MOLBECK 
 
 HE
 
 ui studct optatam cursu coniingere metam, 
 ulta tulit fecitque puer, sudavit et alsit.

 
 WIUTE TO MV MUTflF.K.
 
 I, 
 BENJAMIN HOLBECK; 
 
 OB, 
 
 HOW I FARED AT THE SIEGE 
 OF PLYMOUTH. 
 
 & &torg of tf)e ODtbtl Mar. 
 
 BY 
 
 MISS M. A. PAULL. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION, 
 56, OLD BAILEY, E.G.
 
 INTBOLUCTOBY NOTE. 
 
 I DESIRE to express my indebtedness to the authors of many 
 works, consulted in connection with this tale, from whom, in 
 several instances, I have quoted, and more especially to Mr. 
 Worth, author of "The History of Plymouth," and "The Siege 
 of Plymouth7""a chapter of Plymouth history re-written; whence 
 I have gathered the most prominent facts. 
 
 The works consulted have been Carlyle's " Life and Letters 
 of Cromwell," Warburton's "Prince Eupert," Miss Strickland's 
 "Lives of the Stuart Princesses," Hallam's "Constitutional 
 History," Vanghan's "Protectorate of Cromwell," Gardiner's 
 "England under the Duke of Buckingham and Charles I.," 
 Milton's prose works, "Fairfax Letters," "Correspondence 
 of Queen Henrietta Maria," '"King Charles in' the Isle of 
 Wight," etc., etc. 
 
 M. A. PAULL. 
 
 7 
 
 2049852
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. THE OLD HOME 1 
 
 II. MY SURROUNDINGS ... ... ... ... 7 
 
 III. DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE ... ... ... ... 13 
 
 IV. NEW FRIENDS ... ... ... ... 25 
 
 V. WELCOME LETTERS ... ... ... ... 32 
 
 VI. THE OTHER SIDE 38 
 
 VII. "FALLEN IN THE FIGHT" ... ... ... 44 
 
 VIII. PILCHARDS 59 
 
 IX. THE Two MISERS ... ... ... ... 66 
 
 X. A STRANGE INTERVIEW ... ... ... 75 
 
 XI. "CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR" ... ... 84 
 
 XII. NEWS FROM HOME ... 95 
 
 XIII. A MONTH OF BLOCKADE ... ... ... ... 107 
 
 XIV. A DILEMMA 119 
 
 XV. PROMOTION 125 
 
 XVI. TONKIN'S IRONSIDES 134 
 
 XVII. MARCHING ORDEKS ... ... ... ... 140 
 
 XVIII. MARSTON MOOR 148
 
 CONTENTS. Yll 
 
 CHAPTER PAQK 
 
 XIX. A VIEW OF THS KING ... ... ... ... 153 
 
 XX. THE DOCKING-STOOL ... ... ... ... 176 
 
 XXI. MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE ... ... ... 186 
 
 XXII. MR. WOOLLCOMBE'S OBJECTION ... ... 201 
 
 XXIII. NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF NASEBY ... ... 207 
 
 XXIV. " TURRIS FORTIGSIMA EST NOMEN JEUOVA " ... 222 
 XXV. "RAISED" 230 
 
 XXVI. UNDER THE PROTECTORATE ... ... ... 237
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 1 WRITE TO MY MOTHER ... ... ... Frontinpifce 
 
 DlCK ATTENDED HER TO THE DOOR ... ... ... 11 
 
 I THOniJHT I SAW AN OBJECT FLIT ACROSS THE UPSTAIRS WlNDOW 26 
 
 THE RETREAT OVER THE LAIRA ... ... ... ... 52 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH THE MISERS ... ... ... ... 81 
 
 LUCY AND I WALKED TOGETHER ... ... ... ... 97 
 
 I ASKED TO SEE HER MISTRESS .. ... ... ... 112 
 
 OCB COLONEL HAD ME BEFORE HIM ... ... ... 133 
 
 FINDING MY FATHER ON MARSTON MOOB ... ... ... 151 
 
 I WAS WRITING WHEN THE ORDERLY CAME IN ... ... 158 
 
 I SAT INTENTLY WATCHING THEM FROM MY LlTTLE WlNDOW ... 166 
 
 PRINCE RUPERT AND THE COUNTRYMAN ... ... ... 172 
 
 THE DUCKING-STOOL ... ... ... ... ... 185 
 
 THE BATTLE OF NASEBY ... ... ... ... ... 214 
 
 I BADE FAREWELL TO 3Ili. WoOLLCOMBE AND LUCY .., . 235
 
 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE OLD HOME. 
 
 t Y mother made me promise her that I would 
 write, though I had not then any know- 
 ledge, and have almost as little now, how 
 I should convey what I wrote to her. But 
 I conceive it is not the part of a son who 
 loves his mother, or even a possibility for 
 him to refuse her such a request as that, 
 when he is leaving her for the first time in his life, and 
 on an expedition fraught with very much of danger. On 
 the contrary, a good son, at least in my country, obeys 
 his mother, whenever her demands are reasonable. 
 
 Nothing was further from my expectations a few short 
 months ago, than that I should take a share in this 
 struggle now going forward, as my father expresses it, 
 between the King and his people, for their lawful rights. 
 It seemed to me enough for one family, and that not the 
 largest in Yorkshire, to have the head of it engaged to 
 maintain freedom, and it was with some surprise that I 
 received my father's commands to prepare to join him.
 
 2 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 Mother by no means held me back, and I, who loved 
 adventure, should have had no anxieties whatever, save 
 for the business of the farm, which at that moment was 
 pressing, for the lambs were still young and tender and 
 needing care, and there were several calves and colts to be 
 minded, and I mistrusted the wisdom and the judgment of 
 Jonathan Thorp, whom father trusted boundlessly. And 
 when I told him my fears, I received less thanks than 
 would have been welcome. 
 
 " Thy mother is not a fool, Benjamin," he said, " and 
 if Jonathan Thorp is occasionally somewhat idle, or even 
 a trifle too much given to liquor, her eyes are no less sharp 
 than thine and her authority will be greater. Besides, she 
 cannot go with me to the conflict, and thou canst ; there- 
 fore, without more ado, get thyself ready. If I had seven 
 sons instead of only one, they should be all equally in 
 God's hands this day, to let righteousness conquer, and 
 tyranny and oppression be overcome." 
 
 At every fresh act of the king that my father perceived 
 encroached upon the liberties of us subjects, he waxed 
 very warm and wroth indeed, being sometimes scarcely 
 able to keep himself within the bounds of moderation in 
 his rage. I think I see him now, on the receipt of such 
 news, walking up and down quite fast and furious, stamp- 
 ing his foot into the ground, as if he could thereby stamp 
 out the wrong, and quite unmindful that he only spoiled 
 the innocent daisies and buttercups, that could do no harm 
 to anybody. 
 
 Until I came to this southern land, I believed there was 
 no- such meadow as the Lower Flat at Briar Grange for 
 beauty and for flowers in all England. Lettice thinks so 
 yet, I make no doubt. Her pretty brown eyes would fill 
 to see father's heels crushing the gold and white of the 
 flowers, and when he knew this, he was almost as sorry 
 as herself, for his heart was tender enough when once 
 reached. Lettice had always great power with father to
 
 THE OLD HOME. 9 
 
 make his wishes answerable to hers ; she is very winning 
 and graceful, and as light and agile as a fawn, of which 
 she constantly reminds me in her movements, and in 
 the deep colour of her eyes, and the gentleness of her 
 countenance. 
 
 Lettice is the only one of us that has any beauty to 
 boast of, mother says ; while father repeats as often as he 
 hears this, that beauty is not to be boasted of a mere gift 
 of the Almighty, given and removed at pleasure, in which 
 it were a sin to delight one's self. But for me, I prefer 
 beauty to ugliness, any day, and Lettice is admired by 
 every one about us. 
 
 I don't believe I ever in my life thought so much about 
 home as I have done since I left it. I am never patrolling 
 at night, without having every field, and every tree almost, 
 as plainly before me as if I were in Yorkshire instead of 
 Devonshire. I can almost see my sisters, Patience and 
 Miriam and Lettice, and hear my mother's voice, all busy 
 together in the house and the dairy in the early morning ; 
 and I know how the cows, with " Order " and " Diligence," 
 and pretty little " Spotty " at their head, will troop in as 
 gravely and solemnly to be milked, as if they were soldiers 
 under review. 
 
 I notice that the women here are not equal for stature 
 or commanding looks to our Yorkshire women. Only at 
 one neighbouring place, Saltash, there exists a race of 
 Amazons almost, who constantly dispute the power of the 
 men to manage the boats ; and in such aquatic sports and 
 prowess as I never saw anything to equal before. The sea 
 itself is a great novelty to me, and from the fortress we 
 have excellent and wide-spreading views, of which I never 
 tire. The softer, balmier air of this southern land would 
 quite oppress me, were it not for the sea breezes. 
 
 My father reminded me, when we parted, that here at 
 Plymouth, I should be in the very town of the great Sir 
 Francis Drake, and that I should see the places he made
 
 4 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 famous when he sailed out to conquer tbe Armada, and to 
 quell the Popish power of Philip. And Popery, my father 
 says, is all ready to lift up her head again in England, for 
 that the Queen is favourable thereto, and has no good love 
 to her English subjects, unless she could make them 
 Papists like herself. 
 
 As soon as Plymouth declared itself for the Parliament, 
 a detachment was sent here to strengthen the hands of 
 the townsmen, and I was numbered amongst these, thus 
 separating me from my father, and rendering it much 
 more difficult, being now some hundreds of miles from my 
 home, to have any communication with those who remain 
 in it. My father is more learned in the wisdom of the 
 schools than most yeomen ; he even had, through circum- 
 stances I do not precisely remember, some brief term at 
 College in Cambridge, where he formed the acquaintance 
 of a man now become a noted man of the time, even Oliver 
 Cromwell, to whom my father pays the deepest respect, 
 regarding him as a man of ripe judgment, of prompt 
 action, and likewise of some scholarly attainment. 
 
 Many who are of my father's ways of thinking in 
 religious matters, are inclined to estimate but little such 
 head learning, as tending to pride of heart, but my father, 
 so far from this, insisted beyond what I desired, that I 
 should learn, and himself instructed me, often when I was 
 far readier for bed than for study. But the fear of a rod 
 is a wonderful awakener for a boy's eyes. I am not sorry 
 now that I can read, write, and make shift to reckon up a 
 lengthy bill, or to sketch a plan for earthworks and forti- 
 fications. Already I observe that this inclines the minds 
 of those in authority to treat me with more attention, and 
 I was gratified to hear Captain Corbet call me to-day 
 ' that well-instructed young Yorkshir email," when he 
 looked at the chart he had desired me to prepare of 
 Maudlyn Fort. 
 
 But I foresee in this place difficulties for which my old
 
 THE OLD HOME. 5 
 
 life has but very ill prepared me, viz. a dearth for pro- 
 visions. Now I never remember the time when I had to 
 give thought as to what I should eat or drink ; and to 
 every meal my good mother provided, I have ever brought 
 an excellent appetite. The breakfast was ready at six, 
 the dinner at eleven, and the supper again at six, as 
 regularly as if the hours themselves were laden with the 
 proper meals to be eaten. 
 
 We are not yet face to face with hunger, nor shall we 
 be for many days, perhaps even months to come, for as 
 yet the siege is rather talked of than actually begun, and 
 we are expecting some strong reinforcements presently 
 from Portsmouth way. Since I left my father, I have 
 had no home news whatever, either through him or 
 directly to myself; so that I am at a great loss as to 
 where he is or how they fare at home, deprived of their 
 natural protectors ; and with only Jonathan Thorp to 
 depend upon, who is, in my estimation, about as likely to 
 be useful in the way of support as a broken reed. 
 
 There is no fear that Briar Grange will be molested, 
 save that when troops come into the vicinity no place is 
 safe. But the king's court, such as it is, is held at York, 
 and Hull is more in danger than we ; indeed, the countiy 
 places, my father says, are often the safest in war time. 
 It is a matter of chance, as I should say of Providence, 
 as my father would call it that he and I are in this land 
 to take part in this struggle. The name of this town of 
 Plymouth in which I am now located to help to strengthen 
 the garrison, as much as one man may, is perfectly 
 familiar to me. 
 
 It was a near point that I did not visit it long since in 
 my babyhood, for my father was only as by a hair's 
 breadth prevented from joining the voyagers in the 
 Mayflotcer and sailing away to the new world of America, 
 and the rising colony of New England therein. But 
 owing to some miscalculation as to the time when the
 
 6 I, BEXJAMIX HOLBECK. 
 
 ship would sail lie missed his passage, and almost im- 
 mediately thereafter his father died, and he succeeded to 
 Briar Grange, and had the care of my grandmother on 
 his hands as well as one of the best and most productive 
 farms in Yorkshire, though not, I will admit, one of the 
 largest. 
 
 Grandmother still lives with us, and I can hardly con- 
 ceive of a greater calamity to the family than her death, 
 though she is a feeble old woman, and sometimes in the 
 winter season confined to her bed for weeks together. 
 We who know her find it easy to believe that there are 
 saints : her face shines with goodness, and neither the 
 girls, my sisters, nor I could entertain any ill-humour in 
 her presence. 
 
 When the milk turns sour, or the mildew gets into the 
 corn, or when Joan, our maid, breaks a dish, mother goes 
 for comfort to grandmother, and never comes empty away. 
 From Patience, downwards, we children have always 
 earned our sorrows to her, and if there was anything to 
 be thought of to lessen them it would never escape her. 
 It was as bad to part from her as from mother, and there 
 was less hope in it, yet she cheered me in the midst of the 
 parting more than anybody else had done. 

