had cut in readiness. Not a shot was fired 
 until the horsemen reached this obstacle, and then so 
 heavy a fire was poured upon them, as they dismounted 
 and tried to pull it asunder, that, with a loss of many 
 men, they were forced to retreat. 
 
 The infantry now advanced, and a severe fight began. 
 Harry's eighty men, sheltered behind their walls, in- 
 flicted heavy damage upon the enemy, who, however, 
 pressed on stoutly, one column reaching the obstruction 
 across the road, and laboring to destroy it. All the 
 horses, with the exception of twenty, had been sent 
 across the ford, and when Harry saw that in spite of the 
 efforts of his men the enemy were destroying the abattis, 
 he mounted twenty men upon these horses, placing 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 103 
 
 Jacob at their head. Then he drew off as many defend- 
 ers from other points as he could, and bade these charge 
 their pistols and blunderbusses to the mouth with balls. 
 As the enemy effected a breach in the abattis and streamed 
 in, Jacob with his horse galloped down upon them at 
 full speed. The reserve poured the fire of their heavily 
 loaded pieces upon the mass still outside, and then aided 
 Jacob's horse by falling suddenly on those within. So 
 great was the effect that the enemy were driven back, 
 and the column retired, the breach in the abattis being 
 hastily filled up, before the cavalry, who were waiting 
 the opportunity, could charge down upon it. 
 
 In the meantime, however, the enemy were forcing 
 their way in at other points, and Harry gave word for 
 the outside line of houses to be fired. The thatched 
 roofs speedily were in flames, and as the wind was blow- 
 ing from the river dense clouds of smoke rolled down 
 upon the assailants. It was now only the intervals be- 
 tween the houses which had to be defended, and for an 
 hour the stubborn resistance continued, the Royalist 
 troops defending each house with its inclosure to the 
 last, and firing them as they retreated, their own loss 
 being trifling in comparison with that which they in- 
 flicted upon their assailants. 
 
 At last the whole of the defenders were gathered in 
 and round the mill. This was defended from attack by 
 the mill stream, which separated it from the village, and 
 which was crossed only by the road leading down to the 
 ford. The bridge was a wooden one, and this had been 
 already partly sawn away. As soon as the last of the 
 defenders crossed the remainder of the bridge was 
 chopped down. Along the line of the stream Harry had 
 erected a defense, breast high, of sacks of wheat from 
 the mill. The enemy, as they straggled out through 
 the burning village, paused, on seeing the strong posi- 
 
104 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 tiou which yet remained to be carried. The mill stream 
 was rapid and deep, and the approaches swept by the 
 fire from the mill. There waa a pause, and then the 
 cannon were brought up and lire opened upon the mill, 
 the musketry keeping up an incessant rattle from every 
 wall and clnmp of bushes. 
 
 The mill was built of wood, and the cannon shot went 
 through and through it. But Harry directed his men to 
 place rows of sacks along each floor facing the enemy, 
 and lying down behind these to fire through holes pierced 
 in the planks. For half an hour the cannonade con- 
 tinued, and then the enemy were seen advancing, carry- 
 ing beams and the trunks -of small trees, to make a 
 bridge across the stream. Had Harry's men been armed 
 with muskets it would have been next to impossible for 
 the enemy to succeed in doing this in the face of their 
 fire. But the fire of their short weapons was wild and 
 uncertain, except at short distances. Very many of the 
 Roundheads fell, but others pressed forward bravely, 
 and succeeded in throwing their beams across the stream. 
 *By this time Harry had led out all his force from the 
 mill, and a desperate fight took place at the bridge.- 
 The enemy lined the opposite bank in such force that 
 none of the defenders could show their heads above the 
 barricade of sacks, and Harry came to the conclusion 
 that further resistance was vain. He ordered Jacob to 
 take all the men with the exception of ten and to retire 
 at once across the ford. He himself with the remainder 
 would defend the bridge till they were fairly across, and 
 would then rush over and join them as he might. 
 
 With a heavy heart Jacob was preparing to obey this 
 order, when he heard a loud cheer, and saw Prince 
 Rupert, heading a large body of horse, dash into the 
 river on the other side. The enemy saw him too. 
 There was an instant cessation of their fire, and before 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDBD. 105 
 
 Prince Rupert had gained the bank the Roundheads 
 were already in full retreat for Reading. The bridge 
 was hastily repaired, and the prince pursued for some 
 distance,, chasing their cavalry well-nigh into Reading. 
 Their infantry, however, held together, and regained 
 that town in safety. 
 
 Upon his return Prince Rupert expressed his wan., 
 admiration at the prolonged and gallant defense which 
 liarry had made, and said that the oldest soldier in the 
 army could not have done better. At Harry's request 
 he promised the villagers that the next day money should 
 be sent out from the king's treasury to make good the 
 losses which they had sustained. Then he left a strong 
 body of horse to hold -:he village, and directed Harry to 
 ride with him with his troop to Oxford. 
 
 "I have a mission for you, Master Furness," he said, 
 as they rode along. "I have already told his majesty 
 how coolly and courageously you conducted yourself in 
 that sore strait in which we were placed together. The 
 king has need of a messenger to Scotland. The mission 
 is a difficult one, and full of danger. It demands cool- 
 ness and judgment as well as courage. I have told his 
 majesty that, in spite of your youth, you possess these 
 qualities, but the king was inclined to doubt whether you 
 were old enough to be intrusted with such a commission. 
 After to-day's doings he need have no further hesitation. 
 I spoke to your father but yesterday, and he has given 
 consent that you shall go, the more readily, methinks, 
 because the good Cavalier thinks that tho morals and 
 ways of many of our young officers to be in no wise 
 edifying for you, and I cannot but say that he is right. 
 What sayest thou?" 
 
 Hurry expressed his willingness to undertake any mis- 
 sion with which he might be charged. He thought it 
 probable that no great movements would be undertaken 
 
106 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDE]* 
 
 in the south for some time, and with a lad's natural love 
 of adventure, was pleased at the thought of change and 
 variety. 
 
 The Scots were at this time arranging for a close 
 alliance with the Parliament, which had sent emissaries 
 to Edinburgh to negotiate a Solemn League and Cove- 
 nant. Sir Henry Vane, who was an Independent, had 
 been forced to accede to tha demand of the Scotch Par- 
 liament, that the Presbyterian religious system of Scot- 
 land should be adopted as that of England, and after 
 much chaffering foi terms on both sides, the document 
 was signed, and was to bind those who subscribed it to 
 endeavor, without respect of persons, to extirpate popery 
 and prelacy. 
 
 On the 35th of September, nearly a week after the 
 battle of Newbury, all the members of Parliament still 
 remaining in London assembled in St. Margaret's 
 Church, and signed the Solemn League and Covenant; 
 but even at this moment of enthusiasm the parties 
 were not true to each other. The bcotcli expected that 
 Presbyterianism would be introduced into England, and 
 that Episcopacy would be entirely abolished. The Eng- 
 lish members, however, signed the declaration with the 
 full intent of preserving their own religion, that of a 
 form of Episcopacy, altered much indeed from that of 
 the Church of England, but still differing widely from 
 the Scotch system. 
 
 The king had many adherents in Scotland, chief of 
 whom was the Earl of Montrose, a most gallant and 
 loyal nobleman. 
 
 Upon the day after the fight in the village the king, 
 on Prince Rupert's recommendation, appointed Harry 
 Furness to bear dispatches to the earl, and as he waa 
 going north, Prince Rupert placed Lady Sidmouth and 
 her daughter under his charge to convey to the army of 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED jot 
 
 the Earl of Newcastle, under whom her husband Kas at 
 this time engaged. 
 
 Upon asking what force he should take with him the 
 prince said that he had better proceed with his own 
 troop, as an escort to the ladies, as far as the camp of 
 Newcastle, filling up the places of those who had fallen 
 in the skirmishes and fight of Newbury with other men, 
 so as to preserve his full tale of fifty troopers. When he 
 had fulfilled the first part of his mission he was to place 
 his troop at the earl's service until his return, and to 
 proceed in such manner and disguise as might seem best 
 to him. 
 
 Harry started for the north in high- spirits, feeling 
 very proud of the charge confided to him. Lady Sid- 
 mouth and her daughter were placed in a light litter be- 
 tween two horses. Harry took his place beside it. Half 
 the troop, under the command of the lieutenant, rode 
 in front; the other half followed. So they started for 
 the north. It was a long journey, as they were forced 
 to avoid many towns occupied by Roundheads. Upon 
 the fourth day of their journey they suddenly heard the 
 explosion of pistols, and the shouts of men in conflict. 
 Harry ordered his lieutenant to ride forward with half 
 the troop to some rising ground just in front, and there 
 they saw a combat going on between a party of Cavaliers 
 and a force of Roundheads, much superior to them in 
 numbers. Harry joined the lieutenant, aiid sending 
 back a man with orders to the remaining half of the 
 troop to form a guard round the litter, he headed the 
 advance party, and the twenty-five men rode headlong 
 down into the scene of conflict. It was a sharp fight 
 for a few minutes, and then the accession of strength 
 which the Cavaliers had gained gave them the superior- 
 *ty, and the Roundheads fell back, but in good order. 
 
 "You arrived just in time, sir," the leader of the 
 
108 VRIBNDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 party engaged said. "I am Master John Chillingworth, 
 and am marching to Hardley House, which the Puritans 
 are about to besiege. There is no time to delay, for see 
 you not on yonder hill the gleam of pikes? That is the 
 enemy's footmen. It is only an advanced party of their 
 horse with which we have had this affair. You cannot 
 go forward in this direction. There is a strong body of 
 Roundheads lying a few miles to the north." 
 
 Harry rode back to Lady Sidmouth, and after a con- 
 sultation with her and with Master Chillingworth, they 
 decided to throw themselves into Hardley House, where 
 the addition of strength which they brought might 
 enable them to beat off the Roundheads, and then to 
 proceed on their way. They learned indeed from a 
 peasant that several bodies of Roundheads were advanc- 
 ing from various directions, and that Hardley House was 
 strong and well defended. Of the choice of evils, there- 
 fore, they thought this to be the lightest, and, after an 
 hour's hard riding, they arrived before its walls. It was 
 an old castellated building, with bastions and walls capa- 
 ble of standing a siege. The party were gladly received 
 by the master, Sir Francis Burdett, who had placed his 
 castle in a posture of defense, but was short of men. 
 Upon the news of the approach of the enemy he had 
 hastily driven a number of cattle into the yard, and had 
 stores of provisions sufficient to stand a siege for some 
 time. 
 
 In a short time the Parliament force, consisting of 
 five hundred footmen and two hundred horse, appeared 
 before the castle, and summoned it to surrender. Sir 
 Francis refused to do so, and fired a gun in token of 
 defiance. Soon a train was seen approaching in the dis- 
 tance, and four guns were dragged by the enemy to a 
 point of high ground near the castle. Here the Round- 
 heads began to throw up a battery, but were mightily 
 
 
&RIS&D8, THOUGH DIVIDED. 109 
 
 Inconvenienced while doing so by the guns of the castle, 
 which shot briskly against them. Working at night, 
 however, in two days they completed the battery, which, 
 on the third morning, opened lire upon the castle. The 
 guns were much heavier than those upon the walls, and 
 the shot, directed at a curtain between two towers, bat- 
 cered the stone sorely. The Parliament footmen were 
 drawn back a space from the walls so as to avoid the fire 
 of muskets from the defenders. There were in all in 
 the castle about two hundred men, one hundred having 
 been collected before the arrival of the troops of horse. 
 These determined upon making a desperate resistance 
 when the wall should give way, which would, they 
 doubted not, be upon the following day. Everything 
 that could be done was tried to hinder the destruction 
 made by the enemy's shot, Numbers of sacks were filled 
 with earth, and lowered from the walls above so as to 
 hang in regular order before it, and so break the force 
 of the shot. This had some effect, but gradually the 
 wall crumbled beneath the blows of the missiles from the 
 Roundhead guns. 
 
 "We are useless here, save as footmen," Harry said 
 that night to his host "There is a postern gate, is 
 there not, behind the castle? Methinks that if we could 
 get out in the dark unobserved, and form close to the 
 walls, so that their pickets lying around might not sus- 
 pect us of purposing to issue forth, we might, when day- 
 light dawned, make an attack upon their guns, aiid if 
 we could spike these the assault would probably cease." 
 
 The attempt was determined upon. The -Roundhead 
 infantry were disposed behind as well as in front of the 
 castle, so as to prevent the escape of the besieged; but 
 the camp was at a distance of some four hundred yards. 
 The chains of the drawbridge across the moat were oiled, 
 as were the bolts of the doors, and at three in tha morn- 
 
110 FRIENDS, TROUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 ing the gate was opened, and the drawbridge lowered 
 Hcross the moat. A thick layer of sacks was then placed 
 '.ipon the drawbridge. The horses' hoofs were also 
 muffled with sacking, and then, one by one, the horses 
 were led out, the drawbridge was drawn up again, and 
 all was quiet. No sound or motion in the Puritan camp 
 betrayed that their exit was observed, and they could 
 hear the challenges of the circuit of sentries passed from 
 man to man. 
 
 When the first streak of dawn was seen in the east 
 the troop mounted their horses, and remained quiet 
 until the light should be sufficient to enable them to see 
 the nature of the ground over which they would have to 
 pass. This they would be able to do before they them- 
 selves were observed, standing as they were close under 
 the shadow of the walls of the castle. As soon as it was 
 sufficiently light the trumpets sounded, and with a 
 burst they dashed across the country. Heeding not the 
 bugle calls in the camp of the Puritan infantry, they 
 rode straight at the guns. These were six hundred 
 yards distant, and before the artillerymen could awake 
 to their danger, the Eoyalists were upon them. Those 
 that stood were cut down, and in a minute the guns 
 were spiked. Then the cavalry swept round, and as the 
 Puritan horse hastily formed up, they charged them. 
 Although but half their numbers, they had the supe- 
 riority in the surprise at which they took their foes, and in 
 the fa-ct of the latter being but half armed, not having 
 had time to put on their breastplates. The combat was 
 a short one, and in a few minutes the Puritans were fly- 
 ing in all directions. The pikemen were now approach- 
 ing on either side in compact bodies, and against these 
 Harry knew that his horsemen could do nothing. He 
 therefore drew them off from the castle, and during the 
 day circled rojmd and round the place, seizing several 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. HI 
 
 carts of provisions destined for the wants of the infantry, 
 ;uid holding them in a sort of leaguer. 
 
 That nigr.t, finding that their guns were disabled*- 
 fcheir horse defeated, and themselves cut off, the rebel 
 infantry drew off, and gave up the siege of the place, 
 The next morning the cavalry re-entered the castle in 
 triumph, and having received the hearty thanks of Sir 
 Francis Burdett, and leaving with him the troop of Mas- 
 ter Chillingworth, who intended to remain there, Harry 
 proceeded on his way north, and reached York without 
 further adventure. 
 
 v During the ten days that they had journeyed together 
 Lady Sidmouth had been greatly pleased with the atten- 
 tion and character of Harry Furness. He was always 
 cheerful and courteous, without any of that light tone 
 of flippancy which distinguished the young Cavaliers of 
 the period, and her little daughter was charmed with 
 her companion, Harry received the hearty thanks oi 
 Sir Henry Sidmouth for the care with which he had con- 
 ducted his wife through the dangers of the journey, and 
 then, having so far discharged his duty, he left his troop 
 at York, and started for Scotland. 
 
 On the way he had discussed with Jacob the measures 
 which he intended to take for his journey north. Jacob 
 had begged earnestly to accompany him, and as Harry 
 deemed that his shrewdness might be of great use, he 
 determined to take him with him, as well as another of 
 his troop. The latter was a merry fellow, named Will- 
 iam Long. He was of grave and sober demeanor, and 
 never smiled, even while causing his hearers to be con- 
 vulsed with laughter. He had a keen sense of humor, 
 was a ready-witted and courageous follow, and had fre- 
 quently distinguished himself in the various skirmishes, 
 He was the son of a small tenant of Sir Henry Furness. 
 tlis farm was near the hall, and, although three or foui 
 
113 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 years older than Harry, he had as a boy frequently 
 accompanied him when out hawking, and in other 
 amusements. Harry felt that, with two attached and 
 faithful comrades like these, he should be able to make 
 his way through many dangers. At York he had pro- 
 cured for himself and his followers suits of clothes of 
 grave and sober cut, such as would be worn by yeomen; 
 and here they laid aside their Cavalier garments, and 
 proceeded northward. They traveled quietly forward 
 as far as Durham, and then went west, as Berwick was 
 held for the Parliament. They carried weapons, for at 
 that time none traveled unarmed, and the country 
 through which they had to pass was greatly disturbed, 
 the moss troopers having taken advantage of the dis' 
 orders of the times to renew the habits of their fore- 
 fathers, and to make raids upon their southern neigh- 
 bors, and carry off cattle and horses. They carried witb 
 them but little money, a small quantity in their valises, 
 and a few gold pieces concealed about their persons, 
 each choosing a different receptacle, so that in case of 
 pillage some at least might retain sufficient to carry then? 
 on their way. Avoiding the large towns, where alone thev 
 would be likely to be questioned, they crossed the border, 
 and rode into Scotland, 
 
 Upon the day after their crossing the frontier they 
 saw a body of horsemen approaching them. These drew 
 up when they reached them, Harry having previously 
 warned his comrades to offer no resistance, as the party 
 were too strong for them, and his mission was too im- 
 portant to allow the king's cause to be hazarded by an\ ; 
 foolish acts of pugnacity. 
 
 "Are you for the king or the kirk?" the leader asked, 
 
 "Neither for one nor the other," Harry said. "We 
 are peaceable yeomen traveling north to buy cattle, and 
 we meddle not in the disputes of the time." 
 
 "Have you any news from the south?" 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 113 
 
 * 'Not bin g," Harry replied. "We come from Durham, 
 and since the news of the battle of Newbury, no tidings 
 have come of importance." 
 
 The man looked inquisitively at the horses and valise?; 
 but Harry had chosen three stout ponies sufficiently 
 good to carry them, but offering no temptations to pilla- 
 gers, and the size of the valises promised but little from 
 their contents. 
 
 "Since you are riding north to buy cattle/' the leader 
 said, "you must have money with you, and money is 
 short wiuh us in these bad times/' 
 
 "We have not/' Harry said; "judging it possible that 
 we might meet with gentlemen who felt the pressure of 
 the times, we have provided ourselves with sufficient 
 only to take us up to Kelso, where dwells our corre- 
 spondent, who will, we trust, have purchased and col- 
 lected sufficient cattle for us to take south when we shall 
 learn that a convoy of troops is traveling in this direc* 
 tion, for we would not place temptation in the way of 
 those whom we might meet." 
 
 "You are a fellow of some humor," the leader said 
 grimly. "But it is evil jesting on this side of the 
 border." 
 
 "I jest not/' Harry said. "There is a proverb in 
 Latin, with which doubtless your worship is acquainted, 
 to the effect that an empty traveler may sing before rob- 
 bers, and, although far from including you and your 
 worshipful following in that category, yet we may be 
 pardoned for feeling somewhat light-hearted, because 
 we are not overburdened with money." 
 
 The leader looked savagely at the young man; but 
 seeing that his demeanor and that of his followers wag 
 resolute, that they carried pistols at their holsters and 
 heavy swords, and deeming that nothing but hard 
 knocks would come of an attack upon them, he surlily 
 bade his company follow him, and rode on his way again. 
 
2BOUGB 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE COMMISSIONER OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 AT Kelso Harry procured changes of garments, attir- 
 ing himself as a Lowland farmer, and his companions as 
 two drovers. They were, as before, mounted; but the 
 costume of English farmers could no longer have been 
 supported by any plausible story. They learned that 
 upon the direct road north they should find many bodies 
 of Scotch troops, and therefore made for the coast. 
 Two days' riding brought them to the little port of 
 Ayton. 
 
 After taking their supper in the common room of the 
 hostelry, there was a stir outside, and three men, attired 
 as Puritan preachers, entered the room. Mine host re- 
 ceived them with courtesy, but with none of the eager 
 welcome usually displayed to guests; for these gentry, 
 although feared for their power was very great at the 
 time were by no means loved, and their order* at a 
 hostelry were not likely to swell the purse of the host. 
 Stalking to an unoccupied table next to that at which 
 Harry and his party were sitting, they took their seats 
 and called for supper. 
 
 Harry made a sign to his companions to continue talk- 
 ing together, while he listened attentively to the conver- 
 sation of the men behind him. He gathered from their 
 talk that they were commissioners proceeding from the 
 Presbyterian Convention in London to discuss with that 
 at Edinburgh upon the points upon which they could 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, H5 
 
 t . 
 
 come to an agreement for a common basis of terms 
 Their talk turned principally upon doctrinal questions, 
 upon which Harry's ignorance was entire and absolute, 
 but he saw at once that it would do good service to the 
 king if he could in some way prevent these men continu- 
 ing upon their journey, and so for a time arrest the prog- 
 ress of the negotiations between the king's enemies in 
 England and Scotland, for at this time the preachers 
 were the paramount authorities in England. It was 
 they who insisted upon terms, they who swayed the 
 councils of the nation, and it was not until Cromwell, 
 after overthrowing the king, overthrew the Parliament^ 
 which was for the main part composed of their creatures, 
 that the power of the preachers came to an end. It 
 would, of course, have been easy for Harry and his 
 friends to attack these men during their next day's 
 journey, but this would have involved the necessity of 
 killing them from which he shrank for an assault upon 
 three godly men traveling on the high business of the 
 Convention to the Scottish capital would have caused 
 such an outcry that Harry could not hope to continue 
 on his way without the certainty of discovery and arrest. 
 
 Signing to his comrades to remain in their seats, he 
 strolled off toward the port, and there entered a public 
 house, which, by its aspect, was frequented by seafaring 
 men. It was a small room that he entered, and con- 
 tained three or four fishermen, and one whom a certain 
 superiority in dress betokened to be the captain of a 
 vessel. They were talking of the war, and of the proba- 
 bility of the Scottish army taking part in it. The fisher- 
 men were all of the popular party; but the captain, who 
 seemed a jovial fellow, shrugged his shoulders over the 
 religious squabbles, and said that, for his part, he wanted 
 nothing but peace. 
 
 "Not," he said, "that the present times do not suit 
 
118 FR1&ND8, THOUGH 
 
 me rarely in purse. Men are too busy now to look after 
 the doings of every lugger that passes along the coast, 
 and never were French goods so plentiful or so cheap. 
 Moreover," he said, "1 find that not unfrequently 
 passengers want to be carried to France or Holland. 1 
 ask no questions; I care not whether they go on missions 
 from the Royalists or from the Convention; 1 take their 
 money; I land them at 4 neir destination; no questions 
 are asked. So the times suii me bravely; but for all 
 that I do not like to think of Englishmen and Scotch- 
 men arrayed against their fellows. I cannot see that it 
 matters one jot whether we are predestinate or not pre- 
 destinate, or whether it is a bishop who governs a certain 
 church or a presbyter. I say let each worship in his 
 own way, and not concern himself about his fellows. If 
 men would but mind their own affairs in religion as they 
 do in business it would be better for us all." 
 
 Harry, as he drank the glass of beer he had ordered, 
 had joined occasionally in the conversation, not taking 
 any part, but agreeing chiefly with the sea-captain in his 
 desire for peace. 
 
 "1 too, he said, "have nothing to grumble at. My 
 beasts fetch good prices for the army, and save that there 
 is a want of hands, I was never doing better. Still 1 
 would gladly see peace established." 
 
 Presently the fishermen, having finished their liquor, 
 retired, and the captain, looking keenly at Harry, said, 
 "Methmks, young sir, that you are not precisely what 
 you seem!" 
 
 "That is so," Harry replied; "I am on business here, 
 it matters not on which side, and it may be that we may 
 trike a bargain together." 
 
 "Do you want to cross the channel?" the captain 
 asked, laughing. "You seem young to have put your 
 Jiead in a noose already." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 11? 
 
 "No," Harry said, "I do not want to cross myself; 
 but I want to send some others across. I suppose that if 
 a passenger or two were placed on board your ship, to be 
 landed in Holland, you would not deem it necessary to 
 question them closely, or to ascertain whether they also 
 were anxious to arrive at that destination?" 
 
 "By no means/' the captain replied. "Goods con- 
 signed to me will be delivered at the port to which they 
 are addressed, and I should consider that with passengers 
 as with goods, I must carry them to the port for which 
 their passage is taken." 
 
 "Good," Harry said; "if that is the case, methinks 
 that when you sail and," he asked, breaking off, "when 
 do you sail?" 
 
 "To-morrow morning, if the wind is fair," the captain 
 answered. "But if it would pay me better to stop for a 
 few hours, I might do so." 
 
 "To-morrow night, if you will wait till then," Harry 
 said, "I will place three passengers on board, and will 
 pay you your own sum to land them at Flushing, or any 
 other place across the water to which you may be boujad. 
 I will take care that they will make no complaints what- 
 ever, or address any remonstrance to you, until after 
 you have fairly put to sea. And then, naturally, you 
 will feel yourself unable to alter the course of your 
 ship." 
 
 "But," the captain observed, "I must be assured that, 
 these passengers who are so anxious to cross the water 
 are not men whose absence might cause any great bother. 
 I am a simple man, earning my living as honestly as the 
 times will allow me to do, and I wish not to embroil my- 
 self with the great parties of the State." 
 
 "There may be an inquiry," Harry replied; "but me- 
 thinks it will soon drop. They are three preachers of Lon- 
 don, who are on their way to dispute concerning points 
 
118 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 of religion with the divines in Scotland. The result ot 
 their disputation may perchance be that an accord may 
 be arrived at between the divines of London and Edin- 
 burgh; and in that case, I doubt not that the army now 
 lying at Dundee would move south, and that the civil 
 war would therefore become more extended and cruel 
 than ever." 
 
 The captain laughed. 
 
 "I am not fond of blackbirds on board my ship/' he 
 said. "They are ever of ill omen on the sea. But I will 
 risk it for so good a cause. It is their pestilent religious 
 disputes which have stirred up the nations to war, and I 
 doubt not that even should some time elapse before these 
 gentlemen can again hold forth in England, there are 
 plenty of others to supply their place." 
 
 An agreement was speedily arrived at as to the terms 
 of passage, for Harry was well provided with money, 
 having drawn at Kelso from an agent devoted to the 
 Royal cause, upon whom he had letters of credit. 
 
 The next morning early Harry went to a carter in the 
 town, and hired a cart for the day, leaving a deposit 
 for its safe return at night. Then, mounting their 
 horses, the three Royalists rode off just as the preachers 
 were going forth from the inn. The latter continued 
 their course at the grave pace suitable to their calling 
 and occupation, conversing vigorously upon the points 
 of doctrine which they intended to urge upon their fel- 
 lows at Edinburgh. Suddenly, just where the road 
 emerged from a wood on to a common, three men dashed 
 out, and fell upon them. The preachers roared lustily 
 for mercy, and invoked the vengeance of the Parliament 
 upon those who ventured to interfere with them. 
 
 "We are charged," one said, "with a mission to the 
 Convention at Edinburgh, and it is as much as your 
 tieads are worth to interfere with us." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "Natheless," Harry said, "we must even risk our 
 heads. You must follow us into the wood, or we shal> 
 be under the necessity of 'blowing out your brains.' " 
 
 Much crestfallen, the preachers followed their captors 
 into the wood. There they were despoiled of their hats 
 and doublets, tied securely by cords, gagged, and placed, 
 in spite of their remonstrances and struggles, in three 
 huge sacks. 
 
 At midnight the Annette was lying alongside the 
 wharf at Ayton, when a cart drove up. Three men 
 alighted from it, and one hailed the captain, who was 
 standing on deck. 
 
 "I have brought the three parcels thou wottest of," 
 he said. "They will need each two strong men to carry 
 them on board." 
 
 The captain, with two sailors, ascended to the quay. 
 
 "What have we here?" said one of the sailors; "there 
 is some live creature in this sack." 
 
 "It is a young calf," Harry said; "when you are well 
 out to sea you can give it air." 
 
 The men laughed, for having frequently had passen- 
 gers to cross to the Continent, they shrewdly guessed at 
 the truth; and the captain had already told them that 
 the delay of a day would put some money into each of 
 their pockets. Having seen the three sacks deposited 
 on the deck of the ship, when the sails were immediately 
 hoisted, and the Annette glided away on her course sea- 
 ward, the cart was driven round to the house where it 
 had been hired. The stipulated price was paid, the de- 
 posit returned, and the hirer then departed. 
 
 Riding toward Edinburgh, Harry agreed with his con- 
 rades that as he, as the apparent leader of the party, 
 would be the more likely to be suspected and arrested, 
 it would be better for the documents of which they were 
 the carriers, as well as the papers found upon the per- 
 
J.20 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 jons of the Puritans, to be intrusted to the charge of 
 Jacob and William Long. Harry charged them, in the 
 event of anything happening to him, to pay no heed to 
 him whatever, but to separate from him and mix with 
 the crowd, and then to make their way, as best they 
 might, to the Earl of Montrose. 
 
 "It matters nothing," he said, "my being arrested. 
 They can prove nothing against me, as I shall have no 
 papers on my body, while it is all-important that you 
 should get off. The most that they can do to me is to send 
 mo to London, and a term of imprisonment as a malignant 
 is the worst that will befall me." 
 
 The next day they entered the town by the Canongate, 
 /ind were surprised and amused at the busy scene passing 
 there. Riding to an inn, they put up their horses and 
 dismounted. Harry purposed to remain there for three or 
 four days to learn the temper of the people. 
 
 The next morning he strolled out into the streets, fol- 
 lowed at some little distance by Jacob and William Long. 
 lie had not the least fear of being recognized, and for the 
 time gave himself up thoroughly to the amusement of the 
 moment. He had not proceeded far, however, when he 
 ran full tilt against a man in a black garb, who, gazing at 
 him, at once shouted out at the top of his voice, "Seize 
 this man, he is a malignant and a spy/' and to his horror 
 Hurry discovered the small preacher with whom he had 
 twice already been at loggerheads, and who, it seems, had 
 been dispatched as a member of a previous commission by 
 his party in London. 
 
 In a moment a dozen sturdy hands seized him by his 
 collar. Feeling the utter uselessness of resistance, and 
 being afraid that should he attempt to struggle, his friends 
 might be drawn into the matter, Harry quietly proceeded 
 along the street until he reached the city guardhouse, in a 
 cell of which he was thrust. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 121 
 
 'One would think, " he muttered to himself, ''that 
 this little preacher is an emissary of Satan himself. Go 
 where I will, this lantern-jawed knave is sure to crop up, 
 and I feel convinced that until I have split his skull I 
 shall have no safety. I thought I had freed myself of 
 him forever when I got out of London; and here, in the 
 middle of the Scotch capital, he turns up as sharp- 
 sighted and as venomous as ever." 
 
 An hour or two later Harry was removed under a 
 guard to the city prison, and in the evening the doors 
 were opened and a guard appeared and briefly ordered 
 him to follow. Under the escort of four men he was 
 led through the streets to a large building, and then 
 conducted to a room in which a number of persons, 
 some of them evidently of high rank, were sitting. At 
 the head of the table was a man of sinister aspect. He 
 had red hair and eyebrows, and a foxy, cunning face, 
 and Harry guessed at once that he was in the presence 
 of the Earl of Argyll a man who, even more than the 
 rest of his treacherous race, was hated and despised by 
 loyal Scotchmen. In all their history, a great portion 
 of the Scottish nobles were ever found ready to take 
 English gold, and to plot against their country. But 
 the Argylls had borne a bad pre-eminence even among 
 these. They had hunted Wallace, had hounded down 
 Bruce, and had ever been prominent in fomenting a is-' 
 sensions in their country; the present earl was probably 
 the coldest and most treacherous of his race. 
 
 "We are told," he said sternly to the prisoner, "that 
 you are a follower of the man Charles; that you have 
 been already engaged in plottings among the good citi- 
 zens of London, and we shrewdly suspect that your pres- 
 ence here bodes no good to the state. What hast thou 
 to say in thy defense?" 
 
 "I do not know that I am charged with any offense/ 5 
 
123 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Harry said quietly. "I am an English gentleman, who, 
 wishing to avoid the disorders in his own country, has 
 traveled north for peace and quietness. If 'you have 
 aught to urge against me or any evidence to give, I shall 
 be prepared to confute it. As for the preacher, whose 
 evidence has caused my arrest, he hath simply a grudge 
 against me for a boyish freak, from which he suffered at 
 the time when I made my escape from a guardroom in 
 London, and his accusation against me is solely the 
 result of prejudice." 
 
 Harry had already, upon his arrival at the jail, been 
 searched thoroughly, having been stripped, and even the 
 folds and linings of his garments ripped open, to see 
 that they contained no correspondence. Knowing that 
 nothing whatever could have been found against him, 
 unless, indeed, his followers had also fallen into the 
 hands of the Roundheads, Harry was able to assume a 
 position of injured innocence. 
 
 "Your tone comports not with your condition," the 
 Earl of Argyll said harshly. "We have found means 
 here to make men of sterner mold than thine speak the 
 truth, and in the interests of the state we shall not hesi- 
 tate to use them against you also. The torturer here 
 hath instruments which would tear you limb from limb, 
 and, young sir, these will not be spared unless that 
 cnalapert tongue of thine gives us the information we 
 desire to learn." 
 
 "I decline to answer any questions beyond what I have 
 already said," Harry replied firmly. "I tell you that I. 
 am an English gentleman traveling here on my own 
 private business, and it were foul wrong for me to be 
 seized and punished upon the suspicion of such a one aa 
 that man there;" and he pointed contemptuously to the 
 preacher. 
 
 "You wilt be brought up again in two days," the earl 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 said, "and if by that time you have not made up youy 
 mind to confess all, it will go hard with you. Think 
 not that the life of a varlet like you will weigh for one 
 moment in the scale with the safety of the nation, 01 
 that any regard for what you may consider in England 
 the usages of war will prevail here/' 
 
 He waved his hand, and Harry was conducted back to 
 jail, feeling far more uneasy than he had done, for ho 
 knew that in Scotland very different manners prevailed, 
 to those which characterized the English. In England, 
 throughout the war, no unnecessary bloodshed took 
 place, and up to that time the only persons executed in 
 cold blood had been the two gentlemen convicted of en- 
 deavoring to corrupt the Parliament in favor of the 
 king. But in Scotland, where civil broils were constant, 
 blood was ever shed recklessly on both sides; houses were 
 given to the flames; men, women, and children slaugh- 
 tered; lands laid waste; and all the atrocities which civil 
 war, heightened by religious bigotry, could suggest, 
 perpetrated. 
 
 Late that evening, the door of the prison opened, and 
 a preacher was shown into the room. 
 
 "I have come,'* he said in a nasal tone, "misguided 
 young man, to pray you to consider the wickedness of 
 your ways. It is written that the ungodly shall perish ? 
 and I would fain lead you from the errors of your way 
 before it is too Iate " 
 
 Harry had started as the speaker began; but he re- 
 jnained immovable until the jailer closed the door. 
 
 "Jacob," he exclaimed, "how mad, how imprudent of 
 you! I ordered you specially, if I was arrested, to pay 
 no heed, but to make your way north." 
 
 "I know that you did," Jacob said. "But yon see 
 you yourself talked of remaining for three days in Edin- 
 burgh. Therefore, I knew that there could be no press- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 ing need of my journey north; and hearing some whis- 
 pers of the intention of the lord president to extract 
 from a certain prisoner the news of a plot with which he 
 was supposed to be connected, I thought it even best to 
 come and see you." 
 
 "But how have you obtained this garb?" Harry asked; 
 "and how, above all, have you managed to penetrate 
 hither?" 
 
 ''Truly/' Jacob said, "I have undertaken a difficult 
 task in thy behalf, for I have to-night to enter into a 
 disputation with many learned divines, and I dread that 
 more than running the risk of meeting the Earl of 
 Argyll, who, they say, has the face of a fox, and the 
 heart of a devil." 
 
 "What mean you?" Harry asked. 
 
 "After we saw you dragged off by the townsmen, on 
 being denounced by that little preacher whose hat I 
 spoiled in St. Paul's churchyard, we followed your 
 orders, and made back to our hostelry. There William 
 Long and myself talked the matter over. In the first 
 place, we took all the papers and documents which were 
 concealed about us, and lifting a board in the room, hid 
 them beneath it, so that in case of our arrest they would 
 be safe. As we took out the documents, the commission 
 which we borrowed from the preachers met our eyes, 
 and it struck me that, armed with this, we might be 
 enabled to do you servicec I therefore at once purchased 
 cloaks and hats fitting for us as worthy divines from 
 London, and then, riding a mile or two into the coun- 
 try, we changed our garments, and entered the good city 
 of Edinburgh as English divines. We proceeded direct 
 to the house of the chief presbyter, to whom the letters 
 of commission were addressed, and were received by him 
 with open arms. I trust that we played our part rarely, 
 and, in truth, the unctuousness and godliness of Will- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 225 
 
 iam Long x passeth belief, and he plays his part well. 
 Looking as he does far older than I although in these 
 days of clean-shaven faces I can make up rarely for 
 thirty he assumed the leading part. The presbyter 
 would fain have summoned a number of his divines for a 
 discussion this evening. But we, pleading fatigue, 
 begged him to allow us two days of rest. He has, how- 
 ever, invited a few of his fellows, and we are to wrestle 
 with them this evening in argument. How we shall get 
 out of it I know not, for my head is altogether in igno- 
 rance of the points in issue. However, there was, among 
 the documents of the preachers, one setting forth the 
 points in which the practice of the sect in England and 
 Scotland differed, with the heads of the arguments to be 
 used. We have looked through these, and, as well as 
 we could understand the jumble of hard words, have 
 endeavored to master the points at issue, so we shall to- 
 night confine ourselves to a bare exposition of facts, and 
 shall put off answering the arguments of the other side 
 until the drawn battle, which will be fixed for the day 
 after to-morrow. By the way, we accounted for the 
 absence of our colleague by saying that he fell sick on 
 the way." 
 
 "But what is the use of all this risk?" Harry asked, 
 laughing at the thought of his two followers discussing 
 theology with the learned divines of the Scotch Church. 
 
 "That, in truth," Jacob said, "I do not yet exactly see; 
 but I trust that to-morrow we shall have contrived some 
 plan of getting you out of this prison. I shall return at 
 the same time to-morrow evening." 
 
 "How did you get in here?" he asked. 
 
 "I had an order from the chief presbyter for entry. 
 Saying that I believed I knew you, and that my words 
 might have some effect in turning you from the evil of 
 your ways, I volunteered to exhort you, and shall give 
 
126 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 such an account of my mission as will lead them to give 
 me a pass to see yon again to-morrow night." 
 
 The following evening Jacob again called, this time 
 accompanied by William. They brought with them an- 
 other dress similar to their own. Their visit was an 
 hour later than upon the preceding evening. 
 
 (i l learned/' Jacob said, "that the guard was changed 
 at eight o'clock, and it is upon this that the success 
 of our scheme depends. William will immediately leave, 
 and as he has been seen to enter by the guards without, 
 and by those at the prison gate, he will pass out without 
 questioning. In half an hour a fresh guard will be 
 placed at both these points, and you and I will march 
 out together, armed with permission for two preachers 
 to pass." 
 
 The scheme appeared a hopeful one, and William took 
 his departure after a few minutes, saying to the guards 
 without that he went to fetch a book of reference which 
 he needed to convince the hard-hearted reprobate within. 
 He left the door partly ajar, and the guards without 
 were edified by catching snatches of a discourse of ex- 
 ceeding godliness and unction, delivered by the preacher 
 to the prisoner. 
 
 Presently a trampling without informed Harry and 
 Jacob that the guard was being changed, and half an 
 hour later they opened the door, and Jacob, standing 
 for a moment as they went out, addressed a few words 
 of earnest exhortation to the prisoner supposed to be 
 within, adjuring him to bethink himself whether it was 
 better to sacrifice his life in the cause of a wicked king 
 than to purchase his freedom by forsaking the error of 
 his ways, and turning to the true belief. Then, closing 
 the door after him, Jacob strode along, accompanied by 
 Harry, to the guardroom. They passed through the 
 yard of the prison to the gate. There Jacob produced 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 127 
 
 his pass for the entrance and exit of two divines, and the 
 guard, suspecting no evil, at once suffered them to go 
 forth. William had already been to the inn where they 
 stopped, and had told the host that he was charged to 
 examine the chamber where the persons who abode there 
 upon the previous day had stopped. There he had 
 taken the various documents from their hiding-place, 
 and had made his way from the city. Outside the gates 
 he was joined by the others, and all, at a speedy but still 
 dignified pace, made their way to the spot where the 
 horses were concealed, in a little wood in a retired valley. 
 Here they changed their dress, and, making a bonfire of 
 the garments which they had taken off, mounted their 
 horses, and rode for the north. 
 
128 FRIEND8, THOUGH DIV1DKD. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MONTROSE. 
 
 THEY stopped for the night at a village fifteen miles 
 away from Edinburgh, and after they had had their 
 supper Harry inquired of Jacob how his dispute with 
 the divines had passed off the evening before. 
 
 Jacob burst into a fit of laughter. 
 
 "It was the funniest thing you ever saw," he said. 
 "Imagine a large room, with the chief presbyter sitting 
 at a table, and eight other men, with sour countenances 
 and large turned-down collars and bands, sitting round 
 it. William Long and I faced them at the other end, 
 looking as grave and sanctimonious as the rest of them. 
 The proceedings were, of course, opened with a lengthy 
 prayer, and then the old gentleman in the center intro- 
 duced us as the commissioners from London. William 
 rose, and having got up by heart the instructions to 
 the commissioners, he said that he would first briefly 
 introduce to his fellow divines the points as to which 
 differences appeared to exist between the Presbyterians 
 of the north and those of the south, and concerning 
 which he was instructed to come to an agreement 
 with them. First, he gave a list of the points at 
 variance; then he said that he understood that these, 
 quoting from his document, were the views of his Scotch 
 brethren; and he then proceeded to give briefly the 
 arguments with which he had been famished. He said 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 129 
 
 that his reverend brother and himself were much wearied 
 with long travel, and that they would fain defer the de- 
 bate for another two days., but that in the meantime they 
 would be glad to hear the views of their friends. Then 
 did one after another of these eight worthy men rise, 
 and for six mortal hours they poured forth their views. 
 I do not know whether it was most difficult to avoid 
 laughter or yawning; but, indeed, Master Harry, it was a 
 weary time. I dared not look at William, for he put 
 such grave attention and worshipful reverence on his 
 face that you would have thought he had been born and 
 bred to the work. "When the last of the eight had sat 
 down he rose again, and expressed a marvelous admira 
 tion of the learning and eloquence which his brethren 
 had displayed. Many of their arguments he said, were 
 new to him and in this, indeed, I doubt not he spoke 
 truth and he perceived that it would be hard to answer 
 all that they had so learnedly adduced. Upon the other 
 hand, he had much to say; but he was willing to allow 
 that upon some points he should have difficulty in com- 
 bating their views. He prayed them, therefore, to defer 
 the meeting for two days, when he would willingly give 
 them his views upon the subject, and his learned brother 
 would also address them. He proposed that the party 
 should be as small a one as that he saw before him, and 
 that, after hearing him, they should, if possible, come 
 to some arrangement upon a few, at least, of the points 
 indispute, so as to leave as small a number as might be 
 open to for the public disputation which would follow. 
 The worshipful party appeared mightily taken with tho 
 idea, and, after an hour's prayer from the chairman, we 
 separated. I hardly slept all night for laughing, and \ 
 would give much to see the faces of that honorable conn' 
 cil when they hear that they have been fooled." 
 
 "You have both shown great wisdom, Jacob," Ham 
 
130 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 said, "and have behaved in a sore strait with much 
 judgment and discretion. It was lucky for you that 
 your reverend friend did not, among his eight cham- 
 pions, think of inviting our little friend from London, 
 for I fear that he would at once have denounced you as 
 not being the divines whose credentials you presented." 
 
 "I was afraid of that/' Jacob said, "and therefore 
 begged him specially, on this our first conference, to 
 have only ministers of his own circle present. He men- 
 tioned that one or two godly ministers from London 
 were present in the capital. I replied that I was well 
 aware of that, but that, as these men were not favored 
 with the instructions of the convention, and knew not 
 the exact turn which affairs had taken up to the period 
 of my leaving, their presence might be an embarrass- 
 ment which, indeed, was only the truth." 
 
 "We must make a circuit to-morrow," Harry said, 
 "to avoid Stirling, and will go round by Doune, and 
 thence make for the north. Once among the mountains 
 we shall be safe from all pursuit, and from any inter- 
 ference by the Roundheads, for I believe that the clans 
 of this part are all in favor of Montrose Argyll's power 
 lying far to the west." 
 
 "It will be a comfort," Jacob said, "not to be obliged 
 to talk through one's nose, and to east one's eyes up- 
 ward. I imagine that these Highlanders are little better 
 than savages." 
 
 "That is so," Harry said. "They are, I believe, but 
 little changed since the days when the Romans strug- 
 gled with them, and could make no head north of the 
 Forth." 
 
 The next day, by a long circuit, they traveled round 
 Stirling, and reached the bridge of Doune, there cross- 
 ing the Teith unquestioned. They soon left the main 
 road, and struck into the hills. They had not traveled 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 131 
 
 far when three strange figures suddenly presented them- 
 selves. These men were clad in a garb which to the lads 
 was strange and wild indeed. The kilt, as worn by 
 Highlanders on show occasions in the present day is a 
 garment wholly unlike that worn by their ancestors, 
 being, indeed, little more than a masquerade dress. 
 The kilt of the old time resembled indeed the short pet- 
 ticoat now worn by savage peoples. It consisted of a 
 great length of cloth wound round and round the loins, 
 and falling like a loose petticoat to the knees, a portion 
 being brought over one shoulder, and then wrapped 
 round and round the body. It was generally of dark 
 material; the tartans now supposed to be peculiar to 
 the various clans being then unknown, or at least not 
 worn by the common people, although the heads of the 
 clans may have worn scarfs of those patterns. A High- 
 land gentleman or chief, however, dressed in the same 
 garb as Englishmen that is, in armor, with doublet and 
 hose. His wild followers lived in huts of the most 
 primitive description, understood no language but their 
 own, obeyed the orders of their chiefs to the death, and 
 knew nothing either of kings or of parliaments. For 
 arms these men carried a broad target or shield made of 
 bull's hide, and a broadsword of immense length hang- 
 ing behind them, the hilt coming above the shoulder. 
 