 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 MY SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 F ever these records get to Briar Grange, one of 
 the first things my mother and sisters, and 
 even my dear grandmother, will want to know 
 will be what sort of a place I am in. 
 
 The garrison is quartered in the various 
 forts and the castle, though some few have 
 private lodging. From my chamber in the 
 fortress I have an excellent prospect of the sea, reaching 
 to Mount Edgecumbe, with a nearer view close opposite 
 of Fort Stamford and Sutton Pool. As to the town of 
 Plymouth, it is a pretty convenient place, walled round, 
 except where the water is a defence, and containing 
 many good streets. It has a large and capacious church, 
 dedicated to St. Andrew, which on the principle of seeing 
 what is to be seen, I have entered at several different 
 times, and always found it well attended by a goodly 
 company of people. Indeed, so crowded has it become of 
 late years, that my comrade, Ensign Tonkin, tells me it 
 was a matter of necessity that the new church, in course 
 of erection, which is called after King Charles, should be 
 built. 
 
 The people of Plymouth are mostly as thorough fol^ 
 lowers of the Parliament in their opinions as even my 
 father. They have busied themselves fortifying the place
 
 8 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 in its interests, ever since the King called away from the 
 governorship of the place Sir Jacob Astley, to be his 
 Major-General of Foot. The Parliament appointed the 
 Earl of Ruthven as Governor, and Sir Nicholas Carew to 
 be over the fort in which I dwell and St. Nicholas Island ; 
 which lies close outside in the open sea, as it were between 
 Plymouth and Mount Edgecumbe. 
 
 Already, at the end of last year Sir Ralph Hopton 
 appeared with a Royalist army "before the town, but was 
 driven off from it by Earl Stamford ; since which time 
 much has been done to improve the defences and 
 strengthen the garrison, by adding to the valour of the 
 men of Plymouth a little of that indigenous of other 
 counties, and amongst the rest that far-off county of York- 
 shire, of which I am proud to be called a native. 
 
 Now, having been here for two whole months, I am 
 well accustomed to the place, and find no difficulty in 
 tracing my way to any part of the town or its surround- 
 ings. We have several well-placed forts in close vicinity 
 to the town to ward off attack, forming a chain from 
 Lipson Fort on the east to Pennycomequick, and new 
 works on the west, besides works at Laira Point, Prince 
 Rock, and Catdown, and on the opposite heights at Mount 
 Stamford. My friend and comrade Ensign Tonkin, him- 
 self a native of Plymouth, has narrated to me what 
 happened in December of last year. The garrison, him- 
 self being one of the number, under the command of 
 General Ruthven, "stood upon the Laira for the space of 
 three hours facing the enemy." 
 
 The Cavaliers showed cowardice: they refused fair 
 fight, though they were 2500 horse and foot, and only 
 tried, but in vain, to draw the Parliamentarians into their 
 ambuscades. Not knowing anything better to do, the 
 Cavalier General Hopton drew back to a little town called 
 Modbury, and received reinforcements, and thought him- 
 self secure. But a few days after, our brave Ruthven
 
 MY SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 took a wholly unexpected route over Roborougli Down to 
 that place with four troops of horse and one hundred 
 dragoons, starting from Plymouth at three o'clock in the 
 cold and dark, and wholly routed them ; and so brought 
 quietness and peace for Plymouth for many days to come. 
 --.- 
 
 Since I wrote the above the scarcity which we even 
 then feared has been somewhat felt. A Cavalier colonel, 
 Digby by name, has kept such a diligent survey of the 
 district that for weeks he has prevented the entrance of 
 all supplies to the town. This might be put a stop to, 
 surely, by some vigorous measures on our side meeting 
 his. If I were general 
 
 No sooner had I written these words than Ensign Ton- 
 kin looked over my shoulder and laughed heartily, " If I 
 were general," he repeated mockingly, "what then, Ben 
 Holbeck ? " I coloured, for though he is my dear friend, 
 and his mirth can never be deemed offensive, yet few 
 people like to be laughed at. 
 
 I did not answer him for a minute, while I reasoned 
 with myself that men should not take offence readily ; 
 and, before I spoke, Dick said, "You don't admire my 
 manners, Ben, to read your writing without leave, and 
 then laugh at what you have written ; but do tell me what 
 you would do if you were general. Our appetites are 
 already sharp, and are like to be sharper if we cannot 
 soon satisfy them; so, if you have anything to suggest 
 which a fellow short of a general may do, be good enough 
 to let me know." 
 
 I laughed with Dick as I answered him that it would 
 require authority to carry out my plans, far beyond what 
 ensigns possess, so that I could not aid him. 
 
 " Then I will aid you," he said good-temperedly. " My 
 mother has plenty of provisions of some sort, if she does 
 lack fresh butter and meat and eggs, owing to the sharp 
 look-out of Digby and his Cavaliers ; so come with me to
 
 10 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 her house, and you shall be sure of a supper at least, and 
 our messmates won't grumble that we two are absent." 
 
 It was not the first time that Dick Tonkin had shown 
 himself thus friendly towards me, and I was well known 
 to the members of his family, a lively household of fine 
 young men and pretty lasses, whom it was agreeable to 
 look at and converse with. Mr. Tonkin, their father, was 
 a somewhat stern, sedate man of business, burdened with 
 the present aspect of affairs. He was a ship-chandler, 
 and saw serious interruption to his business if the war- 
 continued long. He was inclined to think that Dick and 
 his other sons took matters too lightly, and did not 
 trouble themselves enough to comprehend the religious 
 aspect of the country's struggles. Mrs. Tonkins ! No 
 words of mine can do justice to her : the rooms seemed 
 brighter for her presence ; she came and went like sun- 
 shine; even when she left you, you felt warmed and 
 cheered because she had been with you. I thought of 
 grandmother whenever we met, and she treated me just 
 as frankly and kindly as my mother could have done. 
 
 "We walked down from the Castle to Southside Street, 
 where, in one of the many handsome houses built in the 
 Elizabethan style, with projecting gabled upper stories 
 and black beams, my friends dwelt. Mrs. Tonkin, as 
 her son has taken pains to inform me, belonged to a 
 family of much account in Cornwall, the Robartses, and 
 has property in her own right, and this dwelling-house is 
 her own. 
 
 "When we entered the capacious dwelling-room of the 
 family there was no one in it save Mrs. Tonkin, and 
 beside her a young lady whom I had never seen before. 
 
 I had but time to notice her fair countenance and what 
 a graceful and even timid manner she had, before she 
 rose to take leave, and as her hostess did not attempt to 
 detain her, my wishes that she might stay were of course 
 very useless. I thought Mrs. Tonkin acted strangely
 
 MY SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 11 
 
 unlike her usual cordial manner, that she did not even 
 introduce her to her son and myself, and though Dick 
 attended her to the door of the house, I could hear no 
 word exchanged between them, and there had been no 
 
 DICK ATTENDED HER TO THE DOCK. 
 
 involuntary sign of pleasure on his face when he saw her, 
 but rather a look of surprise and some annoyance. 
 
 "Isn't it a mistake, dear mother, to encourage her 
 coming ? " he asked, as he re-entered the room. " My 
 father would not welcome the child of Robert Wooll- 
 combe." 
 
 " Your father, Dick, knows well that I never refuse the 
 company of the troubled or the sorrowful." 
 
 "What is the matter with pretty little Miss "Wooll- 
 combe ? " asked Dick, half tenderly, half doubtfully. 
 
 "Her father is sick, and she is in doubt what to do 
 best for his comfort, whether to stay in Plymouth or
 
 12 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 leave the town, and share the possible perils of those who 
 escape from it." 
 
 " Surely," I said impulsively, when I had better not 
 have spoken, "every good Parliamentarian has a better 
 chance of safety within the walls than outside of them. 
 A sick man and a pretty woman shall be defended to the 
 last drop of my blood." 
 
 Dick looked at me, a little surprised, I thought, at the 
 sudden heat with which I had spoken ; and Mrs. Tonkin 
 said kindly and gently, "Lucy Woollcombe and her 
 father would not wish to thank a Parliamentarian officer 
 for their safety, Benjamin." 
 
 " They are Royalists, Ben," added Dick ; "and I don't 
 wonder you are surprised at my mother, of such orthodox 
 views, sheltering a malignant, even a pretty one." 
 
 " I should be surprised if she could do other than help 
 any one in trouble," I said, looking at Mrs. Tonkin's 
 gentle face. She smiled pleasantly at me, and we ceased 
 to talk of the Woollcombes. 
 
 The conversation then turned on home matters, and, in 
 relating the various incidents which had happened pre- 
 vious to my departure for Plymouth, I forgot for a 
 while the young visitor who had so excited my interest. 
 Soon the other members of the family returned from 
 their walks or their occupations, and we supped cheerfully 
 together.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE. 
 
 " Fortune has hours of loss and hours of honour, 
 And the most valiant feel them both. Take comfort ; 
 The next is ours, I have a soul descries it. 
 The angry bull never goes back for breath 
 But when he means to arm his fury double." 
 
 BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. 
 
 READ these lines one morning that looks to 
 me long ago, so much has happened since 
 out of a little book my sisters joined together 
 to give me on my birthday. My mother 
 laughed at their choosing such a book for me, 
 but Lettice justified their choice by saying she 
 knew I liked " words in measure," and so I do. 
 I am not " poetic," as people call it, far from it, nor do 
 I want to be, but words iu measure march through one's 
 brain with music, and the memory lingers longer upon 
 them for the sweetness of the rhythm. 
 
 Great things have happened here, and things to be 
 sorry for. Sir Alexander Carew, who had the command 
 of our fort and the island of St. Nicholas, has been sus- 
 pected, only too justly, of tampering with the enemy, and 
 we of the garrison narrowly escaped suspicion and censure 
 suspicion wholly unwarranted, not a man of us having 
 imagined our commander was other than a true man.
 
 14 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 He was summoned to London, and there a dreadful, 
 though not undeserved, doom awaited him, he being im- 
 prisoned and condemned to be beheaded as a traitor on 
 Tower Hill. The next thing of moment that happened 
 was the arrival of our expected reinforcements from Ports- 
 mouth, consisting at the outset of six hundred men, under 
 Colonels Wardlaw and Gould. These officers landed at 
 Torbay, but strengthened Dartmouth with a hundred of 
 their soldiers, coming on to Plymouth with the rest a 
 timely increase to our numbers here, for there are many 
 points to defend, and we are none too many in strength, 
 considering the town gates, besides the outside forti- 
 fications. 
 
 The enemy surrounds us now on every hand, and food 
 gets scarcer every day. I am better off than many, because 
 of the kindness of the Tonkins ; but I can't eat what 
 they send or bring me so generously, when I see men 
 almost faint around me for lack of nourishment. The poor 
 fellows are wonderfully grateful when I divide a cake of 
 bread, or a salted fish, or a plum pudding, be it ever so 
 plain, amongst them. I should not be sorry if I had a full 
 basin of my mother's excellent porridge, at which I have 
 often turned up my impertinent nose, when I desired eggs 
 or rashers instead. But porridge is an excellent meat for 
 silencing a craving stomach. 
 
 Our reinforcements arrived on the 30th of September. 
 On the 8th of this month (October) it was decided to 
 make a surprise, and three hundred of us, amongst whom 
 I was one, were put across in boats at night to the opposite 
 shore to Mount Stamford, one of our forts, which we were 
 well persuaded would be first attempted by the malignants. 
 Dick Tonkin sat beside me in the boat ; he was bright 
 and playful, as always, but I think his heart was aching 
 for his mother's trouble. My mother was too far away to 
 know that her lad was running any risk. 
 
 At daybreak we were ordered to march to the Hoe, less
 
 DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE. 15 
 
 than a mile away and close tinder the forts, to surprise 
 the enemy's guard there. The beauty of the country 
 tinder the dawning light was in dreadful contrast to the 
 sounds that were so soon, awakened. The sentries chal- 
 lenged as we approached, and, perceiving we were enemies, 
 gave at once the signal for attack. Our blood being up, 
 all compunction quickly vanished, and we made a fierce 
 fight of it, and though only two of our men were killed, 
 we managed to take a captain of theirs, whose name I 
 afterwards learned was Slawly, and an ensign called Gren- 
 ville, and fifty-two of their common soldiers, besides two 
 of their colours and three barrels of powder ; whereupon, 
 though they were stronger in numbers than we, but not 
 in the goodness of their cause, they fled, and we came off 
 to our fort in the boats with prisoners and booty. 
 
 We were joyously received by the good townsfolk of 
 Plymouth, some of whom were rather cast down con- 
 cerning the siege, the provisions now being low; and 
 there is nothing, as even I in my short experience have 
 discovered, to make a man's heart more dejected than an 
 empty larder. But disaffection had so much crept into 
 the town, that Colonel Wardlaw, who was now first in 
 command, thought it best to act with firmness and 
 promptness, in which all said he but imitated that great 
 man and friend of my father, Oliver Cromwell. And it 
 can be no kindness, I do heartily believe, to play shilly- 
 shally with traitors, inviting others thereby to turn traitor. 
 
 Three malignants of the town were sent up to the 
 Parliament, and several more were carefully watched and 
 guarded and cut off from their fellows, like men with a 
 pestilent disorder, whom it is dangerous to mingle with, 
 for fear of contamination. A man, a sergeant, amongst 
 our reinforcements, after this skirmish at the Hoe, was 
 pleased to notice me for my " forward bravery," as he 
 called it, I having succeeded in capturing the ensign and 
 their colours, wherein I had some difficulty, lest when
 
 16 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 I looked after my man the colours should be again re- 
 covered from my grasp by a malignant, or when I looked 
 well after the colours I should lose my man. 
 