 What they said the lads could not understand. But 
 when Harry repeated the word "Montrose," the High- 
 landers nodded, arid pointed to signify that the road 
 they were pursuing was the right one, and two of them 
 at once set out with them as escorts. 
 
 For several days they traveled north, stopping at little 
 groups of cabins, where they were always received with 
 rough hospitality, the assertion of their guides that they 
 were going to the great earl being quite sufficient pass- 
 port for them. Bannocks of oatmeal with collops, .sc-nse- 
 
^32 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 times of venison, sometimes of mountain sheep, were 
 always at their service, washed down by a drink new to 
 the boys, and which at first brought the water into their 
 eyes. This was called usquebaugh, and had a strange 
 peaty flavor, which was at first very unpleasant to them, 
 but to which before they left Scotland they became qu. te 
 accustomed. The last two days they traveled upo.i 
 broad roads again, and being now in a country devoted 
 to the Earl of Montrose, were under no apprehension 
 whatever of interference. 
 
 At last they reached the place where the earl was re- 
 siding. His castle differed in no way from those of the 
 nobility of England. It was surrounded by walls and 
 towers, and had a moat and other means of defense. 
 The gate was guarded by men similar in appearance to 
 their guides, but dressed in better material, and with 
 ome attempt at uniformity. Large numbers of these 
 were gathered in the courtyard, and among them were 
 men-at-arms attired in southern fashion. The guides, 
 having performed their duty of conducting these strangers 
 from the borders of their country, now handed them 
 over to an officer, and he, upon learning their errand, 
 at once conducted them to the earl. 
 
 Montrose was a noble figure, dressed in the height of 
 the fashion of the day. His face was oval, with a 
 pointed mustache; long ringlets fell round his head; 
 and his bearing was haughty and majestic. He rose 
 from his chair and advanced a step toward them. 
 
 "Do I understand," he said, "that you are bearers of 
 dispatches from his gracious majesty?" 
 
 "We are, sir," Harry said. "The king was pleased to 
 commit to me various documents intended for your eye. 
 We left him at Oxford, and have journeyed north with 
 as little delay as might be in these times. The dis- 
 patches, I believe, will speak for themselves, 1 have no 
 oral instructions committed to me." 
 
-JARRV AND BIS COMPANIONS BEFORE THE EARL OF MONTROSE. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 133 
 
 So saying, Harry delivered the various documents 
 with which they were charged. The earl instructed the 
 officer to see that they were well lodged and cared for, 
 and at once proceeded to his private cabinet to examine 
 the instructions sent him by the king. These were in 
 effect that, so soon as the army of the convention moved 
 south from Dundee, he should endeavor to make a great 
 raid with his followers upon the south, specially attack- 
 ing the country of Argyll, so as to create a diversion, 
 and, if possible, cause the recall of the Scotch army to 
 defend their own capital. 
 
 For some weeks the lads stopped with Montrose. 
 They had been furnished with garments suitable to their 
 condition, and Harry was treated by the earl with the 
 greatest kindness and courtesy. He often conversed 
 with him as to the state of politics and of military affairs 
 in England, and expressed himself as sanguine that he 
 should be able to restore the authority of the king in 
 Scotland. 
 
 "These sour men of the conventicles have ever been 
 stiff-necked and rebellious," he said, "and have enforced 
 their will upon our monarchs. I have not forgotten,' 3 
 he went on, striking the hilt of his sword angrily, "the 
 insults which were put upon Queen Mary when she was 
 preached to and lectured publicly by the sour fanatic 
 Knox, and was treated, forsooth, as if she had been some 
 trader's daughter who had ventured to laugh on a Sun- 
 day. Her son, too, was kept under the control of these 
 men until he was summoned to England. It is time 
 that Scotland were rid of the domination of these knaves, 
 and if I live I will sweep them from the land. In 
 courage my wild men are more than a match for the 
 Lowlanders. It is true that in the old days the clans 
 could never carry their forays southward, for, unaccus- 
 tomed to discipline and unprovided with horses or even 
 
134 FRIE3D8, THOU OB 
 
 with firearms, they fared but badly when opposed to 
 steel-clad men and knights in armor. But I trust it 
 will be different this time. 1 cannot hope to infuse any 
 great discipline among them* But they can at least be 
 taught to charge in line, and their broad claymores may 
 be trusted to hew a way for them through the lines of 
 the Lowlanders. 1 trust, above all things, that the king 
 will not be persuaded to negotiate with the traitors who 
 are opposed to him. I know, Master Furness, that, 
 from what .>ou have said, your views run not there with 
 mine, and that you think a compromise is desirable. 
 But you do not know these fanatics as I do. While they 
 clamor for toleration, they are the narrowest of bigots, 
 and will themselves tolerate nothing. Already I have 
 news that the convention between the Scotch conventicle 
 and the English rebels is agreed to, and that an order 
 has gone forth that the Presbyterian rites are to be 
 observed in all the churches of Euglandc They say that 
 thousands of divines will be turned from their churches 
 and their places filled with ignorant fanatics, and this 
 they call religious liberty. Why, when Laud was in 
 power hia rule was as a silken thread compared to the 
 hempen rope of these bigots, and should the king make 
 terms with them, it will be only to rule henceforth at 
 their bidding, and to be but an instrument in their 
 hand: foi enforcing their will upon the people of these 
 countries/* 
 
 Much a? Harry desired peace and leaned toward com- 
 promise, he saw that there was much in what the earl 
 said. All the accounts that reached them from the 
 south toid of the iron tyranny which was being exercised 
 throughout England Everywhere good and sincere 
 men were being driven from their vicarages to live how 
 best they might, for refusing 'to accept the terms of the 
 convention. Everywhere their places were filled with 
 
VHIENDS, THOUGH DtVIDBD. 135 
 
 men at once ignorant, bigoted, and intolerant; holy 
 places were desecrated; the cavalry of the Commons was 
 stabled in St. Paul's; the colored windows of the cathe- 
 drals and churches were everywhere destroyed; monu- 
 ments were demolished; and fanaticism of the narrowest 
 and most stringent kind was rampant. 
 
 During the time they spent at the castle the lads 
 were greatly amused in watching the sports and exer- 
 cises of the Highlanders. These consisted in throwing 
 great stones and blocks o wood, in contests with blunted 
 claymores, in foot races, and in dances executed to the 
 wild and strange music of the bagpipes music which 
 Jacob declared was worse than the caterwauling upon the 
 housetops in Cheapside. 
 
 The lads had deferred their journey south owing to 
 the troubled state of the country, and the fact that the 
 whole of the south of Scotland was in the hands of the 
 convention. They were therefore waiting an opportunity 
 for taking ship and traveling by sea into Wales, where 
 the followers of the king were in the ascendency. At 
 length the earl told them that an occasion offered, and 
 that although he would gladly keep them by him to 
 accompany him when he moved south, if they considered 
 that their duty compelled them to leave he would place 
 them on board a ship bound for that destination. He 
 did not furnish them with any documents, but bade Harry 
 repeat to the king the sentiments which he had ex- 
 pressed, which, indeed, were but the repetition of loyal 
 assurances which he had sent south by a trusty messen- 
 ger immediately upon their arrival at the castle. 
 
 The boat in which they embarked was a small one, but 
 was fast; which proved fortunate, for they were twice 
 chased by ships of the Parliament They landed, how- 
 ever, safely at Pembroke, and thence made their way 
 through the mountains of Wales to Hereford, and joined 
 the king, who was still at Oxford. 
 
136 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Events had traveled but slowly in England; the 
 doings of the convention being at that time of greater 
 importance than those of the armies. On the 19th of 
 January the Scotch army had entered England, having 
 marched from Edinburgh through the snow. The Mar- 
 quis of Newcastle was in winter quarters at York. The 
 town of Newcastle had held out successfully against the 
 Scots The English regiments in Ireland had been re- 
 called; but had been defeated near Nantwich by Sir 
 Thomas Fairfax. Negotiation after negotiation between 
 the king and the Parliament had failed, and the king 
 had issued writs for a Parliament to assemble at Oxford. 
 This met on the 2#d of January, and forty-three peers 
 and a hundred and eighteen commoners had taken their 
 place beside many absent with the army. Of the peers 
 a large majority were with the Koyalist Parliament at 
 Oxford while at Westminster a majority of the members 
 sent up by the towns assembled. The Royalist Parlia- 
 ment was sitting at Oxford when Harry arrived; but 
 their proceedings had not upon the whole been satisfac- 
 tory to the king. They had, indeed, passed votes for 
 the raising of taxes and supplies; but had also insisted 
 upon the king granting several reforms. Charles, un- 
 taught by adversity, was as obstinate as ever; and 
 instead of using the opportunity for showing a fair dispo- 
 sition to redress the grievances which had led to the civil 
 war, and to grant concessions which would have rallied 
 all moderate persons to his cause, he betrayed much 
 irritation at the opposition which he met with, and the 
 convocation of Parliament, instead of bringing matters 
 nearer to an issue, rather heightened the discontents of 
 the times. The Parliament at Westminster, upon their 
 side, formed a council, under the title of the committee 
 of the two kingdoms, consisting of seven lords, fourteen 
 members of the commons, and four Scottish commission- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 137 
 
 ers, into whose hands the entire conduct of the war, the 
 correspondence with foreign states, and indeed the whole 
 executive power of the kingdom was given. 
 
 The king received Harry with great condescension and 
 favor, and heard with satisfaction of the preparations 
 which Montrose was making for an invasion of the Low- 
 lands of Scotland, and promised Sir Henry to bestow the 
 rank of knighthood upon his son as soon as he attained 
 the age of twenty-one. 
 
 For some weeks Harry resided with his father at Fur- 
 ness Hall. He then fell back into Oxford upon the ad- 
 vance of an army from London destined to besiege that 
 town. This force was far greater than any that the king 
 could raise. It consisted of two separate forces, under 
 the command of Essex and Waller. Presently the town 
 was besieged, and although the walls were very strong, 
 the attacking force was so numerous that resistance 
 appeared to be hopeless. On the night of the 3d of 
 Jane the king left the city secretly, attended only by 
 two or three personal friends, and passed safely between 
 the two armies. These, instead of acting in unison, in 
 which case the besieging lines would have been com- 
 plete, and the king unable to leave the place, were kept 
 apart by the dissensions of their generals. A council of 
 war took place, and Essex determined to march to the 
 west. The committee in London ordered him to retrace 
 his steps, and go in pursuit of the king, who had made 
 for Worcester. But Essex replied to the committee that 
 he could not carry on war in pursuance of directions 
 from London, and that all military discipline would be 
 subverted if they took upon themselves to direct his 
 plans. 
 
 In the meantime, Waller, raising the siege of Oxford, 
 had gone in pursuit of the king. Charles, seeing that 
 his enemies were separated, returned to Oxford, where he 
 
.138 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 was received with great enthusiasm, and the whole force 
 there, marching out, fell upon Waller at Cropredy 
 Bridge, near Banbury, ami defeated him. Having scat- 
 tered the rebels here, he turned his course west in pur- 
 suit of Essex, for his force was sufficient to cope with 
 either of the armies separately, although he had been 
 unable to meet them when united. 
 
 Harry and his father were not present at the battle of 
 Cropredy Bridge, having with their troops left Oxford 
 on the approach of .the Roundheads, together with many 
 other bodies of cavalry, as they could do no good in the 
 case of a siege, and were wanted in the north, where 
 Rupert was on his way to take the command. Joining 
 his force, amounting in all to twenty thousand men, 
 they advanced toward York. Leaving the greater por- 
 tion of his army at a short distance away, Rupert entered 
 York with two thousand men. Newcastle was in favor 
 of prudent steps, knowing that dissensions existed in the 
 Parliamentary army between the Scots and their Eng- 
 lish allies. Prince Rupert, however, insisted that he 
 had the command of the king to fight at once, and so, 
 with all the force he could collect, advanced against the 
 Scots. Newcastle was much offended at the domineer- 
 ing manner and headstrong course of the prince and 
 took no part in the forthcoming battle, in which his 
 military genius and caution would have been of vast 
 service to the royal cause. 
 
 On the 2d of July, having rested two days, the 
 Royalist army marched out against the Roundheads. 
 The contending parties met on Marston Moor, and it was 
 late in the evening when the battle began. It was short 
 but desperate, and when it ended four thousand one 
 hundred and fifty" men had been killed. Here, as in 
 every other fight in which he was engaged, the impetu- 
 osity of Prince Rupert proved the ruin of the Royalists. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 139 
 
 With his cavaliers upon the right of the Royalist army 
 he charged the Scotch horse, scattered them in every 
 direction and rode after them, chasing and slaying. The 
 center of each army, composed of infantry, fought 
 desperately, and without much advantage to either side, 
 But upon the Royalist left the fate of the day was decidedo 
 There a new element was introduced into the struggle, 
 for the right of the Roundhead force was commanded by 
 Cromwell, who had raised and disciplined a body of 
 cavalry called the Ironsides. These men were all fanat- 
 ics in religion and fought with a sternness and vigor 
 which carried all before them. In the eastern counties 
 they had already done great service; but this was the 
 first pitched battle at which they had been present. 
 Their onslaught proved irresistible. The Royalist 
 cavalry upon the left were completely broken, and the 
 Roundhead horse then charged down upon the rear of 
 the king's infantry. Had Rupert rallied his men and 
 performed the same service upon the Parliament infan- 
 try, the battle might have been a drawn one; but, intoxi 
 cated with victory, he was chasing the Scottish horse 
 far away, while Cromwell's Ironsides were deciding the 
 fate of the battle. When he returned to the field all 
 was over. Fifteen hundred prisoners, all the artillery, 
 and more than a hundred banners had fallen into the 
 hands of the cavalry; and with the remnants of his army 
 Prince Rupert retired with all haste toward Chester, 
 while Newcastle left York and embarked at Scarborough 
 for the Continent. 
 
 Colonel Furness' troop had been with the wing under 
 Prince Rupert, and deep indeed was their mortification 
 when, upon returning to the field of battle, they found 
 that all was lost. 
 
 "Unless a very different discipline is introduced upon 
 our side/' Colonel Furness said to his son that night in 
 
140 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 York, "it is clear that the king's cause is ruined. The 
 Ironsides fight in a solid mass, and, after having given a 
 charge, they are ready at order to wheel about and to 
 deliver their attack wheresoever their general commands 
 them. With us, no sooner do we defeat the enemy than 
 we break into confusion, each man scatters in pursuit as 
 if we were hunting a fox, and when at last we draw rein, 
 miles away from the battle, we ever find that upon our 
 return our footmen have been defeated. I fear much 
 that Prince Rupert, with all his bravery, is a hindrance 
 rather than an aid to the Royal cause. His counsels 
 have always been on the side of resistance. He has sup- 
 ported the king in his too obstinate insistance upon what 
 he deems his rights, while in the field his command is 
 fatal to us. I fear, my boy, that the struggle will end 
 badly, and I foresee bad times for England, and for all of 
 us who have supported the cause of the king. ?J 
 
 As the dispirited army marched back they received 
 news which somewhat raised their hearts. The king 
 had marched after Essex into Cornwall, and there had 
 driven him into sore straits. He had endeavored to in- 
 duce Essex to make a general treaty of peace; but the 
 earl replied that he had no authority to treat, and that, 
 even did he do so, the Parliament would not submit to 
 be bound by it. With a considerable portion of his 
 cavalry, he succeeded in passing through the Royal 
 lines; but the whole of the infantry under General Skip- 
 pon were forced to capitulate, the king giving them 
 honorable terms, and requiring only the surrender of the 
 artillery, arras, and ammunition. The whole of the 
 army returned as scattered fugitives to London. 
 
 The king resolved again to march upon the capital, 
 Montrose was now in arms in Scotland, and had gained 
 two considerable victories over the Covenanters. The 
 defeat at Marston had been outbalanced by the victories 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 141 
 
 over Waller and Essex, and the Scotch, alarmed by the 
 successes of Montrose, were ready to listen to terms, 
 Steadily the king advanced eastward, and at Newbury 
 the armies again met. As upon the previous occasion 
 on that field, the battle led to no decisive results. Each 
 side fought stoutly, and at nightfall separated without 
 achieving substantial results. The king fell back upon 
 Oxford, and the Parliament army upon Reading, and 
 negotiations were once again renewed between king and 
 Parliament. 
 
142 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 AN ESCAPE FROM PRISON. 
 
 THERE was no sadder or more gloomy face among the 
 officers of the Parliament than that of Herbert Ripping- 
 hall sad, not from the sour asceticism which distin- 
 guished the great portion of these officers, but from his 
 regrets over the struggle in which he was taking a part. 
 While Harry Furness saw much to find fault with in the 
 conduct of many of his fellows, and in the obstinacy 
 with which the king refused to grant concessions which 
 might up to this time have restored peace to the land, 
 Herbert, on his side, was shocked at the violence and 
 excessive demands on the part of the Parliament, and at 
 the rank hypocrisy which he saw everywhere around 
 him. Both lads still considered that the balance of 
 justice was on the side upon which they fought. But 
 both, Herbert perhaps because more thoughtful, there- 
 fore more strongly, saw that the faults upon one side 
 balanced those upon the other. Herbert had not taken 
 up the sword willingly, as Harry had done. He was by 
 disposition far less prone to adventure and more given 
 to sober thought, and the violence of his father and the 
 bigoted opinions which he held had repelled him from 
 rather than attracted him toward the principles which 
 he advocated. When, however, the summons came 
 from his father to join him at Reading, with the rest of 
 the hands employed in the business, he did not hesitate. 
 He still hoped that the pacific party in Parliament would 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 overcome the more violent, and that the tyranny of a 
 small minority toward which the country appeared to be 
 drifting would be nipped in the bud. 
 
 The divisions, indeed, in the Parliament were far 
 greater than in the councils of the king. Between the 
 Independents and the Presbyterians a wide gulf existed. 
 The latter party, which was much the more numerous 
 in Parliament, and which had moreover the countenance 
 and alliance of the Scotch Presbyterians, viewed with 
 the greatest jealousy the increasing arrogance of the In- 
 dependents and of the military party. They became 
 alarmed when they saw that they were rapidly drifting 
 from the rule of the king to that of Cromwell, and that 
 while they themselves would be satisfied with ample con- 
 cessions and a certain amount of toleration, the Inde- 
 pendents were working for much more than this. Upon 
 the Presbyterian side, Lord Essex was regarded as their 
 champion with the army, as against Cromwell, Fairfax, 
 and Ireton. So strong did the feeling become that it 
 was moved in the Commons "that no member of either 
 House should, during the war, enjoy or execute any 
 office or command, civil or military." A long and 
 furious debate followed; but the ordinance was passed by 
 the Lower House, and went up to the Lords, and waa 
 finally passed by them. 
 
 Now, however, occurred an episode which added 
 greatly to the religious hatred prevailing between the 
 two parties, and shocked many of the adherents of the 
 Parliament by the wanton bigotry which it displayed. 
 Archbishop Laud had now lain for four years in prison, 
 and by an ordinance of Parliament, voted by only seven 
 lords, he was condemned for high -treason, and was be- 
 headed on the 10th of January. This cruel and unnec- 
 essary murder showed only too plainly that the tolera- 
 tion which the Dissenters had clamored for meant only 
 
144 FRIENDS, THOUGH D IV Ik fib 
 
 toleration for themselves, and intolerance toward all 
 others; and a further example of this was giver, by the 
 passing of an ordinance forbidding the use of the Liturgy 
 of the Church of England in any place of worship in the 
 country. 
 
 Rendered nervous hy the increasing power of the Inde- 
 pendents, the majority in Parliament now determined to 
 open fresh negotiations with the king, and these offered 
 a fairer prospect of peace than any which had hitherto 
 preceded them. Commissioners were appointed by Par- 
 liament and by the king, and these met at Uxbridge, a 
 truce being made for twenty days. Had the king been 
 endowed with any sense of the danger of his position, or 
 any desire to treat in a straightforward and honest man- 
 ner with his opponents, peace might now have been 
 secured. But the unfortunate monarch was seeking to 
 cajole his foes rather than to treat with them, and his 
 own papers, afterward discovered, show too plainly that 
 the concessions which he offered were meant only to be 
 kept so long as it might please him. The twenty 
 precious days were frittered away in disputes. The king 
 would grant one day concessions which he would revoke 
 the next. The victories which Montrose was gaining in 
 the north had roused his hopes, and the evil advice of 
 his wife and Prince Rupert, and the earnest remon- 
 strances which he received from Moafcrose against sur- 
 rendering to the demands of Parliament, overpowered 
 the advice of his wiser counselors. At the end of twenty 
 days the negotiations ceased, and the commissioners of 
 Parliament returned to London, convinced that there 
 was no hope of obtaining a permanent peace with a man 
 so vacillating and insincere as the king. 
 
 Herbert had been with his father at Uxbridge, as the 
 regiment oi foot te which he belonged was on guard 
 there, and it was with a heavy heart that he returned to 
 
S, THOUGH DIVIDED. M5 
 
 London, convinced that the war must go on, but forbod- 
 ing as groat a disaster to the country in the despotism 
 which he saw the Independents would finally establish 
 as in the despotism of King Charles. 
 
 There was a general gloom in the city when the news 
 of the unsuccessful termination of the negotiations be- 
 came known. The vast majority of the people were 
 eagerly desirous of peace. The two years which the 
 war had already lasted had brought nothing save ruin to 
 trade and general disaster, and the great body of the 
 public who were not tinged with the intense fanaticism 
 of the Independents, and who did not view all pleasure 
 and enjoyment in life as sinful, longed for the merry old 
 days when Englishmen might smile without being 
 accused of sin, and when life was not passed solely in 
 prayer and exhortation. Several small riots had broken 
 out in London; but these were promptly suppressed. 
 Among the 'prentice boys, especially, did the spirit of 
 revolt against the gloomy asceticism of the time prevail, 
 and there can be little doubt that if at this period, or 
 for a long time subsequent, the king could have appeared 
 suddenly in the city at the head of a few score troops, 
 he would have been welcomed with acclamation, and 
 the great body of the citizens would have rallied round 
 him. 
 
 When the Parliament commissioners reached London 
 Fairfax received his commission as sole general of the 
 army. The military services of Cromwell were of such 
 importance that Fairfax and his officers urged that an 
 exception should be made to the ordinance in his case, 
 and that he should be temporarily appointed lieutenant- 
 general and chief commander of horse. The moderate 
 party yielded to the demand of the Independents. The 
 Earls of Essex, Manchester, and Denbigh gave in their 
 resignations. Many of the more moderate advisers of 
 
146 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Charles also retired to their estates, despairing of a con- 
 flict in which the king's obstinacy admitted of no hope 
 of a favorable termination. They, too, had, as much 
 perhaps as the members of the recalcitrant Parliament, 
 hoped for reforms; but it was clear that the king would 
 never consent to reign except as an absolute monarch, 
 and for this they were unprepared. The violent party 
 among the Cavaliers now ruled supreme in the councils 
 of Charles. For a short time the royal cause seemed in 
 the ascendant. Leicester had been taken by storm^ 
 Taunton was besieged, Fairfax was surrounding Oxford, 
 but was doing nothing against the town. On the 5th of 
 June he was ordered to raise the siege, and to go to the 
 Midland counties after the royal army. On the 13th 
 Fairfax and Cromwell joined their forces, and pursued 
 the king, whom they overtook the next day near Naseby= 
 Herbert had accompanied the army of Fairfax, and 
 seeing the number and resolution of the troops, he hoped 
 that a victory might be gained which would terminate 
 for good and all this disastrous conflict. The ground 
 round Naseby is chiefly moorland. The king's army was 
 drawn up a mile from Market Harborough. Prince 
 Rupert commanded the left wing, Sir Marmaduke Lang- 
 dale the right, Lord Ashley the main body. Fairfax 
 commanded the center of the Eoundheads, with General 
 Skippon under him. Cromwell commanded the right 
 and Ireton the left. Rupert had hurried on with his 
 horse in advance, and coming upon the Roundheads, at 
 once engaged them. So sudden was the attack that 
 neither party had formed its lines for battle, and the 
 artillery was in the rear. Between the armies lay a wide 
 level known as Broadmoor. It was across this that 
 Rupert had ridden, and charging up the hill on the 
 other side, fell upon the left wing of Fairfax. Crom- 
 well, upon the other hand, from the extreme right 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDBD. 147 
 
 charged down the hill upon Langdale's squadrons. 
 Prince Rupert, as usual, carried all before him. Shout- 
 ing his battle cry, "Queen Mary," he fell upon Ireton's 
 left wing, and drove them from the field, chasing them 
 back to Naseby, where, as usual, he lost time in captur- 
 ing the enemy's baggage. Cromwell, with his Ironsides, 
 upon the other hand, had broken Langdale's horse and 
 driven them from the field. In the center the fight was 
 hot. The king's foot had come up the hill and poured 
 volley after volley into the parliament ranks. Hand to 
 hand the infantry were fighting, and gradually the 
 Roundheads were giving way. But now, as at Marston, 
 Cromwell, keeping his Ironsides well in hand, returned 
 from the defeat of Langdale's horse, and fell upon the 
 rear of the Royalists. Fairfax rallied his men as he saw 
 the horse coming up to his assistance. Rupert's troop- 
 ers were far from the field, and a panic seizing the king's 
 reserve of horse, who had they charged might have won 
 the day, the Earl of Carnewarth, taking hold of King 
 Charles' horse, forced him from the field, and the battle 
 ended, with the complete defeat of the royal troops, 
 before Rupert returned to the field of battle. 
 
 The Royalists lost in killed and prisoners five thou- 
 sand men, their twelve guns, and all their baggage train, 
 and what was of even greater importance, the king's 
 private cabinet, which contained documents which did 
 more to precipitate his ruin even than the defeat of his 
 army. Here were found letters proving that while he 
 had professed his desire to treat, he had no intention of 
 giving way in the slightest degree. Here were copies of 
 letters to foreign princes asking for aid, and to the 
 Papists in Ireland, promising all kinds of concessions if 
 they would rise in his favor. Not only did the publica- 
 tion of this correspondence and of the private letters 
 between the king and queen add to the indignation of 
 
148 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 the Commons and to their determination to fight to the 
 bitterest end, but it disgusted and alienated a vast num- 
 ber of Royalists who had hitherto believed in the king 
 and trusted to his royal word. 
 
 Among the prisoners taken at Naseby was Harry Fur- 
 ness, whose troop had been with Langdale's horse, and 
 who, his charger having been shot, had fallen upon the 
 fieid, his head being cut by the sweep of the sword of a 
 Roundhead soldier, who struck at him as he was lying on 
 the ground. Soon after the battle, when it became 
 known what prisoners had been taken, he was visited by 
 his friend Herbert. 
 
 "We are changing sides, Herbert," Harry said, with a 
 faint smile. "The last time we met you were nigh fall- 
 ^ng into the hands of the Royalists, now I have alto- 
 gether fallen into yours." 
 
 "Yes, and unfortunately," Herbert said, "I cannot 
 repeat your act of generosity. However, Harry, I trust 
 that with this great battle the war is nearly over, and 
 that all prisoners now taken will speedily be released. 
 At any rate, I need not assure you that you will have my 
 aid and assistance in any matter." 
 
 The Parliamentary leaders did not allow the grass to 
 grow under their feet after Naseby. Prince Rupert, with 
 a considerable force, had marched to Bristol, and Fair- 
 fax and Cromwell followed him there. A considerable 
 portion of the prisoners were sent to London, but some 
 were retained with the army. Among these was Harry 
 Furness, whom it was intended to confine with many 
 others in some sure place in the south. Under a guard 
 they were conducted to Reading, where they were for 
 awhile to be kept. Essex and Cromwell advanced to 
 Bristol, which they surrounded; and Prince Rupert, 
 after a brave defense, was forced to capitulate, upon 
 terms similar to those which had been granted by tha 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 149 
 
 king to the army of Lord Essex the year before. In his 
 conduct of the siege the prince had certainly not failed. 
 But this misfortune aroused the king's anger move than 
 the faults which had done such evil service on the fields 
 of Naseby and Marston, and he wrote to the prince, 
 ordering him to leave the kingdom at once. 
 
 It would have been well had King Charles here ceased 
 the struggle, for the cause of the Royalists was now 
 hopeless. Infatuated to the last, however, and deeming 
 ever that the increasing contentions and ill-will between 
 the two parties in Parliament would finally end by om 
 of them bidding for the Royal support, and agreeing to 
 his terms, the king continued the contest. Here and 
 there isolated affrays took place; risings in Kent and 
 other counties occurring, but being defeated summarily 
 by the vigor of Fairfax and his generals. 
 
 The time passed but slowly with Harry at Reading. 
 He and his fellow-prisoners were assigned quarters in a 
 large building, under the guard of a regiment of Parlia- 
 ment troops. Their imprisonment was not rigorous. 
 They were fairly fed and allowed exercise in a large 
 courtyard which adjoined the house. The more reckless 
 spirits sang, jested, wrote scurrilous songs on the Round- 
 heads, and passed the time as cheerfully as might be. 
 Harry, however, with the restlessness of his age, longed 
 for liberty. He knew that Prince Charles was in com- 
 mand of the army in the west, and he longed to join him 
 and try once more the fortunes of battle. The guard 
 set round the building was close and vigilant, and the 
 chances of escape appeared small. Still, Harry thought 
 that if he could escape from an upper window on a dark 
 night he could surely make his way through the line of 
 sentries. He had observed on moonlight nights the 
 exact position which each of these occupied. The inter- 
 vals were short between them; but it would be quite 
 
150 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 possible on a dark night for a person to pass noiselessly 
 without being perceived. The watch would hare been 
 even more strict than it was, had not the Puritans re- 
 garded the struggle as virtually at an end, and were, 
 therefore, less careful as to their prisoners than they 
 would otherwise have been. Harry prepared for escape 
 by tearing up the blankets of his bed and knotting them 
 into ropes. A portion he wrapped round his shoes, so 
 as to walk noiselessly, and taking advantage of a dark, 
 moonless night, when the fog hung thick upon the low 
 land round Reading, he opened his window, threw out 
 his rope, and slipped down to the ground. 
 
 So dark was the fog that it was difficult for him to see 
 two paces in advance, and he soon found that the care- 
 ful observations which he had taken of the place of the 
 sentries would be altogether useless. Still, in the dark- 
 ness and thickness of the night, he thought that the 
 chance of detection was small. Creeping quietly and 
 noiselessly along, he could hear the constant challenges 
 of the sentries round him. These, excited by the un- 
 usual darkness of the night, were unusually vigilant. 
 Harry approached until he was within a few yards of the 
 line, and the voices of the men as they challenged enabled 
 him to ascertain exactly the position of those on the 
 right and left of him. Passing between these, he could 
 see neither, although they were but a few paces on 
 either hand, and he would have got off unobserved had 
 he not suddenly fallen into a deep stream running across 
 his way, and which in the darkness he did not see until 
 he fell into it. At the sound there was an instant chal- 
 lege, and then a piece was discharged. Harry struggled 
 across the stream, and clambered out on the opposite 
 side. As he did so a number of muskets were fired in 
 his direction by the men who came rushing up to the 
 point of alarm. One ball struck him in the shoulder. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 151 
 
 The rest whizzed harmlessly by, and at the top of his 
 speed he ran forward. 
 
 He was now safe from pursuit, for in the darkness of 
 the night it would have been absolutely impossible to 
 follow him. In a few minutes he ceased running, for 
 when all became quiet behind him, he could no longer 
 tell in what direction he was advancing. So long as he 
 could hear the shouts of the sentries he continued his 
 way, and then, all guidance being lost, he lay down 
 under a hedge and waited for morning. It was still 
 thick and foggy; but wandering aimlessly about for some 
 time, he succeeded at last in striking upon a road, and 
 judging from the side upon which he had entered it in 
 which direction Reading must lie, he took the western 
 way and went forward. The ball had passed only 
 through the fleshy part of his shoulder, missing the 
 bone; and although it caused him much pain, he was 
 able, by wrapping his arm tightly to his body, to pro- 
 ceed. More than once he had to withdraw from the 
 road into the fields beyond, when he heard troops of 
 horse galloping along. 
 
 After a long day's walk he arrived near Abingdon, 
 and there made for the hall. Instead of going to the 
 door he made for the windows, and, looking in, saw a 
 number of Eoundhead soldiers m the hall, and knew that 
 there was no safety for him. As he glanced in one of 
 the soldiers happened to cast his eyes up, and gave a 
 shout on seeing a figure looking in at the window. In- 
 stantly the rest sprang to their feet, and started out to 
 secure the intruder. Harry fled along the road, and 
 soon reached Abingdon. He had at first thought of 
 making for one of his father's farms; but he felt sure 
 that here also Roundhead troops would be quartered. 
 After a moment's hesitation he determined to make for 
 Mr. Rippinghall's. He knew the premises accurately, 
 
L*>% FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 *nd thought that he might easily take refuge in the 
 warehouses, in which large quantities of wool were wont 
 to be stored. The streets were deserted, for it was now 
 late at night, and he found his way without interrup- 
 tion to the wool-stapler's. Here he climbed over a wall, 
 made his way into the warehouse, and clambering over a 
 large number of bales, laid himself down next to the 
 wall, secure from any casual observation. Here he went 
 off to sleep, and it was late next day before he opened 
 his eyes. He was nearly uttering an exclamation at the 
 pain which his movement on waking gave to his wounded 
 arm. He, however, repressed it, and it was well he did 
 so, as he heard voices in the warehouse. Men were re- 
 moving bales of wool, and for some hours this process 
 went on. Harry, being well back, had little fear that 
 he should be disturbed. 
 
 The hours passed wearily. He was parched and fever- 
 ish from the pain of his wound, and was unable to de- 
 liberate as to his best course. Sometimes he dozed off 
 into snatches of sleep, and after one of these he found 
 that the warehouse was again silent, and that darkness 
 had set in. He determined to wait at least for another 
 day, and also that he would early in the morning look 
 out from the window before the men entered, in hopes 
 that he might catch sight of his old playfellow, Lucy, 
 who would, he felt sure, bring him some water and re- 
 freshment if she were able. Accordingly, in the morn- 
 ing, he took his place so as to command a view of the 
 garden, and presently to his great surprise he saw Her- 
 bert, whom he had believed with the army, come out 
 together with Lucy. They had not taken four paces in 
 the garden when their attention was attracted by a tap 
 at the window, and looking up, they were astonished at 
 beholding Harry's pale face there. With an exclama- 
 tion of surprise they hurried into the warehouse. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 153 
 
 "My dear Harry/' Herbert exclaimed, "how did you 
 get here? The troops have been searching for you high 
 and low. Your escape from Reading was bruited abroad 
 a few hours after it took place, and the party at the hall 
 having reported seeing some one looking in at the win- 
 dow, there was no doubt felt that you had gained this 
 neighborhood, and a close watch has been kept. All 
 your father's farms have been carefully examined, and 
 their occupants questioned, and the general belief is that 
 you are still hidden somewhere near." 
 
 "I got a ball through my shoulder," Harry said, "in 
 making my way through the sentries, and have felt my- 
 self unable to travel until I could obtain some food. I 
 thought that I should be safer from search here, and 
 believing you were away in the army, thought that your 
 sister would perhaps be moved by compassion to aid her 
 old playfellow." 
 
 "Yes, indeed," the girl said; "I would have done 
 anything for you, Harry. To think of your being hid- 
 den so close to us, while we were sleeping quietly. I 
 will at once get you some food, and then you and Her- 
 bert can talk over what is best to be done." 
 
 So saying she ran into the house, and returned in a 
 few minutes with a bowl of milk and some freshly made 
 oakes, which Harry drank and ate irayenously. In the 
 meantime, he was discussing with HeToert what was the 
 best course to pursue. 
 
 "It would not be safe," Herbert said, "for you to try 
 and journey further at present. The search for you is 
 very keen, and it happens, unfortunately, that the 
 officer in command here is the very man whose face you 
 sliced when he came to Furness Hall some two years 
 back. It would be a bad thing for you were you to fall 
 into hi? hands." 
 
 Lucy at first proposed that Harry should be taken into 
 
154 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the house, and go at once to bed. She and Herbert 
 could then give out that a friend had arrived from a 
 distance, who was ill, and, waiting upon him themselves, 
 could prevent suspicion being attracted. This, however, 
 Herbert did not think would be safe. It would be asked 
 when the inmate had arrived, and who he was, and why 
 the servants should not, as usual, attend upon him. 
 
 "I think," he said, "that if to-night I go forth, hav- 
 ing said at dinner in the hearing of the servant that I 
 am expecting a friend from London, you can then jdfii 
 me outside, and return with me. You must crop off 
 those long ringlets of yours, and turn Roundhead for 
 the nonce. I can let you have a sober suit which was 
 made for me when I was in London, and which has not 
 yet been seen by my servants. I can say that you are in 
 bad health, and this will enable you to remain at home, 
 keeping upon a couch to nurse your shoulder/' 
 
 "The shoulder is of no consequence,'* Harry saidc 
 "A mere flesh wound like that would not detain me u 
 day from the saddle. It is only the fatigue and loss of 
 blood, together with want of food, which has weakened 
 me." 
 
 As no other course presented itself this was followed. 
 Harry remained during the day in his place of conceal- 
 ment in the warehouse, and at nightfall went oat, and, 
 being joined by Herbert, returned with him to the 
 house. The door was opened by Lucy and he entered 
 unperceived by the domestics. The first operation was 
 to cut off the whole of his hair close to his head. He 
 was then attired in Herbert's clothes, and looked, as 
 Lucy told him, a quiet and decent young gentleman. 
 Then he took his place on a couch in the sitting-room, 
 and Herbert rung for supper, which he had ordered to 
 be prepared for a guest as well as for Lucy and himself. 
 
, THOUGH DIVIDED. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 PUBLIC EVENTS. 
 
 FOR some days Harry remained quietly with his friend, 
 He did not stir beyond the door, although he had but 
 little fear of any of his old friends recognizing him, 
 The two years which had passed since he was at school 
 had greatly changed his appearance, and his closely-cut 
 hair, and the somber and Puritanical cut of his garments 
 so completely altered him that it would have been a 
 keen eye indeed which had recognized him when merely 
 passing in the street. A portion of each day he spent 
 out in the garden strolling with Lucy, or sitting quietly 
 while she read to him. The stiffness in his arm was now 
 abating, and as the search for him had to a great extent 
 ceased, he intended in a short time to make for Oxford. 
 
 The news from the various points at which the con- 
 flict still continued was everywhere disastrous for the 
 king. Montrose had been defeated. The king, en- 
 deavoring to make his way north to join him, had been 
 smartly repulsed. The Royalists were everywhere dis- 
 organized and broken. Negotiations were once again 
 proceeding, and as the Scottish army was marching 
 south, and the affairs of the crown seemed desperate, 
 there was every hope that the end of the long struggle 
 was approaching. Harry's departure was hastened by a 
 letter received by Herbert from his father, saying that 
 he had obtained leave from his regiment, and should b 
 down upon the following day. 
 
:56 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "My father will not blame me," Herbert said, "for 
 what I have done, when he comes to know it. But I am 
 not sure that he would himself approve of your remain- 
 ing here. His convictions -are so earnest, and his sense 
 of duty so strong, that I do not think he would harbor 
 his nearest relative, did he believe him to be in favor oi 
 the king." 
 
 Harry next morning mounted a horse of Herbert's 
 and started to ride from the town, after taking an affec- 
 tionate farewell of his hosts. When two miles out of 
 Abingdon he suddenly came upon a body of Parliament 
 horse, in the leader of whom he recognized, by a great 
 scar across his face, the officer with whom he had fallen 
 out at Pnrness Hall. Relying upon his disguise^ and 
 upon the fact that it was only for a minute that the 
 officer had seen him, he rode quietly on. 
 
 "Whom have we here?" the Roundhead said, reining 
 in his horse. 
 
 "My name is Roger Copley, and I am making my way 
 from London to my people, who reside in the west 
 There is no law, I believe, against my so doing." 
 
 "There is no law for much that is done or undone/' 
 the Roundhead said. "Malignants are going about the 
 country in all sorts of disguises, stirring up men to un- 
 godly enterprises, and we cannot be too particular whom 
 we let pass. What hast thou been doing in London?" 
 
 "I have been serving my time as apprentice to Master 
 Nicholas Fleming, the merchant in velvets and silks in 
 the Chepe." 
 
 VHast thou any papers to prove thy identity?" 
 
 "I have not," Harry said; "not knowing that such 
 were needed. I have traveled thus far without interrup- 
 tion or question, and am surprised to find hindrance 
 upon the part of an officer of the Commons." 
 
 "You must turn your horse, and ride back with mo 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 15* 
 
 into Abmgdon," the officer said. "I doubt me mucK 
 that you are as you pretend to be. However, it is 
 matter which we can bring to the proof.'* 
 
 Harry wondered to himself of what proof the matte* 
 was capable. But without a word he turned his horse'* 
 head toward Abingdon. Scarcely a word was spoken o\ 
 the way, and Harry was meditating whether he should 
 say that he had been staying with his friend Herbert, 
 But thinking that this might lead the latter into trouble^ 
 he determined to be silent on that head. They stopped 
 at the door of the principal trader in the town and th* 
 captain roughly told his prisoner to alight and ente* 
 with him. 
 
 "Master Williamson," he said, "bring out some piece\ 
 of velvet. This man, whom I suspect to bs a Cavalie* 
 in disguise, saith that he has been an apprentice to Mas 
 ter Nicholas Fleming, a velvet dealer of London. * 
 would fain see how far his knowledge of these goods ex 
 tends. Bring out five or six pieces of various qualities, 
 and put them upon your table promiscuously, and not i* 
 order of value." 
 
 The mercer did as requested. 
 
 "These goods," he said, "were obtained from Maste* 
 Fleming himself. "I bought them last year, and hav 
 scarce sold a piece of such an article since." 
 
 Harry felt rather nervous at the thought of being 
 obliged to distinguish between the velvets, for although 
 he had received some hints and instructions from th* 
 merchant, he knew that the appearance of one kind o f 
 velvet differed but slightly from that of the inferio* 
 qualities. To his satisfaction, however, ho saw at th 
 end of the rolls the pieces of paper intact upon which 
 Master Fleming's private marks were placed. 
 
 "I need not," he said, "look at the velvets, for I sen 
 my master's private marks upon them, and can of course 
 tell you their value at once." 
 
158 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 So saying, from the private marks he read off the 
 value of each roll of velvet per yard, and as these tallied 
 exactly with the amount which the mercer had paid for 
 them, no further doubts remained upon the mind of the 
 officer. 
 
 "These marks," he said to the mercer, "are, I sup^ 
 pose, private, and could not be read save by one in the 
 merchant's confidence?" 
 
 "That is so," the mercer replied. "I myself am in 
 ignorance of the meaning of these various symbols." 
 
 "Yon will forgive me," the Parliament officer said to 
 Harry. "In these times one cannot be too suspicious, 
 and even the best friends of the Commons need not 
 grudge a little delay in their journeyings, in order that 
 the doings of the malignants may be arrested." 
 
 Harry in a few words assured the officer that he bore 
 him no malice for his arrest, and that, indeed, his zeal 
 in the cause did him credit. Then again mounting his 
 horse, he quietly rode out of Abingdon. This time he 
 met with no difficulties, and an hour later entered Oxford. 
 
 Here he found his father and many of his acquaint- 
 ances. A great change had come over the royal city. 
 The tone of boastfulness and anticipated triumph which 
 had pervaded it before the second battle of Newbury had 
 now entirely disappeared. Gloom was written upon all 
 faces, and few entertained any hopes of a favorable ter- 
 mination to their cause. Here a year passed slowly and 
 heavily. The great proportion of Sir Henry Furness' 
 troop were allowed to return to their farms, as at present 
 there was no occasion for their services in the field. 
 
 All this time the king was negotiating and treating; 
 the Parliament quarreling furiously among themselves, 
 The war had languished everywhere. In the west a 
 rising had been defeated by the Parliament troops. The 
 Prince of Wales had retired to France; and there was 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 159 
 
 now no force which could be called an army capable of 
 taking the field. 
 
 The bitterness of the conflict had for a long time 
 ceased; and in the general hope that peace was at hand, 
 the rancor of Cavalier against Koundhead softened down. 
 A great many of the adherents of Charles returned 
 quietly to their homes, and here they were allowed to 
 settle down without interruption. 
 
 The contrast between this state of things and that 
 which prevailed in Scotland was very strong, and has 
 been noted by more than one historian. In England 
 men struggled for principle, and, having fought the 
 battle out, appeared to bear but little animosity to each 
 other, and returned each to his own pursuits unmolested 
 and unharmed. In Scotland, upon the other hand, after 
 the defeat of Montrose, large numbers of prisoners were 
 executed in cold blood, and sanguinary persecutions took 
 place. 
 
 In Parliament the disputes between the Independents 
 and Presbyterians grew more and more bitter, the latter 
 being strengthened by the presence of the Scotch army 
 in England. They were greatly in the majority in point 
 of numbers; but the Independents made up for their 
 numerical weakness by the violence of their opinions, 
 and by the support of the army, which was entirely 
 officered by men of extreme views. 
 
 The king, instead of frankly dealing with the Com- 
 mons, now that his hopes in the field were gone, unhap- 
 pily continued his intrigues, hoping that an open breach 
 would take place between the parties. On the 5th of 
 December he wrote to the speaker of the House of 
 Lords, offering to send a deputation to Westminster 
 with propositions for the foundation of a happy and well- 
 grounded peace. This offer was declined, and he again 
 wrote, offering himself to proceed to Westminster to 
 
160 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 treat in person. The leaders of Parliament, and indeed 
 with reason, suspected the sincerity of the king. Papers 
 had been found in the carriage of the Catholic Arch- 
 bishop of Tuam, who was killed in a skirmish in October^ 
 proving that the king had concluded an alliance with 
 the Irish rebels, and that he had agreed, if they would 
 land ten thousand men in England, that popery should 
 be re-established in Ireland, and the Protestants brought 
 under subjection. Letters which have since been dis- 
 covered prove that in January, 1646, while urging upon 
 the Parliament to come to terms, he was writing to the 
 queen, saying that he was only deceiving them. In his 
 letter he said: 
 
 "Now, as to points which I expected by my treaty at 
 London. Knowing assuredly the great animosity which 
 is betwixt the Independents and Presbyterians, I had 
 great reason to hope that one of the factions would so 
 address themselves to me that I might, without great diffi- 
 culty, obtain my so just ends, and, questionless, it would 
 have given me the fittest opportunity. For considering 
 the Scots' treaty that would be besides, I might have 
 found means to put distractions among them, though 
 I had found none." 
 
 Such being the spirit that animated the king, there is 
 little reason for surprise that the negotiations came to 
 nothing. The last hope of the crown was destroyed 
 when, on the 22d of March, Lord Astley, marching from 
 Worcester to join the king at Oxford, was defeated at 
 Stow, in the Wold, and the three thousand Cavaliers 
 with him killed, captured, or dispersed. Again the king 
 sent a message to Parliament, offering to come to White- 
 hall, and proposing terms similar to those which he had 
 rejected when the negotiators met at Uxbridge. His 
 real object, however, was to produce such an effect by 
 his presence in London as would create a reaction in his 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 261 
 
 favor. Three days after he hud sent this message he wrote 
 to Digby: 
 
 "I am endeavoring to get to London, so that the con- 
 ditions may be such as a gentleman may own, and that 
 die rebels may acknowledge me king, being not without 
 hope that I shall be able so to draw either the Presby- 
 terians or Independents to side with me for exterminat- 
 ing the one or the other, that I shall be really king 
 again." 
 
 These offers were rejected by Parliament, and the 
 army of Fairfax advanced toward Oxford. In the mean- 
 while, Montreuil, a special ambassador from France, 
 had been negotiating with the Scottish commissioners in 
 London to induce the Scots to take up the cause of the 
 king. He then proceeded to Edinburgh, and afterward 
 to the Scotch army. At first the Scotch were willing to 
 receive him; but they perceived the danger which would 
 be involved in a quarrel with the English Parliament. 
 Already there were many causes of dispute. The army 
 had not received the pay promised them when they 
 marched south, and being without money had been 
 obliged to live upon the country, creating great disorders 
 and confusion, and rendering themselves bitterly hated 
 by the people. Thus their answers continued to be am- 
 biguous, making no absolute promise, but yet giving a 
 sort of encouragement to the king to place himself in 
 their hands. 
 
 Toward the end of April Fairfax was drawing so close 
 around Oxford that the king felt that hesitation was no 
 longer possible, and accompanied only by his chaplain, 
 Dr. Michael Hudson, and by a groom of his bed- 
 chamber, named Jack Ashburnham, he left Oxford at 
 night, and after many adventures arrived at the Scotch 
 army, before Newark, where upon his arrival "many 
 tords came instantly to wait on his majesty, with profes- 
 
162 FRIENDS, THOUGH D1VIDBD. 
 
 sions of joy to find that lie had so far honored their army 
 as to think it worthy his presence after so long an oppo- 
 sition." Lord Leven, however, who commanded the 
 Scotch army, while receiving the king with professions 
 of courtesy and honor, yet gave him to understand that 
 he must in some way consider himself as a prisoner. 
 The king, at the request of the Scotch, signed an order 
 to his governor of Newark, who had been for months 
 bravely holding out, to surrender the place, and this 
 having been done, the Scottish army with the king 
 marched to Newcastle. 
 
 After the king's surrender to the Scotch the civil war 
 virtually ceased, although many places still held out. 
 Oxford, closely invested, maintained itself until the 22d 
 of June, when it capitulated to Fairfax, upon the terms 
 that the garrison * 'should march out of the city of Ox- 
 ford with their horses and complete arms that properly 
 belong under them proportionable to their present or 
 past commands, flying colors, trampets sounding, drums 
 beating, matches alight at both ends, bullets in their 
 mouths, and every soldier to have twelve charges of 
 powder, match and bullet proportionable." Those who 
 desired to go to their houses or friends were to lay down 
 their arms within fifteen miles of Oxford, and then to 
 have passes, with the right of free quarter, and those 
 who wished to go across the sea to serve any foreign 
 power were to be allowed to do so. This surrender was 
 honorable to both parties, and upon the city being given 
 up, the garrison marched out, and then scattered to 
 their various houses and counties, without let or moles- 
 tation from the troops of the Commons. 
 
 Harry Furness and his father had not far to go. They 
 were soon installed in their old house, where although 
 some confusion prevailed owing to its having been fre- 
 quently in the occupation of bodies of Parliament troops,. 
 
FRIENDS, THOU aH DIVIDED. 163 
 
 yet the damage done was not serious, and in a short tune 
 it was restored to its former condition. Several of the 
 more valuable articles were allowed to remain in the 
 hiding-places in which they had been concealed, as none 
 could yet say how events might finally turn out. A por- 
 tion of the Parliamentary troops were also disbanded, 
 and allowed to return to their homes; among these were 
 Master Kippinghall and his son, and for some months 
 matters went on at Abingdon as if the civil war had 
 never been. Harry often saw his friend Herbert; but 
 so long as the king remained in a doubtful position in 
 the army of the Scots, no close intercourse could take 
 place between members of parties so opposed to each 
 other. 
 
 The time went slowly with Harry, for after the past 
 three years of excitement it was difficult to settle down 
 to a quiet Jife at Furness Hall. He was of course too 
 old now for schooling, and the times were yet too dis- 
 turbed for men to engage in the field sports which 
 occupy so large a portion of cotfntry life. Colonel Fur- 
 ness, indeed, had determined that in no case would he 
 again take up arms. He was discontented with the 
 whole course of events, and foresaw that, with the un- 
 happy temper of the king, no favorable issue could possi- 
 bly be looked for. He had done his best, he said, for 
 the crown and would do no more. He told his son, how- 
 ever, that he should place no rein upon his inclinations 
 should he choose to meddle further in the matter. Harry 
 would fain have gone abroad, whither so many of the 
 leading Cavaliers had already betaken themselves, and 
 entered the service of some foreign court fora few years. 
 But his father dissuaded him from this, at any rate for 
 the present. 
 
 "These delays and negotiations," he said, "cannot 
 last forever. I care not whether Presbyterians or Inde- 
 
^64 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 pendents get the pow?r over our unhappy country. The 
 Independents are perhaps the more bigoted; the Pres- 
 byterians the more intolerant. But as the latter would 
 certainly respect the royal authority more than the for- 
 mer, whose rage appears to me to pass the bounds of all 
 moderation, I would gladly see the Presbyterians obtain 
 the upper hand.'' 
 
 For months the negotiations dragged wearily on, the 
 king,, as usual, maintaining an indecisive attitude 
 between the two parties. At length, however, the negotia- 
 tions ended in a manner which brought an eternal dis- 
 grace upon the Scotch, for they agreed, upon the receipt 
 of a large sum of money as the deferred pay of the army, 
 to deliver the king into the hands of the English Parlia- 
 ment. A great convoy of money was sent down from 
 London, and the day that the cash was in the hands of 
 the Scots they handed over the king to the Parlia- 
 mentary commissioners sent down to receive him. The 
 king was conducted to Holm by House, a fine mansion 
 within six miles of Northampton, and there was at first 
 treated with great honor. A large household and 
 domestic servants were chosen for him, an excellent 
 table kept, and the king was allowed a large amount of 
 personal liberty. The nobles and gentlemen of his court 
 were permitted to see him, and in fact he was apparently 
 restored to his rank and estate. The Presbyterian party 
 wei'8 in power; but while they treated the king with the 
 respect due to his exalted station, they had no moro 
 regard to the rights of his conscience than to those of 
 the consciences of the people at large. He desired to 
 have chaplains of the Episcopal church; but the Parlia- 
 ment refused this, and sent him two Presbyterian minis- 
 ters, whom the king refused to receive. 
 
 While King Charles remained at Holm by Parliament 
 quarreled furiously. The spirit of the Independents 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH D IV WED. 165- 
 
 obtained a stronger and stronger hold upon the army. 
 Cromwell himself, with a host of others, preached daily 
 among them,, and this general, although Fairfax was the 
 oommander-m-chief, came gradually to be regarded as; 
 the leader of the army. There can be no doubt that 
 Cromwell was thoroughly sincere in his convictions, and 
 the charges of hypocrisy which have been brought against 
 him, are at least proved to be untrue. He was a man of 
 convictions as earnest as those of the king himself, and 
 as firmly resolved to override the authority of the Par- 
 liament, when the Parliament withstood him. 
 
 Three days after the king arrived at Holmby House- 
 the Commons voted that the army should be disbanded, 
 with the exception of troops required for the suppres- 
 sion of rebellion in Ireland, and for the service of the 
 garrisons. It was also voted that there should be ncv 
 officers, except Fairfax, of higher rank than colonel, and 
 that every officer should take the covenant and conform 
 to the Presbyterian Church. A loan was raised in the 
 city to pay off a portion of the arrears of pay due to the 
 army. The sum, however, was insufficient, and there- 
 were great murmurings among the men and officers. 
 Fourteen of the latter petitioned Parliament on the sub- 
 ject of arrears, asking that auditors should be appointed 
 to re'port on what was due to them, and laying down 
 some conditions with regard to their employment in 
 Ireland. Five days afterward the House, on receipt of 
 this petition, declared that whoever had a hand in pro- 
 moting it, or any other such petition, was an enemy to 
 the State, and a disturber of the public peace. The 
 arrny were furious at this declaration. Deputations- 
 from them went to the House, and from the House to 
 the army. The Presbyterian members were highly in- 
 dignant at their pretensions, and Cromwell saw that the- 
 time was at hand when the army would take the affair 
 
166 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 entirely into their hands. The soldiers organized a 
 council of delegates, called "Adjutators," to look after 
 their rights. The Parliament voted eight weeks' pay, 
 and a committee went to the army to see it disbanded. 
 The army declined to disband, and said that eight times 
 eight weeks' pay was due. The feeling grew hotter and 
 hotter, and the majority in Parliament came to the con- 
 clusion that Cromwsll should be arrested. Cromwell, 
 however, obtained word of what was intended, and left 
 London. 
 
 Upon the same day a party of soldiers went down to 
 Holm by, and forcibly carried off King Charles from the 
 Parliamentary commissioners, the troops stationed at 
 Holmby fraternizing with their comrades. The king, 
 under the charge of these new guards, arrived at Roys- 
 ton on the 7th of June, and Fairfax and Cromwell met 
 him there. He asked if they had commissioned Joyce, 
 who was at the head of the party of men who had carried 
 him off, to remove him. They denied that they had 
 done so. 
 
 "I shall not believe you/' said the king, "unless you 
 hang him." 
 
 And his majesty had good ground for his disbelief. 
 
 Cromwell returned to London and took his place in 
 the House, and there blamed the soldiers, protesting that 
 he would stick to the Parliament; but the same night he 
 went away again down to the army, and there declared 
 to them the actions and designs of Parliament. Com 
 missioners came down on the 10th from the Commons; 
 but the army formed up, and when the votes were 
 read, refused to obey them. The same afternoon a let- 
 ter, signed by Fairfax, Cromwell, Ireton, and ten other 
 officers, was sent to the city, stating that they were 
 dbout to advance upon London, and declaring that if 
 the city did not take part against them "in their just 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 167 
 
 desires to resist that wicked party which would embroil 
 us and the kingdom, neither we nor our soldiers shall 
 give you the least offense." The army marched to St. 
 Albans, and thence demanded the impeachment of eleven 
 members of the Commons, all leading Presbyterians. 
 The city and Parliament were in a state of consternation. 
 The army advanced to Uxbridge. It demanded a 
 month's pay, and received it; but it continued to ad- 
 vance. On the 26th of April Parliament gave way. 
 The eleven members retired from the House, the Com- 
 mons passed a vote approving of the proceedings of the 
 army, and commissioners were appointed. 
 
 All this time the king was treated as honorably as he 
 had been when at Holmby House. He was always 
 lodged at great houses in the neighborhood of the army 
 at the Earl of Salisbury's, at Hatfield, when the troops 
 were at St. Albans, and at the Earl of Craven's, at 
 Caversham, when the army moved further back. And 
 at both of these places he was allowed to receive the 
 visits of his friends, and to spend his time as he desired. 
 
 More critical times were now, however, at hand. 
 
168 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AN ATTEMPT TO RESCUE THE KING. 
 
 THE king, after London had been overawed by the 
 army, was lodged in Hampton Court. At this time the 
 feeling throughout England was growing stronger and 
 stronger in favor of the re-establishment oi the monarchy. 
 It was now a year since, with the fall of Oxford, the civil 
 war had virtually concluded, and people yearned for a 
 settled government and a return to ancient usages and 
 manners. The great majority of that very Parliament 
 which had withstood and conquered Charles were of 
 one mind with the people in general; but England was 
 no longer free to choose for itself. The army had won 
 the victory for the Commons, and was determined to 
 impose its will upon the nation. At this time Crom- 
 well, Ireton, and Fairfax were disposed to an arrange- 
 ment, but their authority was overshadowed by that of 
 the preachers, who, in their harangues to the troops, 
 denounced these generals as traitors, and then finding 
 that they were likely to lose their influence, and to be- 
 come obnoxious to both parties, henceforth threw their 
 lot in with the army, and headed it in its struggle with 
 the Parliament. Even yet the long misfortunes which 
 Charles had suffered were insufficient to teach him wis- 
 dom. Had he now heartily thrown himself into the 
 hands of the moderate majority in Parliament he might 
 aided by them and by the Scots, who, seeing that the 
 Independents were ignoring all the obligations which 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 169 
 
 had been undertaken by the Solemn League and govern- 
 ment, were now almost openly hostile to the party of 
 the army have again mounted the throne, amid the 
 joyful acclamations of the whole country. The army 
 would have fought, but Charles, with England at hia 
 back, would assuredly have conquered. Unfortunately, 
 the king could not be honest. His sole idea of policy 
 //as to set one section of his opponents against the 
 other. He intrigued at once with the generals and 
 with the Parliament, and had the imprudence to write 
 continually to the queen and others, avowing that he 
 was deceiving both. Several of these letters were inter- 
 cepted, and although desirous of playing off the king 
 against the army, the Commons felt that they could 
 place no trust in him whatever; while the preachers and 
 the army clamored more and more loudly that he should 
 be brought to trial as a traitor. 
 
 Harry Furness had, after the fall of Oxford, remained 
 quietly with his father at Furness Hall. Once or twice 
 only had he gone up to London, returning with reports 
 that the people there were becoming more and more de- 
 sirous of the restoration of the king t-,o his rights. The 
 great majority were heartily sick of the rule of the 
 preachers, with their lengthy exhortations, their sad 
 faces, and their abhorrence of amusement of all kinds. 
 There had been several popular tumults, in which the 
 old cry of "God save the king," had again been raised. 
 The apprentices were ready to join in any movement 
 which might bring back the pleasant times of old. 
 Cavaliers now openly showed themselves in the streets, 
 and London was indeed ripe for an insurrection against 
 the sovereignty which the army had established over 
 the nation. Had the king at this time escaped from 
 Hampton Court, and ridden into London at the head of 
 only twenty gentlemen, and issued a proclamation ap- 
 
170 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 pealing to the loyalty of the citizens, and promising 
 faithfully to preserve the rights of the people, and to 
 govern constitutionally, lie would have been received 
 with acclamation. The majority of Parliament would 
 have declared for him, England would have received the 
 news with delight, and the army alone would not have 
 sufficed to turn the tide against him. Unhappily for 
 Charles, he had no more idea now than at the commence- 
 ment of the war of governing constitutionally, and instead 
 of thinking of trusting himself to the loyalty and affec- 
 tion of his subjects, he was meditating an escape to 
 France. Harry received a letter from one of the king's 
 most attached adherents, who was in waiting upon him 
 at Hampton, begging him to repair there at once, as 
 his majesty desired the aid of a few of those upon whom 
 he could best rely, for an enterprise which he was about 
 to undertake. Harry showed the letter to his father. 
 
 "You must do as you will, Harry," the colonel said. 
 "For myself, I stick to my determination to meddle no 
 more in the broils of this kingdom. Could I trust his 
 majesty, I would lay down my life for him willingly; but 
 I cannot trust him. All the misfortunes which have be- 
 fallen him, all the blood which has been poured out by 
 loyal men in his cause, all the advice which his best 
 councilors have given him, have been thrown away upon 
 him. He is as lavish with his promises as ever, but all 
 the time he is intending to break them as soon as he gets 
 the chance. Were he seated upon the throne again to- 
 morrow, he would be as arbitrary as he was upon the day 
 he ascended it. I do not say that I would not far rather 
 see England under the tyranny of one man than under 
 that of an army of ambitious knaves; but the latter can- 
 not last. The king's authority, once riveted again on 
 the necks of the people, might enslave them for genera- 
 tions, but England will never submit long to the yoke of 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. i;i 
 
 military dictators. The evil is great, but it will right 
 itself in time. But do you do as yon like, Harry. You 
 have, I hope, a long life before you, and 'twere best that 
 you chose your own path in it. But think it over, my 
 son. Decide nothing to-night, and in the morning let 
 me know what you have determined." 
 
 Harry slept but little that night. When he met his 
 lather at breakfast he said: 
 
 "I have decided, father. You know that my opinions 
 run with yours as to the folly of the king, and the 
 wrongfulness and unwisdom of his policy. Still he is 
 alone, surrounded by traitors to whose ambition he is an 
 obstacle, and who clamor for his blood. I know not 
 upon what enterprise he may now be bent, but methinks 
 that it must be that he thinks of an escape from the 
 hands of his jailers. If so, he must meditate a flight to 
 France. There he will need faithful followers, who will 
 do their best to make him feel that he is still a king 
 who will cheer his exile and sustain his hopes. It may 
 be that years will pass before England shakes off the 
 iron yoke which Cromwell and his army are placing upon 
 her neck. But, as you say, I am young and can wait. 
 There are countries in Europe where a gentleman can 
 take service in the army, and should aught happen to 
 King Charles there I will enroll myself until these evil 
 days be all passed. I would rather never see England 
 again than live here to be ruled by King Cromwell and. 
 his canting Ironsides." 
 
 "So be it, my son," the colonel said. "I do not strive 
 to dissuade you, for methinks had I been of your age I 
 should have chosen the same. Should your fortunes 
 lead you abroad, as they likely will, I shall send yon a 
 third of my income hert. The rest will be ample for 
 me. There will be little feasting or merriment at Fur- 
 ness Hall until the cloud which overshadows England 
 
372 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 be passed away, and you be again by my side. There is 
 Mttle fear of my being disturbed. Those who laid down 
 *,heir arms when the war ceased were assured of the 
 possession of their property, and as I shall draw sword 
 no more there will be no excuse for the Koundheads to 
 j-ay hands on Furness Hall. And now, my boy, here are 
 a hundred gold pieces. Use them in the king's service. 
 When I hear that you are abroad I will write to Master 
 Fleming to arrange with his correspondents, whether in 
 France or Holland, as you may chance to be, to pay the 
 money regularly into your hands. You will, I suppose, 
 take Jacob with you?" 
 
 "Assuredly I will," Harry said. "He is attached and 
 faithful, and although he cares not very greatly for the 
 king's cause, I know he will follow my fortunes. He is 
 sick to death of the post which I obtained for him after 
 the war, with a scrivener at Oxford. I will also take 
 William Long with me, if he will go. He is a merry 
 fellow, and has a wise head. He and Jacob did mar- 
 velously at Edinburgh, when they cozened the preachers, 
 and got me out of the clutches of Argyll. With two 
 such trusty followers I could go through Europe. I will 
 ride over to Oxford at once." 
 
 As Harry anticipated, Jacob was delighted at the pros- 
 pect of abandoning his scrivener's desk. 
 
 "I don't believe," he said, when he had learned from 
 Harry that they were going to the king at Hampton, 
 "that aught will come of these plottings. As I told yon 
 when we were apprentices together, I love plots, but 
 there are men with whom it is fatal to plot. Such a 
 one, assuredly, is his gracious majesty. For a plot to 
 be successful, all to be concerned in it must know their 
 own minds, and be true as steel to each other. The 
 king never knows his own mind for half an hour to- 
 gether, and, unfortunately, he seems unable to be true 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 173 
 
 to any one. So let it be understood, Master Harry,, that 
 I go into this business partly from love of yon, who have 
 been truly a most kind friend to me, partly because I 
 love adventure, and hate this scrivener's desk, partly 
 because there is a chance that I may benefit by the 
 change." 
 
 Harry bade him procure apparel as a sober retainer in 
 a Puritan family, and join him that night at Furness 
 Hall, as he purposed to set out at daybreak. William 
 Long also agreed at once to follow Harry's fortunes. 
 The old farmer, his father, offered no objection. 
 
 "It is right that my son should ride with the heir of 
 Furness Hall," he said. "We have been Furness ten- 
 ants for centuries, and have ever fought by our lords in 
 battle. Besides, Master Harry, I doubt me whether 
 William will ever settle down here in peace. His elder 
 brother will have the farm after me, so it matters not 
 greatly, but your wars and jonrneyings have turned his 
 head, and he thinks of arms and steel caps more than 
 of fat beeves or well-tilled fields." 
 
 The next morning, soon after daybreak, Harry and his 
 followers left Furness Hall, ami arrived the same night at 
 Hampton. Here they put up at a hostelry, and Harry 
 sent a messenger to Lord Ashburnham, who had sum- 
 moned him, and was in attendance upon the king, to say- 
 that he had arrived. 
 
 An hour later Lord Ashburnham joined him. "I am 
 glad you have come, Master Furness,"' he said. "The 
 king needs faithful servants; and it's well that you havo 
 come to-day, as I have been ordered by those in power to 
 remove from the king's person. His majesty has lost all 
 hope of coming to an agreement with either party here. 
 At one time it seemed that Cromwell and Ireton were 
 like to have joined him, but a letter of the king's, in 
 which he spoke of them somewhat discourteously, fell 
 
174 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 into their hands, and they have now given themselves 
 wholly over to the party most furious against the king. 
 Therefore he has resolved to fly. Do you move from 
 hence and take np your quarters at Kingston, where no 
 curious questions are likely to be asked you. I shall 
 take lodgings at Ditton, and shall there await orders 
 from the king. It may be that he will change his mind, 
 but of this Major Legg, who attends him in his bed- 
 chamber, will notify us. Our design is to ride to the 
 coast near Southampton and there take ship, and embark 
 for France. It is not likely that we shall be attacked by 
 the way, but as the king may be recognized in any town 
 through which we may pass, it is as well to have half a 
 dozen good swords on which we can rely." 
 
 "I have with me," Harry said, "my friend Jacob, 
 who was lieutenant in my troop, and who can wield a 
 sword well, and one of my old troopers, a stout and 
 active lad. You can rely upon them as on me." 
 
 Lord Ashburnham stayed but a few minutes with 
 Harry, and then mounted and rode to Ditton, while 
 Harry the same afternoon journeyed on into Kingston, 
 and there took up his lodgings. On the llth of Novem- 
 ber, three days after their arrival, Harry received a mes- 
 sage from Lord Ashburnham, asking him to ride over to 
 Ditton. At his lodgings there he found Sir John Berke- 
 ley. Major Legg shortly after arrived^ and told them 
 that the king had determined, when he went into his 
 private room for evening prayer, to slip away, and make 
 for the river side, where they were to be in readiness for 
 him with horses. Harry had brought his followers with 
 him, and had left them at an inn while he visited Lord 
 Ashburnham. William Long at once rode back to 
 Kingston, and there purchased two good horses, with 
 saddles, for the king and Major Legg. At seven in the 
 evening the party mounted, William Long and Jacob 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 175 
 
 each leading a spare horse. Lord Ashburnham and Sir 
 John Berkeley joined them outside the village, and they 
 rode together until, crossing the bridge at Hampton, they 
 stopped on the river hank, at the point arranged, near 
 the palace. Half an hour passed, and then footsteps 
 were heard, and two figures approached. Not a word 
 was spoken until they were near enough to discern their 
 faces. 
 
 "Thank God you are here, my Lord Ashburnham," 
 the king said. "Fortune is always so against me that I 
 feared something might occur to detain you. Ha! Mas- 
 ter Furness, I am glad to see so faithful a friend." 
 
 The king and Major Legg now mounted, and the little 
 party rode off. Their road led through Windsor Forest, 
 then of far greater extent than at present. Through 
 this the king acted as guide. The night was wild and 
 stormy, but the king was well acquainted with the forest, 
 and at daybreak the party, weary and drenched, arrived 
 at Button, in Hampshire. Here they found six horses, 
 which Lord Ashburnham had on the previous day sent 
 forward, and mounting these, they again rode on. As 
 the sun rose their spirits revived, and the king entered 
 into conversation with Ashburnham, Berkeley, and 
 Harry as to his plans. The latter was surprised and dis- 
 appointed to find that so hurriedly had the king finally 
 made up his mind to fly that no ship had been prepared 
 to take him from the coast, and that it was determined 
 that for the time the king should goto the Isle of Wight. 
 The governor of the Isle of Wight was Colonel Ham- 
 mond, who was connected with both parties. His uncle 
 was chaplain to the king, and he was himself married to 
 a daughter of Hampden. It was arranged that the king 
 and Major Legg should proceed to a house of Lord 
 Southampton at Titchfield, and that Berkeley and Lord 
 Ashburnham should go to the Isle of Wight to Colonel 
 
176 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Hammond, to find if he would receive the king. Harry, 
 with his followers, was to proceed to Southampton, and 
 there to procure a ship, which was to be in readiness to 
 embark the king when a message was received from him. 
 Agents of the king had already received orders to have a 
 ship in readiness, and should this be done, it was at once 
 to be brought round to Titchfield. 
 
 "This seems to me," Jacob said, as, after separating 
 from the king, they rode to Southampton, "to be but 
 poor plotting. Here has the king been for three months 
 at Hampton Court, and could, had he so chosen, have 
 fixed his flight for any day at his will. A vessel might 
 have been standing on and oif the coast, ready to receive 
 him, and he could have ridden down, and embarked im- 
 mediately he reached the coast. As it is, there is no 
 ship and no arrangement, and for aught he knows he 
 may be a closer prisoner in the Isle of Wight than he was 
 at Hampton, while both parties with whom he has been 
 negotiating will be more furious than ever at finding 
 that he has fooled them. If I could not plot better t'luin 
 this I would stick to a scrivener's desk all my life." 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when they rode into 
 Southampton. They found the city in a state of excite- 
 ment. A messenger had, an hour before, ridden in 
 from London with the news of the king's escape, and 
 with orders from Parliament that no vessel should be 
 allowed to leave the port. Harry then rode to Ports- 
 mouth, but there also he was unable to do anything. He 
 heard that in the afternoon the king had crossed over 
 into the Isle of Wight, and that he had been received by 
 the governor with marks of respect. They, therefore, 
 again returned to Southampton, and there took a boat 
 for Cowes. Leaving his followers there, Harry rode to 
 Newport, and saw the king. The latter said that for 
 the present he had altogether changed his mind about 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 177 
 
 33caping to France, and that Sir John Berkeley would 
 start at once to negotiate with the heads -of the army. 
 He begged Harry to go to London, and to send him 
 from time to time sure news of the state of feeling of 
 the populace. 
 
 Taking his followers with him, Harry rode to London, 
 disguised as a country trader. He held communication 
 \vith many leading citizens, as well as with apprentices 
 and others with whom he could get into conversation in 
 the streets and public resorts. He found that the vast 
 majority of the people of London were longing for the 
 overthrow of the rule of the Independents, and for the 
 restoration of the king. The preachers were as busy aa 
 ever haranguing people in the streets, and especially at 
 Paul's Cross. In the cathedral of St. Paul's the Inde- 
 pendent soldiers had stabled their horses, to the great 
 anger of many moderate people, who were shocked at 
 the manner in which those who had first begun to fight 
 for liberty of conscience now tyrannized over the con- 
 sciences and insulted the feelings of all others. Harry 
 and his followers mixed among the groups, and aided in 
 inflaming the temper of the people by passing jeering 
 remarks, and loudly questioning the statements of the 
 preachers. These, unaccustomed to interruption, would 
 rapidly lose temper, and they and their partisans would 
 make a rush through the crowd to seize their interroga- 
 tors. Then the apprentices would interfere, blows would 
 be exchanged, and not unfrequently the fanatics were 
 driven in to take refuge with the troops in St. Paul's. 
 Harry found a small printer of Royalist opinions, and 
 with the assistance of Jacob, strung together many dog- 
 gerel verses, making a scoff of the sour-faced rulers of 
 England, and calling upon the people not to submit to 
 be tyrannized over by their own paid servants, the army. 
 These verses were then set in type by the printer, and in 
 
178 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the evening, taking different ways, they distributed 
 them in the streets to pasaers-hy. 
 
 Day by day the feeling i:i tho city rose higher, as the 
 quarrels at Westminster between the Independents, 
 backed by the army and the Presbyterian majority, 
 waxed higher and higher. All this time the king was 
 negotiating with commissioners from the army, and with 
 others sent by the Scots, one day inclining to one party, 
 the next to the other, making promises to both, but in- 
 tending to observe none, as soon as he could gain his 
 ends. 
 
 ' On Sunday, the 9th of April, Harry and his friends 
 scrolled up to Moor Fields to look at the apprentices 
 playing bowls there. Presently from the barracks of 
 the militia hard by a party of soldiers came out, and 
 ordered them to desist, some of the soldiers seizing upon 
 the bowls. 
 
 "Now, lads," Harry shouted, "you will not stand 
 that, will you? The London apprentices were not wont 
 to submit to be ridden rough-shod over by troops. Has 
 all spirit been taken out of you by the long-winded ser- 
 mons of these knaves in steeple hats?" 
 
 Some of the soldiers made a rush at Harry. His two 
 friends closed in by him. The two first of the soldiers 
 who arrived were knocked down. Others, however, 
 seized the young men, but the apprentices crowded up, 
 pelted the soldiers with stones, and, by sheer weight, 
 overthrew those who had taken Harry and carried him 
 off. The soldiers soon came pouring out of their bar- 
 racks, but fleet-footed lads had, at the commencement 
 of the quarrel, run down into the streets, raising the 
 shout of "clubs," and swarms of apprentices came run- 
 ning up. Led by Harry and his followers, who carried 
 heavy sticks, they charged the militia with such fury 
 that these, in spite of their superior arms, were driven 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 179 
 
 back lighting into their barracks. When the gates were 
 shut Harry mounted on a stone and harangued tho 
 apprentices he recalled to them the ancient rights of 
 the city, rights which the most absolute monarchs who 
 had sat upon the throne had not ventured to infringe, 
 that no troops should pass through the streets or be 
 quartered there to restrict the liberties of the citizens. 
 "No king would have ventured so to insult the people of 
 London; why should the crop-haired knaves at West- 
 minster dare to do so? If you had the spirit of your 
 fathers you would not bear it for a moment." 
 
 "We will not, we will not/' shouted the crowd. 
 "Down with the soldiers!'' 
 
 At this moment a lad approached at full run to say 
 that the cavalry were coming from St. Paul's. In their 
 enthusiasm the apprentices prepared to resist, but Harry 
 shouted to them: 
 
 "Not here in the fields. Scatter now and assemble in 
 the streets. With the chains up, we can beat them 
 there." 
 
 The apprentices gave a cheer, and, scattering, made 
 their way from the fields just as the cavalry issued into 
 the open space. Hurrying in all directions, the appren- 
 tices carried the news, and soon the streets swarmed 
 with their fellows. They were quickly joined by the 
 watermen in those days a numerous and powerful body. 
 These were armed with oars and boat-stretchers. The 
 chains which were fastened at night across the ends of 
 the streets were quickly placed in position, and all was 
 prepared to resist the attack of the troops. 
 
,80 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A RIOT IX THE CITY. 
 
 So quickly were the preparations made that by the 
 time the cavalry came riding back from Moor Fields 
 they found the way barred to them. The commander of 
 the cavalry ordered his men to charge. Harry, who had 
 now taken the command of the crowd, ordered a few of 
 the apprentices to stand before the first line of chains, 
 so that these would not be visible until the horses were 
 close upon them. Behind the chains he placed a strong 
 body of watermen with their oars, while behind these, 
 and at the windows of the houses, were the apprentices, 
 each armed with a quantity of stones and broken bricks. 
 The cavalry charged down upon the defense. When 
 they reached within a few yards of the apprentices in 
 front, these slipped under the chain. The leading troop- 
 ers halted, but were pressed by those behind them 
 against the chain. Then a rain of stones and brickbats 
 opened upon them, and the watermen struck down men 
 and horses with their heavy oars. In vain the troopers 
 tried with their swords to reach their opponents. In 
 vain they fired their pistols into the mass. They were 
 knocked down by the stones and brickbats in numbers, 
 and at last, their commander having been struck sense- 
 less, the rest drew off, a tremendous cheer greeting their 
 retreat, from the crowd. 
 
 "Now," Harry shouted, taking his position on a door- 
 step, whence he could be seen, "attend to me. The 
 
A SHOWFR OF STONES AND BRICKBATS OPENED UPON THEM Page 180. 
 
 thoueh D. ; 
 
PRIRND3, THOUGH DIVIDED. Jgl 
 
 battle has only begun yet, and they will bring up their 
 infantry now. "Next time we will let them enter the 
 street, and defend the chains at the other end a party 
 must hold these do some of you fill each lane which 
 comes down on either side, and do ten of you enter each 
 house and take post at the upper windows, with a good 
 store of ammunition. Do not show yourselves until the 
 head of their column reaches the chain. Then fling 
 open the windows and pour volleys of stones and bricks 
 upon them. Then let those in the side streets, each 
 headed by parties of watermen, fall upon their flanks. 
 Never fear their musketry. They can only give fire once 
 before you are upon them. The oars will beat down the 
 pikes, and your clubs will do the rest. Now let the 
 apprentices of each street form themselves into parties, 
 each under their captain. Let all be regular and orderly, 
 and we will show them what the Londoners can do." 
 
 With a cheer the crowd separated, and soon took post 
 as Harry had directed. He stationed himself at the 
 barricade at the head of the street. A quarter of an 
 hour later the militia were seen approaching in close 
 column followed by the cavalry. On arriving at the end 
 of the street the assailants removed the chain, and again 
 advanced. The street was silent until they neared its 
 end. The watermen had, under Harry's direction, tor 
 up the paving stones, and formed a barricade breast 
 high, behind which, remaining crouched, they awaited 
 the assault. 
 
 The fight began by a volley of stones from the 
 apprentices behind the barricade. The leading rank of 
 the column discharged their muskets, and rushed at the 
 barricade; the watermen sprang to oppose them. At 
 the sound of the first shot every window in the street 
 opened, and a rain of bricks and heavy stones poured 
 down on all sides upon the column, while at the 
 
;<82 JRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 time dense masses flung themselves upon its flanks, from 
 every lane leading into it. Confused and broken by the 
 sudden onslaught in the narrow street, the column 
 halted, and endeavored to open a fire upon the upper 
 windows. This, however, effected but little harm, while 
 every brick from above told upon their crowded mass* 
 The column was instantly in confusion, and Harry and 
 his followers, leaping over the barricade, and followed by 
 the watermen and apprentices behind, fell upon it with 
 fury. In vain did the Roundheads strive to repulse the 
 attack. Their numbers melted away as they fell, killed 
 or senseless, from the rain of missiles from above. Al- 
 ready the column was rent by their assailants on the 
 flanks, and in less than five minutes from the commence- 
 ment of the assault those who remained on their legs 
 were driven headlong out into Moor Fields. 
 
 Loud rose the triumphant cry of the defenders, "God 
 and King Charles." Some hours elapsed before any 
 attempt was made to renew the assault. Then toward 
 evening fresh troops were brought up from Westminster, 
 and the attack was renewed on two sides. Still the ap- 
 prentices held their own. Attack after attack was 
 repulsed. All night the fight continued, and when 
 morning dawned the Royalists were still triumphant. 
 
 "How will it go, think you, Jacob?" Harry asked. 
 
 "They will beat us in the long run," Jacob sai5. 
 ''They have not been properly led yet. When they are, 
 guns and swords must prevail against clubs and stones. 5 ' 
 
 At eleven o'clock in the morning a heavy body of 
 cavalry were seen approaching from Westminster. The 
 Roundheads had brought up Cromwell's Ironsides, the 
 victors in many a hard-fought field, against the appren- 
 tice boys of London. The Roundhead infantry ad- 
 vanced with their horse. As they approached the first 
 barricade the cavalry halted, and the infantry advanced 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 183 
 
 alone to within thirty yards of it. Then, just as its de- 
 fenders thought they were going to charge, they halted, 
 divided into bodies, and entered the houses on either 
 side, and appeared at the windows. Then, as the Iron- 
 sides came down at a gallop, they opened a heavy fire OB 
 the defenders of the barricade. Harry saw at once that 
 the tactics now adopted were irresistible, and that further 
 attempts at defense would only lead to useless slaughter, 
 He therefore shouted: 
 
 "Enough for to-day, lads. Every man back to his owr? 
 house. We will begin again when we choose. We have 
 given them a good lesson." 
 
 In an instant the crowd dispersed, and by the time the 
 Ironsides had dismounted, broken the chains, and pulled 
 down the barricade sufficiently to enable them to pass, 
 Ludgate Hill was deserted, the apprentices were back in 
 their masters' shops, and the watermen standing by their 
 boats ready for a fare. 
 
 Seeing that their persons were known to so many of 
 the citizens, and would be instantly pointed out to the 
 troops by those siding with the army, who had, during 
 the tumult, remained quietly in their houses, watching 
 from the windows what was going on, Harry and his 
 friends hurried straight to Aldersgate, where they passed 
 out into the country beyond. Dressed in laborers' 
 smocks, which they had, in preparation for any sudden 
 flight, left at the house of a Royalist innkeeper, a mile 
 cr two in the fields, they walked to Kingston, crossed 
 the river there, and made for Southampton. 
 
 The king was now closely confined in Carisbrook Cas- 
 tle. For the first three months of his residence in the 
 Isle of Wight he could have escaped with ease, had he 
 chosen, and it is probable that Cromwell and the other 
 Headers of the army would have been glad that he should 
 go, and thus relieve the country from the inconvenience 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIV ID BD. 
 
 of his presence. They had become convinced that so 
 *ong as he lived quiet could not be hoped for. While 
 still pretending to negotiate with them, he had signed a 
 treaty with the Scots, promising to establish Presby- 
 terianism in England, and their army was already march* 
 iing south. To the Irish Papists he had promised free 
 exercise of their religion, and these were taking up arms 
 and massacring all opposed to them, as was the custom 
 in that barbarous country. In Wales a formidable in- 
 surrection had broken out. Essex and Kent were up in 
 arms, and, indeed, all through the country the Koyalista 
 were stirring. The leaders had therefore determined 
 ispon bringing the king to trial. 
 
 At Southampton Harry found Sir John Berkeley con- 
 cealed in a house where he had previously instructed 
 Harry he might be looked for. He told him that the 
 king was now a close prisoner, and would assuredly escape 
 if means could be provided. Leaving Sir John, Harry 
 Joined his followers, and after telling them the circum- 
 stances, they walked down to the port. Here they 
 entered into conversation with an old sailor. Seeing 
 that he was an honest fellow, and in no way disposed 
 toward the fanatics, Harry told him that he and those 
 "with him were Cavaliers, who sought to cross over into 
 France. 
 
 ''There is a boat, there/' the sailor said, pointing to a 
 lugger which was lying at anchor among some fishing 
 boats., "that will carry you. The captain, Dick Wilsor,, 
 is a friend of mine, and often makes a run across tc 
 France on dark nights, and brings back smuggled goods 
 L know where he can be found, and will lead you to him 
 tf it so pleases you." Upon their gladly accepting the 
 offer he led them to a small inn by the water side, and 
 introduced them to the captain of the Moonlight, for so 
 the lugger was called. Upon receiving a hint from th* 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 185 
 
 sailor that his companions wished to speak to him in 
 private, Wilson led the way upstairs to the chamber he 
 occupied,, Here Harry at once unfolded to him the 
 nature of the service he required. He was to lay with 
 his boat off the bank of the island, making to sea before 
 daylight, and returning after dusk, and was to take his 
 station off a gap in the cliffs, known as Black Gang 
 Chine, where a footpath from above descended to the 
 beach. Upon a light being shown three times at the 
 water's edge he was to send a boat immediately ashore, 
 and embarking those whom he might find there, sail for 
 France. If at the end of the week none should come, 
 he would know that his services would not be required, 
 and might sail away whither he listed. He was to 
 receive fifty guineas at once for the service, and if IIQ 
 transported those who might come down to the shore, 
 to France, he would, on arriving there, be paid two 
 hundred and fifty more. 
 
 "It is the king, of course, who seeks to escape," the 
 sailor said. "Well, young gentlemen, for such I doubt 
 not that you are, I am ready to try it. We saifors are 
 near all for the king, and the fleet last week declared 
 for him, and sailed for Holland. So, once on board, 
 there will be little danger. Pay me the fifty guineas at 
 once, and you may rely upon the Moonlight being at the 
 point named." 
 
 Harry handed over the money, and arranged that on 
 the third night following the lugger should beat the posi 
 appointed, and that it should at once run them across 
 and land them at Oowes. It was now the middle of 
 May, and Harry and his friends, who were still in the dis* 
 guise of countrymen, walked across to Newport. Their 
 first step was to examine the castle. It lay a short dis- 
 tance from the town, was surrounded by a high wall with 
 towers, and could offer a strong resistance to an attack- 
 
180 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 ing force. At the back of the castle was a small postern 
 gate, at which they decided that his escape must, if pos- 
 sible, be made. Harry had been well supplied with 
 money by Sir John Berkeley before leaving Southamp- 
 ton, Sir John himself, on account of his figure being sc 
 well known at Newport, during his stay there with the 
 king, deeming it imprudent to take any personal part in 
 the enterprise. After an examination of the exterior of 
 the castle Harry bought a large basket of eggs, and 
 some chickens, and with these proceeded to the castle. 
 There was a gaard at the gate, but persons could freely 
 enter. As Barry's wares were exceedingly cheap in 
 price, he speedily effected a sale of them to the soldiers 
 and servants of the officers. 
 
 "I should like/' he said to the man to whom he dis- 
 posed of the last of the contents of his basket, "to catch 
 a sight of the king. I ha' never seen him." 
 
 "That's easy enough," the man said. "Just mount 
 these stairs with me to the wall. He is walking in the 
 garden at the back of the castle." 
 
 Harry followed the man, and presently reached a spot 
 where he could look down into the garden. The king 
 was pacing up and down the walk, his head bent, hi& 
 hands behind his back, apparently in deep thought. An 
 attendant, a short distance behind him, followed his 
 steps. 
 
 "Be that the king?" Harry asked. "He don't look 
 like a king." 
 
 "That's him," the man said, "and he's not much of a 
 king at present." 
 
 "Where does he live now?' Harry asked. 
 
 "That is his room," the man said, pointing to a win- 
 dow some ten feet from the ground. After a little 
 further conversation Harry appeared to be satisfied, and 
 returning to the courtyard, made his way from the castle. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 During that day and the next they remained quiet, 
 except that Jacob walked over to Cowes, where he pur- 
 chased two very fine and sharp saws, and a short length 
 of strong rope, with a hook. The following night they 
 hired a cart with a fast horse, and this they placed at a 
 spot a quarter of a mile from the castle. 
 
 Leaving the man in charge of it there, Harry and his 
 companions made for the back of the castle. They could 
 tell by the calls upon the walls that the sentries were 
 watchful, but the night was so dark that they had no 
 fear whatever of being seen. Very quietly they crossed 
 the moat, which was shallow, and with but little water 
 in it. Then with an auger they cut four holes in a 
 square two feet each way in the door, and, with a saw, 
 speedily cut the piece inclosed by them out, and creep- 
 ing through, entered the garden. The greater part of 
 the lights were already extinguished, but that in the 
 king's chamber was still burning. They made their way 
 quietly until they stood beneath this window, and waited 
 until the light here was also pat out. Then Harry 
 climbed on to the shoulders of his companions, which 
 brought his face on a level with the window. He tapped 
 at it. The king, who had been warned that his friends 
 would attempt to open a means of escape, at once came 
 to the window, and threw open the casement. 
 
 "Who is there?" he asked, in low tones. 
 
 "It is I, Harry Furness, your majesty. I have two 
 trusty friends with me. We have cut a hole through the 
 postern gate, a cart is waiting without, and a ship lies 
 ready to receive you on the coast." 
 
 "I am ready/* the king said. "Thanks, my faithful 
 servant. But have you brought something to cut the 
 bars?" 
 
 "The bars!" Henry exclaimed, aghast. "I did not 
 know that there were bars!" 
 
188 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 "There 'are, indeed, Master Furness," the king said, 
 "and if you have no file the enterprise is ruined." 
 
 Harry put his hands on the stonework and pulled 
 himself up, and felt the bars within the window. 
 
 "They are too strong for our united strength," he 
 said, in a tone of deep disappointment. "But methinks 
 it is possible to get between them," Putting his head 
 between the bars he struggled though, but with great 
 difficulty. "See, your majesty, I have got through." 
 
 "Ay, Master Furness, but you are slighter in figure 
 than I, although you are changed indeed since first the 
 colonel, your father, presented you to me at Oxford. 
 However, I will try." The king tried, but in vain. He 
 was stouter than Harry, although less broadly built, and 
 had none of the lissomness which enabled the latter to 
 wriggle through the bars. "It is useless," he said at 
 last. "Providence is against me. It is the will of God 
 that I should remain here. It may be the decree of 
 Heaven that even yet I may sit again on the throne of 
 my ancestors. Now go, Master Furness. It is too late 
 to renew the attempt to-night. Should Charles Stuart 
 ever reign again over England, he will not forget your 
 faithful service." 
 
 Harry kissed the king's hand, and with a prayer for 
 his welfare he again made his way through the bars and 
 dropped from the window, by the side of his companions, 
 the tears streaming down his cheeks with the disap- 
 pointment and sorrow he felt at the failure of his enter- 
 prise. "It is all over," he said. "The king cannot 
 force his way through the bars." 
 