 Upon hearing my name, Benjamin Holbeck, he seized 
 my hand cordially, and exclaimed, "Art thou a son, brave 
 lad, of that trusty Ironside, Benjamin Holbeck, out of 
 Yorkshire?" "Indeed I am," I replied, and his words 
 set my heart a-glow and made my face tingle with honest 
 pride ; and my mother, if she reads this, may know well I 
 had a score of questions to ask the man, and I learned 
 much of the doings of the eastem association, into which 
 the armies formed in the eastern counties of England had 
 banded themselves. The motto of the Ironsides, says this 
 old sergeant, is to have the fear of God, and know no 
 other fear ; and my father is one. Brave resolve ! He 
 spoke to me on adopting it as my motto, and advised me 
 serious] v. But I will not say I believe what I don't be- 
 lieve, to please any man. He smiled when I said this, and 
 told me the Lord could break down all stubborn pride of 
 man's natural carnal heart, and that he was glad I was at 
 least fighting on the Lord's side, and brave at that. 
 
 Amongst other questions I put to him was this, whether 
 there had been news out of Yorkshire of late for my father, 
 and this he could not tell ; he could only report that niy 
 father wore a cheerful countenance, and looked hale and 
 hearty, and was, in the sergeant's estimate, a very hand- 
 some man tall erect, and every inch a soldier, while his 
 prayers were, he said, as good as his looks, and full of 
 power and unction. 
 
 Since this conversation, Sergeant Gumey has himself 
 taken quite a fatherly oversight of me, yet without any 
 offensive freedom. I can but feel the good fellow a link 
 between my father and myself. 
 
 "My ensign," as I and others call him, because I 
 captured him, is a pretty, delicate youth, in whom I take 
 a great interest ; he is very proud that he is connected
 
 DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE. 17 
 
 with a great family of these parts ; and would sooner lose 
 his head, he says, than disgrace his name. 
 
 Our next adventure from this garrison was by no means 
 successful, but as I was not in it, I cannot describe so 
 well what happened. The enemy had been victorious at 
 Dartmouth, and taken that town, and Prince Maurice, 
 nephew of the king, was advancing upon us. So a sally 
 was made, while there was time, to Knacker's Knowle, and 
 at first success attended the party, for, advancing upon 
 the enemy's guard there, they took more than twenty 
 prisoners ; but then our horse, who pursued the rest of the 
 guard that fled away, went too far, even on to the edge of 
 Roborough Down, where they were surrounded by the 
 enemy from their quarters on Roborough, who took 
 Lieutenant Chasing and fourteen men. Our major, 
 Searle by name, dashed through the enemy, and escaped 
 to this town ; but the rest were made prisoners. Now the 
 enemy closely surrounded us, and things looked black 
 enough, especially because the other places in the west 
 had mostly surrendered to the malignants, and because 
 the hearts of many in this town failed through fear. 
 
 I saw less than I had done of the family of my friend 
 Dick Tonkin, for we were more intent upon our work, 
 and, as it were, in closer discipline, ever on the alert, and 
 girded up in constant preparation for whatever the next 
 movement might be. Mr. Tonkin, I gathered from Dick 
 and this less by direct speech than by hints he gave 
 me was tired of the siege, and fearful that, if it con- 
 tinued much longer, business would be ended and his 
 fortune exhausted. Mrs. Tonkin, on the contrary, was 
 brave and bold, only troubled in her mother's heart about 
 the ill-luck that might befall her son. She would not say 
 ill-luck; she would call it "a permitted dispensation of 
 Providence." I wonder whether she is happier for this 
 belief in a constant and over-ruling of God in all our 
 human affairs ?
 
 18 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 The head-quarters of Prince Maurice are at Widey 
 Court, on the north side of this town, and the troops of 
 the king narrowly surround us, they having erected works 
 over against our forts. Their next action was of the 
 utmost importance to the town ; for they had designs, as 
 we too plainly perceived, on Stamford Fort, a fort which, 
 inasmuch as it stood on a height and commanded Sutton 
 Pool and the shipping, and even the town, we were as 
 anxious to keep. 
 
 In the night of October 21st, the malignants raised a 
 square work within pistol-shot of this fort, and from 
 thence drew a line with half-moons to surround it, thus 
 to hinder our reliefs from coming into it. Our men had 
 a hard day's fighting with their cavalry to destroy the 
 works, but we fought bravely, and fepttlsed them after 
 three hours' conflict, getting first their half-moons and 
 then their close works, and taking their captain, a gentle- 
 man called White, and fifty more prisoners. A guard was 
 put there by us, consisting of thirty musqueteers and an 
 ensign. But the next day we had the work to do over 
 again, and, though it is never an agreeable task to record 
 the treacherous nature of our comrades, it must be con- 
 fessed it was owing to the cowardice, or worse, of the 
 commanding ensign, who will pay dearly for it with his 
 life, he being adjudged guilty by the military authorities. 
 The next day, I, having come over with some additional 
 troops, Sergeant Gurney among them, was amongst those 
 who made a second assault on their works, but our victory 
 over them was attained with the loss of so fine a soldier 
 that it seemed to me more like a defeat. 
 
 Our Captain Corbett, the most popular captain amongst 
 us, was cheering us on in the midst of our stiffest task, 
 and we were obeying him whom we loved, gladly and 
 cheerfully, when he fell, shot in the forehead, and had it 
 not been that we silently vowed to revenge his death, the 
 heart to fight would have been utterly gone from us,
 
 DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE. 19 
 
 through our grief. Three more of our captaius were 
 wounded, in these two days of hard fighting, and twenty 
 of our men killed, while more than a hundred were 
 wounded, so that it was a greater slaughter and damage 
 than I had yet seen, and my heart ached at the groans 
 and shrieks and sobs of some of those suffering comrades^ 
 as well as of the dying men amongst the ranks of the 
 enemy. 
 
 We find from our prisoners that six of their com- 
 manders, high in position, were killed. But our work at 
 Fort Stamford was by no means at an end ; indeed, we 
 have had a stiff job for three weeks in all before this 
 matter was settled. After we had gained the enemy's 
 work this second time, we slighted it, but to prevent the 
 like approaches in future, because Mount Stamford was 
 small and difficult to be held, we drew a line of communi- 
 cation east and west of it with half-moons at either end, 
 which we defended stiffly for some days a hard task for 
 our men ; and we had many skirmishes with the malig- 
 nants. 
 
 Sergeant Gurney distinguished himself ever by a silent, 
 direct, quiet heroism, that I hope it much profited me to 
 observe, and I could but reflect that if all the Ironsides 
 watched and fought like this one of their number, the 
 Parliament had in them a force of no common order. He 
 looked as if his motto were ever in his heart, nerving his 
 arm " to fear God, and know no other fear." 
 
 A breach was made at last by the enemy, for on the 3rd 
 of November they planted their batteries within pistol- 
 shot of our forts, and on the 5th they battered our works 
 with two hundred demi-cannon, and whole culverin shot, 
 besides other smaller cannon that flanked our line and 
 played upon us continually from Oreston Hill. In this 
 breach, Lieutenant Carew, a fine, healthy young fellow, 
 was slain, a,nd some gunners. By working all night we 
 repaired this breach, thickened our ramparts as well as
 
 20 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 we could, and strengthened the weakest part with wool- 
 sacks. Dick Tonkin and I were together in this business, 
 but the loss of the lieutenant made us solemn over it ; it 
 was a dark night, and the wind sighed mournfully from 
 over the sea, bringing with it a hint of fog and moisture, 
 that made the air chilly and oppressive to the senses. 
 
 The next day no farther breach of any size was made, 
 but they battered away till noon. By this time our troops 
 were faint, and our guns must soon be silent, for pro- 
 visions were run out almost to the last loaf, and ammunition 
 was fast failing. We believe the enemy either knew 01* 
 suspected as much, and so felt it was a good opportunity. 
 Much blame attached to the people in the town for not 
 making some effort to help us. However, about one 
 o'clock the Royalists fell on us with horse and foot, that 
 is on our half-moons and lines, where we had a reasonable 
 guard, but our men had had eight days' duty and anxious 
 watching, and after an hour's skirmishing were forced to 
 retreat, and were taken by the enemy's horse, who came 
 on the backs of them. Our captain having now but 
 seven men left out of thirty-six gunners, and seeing he 
 could no longer defend himself, yielded at last, being 
 without provisions, and having only two barrels of good 
 powder and a small quantity of case shot. 
 
 We kept the enemy at bay, Sergeant Guriiey largely 
 helping to do this successfully, till he had signalled to 
 the town by a flag that he was in distress, and no answer 
 came. Still, we marched out honour-ably, the enemy 
 being glad enough to get rid of us at any price. This 
 was about four o'clock, with our colours flying, matches 
 lighted, bullets in mouth, and a demi-cnlverin the best in 
 the work, with all our bag and baggage, and this further 
 condition, that the enemy should exchange all the 
 prisoners they had taken of ours that day, being about 
 forty, for the like number of their prisoners with us r 
 which the next day was effected accordingly,
 
 DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE. 21 
 
 I did not know till afterwards how great reason I had 
 to rejoice respecting this arrangement concerning our 
 prisoners, for Dick Tonkin, my dear friend, whom I had 
 missed without being able to learn what had become of 
 him, was amongst them, having been slightly wounded, 
 and so taken. But the next day, greatly to my joy and 
 his, he arrived in one of the boats, and, because of his 
 wound, was taken to his home in Southside Street. His 
 mother's delight, after many days of terrible anxiety, I 
 need not describe, because my mother when she reads 
 this can as readily imagine it. 
 
 By degrees, the loss of Mount Stamford was discovered 
 to be rather an advantage than a real loss to the strength 
 of the town ; for, though the enemy supposed he had got 
 the key to the place by this fort, such is by no means 
 proved to be the case. Yet not only has he obtained this 
 fort, but also some new works of ours on a somewhat 
 lower level of the same hill, called Haw Start, or Mount 
 Batten. To this place we first marched after we left 
 Fort Stamford, and we were ordered to keep it through 
 the night. 
 
 Sergeant Gurney openly declares that all may see the 
 loss of Fort Stamford was the wonderful providence and 
 goodness of God towards us, for had we kept it we must 
 necessarily have lost the best part of our strength in the 
 defence of it. And he also gives these reasons : the ships 
 were beaten out of Cattewater before we lost it by the 
 enemy's cannon planted at Oreston, and on the other side 
 by a battery from Mount Edgecumbe, from riding between 
 St. Nicholas Island and the main, so that they were fain 
 to take Mill Bay for a sanctuary. 
 
 This loss is advantageous to us, by our uniting our 
 small strength more closely for the defence of the town, 
 and offering an opportunity to us to seize upon the fort 
 and island of St. Nicholas, the most considerable strength 
 in the kingdom, which had been neglected. The first
 
 22 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 action taken by our commander-in-chief, Colonel Ward- 
 law, after our loss of Fort Stamford, was, indeed, as this 
 Avise old man had suggested, to send Colonel Gould, now 
 better of his wound received in the skirmish of October 
 21st, to take possession both of the fort and island, and 
 put in them both stronger garrisons and more ammunition 
 and stores of all sorts. The four deputy-lieutenants who 
 had had the command of this fort and this island, of 
 whom the townsmen had great suspicion, believing them 
 to be unfaithful to the State, were secured, and a new 
 feeling of confidence immediately sprang up in the town, 
 and a greater degree of unanimity between the people and 
 the garrison. 
 
 But the malignants were jubilant when they secured 
 Fort Stamford, and no longer doubted their ability to 
 take the town. Indeed, they issued a proclamation which 
 showed how little they knew our hearts ; for, while we 
 determined that we would burn the town to ashes rather 
 than surrender it to them, they looked upon things as 
 already in their power, as my mother will see, when she 
 reads these words, which I will transcribe for her : 
 
 " That you may see our hearty desire of a just peace, 
 we do summon you, in his Majesty's name, to surrender 
 the town, port, and island of Plymouth, with the warlike 
 provisions thereunto belonging, into our hands for his 
 Majesty's use. And we do hereby assure you, upon the 
 power devised to us from his Majesty, upon the perform- 
 ance of a general pardon for what is past, and engage 
 ourselves upon our honour to secure your persons and 
 estates from all violence and plunder. We have now 
 acquitted ourselves on our parts, and let the blood that 
 shall be spilt in the obtaining of these just demands (if 
 denied by you) be your guilt. Given under our hands at 
 Mount Stamford, the 18th day of November, A.D. 1643. 
 John Digby, Thomas Bassett, Peter Killigrew, John 
 Wagstaffe, J. Trelawney, R. Prideaux, John Arundell,
 
 DEFENCE AND DEFIANCE. 23 
 
 Thomas Marke, William Arundell, John Downing-, 
 Thomas Stucley." 
 
 As an answer to this manifesto, which caused no small 
 consternation and discussion at first both in the town 
 and through the garrison, a covenant was entered into. 
 I have a strong suspicion that the dauntless Ironsides' 
 sergeant, Gumey, was the one to propose this, with all 
 reverence to his superiors. The man, from his honest, 
 simple, staightforward goodness and singleness of heart, 
 has obtained a great influence over ns all, from our 
 commanding Colonel "Wardlaw to the meanest, youngest 
 drummer-boy. I cannot help myself when I am with 
 him, from looking at this war quite in another manner to 
 what I had at first regarded it. Liberty to do rightly is 
 a sacred thing to Sergeant Gumey, and not to be given 
 up at any king's commands ; if we yield to the Bang, who 
 is himself a traitor to the constitution of England and to 
 the truth, having gone from his Avord grievously at many 
 times, we have fellowship with darkness, and are on the 
 side, not of God, but of the devil. 
 
 So a solemn day of humiliation was proclaimed ; and as 
 many as possible of the troops, and almost all the towns- 
 folk, attended Divine worship, and took this vow and 
 covenant, an engagement such, as I hear, has been entered 
 into, in many other parts of England ; all the inhabitants 
 were ordered to subscribe to it : 
 
 " In the presence of Almighty God, I vow and protest 
 that I will to the utmost of my power faithfully maintain 
 and defend the towns of Plymouth and Stonehouse, the 
 fort and island, with all the outworks and fortifications to 
 the same belonging, against all forces now raised against 
 the said fort and island or any part thereof ; or that shall 
 be raised by any power or authority whatsoever, without 
 the consent of both Houses of Parliament. Neither will 
 I by any way or means whatsoever contrive, or consent to 
 the giving up of the said town and fortifications aforesaid,
 
 24 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 or any parcel of them, into the hand of any person or 
 persons whatsoever, without the consent of both Houses 
 of Parliament, or of such as are authorized thereunto by 
 them. Neither will I raise or consent to the raising of 
 any force or tumult, nor will I, by any way or means, 
 give or yield to the giving of any advice, counsel, or 
 intelligence to the prejudice of the said town and forti- 
 fications, either in whole or in part, but will, with all 
 faith, fully discover to the Mayor of Plymouth and to 
 the Commander-in-Chief there, whatsoever design I shall 
 know or hear of, hurtful thereunto. Neither have I 
 accepted any pardon or protection, nor will I accept any 
 protection, from the enemy. And this vow or protestation 
 I make without any equivocation or mental reservation 
 whatsoever, believing that I cannot be absolved from this 
 my vow and protestation, and wishing no blessing from 
 God on myself or my posterity if I do not sincerely and 
 truly perform the same. So help me God."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 XEW FRIEXDS. 
 
 " I am not yet oppressed, 
 Baring the power to help one that's distressed." 
 
 BEAUHOXT AND FLFTCHEK. 
 
 HAVE found myself wondering much how 
 sweet Lucy Woollcombe and her sick father 
 can possibly subscribe to this covenant, and 
 what will be done to them if they don't. 
 Surely, truth must be too precious to her for 
 her to find any way of double dealing, that 
 could get over the solemn significance of those 
 words. I would as soon doubt an angel as the truthful- 
 ness of that girl. 
 
 It is strange that in this town, not so very large, with 
 but twelve or thirteen thousand people in it besides the 
 troops, I have never again encountered that face and 
 form which I saw in Mrs. Tonkin's parlour in Sonthside 
 Street, and which I have looked for ever since. I asked 
 Dick once where the "Woollcombes lived, and he answered 
 me rather shortly, I thought, "Just at a turning out 
 from Lose Street to Howe Street." His tone discouraged 
 further questioning. Can it be possible that Dick has 
 no wish I should be further acquainted with Lucy 
 Woollcombe ? I asked myself. But, almost before I had
 
 20 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 done this, Dick added, " It is dangerous for us, as soldiers 
 of the Parliament, even to seem to affect the company of 
 malignants." 
 
 " True," I answered, sorry I had introduced the subject, 
 save that I knew now where she lived, and if I took the 
 way past her house into the town, it was not any one's 
 business to call my action in question ; for it was rather 
 
 IOL-CHT I SAW AN OBJECT FLIT ACUOSS THE UPSTAIES WINDOW. 
 
 nearer, than farther, to many places where my duty some- 
 times lay. The house is a handsome and convenient one, 
 with a projecting portion, which forms an arch over the 
 passage-way, from the one street to the other. It has an
 
 NEW FRIENDS. 27 
 
 appearance of modest retirement and seclusion, in harmony, 
 as I imagine, with the lives of the inmates. 
 
 The only being I have ever seen about it, save on one 
 occasion, when I thought I saw an object flit across the 
 upstairs window, which might have been sweet Lucy 
 herself, is an old serving- woman, who, as I looked at her, 
 took her handkerchief, a red one, from her pocket, and 
 blew her nose with a hard hollow sound, as though it had 
 been a wooden nose, rather than one of flesh. Indeed, 
 her whole aspect was so essentially that of a mechanically 
 moving wooden figure, that I found myself asking, again 
 and again, if she were indeed a woman. 
 
 I had determined to attempt some politeness with her, 
 spite of my uncouth Yorkshire yeoman manners, but she 
 turned her back upon me straight, as if suspecting my 
 design, and gave me not the smallest opportunity. So 
 the days passed on ; and though I thought more and more 
 of Lucy Woollcombe, she appeared as far removed from 
 a transient glance of mine as though, instead of being 
 together in a beleaguered town, we had been at the 
 opposites poles of this earth. 
 
 The malignants seldom ceased firing from Stamford, 
 but their shots had had, hitherto, small effect ; being too 
 distant ; save that the vane of the windmill on the Hoe 
 was once shot off, which presently was repaired, and no 
 farther harm done to it. 
 
 One morning, coming from our fort with a message 
 from the colonel to the captain at Frankfort Gate, I 
 heard, just as I came out upon the Hoe, the sound of a 
 ball whizzing through the air, and then a slight scream, 
 and beheld, in less time than I can describe it, a female 
 form sinking to the earth. With a sickening sense at my 
 heart that this war should bring torture to an innocent 
 woman, I hurried to the falling figure, and raised her in 
 my arms. A shattered arm, from which the blood was 
 freely flowing, hung loosely down; a moment's glance
 
 28 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 at the fine texture of her garments assured me of the 
 quality of the owner, another glance revealed to me the 
 sweet face, now piteous in its pain, and pale with fright, 
 of Lucy Woollcombe! Joy and grief were mingled in 
 my confused thoughts ; terror at the narrow escape she 
 had had from a frightful death, trouble at her present 
 injury, delight that it had been in my power to come 
 to her assistance. Her sweet eyes opened and looked 
 at me, and a flitting blush stole over the weary, agonized 
 young face. She struggled to stand without my help, 
 and found herself too weak, though I aided her to try, 
 feeling instinctively she would wish me to do so ; then I 
 took her in my arms again when she would have fallen. 
 
 "Home!" she murmured; "home, sir, please!" and 
 sighed. 
 
 "I know," I answered, and so, without more words 
 between us, for I think she half fainted then, I bore her 
 home. I am young and strong and powerfully built ; she 
 is small, slight, and her weight was as nothing to me; 
 but the few people about quickly increased and gathered 
 around us, and compelled me to repeat very often the 
 story of what had happened. I sent messengers for a 
 doctor, and it was with quite a crowd about us that we 
 reached Mr. Woollcombe's retired house. 
 
 Many and various were the remarks I heard as I strode 
 along with my precious burden. 
 
 "To think," said one woman, a fishwife, "that they 
 should have struck the pretty dear, their own side too ; he 
 that sent off that ball deserves the gallows, he does ! " 
 
 " Hush, my dear, don't 'ee talk like that, or you'll make 
 it worse for her," says another. 
 
 " Us won't be safe up the Hoe, now," said a third, and 
 the men and the children discussed the question just as 
 eagerly as the women. Mothers dragged their unwilling 
 boys along with them, some even crying with their aprons 
 to their eyes, lest the pretty dears should get shot, and
 
 NEW FRIENDS. 29 
 
 their heads roll off on the green sward of the Hoe, 
 others cursing the king for bringing war amongst his 
 subjects, others murmuring in low tones that we might as 
 well give up the struggle as be killed in cold blood ; and. 
 others, again, pausing to remark upon the fact that a 
 Parliamentarian officer had saved the Royalist victim of 
 a Royalist gun. 
 
 The old serving-woman of the Woollcombes was at the 
 door of the house to receive us, some one having knocked 
 to summon her before we came up. Her hard, wooden 
 features did not relax at first at sight of us. 
 
 " Go away, you people, make way there ! " she cried 
 angrily to the crowd ; " why do you flock round a gentle- 
 man's door this way ? Step in, sir," she added to me, 
 rather more courteously than I had expected, "I will 
 I'elieve you of my mistress, and I thank you for your care 
 of her." 
 
 At nearer sight of the white unconscious face, for the 
 sufferer must have been in a dead faint, and the blood 
 upon the fair garments, and the wounded arm, the hard 
 face relaxed, the set lips' quivered, and tears welled up 
 into the pale grey eyes, but she shut the door firmly upon 
 the crowd, and barred it before she led me into a back 
 room, quite empty, but looking like a study or library. 
 Here was a large sofa, on which I gently laid Lucy Wooll- 
 combe, and waited beside her, reluctant to leave her, even 
 to such friendly hands as her affectionate servant's. The 
 movement which this change of position necessitated 
 roused her to consciousness, and, alas ! to pain also ; her 
 lips moved, she tried to speak. 
 
 "I have brought you home," I said, kneeling beside 
 her; " I have done as you told me, and you are in kind 
 care now. The doctor will be here presently. 1 pray 
 God your wound may be quickly healed ! " These words 
 from my inmost soul escaped me involuntarily ; I could 
 not leave her without letting her know my great sympathy
 
 30 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 with her distress. At that moment a hurried knock was 
 heard at the door, and at the same moment the weak, 
 faint voice of a man tremulously said, in the room, "My 
 sweet child ! my Lucy ! could they not have spared thee 
 to me ? " 
 
 I turned, startled by that utterance, much more than 
 by the knock, and beheld a small slight man, delicately, 
 featured, robed in a long dressing-gown of some rich 
 many- lined material, with a cap or fez upon his head, like 
 some Oriental astrologer, whose picture I remembered 
 well in a book we children loved to peruse in our dear old 
 farmstead, Briar Grange ; a book of wondrous tales and 
 parables, whose title was " The Arabian Nights." 
 
 He bent over his child tenderly, she looked up at him 
 with love and gentle patience mingled in her gaze. 
 " Dear father," she said, " pray do not trouble yourself 
 greatly about me. Thanks to this good gentleman, it is 
 
 only my arm ; and they, father, they " she hesitated ; 
 
 " you know they could not guess, father." I thought she 
 meant the Royalists could not know that they wounded 
 a friend and not a foe, but yet a pang shot through my 
 heart that she would make excuse perhaps for some 
 Royalist officer. 
 
 The doctor entered, a round, rubicund, jolly man, whom 
 I knew somewhat. I just staye'd to hear his first opinion. 
 There was every hope, he said, that she would do well, 
 with the careful nursing of Bridget. Then he turned to 
 me, and said jokingly, "It is not often the fortunes of 
 war bring us such pretty tasks as yours, Ensign Holbeck." 
 
 I smiled and nodded my head in assent, to prevent his 
 saying more, but I was in no mood for joking, and 
 thought it best to leave, reluctant as I was to go. 
 
 Then suddenly I remembered my errand for the colonel, 
 which the event of the morning had made me wholly 
 forget, and I was compelled to go. Lucy Woollcombe 
 thanked me again as we parted, though I should rather
 
 NEW FRIENDS. 31 
 
 have thanked her, for permitting me to help her and to be 
 of use to her. Mr. Woollcombe, accompanied me to the 
 outer door, and squeezed my hand at parting. " God 
 bless you, sir," said he, with exquisite grace and coui'tesy. 
 " I cannot deem a man my enemy who has proved himself 
 my friend." 
 
 "You are too kind, Mr. Woollcombe. May I entreat 
 you to permit me to call and inquire for Miss Wooll- 
 combe ? " 
 
 I was so afraid he would refuse. 
 
 " My house is always open to my friends, sir," he said, 
 laying stress on the last word, and with that same perfec- 
 tion of manners for which the gentlefolk Royalists are 
 noted. 
 
 My heart was light at this assurance. But I had now 
 to consider whether it were best to return to the Fort and 
 report what had happened, or to proceed to Frankfort 
 Gate, and discover whether I had been superseded in my 
 errand. After some little consideration I decided on the 
 former. My news had preceded me, but I was somewhat 
 harshly reprimanded for staying longer than sufficient 
 time to ensure the lady's safety among her friends. 
 Another messenger had been sent to Frankfort Gate.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 WELCOME LETTERS. 
 
 E RGB ANT GURNET came to me with a 
 sealed document in his hand, and asked me, 
 with a cordial smile that illuminated his 
 rugged features as sunshine lights up the 
 barest expanse of a moorland, if I would care 
 to receive a letter. 
 
 Care ! My heart beat, my eyes grew moist. 
 All the months I had been absent from home I had had 
 no news of them all, and for very many weeks I had not 
 even heard of my father. I reached out my hand eagerly 
 for the missive. Sergeant Gurney gave it to me. It was 
 a bulky packet, and gave promise of much news. The 
 superscription to 
 
 Ensign Benjamin Holbeclc, 
 The Fort, 
 
 Plymouth, 
 
 was in my father's handwriting. Another letter was 
 enclosed in this one. It was written, as I could see, by 
 my sister Lettice, who is fairest writer of us all. 
 
 At that moment, just as I promised myself so rich a 
 treat, I was summoned to the presence of our captain, 
 and despatched on military duty to Thornhill to Major
 
 WELCOME LETTERS. 33 
 
 Leyton there. I put the precious missives at once into 
 my pocket, mounted my horse, and, attended by a small 
 detachment of musqueteers, rode away. Our business 
 was to guard in some wood and hay for the service of 
 the garrison ; bat when we conferred with the Major, he 
 expressed his determination to pursue some of the enemy's 
 horse as far as Knacker's Knowle, where we killed a 
 captain of the malignants and some troopers and took 
 some prisoners ; but no sooner had this been accomplished, 
 than we beheld ourselves surrounded by the main body of 
 their horse, and were obliged to retreat. 
 