 Without another word they made their way down to 
 the postern, passed through it, and replaced the piece of 
 wood in its position, in the faint hope that it might 
 escape notice. Then they rejoined the driver with the 
 cart, paid him handsomely* and told him that hie serv- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. IS* 
 
 ices would not be required that night at least. Thej 
 then returned to their lodgings in the town. The nexk 
 morning early Jacob started for Cowes to buy som* 
 sharp files and aquafortis, but an hour later the new* 
 passed through Newport that an attempt had been mad* 
 in the night to free the king, that a hole had been cuk 
 in the postern, and the marks of footsteps discovered, 
 under the king's window. Perceiving that it would ba 
 useless to renew the attempt now that the suspicions of 
 the garrison were aroused, Harry and William Long, 
 fearing that a search would be instituted, at once started 
 for Oowes. They met Jacob close to that town, crossed 
 in a boat to the mainland, and walked to Southampton. 
 They hesitated whether they should join Lord Goring, 
 who had risen in Kent, or Lord Capel and Sir Charles 
 Lucas, who had collected a large force at Colchester. 
 They determined upon the latter course, as the move- 
 ment appeared to promise a better chance of success. 
 Taking passage in a coaster, they sailed to the mouth of 
 the Thames, and being landed near Tilbury, made their 
 way to Colchester. Harry was, on his arrival, welcomed 
 by the Royalist leaders, who were well acquainted with 
 him. They proposed to march upon London, whicb 
 would, they felt sure, declare for the king upon their 
 approach. They had scarcely set their force in motion 
 when they heard that Fairfax, at the head of an army, 
 was marching against them. A debate was held among 
 the leaders as to the best course to pursne. Some wer* 
 for. marching north, but the eastern counties had, from 
 the commencement of the troubles, been wholly on th* 
 side of the Parliament. Others were for dispersing the 
 bands, and awaiting a better opportunity for a rising, 
 Sir Charles Lucas, however, urged that they should 
 defend Colchester to the last. 
 "Here," he said, "we are doing good service to thr 
 
1 
 
 190 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Royal cause, and by detaining Fairfax here, we shall 
 give time to our friends in Wales, Kent, and other parts 
 to rise and organize. If it is seen that whenever we 
 meet the Roundheads we disperse at once, hope and con- 
 fidence will be lost." 
 
 The next day the town was invested by Fairfax, and 
 shortly after the siege began in earnest. The Royalists 
 fought with great bravery, and for two months every 
 attempt of the Roundheads to storm the place was re- 
 pulsed. At length, however, supplies ran short, several 
 breaches had been made in the walls by the Roundhead 
 artillery, and a council of war was held, at which it was 
 decided that further resistance was useless, and would 
 only inflict a great slaughter upon their followers, who, 
 in the event of surrender, would for the most part be 
 permitted to return to their homes. Harry Furness was 
 present at the council and agreed to the decision. He 
 said, however, that he would endeavor, with his two per- 
 sonal followers, to effect his escape, as, if he were taken 
 a prisoner to London, he should be sure to be recog- 
 nized there as the leader of the rising in May, in which 
 case he doubted not that little mercy would be shown 
 to him. The Royalist leaders agreed with him, but 
 pointed out that his chances of escape were small, as the 
 town was closely beleaguered. Harry, however, declared 
 that he preferred the risk of being shot while endeavoring 
 to escape, to the certainty of being executed if carried 
 to London. 
 
 That night they procured some bladders, for although 
 Jacob and Harry were able to swim, William Long could 
 not do so, and in any case it was safer to float than to 
 swim. The bladders were blown out and their necks 
 securely fastened. The three adventurers were then 
 lowered from the wall by ropes, and having fastened the 
 bladders around them, noiselessly entered the water. A 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 191 
 
 numerous flotilla of ships and boats of the Commons 
 lay below the town; the tide was running out, however, 
 and the night dark, and keeping hold of each other, so 
 as not to be separated by the tide, they drifted through 
 these unobserved. Once safely out of hearing, Jacob and 
 Harry struck out and towed their companion to shore. 
 While at Colchester they had been attired as Royalist 
 officers, but they had left these garments behind them, 
 and carried, strapped to their shoulders, above water, 
 the countrymen's clothes in which they had entered the 
 town. They walked as far as Brentwood, where they 
 stopped for a few days, and learned the news of what was 
 passing throughout the country. 
 
 Colchester surrendered on the 27th of August, the 
 morning after they left it. Lord Capel was sent a 
 prisoner to London to be tried for his life; but Fairfax 
 caused Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle to be tried 
 by court-martial, and shot. On the 10th of July the 
 town and castle of Pembroke had surrendered to Crom- 
 well, who immediately afterward inarched north to meet 
 the Scotch army, which six days before had entered Eng- 
 land. The Duke of Hamilton, who commanded it, was 
 at once joined by five thousand English Eoyalists under 
 Sir Marmaduke Langdale. General Lambert, who com- 
 manded the Parliamentary troops in the north, fell back 
 to avoid a battle until Cromwell could join him. 
 
 The Scotch army could not be called a national force. 
 The Scotch Parliament, influenced by the Duke of 
 Hamilton and others, had entered into an agreement 
 with King Charles, and undertook to reinstate him on 
 the throne. The more violent section, headed by Argyll, 
 were bitterly hostile to the step. The Duke of Hamil- 
 ton's army, therefore, consisted entirely of raw and un- 
 disciplined troops. Cromwell marched with great speed 
 through Walee to Gloucester, and then on through 
 
|92 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Leicester and Nottingham, and joined Lambert at Barnet 
 Castle on the 12th of August. Then he marched 'against 
 the Scotch army, which, straggling widely and thinking 
 Cromwell still at a distance, was advancing toward Man- 
 chester. On the 16th the duke with his advanced 
 guard was at Preston, with Langdale on his left. Crom- 
 well attacked Langdale with his whole force next morn- 
 ing, and the Royalists after fighting stoutly were entirely 
 defeated. Then he fell upon the Duke of Hamilton and 
 the force under him at Preston, and after four hours' 
 sharp fighting in the inclosures round the place, de- 
 feated and drove them out of the town. That night 
 the Scots determined to retreat, and at once began to 
 scatter. General Baillie, after some hard fighting 
 around Warrington, surrendered with his division. The 
 duke with three thousand men went to Nantwich. The 
 country was hostile, his own troops, wearied and dis- 
 pirited, mutinied, and declared they would fight no 
 longer; the Duke of Hamilton thereupon surrendered,, 
 and the Scotch invasion of England came to an end. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIViHSD. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE EXECUTION OF KING CHARLES. 
 
 THE news of the failure of the Welsh insurrection and 
 the Scotch invasion, while the risings in Kent and Essex 
 were crushed out, showed Harry Furness that, for the 
 time at least, there was no further fighting to be done. 
 Cromwell, after the defeat of the Scotch, marched with 
 his army to Edinburgh, where he was received with en- 
 thusiasm by Argyll and the fanatic section, who were 
 now again restored to power, and recommenced a cruel 
 persecution of all suspected of Royalist opinions. Now 
 that the Scotch had been beaten, and the Royalist rising 
 everywhere crushed out, the Parliament were seized with 
 fear as to the course which Cromwell and his victorious 
 army might pursue. If they had been so arrogant and 
 haughty before, what might not be expected now. 
 Negotiations were at once opened with the king. He 
 was removed from Carisbrook to a good house at New- 
 port. Commissioners came down there, and forty days 
 were spent in prolonged argument, and the commission- 
 ers returned to London on the 28th of November with a 
 treaty signed. It was too late. The army stationed at 
 St. Albans sent in a remonstrance to Parliament, calling 
 apon them to bring the king to trial, and stating that 
 if Parliament neglected its duty the army would take 
 the matter into its own hands. This remonstrance 
 caused great excitement in the Commons. No steps were 
 taken upon it however, and the Commons proceeded to 
 
,94 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 discuss the treaty, and voted that the king's concessions 
 vere sufficient. On the 29th a body of soldiers went 
 across to the Isle of Wight, surrounded the king's house, 
 seized him and carried him to Hurst Castle. The next 
 day Parliament voted that they would not debate the 
 remonstrance of the army, and in reply the army at 
 Windsor marched on the 2d of December into Lon- 
 don. On the 5th the Commons debated all day upon 
 the treaty. 
 
 Prynne, formerly one of the stanchest opposers of 
 King Charles, spoke with others strongly in his favor, 
 and it was carried by a hundred and twenty-nine to 
 thirty-eight. The same day some of the leaders of the 
 army met, and determined to expel from the house all 
 those opposed to their interests. On the 7th the Trained 
 Bands of the city were withdrawn from around the 
 House, and Colonel Pride with his regiment of foot sur- 
 rounded it. As the members arrived forty-one of them 
 were turned back. The same process was repeated on 
 the two following days, until over a hundred members 
 had been arrested. Thus the army performed a revolu- 
 tion such as no English sovereign has dared to carry 
 out. After this it is idle to talk of the Parliament as in 
 -any way representing the English people. The repre- 
 sentatives who supported the king had long since left it. 
 The whole of the moderate portion of those who had 
 opposed him, that is to say, those who had fought to 
 support the liberties of Englishmen against encroach- 
 ments by the king, and who formed the majority after 
 ohe Royalists had retired, were now expelled; there re- 
 mained only a small body of fanatics devoted to the 
 interests of the army, and determined to crush out all 
 liberties of England under its armed heel. This was tha 
 body before whom the king waa ere long to undergo the 
 mockery of a trial. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 195 
 
 King Charles was taker, to Hurst Castle on the 17th of 
 December, and three days later carried to Windsor. On 
 the 3d of January, 1649, the Commons voted that in 
 making war against the Parliament the king had been 
 guilty of treason, and should be tried by a court of a 
 hundred and fifty commissioners. The Peers rejected 
 the bill, and the Commons then voted that neither the 
 assent of the Peers nor the king was necessary for a law 
 passed by themselves. 
 
 All the encroachments of King Charles together were 
 as nothing to this usurpation of despotic power. 
 
 In consequence of the conduct of the Peers, the num- 
 ber of commissioners was reduced to a hundred and 
 thirty-five; but of these only sixty-nine assembled at the 
 trial. Thus the court which was to try the king con- 
 sisted only of those who were already pledged to destroy 
 him. Before such a court as this there could be but 
 one end to the trial. When, after deciding upon their 
 sentence, the king was brought in to hear it, the chief 
 commissioner told him that the charges were brought 
 against him in the name of the people of England, when 
 Lady Fairfax from the gallery cried out, "It's a lie! 
 Not one-half of them." Had she said not one hun- 
 dredth of them, she would have been within the mark. 
 
 On the 27th sentence was pronounced. On the 29th 
 the court signed the sentence, which was to be carried 
 out on the following day. 
 
 From the time when Harry Fnrness left Brentwood at 
 the end of August until the king was brought to London, 
 he had lived quietly at Southampton. He feared to re- 
 turn home, and chose this port as his residence, in order 
 that he might, if necessary, cross into France at short 
 notice. AVhen the news came that the king had been 
 brought up from Windsor, Harry and his friends at once 
 rode to London. Every one was so absorbed in the 
 
i96 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 great trial about to take place that Harry had little fear 
 of attracting attention or of being molested should any 
 one recognize in the young gentleman in sober attire the 
 rustic who had led the rising in the spring. To London, 
 too, came many other Cavaliers from all parts of the 
 country, eager to see if something might not be at- 
 tempted to rescue the king. Throughout London the 
 consternation was great at the usurpation by the rem- 
 nant of the Commons of all the rights of the Three Es- 
 tates, and still more, at the trial of the king. The 
 army, however, lay in and about London, and, with 
 Cromwell at its head, it would, the people felt, easily 
 crush out any attempt at a rising in the city. Within a 
 few hours of his arrival in London, Harry saw that there 
 was no hope from any effort in this direction, and that 
 the only possible chance of saving the king was by his 
 arranging for his escape. His majesty, on his arrival 
 from Windsor, had been lodged in St. James* Palace, 
 and as this was completely surrounded by the Round- 
 head troops, there was no chance of effecting an inva- 
 sion thence. The only possible plan appeared to be a 
 sudden attack upon his guards on his way to execution. 
 
 Harry gathered round him a party of thirty Cavaliers, 
 all men ready like himself to sacrifice their lives for the 
 king. Their plan was to gather near Whitehall, where 
 the execution was to take place, to burst through the 
 soldiers lining the way, to cut down the guards, and 
 carry the king to a boat in readiness behind Whitehall. 
 This was to convey him across to Lambeth, where fleet 
 horses were to be stationed, which would take him down 
 to the Essex coast. 
 
 The plan was a desperate one, but it might possibly 
 have succeeded, could the Cavaliers have gained the 
 position which they wished. The whole of the army 
 was, however, placed in the streets and passages leading 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 107 
 
 to Whitehall, and between that place and the city the 
 cavalry were drawn up, preventing any from coming in 
 or going oat. When they found that this was the case, 
 the Cavaliers in despair mounted their horses, and rode 
 into the country, with their hearts filled with grief and 
 rage. 
 
 On the 30th, an hour after the king's execution, proc- 
 lamation was made that whoever should proclaim a new 
 king would be deemed a traitor, and a week later, the 
 Commons, now reduced to a hundred members, formally 
 abolished the House of Peers. A little later Lord Capel, 
 Lord Holland, and the Duke of Hamilton were executed. 
 
 Had the king effected his escape, Harry Furness had 
 determined to return to Abingdon and live quietly at 
 home, believing that now the army had grasped all 
 power, and crushed all opposition, it was probable that 
 they would abstain from exciting further popular animos- 
 ity by the persecution of those who had fought against 
 them. The fury, however, excited in his mind by the 
 murder of the king after the mockery of a trial, deter- 
 mined him to fight to the last, wherever a rising might 
 be offered, however hopeless a success that rising might 
 appear. He would not, however, suffer Jacob and Will- 
 iam Long any longer to follow his fortunes, although 
 they earnestly pleaded to do so. "I have no hope of 
 success/' he said. "I am ready to die, but I will not 
 bring you to that strait. I have written to my father 
 begging him, Jacob, to receive you as his friend and 
 companion, and to do what he can, William, to assist you 
 in whatever mode of life your wishes may hereafter lead 
 you to adopt. But come with me you shall not." 
 
 Not without tears did Harry's faithful companions 
 yield themselves to his will, and set out for Abingdon, 
 while he, with eight or ten comrades as determind as 
 himself, kept on west until they arrived at Bristol, where 
 
198 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 they took ship and crossed to Ireland. They landed at 
 \Vaterford, and journeyed north until they reached the 
 army, with which the Marquis of Ormonde was besieging 
 Dublin. Nothing that Harry had seen of war in Eng- 
 land prepared him in any way for the horrors which he 
 beheld in Ireland. The great mass of the people there 
 were at that time but a few degrees advanced above 
 savages, and they carried on their war with a brutal 
 cruelty and bloodshed which could now only be rivaled 
 in the center of Africa. Between the Protestants and 
 the English and Scotch settlers on the one hand, and 
 the wild peasantry on the other, a war of something like 
 extermination went on. Wholesale massacres took place, 
 at which men, women, and children were indiscriminately 
 butchered, the ferocity shown being as great upon one 
 side as the other. In fact, beyond the possession of a 
 few large towns, Ireland had no claim whatever to be con- 
 sidered a civilized country. As Harry and his comrades 
 rode from Waterford they beheld everywhere mined 
 fields and burned houses; and on joining the army of the 
 Marquis of Ormonde, Harry felt even more strongly than 
 before the hopelessness of the struggle on which he was 
 engaged. These bands of wild, half-clad kernes, armed 
 with pike and billhook, might be brave indeed, but 
 could do nothing against the disciplined soldiers of the 
 Parliament. There were with Ormonde, indeed, better 
 troops than these. Some of the companies were formed 
 of English and Welsh Royalists. Others had been raised 
 by the Catholic gentry of the west, and into these some 
 sort of order and discipline had been introduced. The 
 army, moreover, was deficient in artillery, and not more 
 than one-third of the footmen carried firearms. Harry 
 was, a day or two after reaching the camp of Lord 
 Ormonde, sent off to the West to drill some of the newly- 
 raised levies there. It was now six years since he had 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 199 
 
 begun to take an active part in the war, and he was 
 between twenty-one and twenty-two. His life of active 
 exertion had strengthened his muscles, broadened his 
 frame, and given a strength and vigor to his tall and 
 powerful figure. 
 
 Foreseeing that the siege of Dublin was not likely to 
 be successful, Harry accepted his commission to the 
 West with pleasure. He felt already that with all his 
 devotion to the Royalist cause he could not wish that 
 the siege of Dublin should be successful; for he saw that 
 the vast proportion of the besieging army were animated 
 by no sense of loyalty, by no interest in the constitu- 
 tional question at stake, but simply with a blind hatred 
 of the Protestant population of Dublin, and that the 
 capture of the city would probably be followed by the 
 indiscriminate slaughter of its inhabitants. 
 
 He set out on his journey, furnished with letters from 
 Ormonde to several influential gentlemen in Gal way. 
 The roads at first were fairly good, but accustomed to 
 the comfortable inns in England, Harry found the rest- 
 ing-places along the road execrable. He was amused of 
 an evening by the eagerness with which the people came 
 round and asked for news from Dublin. In all parts of 
 England the little sheets which then did service as news- 
 papers carried news of the events which were taking 
 place. It is true that none of the country population 
 could read or write; but the alehouses served as centers 
 of news. The village clerk, or, perhaps, the squire's 
 bailiff, could read, as could probably the landlord, and 
 thus the news spread quickly round the country. In 
 Ireland news traveled only from mouth to mouth, often 
 becoming strangely distorted on the way. 
 
 Harry was greatly struck by the bareness of the fields 
 and the poverty of the country; and as he journeyed 
 further west the country became still wilder and more 
 
200 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 lonely. It was seldom now that he met any one who 
 could speak English, and as the road was often little 
 more than a track, lie had great difficulty in keeping his 
 way, and regretted that he had not hired a servant 
 knowing the country before leaving the army. He gen- 
 erally, however, was able to obtain a guide from village 
 to village. The loneliness of the way, the wretchedness 
 of the people, the absence of the brightness and comfort 
 so characteristic of English life, made the journey an 
 oppressive one, and Harry was glad when, five days after 
 leaving Dublin, he approached the end of his ride. 
 Upon this day he had taken no guide, being told that the 
 road was clear and unmistakable as far as Gal way. 
 
 He had not traveled many hours when a heavy mist 
 set in, accompanied by a keen and driving rain, in his 
 face. With his head bent down, Harry rode along, pay- 
 ing less attention than usual to his way. The mist grew 
 thicker and thicker. The horse no longer proceeded at 
 a brisk pace, and presently came to a stop. Harry dis- 
 mounted, and discovered that he had left the road. 
 Turning his horse's head, and taking the reins over his 
 arm, he tried to retrace his steps. 
 
 For an hour he walked along, the conviction growing 
 every moment that he was hopelessly lost. The ground 
 was now soft and miry and was covered with tussocks 
 of coarse grass, between which the soil was black and 
 oozy. The horse floundered on for some distance, but 
 with such increasing difficulty that, upon reaching a space 
 of comparatively solid ground, Harry decided to take 
 him no further. 
 
 The cold rain chilled him to the bone, and after 
 awhile he determined to try and make his way forward on 
 foot, in hopes of finding, if not a human habitation, 
 some walls or bushes where he could obtain shelter until 
 the weather cleared. He fastened the reins to a small 
 
PRIBNDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 201 
 
 shrub, took oil the saddle and laid it on the grass, spread 
 the horse rng over the animal to protect it as far as pos- 
 sible, and then started on his way. He had heard of 
 Irish bogs extending for many miles, and deep enough 
 to engulf men and animals who might stray among 
 them, and he felt that his position was a serious one. 
 
 He blamed himself now for not having halted imme- 
 diately he perceived that he had missed the road. The 
 only guide that he had as to the direction he should take 
 was the wind. On his way it had been in his face, and 
 he determined now to keep it at his back, not because 
 that was probably the way to safety, but because he 
 could see more easily where he was going, and he 
 thought by continuing steadily in one direction he might 
 at last gain firm ground. His view extended but a few 
 yards round him, and he soon found that his plan of 
 proceeding in a straight line was impracticable. Often 
 quagmires of black ooze, or spaces covered with light 
 grass, which were, he found, still more treacherous, 
 barred his way, and he was compelled to make consider- 
 able detours to the right or left in order to pass them. 
 Sometimes widths of sluggish water were met with. 
 For a long time Harry continued his way, leaping lightlj 
 from tuft to tuft, where the grass grew thickest, some-, 
 times wading knee-deep in the slush and feeling care- 
 fully every foot lest he should get to a depth whence h& 
 should be unable to extricate himself. Every now and 
 then he shouted at the top of his voice, in hopes that he 
 might be heard by some human being. For hours he 
 struggled on. He was no\v exhausted with his efforts, 
 and the thickening darkness told him that day was fad- 
 ing. From the time he had left his horse he had met 
 with no bush of sufficient height to afford him the slight- 
 est shelter. 
 
 Just a& he was thinking whether he had not better 
 
202 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 stop where he was, and sit down on the firmest tuft he 
 could find and wait for morning, when perhaps the rain- 
 storm might cease and enable him to see where he was, 
 he heard, and at no very great distance, the sudden bray 
 of a donkey. He turned at once in the direction of the 
 sound, with renewed hopes, giving a loud shout as he 
 did so. Again and again he raised his voice, and pres- 
 ently heard an answering shout. He called again, and 
 in reply heard some shouts in Irish, probably questions, 
 but to these he could give no answer. Shouting occa- 
 sionally, he made his way toward the voice, but the bog 
 seemed more difficult and treacherous than ever, and at 
 last he reached a spot where further advance seemed 
 absolutely impossible. It was now nearly dark, and 
 Harry was about to sit down in despair, when suddenly 
 a voice sounded close to him. He answered again, and 
 immediately a barefooted boy sprang to his side from 
 behind. The boy stood astonished at Harry's appear- 
 ance. The latter was splashed and smeared from head 
 to foot with black mire, for he had several times fallen, 
 His broad hat drooped a sodden mass over his shoulders, 
 the dripping feather adding to its forlorn appearance. 
 His high riding boots were gone, having long since been 
 abandoned in the tenacious ooze in which they had 
 stuck; his ringlets fell in wisps on his shoulder. 
 
 After staring at him for a minute, the boy said some- 
 thing in Irish. Harry shook his head. 
 
 His guide then motioned him to follow him. For 
 some time it seemed to Harry that he was retracing his 
 steps. Then they turned, and by what seemed a long 
 detour, at last reached firmer ground. A minute or two 
 later they were walking along a path, and presently 
 stopped before the door of a cabin, by which two men 
 were standing. They exchanged a word or two with the 
 bov, and then motioned to Harry to enter. A peat fire 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 203 
 
 was burning on the hearth, and a woman, whose age 
 Harry from her aspect thought must he enormous, was 
 crouched on a low stool heside it. He threw off his rid- 
 ing cloak and knelt hy her, and held his hands over the 
 fire to restore the circulation. One of the men lighted 
 a candle formed of rushes dipped in tallow. Harry paid 
 no heed to them until he felt the warmth returning to 
 his limbs. Then he rose to his feet and addressed them 
 in English. They shook their heads. Perceiving how 
 wet he was one of them drew a bottle from under the 
 thatch, and pouring some of its contents into a wooden 
 cup offered it to him. Harry put it to his lips. At 
 first it seemed that he was drinking a mixture of liquid 
 lire and smoke, and the first swallow nearly choked 
 him. However he persevered, and soon felt the blood 
 coursing more rapidly in his veins. Finding the impos- 
 sibilty of conversing, he again sat down by the fire and 
 waited the course of events. He had observed that as he 
 entered his young guide had, in obedience probably to 
 the orders of one of the men, darted away into the mist. 
 
 The minutes passed slowly, and not a word was spoken 
 in the cottage. An hour went by, and then a tramp of 
 feet was heard, and, accompanied by the boy, eight or 
 ten men entered. All carried pikes. Between them 
 and the men already in the hut an eager conversation 
 took place. Harry felt far from easy. The aspect of 
 the men was wild in the extreme. Their hair was long 
 and unkempt, and fell in straggling masses over their 
 shoulders. Presently one, who appeared to be the 
 leader, approached Harry, who had now risen to his 
 feet, and crossed himself on the forehead and breast. 
 Harry understood by the action that he inquired if lie 
 \vas a Catholic, and in reply shook his head. 
 
 An angry murmur ran through the men. Harry re- 
 pressed his inclination to place his hand on his pistols, 
 
204 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 which he had on alighting from his horse taken from 
 the holsters and placed in his bolt. He felt that even 
 with these and his sword, he should he no match for the 
 men around him. Then he bethought of the letters of 
 which he was a bearer. Taking them from his pocket he 
 held them out. "Ormonde," he said, looking at the 
 men. 
 
 No gleam of intelligence brightened their faces at the 
 word. 
 
 Then he said "Butler," the Irish family name of the 
 earl. Two or three of the men spoke together, and 
 Harry thought that there was some comprehension of his 
 meaning. Then he read aloud the addresses of the let- 
 ters, and the exclamations which followed each named 
 showed that these were familiar to the men. A lively 
 conversation took place between them, and the leader 
 presently approached and held out his hand. 
 
 "Thomas Blake, Killicuddery," he said. This was 
 the address of one of the letters, and Harry at once gave 
 it him. It was handed to the boy, with a few words of 
 instruction. The lad at once left the hut. The men 
 seemed to think that for the time there was nothing 
 more to be done, laid their pikes against the wall, and 
 assumed, Harry thought, a more friendly aspect. He 
 reciprocated their action, by unbuckling his belt and 
 laying asido his sword and pistols. Fresh peats were 
 piled on the fire, another candle was lit, and the party 
 prepared to make themselves comfortable. The bottle 
 and wooden cup were again produced, and the owner of 
 the hut offered some black bread to his visitor. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 205 
 
 OHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 THE SIEGE OF DROGHEDA. 
 
 UNDER the influence of the warm, close air of the hut, 
 and the spirits he had taken, Harry soon felt drowsiness 
 stealing over him, and the leader, perceiving this, 
 pointed to a heap of dried fern lying in the corner of 
 the hut. Harry at once threw himself on it, and in a 
 very few minutes was sound asleep. When he awoke 
 daylight was streaming in through the door of the hut. 
 Its inmates were for the most part sitting as when he 
 had last seen them, and Harry supposed that they had 
 talked all night. The atmosphere of the hut was close 
 and stifling, and Harry was glad to go to the door and 
 breathe the fresh air outside. 
 
 The weather had changed, and the sun, which had 
 just risen, was shining brightly. The hut stood at the 
 foot of a long range of stony hills, while in front 
 stretched, as far as the eye could see, an expanse of brown 
 bog. A bridle path ran along at the foot of the hills. An 
 hour later two figures were seen approaching along this. 
 The one was a mounted horseman, the other running in 
 front of him, at a long, easy trot, was Harry's guide of 
 the preceding evening. 
 
 On reaching the cottage the gentleman on horseback 
 alighted, and, advancing to Harry, said: 
 
 "Captain Furness, I am heartily sorry to hear that 
 you have had what must have been a disagreeable adven- 
 ture. The lad here who brought your letter told me 
 
206 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 that you were regarded as a prisoner, and considered to 
 be a Protestant emissary. I am Tom Blake, and I live 
 nearly twenty miles from here. That is the reason why 
 I was not here sooner. I was keeping it up with some 
 friends last night, and had jnst gone to bed when the 
 messenger arrived, and my foolish servants pretended I 
 was too drunk to be woke. However, when they did 
 rouse me, I started at once." 
 
 "And has that boy gone forty miles on foot since last 
 night?" Harry asked, in surprise. 
 
 "Oh, that's nothing/' Mr. Blake said. "Give him 
 half an hour's rest, and he'd keep up with us back to 
 Killicuddery. But where is your horse, and how did yon 
 get into this mess? The boy tells me he found you in 
 the bog." 
 
 Harry related his adventures. 
 
 "You have had a lucky escape indeed," Mr. Blake 
 said. "There are places in that bog thirty feet deep. I 
 would not try to cross it for a thousand pounds on a 
 bright day, and how you managed to do so through the 
 mist yesterday is more than I can imagine. Now, the 
 tirst thing is to get your horse. I must apologize for not 
 having brought one, but the fact is, my head was not 
 exactly clear when I started, and I had not taken in the 
 fact that you'd arrived on foot. My servant was more 
 thoughtful. He had heard from the boy that an Eng 
 lish gentleman was here, and judging that the larder 
 was not likely to be stocked, he put a couple of bottles 
 of claret, a cold chicken, and some bread into my wallet. 
 So we can have breakfast while they are looking for your 
 horse. The ride has sharpened my appetite." 
 
 Mr. Blake now addressd a few words in Irish to the 
 men clustered round the door of the hut. One of them 
 climbed to the top of the hill, and presently shouted 
 down some instructions, and another at once started 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 07 
 
 "They see your horse," Mr. Blake said, "but we shall 
 have to wait for two or three hours. It is some four 
 miles off, and they will have to make a long detour to 
 bring it back." 
 
 Mr. Blake now distributed some silver among the men, 
 and these, with the exception of the master of the house, 
 soon afterward left. Harry heartily enjoyed his break- 
 fast, and in cheery chat with his host the time passed 
 pleasantly until the peasant returned w't v the horse and 
 saddle. The horse was rubbed down with dry fern, and 
 a lump of black bread given him to et. 
 
 "What can I do for the boy?" Harry asked. "I owe 
 him my life, for I was so thoroughly drenched and cold 
 that I question whether I should have lived till morning 
 out in that bog." 
 
 "The boy thinks nothing of it," Mr. Blake said. "A 
 few hundred yards across the bog night or day is noth- 
 ing to him." 
 
 Harry gave the lad a gold piece, which he looked at in 
 wonder. 
 
 "He has never seen such a thing before," Mr. Blake 
 laughed. "There, Mickey," he said in Irish, "that's 
 enough to buy you a cow, and you've only got to build 
 a cabin and take a wife to start life as a man." 
 
 The boy said something in Irish. 
 
 "I thought so," Mr. Blake laughed. "You haven't 
 got rid of him yet. He wants to go as your servant." 
 
 Harry laughed too. The appearance of the lad in his 
 tattered garments was in contrast indeed to the usual 
 aspect of a gentleman's retainer. 
 
 "You'll find him useful," Mr. Blake said. "He will 
 inn errands for you and look after your horse. These 
 poor iads can be faithful to death. You cannot do bet- 
 ter than take him." 
 
 Mickey's joy when he was told that he might accomDanv; 
 
208 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the English gentleman was extreme. He handed the 
 money he had received to his father, said a few words ot 
 adieu to him, and then started on ahead of the horses. 
 
 "He had better wait and come on later," Harry said. 
 "He must be utterly tired now." 
 
 Mr. Blake shouted after the boy, who turned round, 
 laughed, and shook his head, and again proceeded on 
 his way. 
 
 "He can keep up with us," Mr. Blake said. "That 
 horse of yours is more fagged than he is/' 
 
 Harry soon found that this was the case, and it took 
 them nearly four hours' riding before they reached Killi- 
 cuddery. Here a dozen barefooted men and boys ran 
 out at their approach, and took the horses. It was a 
 large, straggling house, as good as that inhabited by the 
 majority of English gentlemen, but Harry missed the 
 well-kept lawn, the trim shrubberies, and the general air 
 of neatness and order to which he was accustomed. 
 
 "Welcome to Killicuddery," Mr. Blake said, as he 
 alighted. "Believe me, Captain Furness, you won't find 
 the wild Irish, now you are fairly among them, such 
 dreadful creatures as they have been described to you. 
 Well, Norah," he continued, as a girl some sixteen 
 years of age bounded down the steps to meet him, "how 
 goes it with you this morning?" 
 
 "As well as could be expected, father, considering 
 that you kept us awake half the night with your songs 
 and choruses. None of the others are down yet, and 
 it's past twelve o'clock. It's downright shameful." 
 
 "Norah, I'm surprised at yon," Mr. Blake said, laugh- 
 ing. "What will Captain Furness think of Irish girls 
 when he hears you speaking so disrespectfully to yom 
 father. This is my daughter Norah, Captain Furness,, 
 who is, I regret to say, a wild and troublesome girl. 
 This, my dear, is Captain Furness, a king's officer, who 
 has fought through all the battles of the war." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "And who has lately been engaged in a struggle with 
 an Irish bog/' the girl said, laughing, for Harry's gay 
 dress was discolored and stained from head to foot. 
 
 Harry laughed also. 
 
 "I certainly got the worst of that encounter, Miss 
 Norah, as indeed has been the case in most of those in 
 which I have been engaged. I never felt much more 
 hopeless, when I thought I should have to pass the night 
 sitting on a tuft of grass with mud and mist all round 
 rne, except when I was once nearly baked to death in 
 company with Prince Rupert." 
 
 <; It must have been a large oven," the girl laughed; 
 Vk but come in now. I am sure you will both be ready 
 for breakfast. Bnt papa would keep you chattering 
 here all day if I would let him." 
 
 Mr. Blake, Harry soon found, was a widower, and his 
 house was presided over by his eldest daughter, Kath- 
 leen, to whom Harry was introduced on entering the 
 house. As it was now some hours since they had eaten 
 the food which Mr. Blake had brought, they were quite 
 ready for another meal, at which they were soon joined 
 by six or eight other gentlemen, who had been sleeping 
 in the house. Breakfast over, Harry retired to his room.* 
 put cm a fresh suit from his wallet, and rejoined his com- 
 panions, when a sort of council of war was held. Harry 
 learned that there was no difficulty as to men, as any 
 number of these could be recruited among the peasantry. 
 There was, however, an entire absence of any arms save 
 pikes. Harry knew how good a weapon are these when 
 used by steady and well-disciplined men. The match- 
 locks of those days were cumbrous arms, and it was at 
 the point of the pike that battles were then always 
 decided. 
 
 Mr. Blake begged Harry to make his house his head- 
 quarters during his stay in the West, and the invitation 
 
210 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 was gladly accepted. The letters of which he was the 
 bearer were dispatched to their destinations, and a few 
 days after his arrival the recipients called upon him, 
 and he found himself overwhelmed with invitations a,nd 
 offers of hospitality. The time therefore passed very 
 pleasantly. 
 
 A few men were found in Galway who had served in 
 the wars. These were made sergeants of the newly 
 raised regiment, which was five hundred strong. This 
 was not embodied, but five central places were chosen at 
 a distance from each other, and at these the peasants 
 assembled for drill. Several of the sons of the squires 
 received commissions as officers, and the work of drilling 
 went on briskly, Harry superintending that at each center 
 by turns. In the evenings there were generally dinner 
 parties at the houses of one or other of the gentry, and 
 Harry greatly enjoyed the life. So some months passed. 
 
 In July the news came that the Earl of Ormonde's 
 force outside Dublin had been routed by the garrison, 
 under General Jones, the governor, and shortly after- 
 ward Harry received orders to march with the regiment 
 to join the earl, who, as the king's representative, for- 
 warded him at the same time a commission as its colonel, 
 and the order to command it. 
 
 It was on the 13th of August that Harry with his force 
 joined the army of Ormonde, and the next day the news 
 came that Cromwell had landed at Dublin, and had 
 issued a bloodthirsty proclamation against the Irish. 
 Harry was at once ordered to march with his regiment 
 to Tredah, now called Drogheda, a seaport about forty- 
 miles north of Dublin. At this town Harry found in 
 garrison twenty-five hundred English troops, under the 
 command of Sir Arthur Ashton, an old Royalist officer, 
 who had lost a leg in the king's service. 
 
 During the six months he had passed in the West 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDES. 
 
 Harry nad found Mike an invaluable servant. He had, 
 of course, furnished him with decent suits of clothes, 
 but although willing to wear shoes in the house, nothing 
 could persuade Mike to keep these on his feet when em- 
 ployed without. As a messenger he was of the greatest 
 service, carrying Harry's missives to the various posts as 
 quickly as they could have been taken by a horseman. 
 During that time he had picked up a great deal of Eng- 
 lish, and his affection for his master was unbounded. 
 He had, as a matter of course, accompanied Harry on 
 his march east, and was ready to follow him to the end 
 of the world if need be. 
 
 The garrison of Drogheda employed themselves busily 
 in strengthening the town to the utmost, in readiness 
 for the siege that Cromwell would, they doubted not, lay 
 to it. In September Cromwell moved against the place. 
 He was prepared to carry out the campaign in a very 
 different spirit to that with which he had warred in Eng- 
 land. For years Ireland had been desolated by the 
 hordes of half-savage men, who had for that time been 
 burning, plundering, and murdering on the pretext of 
 fighting for or against the king. Cromwell was deter- 
 mined to strike so terrible a blow as would frighten 
 Ireland into quietude. He knew that mildness would 
 be thrown away upon this people, and he defended his 
 course, which excited a thrill of horror in England, 
 upon the grounds that it was the most merciful in the 
 end. Certainly, nowhere else had Cromwell shown him- 
 self a cruel man. In England the executions in cold 
 blood had not amounted to a dozen in all. The common 
 men on both sides were, when taken prisoners, always 
 allowed to depart to their homes, and even the officers 
 were not treated with harshness. It may be assumed 
 that his blood was fired by the tales of massacre and 
 bloodshed which reached him when he landed. The 
 
g] I FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 times were stern, and the policy of conciliating rebela 
 and murderers by weak concessions was not even dreamed 
 of. Still, no excuses or pleas of public policy can 
 palliate CrornwelPs conduct at Drogheda and Wexford. 
 He was a student and expounder of the Bible, but it waa 
 in the old Testament rather than the new that prece- 
 dents for the massacre at Drogheda mus't be sought for. 
 No doubt it had the effect at the time which Cromwell 
 looked for, but it left an impression upon the Irish 
 mind which the lapse of over two centuries has not 
 obliterated. The wholesale massacres and murders per* 
 petrated by Irishmen on Irishmen have long since been 
 forgotten, but the terrible vengeance taken by Cromwell 
 and his saints upon the hapless towns of Drogheda and 
 Wexford will never be forgotten by the Irish, among 
 whom the "curse of Cromwell" is still the deadliest 
 malediction one man can hurl at another. 
 
 Cromwell's defenders who say that he warred mildly 
 and mercifully in England, according to English ideas, 
 and that he fought the Irish only as they fought each 
 other, must be hard driven when they set up such a de- 
 fense. The fact that Murrogh O'Brien, at the capture 
 of Cashel, murdered the garrison who had laid down 
 their arms, and three thousand of the defenseless citi- 
 zens, including twenty priests who had fled to the cathe- 
 dral for refuge, affords no excuse whatever for the 
 perpetration of equal atrocities by Cromwell, and no im- 
 partial historian can deny that these massacres are a foul 
 and hideous blot in the history of a great and, for the 
 most part, a kind and merciful man. 
 
 Upon arriving before Drogheda on the 2-d of September 
 Cromwell at once began to throw up his batteries, and 
 opened fire on the 10th. His artillery was abundant, 
 and was so well served that early the same afternoon two 
 practical breaches were made, the one in the east, in the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 wall of St. Mary's Churchyard, the other to the south, 
 in the wall of the town. Sir Arthur Ashton had placed 
 Harry in command at St. Mary's Churchyard, and see- 
 ing that the wall would soon give way under the fire of 
 the enemy's artillery, he set his men to throw up an 
 earthwork behind. 
 
 Seven hundred of the Roundheads advanced to the 
 assault, but so heavy was the fire that Harry's troops 
 poured upon them that they were forced to fall back 
 with great slaughter. At the other breach they were 
 also repulsed, but attacking again in great force they 
 made their way in. Near this spot was an ancient 
 tumulus, called the Hill Mount. The sides of this were 
 defended by strong palisades, and here the Royalists, 
 commanded by Sir Arthur Ashton himself, opposed a 
 desperate resistance to the enemy. These, supported by 
 the guns on the walls, which they turned against the 
 Mount, made repeated attacks, but were as often re- 
 pulsed. The loss, however, of the defenders was great, 
 and seeing that fresh troops were constantly brought 
 against them they at last lost heart and surrendered, on 
 promise of their lives; a promise which was not kept, as 
 all were immediately massacred. 
 
 Up to this time Harry had successfully repulsed 
 every attack made upon the other breach, but at length 
 the news of the Roundheads' success at the Mount 
 reached both assailants and defenders. 
 
 With exulting shouts the Roundheads poured over the 
 wall. The garrison, headed by Harry and the other 
 officers, strove hard to drive them back, but it was use- 
 less. Cromwell and Ireton were in the van of their 
 troops, and these, accustomed to victory, hewed their 
 way through the ranks of the besieged. Many of them 
 lost heart, and, throwing down their arms, cried for 
 quarter. With shouts of "No quarter!" "Hew dowD 
 
ti4 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 i he Amalakites!" "Strike, and spare not!" the Round* 
 heads cut down their now defenseless foes. Maddened 
 &t the sight, the besieged made another desperate effort 
 ftt resistance, and for awhile fought so stoutly that the 
 Roundheads could gain no ground of them. 
 
 Presently, however, a party of the enemy who had 
 forced their way over the wall at another point took them 
 in rear. Then the garrison fled in all directions pursued 
 by their victorious enemy, who slaughtered every man 
 they overtook. Mike had kept close to Harry through 
 the whole of the struggle. He had picked up a pike 
 from a fallen man, and had more than once, when Harry 
 was nearly surrounded by his foes, dashed forward and 
 rid him of one of the most pressing. Seeing, by the 
 general slaughter which was going on, that the Round- 
 head soldiers must have received orders from their gen- 
 eral to give no quarter, Harry determined to sell his life 
 dearly, and rushed into a church where a score of the 
 English soldiers were taking refuge. The door was 
 closed and barricaded with chairs and benches, and from 
 the windows the men opened fire upon the Roundheads, 
 who were engaged in slaying all men, women and 
 children, without mercy. Soon, from every house 
 around, a heavy tire was poured into the church, and 
 several of those within fell dead under the fire. Under 
 cover of this, the Roundheads attacked the door with 
 axes. Many were killed by the fire of the defenders, but 
 as the door yielded, Harry called these from their post, 
 and with them ascended the belfry tower. Here they 
 prepared to fight to the last. 
 
 Looking from a window, Harry beheld a sight which 
 thrilled him with horror. Gathered round a cross, 
 standing in an open space, were two hundred women on 
 their knees. Even while Harry looked a body of Crom- 
 well's saints fell upon them, hewing and cutting with 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDBD. 215 
 
 their swords, and thrusting with their pikes, and did not 
 desist while one remained alive. And these were the 
 men who had the name of God ever on their lips! When 
 the dreadful massacre began Harry turned shuddering 
 from the window, and with white face and set teeth 
 nerved himself to fight to the last. Already the door 
 had been beaten down, and the assailants had streamed 
 into the church. Then a rush of heavy feet was heard 
 on the stairs. Assembled round its top stood Harry and 
 the twelve men remaining. Each knew now that there 
 was no hope of quarter, and fought with the desperation 
 of men who cared only to sell t eir lives dearly. Fast 
 as the Roundheads poured up the stairs, they fell, 
 pierced by pike, or shot down by .nusket hall. For half 
 an hour the efforts continued, and then the Roundheads, 
 having lost over fifty men, fell back. Three times dur- 
 ing the day the attack was ren wed, and each time re- 
 pulsed with the same terrible slaughter. Between the 
 intervals the defenders could hear the never-ceasing 
 sound of musket and pistol firing, as house after house, 
 defended to the last by desperate men, was stormed; 
 while loud, even above the firing, rose the thrilling 
 shrieks of dying women and children. 
 
 In all the history of England, from its earliest times, 
 there is no such black and ghastly page as that of the 
 sack of Drogheda. Even supposing Cromwell's asser- 
 tion that he wished only to terrify the Irish rebels to be 
 true, no shadow of an excuse can be pleaded for the 
 massacre of the women and children, or for that of 
 the English Royalists who formed five-sixths of the 
 garrison. 
 
 All through the night occasional shrieks and pistol 
 shots could be heard, as the wretched people who had 
 hidden themselves in closets and cellars were discovered 
 nd murdered. No further assault was made upon the 
 
216 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 church tower, nor was there any renewal of it next 
 morning. As hour after hour passed on Harry con- 
 cluded that, deterred by the great loss which his men 
 had already sustained in endeavoring to capture the 
 post, Cromwell had determined to reduce it by starva- 
 tion. 
 
 Already the defenders were, from the effects of 
 exertion and excitement, half-mad with thirst. As the 
 day went on their sufferings became greater, but there 
 was still no thought of surrender. The next day two of 
 them leaped from the top of the tower and were killed 
 by their fall. Then Harry saw that it was better to give 
 in. 
 
 "My lads/' he said, "it is better to go down and die 
 by a bullet-shot than to suffer these agonies of thirst, 
 with only death as the issue. We must die. Better to 
 die in our senses as men, than mad like wild beasts with 
 thirst. Mike, my lad, I am sorry to have brought you 
 to this pass." 
 
 Mike put his parched lips to his master's hand. 
 
 "It is not your fault, master. My life is no differ to 
 any." 
 
 The men agreed to Harry's proposal. There was a 
 discussion whether they should go down and die fight- 
 ing, or not; but Harry urged upon them that it was bet- 
 ter not to do so. They were already weak with hunger 
 and thirst, and it would be more dignified to meet their 
 fate quiet and unresistingly. They accordingly laid by 
 their arms, and, preceded by Harry, descended the 
 stairs. 
 
 The noise of their footsteps warned the soldiers in the 
 church below of their coming, and these formed in a 
 semicircle round the door to receive the expected on- 
 slaught. When they saw that the Royalists were 
 unarmed they lowered their weapons, and an officer said: 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 217 
 
 ''Take these men out into the street, and shoot them 
 there, according to the general's orders." 
 
 Calmly and with dignity Harry marched at the head 
 of his little party into the street. They were ranged 
 with their backs to the church, and a firing party took 
 their places opposite to them. 
 
 The officer was about to give the order, when a divine 
 in a high-steepled hat came up. He looked at the pris- 
 oners, and then rapidly advanced between the lines and 
 gazed earnestly at Harry. 
 
 "Is your name Master Furness?" he asked. 
 
 "I am Colonel Furness, an officer of his majesty 
 Charles II.," Harry said coldly. "What then?" 
 