 I shouted our rallying cry, " God with us ! " and strove 
 hard to get the men together where I was. But we had 
 put ourselves sadly into their power, and poor Major 
 Leyton was badly wounded, not in one place or two, but 
 in five, and at last carried off their prisoner. 
 
 This made me quite desperate, and I spurred my horse 
 furiously, and as eagerly urged on our men, who, seeing 
 that they must either fly or be taken, kill or be killed, 
 attacked their adversaries fiercely in single combat for a 
 few moments, as if they had determined to fight, and then 
 put spurs likewise to their steeds, and so got away. 
 
 But no applause or approval was to reward us for the 
 action. Major Leyton had transgressed his orders, and 
 would have to bear reprimand, if he ever comes back to 
 ns, in addition to his present wounds. What forced me 
 to fly the faster was the remembrance of my letters, 
 which, as I had not yet read them, so I could not tell 
 whether they contained anything of moment concerning 
 the affairs of this country, though I reflected that my 
 father's wisdom was too deep to make it likely that any 
 risk had been run. We rode slowly when we drew nearer 
 to Plymouth and within our own lines, and the steps of 
 our horses were yet more tardy as we passed over the 
 drawbridge at Terror Fort, into the town. 
 
 Our welcome was scant, indeed, when we reported the
 
 34 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 ill success of our mission, all the good we had accom- 
 plished being that while the skirmish was proceeding, 
 some of the needed hay and wood had been able to get 
 into Plymouth. 
 
 But as the major was answerable for the business, and 
 he could not be here himself to take the blame, no further 
 steps were taken, and in a few hours I had the leisure 
 I desired for reading my letters. 
 
 Thus ran my father's, which 1 read first : 
 
 " Horncastle, Lincolnshire, October, 12, 1643. 
 " MY DEAR SON, 
 
 " Yesterday the cause of God had a great victory 
 in these parts. Our colonel, Cromwell, led us successfully 
 against the forces of the enemy. Our watchword in this 
 fight was ' Religion ; ' that of the foe, ' Cavendish.' The 
 engagement was sudden both to them and to us, but so 
 soon as our men had knowledge of the enemy's coming 
 they were very full of joy and resolution, thinking it a 
 great mercy that they should now fight with him. Our 
 men went on in several bodies, singing psalms, in which 
 harmonious exercise thou wilt not be slow to believe, my 
 dear Ben, that thy father took part. Our armies met at 
 the hamlet of Wincely, and our beloved colonel had a 
 near chance of his life, having his horse killed under him, 
 and he being knocked down again immediately he rose; 
 his adversary one Sir Ingram Hopton, was himself killed 
 later on. We chased them on to this place, and this 
 battle must decide the war in these parts, they being 
 thoroughly and even shamefully beaten. To God be all 
 the glory ! Our colonel, spite of his adventure, is well, 
 and full of heart to prosecute this business. I send thee 
 on, my dear son, a letter from thy sister Lettice, because 
 it is full of news, for which I imagine thy heart is by 
 this time hungry. When opportunity comes let me know 
 of thy welfare. From what I hear of you without direct
 
 WELCOME LETTERS. 35 
 
 news, I think thou wilt have learned to love a porridge 
 meal by this time. The Lord help thee if reduced to 
 great straits. ' It is good for a man,' said the Scripture, 
 'that he bear the yoke in his youth.' I am well, save 
 for a trifling wound received yesterday in my left fore- 
 arm, which I make no doubt has already begun to heal. 
 Keep thyself from all hurtful snares of the enemy of thy 
 soul's peace, and be assured of the love of thy father. 
 Sergeant Gumey, through whom this will come to thee, 
 is a good man, and worthy of thy confidence." 
 
 This is the letter of my sister Lettice : 
 
 " Brier Grange, September 18, 1643. 
 "MY DEAR AXD HOXOCRED FATHER, 
 
 " This brings to you our affection and gratitude 
 to God for your preservation from the perils of war to 
 the date of your letter, which was very welcome to us all, 
 my mother especially. Her anxiety has become great 011 
 account of Ben, of whom she hears nothing, nor can expect 
 to do for some while, now that he is separated from you, 
 and sent so very far away from us all. She is grieved that 
 there was a necessity for this, but tries to feel that what 
 you consented to must be the best for him. Master 
 Thackeray is well content with your decision respecting 
 my sister Miriam, only wishful that the marriage might 
 be sooner than the spring, which he says is a busy time 
 with him, and will give him less reasonable leisure to 
 enjoy the company of his wife, as he must attend the 
 markets. He bids me tell thee that he is so well pleased 
 with her good sense and reasonable temper in all things, 
 that he groweth fonder of her every day. And Miriam, 
 I may add, seems well content likewise. Grandmother is 
 well and cheerful ; I may say of her, as Master Thackeray 
 does of my sister, I grow fonder of her every day. And 
 as I grow to love her, I desire to acquaint thee, my dear 
 father, with the knowledge, which I know will not be
 
 36 I, -BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 unwelcome to thee, that the holy things she loves have 
 a deeper and a more abiding interest for me now than 
 they ever had before, so that we often 'take sweet counsel 
 together ' concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 
 
 " My mother bids me inform thee that Jonathan Thorp 
 has been behaving well dnring the absence of thyself and 
 dear Ben. He has only once been overtaken in his too- 
 frequent fault of indulgence in strong waters, and feels 
 the responsibility upon him concerning the cattle and the 
 tillage and the corn. The harvest is getting well on, and 
 there is a fair yield. Spotty's calf has died and the old 
 horse Springer : these are the only accidents that have 
 befallen the animals ; all else prospereth, save that mother 
 suffereth from headache, owing, she says, to anxiety on 
 thy account, dear father, and on the account of Ben. 
 Patience is finely as full of kindness to all as is her wont ; 
 Miriam hath much in her head regarding Master Thackeray 
 and her marriage ; I strive to be as useful as I can to all, 
 though I often fail in my duty, and am ever too fond of 
 reading, mother says, to make a clever housewife. Yet I 
 can make a loving daughter, and such, my father, is to 
 thee thy LETTICE. 
 
 " P.S. If there is any way thou canst contrive of send- 
 ing to Ben, at Plymouth, mother hopes thou wilt do thy 
 best to forward some news to him, especially this concern- 
 ing my sister Miriam, and her great desire is to hear some 
 news of him. She would very greatly prefer that you had 
 been together. Also she hopes he will make a push to 
 send news of himself to us. " L. H." 
 
 I felt when I had ended these letters as if I were no 
 longer in Plymouth Fort, but in the beloved old home, 
 Briar Grange. It is strange how these letters, the first 
 I had received, transported me from my present life to 
 the past life at the farm. Eveiy member of the family 
 was as distinctly before me as if the words of my sister 
 had been pictures, and I was lost in contemplation of them
 
 WELCOME LETTERS. 37 
 
 for quite a long while lost till approaching darkness had 
 acquainted me with, the fact that I must report myself, 
 and then seek my bed. 
 
 Regular rations I had now ceased to expect or to take; 
 there was barely enough for the common soldiers, who 
 could not obtain any elsewhere ; we officers shifted for 
 ourselves as best we could in the matter of food. My 
 father's dry playfulness about the porridge would have 
 been exchanged to anxiety had he known how often I 
 went supperless to bed. 
 
 I should have gone in that condition much oftener, but 
 for Mrs. Tonkin's great kindness. She had made me 
 promise to come to her house every day at eleven, when it 
 was possible, that I might share their dinner ; and unless 
 I made my appearance at some other hour, if prevented 
 then, she was almost offended. So I was happily sure of 
 one good meal at least, of which I was indeed thankful. 
 The next day, feeling glad and important because of my 
 letters, I carried them with me to show them to her and 
 Dick. Dick was still at home, the wound haying developed 
 some ugly features, festering, and proving very obstinate 
 and painful indeed. He chafed a good deal at not being 
 able to take his new duty. The bravery he had shown 
 before he was captured at Fort Stamford had led to his 
 being promoted to a lieutenancy, and all the family were 
 proud of their young officer, as well they might be. 
 
 There was never a more popular promotion in the army 
 than this of my friend. Every one loved him, and he was 
 well deserving of their love. Dick Tonkin was one of 
 those large-souled generous young fellows, who rejoice in 
 advancing other people and are careless of themselves. 
 He never seemed to miss doing another a kind turn, and 
 his bright young face, his cheery smile, his gay laugh) 
 made him idolized almost by the soldiers. He was fiery 
 in conflict, but never bitter, impetuous to gain an advan- 
 tage for the cause he loved, and too just to be mean in 
 regard to a foe.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE OTHER SIDE. 
 
 course I availed myself, as soon as possible, 
 of the permission I had received from Mr. 
 Woollcombe to visit himself and his daughter. 
 But I had not been able to go as soon as I 
 should have done, had my movements been 
 entirely under my own control. 
 
 The desire truly had never been wanting. 
 Not a day, hardly an hour, had passed since that morning 
 when I had carried the bruised and wounded and bleeding 
 maiden home from the Hoe to her father's house, without 
 thoughts of sweet Lucy Woollcombe. I tried my best to 
 think but little of the ugly fact that she was a malignant, 
 unless popular opinion and belief did her most grievous 
 wrong ; I dwelt rather on those soft charms of look and 
 form and manner that had engraved themselves upon my 
 heart for ever. Civil war was indeed a wicked and 
 atrocious thing if it separated two young people who had 
 never done each other wrong, and had no other desire at 
 least, I firmly believed this than to do each other good. 
 
 Bridget answered my knock, with a squaring of her 
 wooden-like face that did duty for what would have been 
 a smile in more rounded and pliant features ; she opened
 
 THE OTHER SIDE. 69 
 
 the door of a sitting-room, and bade me enter. The sight 
 that met my eyes was, to me at least, most delightful and 
 inviting. At a small round table, near a bright wood fire, 
 were seated Mr. Woollcombe, dressed just as I had seen 
 him on the previous occasion, and his lovely daughter, 
 also attired in a loose dressing-gown that doubtless 
 enabled her poor arm to be more at ease. 
 
 It was, of course, in a sling, and her face was pale and 
 somewhat worn with the weariness of pain. I think I 
 felt the more nearly drawn to her on that account. The 
 tint of her robe was blue, which contrasted well with the 
 delicate fairness of her skin. They looked up at me with 
 one accord, from the rare china tea-service before which 
 they were seated, as my name " Ensign Holbeck," pro- 
 nounced in a rather gruff voice by Bridget at the door, 
 proclaimed my presence. 
 
 " Welcome, Mr. Holbeck," said Mr. Woollcombe, rising. 
 " Nay, Lucy, my darling, sit still ; I am sure your kind 
 deliverer will understand how weak and ill you still must 
 be." 
 
 Lucy's pale cheeks flushed the most lovely crimson as 
 she held out her left hand to me. 
 
 Mr. Woollcombe drew a third chair between himself 
 and his daughter, and, before I could occupy it, Bridget 
 had brought another of the exquisite porcelain cups, and 
 Miss Woollcombe with her left hand skilfully poured out 
 of the small teapot a cup of the fragrant mixture called 
 bohea, a beverage but recently introduced into England, 
 but which is swiftly making its way as a favourite drink. 
 A plateful of thin biscuits, much affected among the 
 well-to-do with this drink, and hence called tea-biscuits, 
 was also brought for me, and I was made perfectly at 
 home. 
 
 "I have expected you sooner, Mr. Holbeck," said my 
 host, as soon as I had apologized for intruding at such a 
 time, and for the trouble I had given. " Did you not care
 
 40 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 how my poor little girl progressed, though you took such 
 pains to save her from worse harm ? " 
 
 "Oh, father!" cried Lucy, in a tone of remonstrance, 
 "Mr. Holbeck has often inquired for me of Bridget; do 
 please to remember of how little consequence I am, save 
 to you." 
 
 These words were spoken with a sincerity that none 
 could doubt, and an eager wish to make it apparent I had 
 done even more than my duty. 
 
 "Miss Woollcombe is too modest," I answered, colour- 
 ing and stammering with my feelings and my words ; 
 " nothing is of more moment to me than her condition." 
 
 I did not know whether I had now said too much in 
 the opinion of Lucy's father, but at all events he let the 
 subject drop, and asked me, "How goes the war, young 
 sir ? " 
 
 I was mindful to whom I was talking when I entered 
 upon that subject, so I answered him guardedly ; but, 
 without any desire on my part, the learned and gentle- 
 manly cavalier found it easy to bring the subject round 
 to the point on which the whole matter turned, namely, 
 as to whether it was right to oust a king from his in- 
 herited right over a nation to whose government he 
 succeeded as the son of his father, simply because a 
 certain class of men choose to consider that they, and not 
 he, were the judges of what was the King's duty. 
 
 The quiet, incisive way in which he treated the matter, 
 I must confess, presented difficulties to my mind with 
 which I was not prepared to grapple. 
 
 " I do not, for one moment, you must quite understand, 
 doubt the sincerity of your party; I only doubt their 
 fairness and their power according to the divine law, 
 which assuredly should govern us all, to take away from 
 our King the authority they have hitherto recognized 
 in him." 
 
 "I cannot argue skilfully, Mr. Woollcombe," I said,
 
 THE OTHER SIDE. 41 
 
 " nor have I considered these matters with so much ability 
 as you have ; I only know that unjust imposts and unfair 
 dealing are not to be borne, even in a king, unless he has 
 fools for subjects." 
 
 Mr. Woollcombe laughed, a sweet, playful laugh, that 
 could not make you angry, and yet gave you a hint 
 that he thought what you said was simply a laughing 
 matter. 
 
 "Yon merely assert these things, Mr. Holbeck, you 
 cannot prove them, can you ? " 
 
 "Indeed I can, sir," I began, hotly enough. 
 
 "Stop a moment. I grant you can prove that our 
 august and beloved King has had unjust and unwise 
 ministers, who have brought his name into evil repute 
 amongst his subjects. I know perfectly what you would 
 present against him illegal taxation, interference with 
 representation ; but be sure you blame the right man for 
 these errors." 
 
 " What sort of a king is he," I asked, " who will allow 
 himself to be a puppet in the hands of others ? " 
 
 " Truly," said Mr. Woollcombe, " I can hardly allow 
 my King to be called a puppet in my house." He said 
 this so gently, so kindly, he made me feel as if I had 
 broken the laws of common courtesy. "Do not think 
 I blame you," he added; "it will take much personal 
 consideration and much knowledge to alter your opinions, 
 which have been founded on your father's well-considered 
 antipathy to monarchical institutions. But come, what 
 say you, Lucy ? our dry discourse wearies you ; can you 
 sing for us, my child ? " 
 
 Miss Woollcombe certainly looked tired, but she 
 brightened at her father's request. 
 
 "Yes, if you accompany me, dear father, and if Mr. 
 Holbeck will excuse a weak voice." 
 
 I joyfully welcomed this diversion from politics to 
 music. Mr. Woollcombe sat down to the old-fashioned
 
 42 i, BENJAMIN HOLBECK:. 
 
 spinnet and accompanied with much skill the rather 
 feeble, but sweet voice of his daughter as she sang : 
 
 "Let me know some little joy; 
 We that suffer long annoy, 
 Are contented with a thought, 
 Through some idle fancy wrought ; 
 Oh! let my joys have some abiding." 
 
 I recognized the words, and I did not like them less 
 that they were from my little book of poems, by the twin 
 poets, Beaumont and Fletcher. 
 
 One or two more songs followed, but Miss Woollcombe's 
 weakness would not allow of very much strain. 
 
 " Do yon not sing, Mr. Holbeck ? " she asked. 
 
 "Nothing that you would care to hear," I answered. 
 
 " Will you let us judge ? " asked her father. 
 
 "We are more apt to sing psalms than songs," I 
 answered again. 
 
 "I hope you don't regard us as heathen folk," said 
 Lucy, with some archness. " One of my favourite pieces 
 for singing is the psalm, ' The Lord my shepherd is ; ' 
 may I beg you to sing it for me now ? " 
 
 How could I refuse, yet how could I sing? My rough 
 northern accent sounded such a stern contrast to the 
 sweet tenderness of her southern voice ; but I as quickly 
 determined to do my best, and Mr. Woollcombe, still 
 seated at the spinnet, struck in a chord here and there, 
 that made the singing, I hope, less objectionable. Lucy 
 lay on her couch and listened, not, I think, displeased. 
 
 " I like that," she said softly, when I had finished. 
 
 "Never forget, Mr. Holbeck," said the old Royalist, 
 with some emotion in his fine features and noble expres- 
 sive countenance, " that heart answereth to heart, even 
 when politics are at variance." 
 
 We were silent for a little time, and the shadows 
 lengthened and twilight was fast merging into darkness. 
 Reluctant as I was to go, I dared not stay longer, and
 
 THE OTHER SIDE. 
 
 43 
 
 took my leave. Both father and daughter invited me, 
 the one frankly, the other timidly, to come again. 
 
 I had promised my parents that I would not neglect to 
 pray. It had often seemed to me a mere outside per- 
 formance of a duty which I had undertaken, and therefore 
 would not shirk. But to-night, as I thought of Lucy 
 Woollcombe, my thoughts were surely prayers. 
 
 My dreams were now continually about her ; waking or 
 sleeping, her sweet face, her fairy form were ever before 
 me. I determined to see her again almost immediately, 
 but my intentions were altogether frustrated, and that 
 painfully.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 "FALLEN IN THE FIGHT." 
 
 the 18th of November the enemy opened 
 their battery on Lipson Works, but we had 
 strengthened our ramparts and ditch, and the 
 deep valley which lies there prevented their 
 guns doing us much harm. 
 
 It was about this time that I was sum- 
 moned into the presence of our captain. 
 " Ensign Holbeck," he said, looking at me gravely, even 
 sternly, " I have undertaken to make private investigation 
 into an affair that is, I am sorry to say, likely to be very 
 seiious for you, unless you cau freely and fully explain it 
 to me." 
 
 I answei*ed his look boldly, though not impertinently, 
 my conscience happily being clear of any wrong against 
 the Parliament. 
 
 "You do not know," continued Captain Wansey, 
 questioningly, " to what I refer ? " 
 " Indeed I do not, sir." 
 
 "I have never found you other than truthful, young 
 sir ; but these are times when the minds of men are 
 sometimes unaccountably warped from the truth. You 
 are reported to have been, of choice, in the company of 
 malignants. Two names of gross offenders against the 
 Parliament are reported to me."
 
 "FALLEN IN THE FIGHT." 45 
 
 My heart stood still. Were Mr. Woollcombe and his 
 daughter these gross offenders ? 
 
 " Allow me, Captain Wansey, to tell you everything." 
 
 "Certainly. Confession of this kind (not the Popish 
 confession, that is contrary to the Scripture) is, I believe, 
 good for the soul." 
 
 " You remember I was so happy as to save Miss Wooll- 
 combe from a dreadful death." 
 
 " Ah ! Miss Woollcombe." 
 
 " I carried her to her home, she being unable to walk. 
 Since then I have inquired for her health, as a gentleman 
 is in common courtesy bound to do ; and once I spent an 
 hour or two with her and her father. I do not know 
 whether this is what has been reported to you. There is 
 nothing else to report." 
 
 "And at Mr. Woollcombe's house you met " asked 
 
 Captain Wansey. 
 
 "No one." 
 
 " You have not spoken to or in any way treated with 
 Mr. Collins, an attorney ? " 
 
 " Certainly not, sir ; I do not even know there is such 
 a man." 
 
 " Nor with Mr. Pike, a vintner ? " 
 
 " I know Mr. Pike by sight ; I have never exchanged 
 a word with him." 
 
 " You knew they were malignants ? " 
 
 " I have heard Mr. Pike talked of as such amongst the 
 people of Plymouth, sir." 
 
 " There is a man in another line of life to them, called 
 Ellis Carteret, a sailor. Do you know him ? " 
 
 " I do, sir ; I have warned him off from amongst us, 
 when I have seen him holding a parley with my men, as 
 if by accident." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Because he openly boasts, when he is in liquor, that 
 he is a king's man."
 
 46 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 " Why have you not reported him ? " 
 
 " I have threatened him that I would do so, Captain 
 Wansey, and since then he has held himself aloof from 
 the men of our regiment. He knows he will have no 
 credence or sympathy from us." 
 
 " You are prepared, if required, to take your oath to 
 all this ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir." 
 
 " Let me advise you, as a friend, Ensign Holbeck, not 
 to frequent the house of Mr. "Woollcombe at present. 
 You shall not be without knowledge of Miss Woollcombe's 
 condition, if you are anxious on her account. But until 
 certain matters respecting the three I have named are 
 settled, it behoves every young officer, especially, to be 
 guarded and careful in his conduct. That faithful servant 
 of the Parliament, Sergeant Gumey, has vouched for 
 your integrity, but I felt it my duty to question you. 
 You will not feel any animosity against me that I called 
 your principles in question ? " The captain extended his 
 hand pleasantly towards me, and held mine as he con- 
 tinued in a very friendly tone : " A secret traitor is a far 
 more deadly enemy than an open foe. I will never ask 
 a man to betray his friends, but it behoves every honest 
 man to make careful choice of friends at this hour." 
 
 There has been very sad business in regard to the sea- 
 man Ellis Carteret, concerning whom I was thus closely 
 questioned by Captain Wansey. Late in November, 
 Roger Kemborn, our chief gunner at Maudlyn Fort, a 
 man deemed prudent and pious, gave himself up, as it 
 may be termed, to Colonel Wardlaw, with every appear- 
 ance of extreme distress of mind. It has been freely 
 spoken of throughout the garrison, for a timely warning" 
 to all of us, how the Lord visited Kemborn with continual 
 sleeplessness and wretchedness of soul, until he deter- 
 mined to confess his sin. 
 
 Ellis Carteret, a very plausible fellow, and one that
 
 "FALLEN ix THE FIGHT." 47 
 
 could make his own story good, and with a rare gift for 
 talking so as to make others listen, had some distant 
 relationship to Kembora through the wife of the gunner, 
 and used this as an introduction to him. He would get 
 with him on one pretence and another, and gradually 
 insinuated himself so skilfully as to make Kemborn listen 
 to treachery. 
 
 So he suggested that the powder-room, which was 
 buried in Maudlyn Fort, and of which Kemborn had the 
 key, might be blown up, to the great damage of our party, 
 and the joy of the malignants, or King's party, as Carteret 
 called them, who would take care to amply reward such 
 service, and would have occupation for so skilful a gunner 
 in their ranks, and would take care to reward him well. 
 Our Maudlyn work being in the direct road from their 
 head-quarters at Widey, would have opened a way to the 
 inner defences of the town, which would have been 
 especially easy and convenient for them to pursue. 
 
 But the sincerity of Kemborn's religion has fortunately 
 hindered such a vile piece of work for us. And Kemborn 
 acknowledges also that God was merciful enough to his 
 soul to send him a true friend in the moment of his sore 
 temptation. This friend was no other than our dauntless 
 Ironside, Sergeant Gurney. It appeared that the gunner 
 went about his work no longer cheerfully, but heavily, 
 which the good old sergeant perceiving, questioned him 
 narrowly, having suspicion of some treason. And by 
 degrees, holding, Kemborn says, the fear of God before 
 him as a lantern that must shine into his heart, he 
 detected the man's perplexity and drew the miserable 
 story from him. And after the two men had engaged 
 in prayer together over the business, Sergeant Gurney 
 despatched him to the fort to make confession to Colonel 
 "Wardlaw, he himself taking his place and possession of 
 the powder-room keys during his absence. 
 
 Colonel Wardlaw smiled when he heard this, and
 
 48 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 declared, rather grimly, they could not be in better hands 
 than those of that old "bull-dog." Ellis Carteret was 
 sent for, and easily found loitering upon the Barbican, he 
 having no suspicion that Kemborn had told of him. But 
 when he learned that he was wanted, and the authority 
 of Colonel Wardlaw and the mayor were both named to 
 him, he made a desperate resistance, and, rushing away, 
 threw himself over the quay into the sea, but some men 
 in a boat easily captured him, the soldiers shouting, " For 
 God and the Parliament ! " and he was brought at length, 
 dripping wet, and dull and disconsolate enough, before his 
 judges. 
 
 The mayor mercifully enough ordered him some dry 
 clothes before his trial ; which Colonel Wardlaw appeared 
 to consider an excess of charity ; yet he had them never- 
 theless. And when the miscreant saw Roger Kemborn 
 ready to witness against him, and others also, who had 
 heard his proud boastful words against the Parliament, 
 his coarse, rough face was pitiable to see, he had such a 
 woeful countenance, so full of apprehension, and almost 
 paralyzed with fear. He attempted no defence whatever, 
 and threw himself on the mercy of the gentlemen and 
 officers. He was ordered to very strict imprisonment for 
 the present, and it was more than hinted that there were 
 others in a higher position who had aided and encouraged 
 him in his malignancy. 
 
 Orders were given for Moses Collins, the attorney, and 
 Henry Pike, the vintner, to be sent for to the court. But 
 it was discovered they had fled immediately the news con- 
 cerning Carteret was brought to them, and though their 
 houses were searched most thoroughly (which I can vouch 
 for, as I was sent with a small detachment of men to bring 
 them), we could only find the female relatives of both, in 
 any of the rooms of the house, and a few workmen and 
 serving-men at Mr. Pike's. 
 
 But I saw a sight that troubled me, for while we were
 
 "FALLEN IN THE FIGHT." 49 
 
 making this necessary but disagreeable investigation, 
 I found in the room with Mrs. Collins and her daughters 
 the lovely Lucy "Woollcombe. It was not a time for 
 interchange of pleasant courtesies, I could but attempt a 
 grave respectful recognition, and her smile, though sweet, 
 was rather sad, and, as it seemed to me, reproachful. 
 I never abhor this war so much as when it seems so 
 widely to separate those who might fitly otherwise be dear 
 friends, and even, as I sometimes think and hope, far 
 nearer than that. I hope Mr. Woollcombe will keep him- 
 self from, all malignant practices. 
 
 On the 3rd of December, which was the Lord's Day, we 
 had reason to accuse Messrs. Collins and Pike of even 
 further treachery. Three hours before daybreak they 
 guided some officers with four hundred musqueteers to 
 Laira Point, and surprised our guard there, and took 
 them and three pieces of ordnance. This guard is placed 
 there only to give the alarm if the enemy should approach 
 the Point over the sands when the tide is out. The 
 enemy skilfully approached from behind, coming under 
 Lipson Work, which, by reason of its steepness, was a 
 good screen for them, and especially in the darkness of 
 a winter night. 
 