 "I am Ebenezer Stubbs," the preacher said. "Do you 
 not remember how seven years ago you saved my life at 
 the risk of your own in the streets of Oxford? I prom- 
 ised you then that if the time should come I would do 
 as good a turn to yourself. Captain Allgood," he said, 
 "I do beseech yon to stay this execution until I have 
 seen the general. I am, as you know, his private chap- 
 lain, and I am assured that he will not be wroth with 
 you for consenting to my request." 
 
 The influence of the preacher with Cromwell was well 
 known, and the officer ordered his men to ground arms, 
 although they muttered and grumbled to themselves &> 
 the prospect of mercy being shown to men who had 
 killed so many of their companions. A quarter of a 
 hour later the preacher returned with an order from the 
 general for the prisoners to be placed in durance. 
 
 "I have obtained your life," the preacher said, "but 
 even to my prayers the general will grant no more. You 
 and your men are to be sent to the Bermudas." 
 
 Although Harry felt that death itself would be almost 
 preferable to a life of slavery in the plantations, he 
 thanked the preacher for his efforts in his behalf. A 
 
218 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 week later Harry, with the eight men who had been 
 taken with him, and twenty-seven others who had been 
 discovered in hiding-places, long after the capture of 
 the place, were placed on board a ship bound for the 
 Bermudas, the sole survivors of the garrison three 
 thousand strong and of the inhabitants of Drogheda. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 21* 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SLAVES IN THE BERMUDAS. 
 
 THE Good Intent, upon which Harry Furness wit*v 
 thirty-five other Eoyalist prisoners were embarked, wa* 
 a bark of two hundred tons. She carried, in addition 
 to the prisoners, sixty soldiers, who were going out t-> 
 strengthen the garrison of Barbadoes. The prisoner! 
 were crowded below, and were only allowed to come o^ 
 deck in batches of five or six for an hour at a time. 
 Four of them had died on the way, and the others wer* 
 greatly reduced in strength when they landed. As sooi 
 ?is they reached Bermuda the prisoners were assigned 
 LIS slaves to some of the planters most in favor of tb-i 
 Commonwealth. Four or five were allotted to each, an i l 
 Harry having placed Mike next to him at the end of tb* 
 line, when they were drawn up on lauding, they werf, 
 together with two others of the soldiers who had df^ 
 fended the tower of Drogheda with him, assigned to tb* 
 same master. 
 
 "He is an evil-looking scoundrel,' 7 Harry said to tht 
 Irish boy. "He looks even more sour and hypocriticpl 
 than do the Puritans at home. We have had a lesson of 
 what their idea of mercy and Christianity is when the* 
 get the upper hand. I fear we have a hard time before 
 us, my lad." 
 
 The four prisoners were marched to the center of th 
 island, which seemed to Harry to be, as near as he could 
 tell, about the size of the Isle of Wight. Their 
 
820 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 master rode in front of them, while behind rode his over- 
 seer, with pistols at his holsters, and a long whip in his 
 hand. Upon their way they passed several negroes 
 working in the fields, a sight which mightily astonished 
 Mike, who had never before seen these black creatures. 
 At that time the number of negroes in the island was 
 comparatively small, as the slave trade was then in its 
 infancy. It was the want of labor which made the plant- 
 ers so glad to obtain the services of the white prisoners 
 from England. Many of the slaves in the island had 
 been kidnaped as boys at the various ports in England 
 and Scotland, the infamous traffic being especially car- 
 ried on in Scotland. 
 
 When they reached the plantation the horsemen 
 alighted in the courtyard of the residence, and the 
 planter, whose name was Zachariah Stebbings, told the 
 overseer to take them to the slave quarters. 
 
 "You will have/' he said harshly, "to subdue your 
 pride here, and to work honestly and hard, or the lash 
 will become acquainted with your backs." 
 
 "Look you here, Master Stebbings, if such be your 
 name," Harry said, "a word with you at the beginning. 
 We are exiled to this place, and given into servitude to 
 you through no crime but that of having fought bravely 
 for his majesty King Charles. We are men who care not 
 greatly for our lives, and we four, with seven others, 
 did, as you may learn, defend the tower of Drogheda for 
 two days against the whole army of Cromwell, and did 
 only yield to thirst, and not to force. You may judge 
 then, of our mettle from that fact. Now, hark you; 
 having fallen into this strait, we are willing to conform 
 to our condition, and to give you fair and honest work 
 to the best of our powers; but mind you, if one finger 
 be laid on us in anger, if so much as the end of a whip 
 touch one of us, we have s \voni iliat we will slay him 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 221 
 
 who so ventures, and you also, should you countenance 
 it, even though afterward we be burned at the stake for 
 doing it. That is our bargain; see you that you keep to it." 
 
 So stern and determined were Harry's words, so fierce 
 and haughty his tone, that the planter and his. overseer 
 both turned pale and shrank back. They saw at once the 
 manner of men with whom they had to deal, and felt 
 that the threat would be carried out to the fullest. 
 Muttering some inarticulate reply, the planter turned 
 and entered the house, and the overseer, with a dog- 
 ged, crestfallen look, led the way to the slave quarters. 
 The place assigned to them was a long hut, the sides 
 lightly constructed of woven boughs, with a thick thatch 
 overhead. Along one side extended a long sloping 
 bench, six feet wide* This was the bed of the slaves* 
 
 An hour afterward the other inmates of the hut en- 
 tered. They consisted of four white men who had beea 
 kidnaped as boys, and two who had been apprentices, 
 sent out, as Harry soon learned, for their share in the 
 rising in the city, which he had headed, The negroes 
 on the estate, some twenty in number, were confined in 
 another hut. There were, besides, four guards, one of 
 whom kept sentry at night over thw hut, while another 
 with a loaded firearm stood over them while they 
 worked. The garrison of the island consisted, as Harry 
 had learned before landing, of two hundred and fifty 
 soldiers, besides the militia, consisting of the planters, 
 their overseers and guards, who would number altogether 
 about five hundred men. 
 
 The next day the work in the fields began. It con* 
 sisted of hoeing the ground between the rows of young 
 sugar canas and tobacco plants. The sun was extremely 
 powerful, and the perspiration soon flowed in streama 
 from the newcomers. They worked, however, steadily 
 and well, and in a manner which gave satisfaction even 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 to their master and bis overseer. Harry had impressed 
 upon his two men and Mike the importance of doing 
 nothing which could afford their employer a fair oppor- 
 tunity for complaint. He would not, Harry felt sure, 
 venture to touch them after the warning he had given, 
 but he might send one or all of them back to the town, 
 where they would be put to work as refractory slaves n 
 the fortifications, and where their lot would be far 
 harder than it would be on the plantation. He urged 
 upon them above all things to have patience; sooner or 
 later the people of England would, he felt sure, recall 
 the young king, and then they would be restored to their 
 country. But even before that some mode of escape, 
 either by ship, or by raising an insurrection in concert 
 with the white slaves scattered through the island, might 
 present itself. 
 
 The white slaves and negroes were kept as far as pos- 
 sible apart during their work in all the plantations in the 
 island. The whites were deemed dangerous, and were 
 watched with the greatest care. The blacks were a 
 light-hearted and merry race, not altogether discontented 
 with their position, and the planters did their utmost 
 to prevent the white slaves having communication with 
 them, and stirring them up to discontent and rebellion. 
 At the same time they were not absolutely forbidden to 
 speak. Each slave had a small plot of ground assigned 
 to him near the huts, and on these, after the day's work 
 was over, they raised vegetables for their own con- 
 sumption. 
 
 Mike, who, as a lad, was much less closely watched 
 than the men, soon made friends with the negroes. He 
 was full of fun and mischief, and became a prime favor- 
 ite with them. He learned that at night, as no watch 
 was kept over them, they would often steal away and 
 chat with the negroes on other plantations, and that so 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGB DIVIDED 223 
 
 ,ong as there were no signs of discontent, and they did 
 iheir work cheerfully, the masters placed no hindrance 
 upon such meetings. Often at night, indeed, the sound 
 of the negro singing and music could be heard by the 
 prisoners, the overseers troubling themselves in no way 
 with the proceedings of their slaves after nightfall, so 
 iong as their amusements did not interfere with their 
 power of work next morning. Mike heard also that 
 the treatment of the slaves, both white and black, varied 
 greatly on different plantations, according to the nature 
 of their masters. In some the use of the lash was almost 
 unknown, the slaves were permitted many indulgences, 
 and were happy and contented; while in others they 
 were harshly and cruelly treated. Mr. Stebbings was 
 considered one of the worst masters in the island, and, 
 indeed, it was everywhere noticed that the masters who 
 most conformed to the usages and talk of the Puritans 
 at home were the most cruel taskmasters to their slaves. 
 Many times Harry Furness* blood boiled when he saw 
 the lash applied to the bare shoulders of the slaves, 
 often, as it seemad to him, from pure wantonness on the 
 part of the overseer. But the latter never once ventured 
 to touch Harry or his three companions. 
 
 Through the negroes Mike learned that to each of the 
 four plantations adjoining their own four white prison- 
 ers had been assigned, and among these, Harry found, 
 on obtaining their names, were the other five soldiers 
 who had fought with him at Drogheda. 
 
 Mike soon took to going out at night with the negroes, 
 making his way through a small opening in the light 
 wall of the hut. This was easily closed up on his return, 
 and by choosing a time when the sentry was on the other 
 side of the house, he had no difficulty iu leaving or 
 ntering unseen. By means of the negroes he opened 
 up a communication with the other soldiers, and in- 
 
24 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 formed them tLat Colonel Furness bade them hold them- 
 selves in readiness when an opportunity for escape should 
 arise. It might he weeks or even months before this 
 would come, but the signal would be given by a fire 
 burning at daybreak upon a hill at no great distance 
 from the plantation. He bade them use their discretion 
 &s to taking any white slaves with them into their confi- 
 dence. At nightfall, after seeing the column of smoke, 
 they were, as best they could, to make their way from 
 the huts, and meet in a clump of trees near the house of 
 Mr. Stebbings. 
 
 Harry had, indeed formed no distinct plan for escape; 
 but he wished, should an opportunity offer, to have such a 
 body of men at hand as might stand him in good stead. 
 
 One day, about a month after their arrival on the 
 plantation, the overseer brutally beat an old negro who 
 was working next to Mike. The old man resumed his 
 work, but was so feeble that he in vain endeavored to 
 use his hoe, and the overseer struck him to the ground 
 with the butt end of his whip. Mike instinctively 
 dropped his hoe and sprang to lift the old man to his 
 feet. The infuriated overseer, enraged at this interfer- 
 ence, brought down his whip on Mike's head and felled 
 him by the side of the negro. In an instant Harry 
 sprang forward, armed with his hoe; the overseer seeing 
 him coming, retreated a step or two, drew his pistol from 
 his belt and fired the ball flew close to Harry's ear, and 
 the latter, whirling his hoe round his head, brought it 
 down with his full strength upon that of the overseer; the 
 man fell in his tracks as if smitten with lightning. The 
 guard ran up with his musket pointed, but Harry's twa 
 companions also advanced, armed with their hoes, and 
 the guard, seeing that even if he shot one, he should 
 assuredly be killed by the others, took to his heels and 
 ran on* to the house. A minute later Zachariah Steb* 
 
FRIENDS, THO UGH DIVIDED. 225 
 
 bings with the four guards was seen running up to the 
 spot. 
 
 "What is this?" he exclaimed furiously. "Mutiny?" 
 
 r4 No, Master Stebbings," Harry said calmly. "\Ve 
 have, as you know, worked honestly and well, but your 
 brutal overseer has broken the agreement we made, and 
 struck this lad to the ground without any cause. I, of 
 course, carried out my part of the compact, though I 
 doubt me the fellow is not killed. His hat is a thick 
 one, and may have saved his skull. You had best leave 
 matters alone. I and my three men are a match for you 
 and your guards, even though they have guns, and you 
 best know if our services are worth anything to you." 
 
 The planter hesitated. He was unwilling indeed to 
 lose four of his best slaves, and he knew that whether 
 he attacked them now, or whether he reported the case 
 to the commandant of the island, he would assuredly do 
 this. After a moment's hesitation, he said: 
 
 "The fool has brought it on himself. Do you/' turn- 
 ing to the guards, "lift him up and carry him to the 
 house, and let old Dinah see to his head. It is an ugly 
 cut," he said, leaning over him, "but will do him no 
 harm, though it will not add to his beauty." 
 
 The blow had indeed been a tremendous one, and had 
 it alighted fairly on the top of his head, would assuredly 
 have cleft the skull, in spite of the protection afforded 
 by the hat. It had, however, fallen somewhat on one 
 side, and had shorn off the scalp, ear, and part of the 
 cheek. It was three weeks before the overseer again 
 resumed his duty, and he cast such a deadly look at 
 Harry as assured him that he would have his life when 
 the occasion offered. 
 
 Two days later, when the planter happened to be in 
 the field with the overseer, two gentlemen rode from the 
 house, where they had been to inquire for him. The 
 
FRIKNDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 sobriety of their garments showed that they belonged to 
 the strictest sect of the Puritans. 
 
 "I have ridden hither," one said, with a strong nasal 
 twang, "Zachariah Stebbings, having letters of intro- 
 duction to you from the governor. These will tell that 
 I am minded to purchase an estate in the island. The 
 governor tells me that maybe you would be disposed to 
 sell, and that if not, I might see the methods of work 
 and culture here, and learn from you the name of one 
 disposed to part with his property." 
 
 At the first words of the speaker Harry Furness had 
 started, and dropped his hoe; without, however, looking 
 round, he picked it up and applied himself to his work. 
 
 "I should not be unwilling to sell," the planter an- 
 swered, "for a fair price, but the profits are good, and 
 are likely to be better, for I hear that large numbers of 
 malignants, taken by the sword of the Lord Cromwell at 
 Dundalk and Waterford in Ireland, will be sent here, 
 and with more labor to till the fields, our profits will 
 increase." 
 
 "i have heard," the newcomer said, "that some of 
 the ungodly followers of the man Charles have already 
 been sent here." 
 
 "That is so," the planter agreed. "I myself, stand- 
 ing well in the favor of the governor, have received four 
 of them; that boy, the two men next to him, and that 
 big man working there. He is a noted malignant, and 
 was known as Colonel Furness." 
 
 "Truly he is a stalwart knave," the other remarked* 
 
 "Ay is he," the planter said; "but his evil fortune has 
 not as yet altogether driven out the evil spirit within 
 him. He is a man of wrath, and the other day he smote 
 nigh to death my overseer, whose head is, as you see, 
 still bandaged up." 
 
 "Truly he is a son of Belial," the other argued, but 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 227 
 
 in a tone in which a close observer might have perceived 
 a struggle to keep down laughter. "I warrant me, you 
 punished him heartily for such an outbreak." 
 
 "To tell you the truth," the planter said, "the man 
 is a good workman, and like to an ox in his strength. 
 The three others were by his side, and also withstood 
 me. Had I laid a complaint before the governor they 
 would all have been shot, or put on the roads to work, 
 and I should have lost their labor. My overseer was in 
 the wrong, and struck one of them first, so 'twas better 
 to say naught about the matter. And now will you with 
 me to the house, where I can open the letter of the gov- 
 ernor, and talk more of the business you have in hand." 
 
 The instant the man had spoken Harry had recognized 
 the voice of his old friend Jacob, and doubted not 
 though he had not ventured to look round, that he who 
 accompanied him was William Long; and he guessed 
 that hearing he had been sent with the other captives 
 spared at the massacre of Drogheda to the Bermudas, 
 they had come out to try and rescue him. So excited 
 was he at the thought that it was with difficulty he 
 could continue steadily at his work through the rest of 
 the day. When at nightfall he was shut up in the hut 
 with his companions, he told them that the Puritan they 
 had seen was a friend of his own, a captain in his troop, 
 and that he doubted not that deliverance was at hand. 
 He charged Mike at once to creep forth to join the 
 negroes, and to bid them tell one of their color who 
 served in the house to take an opportunity to whisper 
 to one of his master's guests for he learned that they 
 were biding there for the night, "Be in the grove near 
 the house when all are asleep," The negroes willingly 
 undertook the commission, and Mike rejoined the party 
 in the hut. Two hours later Harry himself crept out 
 through the hole, which they had silently and at great 
 
228 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 pains enlarged for the purpose, and made his way round 
 to the grove. There were still lights in the house, and 
 the negroes in their hut were talking and singing. An 
 hour later the lights were extinguished, and soon after- 
 ward he saw a figure stealthily approaching. 
 
 "Jacob/' he whispered, as the man entered the shelter 
 of the trees, and in another moment he was clasped in 
 the arms of his faithful friend. For some time their 
 hearts were too full to speak, and then Harry leading 
 his companion to the side of the wood furthest from the 
 house, they sat down and began to talk. After the first 
 questions as to the health of Harry's father had been 
 answered, Jacob went on: 
 
 "We saw by the dispatch of Cromwell to Parliament 
 that the sole survivors of the sack of Drogheda, being 
 one officer, Colonel Furness, a noted malignant, and 
 thirty-five soldiers, had been sent in slavery to the Ber- 
 mudas. So, of course, we made up our minds to come 
 and look after you. Through Master Fleming I obtained 
 letters, introducing to the governor the worshipful 
 Grace-be-to-the-Lord Hobson and Jeremiah Perkins, 
 who desired to buy an estate in the Bermudas. So 
 hither we came, William Long and I; and now, Harry, 
 what do you advise to be done? I find that the ships 
 which leave the port are searched before they leave, and 
 that guards are placed over them while they load, to see 
 that none conceal themselves there, and I see not, 
 therefore, how you can well escape in that way. There 
 seem to be no coasting craft here, or we might seize one 
 of these and make for sea." 
 
 "No," Harry replied. "They allow none such in the 
 port, for fear that they might be so taken. There are 
 large rowing boats, pulled by twelve slaves, that come to 
 take produce from the plantations farthest from the 
 port round to ships there. But it would be madness 
 
FlilMJWS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 229 
 
 to trust ourselves to sea in one of these. We should 
 either die of hunger and thirst, or be picked up again by 
 their cruisers. The only way would be to seize a ship." 
 
 "That is what William Long and J have been thinking 
 of," Jacob said. "But there is a shrewd watch kept up, 
 and the ships are moored under the guns of the battery. 
 We passed, on our way hither, a bark bringing a num- 
 ber of prisoners taken at Waterford. She is a slow sailer, 
 and, by the calculations of our captain, will not arrive 
 here for some days yet." 
 
 "If we could intercept her/' Harry said thoughtfully, 
 "we might, with the aid of the prisoners, overcome the 
 guard, and then turning her head, sail for Holland." 
 
 "That might be done," Jacob assented, "if you have 
 force enough." 
 
 "I can bring forty men," Harry answered. "There 
 are eight here, and we have communication with those 
 in the neighboring plantations, who are ready to join me 
 in any enterprise. That should be enough." 
 
 "It is worth trying," Jacob said. "I will hire a row- 
 boat, as if to bring round a cargo of sugar from this 
 plantation to the port. I will station a man on the 
 highest point of the hills to give me notice when a sail 
 is in sight. He may see it thence forty miles away. 
 The winds are light and baffling, and she will make slow 
 progress, and may bring up outside the port that night, 
 but assuredly will not enter until next morning. The 
 instant I know it is in sight I will ride over here, and 
 William Long will start with the barge from the port. 
 When you see me come, do you send round word to the 
 others to meet at midnight on the beach, where you will 
 see the boat drawn up. Can you let your friends know 
 speedily?" 
 
 "Yes," Harry replied. "My signal was to have been 
 given at daybreak, but I will send round word of the 
 
5530 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 change of hour, and that if, when they are locked up 
 for the night, they see a fire burning on the point agreed, 
 they are to meet on the shore at midnight. Tell Will- 
 iam Long to haul the boat up, and let the rowers go to 
 sleep on the shore. We will seize them noiselessly. 
 Then we will row along the shore till off the port, and 
 at first daybreak out to the ship if she be at anchor, or 
 away to meet her if she be not yet come. They will 
 think that we bear a message from the port." 
 
 After some further discussion of details the friends 
 separated, and the next day Mike sent round by the 
 negroes the news of the change of plans. Two days 
 later Jacob rode up to the plantation. He had upon 
 the first occasion told Stebbings that the sum he asked 
 for the estate seemed to him too high, but that he would 
 return to talk it over with him, after he had seen other 
 properties. Immediately upon his arrival, which hap- 
 pened just as the slaves returned from work, Mike sent 
 off one of the negro boys, who had already collected a 
 pile of brushwood on the beacon hill. Half an hour 
 later a bright flame shone out on its summit. 
 
 "I wonder what that means?" the planter, who was 
 sitting at dinner in. his veranda with Jacob, said angrily. 
 
 "It looks like a signal fire," Jacob remarked calmly. 
 "I have heard that they are sometimes lit on the sea- 
 coast of England as a signal to smugglers." 
 
 "There are no smugglers here," the planter said, "nor 
 any cause for such a signal." 
 
 He clapped his hands, and ordered the black slave 
 who answered to tell the overseer to take two of the 
 guards, and at once proceed to the fire, and examine its 
 cause. After dinner was over the planter went out to 
 the slave huts. All the white men were sitting or lying 
 in the open air, enjoying the rest after their labor. The 
 negroes were Dinging or working in their garden plots. 
 The list was called ovar, and all found to be present. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "I expect/ 7 the planter said, "that it is oniy a silly 
 freak of some of these black fellows to cause uneasiness. 
 It can mean nothing, for the garrison and militia could 
 put down any rising without difficulty and there is no 
 hope of escupe. In a week we could search every possi- 
 ble hiding-phice in the island." 
 
 "Yes, that is an advantage which you have over the 
 planters in Virginia, to which place I hear our Scottish 
 brethren have sent large numbers of the malignants. 
 There are great woods stretching no man knoweth how 
 far inland, and inhabited by fierce tribes of Indians, among 
 whom those who escape find refuge." 
 
 That night when all was still Harry Furness and his 
 seven comrades crept through the opening in tiie hut. 
 In the grove they were joined by Jacob. They then 
 made their way to the seashore, where they saw lying 
 a large shallop, drawn partly up on the beach. A man 
 was sitting in her, while many other dark figures lay 
 stretched on the sand near. Harry and his party moved 
 in that direction, and found that the men from two of 
 the other plantations had already arrived. A few 
 minutes later the other two parties arrived. The whole 
 body advanced noiselessly along the shore, and seized 
 and gagged the sleepers without the least difficulty or 
 noise. These were bound with- ropes from the boat, and 
 laid down one by one on the sand, at a distance from 
 each other. 
 
23$ FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A SEA FIGHT. 
 
 THE instant the rowers were secured Harry Furness 
 embraced his faithful follower William Long. He had 
 learned from Jacob that the ship had appeared in sight 
 about two in the afternoon, and that it was not thought 
 likely by the sailors of the port that she would reach it 
 until the breeze sprang up in the morning, although 
 she might get within a distance of five or six miles. The 
 whole party had, in concurrence with Harry's orders, 
 brought with them their hoes, which were the only 
 weapons that were attainable. It was agreed that their 
 best course would be to row along the shore until near 
 the lights of the port, then to row out and lay on their 
 oars half a mile beyond the entrance, where, as it was a 
 starlight night, they would assuredly see the ship if she 
 had come to anchor. As soon as the first dawn com- 
 menced they were to row out and meet the ship. Wrap- 
 pings of cloth were fastened round the rowlocks to pre- 
 vent noise, twelve men took the oars, the boat was 
 shoved down into the sea, and they started on their 
 voyage. The boat rowed but slowly, and it was, Harry 
 judged, past three o'clock when they reached the point 
 they had fixed on off the mouth of the harbor. No ship 
 was visible outside the port, although there was sufficient 
 light to have seen its masts had it been there. 
 
 "We had better go another half-mile further out," he 
 said. * 'Should they take it into their heads on shore, 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 233. 
 
 they see us, to send a fast boat out to inquire what 
 we are doing, it might overtake us before we could reach 
 the ship." 
 
 An hour after they had ceased rowing a faint streak 
 of daylight appeared in the west, and a ship could be 
 seen about three miles seaward, while the shore was 
 nearly that distance behind them, for they had been 
 deceived by the darkness, and were much further out 
 than they had thought. 
 
 "It is all the better/' Harry said. "It must be some 
 time before they think of sending a boat after us, and 
 we shall reach the ship before it can overtake us." 
 
 As soon as it became broad daylight Harry took one 
 of the oars himself, and all save the twelve rowers, and 
 Jacob and William Long who sat in the stern, lay down 
 in the bottom of the boat, where some pieces of matting, 
 used for covering cargo, were thrown over them. There 
 v;as not as yet a breath of wind, and the ship's saila 
 hung idly against the masts. After three-quarters of an 
 hour's hard rowing the barge approached her side. 
 There were only a few figures on the deck. 
 
 "Are you the captain of this vessel?" Jacob asked 
 one who seemed to him of that condition. 
 
 "Ay, ay," the sailor said. "What is the news?" 
 
 "I have come off from the island," Jacob answered, 
 "by orders of his worshipful the governor, to warn you 
 that there is an insurrection among the slaves of the 
 island, and to bid you not to anchor outside, or to wait 
 for your papers being examined, but to enter at once." 
 
 By this time the boat was alongside, and Jacob climbed 
 on board. 
 
 "You have brought some troops with you?" he asked. 
 "They will be wanted." 
 
 "Yes, I have eighty men whom I have brought as a 
 reinforcement to the garrison of the island, besides a 
 
234 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 hundred and fifty prisoners from Waterford, stowed 
 away below the hatches forward. Hullo! why, what is 
 this? Treason!" 
 
 As he spoke Harry, followed by the rowers, swarmed 
 en board armed with their hoes. The captain and the 
 men round him were at once knocked down. The sen- 
 tries over the fore hatchway discharged their muskets, 
 and, with some of the crew stationed there, made aft. 
 But Harry's party had now all joined him on deck. A 
 rush was made, and the decks entirely cleared. A few 
 of the soldiers who came running up through the after 
 hatchway on hearing the tumult and noise of the light 
 were beaten down and hurled below on those following 
 them, and the hatches were slipped on and secured. 
 Then a triumphant shout of "God and the King!" was 
 raised. 
 
 The forehatches were now lifted, and the prisoners 
 invited to come up. They rushed on deck, delighted 
 and bewildered, for it was the first time that they had 
 seen the sun since they left England, having been kept 
 below, where many had died from confinement and bud 
 air, while all were sorely weakened and brought low. 
 Among them were many officers, of whom several wero 
 known to Harry although they had some difficulty in 
 recognizing in the man, bronzed brown by his exposure 
 to the sun and clad in a tattered shirt and breeches 
 their former comrade, Harry Furness. A search was at 
 once made for arms, and ranged in the passage to tlie 
 captain's cabin were found twenty muskets for the use 
 of the crew, together with as many boarding pikes and 
 sabers. Ammunition was not wanting. The arms were 
 divided among Harry's band of forty men, and the 
 twenty strongest of those they had rescued. The hoes 
 were given to the remainder. 
 
 The captain, who had by this time recovered from 
 
THB SEA FIGHT. Page 234. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 235 
 
 the blow dealt him by Harry, was now qnestioned. He 
 was told that if he would consent with his crew to navi- 
 gate the vessel to Holland, he should there be allowed to 
 go free with the ship, which it seemed was his own 
 property; but the cargo would be sold as a fair prize, 
 to satisfy the needs of his captors. If he refused, he 
 would be sent with his crew on shore in the barge, and 
 his ship and cargo would alike be lost to him. The cap- 
 tain had no hesitation in accepting the first of these 
 alternatives, as he would be, although no gainer by the 
 voyage, yet no loser either. He told Harry that for 
 himself he had no sympathy with the rulers in London, 
 and that he sorely pitied the prisoners he was bringing 
 over. 
 
 The hatch was now a little lifted, and the prisoners 
 below summoned to surrender. This they refused to do. 
 Hurry and his men then, with much labor, lowered a 
 four-pounder carronadedown the forehatch, and wheeled 
 it to within a few feet of the bulkhead which divided 
 that portion where the prisoners had been confined from 
 the after part. The gun was loaded to the muzzle with 
 grape, and discharged, tearing a hole through the bulk- 
 head and killing and wounding many within. Then the 
 officer in command offered to surrender. 
 
 Harry ordered them at once to hand tip all their fire- 
 locks and other arms through the hatchway, which was 
 again lifted for the purpose. When those on deck had 
 armed themselves with those weapons, the prisoners were 
 ordered to come up, bringing their wounded with them. 
 As they reached the deck they were passed down into 
 the barge, from which all the oars save four had been 
 removed. Six of the soldiers had been killed, and the 
 remainder having entered the barge, where they were 
 stowed as thickly as they could pack, the head rope was 
 dropped, and they were allowed to row away. Besides 
 
236 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the eighty muskets of the guard, a store of firelocks, 
 sufficient to arm all on board, was found; Jhese having 
 been intended for the use of the garrison. A gentle 
 breeze had by this time sprung up from the land, and 
 the ship's head was turned seaward. 
 
 The boat was but half a mile behind them when it was 
 joined by an eight-oared galley, which had been seen 
 rowing out from the harbor, whence, doubtless, it had 
 been dispatched to inquire into the errand of the boat seen 
 rowing off to the ship. After lying alongside the barge 
 for a minute or two she turned her head, and made back 
 again with all speed. 
 
 "You would have done more wisely," the captain said 
 to Harry, "if you had retained the prisoners on board 
 until the second boat came alongside. You could have 
 swamped that, and sent those in it back with the others, 
 who will not reach shore until late this afternoon, for 
 with only four oars they will make no way until the land 
 breeze falls." 
 
 "It would have been better far better" Harry 
 agreed "but one does not always think of things at the 
 right time. What ships are there in port, Jacob?" 
 
 "There is the vessel I came by and two others," Jacob 
 replied, "all bout the same size as this, and mounting 
 each as many guns. You have eight, I see, captain; the 
 one I came out in had ten." 
 
 "They will pursue us," the captain said, "you may 
 be sure. It is known that we are not a fast sailer, and I 
 think, sir, you will have to fight for it." 
 
 "So be it," Harry said. "There are two hundred of 
 us, and though they might sink the ship, they will as- 
 euredly never carry it by boarding. There is not a man 
 here who would not rather die fighting than spend his 
 life in slavery on that island." 
 
 The vessel had gone about six miles on her course, 
 
FRIENDS. THOUGH DIVIDED. 231 
 
 when from the topmast the captain announced that the 
 galley had gained the port, now twelve miles distant. 
 "There is a gnu," he said, five minutes later. ''They 
 have take!) the alarm now." He then descended to the 
 deck, leaving a sailor in the tops. Two hours later 
 the latter ami on need that the topsails of three ships 
 Doming out from the harbor were visible. 
 
 "We have nigh thirty miles' start," the captain said. 
 ''They will not be up to us till to-morrow at midday." 
 
 "Do you think it would be any use to try to lose them 
 by altering our course in the night?" Harry asked. 
 
 "No," the captain answered. "It is but ten o'clock 
 in the day now. They will be within ten or twelve miles 
 by nightfall, for the wind is stronger near the land than 
 it is here, and with their night glasses they could hardly 
 miss us on a bright starlight night. I am ready to try if 
 you like, for I do not wish to see the ship knocked into 
 matchwood." 
 
 After some deliberation it was determined to hold 
 their course, and as night came on it was found that 
 escape would have been out of the question, for the 
 vessels behind had overhauled the Lass of Devon faster 
 than had been anticipated, and were little more than five 
 miles astern. They could be plainly seen after darkness, 
 set in, with the night glasses. 
 
 "What you must do, captain, is to lay her aboard the 
 first which comes up," Harry said; "even if they have 
 brought all the garrison we shall be far stronger than 
 any one of them taken singly." 
 
 During the night the pursuing vessels lessened sail 
 and maintained a position about a mile astern of the 
 chase, evidently intending to attack in the morning. 
 The day spent in the open air, with plenty of the best 
 eating and drinking which could be found in the ship, 
 iiad greatly reinvigorated the released prisoners, and 
 
238 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 when at daybreak the vessels behind were seen to be 
 closing up, all were ready for the light. The enemy, 
 sure that their prey could not escape them, did not tire 
 a shot as they came up in her wake. The two imme- 
 diately behind were but a cable's length asunder, and 
 evidently meant to engage on either side. Harry ordered 
 the greater portion of men below, leaving only sufficient 
 on deck to fight the guns, to whose use many were well 
 accustomed. The wind was very light, and the ships 
 were scarcely stealing through the water. 
 
 "We had better fight them broadside to broadside/' 
 Harry said; "but keep on edging down toward the ship 
 to leeward." 
 
 The fight began with a heavy fire of musketry from the 
 tops, where, in all three ships, the best marksmen had 
 been posted. Then, when they were abreast of each 
 other, the guns opened fire. The vessels were little 
 more than fifty yards apart. For half an hour the en- 
 gagement continued without intermission. Both ships 
 of the enemy had brought all their guns over to the sides 
 opposed to the Royalist vessel, and fought eighteen gnus 
 to his eight. Fearing to injure each other, both aimed 
 entirely at the hull o-f their opponent, while Harry's 
 guns were pointed at the masts and rigging. The sides 
 of the Lass of Devon were splintered and broken in all 
 directions, while those of his assailants showed scarcely 
 a shot mark. The fire of his men in the tops all old 
 soldiers had been so heavy and deadly that they had 
 killed most of the marksmen in the enemy's tops, and 
 had driven the rest below. All this time the Lass of 
 Devon was raked by the fire of the third vessel which 
 had come up behind her, and raked her fore and aft. 
 At the end of the half-hour the mainmast of the vessel 
 to windward, which had been several times struck, fell 
 with a crash. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 839 
 
 "Now, captain, lay her aboard the ship to leeward. " 
 They had already edged down within twenty yards of 
 this ship, and slowly as they were moving through the 
 water, in another three or four minutes the vessels 
 grated together. At Harry's first order the whole of 
 his men had swarmed on deck, pouring in such a fire of 
 musketry that none could stand alive at the enemy's 
 tiller to keep her head away as the Lass of Devon ap- 
 proached. As the vessels touched Harry leaped from 
 the bulwark on to the deck of the enemy, followed "by 
 Jacob and his men. The Parliamentary troops had also 
 rushed on deck, and, although inferior in numbers, for 
 they counted but eighty men, they made a sturdy stand. 
 Gradually, however, they were driven back, when an ex- 
 clamation from Mike, who, as usual, was close to Harry ; 
 caused him to look round. 
 
 The ship behind had, the moment she perceived the 
 Lass of Devon bearing down upon her consort, crowded 
 on more sail, and was how ranging up on the other Bide 
 of her. Bidding Jacob press the enemy hard with half 
 his force, Harry, with the remainder, leaped back on to 
 the deck of his own ship, just as the enemy boarded 
 from the other side. The fight was now a desperate one. 
 The vessel which had last arrived bore a hundred oi 
 the troops of the garrison, and the numbers were thus 
 nearly equal. The Royalists, however, fought with 
 greater desperation, for they knew the fate that awaited 
 them if conquered. Gradually they cleared the deck of 
 the Lass of Devon of the enemy, and in turn boardeo 
 their opponent. William Long led thirty men into the 
 tops of the Lass of Devon, and poured their fire into the 
 crowded enemy. Every step of the deck was fiercely 
 contested, but at last the Roundheads gave way. Some 
 threw down their arms and called for quarter, others 
 ran below. The Royalists, with shouts of "Remembei 
 
240 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDBD. 
 
 Drogheda!" fell upon them, and many of those who had 
 surrendered were cut down before Harry could arrest 
 the slaughter. 
 
 A loud cheer announced the victory, and the men in 
 the other ship, who had hitherto, although with difficulty, 
 made front against the attacks of Jacob and his men, 
 now lost heart and ran beloWo The wind had by this 
 time entirely dropped, but battening the prisoners 
 below, Harry set his men to thrust the ships past one an- 
 other, until they were sufficiently in line for their guns 
 to be brought to bear upon the third enemy. Crippled 
 as she was by the loss of her mast, she immediately 
 hauled down her colors, and the victory was complete. 
 
 The prisoners were brought on deck and disarmed. 
 Harry found that the boats of the four ships would carry 
 two hundred men closely packed, and but a hundred 
 and eighty of the two hundred and fifty troops who had 
 sailed in pursuit remained alive. These, with sufficient 
 provisions and water to last for three days, were made to 
 take their places in the boats, and told to row back to 
 the island, which they should be able to regain in two 
 days at the utmost. The crews of the captured ships 
 were willing enough to obey the orders of their captors, 
 for the sailors had in general but little sympathy with 
 the doings of Parliament. Harry had lost in killed and 
 wounded forty-two men, and the rest he divided between 
 the four ships, giving about thirty -five men to each 
 He himself, with Jacob, William Long, and Mike, re- 
 mained on board the Lass of Devon, officers being placed 
 in command of the troops on board the other ships, 
 which were ordered to sail in company with her. 
 Twenty-four hours were spent in getting a jury-mast set 
 in place of that which had been shot away. When thia 
 was completed the four ships hoisted their canvas and 
 sailed together for Holland. . , 
 
PRISNDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 241 
 
 They met with no adventure until near the month oi 
 the English Channel, when one morning a fleet of eight 
 ships was perceived. The captain of the Lass of Devon 
 at once pronounced them to be ships of war, and their 
 rate of sailing speedily convinced Harry that there waa 
 no chance of escape. Against such odds resistance was 
 useless, and the other ships were signaled to lower their 
 topsails in answer to the gun which the leading ship of 
 the squadron fired. Anticipating a return to captivity, 
 if not instant death, all on board watched the approach- 
 ing men-of-war. Presently these, when close at hand, 
 brought up into the wind, and a boat was lowered. It 
 rowed rapidly to the Lass of Devon, which lay somewhat 
 the nearest to them. Harry stood on the quarter-deck 
 ready to surrender his sword. The boat came along- 
 side, an officer leaped on deck and advanced toward him. 
 
 Harry could scarce believe his eyes; this gallant, in 
 the gay dress of a cavalier officer, could be no follower of 
 Cromwell. The officer paused and gazed in astonish- 
 ment at Harry. The recognition was mutual, and the 
 words "Furness" and "Elphinstone" broke from their 
 lips. 
 
 "Why, Elphinstone, what squadron is that?" 
 
 "Prince Rupert's, to be sure," the officer said. 
 "What! did you take us for the Roundhead fleet?" 
 
 Harry made no reply, but taking off his hat, shouted 
 to his men, "It is the Royalist fleet. Three cheers for 
 Prince Rupert." 
 
 A cheer of joy burst from the men, caught up and 
 re-echoed by the crews of the other ships. Harry led 
 the officer into his cabin, and rapidly explained to him 
 the circumstances which had taken place; ten minutes 
 later, entering a boat, he rowed off to tbe flagship. 
 
 "Why! Harry Furness!" exclaimed Prince Rupert, 
 "whither do yon spring from? I heard of yon last as 
 
4& fSIEND8 t THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 semg sent to slave in the Bermudas, and methought, 
 >ld friend, that you would stand the heat better than 
 ioat, since you had served such a sharp apprenticeship 
 vrfch me in that oven you wot of. And now tell me how 
 to it that you have got free, and that I find yon sailing 
 tere with four ships?" 
 
 Harry related his adventure. When he had finished 
 Prince Rupert said: 
 
 "[ envy you, Furness, in that you nave three faithful 
 ,'riends. One is as much as most men could even hope 
 (or, whereas you have three, who each seem willing to 
 $0 through fire and water for you. They do remind me 
 if fche wonderful servants of whom my old nurse used to 
 toll me as a child. They were given by a fairy to some 
 fortunate prince, and whenever he got into sore straits 
 were ready to do the most impossible things to free him 
 from them. Now you must take up your quarters here 
 until we reach Holland, whither I am on the point of 
 tailing. We have picked up several fat prizes, which I 
 iiave sent to Italy to sell, to pay the wages of my men, 
 tor his gracious majesty's exchequer is of the emptiest. 
 But I hear that Blake is about to put to sea with the 
 hips of the Parliament, and I care not to risk my fleet, 
 for they will be needed to escort his majesty to Scot- 
 land ere long." 
 
 "Are the Scots then again inclined to his majesty's 
 *ause? Were I King Charles, I would not trust myself to 
 hem," Harry said. "They sold his father, and would 
 tell him at least Argyll and the knaves with him would 
 <io so." 
 
 "I like not these ccld, calculating men of the north, 
 aysalf," Prince Rupert said, "and trust them as little. 
 Nor would my cousin venture himself again among 
 them, if he took my advice. His majesty, however, is 
 o more given to the taking of advice than was his father 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 before him, unless it be of Buckingham and WiliLot, 
 and other dissolute young lords, whose counsel and com- 
 pany are alike evil for him." 
 
 The same afternoon the fleet sailed for Holland, the 
 four merchantmen accompanying it. Upon their arrival 
 there Harry sold the three ships which he had taken, 
 together with such cargo as was found in their holds. 
 He sold also the cargo of the Lass of Devon, leaving the 
 ship itself, as he had promised, to the captain, its owner, 
 and making him and the sailors a handsome present for 
 the way they stood by him and worked the ship during 
 the action. The rest of the proceeds he divided between 
 the officers and men who had sailed with him, and finding 
 that these were ready still to share his fortunes, he 
 formed them into a regiment for the service of the king, 
 enlisting another hundred Royalists, whom he found 
 there well-nigh starving, in his ranks. 
 
 It was at the end of April, 1650, that Harry reached 
 Hamburg, and a month later came the news of the de- 
 feat and death of the Earl of Montrose. He had two 
 months before sailed from Hamburg to the Orkneys, where 
 he had' landed with a thousand men. Crossing to the 
 mainland he had marched down into Sunderland. There 
 he had met a body of cavalry under Colonel Strachan, 
 in a pass in the parish of Kincardine, now called Craig- 
 chonichan, or the Rock of Lamentation. The recruits 
 he had raised in Orkney and the north fled at once* 
 The Scotch and Germans he had brought with him 
 fought bravely, but without effect, and were utterly de- 
 feated, scattering in all directions. Montrose wandered 
 for many days in disguise, but was at last captured, and 
 was brought to Edinburgh with every indignity. He 
 was condemned to death by the Covenanters, and exe- 
 cuted. So nobly did he bear himself at his death that 
 the very indignities with which Argyll and his minions 
 
\ 
 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 loaded him, in order to make him an object of derision 
 to the people', failed in their object, and even those who 
 hated him most were yet struck with pity and admira- 
 tion at his noble aspect and bearing. Argyll stood at a 
 balcony to see him pass, and Montrose foretold a similar 
 fate for this double-dyed traitor, a prediction which was 
 afterward fulfilled. Harry deeply regretted the loss of 
 this gallant and chivalrous gentlei 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 246 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 WITH THE SCOTCH ABMY. 
 
 WHILE trying and executing Montrose for loyalty to 
 the king, the Scots were themselves negotiating with 
 Charles, commissioners having come over to Breda, 
 where he was living, for the purpose. They insisted 
 upon his swearing to be faithful to the Covenant, to his 
 submitting himself to the advice of the Parliament and 
 Church, and to his promising never ^to permit the exer- 
 cise of the Catholic religion in any part of his domin- 
 ions. Charles agreed to everything demanded of him, 
 having all the time no intention whatever of keeping his 
 promises. While he was swearing to observe everything 
 the Scots asked of him, he was writing to Ormonde to 
 tell him that he was to mind nothing he heard as to his 
 agreement with the Scots, for that he would do all the 
 Irish required. Charles, indeed, although but a young 
 man of twenty, was as full of duplicity and faithlessness 
 as his father, without possessing any of the virtues of 
 that unfortunate king, and the older and wiser men 
 among his followers were alienated by his dissolute con- 
 duct, and by the manner in which he gave himself up to 
 the reckless counsels of men like Buckingham and 
 Wilmot. 
 
 Harry heard with deep regret the many stories current 
 of the evil life and ways of the young king. Had it not 
 been for the deadly hatred which he felt to Cromwell 
 and the Puritans for the murder of Sir Arthur Ashton, 
 
46 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 
 
 and the rest of the garrison and people of Drogheda, in 
 cold blood, he would have retired altogether from the 
 strife, and would have entered one of the continental 
 armies, in which many Royalist refugees had already 
 taken service. He determined, however, that he would 
 join in this one expedition, and that if it failed he would 
 take no further part in civil wars in England, but wait 
 for the time, however distant, when, as he doubted not, 
 the people of England would tire of the hard rule of the 
 men of the army and conventicle, and would, with open 
 arms, welcome the return of their sovereign. 
 
 Sarly in June the king sailed for Scotland, accom- 
 panied by the regiment which Harry had raised, and a 
 few hundred other troops. He landed there on the 16th. 
 The English Parliament at once appointed Cromwell 
 captain-general and commander-in-chief of all the 
 forces raised and to be raised within the commonwealth 
 of England. A few days later he left London, and on 
 the 23d of June entered Scotland with sixteen thousand 
 men. King Charles, to whom Harry had been presented 
 Iby Prince Rupert as one of his father's most gallant and 
 faithful soldiers, received him at first with great cordial- 
 ity* As soon as he found, however, that this young 
 cojonel was in no way inclined to join in his dissipations, 
 that his face was stern and set when light talk or sneers 
 against religion were uttered by the king's companions, 
 Charles grew cold to him, and Harry was glad to be re- 
 leived from all personal attendance upon him, and to 
 devote himself solely to his military duties. Upon 
 landing in Scotland, Harry, with his regiment, was en- 
 camped in the valley between Edinburgh Castle and the 
 high hill called Arthur's Seat. A few days after his 
 arrival he, with Jacob, who was now raised to the rank 
 of major, and William Long, who was one of his lieu- 
 tenants, entered the palace of Holyrood, where the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 247 
 
 King's court was held. Here were gathered a motley 
 assembly. A few English Cavaliers, many loyal Scotch 
 nobles and gentlemen, and a large number of somber 
 men of the Covenant. Next to Charles stood a tall man, 
 whom Harry instantly recognized. Argyll, for it was 
 he, stared fixedly at the young colonel, who returned 
 his look with one as cold and haughty. 
 
 "This is Colonel Furness, my lord earl," the young 
 king said. "One of my father's bravest and most devoted 
 followers." 
 
 "I seem to have met the gentleman before," the earl 
 said. 
 
 "You have," Harry replied coldly. "At that time 
 the Earl of Argyll threatened to torture me into betray- 
 ing the secrets of his majesty, and would, I doubt not, 
 have carried his threat into effect had I not escaped from 
 his hands. The times have changed, and the Earl of 
 Argyll now stands beside his king, but I, sir, have not 
 forgotten the past so easily." So saying, with a deep 
 bow to the king, Harry passed on. 
 
 "Harry," whispered Donald Leslie, a young Scotch 
 officer who had joined the ranks of his regiment as cap- 
 tain at Hamburg, "hitherto I have thought you the 
 wisest and most discreet of men. I cannot say as much 
 now. It would have been safer to walk into a den of 
 lions than to insult the old red fox. He was never 
 known to forgive, and those who oflend him have a short 
 life. Beware, colonel, for henceforth you carry your 
 life in your hand." 
 
 "My sword is as sharp as his," Harry laughed, as they 
 issued into the open air. 
 
 "I doubt it not," Leslie said, "but it is with daggers 
 rather than swords that Argyll fights, and with secret 
 plottings more than either. Edinburgh swarms with 
 Campbells, any one of whom would think no more of 
 
248 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 running you through at his lord's command than he 
 would of killing a rat. Mark my words, hefore a week 
 is out you will be engaged in some broil or other. " 
 
 Jacob and William Long heard with great disquietude 
 the remarks of the young Scotch officer, which they 
 knew sufficient of Argyll to be aware were perfectly true. 
 They resolved that they would maintain a careful watch 
 over their friend, and that night they charged Mike. 
 who was now a tall, active young fellow of seventeen, to 
 keep the strictest watch as he followed his master in the 
 streets, and to have pistol and sword always in readiness. 
 
 Two days later Harry had the first evidence of the 
 truth of Leslie's prediction. He was walking up the 
 High Street, accompanied by Jacob, while Leslie and 
 two or three of his officers followed a short distance be- 
 hind, when three or four Scotch nobles were seen 
 approaching. One of these, Colonel Campbell, of Arran, 
 a tail and powerful figure, in passing jostled roughly 
 against Harry. 
 
 "S'death, sir!" he exclaimed. "Do you think that 
 you are in England, that you can take up the whole of 
 the road?" 
 
 "I'm as much entitled to the road as yourself," Harry 
 said hotly; "you purposely jostled me." 
 
 "Well, sir, and what if I did?" Colonel Campbell re- 
 plied. "If you don't like it you have your remedy," 
 and he touched his sword significantly. 
 
 "I will meet you, sir," Harry said, "in an hour's time 
 at the foot of the Castlehill." 
 
 The colonel nodded, and accompanied by his kinsmen 
 strode on. 
 
 "Jacob, you and Leslie will act with me?" Harry 
 asked. 
 
 "Willingly enough," Leslie replied. "But it is a 
 bad business. Campbell has the name of being one of 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 249 
 
 the best swordsmen in the Scottish army. Of course he 
 has been set on to attack you. 9 ' 
 
 "1 have been fighting/' Harry said, "for the last ten 
 years, and was not a bad swordsman when I began. 
 Unless I mistake, I am as powerful a man as Colonel 
 Campbell, and I fear not him or any man." 
 
 At the time appointed Harry, accompanied by his 
 seconds, was upon the ground, where five minutes later 
 they were joined by Colonel Campbell, with two of his 
 kinsmen. While the principals divested themselves of 
 their cloaks and doublets, the seconds compared their 
 swords. They were of entirely different fashion, Harry's 
 being long and straight with sharp edges, while Colonel 
 Campbell's was a basket-hilted sfvord, also straight and 
 double edged, and even larger and much heavier than 
 Harry's; each had brought one of similar make and size 
 to his own. Some conversation took place as to the 
 weapons which should be used. 
 
 "I cannot fight with a plaything like that," Colonel 
 Campbell said roughly. 
 
 "And I object equally," Harry puts in calmly, "to 
 wield a heavier weapon than that to which I am accus- 
 tomed. But I am quite content to fight with my own 
 against that of Colonel Campbell." 
 
 The seconds at first on both sides objected to this, 
 arguing that the weight and length of Campbell's weapon 
 would give him an unfair advantage. Harry, however, 
 was firm. 
 
 "A man fights better," he said, "with the sword to 
 which he is used. Mine is of tried temper, and I have 
 no fear of its breaking." Harry had good reason for 
 faith in his weapon. It was a long, straight blade of 
 Toledo steel, which he had purchased for a considerable 
 sum from a Spanish Jew in Hamburg. Colonel Camp- 
 bell put an and to the argument by roughly saying that 
 
$50 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 he wanted no more talk, and that if Colonel Furness 
 meant fighting he had better take up his ground. This 
 had already been marked out, , and Harry immediately 
 stood on the defensive. 
 
 In a moment the swords met. Colonel Campbell at 
 onoe attacked furiously, trying to beat down Harry's 
 guard by sheer strength and the weight of his weapon. 
 The Englishman, however, was to the full as powerful a 
 man, and his muscles from long usage were like cords 
 of steel. His blade met the sweeping blows of the 
 Scotchman firmly and steadily, while his point over and 
 over again menaced the breast of his adversary, who sev- 
 eral times only saved himself by springing back beyond 
 it. Harry's seconds saw from the first that the issue was 
 not doubtful. In a contest between the edge and the 
 point, the latter always wins if strength and skill be 
 equal, and in this case, while in point of strength the 
 combatants were fairly matched, Harry was more skilled 
 in the use of his weapon, whose lightness, combined with 
 its strength, added to his advantage. The fight lasted 
 but five minutes. Twice Harry's sword drew blood, and 
 at the third thrust he ran his adversary through under 
 the shoulder. The latter dropped his sword, with a 
 curse. 
 
 "I have spared your life, Colonel Campbell," Harry 
 said. "It was at my mercy a dozen times, but I wished 
 not to kill you. You forced this quarrel upon me at the 
 bidding of another, and against you I had no animosity. 
 Farewell, sir. I trust that ere the day of battle you will 
 be able to use your sword again in the service of the 
 king." 
 
 So saying, Harry resumed his doublet and cloak, and, 
 accompanied by his seconds, returned to his camp, 
 'eaving Campbell, furious with pain and disappoint- 
 went, to be conveyed home by his friends,, 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 25> 
 
 "So far, so good, Harry," Captain Leslie said. "Th* 
 next attempt will, you will find, be a more serious one 
 Argyll will not try fair means again. But beware hov 
 you go out at night." 
 
 The duel made a good deal of talk, and Argyll at- 
 tempted to induce the king to take the matter up, an$ 
 to punish Harry for his share in it a But the young king k 
 although obliged to listen every day to the long sermom 
 and admonitions of the Covenanters, was heartily sick o) 
 them already and answered Argyll lightly that, so far a 
 he had heard of the circumstances, Colonel CampbeD 
 was wholly to blame. "And, indeed," added the king, 
 "from what I have heard, the conduct of your kinsmaa 
 was so wantonly insulting that men say he must havt 
 been provoked thereto by others, as the two officer! 
 appear to have been strangers until the moment whe 
 their quarrel arose." 
 
 The earl grew paler than usual, and pressed his thi* 
 lips tightly together. 
 
 "I know of no reason," he said, "why Colonel Camp 
 bell should have engaged wantonly in a quarrel with thi> 
 English officer." 
 
 "No!" Charles said innocently. "And if you do not, 
 my lord, I know of no one that does. Colonel Furnesi 
 is an officer who is somewhat staid and severe for hi 
 years, and who, in sooth, stands somewhat aloof from 
 me, and cares not for the merry jests of Buckingham^ 
 but he is a gallant soldier. He has risked his life ovei 
 and over again in the cause of my sainted father, and 
 tried his utmost to save him, both at Carisbrook and 
 Whitehall. Any one who plots against him is no frien<J 
 of mine." The young king spoke with a dignity and 
 sternness which were not common to him, and Argyll^ 
 biting his lips, felt a deadlier enmity than ever toward 
 the man who had brought this reproof upon hr 
 shoulders. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDBD. 
 
 The following day Harry received orders from General 
 Leslie, who commanded the royal forces, to march down 
 toward the border, accompanied by two regiments of 
 horse. He was to devastate the country and to fall back 
 gradually before Cromwell's advance, the cavalry harass- 
 ing him closely, but avoiding any serious conflict with 
 the Eoundhead horse. The whole party were under the 
 command of Colonel Macleod. 
 
 "I am heartily glad to be on the move, Jacob/' Harry 
 said, on the evening before starting. "It is not pleasant 
 to know that one is in constant danger of being attacked 
 whenever one goes abroad. Once away from Edinburgh 
 one may hope to be beyond the power of Argyll/' 
 
 "I would not be too sure of that," Donald Leslie 
 said. "A hound on the track of a deer is not more sure 
 or untiring than is Argyll when he hunts down a foe. 
 Be warned by me, and never relax a precaution so long 
 as you are on Scottish ground. There are men who 
 whisper that even now, when he stands by the side of 
 the king, Argyll is in communication with Cromwell. 
 Trust me, if he can do you an ill turn, he will." 
 
 Upon the following morning the detachment marched, 
 with flags flying and drums beating, and the king him- 
 self rode down to see them depart. Argyll was with 
 him, and the king, as if in bravado of the formidable earl, 
 waved his hand to Harry, and said: "Good-by, my 
 grave colonel. Take care of yourself, and do not spare 
 my enemies as you spared my friend." 
 
 Harry doffed his plumed hat, and rode on at the head 
 of his regiment. The force marched rapidly, for it was 
 known that Cromwell was within a few days of Berwick. 
 So fast did they travel that in three days they were near 
 the border. Then they began the work which they had 
 been ordered to carry out. Every head of cattle was 
 driven up the country, and the inhabitants were ordered 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 353 
 
 to load as much of their stores of grain in wagons as 
 these would hold, *nd to destroy the rest. The force 
 under Colonel Macleod saw that these orders were car- 
 ried out, and when, on the 14th of July, Cromwell 
 crossed the Tweed, he found the whole country bare of 
 all provision for his troops. In vain his cavalry made 
 forays to a distance from the coast. Harry's foot 
 opposed them at every defensible point, while the cavalry 
 hung upon their skirts. In vain the Roundheads tried 
 to charge by them. The Scotch cavalry, in obedience 
 to orders, avoided a contest, and day after day Crom- 
 well's troopers had to return empty handed, losing many 
 of their men by the fire of Harry's infantry. Thus the 
 army of Cromwell was obliged to advance slowly upon 
 the line of coast, drawing their supplies wholly from the 
 fleet which accompanied it. 
 
 One evening Colonel Macleod rode up to the cottage 
 where Harry was quartered for the night. 
 
 "I am going to beat up Oliver's camp to-night/' he 
 said. "Do you cover the retreat with your men at the 
 ford of the river. If I can get for five minutes in his 
 camp I will read the Roundheads a lesson, and maybe 
 spike some of his cannon. If I could catch Cromwell 
 himself it would be as good as a great victory." 
 
 After nightfall the force approached the enemy's 
 camp; at the ford the infantry halted, the cavalry cross- 
 ing and continuing their way to the camp, about a mile 
 distant. An hour passed without any sound being 
 heard. At length a sound of distant shouts, mingled 
 with the reports of firearms, fell upon the ear. 
 
 "Macleod is among them now," Donald Leslie ex- 
 claimed. "I would I were with him." 
 
 "You will have your turn presently," Harry replied. 
 "A thousand horse may do a good deal of damage in a 
 sudden attack, but they must fall back as soon as the 
 Roundheads rally." 
 
254 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 For five or six minutes the distant tumult continued. 
 Then it ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun. A 
 minute or two later there was a deep, muffled sound. 
 
 "Here come the horse," Jacob said. 
 
 The infantry had already been placed along the tank 
 of 1 the river on each side of the ford, leaving the way 
 clear in the center for the passage of the cavalry. It 
 was not long before they arrived on the opposite bank, 
 and dashed at full speed across the river. Colonel 
 Macleod rode at their rear. 
 
 "The Ironsides are just behind," he said to Marry. 
 "Let your men shoot sharp and straight as they try to* 
 cross. We will charge them as they reach the bank." 
 
 A minute later, and the close files of the Roundhead 
 cavalry could be seen approaching, the moonlight glint- 
 ing on steel cap, breastpiece, and sword. 
 
 "Steady, lads!" Harry shouted. "Do not fire a shot, 
 till they enter the river. Then keep up a steady fire on 
 the head of the column." 
 
 The Roundheads halted when they reached the river, 
 and formed rapidly into a column, twelve abreast, for 
 the ford was no wider. As they entered the stream a 
 heavy musketry fire opened suddenly upon them. Men 
 and horses went down, floating away in the river. In 
 spite of their losses the cavalry pressed on, and though 
 numbers fell, gained the opposite bank. Then arose the- 
 Royalist cry "King and Covenant!" and the Scottish 
 horse swept down. The head of the column was shat- 
 tered by the charge, but the Ironsides still pressed on, 
 and breaking the center of the Scottish horse, poured 
 across the river. 
 
 Harry had already given his orders to Jacob, who com- 
 manded the left wing of the infantry, and the regiment, 
 drawing up on both flanks of the column of Ironsides, 
 poured so heavy a fire upon them, while the cavalry of: 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 255 
 
 Macleod again charged them in front, that the column 
 was broken, and still fighting sturdily, fell back again 
 across the river. The moment they did so a heavy fire 
 of musketry opened from the further bank. 
 
 "Their infantry are up, Colonel Furness," Macleod 
 said. "Draw off your men in good order. I will cover 
 the retreat. We have done enough for to-night." 
 
 Getting his regiment together, Harry ordered them to 
 retire at the double, keeping their formation as they 
 went. The Roundhead cavalry again crossed the river ? 
 and several times charged the Scotch horse. Twice 
 they succeeded in breaking through, but Harry, facing 
 his men round, received them pike in hand, the musket- 
 eers in rear keeping up so hot a fire over the shoulders 
 of the pikemen that the Ironsides drew rein before 
 reaching them, and presently fell back, leaving the party 
 to retire without further pursuit. 
 
 "I as nearly as possible caught Cromwell," Colonel 
 Macleod said, riding up to Harry. "We got confused 
 among the tents and ropes, or should have had him. 
 We entered his tent, but the bird had flown. We cufc 
 down some scores of his infantry, and spiked four guns. 
 I have not lost twenty men, and his cavalry must havA 
 lost at least a hundred from your fire, besides the damage 
 I did at their camp." 
 
 Obtaining a stock of supplies sufficient for some days 
 from the ships at Dunbar, Cromwell advanced to Mussel- 
 burgh, within striking distance of Edinburgh. Leslie 
 had strongly posted his army in intrenched lines extend- 
 ing from Edinburgh to Leith, a distance of two miles. 
 Colonel Macleod with his detachment rejoined the army 
 on the same day that Cromwell reached Musselburgh. 
 Upon the day after the arrival of the English there was 
 a sharp cavalry fight, and Cromwell would fain have 
 tempted the Scotch army to engage beyond their lines. 
 
256 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 But Leslie was not to be drawn. He knew that if he 
 could maintain himself in his intrenchments the Eng- 
 lish must fall back, as they had the sea behind them and 
 on their right, Edinburgh in front of them, and a dev- 
 astated country on their left. At the urgent request of 
 Cromwell the Parliament strained every nerve to send 
 up provisions by ships, and so enabled him to remain 
 before Edinburgh for a month. 
 
 A few days after his arrival Harry received orders to 
 take a hundred and fifty men of his regiment, and to 
 post himself at Kirkglen, which blocked a road by which 
 it was thought Cromwell might send foraging parties 
 westward. Harry asked that a detachment of cavalry 
 might accompany him, but the request was refused. 
 Kirkglen stood fifteen miles south of Edinburgh, and 
 somewhat to its west. Harry left Jacob to command 
 the main body of the regiment, and took with him the 
 companies of Donald Leslie and Hugh Grahame, in the 
 latter of which William Long was lieutenant. They 
 sallied out from the western side of the camp at day- 
 break. 
 
 "I like not this expedition, Colonel Furness," Donald 
 Leslie said. "The refusal to send cavalry with us is 
 strange. Methinks I see the finger of that crafty fox 
 Argyll in the pie. His faithfulness to the cause is more 
 and more doubted, though none dare wag a tongue 
 against him, and if it be true that he is in communica* 
 tion with Cromwell, we shall have the Roundheads, 
 horse and foot, down upon us." 
 
 "There is a castle there, is there not," Harry asked, 
 "which we might occupy?" 
 
 "Assuredly there is," Leslie replied. "It is the 
 hold of Alan Campbell, a cousin of the man you pinked. 
 It is that which adds to my suspicion. You will see, 
 unless I am greatly mistaken, that he will not admit us." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 25? 
 
 Such, indeed, proved to be the case. Upon their 
 arrival at Kirkglen, Leslie went in Harry's name to de- 
 mand admittance to the castle for the royal troops, but 
 Campbell replied that he had received no orders to that 
 effect, and that it would greatly incommode him to 
 quarter so large a number of men there. He said, how 
 ever, that he would willingly entertain Colonel Furnew 
 and his officers. Leslie brought back the message, 
 strongly urging Harry on no account to enter the castle 
 and put himself in the hands of the Campbells. Harry 
 said that even had he no cause to doubt the welcome he 
 might receive at the castle, he should in no case separate 
 himself from his men, when he might be at any moment 
 attacked. 
 
 1 'It is a rough piece of country between this and 
 Cromwell's post," Leslie said, "and he would have diffi- 
 culty in finding his way hither. There is more than one 
 broad morass to be crossed, and without a guide he 
 would scarce attempt it. It is for this reason that he is 
 so unlikely to send out foraging parties in this direction. 
 It was this reflection which caused me to wonder why we 
 should be ordered hither." 
 
 "Mike,' 5 Harry said, "you have heard what Captain 
 Leslie says. Do you keep watch to-night near the castle 
 gate, and let me know whether any leave it; and in 
 which direction they go. I will place a man behind to 
 watch the postern. If treachery is meditated, Campbell 
 will send news of our coming to Cromwell." 
 
258 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE PATH ACROSS THE MORASS. 
 
 MIKE, when night fell, moved away toward the castle, 
 which lay about a quarter of a mile from the village. 
 Approaching to within fifty yards of the gate, he sat 
 down to watch. About eleven o'clock he heard the 
 creak of the gate, and presently was startled by seeing 
 two horsemen ride past him. "They must have muffled 
 their horses' feet," he said to himself. "They are up to 
 no good. I wish there had only been one of them." 
 Mike slipped off his shoes and started in pursuit, keep- 
 ing just far enough behind the horsemen to enable him 
 to observe the outline of their figures. For half a mile 
 they proceeded quietly. Then they stopped, dismounted, 
 removed the cloths from their horses' feet, and re- 
 mounting rode forward at a gallop. Mike's old exer- 
 cise as a runner now rendered him good service. He 
 could already tell, by the direction which the horsemen 
 were taking, that they were bearing to the east of Edin- 
 burgh, but he resolved to follow as far as possible in 
 order to see exactly whither they went. The road, or 
 rather track, lay across a moorland country. The 
 ground was often deep and quaggy, and the horsemen 
 several times checked their speed, and went at a slow 
 walk, one advancing on foot along the track to guide 
 the way. These halts allowed breathing time for Mike, 
 who found it hard work to keep near them when going 
 at full speed. At last, after riding for an hour, the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 359 
 
 horsemen halted at a solitary house on tne moorland. 
 Here several horses, held by troopers, were standing. 
 Mike crept round to the back of the house, and looked 
 in at the window, He saw two English officers sitting 
 by a fire, while a light burned on a table. Mike at once 
 recognized in one of them the dreaded General Crom- 
 well, whom he had seen at Drogheda. 
 
 "What a fool I was," he muttered to himself, "to have 
 come without my pistol. I would have shot him as he 
 sits, and so wiped out Drogheda." 
 
 At the moment the door opened, and a trooper in 
 Scotch uniform entered. "I have brought this letter," 
 he said, "from Alan Campbell." 
 
 The general took the letter and opened it. "Camp- 
 bell promises," he said to the other officer, "to open 
 fire upon the detachment in the village with the guns of 
 the castle as soon as we attack. One of the men who 
 has brought this will remain here and guide our troops 
 across the morass. He suggests that two hundred foot 
 and as many horse should be here at eight to-morrow 
 evening. All he stipulates for is that Colonel Furness, 
 the Royalist who commands the enemy's detachment, 
 shall be given over to him, he having, it seems, some 
 enmity with Argyll. Furness? ah, that is the officer 
 whom I sent to the Bermudas from Drogheda. We had 
 advices of his having got away and captured a ship with 
 other prisoners on board. A bold fellow, and a good 
 officer, but all the more dangerous. Let Campbell do 
 with him as he likes." 
 
 The other officer drew out an inkhorn and wrote, at 
 Cromwell's dictation, his adherence to the terms offered by 
 Alan Campbell. Cromwell signed the paper, and handed 
 it to the messenger. Then the English general and his 
 escort mounted and rode off. Campbell's retainers sat for 
 half an hour drinking together. Then they came to the 
 
260 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 door. One mounted, and saying to the other, "I would 
 rather have twenty-four hours' sleep such as you have 
 before yon, than have to ride back to Kirkglen to night; 
 the mist is setting in thickly," rode off into the darkness. 
 
 Mike kept close to him, until at last the man dis- 
 mounted to follow the track where the morass was most 
 dangerous. In an instant Mike sprang upon him and 
 buried his dagger in his body. Without a cry the 
 trooper fell. Mike felt in his doublet for Oomweirs 
 letter. Placing this in his breast, he went a few paces 
 from the path where he found that he sunk to his knees, 
 the water being some inches deep over the bog. Then 
 he returned, lifted the body of the trooper, carried it as 
 far into the bog as he dared venture, and then dropped 
 it. He placed his foot on the iron breastpiece, and 
 pressed until the body sank in the soft ooze, and the 
 water completely covered it. Then he went back to the 
 horse, and taking the reins, followed the track until 
 completely clear of the moorland country, where, mount- 
 ing, he rode back to Kirkglen, and presented himself to 
 Harry. The latter had, hours before, gone to bed, hav- 
 ing posted strong guards around the village. He struck 
 a light and listened to Mike's relation of what he had 
 done, and ended by the production of the document with 
 Cromwell's signature. 
 
 "Another debt to the Earl of Argyll," Harry said 
 grimly. "However, although this proves the treachery 
 of his kinsman, it does not convict Argyll himself, al- 
 though the evidence is strong enough to hang any other 
 man. Now, Leslie, what do you advise? Shall we send 
 and seize the man left at the hut?" 
 
 "It is a doubtful question," Leslie answered, after a 
 pause. "When Campbell finds that his messenger does 
 not return before morning, he will like enough send 
 others off to learn the reason why. If they find him 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 261 
 
 gone, Campbell may suspect that b?s plan lias failed and 
 may send warning to Cromwell." 
 
 "At any rate," Harry continued, "we need not decide 
 before morning. But at daybreak, Leslie, plant a party 
 of men on the road and stop any horseman riding out. 
 Let the sergeant in charge say only that he has my 
 orders that none are to pass eastward. It would be a 
 natural precaution to take, and when the news conies 
 back to the castle, Campbell will not necessarily know 
 that his scheme has been detected." 
 
 The next morning Leslie volunteered to go out with a 
 couple of men and capture the guide, and arraying him- 
 self in his clothes, to take his place, and lead the Round- 
 head troops astray. 
 
 "Were the country other than it is," Harry said, "I 
 would accept your offer, my brave Leslie, even though it 
 might entail your death, for it would be difficult for you 
 to slip away. But over such ground there is no need of 
 this. Let the guide lead the Roundhead troops along 
 the path. We will reconnoiter the morass to-day, and 
 when night falls will so post our men as to open a fire on 
 either flank of him as he conies across the track. Not 
 more than four footmen can march abreast, according to 
 what Mike says, and we shall surprise him, instead of he 
 surprising us." 
 
 An hour later two horsemen rode out from the castle, 
 but upon reaching the guard Leslie had placed were 
 turned back. They returned to the castle, and a short 
 time afterward a trooper rode down into the village with 
 a note from Alan Campbell, demanding haughtily by 
 what warrant Colonel Furness ventured to interfere with 
 the free passage of his retainers. Harry replied that he 
 had, as a military precaution, stationed guards on the 
 various roads leading toward the enemy's quarter, and 
 that they were ordered to turn back all, whomsoever 
 they might be, who might seek to pass. 
 
262 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 Alan Campbell returned a furious answer, that he 
 should sally out with his garrison, and ride where he 
 listed. Harry replied by marching fifty men up to the 
 road leading to the castle, and by sending a message to 
 Alan Campbell that, although he should regret to he 
 obliged to treat him as an enemy, yet that assuredly if 
 he strove by force to break the military rules he had laid 
 down, he should be compelled to fire upon him. Leav- 
 ing the detachment under charge of Lieutenant Long, 
 and the main body in the village under that of Hugh 
 Grahame, Harry, accompanied by Donald Leslie and 
 Mike, rode off to reconnoiter the morass. They found 
 that it was particularly bad at two points, while between 
 these the ground was firm for a distance of twenty yards 
 on each side of the track. Beyond the swamp was very 
 deep for thirty or forty yards on both sides, and then it 
 was again somewhat firmer. 
 
 Harry decided to post twenty-five men behind these 
 quagmires. Their orders would be to remain perfectly 
 quiet until the column, passing the first morass, should 
 have entered the second; then, when Harry, with the 
 main body, opened fire upon them there, they were to 
 commence upon the flanks of the column* 
 
 Returning to the camp, Harry sent forty men with 
 shovels, obtained in the village, to dig a trench, twelve 
 feet wide, and as deep as they could get for, the water, 
 across the track, at the near side of the morass. 
 
 At nightfall, leaving twenty-five men under William 
 Long in front of the castle, with orders to let none issue 
 forth, and to shoot down any who might make the at- 
 tempt, Harry marched out with the rest of his command. 
 Crossing the ditch which had been dug, he led fifty for- 
 ward, and posted them, as he had planned with Leslie; 
 with twenty-five, he took up his own station behind the 
 breastwork formed by the earth thrown oat from the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 263 
 
 trench. The remaining fifty he bade advance as far as 
 they safely could into the swamp on either side. Two 
 hours later a dull sound was heard, the occasional clink 
 of arms, and the muffled tread of many feet on the soft 
 ground. The Roundhead infantry, two hundred strong, 
 led the way, followed by their horse, the guide walking 
 with the officer at the head of the column. When it 
 approached within twenty yards of the ditch Harry gave 
 the word, and a flash of fire streamed from the top of 
 the earthwork. At the same moment those on either 
 side opened fire into the flanks of the column, while the 
 fifty men beyond poured their fire into the cavalry in tin 
 rear of the column. 
 
 For a moment all was confusion. The Koundheada 
 had anticipated no attack, and were taken wholly by 
 surprise. The guide had fallen at the first discharge and 
 all were ignorant of the ground on which they found 
 themselves. They were, however, trained to conflict. 
 Those on the flank of the column endeavored to pene- 
 trate the morass, but they immediately sank to the mid- 
 dle, and had much ado to regain the solid track. The 
 head of the column, pouring a volley into their invisible 
 foes, leveled their pikes, and rushed to the assault. A 
 few steps, and they fell into a deep hole, breast high 
 with water, and on whose slippery bottom their feet 
 could scarce find standing. In vain they struggled 
 forward. From front and flank the fire of their enemy 
 smote them. Those who reached the opposite side of 
 the trench were run through with pikes as they strove 
 to climb from it. 
 
 For ten minutes the desperate struggle continued, and 
 then, finding the impossibility of storming such a posi- 
 tion in the face of foes of whose strength they were 
 ignorant, the Roundhead infantry turned, and in good 
 order marched back, leaving half their number dead be* 
 
264 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 hind them. The cavalry in the rear had fared but little 
 better. Finding the ground on either side was firm 
 when the fire opened on their flanks, they faced both 
 ways, and charged. But ere the horses had gone twenty 
 strides they were struggling to their girths in the 
 morass. Their foes kept up a steady fire, at forty yards 5 
 distance, into the struggling mass, and before they 
 could extricate themselves and regain the pathway, many 
 leaving their horses behind, a third of their number had 
 fallen. Joined by the beaten infantry, they retired 
 across the track, and made their way back toward their 
 camp. 
 
 Leaving a strong guard at the morass to resist further 
 attempts, Harry returned with his force to the village, 
 having inflicted a loss of a hundred and fifty upon the 
 enemy, while he himself had lost but eight men. He 
 intrenched the position strongly, and remained there 
 unmolested, until a week later he received orders to 
 march back to Edinburgh. The following day he was 
 summoned before King Charles. He found there Gen- 
 eral Leslie, the Earl of Argyll, Alan Campbell, and sev- 
 eral of the leaders of the Covenant. 
 
 "What is this I hear of you, Colonel Furness?" the 
 king said. "General Leslie has reported to me that you 
 have inflicted a very heavy defeat upon a rebel force 
 which marched to surprise you. This is good service, 
 and for it I render you my hearty thanks. But, sir, the 
 Earl of Argyll complains to me that you have beleag- 
 uered his kinsman, Alan Campbell, in his hold at Kirk- 
 glen, and treated him as a prisoner, suffering none to 
 go out or in during your stay there." 
 
 "This, sire, is the warranty for my conduct," Harry 
 said, producing the document signed by Cromwell. 
 "This was taken by one of my men from a trooper who 
 had borne a dispatch from Alan Campbell to the enemy, 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 265 
 
 My man watched the interview between him and Crom- 
 well himself, heard the terms of the dispatch, and saw 
 Cromwell write and give this letter to the trooper, whom 
 he afterward slew, and brought me the letter. The 
 other trooper, who acted as guide to the enemy, fell in 
 the attack." 
 
 The king took the letter and read it. "My lord," he 
 said, "this is a matter which gravely touches your honor. 
 This is a letter of General Cromwell's in answer to a 
 traitorous communication of your kinsman here. He 
 has offered to betray Colonel Furness and the troops 
 under him to Cromwell, and has sent a guide for the 
 English troops. He stipulates only that Colonel Fur- 
 ness shall be handed over to him to do as he likes with. 
 As it was manifest to me here some time since that you 
 and Colonel Furness are not friends, this touches you 
 nearly. " 
 
 "I know nothing of it," the earl said. "My kinsman 
 will tell you." 
 
 "I do not need his assurances," King Charles said 
 coldly. "He, at least, is proved to be a traitor, and 
 methinks, my lord earl, that the preachers who are so 
 fond of holding forth to me upon the wickedness of my 
 ways might with advantage bestow some of their spare 
 time in conversing with you upon the beauty and godli- 
 ness of straightforwardness. General Leslie, you will 
 arrest at once, on his leaving our presence, Colonel Alan 
 Campbell, and will cause a court of inquiry to sift this 
 matter to the bottom. And hark you, my lord of 
 Argyll, see you that no more of your kinsmen practice 
 upon the life of my faithful Colonel Furness. This is 
 the third time that he has been in jeopardy at your 
 hands. I am easy, my lord earl, too easy, mayhap, but 
 let no man presume too far upon it. My power is but 
 limited here, but remember the old saying, 'Wise men 
 
266 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 do not pull the tails of lions' whelps.' The day may 
 come when Charles II. will be a king in power as well 
 as in name. Beware that you presume not too far upon 
 his endurance now." So saying, the king turned from 
 Argyll, and bidding Harry follow him, and tell him the 
 story of the defeat of the English troops, left the earl 
 standing alone, the picture of rage and mortification. 
 
 "You had best beware, Master Furness," the king 
 said. "He needs a long spoon they say, who sups with 
 the deil. The Earl of Argyll is the real king of Scot- 
 land at present, and it is ill quarreling with him. You 
 have got the best of it in the first three rubbers, but be 
 sure that Argyll will play on till the cards favor him. 
 And if you are once in his power, I would not give a 
 baubee for your life. The proud earl treats me as a 
 master would teach a froward pupil, but I tell yon, 
 Master Furness, and I know you are discreet and can be 
 trusted, that as surely as the earl brought Montrose to 
 the block, so surely shall Argyll's head roll on the 
 scaffold, if Charles II. is ever King of England. But I 
 fear for you, Master Furness. I can help you here not 
 at all, and the lecture which, on your behalf, I admin- 
 istered to the earl and in faith I wonder now at my 
 own courage will not increase his love for you. You 
 will never be safe as long as you remain in Scotland. 
 What do you say? Will you go south and join one or 
 other of the Royalist bodies who are in arms there?" 
 
 "Not so, your majesty. With your permission, I will 
 play the game out to the end, although I know that my 
 adversary holds the strongest cards. But even did I wish to 
 leave, it would be as hazardous to do so as to stay here. 
 So long as I am with my regiment I am in safety. I could 
 not gain England by sea, for the Parliament ships bar 
 the way, and did I leave my regiment and go south with 
 only a small party, my chance of crossing the border 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 267 
 
 alive would be but small. No, your majesty, I have the 
 honor to command a king's regiment, and whether 
 against Cromwell in the field, or against Argyll's plots 
 and daggers, I shall do my duty to the end." 
 
 When, upon his return to the camp, Harry told his 
 friends the purport of the interview between himself 
 and Argyll, of Alan Campbell being put under arrest 
 and the earl openly reproved by the king, Donald Leslie 
 raised his hands in despair. 
 
 "If you get through this, Furness," he said, "I shall 
 for the rest of my life be convinced that you have a 
 charmed existence, and that your good genius is more 
 powerful than the evil one of Argyll. The gossips say 
 that he is in alliance with the evil one himself, and I 
 can well believe them. But I beg you, in all seriousness, 
 to confine yourself to the camp. So long as you are 
 here you are safe. But once beyond its limits your life 
 will not be worth a straw." 
 
 Jacob added his entreaties to those of Leslie, and 
 Harry promised that until the decisive battle was over 
 he would keep among his men, unless compelled by duty 
 to appear at court. 
 
 Four days afterward a soldier entered Harry's tent, 
 and handed him a missive. It was as follows: "Upon 
 receipt of this, Colonel Furness will proceed to Leith 
 and will board the vessel, the Koyalist, which has just 
 arrived from Holland. There he will inspect the newly 
 arrived recruits, who will be attached to his regiment. 
 He will examine the store of arms brought by her, and 
 will report on their state and condition. David Leslie, 
 commanding his majesty's armies." 
 
 The duty was one of mere routine. Harry showed the 
 note to Jacob, and said, "You may as well come with 
 me, Jacob. Your drilling is over for the day, and you 
 can aid me looking through the stores. Mike," he said, 
 
268 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "we shall be back to supper. We are only going down 
 to the port." The two officers buckled on their swords, 
 and at once started on foot for the port, which was but 
 half a mile distant. Mike looked anxiously after his 
 master. Since the day when danger had first threatened 
 him he had scarce let him out of his sight, following 
 close to his heels like a faithful dog. His present busi- 
 ness seemed assuredly to forbode no danger. Neverthe- 
 less, the lad felt restless and anxious when he saw his 
 master depart. A few minutes later he went to William 
 Long's tent. "Master Long," he said, "will you see 
 that my master's servant gets supper in readiness at the 
 usual hour. He has gone down to the port to inspect 
 some recruits just arrived from Holland, by order of 
 General Leslie, and said he would return by supper. I 
 know that it is foolish, but since the affair with Alan 
 Campbell I am never easy when he is not near. In this 
 case, I do not see that there can possibly be any lurking 
 danger. Argyll could not know of his proceeding to the 
 port, nor would he venture to attack him there where 
 the streets swarm with our soldiers. Nevertheless, I 
 would fain go down and assure myself that all is well." 
 
 William Long at once promised to look after the 
 supper, and Mike hurried away after Harry and his com- 
 panion. These had, however, too far a start to be over- 
 taken, and when he reached the wharf he saw a boat 
 rowed by two men, and having two sitters in the stern. It 
 was already some distance from shore, and appeared to 
 be proceeding toward a vessel which lay at anchor sev- 
 eral hundred yards further out from the shore than the 
 others. 
 
 "Can you tell me," he asked a sailor, "whether that 
 ship lying there is the Royalist?" 
 
 "That is the name she goes by to-day," the sailor said, 
 "for as I rowed past her this morning on my way from 
 
FRIENDS. THOUGH DIVIDED, 269 
 
 fishing, I saw the name newly painted on her stern. 
 They have put it on her boat too, which you now see 
 rowing toward her, and which has been lying by the 
 pier all day, in readiness to take out any one who might 
 wish to go off to her." 
 
 "But have they changed her name, then?" Mike asked. 
 "What have they been doing that for?" 
 
 "She has been called the Covenant for the last two 
 years," the sailor said. "But I suppose Johnny Camp- 
 bell, her master, thought the other more suited to the 
 times." 
 
 The name of the captain at once aroused Mike's un- 
 easiness to the fullest. 
 
 "Tell me," he said, "'good fellow, did that ship arrive 
 this morning from Holland?" 
 
 "From Holland!" repeated the sailor. "No. She 
 came down the coast from the north three days ago, 
 with beasts for the army." 
 
 Mike stood for a moment thunderstruck. Then, with- 
 out a word to the sailor, he turned and ran back at full 
 speed through the town up to the camp. At a headlong 
 pace ho made his way through the camp until he 
 stopped at the tent of General Leslie. He was about to 
 rush in without ceremony when the sentinel stopped his 
 way. 
 
 "Please let me pass," he panted. "I would see the 
 general on a matter of the utmost importance." 
 
 The sentries laughed. 
 
 "You don't suppose," one of them said, "that the gen- 
 eral is to be disturbed by every barefooted boy wLo 
 wants to speak to him. If you have aught to say, you 
 must speak first to the lieutenant of the guard." 
 
 "Every moment is of importance," Mike urged. "It 
 is a matter of life and dsath. I tell you I must see the 
 
270 XIUENUS, THOUGH 1)1 V1DED. 
 
 general." Then at the top of his voice he began to 
 shout, "Sir David Leslie! Sir David Leslie!" 
 
 "Silence there, young varmint, or I will wring thy 
 neck for thee!" exclaimed the soldier, greatly scandal- 
 ized, seizing Mike and shaking him violently. But the 
 boy continued to shout out at the top of his voice, "Sir 
 David Leslie! Sir David Leslie!" 
 
FRIENDS, THOU BE DIVIDED. 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 KIDNAPED. 
 
 UNABLE to silence Mike's shouts, the scandalized 
 guards began dragging him roughly from the spot^ 
 cuffing him as they went. But the door of the tent 
 opened, and General Leslie appeared. 
 
 "What means all this unseemly uproar?" he asked. 
 
 "This malapert boy, general, wished to force his way 
 into your tent, and when we stopped him, and told him 
 that he must apply to the lieutenant of the guard if he 
 had aught of importance which he wished to communi- 
 cate to you, he began to shout like one possessed." 
 
 "Loose him," the general said. "Now, varlet, what 
 mean you by this uproar?" 
 
 "Forgive me, sir," Mike pleaded, "but I come on an 
 errand which concerns the life of my master, Colonel 
 Furness." 
 
 "Come within," the general said briefly, for by this 
 time a crowd had gathered round the tent. "Now," he 
 went on, "what is it you would tell me?" 
 
 "I would ask you, sir, whether an hour since you sent 
 an order to my master that he should forthwith go on 
 board the ship Royalist to inspect recruits and stores of 
 arms just arrived from Holland?" 
 
 The general looked at him in astonishment. 
 
 "I sent no such order," he said. "No ship has arrived 
 from Holland of that or any other name. What story is 
 this that you have got hold of?" 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "My master received such an order, sir, for I beard 
 him read it aloud, and he started at once with his major 
 to carry out the order. Knowing, sir, how great, as you 
 are doubtless aware, is the enmity which the Earl of 
 Argyll bears to my master, I followed him to the port, 
 and there learned that the ship called the Royalist had 
 not come from Holland, but is a coaster from the north, 
 I found, moreover, that she was but yesterday named 
 the Royalist, and that she was before known as the Cov- 
 enant, and that she is commanded by a Campbell. 
 Then it seemed to me that some plot had been laid to 
 kidnap my master, and I ran straight to you to ask you 
 whether you had really ordered him to go on board this 
 ship." 
 
 "This must be seen to at once,' 5 the general said; for 
 having been present at the scene when Harry produced 
 CromwelPs letter, he knew how deadly was the hatred of 
 the earl for the young colonel. "Without there!" he 
 cried. A soldier entered. "Send the lieutenant of the 
 guard here at once." The soldier disappeared, and the 
 general sat down at his table and hastily wrote an order. 
 "Lieutenant," he said, when the officer entered, "give 
 this letter to Captain Farquharson, and tell him to take 
 his twenty men, and to go on the instant clown to the 
 port. There he is to take boat and row out to the ship 
 called the Royalist. He is to arrest the captain and 
 crew, and if he see not there Colonel Furness, let him 
 search the ship from top to bottom. If he find no signs 
 of him, let him bring the captain and six of his men 
 ashore at once." 
 
 As soon as he heard the order given Mike, saluting 
 the general, hurried from the tent, and ran at full speed 
 to the camp of Harry's regiment. There he related to 
 Donald Leslie and William Long the suspicious circum- 
 stances which had occurred, and the steps which the 
 general had ordered to be taken. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 27$ 
 
 "This is bad news, indeed," Captain Leslie exclaimed; 
 ''and I fear that the colonel has fallen into the hands of 
 Argyll's minions. If it be so Farquharson is scarce 
 likely to find the Royalist at anchor when he arrives at. 
 the port. Come. Long, let us be stirring. I will hand 
 over the command of the regiment to Grahame till we 
 return. While I am speaking to him pick me out ten 
 trusty men." 
 
 He hurried off, and in five minutes was hastening; 
 toward the port, with William Long, Mike, and ten 
 men. Such was the speed they made that they reached 
 the quay just at the same time with Captain Farquhar- 
 son and his men. 
 
 Mike gave a cry of despair. The Royalist had disap- 
 peared. He ran up to a sailor who was still sitting on 
 an upturned basket, smoking as he had left him before. 
 
 "Where is the Royalist?" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Halloo! young fellow, are you back again? I 
 thought you had gone off with a bee in your bonnet, so 
 suddenly and quickly did you run. The Royalist? ay, 
 she hoisted her sails two minutes after her boat reached 
 her. I was watching her closely, for I wondered whether 
 she had aught to do with your sudden flight. Methink^ 
 that something strange has happened on board, for I saw 
 what seemed to be a scuffle, and certainly the sun shone 
 on the gleam of swords. Then, too, instead of heaving^ 
 her anchor, she slipped the cable, and a Scotch captain 
 must be in a hurry indeed when he does that." 
 
 "Where is she now?" Mike asked. 
 
 "Over there, full four miles away, making across the 
 Forth for the northern point of land." 
 
 "Is she a fast ship?" Captain Leslie, who had come* 
 up, inquired. 
 
 "She has the name of being the fastest sailer in these* 
 parts." 
 
^74 FRIENDS. THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 "There is nothing here would catch her?'* Donald 
 Leslie asked. "Would a rowboat have a chance of over- 
 taking her?'* 
 
 "Not this evening," the sailor said, looking at the sky. 
 "The wind is rising now, and it will blow a gale before 
 morning." 
 
 "Tell me, my man," Leslie asked, "and here is a gold 
 piece for your pains, where you think she is likely to 
 put in?" 
 
 "That will all depend, "the sailor replied, "upon what 
 errand she is bound. I must know that before I can 
 answer you." 
 
 Leslie looked at William Long. The latter said: 
 "It were best to tell this honest fellow the facts of the 
 case. Look 'you, my man, the two king's officers who 
 have gone on board are ill friends with the Campbells, 
 and we doubt not that these have kidnaped and carried 
 them off." 
 
 "The Campbells are an ill crew to deal with," the 
 sailor said, "and I do not love them myself. If it be as 
 you say, they might be landed either at Anstruther, near 
 which is a hold belonging to Andrew Campbell of Glen- 
 coulie, or at St. Andrews, or at Leuchars, a little bay 
 north of that town, whence they might take them to 
 Kilbeg Castle, also held by a Campbell. It is a lonely 
 place ten miles inland, and their friends would be little 
 likely to look for them there. Besides, the Royalist 
 might land them and sail away without any being the 
 wiser, while at the other ports her coming would be 
 surely noticed." 
 
 "Think you that we can obtain horses on the other 
 side?" 
 
 "You might obtain four or five," the sailor said, "of 
 Tony Galbraith, who keeps the inn there, and who lets 
 horses on hire to those traveling north." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 275 
 
 "If a storm comes on/' Leslie asked, "which way is it 
 likely to blow, and will the Royalist be like to make the 
 bay you name? ' 
 
 "Ah! that is more than I can tell," the sailor replied. 
 "Methinks 'twill blow from the west. In that case, she 
 ^ight be able to make her way along the shore; she 
 might run into port for shelter; she might be blown out 
 i,o sea." 
 
 "At any rate," Leslie said, "our first step is to cross, 
 Get us a stout sailing boat. Be not sparing of promises.'' 
 
 The man at once went off to a group of sailors, but 
 these at first shook their heads, and looked toward the 
 sky. Its aspect was threatening. The wind was getting 
 up fast, and masses of scud flew rapidly across it. Leslie 
 went up to the group. 
 
 "Come, lads," he said, "five pounds if you put us 
 across." 
 
 The offer was too tempting to be rejected, and the 
 men hurried down and began to prepare a large sailing 
 boat. Leslie and Lieutenant Long had a hasty consulta- 
 tion, and agreed that, seeing the difficulty there would 
 be in obtaining horses, it was useless to take mere than 
 ten men in all. Accordingly, as soon as the boat was in 
 readiness, the two officers, Mike, and seven soldiers took 
 their places in her. The sails were closely reefed, and 
 she at once put out into the Firth. Every minute the 
 wind rose, until, by the time they were half across, it 
 was blowing a gale. The boat was a stout one, but the 
 waves broke freely over her, and four of the soldiers 
 M'ere kept at work baling to throw out the water she 
 took over her bows. Once or twice they thought that 
 she would capsize, so furious were the gusts, but the 
 boatmen were quick and skillful. The sheets were let 
 go and the sails lowered until the force of the squall 
 abated, and at last, after a passage which seemed rapid 
 
3?6 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 *ven to those on board, anxious as they were, she entered 
 the little port. 
 