 But directly the news reached the town, even by break 
 of day, one hundred and fifty horse and three hundred 
 musqueteers of our troops were ready to fall upon the 
 enemy that had possessed themselves of our work ; which 
 intention on our part was perceived by those of the 
 malignants stationed at Mount Stamford on the height, 
 who warned their whole army by a signal, and caused 
 Prince Maurice and all the gallantry of his forces to 
 advance, with five regiments of horse and four of foot. 
 All these approached, as I say, under the protection of 
 their own ordnance and a hedge where we used to have 
 our sentries, but which we abandoned since we had the 
 work under Lipson. Just here was a fierce conflict. We
 
 50 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 fell on the first advance, hoping to beat them off before 
 their seconds came np, and fell resolutely on them, but 
 met with strong opposition. Our gallant Captain Wansey, 
 he who showed himself to me so kind a friend as well as 
 commander, charged at a gap which he knew to be open 
 formerly. This gap the enemy had filled. Here, shouting, 
 " God with us ! " in a loud clear voice, he fell, slain a 
 brave ending to a brave life. Seeing him, their bold 
 leader, fall, discouraged our horse, and caused a rout 
 through three fields of both horse and foot. Some of the 
 enemy's horse came after us, within pistol-shot of the 
 walls, mixing themselves with us, and were killed or 
 taken. Then we made a stand on the height of the hill 
 above Lipson Work, determined to make a better finish 
 of the business. Our men drew fresh courage in that 
 place ; Sergeant Gurney was to be seen everywhere, 
 rallying, exhorting, encouraging, cheering on to victory. 
 
 "My brave lad," he called out, as he ran past me, " do 
 a deed of valour worth dying for before thou diest ! Think 
 of thy father and thy God ! " 
 
 This heartened me above mere animal courage, and 
 I held my ground with my men, as others did with theirs, 
 till reinforcements from several guards came up. But our 
 ships at Laira Point entertained a parley with the enemy, 
 instead of aiding us, and so stood neuter until we had 
 done the work and beaten the enemy to a retreat. And 
 for this behaviour some are, as they deserve to be, in 
 danger of losing their lives, more certainly than in bold 
 fight. The enemy, confident of success, sent a trumpet to 
 Lipson Work to summon it, Avhich was answered with a 
 cannon, being quite otherwise minded. 
 
 Just at this time, I heard my name called, and looking 
 round, I saw, to my great surprise, and with some anxiety, 
 Lieutenant Dick Tonkin, my dear friend, riding at the 
 head of a small body of men, and accompanied by two of 
 his brothers, who had come to offer their services as
 
 THE KETREAT OVEU THE LAIUA.
 
 "FALLEN IN THE FIGHT." 53 
 
 soldiers, or in any capacity in which they could serve the 
 Parliament. Dick's courage had fired theirs ; he could 
 not rest at home, knowing there was work to be done, so 
 declared he would fight till his left hand was as weak as 
 his right, and they had on their parts decided he should 
 not go alone. 
 
 So now, having sent away the trumpet from Freedom 
 Field with scorn, we planted a small drake (it is fit to call 
 a cannon a drake, methinks) in the cross-way, and opened 
 fire on the enemy's horse with good execution. The 
 drummers were instructed to give a sign when our several 
 commanded places should fall on, and the malignants, by 
 no means expecting such behaviour on our part, began to 
 give ground. Then two hundred of the town's train* 
 bands came marching out to our aid, and a party of sixty 
 musqneteers were directed to play on the backs of the 
 enemy. All this soon induced him to command a re- 
 treat, which we took care to follow closely, so that it 
 became little better than a hasty flight. They foolishly 
 began to retreat over the Laira, instead of the way they 
 came. 
 
 This Laira is a marsh when the tide is out, but wholly 
 swept over by the sea when the tide is in ; and we forced 
 their rear guard of horse, about one hundred in number, 
 into the mud between Lipson and Laira Point. These 
 were taken or drowned, when the sea came in, as it did 
 swiftly; some of the riders barely escaped by crawling 
 through the mud in sorry plight. Many more were killed 
 by our horse and foot, and by our ships at the Point, who, 
 seeing we had the victory, grew honest again a poor, 
 mean sort of honesty that ! 
 
 Dick Tonkin, his face all aglow with pride and joy, 
 thanked God aloud that he had been permitted to help in 
 this victorious ending of the business of the day, and been 
 given strength to wield his weapon in defence of the holy 
 cause of truth and righteousness.
 
 54 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. '' 
 
 Amongst our prisoners was a priest called Father Lang- 
 ford, who served as a captain amongst the enemy. We 
 had also a captain-lieutenant of horse and some thirty 
 soldiers. Besides this we captured thirteen barrels of 
 powder, and two teams of horses with their furniture, by 
 which they were drawing up our ordnance against us. 
 Bat we saw fit to put them to another use. 
 
 But our own losses were great : brave Captain Wansey 
 and twelve men were killed, and we had a hundred 
 wounded, some of whom have since died; while three 
 officers and forty soldiers were taken prisoners. 
 
 "Look at the Lord's deliverance, young sirs," said 
 Sergeant Gurney to Dick Tonkin and myself afterwards. 
 " When the enemy had gotten a ground of advantage, and 
 were ten to one against us, the Almighty was pleased by 
 our handful to drive them back another way than they 
 came." The same day our guard, encouraged by our 
 success, drove the enemy back from an attack they made 
 on Pennycomequick Work ; and after this we had a little 
 quiet for about a fortnight, while the enemy gathered his 
 routed troops together somewhat. Only he attacked a 
 new work under Lipson, called Lipson Mill Work, and 
 partly slighted it ; our guard left it without a shot, then 
 suddenly returning upon it, managed to restore it as 
 before. 
 
 For our victory at Laira, and in the fight which followed, 
 and the success at Pennycomequick, a general thanks- 
 giving was appointed. After attendance at church I dined 
 with my good friends, the Tonkins. The repast was a 
 frugal one, and it could not be otherwise now ; people Avho 
 had an abundance of means could not exchange their 
 money for food. There was some talk amongst the officers 
 of sowing and planting the Hoe with corn and vegetables ; 
 but while we waited for these to grow there was too much 
 likelihood we should die of waiting. Food was eaten in 
 the homes of the poor at this time which they would not
 
 " FALLEN IN THE FIGHT." 55 
 
 have believed in happier times they could have brought 
 themselves to taste. Grass was boiled, mice were cooked, 
 while those thought themselves happy indeed who could 
 catch fish of any description to allay the pangs of a 
 hunger which they had long ceased to fully satisfy. All 
 who had stores of salted bacon or fish were envied by 
 their neighbours ; and if money was dearer to them than 
 the satisfaction of their hungry stomachs, they could 
 obtain almost fabulous prices for their commodities. 
 
 I pitied the soldiers, and most of all the sentries, who 
 had hard duties to do, much lonely night- work too, upon 
 the barest pittance of food. Frightful dreams of unknown 
 dangers are a common accompaniment of such hunger, 
 and these they suffered from veiy sadly. We were now 
 arrived at such a pass that there was hardly a day when 
 some poor fellow did not fall out of rank through faintness 
 from privation. 
 
 The brave old Sergeant Gurney endeared himself to 
 every young soldier during this time. The old fellow 
 never received his rations, such as they were, without 
 immediately husbanding them for the growing lads, who 
 must suffer, he said, so much more than himself. I do 
 not know how he lived. He never complained ; but his 
 sturdy strength waned, and but for the marvellous deter- 
 mination and resolution that never failed him, he would 
 surely have given way altogether. I had thought him. at 
 first a little hard, and stern, and severe, for he would 
 never overlook a fault, such as lying, or swearing, or 
 stealing, amongst the men, however sorely they were 
 tempted ; and as for drunkenness, I used sometimes to 
 smile, and wonder how it would fare with Jonathan Thorp 
 at home if he ever fell into the hands of Sergeant Gumey. 
 I have now and then expostulated with " Old Ironsides," 
 as w T e playfully, yet with reverence, called him, and told 
 him he should not " expect old heads on young shoulders." 
 "There'll be fools' heads on old shoulders in a few more
 
 56 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 years, Master Holbeck, if the poor lads know no restraint. 
 Old England wants men to fight for her, not rascals to 
 waste her. How can we expect the Lord's blessing if we 
 go against His laws ? " 
 
 Once or twice, or even oftener, Colonel Gould himself 
 invited the sergeant to his kitchen, and insisted on his 
 sharing the meal of his servants. Dick Tonkin took him 
 home with him, and entertained him as an honoured guest 
 at his own table, and I heard the young lieutenant tell 
 his mother afterwards that he understood now that text 
 in the Bible, " Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for 
 thereby some have entertained angels unawares." 
 
 " Dear old Ironsides doesn't look much like an angel, 
 mother, but he has the heart of one ; " and Mrs. Tonkin 
 assented. 
 
 If I had a clever pencil, as my grandmother has, who 
 often has amused us with her pictures, I would make one 
 of Sergeant Gurney, surrounded by the rough, raw lads, 
 to whom he is distributing his biscuit and dried fish. It 
 is something to see them, not pushing greedily forward, 
 but patiently waiting their turn, and receiving their few 
 mouthfuls with abundant thanks, not always willing to 
 take it from the brave old hero. 
 
 " Eat away, my hearties, eat away, and thank the Lord 
 for the bit and the sup, more than ye ever thanked Him 
 for a full meal," he said one day, as I watched him from 
 my window, above the court, where this little scene took 
 place. And then he got up to leave them with a smile, 
 tender and beautiful, on his rugged features. But all 
 suddenly his face turned ashen, he staggered and fell, and 
 I hurried down just as several of the lads he had fed 
 rushed to assist him. 
 
 There was quite a crowd in the court immediately. No 
 one could be unmoved at what had happened. Softly and 
 reverently we bore him to his quarters, the unconscious 
 form of the famished sergeant. The colonel and other
 
 " FALLEN IN THE FIGHT." 57 
 
 officers, with Doctor Calmady from the town, the same 
 who had attended Lucy Woollcombe, were presently there. 
 We all waited in respectful silence for the verdict of the 
 man of science. Even his rosy, smiling face was sad and 
 serious now. " Fallen in the fight, sir," he said, turning 
 to the colonel, " fallen in the fight, and as brave a death 
 as if in the battle-field, to my .mind. Poor old sergeant 1 
 he would rather have heard the balls around him when he 
 fell." Dr. Calmady said this after he had laid his head 1 
 close to the sergeant's heart, and tried in other ways to 
 ascertain whether he yet breathed. 
 
 " Was he dead ? " the question was in every man's 
 mind, yet none dared utter it, till the colonel spoke in 
 a hard tone, which yet could not hide his evident 
 emotion 
 
 " Will he get the better of this, doctor ? " 
 
 " He is dead, Colonel Gould ! " 
 
 I never saw such a thing as happened then. Rough 
 lads began to sob and cry like babies, and hurried out, 
 ashamed of what did them more credit than all their idle, 
 noisy mirth. The officers who remained were most of 
 them in tears. Colonel Gould fell on his knees beside the 
 corpse and prayed aloud. It was a solemn, reverent,, 
 humble pi'ayer. In it he asked to be forgiven for not 
 taking better care of this faithful servant of God; for 
 eating while this saint was hungry, for drinking while he 
 was thirsty. When he had ended he got up and stood 
 leaning upon his sword, and gazing down into the calm, 
 dead face of the old warrior, while a few big tears came 
 out of his cold grey eyes, and rolled solemnly, as if to a 
 death march, over his large features, until they were lost 
 in his shaggy beard. Then he turned and left, not 
 speaking another word. 
 
 I felt as if now, if never before, I was truly in the- 
 presence of the Lord of Hosts. 
 
 One by one the officers drew near, gazed on the stil!
 
 58 
 
 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 form, and then left. Dr. Calmady went with some of 
 them, and I was alone with the dead. 
 
 All the words of advice he had ever spoken to me, all 
 the brave, manful thoughts he had uttered in my presence, 
 in short concise language, as his manner was, came over 
 me then. They softened me, they inspired me, they made 
 me long to live the noble life he led. 
 
 " God of my father, God of this, Thy servant, be 
 Thou my God ! "
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PILCHARDS. 
 
 ( ERGEANT GURNET had been buried a week 
 with the honours he would most have coveted, 
 and the siege was not yet raised by the malig- 
 nants. Our fear of famine grew daily more 
 real, when one morning as I was getting up, I 
 heard a tremendous shout, Barbican way, and 
 feared the enemy had made an entrance. Yet 
 it was hardly like the noise of men shouting in battle but 
 rather like a jubilant upraising of all kinds of voices in 
 chorus. Again ! again ! I hurried on my uniform and 
 went out to know the meaning of the clamour. I had 
 not seen so much eagerness and delight in the faces of 
 the men for weeks. The younger soldiers danced about 
 and clapped their hands joyfully, and presently I saw 
 women at the gates of our fort, with great baskets in 
 their hands, as much as they could carry, laden with 
 small fishes, and heard eager talking and discussion about 
 the price. 
 
 " We can't stay haggling, Mother Kitty," said one pale 
 lad, whose face I remembered like a full moon for round- 
 ness two months ago ; " I'd give all I've got to feel full 
 again." 
 
 A burst of laughter from his comrades was the answer 
 to poor Tom's words.
 
 60 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 But the commissary appeared at this moment, and, in 
 the colonel's name, bought all the stock of fish, and 
 ordered that a fall ration of them, with some bread, 
 should be served to every man. Quarters soon smelt like 
 a single kitchen; there was such a hurry to cook the 
 longed-for meal, that every available fire was in request, 
 and any leisurable man turned cook. 
 
 Friz ! friz ! friz ! What a noise it was ! These little 
 fish had the additional advantage of being oily enough 
 to "fry theirselves," as Mother Kitty informed me. 
 
 "It was a real miracle," she further said. "They be 
 out of season, my dear, and no ways used to coming close 
 in shore to be caught, else why should dear souls go out 
 in boats and ships and such-like to catch 'em ? And 
 they do run the risk of their poor dear lives, that they do, 
 many and many's the time. Why, would you believe it, 
 sir, my man hisself, he that was my second husband for 
 my first was drownded too, though not here, but some- 
 where in foreign parts he lost his life, catching these 'ere 
 pilchards ! " 
 
 I looked a little unbelievingly at Mother Kitty, and 
 then reflected she did not mean these particular fish she 
 had just brought, as her words implied, but " pilchards " 
 of long past days. Then I said, "A miracle is a large 
 word for a catch of fish, Mother Kitty." This I said more 
 to hear her answer than for any other reason. I had little 
 doubt if Sergeant Gurney were here, he would believe 
 firmly in the miraculous interposition of Providence in 
 regard to the pilchards. 
 