 Hurrying to the inn, they found that six horses were 
 obtainable. These they hired at once. The host said 
 that he could send to some farms, not far distant, and 
 hire four more, but that an hour or so would elapse ere 
 they came. Leslie and William Long had already de- 
 cided that the prisoners would most probably be taken 
 to Kilbeg Castle, as being more secluded than the 
 others. They now agreed that they themselves with 
 Mike and three soldiers should start at once, to intercept 
 them if possible between the sea and the castle. When 
 the other horses arrived two of the soldiers were to ride 
 with all speed to Anstruther, and two to St. Andrews, 
 -and were there to keep sharp watch to sea ii the Koyal- 
 ist arrived there, and landed aught in the way either of 
 men or goods. 
 
 Tha point to which they were bound lay fully forty 
 miles away. They determined to die as far as the 
 horses would carry them, and than., if at. 9 to obtain no 
 more, to walk forward. Night was already setting in, 
 nd a driving rain flew before the ftata 
 
 "We shall never be able to keep the road," Leslie 
 said "Landlord, have you one here who could serve 
 as guide? He must be quick-footed and sure. Our 
 business is urgent, and we are ready to p&y well." 
 
 A guide was speedily found, a lad on a shaggy pony, 
 who had the day before come down from the north with 
 sattle. While the horses were being prepared the party 
 had taken a hasty supper, and Leslie had seen that each 
 of the soldiers had a tankard of hot spiced wine. So 
 quickly had the arrangements been made that in half an 
 hour after their arrival at the port the party started from 
 the inn. The ride was indeed a rough one. The coun- 
 try was heavy and wild. The rain drenched them to the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 27? 
 
 skin in spite of their thick cloaks, and the wind blew at 
 times with such violence that the horses were fain to- 
 stop and stand huddled together facing it to keep their 
 ieet. Hour after hour they rode, never getting beyond 
 a walk, so rough was the road; often obliged to pause 
 altogether from the force of the gale. Twice they 
 stopped at inns at quiet villages, knocked up the sleep- 
 ing hosts, and obtained hot wine for themselves and hot 
 gruel for their horses. Their pace grew slower as the 
 animals became thoroughly knocked up, and at last 
 could not be urged beyond a walk. 
 
 At the next village they stopped, and as they found 
 that there was no possibility of obtaining fresh horses, 
 they determined to push forward on foot. It was now 
 four o'clock in the morning, and they had ridden over 
 forty miles. Another guide was obtained, and they set 
 forward. Although they had hurried to the utmost, it 
 was ten o'clock in the morning before they came down 
 upon a valley with a narrow stream which their guide 
 told them fell into the sea, near Leuchars. They were, 
 he said, now within two miles of the castle, the track 
 from which to the sea ran down the valley. The wind 
 was still blowing a gale, but the clouds had broken, and 
 at times the sun streamed out brightly. 
 
 "Thank Heaven we are here at last," Donald Leslie- 
 said, "for a harder night I have never spent. I think 
 we must be in time." 
 
 "I think so," William Long said. "Supposing the 
 Royalist made the bay safely, sha would have been there 
 by midnight but the sea would have been so high that I 
 doubt if they would have launched a boat till morning. 
 It was light by five, but they might wait for the gale to- 
 abate a little, and after landing they have eight miles to 
 come. Of course, they might have passed here an hour 
 ago, but a incline to think that they would not laud till 
 
278 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 later, as with this wind blowing off shore, it would be no 
 easy matter to row a boat in its teeth." 
 
 The guide saying that there was a cottage a mile 
 further up the valley, he was sent there with instructions 
 to ask whether any one had been seen to pass that morn- 
 ing. After being half an hour absent he returned, say- 
 ing that there was only an old woman at the hut, and 
 that she had told him she was sure no one had passed 
 there since daybreak. They now followed the stream 
 down the valley until they came to a small wood. Here 
 they lay down to rest, one being placed upon the look- 
 out. Two hours later the sentry awoke them with the 
 news that a party of men were coming up the valley. 
 All were at once upon the alert. 
 
 "Thank Heaven/' Leslie said, "we have struck the 
 right place. There seem to be ten or twelve of them, of 
 whom two, no doubt, are the prisoners. We shall have 
 no difficulty in overcoming them by a sudden surprise. 
 Capture or kill every man if possible, or we shall have 
 hot work in getting back to Edinburgh." 
 
 When the party came nearer it could be seen that it 
 consisted of eight armed men, in the center of whom the 
 two Royalist officers were walking. Their arms were 
 bound to their sides. Leslie arranged that he with Mike 
 and one of the soldiers would at once spring to their aid, 
 as likely enough, directly the attack began, the captors 
 might endeavor to slay their prisoners, to prevent them 
 from being rescued. Mike was instructed to strike no 
 blow, but to devote himself at once to cutting their 
 cords, and placing weapons in their hands. 
 
 The surprise was complete. The sailors forming the 
 majority of the party, with two trusty retainers of the 
 earl, who had special charge of the affair, were proceed- 
 ing carelessly along, having no thought of interruption. 
 So far their plans had succeeded perfectly. The mo- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 279 
 
 ment the two officers had reached the quay they were 
 addressed by the men sent on shore with the Royalist's 
 boat. Unsuspicious of danger they took their place in it, 
 and therefore missed the opportunity, which they would 
 have had if they had entered any of the other boats, of 
 learning the true character of the Royalist. They had 
 been attacked the instant they gained the deck of the 
 vessel. Harry, who was first, had been knocked down 
 before he had time to put his hand to his sword. Jacob 
 had fought valiantly for a short time, but he too had 
 been knocked senseless by a blow with a capstan bar. 
 They had then been roughly tumbled below, where no 
 further attention had been paid to them. The Royalist 
 had been blown many miles out to sea, and did not make 
 her anchorage until ten o'clock in the morning. Then 
 the hatches were removed, and the prisoners brought on 
 deck. 
 
 The inlet was a small one, and contained only a little 
 fishing village; the prisoners saw the Royalist sail off 
 again, directly they had been placed in the boat. They 
 had from the first moment when they regained conscious- 
 ness entertained no doubts whatever into whose hands 
 they had fallen, and they felt their position to be desper- 
 ate. The plan, indeed, had been skillfully laid, and had 
 it not been for Harry reading the order aloud in Mike's 
 presence, there would have been no clew to their disap- 
 pearance. During the night the young men were too 
 overpowered with the violence of the storm, and the 
 closeness of the atmosphere in the hold, in which they 
 had been thrown, to converse. But as the motion 
 moderated in the morning they had talked over their 
 chances, and pronounced them to be small indeed. 
 Harry, indeed, remembered that Mike had been present 
 when he asked Jacob to accompany him on board ship, 
 but he thought that no uneasiness would be felt until 
 
80 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 kte that; night, as it might well be thought that their 
 duties had detained them, and that they had supped on 
 board. The storm might further account for their non- 
 appearance till morning. Then they imagined that 
 inquiry would be made, and that it would be found that 
 the Royalist had sailed. Their captors would then have 
 a start of twenty-four hours, and in such troubled times 
 it was scarce likely that anything would be done. Nor 
 indeed did they see how they could be followed, as the 
 destination of the ship would be entirely unknown. The 
 very fact that they had not been thrown overboard when 
 fairly out at sea was in itself a proof that their captors 
 entertained no fear of pursuit; had they done so, they 
 would have dispatched them at once. The captives felt 
 sure that it was intended to land them, in order that 
 Argyll himself might have the pleasure of taunting them 
 before putting them to death. Against Jacob, indeed, 
 he could have no personal feeling, and it was by accident 
 only that he was a sharer in Harry's fate. But as a wit- 
 ness of what had taken place, his life would assuredly be 
 taken, as well as that of his companion. As they walked 
 along they gathered from the talk of their guards the 
 distance which they had to go, and the place of their 
 destination. They had never heard of Kilbeg Castle, 
 but as they had no enemies save Argyll, they know that 
 it must belong to one of his clan. They spoke but little 
 on the way c Harry was wondering how the news of his 
 disappearance would be received in the camp, and think- 
 ing of the dismay which it would occasion in the minds of 
 Mike and William Long, when suddenly he heard a 
 shout, arid on the instant a fierce fight was raging around 
 him.' 
 
 Although taken completely by surprise, the sailors 
 fought steadily. But two were cut down before they 
 could draw a sword, and the others, outmatched, were 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. %8\ 
 
 driven backward. The leader of the party shouted again 
 and again, "Kill the prisoners/' but he and each of hia 
 men were too hotly engaged with the adversaries wh* 
 pressed them, to do more than defend their own lives*. 
 In a minute the fray was rendered still more unequal bj 
 Harry and Jacob joining in it, and in less than threa 
 minutes from its commencement seven of the guards 
 lay dead or dying upon the ground. The other, an 
 active young fellow, had taken to flight early in th 
 fight, and was already beyond reach. 
 
 The contest over, there was a delighted greeting bo 
 tween the rescued prisoners and their friends. 
 
 "Come," Leslie said, "we have not a moment to lose. 
 That fellow who has escaped will take the news to Kil 
 beg, and we shall be having its garrison at our heels* 
 He has but three miles to run, and they will beat to 
 horse in a few minutes after he gets there. We must 
 strike across the hills, and had best make a great circuit 
 by Stirling. If we avoid the roads and towns they mat 
 not pick up our track.'' 
 
 Their guide fortunately knew the country well, and 
 leaving the path by which they had traveled, the partj 
 started on their return. All day they tramped across 
 the moorlands, avoiding all villages and scattered farm- 
 houses. They had, they knew, three-quarters of am 
 hour's start, and as their pursuers would be alike ignorant 
 whence they came or whither they were going, th* 
 chances of their hitting the right route were small. 
 
 Making a circuit round Kinross and Alloa, where th 
 Campbells might have ridden in pursuit, and sleeping ir\ 
 a wood, they arrived next day at Stirling. Here wa 
 great excitement, for Cromwell's army, marching south 
 of Edinburgh, had approached the town. TheJ 
 remained, however, a few hours only, collecting what pr^ 
 
282 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 visions they could, and then falling back again to their 
 former camp at Musselburgh. The following day Harry 
 and his party marched to Edinburgh. That night 
 Harry reported to Sir David Leslie what had befallen 
 him and the next morning he accompanied the general 
 to Holyrood, and laid a complaint before the king c 
 
 His majesty was most indignant at the attempt which 
 had been made upon his follower, btft he said to General 
 Leslie, "I doubt not, Sir David, that your thoughts and 
 mine go toward the same person. But we have no evi- 
 dence that he had an absolute hand in it, although the 
 fact that this ship was commanded by a Campbell, and 
 that the hold of Kilbeg belongs to one of his kinsmen, 
 point to his complicity in the affair. Still, that is no 
 proof. Already the earl is no friend of mine. When 
 the day comes I will have a bitter reckoning with him, 
 but in the present state of my fortunes, methinks that 
 'twere best in this, as in other matters, to hold my 
 tongue for the time. I cannot afford to make him an 
 open enemy now." 
 
 General Leslie agreed with the king. Cromwell's 
 army was in a sore strait, and would, they hoped, be 
 shortly driven either to surrender or to fight under dis- 
 advantageous circumstances. But the open defection of 
 Argyll at the present moment, followed as it would be 
 by that of the whole fanatical party, would entirely alter 
 the position of affairs, and Harry begged his majesty to 
 take no more notice of the matter, and so returned to 
 the camp. 
 
FIENDS. THOV&E DIVIDED 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIIL 
 
 THE BATTLE OF WORCESTSH, 
 
 THEnexfc morning the Scotch army moved 
 of Cromwell, which had fallen back to D unbar* 
 post on the Doon hill facing him there. Cromwell's 
 army occupied a peninsula, having on their face a broc?c 
 running along a deep, narrow little valley. Tha Scotch. 
 position on the hill was an exceedingly strong one, aai 
 had they remained there Cromwell's army mast have 
 been driven to surrender. Cromwell himself wrote oa 
 that night, "The enemy hath blocked up our way a& tba 
 pass at Copperspath, through which we cannot paws 
 without almost a miracle. He lieth so upon ihe hits 
 that we knoweth not how to come that way without SD ac& 
 difficulty, and our lying here daily consumeth JUT 
 who fall sick beyond imagination/' 
 
 The Scotch had, in fact, the game in their hi-ndfc 
 hey but waited on the ground they had taken np. r JL*..o 
 English had, however, an ally in their camp. Tilt I&a. 1 
 of Argyll strongly urged that an attack should be H&ac 3 
 \ipon the English, and he was supported by the preacher 
 and fanatics, who exclaimed that the Lord had delivered 
 their enemies into their hands. General Leslie, how- 
 ever, stood firm. The preachers scattered in the camp 
 and exhorted the soldiers to go down and smite tha 
 enemy. So great an enthusiasm did they excite by the; v 
 promises of victory that in the afternoon the soldiers* 
 without orders from their general> moved dow i ihe 
 
884 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 toward the enemy. The more regular body of the troops 
 stood firm, but Leslie, seeing that the preachers had go f 
 the mastery, and that his orders were no longer obeyed, 
 ordered these also to move forward, in hopes that the 
 enthusiasm which had been excited would yet suffice to 
 win the victory. 
 
 Cromwell saw the fatal mistake which had been com 
 mitted, and in the night moved round his troops to hia 
 left, and these at daybreak fell upon the Scottish right. 
 The night had been wet, and the Scottish army were 
 unprovided with tents. Many of their matchlocks had 
 been rendered useless. At daybreak on the morning of 
 the 3d of September the English, led by General Lam- 
 bert, fell upon them. The Scotch for a time stood 
 their ground firmly; but the irregular troops, who had 
 by their folly led the army into this plight, gave way be- 
 fore the English pikemen. The preachers, who were in 
 vast numbers, set the example of flight. Many of the 
 regiments of infantry fought most fiercely, but the bat- 
 tle was already lost. The Scotch cavalry were broken by 
 the charge of the Ironsides, and in less than an hour from 
 the commencement of the fighting the rout was com- 
 plete. Three thousand Scotch were killed, and ten 
 thousand taken prisoners. 
 
 Harry's regiment was but slightly engaged. It had 
 been one of the last to march down the hill on the even- 
 ing before, and Harry and Jacob foresaw the disaster 
 which would happen. "If I were the king," Harry 
 said, "I would order every one of these preachers out of 
 camp, and would hang those who disobeyed. Then 1 
 would march the army on to the hill again. If i,hey 
 wait there the English must attack us with grievous 
 disadvantage, or such as cannot get on board their ships 
 must surrender. Charles would really be king then, 
 and could disregard the wrath of the men of the conven- 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH IUVILED, 85 
 
 tides. Cromwell will attack as to-morrow, and will 
 Defeat us; his trained troops are more than. a match for 
 these Scotchmen, who think more of their preachers thun 
 of their officers, and whose discipline is of the slackest.'* 
 
 "I agree with you entirely," Jacob said. "But in the 
 present mood of the army, I believe that half of them 
 would march away if the general dismissed the 
 preachers." 
 
 The next day, when the fight began, Harry moved 
 forward his regiment to the support of the Scottish 
 right, but before he came fairly into the fray this had 
 already given away, and Harry, seeing that the day was 
 lost, halted his men, and fell back in good order. Again 
 and again the Ironsides charged them. The leveled 
 pikes and heavy musketry fire each time beat them off, 
 and they marched from the field almost the only body 
 which kept its formation. Five thousand of the country 
 people among the prisoners Cromwell allowed to depart to 
 their homes. The remainder he sent to Newcastle, where 
 great numbers of them were starved to death by the 
 cruelty of the governor, Sir Arthur Hazelrig. The 
 remainder were sent as slaves to New England. 
 
 Leslie, with the wreck of his army, fell back to Stir- 
 ling, while Charles, with the Scotch authorities, went to 
 Perth. Here the young king, exasperated beyond en- 
 durance at the tyranny of Argyll and the faratics, 
 escaped from them, and with two or three friends rode 
 Sfty miles north. He was overtaken and brought back 
 to Perth, but the anger of the army was so hot at his 
 treatment that the fanatics were henceforth obliged to 
 put a curb upon themselves, and a strong king's party, 
 as opposed to that of the Covenant, henceforth guided 
 his counsels. 
 
 The winter passed quietly. The English troops 
 
PRIEND8, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 enable oO stand the inclemency of the climate, and con* 
 tented themselves with capturing Edinburgh Castle, awl 
 other strongholds south of the Forth, Cromwell was 
 compelled by ill health to return for some months to 
 England. Leslie's army was strongly intrenched round 
 Stirling. In June Cromwell again took the field, and 
 moved against Perth, which he captured on the 31st of 
 July. Charles, who had joined his army at Stirling^ 
 broke up his camp and marched toward England, the 
 road being open to him owing to Cromwell and his army 
 being further north at Perth. 
 
 During the time which had elapsed since the battle of 
 Dunbar no events had happened in Harry's life. Re- 
 maining quietly in camp, where the troops, who had 
 been disgusted by the conduct of the fanatics at Dunbar, 
 were now ill disposed toward Argyll and his party, he 
 had little fear of the machinations of the earl, who was 
 with the king at Perth. 
 
 Argyll refused to join in the southern march, and the 
 army with which Leslie entered England numbered only 
 eleven thousand men. As soon as he crossed the border, 
 Charles was proclaimed king, and proclamations were 
 issued calling on all loyal subjects to join him. 
 
 The people were, however, weary of civil war. The 
 Royalists had already suffered so heavily that they held 
 back now, and the hatred excited, alike by the devasta- 
 tions of the Scotch army on its former visit to England, 
 and by the treachery with which they had then sold the 
 king, deterred men from joining them. A few hundred, 
 indeed, came to his standard; but upon the other hand, 
 Lambert and Harrison, with a strong force, were march- 
 ing against him, and Cromwell, having left six thousand 
 men in Scotland, under Monk, was pressing hotly be- 
 hind with the victors of Dunbar. On the 22d of August 
 Charles reached Worcester. On the 28th Cromwell was 
 close to the town with thirty thousand men. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 287 
 
 "This is the end of it all, Jacob," Harry said that 
 night. "They outnumber us by three to one, and even 
 if equal, they would assuredly beat us, for the Scotch 
 are dispirited at finding themselves so far from home, 
 in a hostile country. Things look desperate. If all is 
 lost to-morrow, do you and William Long and Mike 
 keep close to me. Get a horse for Mike to-night. You 
 and Long are already mounted. If all is lost we must 
 try and make our way to the seacoast, and take boat for 
 France or Holland. But first of all we must see to the 
 safety of the king. It is clear that at present England 
 is not ready to return to the former state of things. 
 We must hope that some day she will weary of the 
 Roundhead rule, and if the king can reach the Continent 
 he must remain there till England calls him. At pres- 
 ent she only wants peace. It is just nine years now 
 since King Charles' father set up his standard at Not- 
 tingham. Nine years of wars and troubles! No wonder 
 men are aweary of it. It is all very well for us, Jacob, 
 who have no wives, neither families nor occupations, and 
 are without property to lose, but I wonder not that men 
 who have these things are chary of risking them in a 
 cause which seems destined to failure." 
 
 Upon the 3d of September, 1651, the anniversaiy of 
 the battle of Dunbar, Cromwell advanced to the attack 
 Harry's regiment was placed among some hedges around 
 the city, and upon them the brunt of the fight first fell. 
 In spite of the immense numbers brought against them 
 they defended themselves with desperate bravery. Some 
 of the Scottish troops came up, and for a time Crom- 
 well's footmen could make but little way. At other 
 parts, however, the resistance was more feeble, and the 
 Scotch fell rapidly into confusion. Contesting every 
 foot of the way, Harry's regiment was driven back into 
 
288 fRIfilTDS. THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the town, where a terrible confusion reigned. StiD 
 keeping his men together, he marched to the market- 
 place. Here he found the king with a considerable body 
 of horse. The greater part, however, of the horse had 
 fled through the town without drawing rein, while the 
 foot were throwing away their arms and flying in all 
 directions. 
 
 "If all my troops had fought like your regiment, 
 Colonel Purness, we should have won the day," the king 
 said. "As it is now, it is a hopeless rout. It is useless 
 for your brave fellows to throw away their lives further. 
 They will only be cut down vainly, seeing that the rest 
 of my army are disbanded. Thank them from me for 
 their services, and bid them seek their homes as best 
 they may and wait for better times. They are English, 
 and will meet with better treatment from the country 
 people than will the Scotch. Then do you join me. I 
 am going to head my horsemen here in a charge against 
 the Roundhead cavalry, and so give more time for the 
 arrny to get away." 
 
 Harry rode up to his troops, now reduced to half their 
 former strength. Leslie and Grahame had both been 
 killed, and William Long was sorely wounded. He gave 
 the men the message from the king, and the brave fel- 
 lows gave a cheer for King Charles, the last he was to 
 hear for ten years. Then they marched away in orderly 
 array, with their arms, intending to beat off all who 
 might attack them before nightfall, and then to break up 
 and scatter, each for himself. William Long had 
 friends near Gloucester, and as hia wound would prevent 
 him from traveling rapidly with Harry, he<took farewell 
 of him, and rode away with the regiment. Harry, with 
 Jacob and Mike, rejoined the king, and they rode 
 toward the gate by which the Roundhead troops were 
 already entering the town. The horsemen, however, 
 had but little stomach for the fight, and as the king ad- 
 
F&IEND8, THOUGH DIVIDED, 289 
 
 vanced, in twos and threes they turned their horses' 
 heads and rode off. 
 
 Harry was riding close to the king, and looking round 
 said at length, "It is useless, your majesty. There arc 
 not a dozen men with us." 
 
 The king looked round and checked his horse. Be- 
 sides his personal friends, Buckingham, Wilmot, and one 
 or two othcsr nobles, scarce a man remained. The king 
 shrugged his shoulders. "Well, gentlemen, as we can- 
 not fight, we must needs run." Then the party turned 
 their horses and galloped out on the other side of Worces- 
 ter. The country was covered with fugitives. They 
 soon came upon a considerable body of horse, who at 
 once attached themselves to the party. "These, gentle- 
 men," the king said, "would not fight when I wanted 
 them to, and now that I would fain be alone, they follow 
 me." 
 
 At last, when darkness came on, the king, with his 
 personal friends and some sixty others, slipped away 
 down a by-road, and after riding for some hours came to 
 a house called the White Ladies. Here for a few hours 
 they rested. Then a council was held. They had news 
 that on a heath near were some three thousand Scotch 
 cavalry. The king's friends urged him to join these and 
 endeavor to make his way back into Scotland, but Charles 
 had already had more than enough of that country, and 
 he was sure that Argyll and his party would not hesitate 
 to deliver him up to the Parliament, as they had done 
 his father before him. He therefore determined to dis- 
 guise himself, and endeavor to escape on foot, taking 
 with him only a guide. The rest of the party agreed to 
 join the Scotch horse, and endeavor to reach the border. 
 After a consultation with Jacob, Harry determined to 
 follow the example of the king, and to try and make his 
 way in disguise to a seaport. He did not believe that 
 
890 FRIENDS, THOUOE DIVIDED. 
 
 the Scotch cavalry would be able to regain their country, 
 nor even if they did would his position be improved were 
 he with them. With the destruction of the Royalist 
 army, Argyll would again become supreme, and Harry 
 doubted not that he would satisfy his old grudge against 
 him. He was right in his anticipations. The Scots 
 were a day or two later routed by the English horse, and 
 comparatively few of them ever regained their country. 
 Out of the eleven thousand men who fought at Worces- 
 ter, seven thousand were taken prisoners, including the 
 greater part of the Scottish contingent. The English, 
 attracting less hostility and attention 'from the country 
 people, for the most part reached their homes in safety. 
 
 As soon as the king had ridden off, Harry with Jacob 
 and Mike, started in another direction. Stopping at a 
 farmhouse, they purchased from the master three suita 
 of clothes. Harry's was one of the farmer's own, the 
 man being nearly his own size. For Jacob, who waa 
 much shorter, a dress, cloak and bonnet of the farmer's 
 wife was procured, and for Mike the clothes of one of 
 the farmer's sons. One of the horses was left here, and 
 a pillion obtained for the other. Putting on these dis- 
 guises, Harry mounted his horse, with Jacob seated be- 
 hind him on a pillion, while Mike rode by his side. 
 They started amid the good wishes of the farmer and 
 his family, who were favorable to the Royalist cause. 
 Harry had cut off his ringlets, and looked the character 
 of a young farmer of twenty-four or twenty-five years old 
 well enough, while Jacob had the appearance of a suita- 
 ble wife for him. Mike was to pass as his brother. 
 
 In the course of the first day's journey they met sev- 
 eral parties of Roundhead horse, who plied them with 
 questions as to whether they had seen any parties of 
 fugitives. Making a detour, they rode toward Glouces- 
 ter, not intending to enter that town, where there was 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 291 
 
 a Parliamentary garrison, but to cross the river higher 
 r?p. They stopped for the night at a wayside inn, where 
 they heard much talk concerning the battle, and learned 
 that all the fords were guarded to prevent fugitives 
 crossing into Wales, and that none might pass who could 
 not give a good account of themselves. They heard, 
 too, that on the evening before a proclamation had 
 been made at Gloucester and other towns offering a re- 
 ward of a thousand pounds for the capture of Charles, 
 and threatening all with the penalties of treason who 
 should venture to aid or shelter him; a systematic watch 
 was being set on all the roads. 
 
 They determined to ride again next morning toward 
 Worcester, and to remain in that neighborhood for some 
 days, judging that less inquiry would be made there 
 than elsewhere. This they did, but journeyed very 
 slowly, and slept a mile or two from Worcester. 
 
 Before reaching their halting-place they took off a 
 shoe from Mike's horse, and with a nail wounded the 
 frog of the foot, so that the animal walked lame. Under 
 this pretense they stopped three days, feigning great 
 annoyance at the delay. They found now that orders 
 had been issued that none should journey on the roads 
 save those who had passes, and these had to be shown 
 before entering any of the large towns. They there- 
 fore resolved to leave their horses, and to proceed on 
 foot, as they could then travel by byways and across the 
 country. There was some debate as to the best guise in 
 which to travel, but it was presently determined to go as 
 Egyptians, as the gypsies were then called. Harry 
 walked into Worcester, and there, at the shop of a dealer 
 in old clothes, procured such garments as were needed, 
 and at an apothecary's purchased some dyes for staining 
 the skin 
 
 The next day, telling the landlord that they should 
 
292 FEIBNDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 leave the lame horse with him until their return, they 
 started as before, Mike walking instead of riding. They 
 presently left the main road, and finding a convenient 
 place in a wood, changed their attire. Harry and Mike- 
 were dressed in ragged clothes, with bright handker- 
 chiefs round their necks, and others round their heads. 
 Jacob still retained his attire as a woman, with a tat- 
 tered shawl round his shoulders, and a red handkerchief 
 over his head. All darkened their faces and hands. 
 They took the saddle from the horse, and placed the 
 bundles, containing the clothes they had taken off, on 
 his back. Mike took the bridle, Harry and Jacob walked 
 beside, and so they continued for some miles along the 
 lonely roads, until they came to a farmhouse. Here 
 they stopped. The farmer came out, and roughly de- 
 manded what they wanted. Harry replied that he 
 wanted to sell their horse, and would take a small sum 
 for it. 
 
 **I doubt me," the farmer said, looking at it, '"that 
 that horse was not honestly come by. It suits not your 
 condition. It may well be," he said, "the horse of some 
 officer who was slain at Worcester, and which you have 
 found roaming in the country." 
 
 "It matters not," Harry said, "where I got it; it is 
 mine now, and may be yours if you like it, cheap. As 
 you say, its looks agree not with mine, and I desire not 
 to be asked questions. If you will give me that donkey 
 I see there, and three pounds, you shall have him." 
 
 The offer was a tempting one, but the farmer beat 
 them down a pound before he agreed to it. Then shift- 
 ing their bundles to the donkey, they continuod their 
 way. At the next village they purchased a cooking-pot 
 and some old stuff for a tent. Cutting some sticks, they 
 encamped that night on some wild land hard by, having 
 purchased provisions for their supper. Very slowly they 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVILED. 293 
 
 traveled south, attractiDg no attention >s they passed. 
 Thoy avoided all large towns, and purchased such things 
 as they needed at villages, always camping out on com- 
 mons and waste places. They could hear no news of the 
 king at any of their halting-places. That he had not 
 been taken was certain; also, that he had not reached 
 France, or the news of his coming there would hava 
 been known. It was generally supposed that he was in 
 hiding somewhere in the south, hoping to find an oppor- 
 tunity to take ship to France. Everywhere they heard 
 of the active search which was being made for him, and 
 how the houses of all suspected to be favorable to him 
 were being searched. 
 
 Traveling only a few miles a day, and frequently halt- 
 ing for two or three days together, the party crossed the 
 Thames above Reading, and journeyed west into Wilt- 
 shire. So they went on until they reached the port of 
 Charmouth, near Lime Regis. Here, as in all the sea- 
 port towns, were many soldiers of the Parliament. They 
 did not enter the town, but encamped a short distance 
 outside, Harry alone going in to gather the news. He 
 found that numerous rumors concerning the king were 
 afloat. It was asserted that he had been seen near Bris- 
 tol, and failing to embark there, was supposed to be 
 making his way east along the coast, in hopes of finding 
 a ship. The troops were loud in their expressions of 
 confidence that in a few days, if not m a few hours, he 
 would be in their hands, and that he would be brought 
 GO the scaffold, as his father had been. 
 
 Uneasy at the news, Harry wandered about the town, 
 and at nightfall entered a small public house near the 
 port. Calling for some liquor, he sat down, and listened 
 co the talk of the sailors. Presently these left, and soon 
 after they did so three other men entered. One w'as 
 dressed as a farmer, the other two as serving-men. 
 
294 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDER 
 
 Harry thought that he noticed a glance of recognition 
 pass between the iarnier and. the landlord, and as the 
 latter placed some liquor and a candle on the table be- 
 fore the newcomers, Harry recognized in the farmer 
 Colonel Wyndham, a Royalist with whom he was well 
 acquainted. He now looked more closely at the two 
 serving-men, and recognized in them the king and Lord 
 Wilmot. 
 
 He sauntered across the room as if to get a light for 
 his pipe, and said, in low tones: 
 
 "Colonel Wyndham, I am Harry Furness. Is there 
 any way I can serve his majesty?" 
 
 "AM Colonel Furness, I am glad to see you," the 
 king said heartily; "though if you are hunted as 
 shrewdly as I am, your state is a perilous one." 
 
 "The landlord is to be trusted," Colonel Wyndham 
 said. "We had best call him in. He said nothing be- 
 fore you, deeming you a stranger." 
 
 The landlord was called in, and told Harry was a 
 friend, whereupon he barred the door and closed the 
 shutters, as if for the night. Then turning to Colonel 
 Wyndham, whom alone he knew, he said: 
 
 "I am sorry to say that my news is bad, sir. An hour 
 since I went round to the man who had engaged to take 
 you across to St. Malo, but his wife has got an inkling 
 of his intentions. She has locked him into his room, 
 and swears that if he attempts to come forth she will 
 give the alarm to the Parliament troops; for that she 
 will not have herself and her children sacrificed by med- 
 dlings of his in the affairs of state." 
 
f&WNDS. THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ACROSS THE SEA. 
 
 THE announcement of the innkeeper struck consterna- 
 tion into the party. 
 
 "This is bad news indeed," Colonel Wyndham said; 
 "what does your majesty advise now?" 
 
 "I know not, my good Wyndham," King Charles re- 
 plied. "Methinks 'twere better that I should give my- 
 self up at once. Fate seems against us, and I'm only 
 bringing danger on all my friends." 
 
 "Your friends are ready to risk the danger," Colonel 
 Wyndham said; "and I doubt not that we shall finally 
 place your majesty in safety. I think we had best try 
 Bridport. Unfortunately, the Roundheads are so sure 
 of your being on the coast that it is well-nigh impossi- 
 ble to procure a ship, so strict is the search of all who 
 leave port. If we could but put them off your scent, 
 and lead them to believe that you have given it up in 
 despair here, and are trying again to reach Scotland, it 
 might throw them off their guard, and make it more 
 easy for us to find a ship." 
 
 "I might do that," Harry said. "I have with me my 
 comrade Jacob, who is about the king's height and 
 stature. I will travel north again, and will in some 
 way excite suspicion that he is the king. The news that 
 your majesty has been seen traveling there will throw 
 them off your track here." 
 
 "Bub you may be caught yourself," the king said. 
 
83 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "The Earl of Derby and other officers have been exe- 
 cuted. There would be small chancs for you were you 
 fco fall into their hands/' 
 
 "1 trust that I shall escape, sire. My friend Jacob is 
 as cunning as a fox, and will, I warrant me, throw dust 
 in their eyes. And how has it fared with your majesty 
 since I left you at White Ladies?" 
 
 "Faith," Charles replied, laughing, "I have been like 
 a rat with the dogs after him. The next night after 
 leaving you I was in danger from a rascally miller, who 
 raised an alarm because we refused to stay at his bid- 
 ding. Then we made for Moseley, where I hoped to 
 cross the Severn. The Eoundheads had set a guard 
 there, and Richard Penderell went to the house of Mr. 
 Woolfe, a loyal gentleman, and asked him for shelter for 
 an officer from Worcester. Mr. Woolfe said he would 
 risk his neck for none save the king himself. Then 
 Richard told him who I was, and brought me in. Mr. 
 Woolfe hid me in the barn and gave me provisions. The 
 neighborhood was dangerous, for the search was hot 
 thereabout, and I determined to double back again to 
 White Ladies', that I might hear what had become of 
 Wilmot. Richard Penderell guided me to Boscabell, a 
 farmhouse kept by his brother William. Here I found 
 Major Careless in hiding. The search was hot, and we 
 thought of hiding in a wood near, but William advised 
 that as this might be searched we should take refuge in 
 an oak lying apart in the middle of the plain. 
 
 This had been lopped three or four years before and 
 had grown again very thick and bushy, so that it con Id 
 not be seen through. So, early in the morning, Care- 
 less and I, taking provisions for t he day, climbed up it 
 and hid there, and it was well we did so, for in the day 
 the Roundheads came and searched the wood from end 
 to end, as also the house. But they did not think of 
 
x FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDES. 297 
 
 the tree. The next two days [ lay at Boscaoell, and 
 learned on the second day that \Vilrnot was hiding at the 
 house of Mr. Whitgrave, a Catholic gentleman at Mose- 
 Jey, where he begged me to join him. That night I 
 lode thither. The six Penderells, for there were that 
 number of brothers, rode with me as a bodyguard. I 
 was well received by Mr. Whitgrave, who furnished me 
 with fresh linen, to my great comfort, for that which I 
 had on was coarse, and galled my flesh grievously, and 
 my feet were so sore I could scarce walk. But the 
 Roundheads were all about, and tke search hot, and it 
 was determined that I should leave. This time I was 
 dressed as a decent serving man, and Colonel Lane's 
 daughter agreed to go with me. I was to pass as her 
 serving man, taking her to Bristol. A cousin rode with 
 us in company. Colonel Lane procured us a pass, and 
 we met with no adventure for three days. A smith who 
 shod my horse, which had cast a shoe, did say that that 
 rogue Charles Stuart had not been taken yet, and that 
 he thought he ought to be hanged. I thought so too, 
 so we had no argument. At Bristol we could find no 
 ship in which I could embark, and after some time I 
 went with Miss Lane and her cousin to my good friend 
 Colonel Wyndham, at Trent House. After much trouble 
 he had engaged a ship to take me hence, and now this 
 rascal refuses to go, or rather his wife refuses for him. 
 And now, ray friend, we will at once make for Bridport, 
 since Colonel Wyndham hopes to find a ship there. I 
 trust we may meet ere long in France. None of my 
 friends have served me and my father more faithfully 
 than you. It would seem but a mockery now to take 
 knighthood at the hands of Charles Stuart, but it will 
 not harm thee." 
 
 Taking a sword from Colonel Wyndham, the king 
 dubbed Harry knight. Then giving his hand to the 
 
298 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 landlord to kiss, Charles, accompanied by his two com 
 panions, left the inn. 
 
 A few minutes later Harry started and joined his 
 friends. Jacob agreed at once to the proposal to throw 
 the Roundheads off King Charles' track. The next day 
 they started north, and traveled through Wiltshire up 
 into Gloucestershire, still keeping their disguises as 
 gypsies. There they left their donkey with a peasant, 
 telling him they would return in a fortnight's time and 
 claim it. In a wood near they again changed their 
 disguise, hid their gypsy dresses, and started north on 
 foot. In the evening they stopped at Fairford, and 
 took up their abode at a small inn, where they asked for 
 a private room. They soon ascertained that the land- 
 lord was a follower of the Parliament. Going toward 
 the room into which they were shown, Jacob stumbled, 
 and swore in a man's voice, which caused the servant 
 maid who was conducting them to start and look sus- 
 piciously at him. Supper was brought, but Harry 
 noticed that the landlord, who himself brought it in. 
 glanced several times at Jacob. They were eating their 
 supper when they heard his footstep again coming along 
 the passage. Harry dropped on one knee, and was in 
 the act of handing the jug in that attitude to Jacob, 
 when the landlord entered. Harry rose hastily, as if in 
 confusion, and the landlord, setting down on the table a 
 dish which he had brought, again retired. 
 
 "Throw up the window, Jacob, and listen," Harry 
 said. "We must not be caught like rats in a trap." 
 
 The window opened into a garden, and Jacob, listen- 
 ing, could hear footsteps as of men running in the 
 streets. 
 
 "That is enough, then," Harry said. "The alarm is 
 given. Now let us be off." They leaped from the win- 
 dow, and they were soon making their way across the 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 299 
 
 country. They hail not been gone a hundred yards be- 
 fore they heard a great shouting, and knew that their 
 departure had been discovered. They had not walked 
 far that day and now pressed forward north. They had 
 filled their pockets with the remains of their supper, 
 and after walking all night, left the road, and climbing 
 into a haystack at a short distance, ate their breakfast 
 and were soon fast asleep. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon before they awoke. Then 
 they walked on until, after darkness fell, they entered 
 a small village. Here they went into a shop to buy 
 bread. The woman looked at them earnestly. 
 
 "I do not know whether it concerns you," she said, 
 "but I will warn you that this morning a mounted man 
 from Fairford came by warning all to seize a tall coun- 
 tryman with a young fellow and a woman with him, for 
 that she was no other than King Charles." 
 
 "Thanks, my good woman," Jacob said. "Thanks 
 for your warning. I do not say that I am he you name, 
 but whether or no, the king shall hear some day of your 
 good-will." 
 
 Traveling on again, they made thirty miles that night, 
 and again slept in a wood. The next evening, when 
 they entered a village to buy food, the man in the shop, 
 after looking at them, suddenly seized Jacob, and 
 shouted loudly for help. Harry stretched him on the 
 ground with a hsavy blow of the stout cudgel he carried. 
 The man's shouts, however, had called up some of his 
 neighbors, and these ran up as they issued from the 
 shop, and tried to seize them. The friends, however, 
 struck out lustily with their sticks, Jacob carrying one 
 concealed beneath his dress. In two or three minutes 
 they had fought their way clear, and ran at full speed 
 through the village, pursued by a shouting crowd of 
 rustics. 
 
300 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "Now," Harry said, "we can return for our gypsy 
 dresses, and then make for the east coast. We have put 
 the king's enemies off the scent. I trust that when we 
 may get across the water we may hear that he is in safety." 
 
 They made a long detour, traveling only at night, 
 llarry entering alone after dusk the villages where it 
 was necessary to buy food. When they regained the 
 wood where they had left their disguises they dressed 
 themselves again as gypsies, called for the donkey, and 
 then journeyed across England by easy stages to Col- 
 chester,where they succeeded in taking passage in a lug- 
 ger bound for Hamburg. They arrived there in safety, 
 and found to their great joy the news had arrived that 
 the king had landed in France. 
 
 He had, they afterward found, failed to obtain a ship 
 at Bridport, where when he arrived he here found a 
 large number of soldiers about to cross to Jersey. He 
 returned to Trent House, and a ship at Southampton 
 was then engaged. But this was afterward taken up for 
 the carriage of troops. A week later a ship lying at 
 Shoreham was hired to carry a nobleman and his servant 
 to France, and King Charles, with his friends, made his 
 way thither in safety. The captain of the ship at once 
 recognized the king, but remained true to his promise, 
 and landed him at Fecamp in Normandy. 
 
 Six weeks had elapsed since the battle of Worcester, 
 and during that time the king's hiding-places had been 
 known to no less than forty-five persons, all of whom 
 proved faithful to the trust, and it was owing to their 
 prudence and caution as well as to their loyalty that the 
 king escaped, in spite of the reward offered and the hot 
 search kept up everywhere for him. 
 
 Harry had now to settle upon his plans for the future. 
 There was no hope whatever of an early restoration. 
 He had no thought of hanging about the king whose 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 301 
 
 ways and dissolute associates revolted him. It was open 
 to him to take service, as so many of his companions had 
 done, in one or other of the Continental armies, but 
 Harry had hud more than enough of fighting. He-de- 
 termined then to cross the ocean to the plantations of 
 Virginia, where many loyal gentlemen had established 
 themselves. The moneys which Colonel Furness had 
 during the last four years regularly sent across to a 
 banker at the Hague, for his use, were lying untouched, 
 and these constituted a sum amply sufficient for estab- 
 lishing himself there. Before starting, however, he 
 determined that if possible he would take a wife with 
 him. Jn all his wanderings he had never seen any one 
 he liked so much as his old playmate, Lucy RippinghalL 
 It was nearly four years since he had seen her, and she 
 must now be twenty-one. Herbert, he knew by his 
 father's letters, had left'the army at the end of the first 
 civil war, and was carrying on his father's business, the 
 wool-stapler having been killed at Marston Moor. Harry 
 wrote to the colonel, telling him of his intention to go to 
 Virginia and settle there until either Cromwell's death, 
 and the dying out of old animosities, or the restoration 
 of the king permitted him to return to England, and 
 also that he was writing to ask Lucy Rippinghall to 
 accompany him as his wife. He told his father that he 
 was well aware that he would not have regarded such a 
 match as suitable had he been living at home with him 
 at Furness Hall, but that any inequality of birth would 
 matter no whit in the plantations of Virginia, and that 
 such a match would greatly promote his happiness there. 
 By the same mail he wrote to Herbert Rippinghall. 
 
 "My DEAR HERBERT: The bonds of affection which 
 held us together when boys are in no way slackened in 
 their hold upon me, and you showed, when we last met, 
 that you loyed me in no way less than of old. I purpose 
 
303 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 sailing to Virginia with snob store of money as would 
 purchase a plantation there, and there I mean to settle 
 down until such times as these divisions in England may 
 be all passed. But I would fain not go alone. As a boy 
 I loved your sister Lucy, and I have seen none to take 
 the place of her image in my heart. She is, I know, 
 still unmarried, but I know not whether she has any 
 regard for me. I do beseech you to sound her, and if 
 she be willing to give her to me. I hear that you are 
 well married, and can therefore the better spare her. 
 If she be willing to take me, I will be a good husband to 
 her, and trust some day or other to bring her back to be 
 lady of Furness Hall. Although I know that she will 
 care little for such things, I may say that she would be 
 Lady Lucy, since the king has been pleased to make me 
 Sir Harry Furness. Should the dear girl be willing, 
 will you, since I cannot come to you, bring her hither to 
 me. I have written to my father, and have told him 
 what I purpose to do. Trusting that this will find you 
 as well disposed toward me as ever, I remain, your affec- 
 tionate friend, HARRY FURNESS." 
 
 This letter, together with that to his father, Harry 
 gave to Mike. The post in those days was extremely 
 irregular, and none confided letters of importance to it 
 which could possibly be sent by hand. Such a com- 
 munication as that to Herbert Rippingball was not one 
 which Harry cared to trust to the post. Mike had never 
 been at Abingdon, and would therefore be unknown 
 there. Nor, indeed, unless they were taken prisoners 
 in battle or in the first hot pursuit, were any of lower 
 degree meddled with after their return to their homes, 
 There was therefore no fear whatever of molestation. 
 At this time Jacob was far from well. The fatigues 
 which he had undergone since the king broke up his 
 camp at Stirling had been immense. Prolonged 
 marches, great anxiety, sleeping on wet ground, being 
 frequently soaked to the skin by heavy rains, all these 
 things had told upon him, and now that the necessity 
 
FRIENDS, THOVGH DIVIDED, 303 
 
 for exertion was over, a sort of low fever seized him, and 
 he was forced to take to his bed. The leech whom 
 Harry called in told him that Jacob needed rest and care 
 more than medicine. He gave him, however, cooling 
 drinks, and said that when the fever passed he would 
 need strengthening food and medicine. 
 
 Hamburg was at that time the resort of many desper- 
 ate men from England, After Worcester, as after the 
 crushing out of the first civil war, those too deeply com- 
 mitted to return to their homes sought refuge here. 
 But though all professed to be Cavaliers, who were 
 suffering only from their loyalty to the crown, a great 
 many of them were men who had no just claim to so 
 honorable a position. There were many who took ad- 
 vantage of the times in England to satisfy private 
 enmities or to gratify evil passions. Although the 
 courts of law sat during the whole of the civil war, and 
 the judges made their circuits, there was necessarily ft 
 more crime than in ordinary times. Thus many of those 
 who betook themselves to Hamburg and other seaport? 
 on the continent had made England too hot for them by 
 crimes of violence and dishonesty. 
 
 The evening after Mike sailed Harry, who had been 
 sitting during the afternoon chatting by Jacob's bedside., 
 went out to take the air. He strolled along the wharves, 
 near which were the drinking-houses, whence came sounds 
 of singing, dancing, and revelry, mingled occasionally 
 with shouts and the clash of steel, as quarrels arose among 
 the sailors and others frequenting them. Never having 
 seen one of these places, Harry strolled into one which 
 appeared of a somewhat better class than the rest. Af 
 one end was a sort of raised platform, upon which were 
 two men, with fiddles, who, from time to time, played 
 lively airs, to which those at the tables kept time by 
 stamping their feet. Sometimes men or women came on 
 
304 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 to the platform and sang. The occupants of the body 
 of the hall were mostly sailors, but among whom were a 
 considerable number of men, who seemed by their garb 
 fco be broken-down soldiers and adventurers. 
 
 Harry took h ; s seat by the door, called for a glass of 
 wine and drank it, and, having soon seen enough of the 
 nature of the entertainment, was about to leave, when 
 his attention was attracted by a young girl who took her 
 place on the platform. She was evidently a gypsy, for 
 at this time these people were the minstrels of Europe. 
 It would have been considered shameful for any other 
 woman to sing publicly. Two or three of these women 
 had already sung, and Harry had been disgusted with 
 their hard voices and bold looks. But he saw that the 
 one who now took her place on the platform was of a 
 different nature. She advanced nervously, and as if 
 quite strange to such a scene, and touched her guitar 
 with trembling fingers. Then she began to sing a Span- 
 ish romance in a sweet, pure voice. There was a good 
 deal of applause when it finished, for even the rough 
 sailors could appreciate the softness and beauty of the 
 melody. Then a half-drunken man shouted, "Give ns 
 something lively. Sing 'May the Devil fly on* with Old 
 Noll.'" 
 
 The proposal was received with a shout of approval by 
 many, but some of the sailors cried out, "No, no No 
 politics. We won't hear Cromwell insulted." 
 
 This only led to louder and more angry shouts on the 
 part of the others, and in all parts of the room men rose 
 to their feet, gesticulating and shouting. The girl, who 
 evidently did not understand a word that was said, stood 
 looking with affright at the tumult which had so sud- 
 denly risen. In a minute swords were drawn. The 
 foreign sailors, in ignorance of the cause of dispute, 
 drew their knives, and stood by the side of those from 
 
FRIENDS, 3TAV Vf*# DIVIDED. 
 
 the English ships, while the for^n soldiers seemed ready 
 to make common cause with the Knglish who had com- 
 menced the disturbance. Two or three of the latter 
 leaped upon the platform to inshC upon their wishes 
 being carried out. The girl, with ^ iittle scream, re- 
 treated into a corner. Harry, indignrvtti; at the conduct 
 to his countrymen,, had drawn his sw-orcv, and made hi? 
 way quietly toward the end of the hn* t and he now 
 sprang upon the platform. 
 
 "Stand back," he shouted angrily. "I'?: %pit the first 
 man who advances a step." 
 
 "And who are you, sir, who ventures to tb,nt yourseil 
 into a quarrel, and to interfere with English g*v\tlemen? ?; 
 
 "English gentlemen," Harry fiaid hitterly. **Gcd help 
 England if you are specimens pf her gentlemen/'* 
 
 "S'death!" exclaimed one. "I*un the sifiBtidrel 
 through, Ealph." 
 
 In a moment Harry slashed open the cheek <rf one, 
 and ran the other through the arm. By this time the 
 fray had become general in the hall. Benches wore 
 broken up, swords and knives were used freely. Just ? 
 the matter began to grow serious there was a cry of "TV* 
 watch!" and a strong armed guard entered the hall. 
 
 There was an instant cessation of hostilities, and thei- 
 both parties uniting, rushed upon the watch, and by gheei 
 weight bore them back out of the place. Harry looked 
 round, and saw that the girl had fled by a door at tbf 
 back of the platform. Seeing that a fight was going or 
 round the door, and desiring to escape from the broil 
 he went out by the door she had taken, followed a pat 
 sage for some distance, went down a dimly-lightec 
 stair, and issued through a door into the air. He fount 
 himself in a foul and narrow lane. It was entirely ni\ 
 lighted, and Harry made his way with difficulty along, 
 stumbling into holes in the pavement, and over neaps oi 
 rubbish of all kinds 
 
^06 ffRIEND8> THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 :i l have got into a nice quarter of the town," he mut- 
 tered to himself. "I have heard there are places in Ham- 
 burg, the resort of thieves and scoundrels of the worst, 
 kind, and where even the watch dare not penetrate. 
 Methinks that this must be one them." 
 
 He groped his way along till he came to the end of 
 fche lane. Here a dim light was burning. Three or four 
 fcther lanes, in appearance as forbidding as that up which 
 he had come, met at this spot. Several men were stand- 
 ing about. Harry paused for a moment, wondering 
 whether he had better take the first turning at random, 
 M- invite attention by asking his way. He determined that 
 the former was the least dangerous alternative, and turned 
 down the lane to his right. He had not gone ten steps 
 when a woman came up to him from behind. 
 
 "Are you not the gentleman who drew a sword to save 
 me from insult?" she asked in French. 
 
 Harry understood enough of the language to make out 
 what she said. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "if you are the singer." 
 
 "Good heavens! sir, what misfortune has brought you 
 fiere? I recognized your face in the light. Your life, 
 *ir, is in the greatest danger. There are men here who 
 yould murder you for the sake of a gold piece, and that 
 jewel which fastens your plume must have caught; their 
 syes. Follow me, sir, quickly." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. -507 
 
 CHAPTEK XXV. 
 
 A PLOT OVERHBAKD 
 
 As the gypsy ended her warning she sprang forward, 
 saying, "Follow me, for your life, sir." Harry did not 
 hesitate. He heard several footsteps coming down the 
 lane, and drawing his sword he followed his guide at a 
 run. As he did so there was a shout among the men 
 behind him and these set off in hot pursuit. Harry 
 kept close to the girl, who turned down another lane even 
 more narrow than that they were leaving. A few paces 
 further she stopped, opened a door and entered. Harry 
 followed her in and she closed the door behind her. 
 
 "Hush!" she whispered. "There are men here as bad 
 as those without. Take off your shoes." 
 
 Harry did as directed. He was in pitch darkness. 
 Taking him by the hand, the girl led him forward for 
 some distance. 
 
 "There is a staircase here," she whispered. 
 
 Still holding his hand, she began to mount the stairs. 
 As they passed each landing Harry heard the voices of 
 men in the rooms on either side. At last they arrived 
 at the top of the house. Here she opened a door, and 
 led Harry into a room. 
 
 "Are you here, mother?" she asked. 
 
 There was no answer. The girl uttered an exclamation 
 of thankfulness; then, after groping about, she found 
 a tinder-box, and struck a light. 
 
 "You are safe here for the present. This is my room, 
 
303 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED, 
 
 where I live with my mother. ''At least/' she sighed, 
 f *s4ie calls herself my mother, and is the only one I have 
 known." 
 
 "Is it possible/ 5 Harry asked in surprise, "that one 
 (ike yourself can live in such an abode as this?" 
 
 "I am safe here," she answered. "There are five men 
 of my tribe in the next room, and fierce and brutal as are 
 the men of these courts, none of them would care to 
 quarrel with the gypsies. But now I have got you here, 
 how am I to get you away?" 
 
 "If the gypsies are so feared, I might go out with 
 them," Harry said. 
 
 s *Alas!" the girl answered, "they are as bad as the 
 others. And even if they were disposed to aid yon for the 
 kindness you have shown me, I doubt if they could do so. 
 Assuredly they would not run the risk of thwarting the 
 cutthroats here for the sake of saving you." 
 
 "Could you go and tell the watch?" Harry asked. 
 
 "The watch never comes here," the girl replied, shak- 
 ing her head. "Were they to venture up these lanes it 
 would be like entering a hive of bees. This is an Alsatia 
 a safe refuge for assassins and robbers." 
 
 "I have got myself into a nice mess," Harry said. "It 
 seems to me I had better sally out and take my chance." 
 
 'Look," the girl said, going to the window and open- 
 ing it. 
 
 Peering out, Harry saw below a number of men with 
 3\vords and knives drawn. One or two had torches, and 
 v ,hey were examining every doorway and court, Outside 
 *;he window ran a parapet. 
 
 "They will search like hounds," the girl continued, 
 * 6 They must know that you have not gone far. If they 
 tforne.here you must take to the parapet, and go some 
 distance along. Now, I must try and find some disguise 
 for you." 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 At this moment the door opened, and an old woman 
 entered. She uttered an exclamation of astonishment 
 at seeing Harry, and turning angrily to the girl, spoke 
 to her in the gypsy dialect. For two or three minutes 
 the conversation continued in that language; then the 
 old woman turned to Harry, and said in English: 
 
 "My daughter tells me that you have got into a broi! 
 on her behalf. There are few gentlemen who draw 
 sword for a gypsy. I will do my best to aid yon, but it 
 will be difficult to get a gallant like yourself out of this 
 place." 
 
 Her eye fell covetously upon the jewel in Harry's hat, 
 He noticed the glance. 
 
 "Thanks, dame," he said; "I will gladly repay your 
 services. Will you accept this token?" And removing 
 the jewel from the hat, he offered it to her. 
 
 The girl uttered an angry exclamation as the old 
 woman seized it, and after examining it by the candle 
 light, placed it in a small iron coffer. Harry felt he had 
 done wisely, for the old woman's face bore a muc^ 
 warmer expression of good-will than had before charac- 
 terized it. 
 
 "You cannot leave now," she said. "I heard as I 
 came along that a well-dressed gallant had been seen in 
 the lanes, and every one's mouth is on water. They said 
 that they thought he had some woman with him, but I 
 did not dream it was Zita. You cannot leave to-night; 
 to-morrow I will get you some clothes of my son's, and 
 in these yon should be able to escape without detection/' 
 
 Very slowly the hours passed. The women at times 
 talked together in Bomaic, while Harry, who had posses- 
 sion of the only chair in the room, several times nodded 
 off to sleep- In the morning there was a movement 
 heard in the next room, and the old woman went in 
 there 
 
, T* Orrazr ~ ,VIDED. 
 
 * 'Surely that woman caii iot be your mother?" Harry 
 aaid to the girl. 
 
 "She is not," she answered. "1 believe that I was 
 stolen as a child; indeed, they have owned as much. But 
 what can I do? I am one of them. What can a gypsy 
 do? We are good for nothing but to sing and to steal." 
 
 "If I get free from this scrape," Harry said, "you 
 may be sure that shall not be ungrateful, and if you long 
 to leave this life, I can secure you a quiet home in Eng- 
 land with my father." 
 
 The girl clasped her hands in delight. 
 
 "Oh, that would be too good!" she exclaimed. "Too 
 good; but I fear it can never be." 
 
 She put her fingers to her lips, as the door again 
 opened. The old woman entered, carrying some clothes, 
 
 "Here," she said; "they have gone out; put these on. 
 Xita and I will go out and see if the coast is clear." 
 
 Harry, smiling to himself at the singularity of his hav- 
 ing twice to disguise himself as a gypsy, rapidly changed 
 his clothes. Presently the old woman returned. 
 
 "Quick," she exclaimed; "I hear that the news of the 
 riot in the drinking-house has got about this morning, 
 and it is known that an Englishman, something like 
 the one seen in the lanes, took Zita's part, and there are 
 suspicions that it was she who acted as his guide. They 
 have been roughly questioning us. I told her to go on 
 to avoid suspicion, while I ran back. You cannot stir 
 out now, and I heard a talk of searching our rooms, 
 Come, then, we may find a room unoccupied below; you 
 must take refuge there for the present." 
 
 Harry still retained his sword, incongruous as it was 
 "with his attire, but he had determined to hide it under 
 his clothes, so that, if detected, he might be able at least 
 to sell his life. Taking it in his hand, he followed the 
 old woman downstairs. She listened at each door, and 
 continued downward until she reached the first floor. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 3H 
 
 ' : I can hear no one here/' she said, listening at a 
 door. "Go up a few steps; I will knock. If any one is 
 there I can make some excuse." 
 
 She knocked, but there was no answer. Then she 
 drew from her pocket a piece of bent wire, and inserted 
 it in the keyhole. 
 
 "We gypsies can enter where we will," she said, beck- 
 oning Harry to enter as the door opened. "Wait quiet 
 here till I come for you. The road will be clear then." 
 So saying, she closed the door behind him, and again 
 shot the bolt. 
 
 Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. Should the 
 owner of the room return, he would be taken for a 
 thief, although, as he thought, looking round the room, 
 there was little enough to steal. It was a large room, 
 with several truckle beds standing against the walls. In 
 the center was a table, upon which were some mugs, 
 horns, and empty bottles, with some dirty cards scat- 
 tered about. The place smelled strongly of tobacco, and 
 benches lying on the ground showed that the party of 
 the night before had ended in a broil, further evidence 
 to which was given by stains of blood on one of the beds, 
 and by a rag saturated with blood, which lay beside it. ' 
 At one side of the room was a door, giving communica- 
 tion into the next apartment. Scarcely had Harry 
 entered when he heard voices there, and was surprised 
 to find that the speakers were English. 
 
 "I tell you I'm sick of this," one of the speakers said. 
 "I might be as well hanged at home as starved here." 
 
 "You might enlist," another voice said, in sneering 
 tones. "Gallant soldiers are welcome in the Low 
 oun tries." 
 
 "You'd best keep your sneering tongue between your 
 lips," the other said angrily. "If I don't care for 
 fighting in the field, I can use a knife at a pinch, as you 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 know full well. You will carry your gibes too far with 
 me some day. No," he went on more calmly, after a 
 pause, "I shall go back to England next week, after 
 Marmaduke Harris and his gang have finished Oliver. 
 The country will be turned so topsy-turvy that there 
 will be no nice inquiry into bygones, and at any rate I 
 can keep out of London." 
 
 "Yes, it will be wise to do that," the other said, 
 "since that little affair when the mercer and his wife in 
 Cheap were found with their throats cut, and you " 
 
 "Fire and furies! John Marlow, do you want three 
 inches of steel in your ribs?" 
 
 "By no means!" the other answered. "You have be- 
 come marveleusly straightlaced all at once. As you 
 know, I have been concerned in as many affairs as you 
 have. Aha! I have had a merry time of itl" 
 
 "And may again," the other said. "Noll once dead, 
 there will be good times for us again. It is a pity that 
 you and I were too well known to have a hand in the 
 job. Dost think there is any chance of a failure?" 
 
 "None," the other replied. "It is in good hands. 
 Black Harry has bribed a cook wench, who will open the 
 back door. They say he was to return to London this 
 week, and if so Sunday is fixed for the affair. Five days 
 yet, and say another week for the news to get here. In 
 a fortnight we will be on our way to England. There, I 
 am thirsty, and we left the bottle in the next room. We 
 had a late night of it with the boys there." 
 
 During this conversation, to which Harry listened 
 breathlessly, he had heard the tramp of feet going up- 
 stairs, and just as they finished speaking these had de- 
 scended again. A moment later the door between the 
 two rooms opened, and a man in the faded finery of a 
 Boyalist gentleman entered. 
 
 "Fires and furies!" he exclaimed. "Whom have we 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 313 
 
 here? Marlow, here is an eavesdropper or a thief. We 
 will slit his weasand. Aha!" he said, gazing fixedly at 
 Harry, "you are Colonel Furness. I know you. You 
 had me flogged the day before Worcester, for helping 
 myself to an old woman's purse. It is my turn now." 
 
 Joined by his fellow ruffian he fell upon Harry, but 
 they were nc match for the Royalist colonel. After a 
 few rapid thrusts and parries he ran his first assailant 
 through the body and cut down the man called Marlow, 
 with a sweeping blow which nearly cleft his head asunder. 
 
 Scarcely was the conflict ended when the door opened, 
 and the old gypsy entered. She started at seeing the 
 bodies of the two ruffians. 
 
 "I have been attacked," Harry said briefly, "and have 
 defended myself." 
 
 "It is no business of mine," the old woman remarked. 
 "When I have guided you out I will come back again. 
 It's strange if there's not something worth picking up. 
 Now, pull your hat well over your eyes and follow me." 
 
 Closing and locking the door again, she led the way 
 downstairs. 
 
 "Do not walk so straight and stiff," she said. 
 "Slouch your shoulders, and stoop your head. Now." 
 
 Harry sallied out into the lane, keeping by the side of 
 his guide, with his head bent forward, and his eyes on 
 the ground, walking, as far as he could, with a listless 
 gait. The old woman continued to chatter to him in 
 Romaic. There were many people about in the lane, 
 but none paid any heed to them. Harry did not look 
 up, but turned with his guide down several lanes, until 
 they at length emerged on the quays. Saying she would 
 call next day at his hotel for the reward he had promised 
 her, she left him, and Harry, with his head full of the 
 plot against Cromwell's life, crossed at once to the ves- 
 sels by the quay. 
 
314 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 "Is any ship sailing for the Thames to-day?" he asked, 
 
 "Yes," the sailor said. "The Mary Anne is just hoist- 
 ing her anchor now, out there in midstream. You will 
 be but just in time, for the anchor's under her foot." 
 
 .Harry sprang into a boat and told the waterman to 
 row to the ship. The latter stared in astonishment at 
 the authoritative manner in which this gypsy addressed 
 him, but Harry thrust his hand into his pocket, and 
 showed him some silver. 
 
 "Quick, man," he said, "for she is moving. You will 
 have double fare to put me on board." 
 
 The man pulled vigorously, and they were soon along- 
 side the brig. 
 
 "Halloo! what now?" the captain said, looking over 
 the side. 
 
 "I want a passage to England, and will pay you your 
 own price." 
 
 "You havn't been killing any one, have you?" the cap- 
 tain asked. "I don't want to have trouble when I come 
 back here, for carrying off malefactors." 
 
 "No, indeed," Harry said, as he lightly leaped on the 
 deck. "I am Sir Harry Furness, though I may not look 
 it, and am bound to England on urgent business. It is 
 all right, my good fellow, and here is earnest money for 
 rny passage," and he placed two pieces of gold in the 
 captain's hand. 
 
 "That will do," the captain said. "I will take you." 
 
 Harry went to the side. 
 
 "Here, my man, is your money, and a crown piece 
 beside. Go to the Hotel! des Etoiles and ask for the 
 English officer who is there lying sick. Tell him Colonel 
 Furness has been forced to leave for England at a mo- 
 ment's notice, but will be back by the first ship." 
 
 The man nodded, and rowed back to shore as the 
 Mary Anne, with her sails hoisted, ran down the river. 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 311 
 
 Never did a voyage appear longer to an anxious pas 
 33iiger than did that of the Mary Anne to England. 
 The winds were light and baffling, and at times the Mar;/ 
 Anne scarce moved through the water. Harry had ni 
 love for Cromwell. Upon the contrary, he regarded 
 him as the deadliest enemy of the king, and moreover 
 personally hated him for the cruel massacre of Drog- 
 heda. In battle he would have gladly slain him, but hq 
 vvas determined to save him from assassination. He fell 
 the man to be a great Englishman, and knew that it wai 
 greatly due to his counsels that so little English bloo'l 
 had been shed upon the scaffold. Most of all, hi 
 thought that his assassination would injure the roya) 
 cause. The time was not yet ripe for a restoration, 
 England had shown but lately that there existed no en- 
 thusiasm for the royal cause. At Cromwell's death thi 
 chief power would fall into the hands of fanatics mon 
 dangerous and more violent than he. His murder wou!4 
 be used as a weapon for a wholesale persecution of tht 
 Royalists throughout the land, and would create such f 
 prejudice against them that the inevitable reaction ifl 
 favor of royalty would be retarded for years. Full ol 
 these thoughts, Harry fretted and fumed over the slo^f 
 progress of the Mary Anne. Late on Saturday night 
 she entered the mouth of the Thames, and anchored until 
 the tide turned. Before daybreak she was on her way, 
 and bore up on the tide as far as Gravesend, when shi 
 had again to anchor. Harry obtained a boat and wai 
 rowed to shore. In his present appearance, he did nol 
 like to go to one of the principal inns for a horse, but 
 entering a small one on the outskirts of the place, aske'7 
 the landlord if he could procure him a horse. 
 
 "I am not what I seem," he said, in answer to his 
 host's look of surprise. "But I have urgent need to gef 
 to London this evening. I will pay well for the hors* 
 
318 FRIENDS, THO m# . ^ YIDED. 
 
 and will leave this ring with you AA * guarantee for his 
 safe return." 
 
 "I have not a horse myself," the Iwudlord said, with 
 more respect than he had at first BLoitu; "but I might 
 get one from my neighbor Harry Fletcbor, the butcher. 
 Are you willing to pay a guinea for his use? Fletcher 
 will drive you himself." 
 
 Harry agreed to the sum, and a qua?* *r of an hour 
 later the man, with a light horse and cart^ came to the 
 door. 
 
 "You are a strange-looking carle," he oaid, "to be 
 riding on a Sunday in haste; I scarce lik* being seen 
 with thee." 
 
 "I have landed but an hour ago," Harry said, "and 
 can buy no clothes to-day; but if you or mine host here, 
 who is nearer my size, have a decent suit which you can 
 sell me, I will pay you double the sum it cost." 
 
 The landlord at once agreed to th# terms, and five 
 minutes later Harry, clad in the sober garb of a decent 
 tradesman, mounted the cart. The horse was not a fast 
 one, and the roads were bad. It was nigh six o'clock 
 before they reached London. Paying Fletcher the sum 
 agreed upon, Harry walked rapidly westward. Crom- 
 well was abiding in a house in Pall Mall. Upon Harry 
 arriving there he was asked his business. 
 
 "The general is ill," the servant said, "and can see 
 no one." 
 
 "I must see him," Harry urged. "It is a matter of 
 the extremest importance." 
 
 "See him you cannot," the man repeated, "and it 
 were waste of words to talk further on the matter. 
 Dost think that, even were he well, the general, with all 
 the affairs of the Commonwealth on his shoulders, has 
 time to see every gossiping citizen who would have 
 speech with him?" 
 
FR1ENDX, THOUGH DIVIDED. 317 
 
 Harry slipped a gold piece into the man's hand. 
 
 "Ik is useless," the man said. "The general is, as I 
 truly told thee, ill.' 1 
 
 Harry stood in despair, "Could you gain me speecn 
 with the general's wife?" 
 
 "Ay," the man said. "I might do that. What name 
 shall I say?" 
 
 "She would not know my name. Merely say that one 
 vishes to speak to her on a matter nearly touching the 
 safety of the generaL" 
 
 "Hadsfc thon said that at once," the man grumbled, 
 "I might have admitted you hefore. There are many 
 rumors of plots on the part of the malignants against 
 the life of the general. I will take your message to 
 Madam Cromwell, and she can deal with it as she will." 
 
 The man was absent for a few minutes. Then he re- 
 turned with an officer. 
 
 "Can you tell me," the latter asked, "what you have 
 to reveal?" 
 
 "No," Harry replied, "I must speak with the general 
 himself." 
 
 "Beware," the officer said sternly, "that you trifle 
 not. The general is sick, and has many things on hia 
 mind; 'twill be ill for you if you disturb him without 
 cause." 
 
 "The cause is sufficient," Harry said. "I would se 
 him in person." 
 
 Without a word the officer turned and led the way to * 
 room upstairs, where Cromwell was sitting at a table. 
 His wife was near him. A Bible lay open before him 
 Cromwell looked steadily at Harry. 
 
 "I hear that you have a matter of importance to tell 
 me, young man, and one touching my safety. I know 
 that there are many who thirst for my blood. But I am 
 in the hands of tha Lord, who has so far watched over 
 
318 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 His servant. If there be truth in what you have to tel 
 you will be rewarded." 
 
 "I seek for no reward," Harry said. "I have gained 
 knowledge of a plot against your life. Do you wish that 
 I should speak in the presence of this officer?" 
 
 "Assuredly," the general said. 
 
 "Briefly, then, I have arrived from Hamburg but now 
 fco give you warning of a matter which came to my ears. 
 I overheard, how it matters not, a conversation between 
 two rascals who gave themselves out as Boyalists, but 
 who were indeed rather escaped criminals, to the effect 
 that men had gone over thence to England with the inten- 
 tion of killing you. The plot was to come off to-night. 
 Whether there be any change in the arrangements or no 
 I cannot say, but the matter was, as they said, fixed for 
 to-night. One of the women servants has been bribed 
 to open the back entrance and to admit them there. 
 More than this I know not." 
 
 "You speak, sir, as one beyond your station," Crom- 
 well said; "and methinks I know both your face and 
 figure, whieh are not easily forgotten when once seen." 
 
 "It matters not who I am," Harry replied, "so that 
 the news I bring be true. I am no friend of yours, but a 
 servant of King Charles. Though I would withstand 
 you to the death in the field, I would not that a life like 
 yours should be cut short by assassination; or that the 
 royal cause should be sullied by such a deed, the dis- 
 honor of which, though planned and carried out by a 
 small band of desperate partisans, would yet, in the eyes 
 of the world, fall upon all who followed King Charles.' 5 
 
 "You are bold, sir," Cromwell said. "But I wonder 
 not, for I know you now. We have met, so far as I 
 know, but once before. That was after Drogheda, where 
 you defended the church, and where I spared your life 
 at the intercession of my chaplain. 1 heard of you 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 319 
 
 afterward as having, by a desperate enterprise, escaped, 
 and afterward captured a ship with prisoners; and as 
 having inflicted heavy loss and damage upon the soldiers 
 of Parliament. You fought at Dunbar and Worcester, 
 and, if I mistake not, incurred the enmity of the Earl 
 of Argyll.'' 
 
 "I am Sir Harry Furness," Harry said calmly; "his 
 majesty having been pleased to bestow upon me the 
 honor of knighthood. Nor are you mistaken touching 
 the other matters, since you yourself agreed at the 
 lonely house on the moor to hand me over to Colonel 
 Campbell, as his price for betraying the post I com- 
 manded. That matter, as you may remember, turned 
 out otherwise than had been expected. I am not 
 ashamed of my name, nor have I any fear of its being 
 known to you. I have come over to do you service, and 
 fear not harm at your hands when on such business. " 
 
 "Why then did you not tell me at once?" Cromwell 
 asked. 
 
 "Simply because I seek no favor at your hands. 1 
 would not that you should think that Harry Furness 
 sought to reconcile himself with the Commons, by giv- 
 ing notice of a plot against your life. I am intending 
 to start for Virginia and settle there, and would not 
 stoop to sue for amnesty, though I should never see 
 Furness Halt or England again." 
 
 Harry spoke in a tone of haughty frankness, which 
 carried conviction with it. 
 
 "I doubt you not," Cromwell said. "You have been 
 & bitter foe to the Commons, Colonel Furness, but it is 
 not of men like you that we need be afraid. You meet 
 us fairly in the field, and fight us loyally and honorably. 
 It is the tricksters, the double-dealers, and the traitors, 
 the men who profess to be on our side but who burrow 
 I.Q Uie dark against us, who trouble our peace. In this 
 
$20 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 matter I am greatly beholden to you. Now that you 
 have given us warning of the plot, it will be mot if i\\.~ 
 tempted. But should these men's hearts fail them, or 
 for any other cause the attempt be laid aside, I shall be 
 none the less indebted to you. I trust, Colonel Furness, 
 that you will not go to the plantations. England needs 
 honest men here. There is a great work yet to be done 
 before happiness and quiet are restored; and we need all 
 wise and good men in the counsels of the state. Be 
 assured that you are free to return and dwell with the 
 Cavalier, your father, at your pleasure. He drew aside 
 froir the strife when he saw that the cause he fought 
 for was hopeless, and none have interfered with him. 
 Charles will, methinks, fight no more in England. His 
 cause is lost, and wise men will adapt themselves to the 
 circumstances. Let me know where you lodge to-nighto 
 You will hear further from me to-morrow/' 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 321 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 REST AT LAST. 
 
 HARRY slept at an inn in Westminster, and the next 
 morning on going down to his breakfast, he found peo- 
 ple much excited, a rumor having gone about that an 
 attack had been made upon Cromwell's house during 
 the night, and that several had been killed, but no harm 
 el one to the general. An hour afterward a messenger 
 brought word that General Cromwell wished to see 
 Oolonel Furness. After his breakfast Harry had at 
 once gone out and purchased clothes suitable to a coun- 
 try gentleman; in these he proceeded to the general, 
 and was at once shown up to his room. 
 
 "Your news was trustworthy, Colonel Furness, and 
 Oliver Cromwell owes his life to you. Soon after mid- 
 night one of the serving wenches opened the back door, 
 and eight men entered. Had no watch been set, they 
 would doubtless have reached my room unobserved, by 
 the staircase which leads from that part of the house. 
 As it was, I had a guard in waiting, and when the men 
 were fairly inside they fell upon them. The soldiers 
 v;ere too quick with them, being hot at the plot which was 
 intended against my life, and all were killed, together 
 with the wench who admitted them, who was stabbed by 
 one of the men at the first alarm, thinking doubtless she 
 had betrayed them. I hear that none of them have the 
 air of gentlemen, but are clearly broken men and vaga- 
 bonds. The haste of my soldiers has prevented me from 
 getting any clew as to those who set them on, but I am 
 
322 JRIEND&, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 sure that no English gentleman, even although devoted 
 to the cause of Charles Stuart, would so plot against my 
 life. And now, sir, I thank you heartily for the great} 
 service you have rendered me. My life is, I think, 
 precious to England, where I hope to do some good 
 work before I die. I say only in return that henceforth 
 you may come and go as you list; and I hope yet that 
 you will sit hy me in Parliament, and aid me to set 
 things in England in order. Do not take this, sir, as in 
 any way a recompense for saving my life. The war is 
 over; a few of those who had troubled, and would always 
 trouble the peace of England, have been executed. 
 Against the rest we bear no malice. They are free to 
 return to their homes and occupations as they list, and 
 so long as they obey the laws, and abstain from fresh 
 troubles and plots, none will molest them. But, sir, in 
 order that no molestation or vexation may occur to you, 
 here is a free pass, signed by General Fairfax and two of 
 the commissioners, saying that you are at liberty to go 
 or come and to stay where you please, without hindrance 
 or molestation from any/' 
 
 Harry took the document, bowed, and withdrew. 
 
 "It is a thousand pities," he said to himself, "that his 
 majesty the king has not somewhat of this man's quality. 
 This is a strong man, and a true. He may have his 
 faults ay, he has them he is ambitions, he is far more 
 fanatical for his religion than was Charles I. for his. 
 He is far more absolute, far more domineering than was 
 King Charles. Were he made king to-morrow, as I hear 
 he is like enough to be, he would trample upon the Par- 
 liament and despise its will infinitely more than any 
 English king would ever have dared to do. But for all 
 that he is a great man, honest, sincere, and, above all, 
 to be trusted. Who can say that for the Stuarts?" 
 
 Upon the day of his arrival Harry had written to 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 323 
 
 Jacob telling him the cause of his sudden departure, und 
 promising to return by the first ship. He hesitated now 
 whether he should sail at once, or go down to see his 
 father, but he determined that it would be best, at any 
 rate in the first place, to return to Hamburg and look 
 after his companion, and then to come over to see his 
 father, before carrying out his intention of proceeding 
 to Virginia. A ship would, he found, be sailing in three 
 days, and he wrote to his father telling him that he had 
 been iu London for a day or two, but was forced by the 
 illness of Jacob to return at once; but that upon his 
 friend's recovery he would come back to Abingdon for 
 a short time before leaving. He arrived at Hamburg 
 without adventure. On reaching the hotel he was in- 
 formed that Jacob was delirious, and that his life was 
 despaired of. The rascally boatman could not have 
 given the message with which he had been charged, 
 since Jacob, upon the day after he was first missed, had 
 risen from his bed, and insisted on going in search of 
 him. He had, after many inquiries, learned that one 
 answering to his description had taken part in a fray in 
 a drinking-house interfering to protect a Bohemian 
 singer from insult. Beyond this nothing could be heard 
 of him. He Aad not been seen in the fray in the street, 
 when several of the rioters had been captured and car- 
 ried off by the watch, and some supposed that he might 
 have left the place, at the back, in which case it was 
 feared that he might have been fallen upon and assas- 
 sinated by the ruffians in the low quarter lying behind 
 the drinking hall. Jacob had worked himself into a 
 state of high fever by his anxiety, and upon returning to 
 the hotel had become so violent that they were forced 
 to restrain him. He had been bled and blistered, but 
 had remained for a fortnight in a state of violent fevei 
 and delirium. This had now somewhat abated, but he> 
 
324 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 was in such a weak state that the doctors feared the 
 worst. 
 
 The return of Harry did more for him than all the 
 doctors of Hamburg. He seemed at once to recognize 
 his voice, and the pressure of his hand soothed and 
 calmed him. He presently fell into a deep sleep, in 
 which he lay for twelve hours, and on opening his eyes 
 at once recognized his friend. His recovery now was 
 rapid, and in a week he was able to sit up. 
 
 One morning the servant told Harry that a gentleman 
 wished to speak to him, and a moment after his father 
 entered. With a cry of delight father and son flew into 
 each other's arms. It was four years since they had 
 met, and both were altered much. The colonel had 
 aged greatly, while Harry had grown into a broad and 
 powerful man. 
 
 "My dear father, this is an unexpected pleasure in- 
 deed," Harry said, when the first burst of delight was 
 over. "Did you not get my letter from London, saying 
 that I hoped shortly to be with you?" 
 
 "From London!" the colonel exclaimed, astonished. 
 "No, indeed; I have received no letter save that which 
 your boy brought me. We started a week later for 
 Southampton, where we were detained nigh ten days for 
 a ship." 
 
 "And who is the we, father?" Harry asked anxiously. 
 
 "Ah," the old man said, "now you are in a hurry to 
 know. Who should it be but Master Rippinghall and * 
 i;ertain young lady?" 
 
 "Oh, father, has Lucy really come?" 
 
 "Assuredly she has," Colonel Furness said, "and is 
 now waiting in a private room below with her brother, 
 for Sir Harry. I have not congratulated you yet, my 
 boy, on your i>ew dignity." 
 
 "And you really consent to my marriage, sir?" 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 325 
 
 SS I don't see that I could help it," the colonel said, 
 * s since you had set your mind on it, especially as when I 
 came to inquire I found the young lady was willing to 
 go to Virginia. But we must talk of that anon. Yes, 
 Harry, you have my full consent. The young lady is 
 not quite of the rank of life I should have chosen for 
 you; but ranks and classes are all topsy-turvy in Eng- 
 land at present, and when we are ruled over by a brewer,, 
 it would be nice indeed to refuse to take a wool-stapler's 
 sister for wife. But seriously, Harry, I am well con- 
 tented. I knew little of the young lady except by com- 
 mon report, which spoke of her as the sweetest and 
 kindest damsel in Abingdon. But now I have seen her, 
 I wonder not at your choice. During the fortnight we 
 have been together I have watched her closely, and I 
 find in her a rare combination of gentleness and firmness. 
 You have won her heart, Harry, though how she can 
 have kept thee in mind all this time is more than I can 
 tell. Her brother tells me that he placed no pressure 
 upon her either for or against, though he desired much 
 for your sake, and from the love he bore you, that she 
 should accept of your suit. Now you had better go 
 down, and learn from her own lips how it stands with 
 her." 
 
 It need not to describe the meeting between Harry 
 and his old friends. Herbert was warm and cordial as 
 of old. Lucy was but little changed since Harry had 
 seen her four years before, save that she was more fair 
 and womanly. 
 
 "Your letter gave me," Herbert said, "a mixed feel- 
 ing of pleasure and pain. I knew that my little sister 
 has always looked upon you as a hero of romance, and 
 though I knew not that as a woman her heart still turned 
 to you, yet she refused so sharply and shrewishly all the 
 suitors who came to her, that I suspected tnat her 
 
326 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 thoughts of yon were more than a mere child's fancy. 
 When your letter came I laid no pressure upon her, just 
 as in other cases I have held aloof, and indeed have 
 gained some ill-will at the hands of old friends because 
 I would not, as her brother, and the head of the family, 
 lay stress upon her. I read your letter to her, and she 
 at first said she was ready to obey my wishes in the mat- 
 ter, and to go with you to Virginia if I bade her. I said 
 that in such a matter it was her will and not mine which 
 I wished to consult, and thus pressed into a corner, she 
 owned that she would gladly go with you." 
 
 "Harry," the girl said, "for my tongue is not as yet 
 used to your new title, under other circumstances I 
 should have needed to be wooed and won like other girls. 
 But seeing how strangely you are placed, and that you 
 were about to start across the sea, to be absent perhaps 
 for many years, I felt that it would not be worthy either 
 of me or you were I to affect a maiden coyness and so to 
 throw difficulties in your way. I feel the honor of the 
 offer you have made me. That you should for so many 
 years have been absent and seen the grand ladies of the 
 court, and have yet thought of your little playfellow, 
 shows that your heart is as true and good as I of old 
 thought it to be, and I need feel no shame in acknowl- 
 edging that I have ever thought of you with affection." 
 
 For the next few days there was much argument over 
 the project of going to Virginia. Herbert, when he 
 heard what had happened in London, joined his en- 
 treaties to those of Sir Henry, asserting that he had only 
 consented to Lucy's going to so outlandish a place in 
 the belief that there was no help for it, and that he did 
 not think it fr.ir for Harry to take her to such a life 
 when he could stay comfortably at home. Sir Henry 
 did not say much, but Harry could see how ardently he 
 longed for him to remain. As for Lucy, she stood 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 neutral, saying that assuredly she did not wish to go to 
 Virginia, but that, upon the other hand, she should feel 
 that her consent had been obtained under false pre- 
 tenses, and that she had been defrauded of the enjoy- 
 ment of a proper and regular courtship, did it prove 
 that Harry might have come home and sought her hand 
 in regular form. Harry's reluctance to remain arose 
 principally from the fact that he had gained permission 
 to do so by an act of personal service which he had done 
 the king's great enemy. Had he been included in a 
 general amnesty he would gladly have accepted it. 
 However, his resolution gave way under the arguments 
 of Herbert, who urged upon him that he had no right, 
 on a mere point of punctilio, to leave his father in his 
 old age, and to take Lucy from her country and friends 
 to a life of hardship in the plantations of Virginia. At 
 last he yielded. Then a difficulty arose with Lucy, who 
 would fain have returned to Abingdon with her brother, 
 and urged she should there have time given her to be 
 married in regular fashion. This Harry would by no 
 means consent to, and as both Sir Henry and Herbert 
 saw no occasion for the delay, they were married a fort- 
 night later at the Protestant church at Hamburg, Jacob, 
 who was by this time perfectly restored to health, acting 
 as his best man. 
 
 One of the first steps which Harry took after his re- 
 turn to Hamburg was to inquire about the gypsy maid 
 who had done him such service. She was still singing 
 at the drinking-house. Harry went down there in the 
 daytime and gave one of the drawers a crown to tell her 
 quietly that the Englishman she knew would fain see 
 her, and would wait for her at a spot he named on the 
 walk by the river bank, between ten and twelve the next 
 day. Here, accompanied by Lucy, who, having heard of 
 the service which the girl had rendered him, fully en- 
 
328 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 tered into his anxiety to befriend her, he awaited hei 
 the next day. She came punctual to the appointment, 
 but in great faar that the old gypsy would discover her 
 absence. Upon Harry telling her that Lucy, who was 
 about to become his wife, would willingly take her to 
 England and receive her as a companion until such time 
 as some opportunity for furthering her way in life might 
 appear, Zita accepted the proposal with tears of joy. 
 She abhorred the life she was forced to lead, and it was 
 only after many beatings and much ill-usage from the 
 gypsies that she consented to it, and it made her life the 
 harder, inasmuch as she knew that she had not been 
 born to such a fate, but had been stolen as a child. 
 
 "What could have been their motive in carrying you 
 away?" Lucy asked. 
 
 "I believe," the girl said, "from what they have told 
 me, that I was taken in revenge. My father had charged 
 one of the gypsies with theft, and the man having been 
 hung, the others, to avenge themselves, carried me off." 
 
 "But why did you not, when you grew old enough, 
 tell your story to the magistrates, and appeal to them 
 for assistance?" 
 
 "Alas!" the girl said, "what proofs have I for my tale? 
 Moreover, even were I believed, and taken from the 
 gypsies, what was there for me to do, save to beg in the 
 streets for charity?" 
 
 They now arranged with her the manner of her flight, 
 She was afraid to meet them again lest her footsteps 
 should be traced, for she was sure that the gypsies would 
 carry her away to some other town if they had the least 
 suspicion that she had made friends with any capable of 
 taking her part, as the whole party lived in idleness 
 upon the money she gained by singing. It was arranged, 
 therefore, that the night before they were to depart 
 Harry should appear in the singing hall, and should take 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 339 
 
 his place near the door. She should let him know that 
 sho perceived him by passing her hand twice across her 
 forehead. When the performance was over she should, 
 instead of leaving as usual by the back way, slip down 
 the steps, and mingle with those leaving the hall. Out- 
 side the door she would find Harry, who would take her 
 to the hotel, where dresses would be provided for her. 
 There she should stop the night, and go on board ship 
 with them in the morning. 
 
 These arrangements were all carried out, and four 
 days after the wedding of Harry and Lucy the party, 
 with Zita, sailed for England. Had the tenantry on the 
 Fnrness estate known of the home-coming of their young 
 master and his bride, they would have given him a grand 
 reception; but Harry and his father both agreed that 
 this had better not be, for that it was as well to call no 
 public attention to his return, even though he had re- 
 ceived Cromweirs permission. 
 
 After all his adventures, Sir Harry Furness dwelt 
 quietly and happily with his father. In the following 
 years the English fleet fought many hard battles with the 
 Dutch, and the Parliament, in order to obtain money, 
 confiscated the property of most of those Cavaliers who 
 had now returned under the Act of Amnesty. Steps 
 were taken against Sir Henry Furness, but as he had 
 taken no part in the troubles after the close of the first 
 civil war, Cromwell, on receiving an application from 
 him, peremptorily quashed the proceedings. 
 
 On April 20, 1653, Cromwell went down to the House 
 with a body of troops, and expelled the Parliament, 
 who were in the act of passing a bill for their own 
 dissolution, and a new representation. He thus proved 
 himself as tyrannous and despotic as any sovereign could 
 have been. A new Parliament was summoned, but in- 
 stead of its members being elected in accordance with 
 
330 FRIEND8, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 the customs of England, they were selected and nomi- 
 nated by Cromwell himself. The history of England 
 contains no instance of such a defiance of the constitu- 
 tional rights of the people. But although he had 
 grasped power arbitrarily and by force, Cromwell used 
 it well and wisely, and many wise laws and great social 
 reforms were passed by the Parliament under his orders. 
 Still the fanatical party were in the majority in this 
 body, and as Cromwell saw that these persons would 
 push matters further than he wished, he made an 
 arrangement with the minority, who resigned their seats, 
 thereby leaving an insufficient number in the House to 
 transact business. Cromwell accepted their resigna- 
 tion, and the Parliament then ceased to exist. 
 
 Four days later, on the 16th of December, Cromwell 
 assumed the state and title of Lord Protector of the 
 Commonwealth. For the next five years he governed 
 England wisely and well. The Parliament was assem- 
 bled, but as its proceedings were not in accordance with 
 his wishes, he dissolved it. and for the most part gov- 
 erned England by his own absolute will. That it was a 
 strong will and a wise cannot be questioned, but that a 
 rising, which originally began because the king would 
 not yield to the absolute will of Parliament, should have 
 ended in a despotism, in which the chief of the king's 
 opponents should have ruled altogether without Parlia- 
 ments, is strange indeed. It is singular to find that 
 those who make most talk about the liberties of English- 
 men should regard as their hero and champion the man 
 who trod all the constitutional rights of Englishmen 
 under foot. But if a despot, Cromwell was a wise and 
 firm one, and his rule was greatly for the good of the 
 country. Above all, he brought the name of England 
 into the highest honor abroad, and made it respected 
 throughout Europe. Would that among all Englishmen 
 
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED 331 
 
 of the present day there existed the same feeling of 
 patriotism, the same desire for the honor and credit of 
 their couuiry, as dwelt in the breast of Oliver Cromwell. 
 
 On Auguii. 30, 1658, Cromwell died, and his son 
 Richard succeeded him. The Parliament and the army 
 soon fell out, and the army, coming down in force, 
 dissolved Parliament, and Richard Cromwell ceased at 
 once to have any power. The army called together 
 forty-two of the old members of the Long Parliament, 
 of extreme republican views, but these had no sooner met 
 than they broke into divisions, and England was wholly 
 without a government. So matters went on for some 
 time, until General Monk, with the army of the north, 
 <]ame up to London. He had for weeks been in com- 
 munication with the king. For a time he was uncertain 
 of the course he should take, but after awhile he found 
 that the feeling of London was wholly averse to the Par- 
 liament, and so resolved to take the lead in a restoration. 
 A Parliament was summoned, and upon the day after its 
 assembling Monk presented to them a document from 
 King Charles, promising to observe the constitution, 
 granting full liberty of conscience, and an amnesty for 
 past offenses. Parliament at once declared in favor of 
 the ancient laws of the kingdom, the government to be 
 by King, Lords and Commons; and on May 8, 1660, 
 Charles II. was proclaimed king, and on the 30th entered 
 London in triumph. 
 
 Sir Harry Furness sat in the Parliament which recalled 
 the king, and in many subsequent ones. His father 
 came to London to see the royal entry, and both were 
 most kindly received by the king, who expressed a warm 
 hope that he should often see them at court. This, 
 however, was not to be. The court of King Charles 
 offered no attractions to pure-minded and honorable 
 men. Sir Henry came no more to London, but lived 
 
332 FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED. 
 
 quietly and happily to the end of a long life at Furness 
 Hall, rejoicing much over the happiness of his son, and 
 in the society of his daughter-in-law and her children. 
 Herbert Rippinghall sat in Parliament for Abingdon. 
 Except when obliged by his duties as a member to be in 
 London, Sir Harry Furness lived quietly at Furness 
 Hall, taking much interest in country matters. Twenty- 
 eight years later James II. fled from England, and Will- 
 iam of Orange mounted the throne. At this time Sir 
 Harry Furness was sixty-one, and he lived many years 
 to see the freedom and rights for which Englishmen had 
 so hotly struggled and fought now enjoyed by them in 
 all their fullness. 
 
 A few words as to the other personages of this story. 
 Jacob, three years after Harry's return to England, 
 married the Spanish girl Zita, and settled down in a 
 pretty house called the Dower House, on the Furness 
 property, which, together with a large farm attached to 
 it, Sir Henry Furness settled upon him, as a token of 
 his affection and gratitude to him for the faithful serv- 
 ices he had rendered to his son. 
 
 William Long was made bailiff of the estate, and Mike 
 remained the attached and faithful body-servant of Sir 
 Harry, until he, ten years later, married the daughter 
 and heiress of a tradesman in Abingdon, and became a 
 leading citizen of that town. 
 
 Although Harry was not of a revengeful disposition, 
 he rejoiced exceedingly when he heard, two or three 
 months after the king's restoration, of the execution of 
 that doubly-dyed traitor, the Earl of Argyll. 
 
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