 " You baint as well read as you ought to be, young sir, 
 and you an officer in a godly army, if you don't know that 
 there have been fish miracles afore to-day. Mr. Cheare 
 prcacheth beautiful, and he told us all about 'em out of 
 the Bible, he did, how the Lord made so many of the fish 
 to come into the net that it broke, and the poor souls was 
 afeared they'd all be lost in the bottom of the say. But
 
 .- * PILCHARDS. 61 
 
 eomeliow they catched up the ropes, and saved every one. 
 And then there was that there big fish with the money in 
 the mouth of un ; Haven't I often and often wished I 
 could find such luck when times was hard and no money, 
 and scarce any fish to get money by ! But there, 'twasn't 
 luck, 'twas miracle ! " So saying, Mother Kitty took up 
 her empty baskets, and prepared to go, for she had already 
 received payment for her fish. 
 
 She was a good specimen of her class, and as my 
 mother and sisters, if they ever get these papers of mine, 
 may like to have her described for them, they but rarely 
 having seen a fish- wife, I will do my best in the matter. 
 She appears, though a woman of good average height, 
 almost as broad as she is long ; her petticoats being very 
 full and ample and short, formed of dark blue woollen 
 material of very coarse texture. Over this she wears a 
 short bedgown, just as my mother and sisters and our 
 servants themselves do in the midst of their work ; but it 
 is of a bright colour, and flowery pattern; over her 
 shoulders a coarse, woollen turnover, of very showy 
 colours, scarlet and black, or green and red. Instead of 
 carrying her baskets on her head, as is so much our 
 custom, she carries them at the sides, resting them on her 
 hips, and in loud sing-song tone she generally calls her 
 wares through every street. 
 
 " Pilchards ; fresh pilchards ! " is, in the summer and 
 early autumn, one of the most frequent cries in the streets 
 of Plymouth. The pilchard season was just at its height 
 when I arrived here, and I was greatly at a loss to under- 
 stand what Mother Kitty and her companions said. 
 The pilchard is a small fish about the size of a herring, 
 oily and tasty, very good when fried or Baited. The 
 Plymouth folks often salt and put away small barrels 
 full for winter use, and in this time of siege, those who 
 had been thus provident when these fish were plentiful, 
 congratulated themselves on their prudence ; while others
 
 62 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 as bitterly repented their carelessness in not making this 
 provision. 
 
 Pilchards are only to be found on the coasts of Devon 
 and Cornwall a curious circumstance, which I am not 
 learned enough to account for, but for which I should like 
 to know the reason. Sometimes, I am told, the fishermen 
 catch more than can be eaten, and they are thrown away. 
 But we have all of us learned, in the last few weeks, not 
 lightly to estimate the bounties of Providence in the way 
 of food. I have often seen bread cast about the streets 
 on my first coming here ; now such a prize as a half- 
 eaten slice thrown away by some too well-fed child would 
 be pounced upon by a dozen hands, each eager to claim it 
 for his own. 
 
 " Shall we ever dare waste anything again, sir ? " I 
 heard Tom ask of Lieutenant Tonkin. 
 
 " Yes, Tom, unless God alters our hearts as well as our 
 circumstances," Dick answered him. " You feel now as 
 if you would remember your hunger to the last day of 
 your life, but when the siege is raised, you will be like 
 the man who looks in the glass and goes away again, and 
 forgets how he looks, unless you see the sin of wasteful- 
 ness. Just as men who have been shipwrecked or in 
 imminent peril of their lives at sea, come back to port, 
 and spend their first night on shore in drunkenness and 
 dissipation ; daring the Lord to smite them again, if He 
 wasn't better to them than they are to themselves." 
 
 I suppose Dick is right. I have myself imagined, when 
 I stood face to face with death in battle, that I could 
 never forget it; yet I have forgotten, and have even 
 grown somewhat hardened in fight. If I were fighting 
 for all I held dear, perhaps it would be different. Am 
 I not? I am often perplexed. Why do two honourable, 
 high-minded men, like my father, for instance, and Mr. 
 Woollcombe, feel, both of them, perfectly convinced that 
 precisely opposite things are right, and worthy of the
 
 PILCHARDS. 63 
 
 sacrifice of a man's life, if need be ? Can two opposite 
 things be right ? My brain, which I never used to 
 trouble with such speculations, often aches now ; I am 
 glad to have night- work given me, that I may, in quiet, 
 think of the many things which, when I" have done my 
 best, are as far from explanation as ever. From the 
 reports of the prisoners, the Royalist forces lead a very 
 different life to ours. Gaiety, revelling, cards, and other 
 amusements are freely promoted by the officers amongst 
 the men. Colonel Gould is a religious man, an Inde- 
 pendent, and a strict disciplinarian. The men he likes 
 best amongst the non-commissioned officers are such as 
 Sergeant Gurney, only they are not, after all, such as he 
 was, but much more stiff and hard. We shall never get 
 so good a specimen of the Ironsides amongst us again, 
 as that fine, noble-hearted sergeant we loved as well as 
 feared, and who himself "feared God, and knew no other 
 fear." 
 
 When I went down into the town, after the ample 
 breakfast of bread and pilchards, which officers and men 
 had so much enjoyed, every one was talking about the fish, 
 and the rather strong smell of such a universal cooking of 
 them was in every street. 
 
 " It is nothing different to the supply of manna and 
 quails in the wilderness," said one old fisherman, the 
 centre of a little group of men upon the quay. " I'm an 
 old man now, and I never heerd tell of no such thing 
 afore, never ! Tou seed it for yourselves, and I needn't 
 tell 'ee how it was, the fish come in a shoal, and threw 
 theirselves on the beach, and asked to be caught." There 
 was some laughter amongst the listeners, and the old man 
 smiled too, and his merry eyes twinkled. " Asked to be 
 caught, pretty dears, and they did too, though with dumb 
 meanings, like." 
 
 Another burst of laughter greeted the speaker. The 
 poor people were to-day in the comfortable state of
 
 C4 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 those who had had enough, and were ready to enjoy any- 
 thing. 
 
 " My old woman, and yours, mate, and yours, and the 
 little uns, and the big uns amongst the children, took 
 their baskets and went down to Barbican from all parts, 
 and the fish, they as good as said, ' Here we be, my dears, 
 sent to 'ee all from the Lord, to fill up your poor empty 
 insides. Don't 'ee forget to thank the Lord when you 
 do eat us,' and with that the pilchards hopped into' the 
 baskets with just a bit of a push ; as many as you would 
 have, the more the merrier. And the widow's cruise of 
 oil was as good as done over again, with these here 
 pilchards. Every basket was filled and still there was 
 more, and they brought tubs and barrels and still there 
 was more. Don't 'ee mean to believe God after that ? If 
 you don't, the Lord have mercy on 'ee, for you won't 
 believe nothing, and aren't worth the miracle ! " 
 
 I was much intei*ested and amused at the old fisher- 
 man's harangue, and when it was ended I found my way 
 to Mr. Tonkin's. 
 
 I had never yet repeated my visit to the house of Mr. 
 Woollcombe after the warning I had received from 
 Captain Wansey, followed as it was by such a sad ex- 
 perience ; but to-day, being somewhat in spirits through 
 God's goodness to us in the matter of the fish, and by the 
 sufficiency of food I had had after so long a scarcity, 
 I decided to call and inquire for Lucy and her father, and 
 to judge by Bridget's manner whether I should venture to 
 intrude further. My reception by Bridget was somewhat 
 curt, just as I expected it would be. She invited me 
 inside the door, which she shut, and then retreated, her 
 wooden face by no means relaxed in its expression, only 
 her lips muttered something about seeing whether Miss 
 Woollcombe was at liberty. 
 
 To stand there was not agreeable, but it must be borne. 
 Presently I heard the sweet soft voice I knew so well
 
 PILCHARDS. 65 
 
 exchanging a sentence or two with, the dry hard tones of 
 Bridget. Then the serving-woman returned, and said : 
 
 " You can walk in, sir." 
 
 I availed myself of this grudging invitation, and 
 followed her into the same small, snug apartment where 
 we had had tea on the previous occasion. Lucy's arm. 
 was still in a sling. She looked pale and fragile, and as if 
 she still suffered a good deal of pain. 
 
 Bridget hovered round after I had taken my seat near 
 her young mistress, as if quite unwilling to leave us alone 
 together. 
 
 "You may go now, Bridget," said the sweet, tender 
 voice. " I shall not want you for anything just at present. 
 You can go on with the fish, Bridget," and she smiled. 
 Bridget extended her square lips a little, as if she rather 
 enjoyed the cleverness of her young mistress, but was not 
 in the least deceived by anything ; she obeyed unques- 
 tioningly, however, and we were left alone.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE TWO MISEES. 
 
 OR a few moments we neither of ns spoke, each 
 waiting, perhaps, for the other to begin. Then, 
 to say something, and relieve our embarrass- 
 ment, I spoke about the fish. " What a good 
 thing it is for the poor people ay, and the rich 
 ones too of Plymouth, that these pilchards 
 v!^ have come to be caught, Miss Woollcombe." 
 " Yes," she answered me ; " but I wasn't thinking of 
 them, just then, Ensign Holbeck." 
 
 I felt abashed, all the more because she spoke so quietly, 
 and not as if she wanted to make fun of me. " I was 
 thinking," she went on, "of this long, weary time that 
 we are shut up here, however much we long to get abroad 
 into God's fair country, outside of these walls. I do not 
 feel as if I could get well unless I am able to get out ; and 
 if I feel so, what must it be for those who are really ill ? 
 Do you think this siege will ever come to an end, Ensign 
 Holbeck?" 
 
 " Indeed I do ; the malignants will get tired of our 
 
 grand " I spoke hastily, and now stopped myself 
 
 abruptly, for a deep flush crimsoned the cheeks and brow, 
 and even the fair neck, of the pretty' malignant beside 
 whom I sat.
 
 THE TWO MISERS. 07 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Miss Woollcombe ; I forgot " 
 
 I began. 
 
 " And I forgot too, I think," she said almost playfully ; 
 " if we are to talk, I suppose we must avoid such subjects." 
 She paused, hesitated, and then commenced again, with a 
 determined look in her lovely face, which I should hardly 
 have thought natural to it: "I think, Ensign Holbeck, 
 I have spoken like a coward ; can we not each be brave 
 enough to maintain what we believe to be true, in the 
 presence of any one ? " 
 
 "My fair opponent," I said, wondering much how the 
 words came so readily to my lips, " I would rather have 
 your enmity even, than the friendship of any other. Only 
 don't be indifferent to me." 
 
 " She laughed a sweet, merry little laugh, that showed 
 me she was not displeased. " A very doubtful compliment, 
 ensign," she said. But then she grew more serious again. 
 " War is dreadful, is it not ? " she asked. " I cannot tell 
 you how miserable I felt when I found you searching for 
 Mr. Collins the other day in his own house, and poor Mrs. 
 Collins and her daughters, so frightened, and in such 
 trouble." 
 
 " You looked your reproach, Miss Woollcombe." 
 
 " Did I ? I am sure I felt it." 
 
 " Would you have me disobey orders, and be shot ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 She shuddered. " I would have you on the side of God 
 and of the King." 
 
 " I cannot be on the side of both," I answered her. 
 " The God I want to serve is never on the side of in- 
 justice." 
 
 " My poor King ! " she said plaintively ; " how much 
 I wish he had a Protestant wife, and ministers who really 
 represented to the people the loving heart he bears his 
 subjects. Such dreadful mistakes are made everywhere 
 about him, and he has to suffer."
 
 68 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 " A king should be a man, Miss Woollcombe." 
 
 She looked questioningly at me for a moment ; then she 
 understood my meaning, and rejoined, " I don't expect 
 either you or I can measure his difficulties and per- 
 plexities. It must be so bad to be tyrannized over by 
 your ministers, and mistrusted by your subjects. I would 
 give my life, if that would save my country and my King 
 from further bloodshed." 
 
 I could not doubt it. Lucy Woollcombe, tender, sweet, 
 delicate, was of the stuff martyrs are made of. If only 
 she were on our side ! a second Sergeant Gurney in this, 
 that she fears God and knows no other fear. 
 
 We were interrupted by the entrance of her father. Mr. 
 Woollcombe expressed his pleasure at seeing me with the 
 utmost cordiality, rebuking me playfully, as at my last 
 visit, for my tardiness in coming to them. After some 
 other chat, by no means of so deep a nature as that with 
 Lucy Woollcombe, the old gentleman said 
 
 "I suppose, Mr. Holbeck, you would not willingly 
 refuse a request of mine ? " 
 
 " You know whom I must obey, Mr. Woollcombe. Any- 
 thing not inconsistent with such obedience. I will most 
 gladly do for you." 
 
 " It is not in the least a political matter," said the old 
 gentleman ; " merely a question of finance ; money, I 
 mean. The current coin of the realm is scarce with me 
 at present, though it is difficult to know how one spends 
 so much when there is so little to be bought. Manchets 
 are not to be purchased for either love or money ; but, to 
 be sure, the plainest bread is now beyond the price of 
 manchets ; the coarsest food costs more than the finest did 
 before these troubles came. I would employ, you, young 
 gentleman, if you would do me such a friendly act as to 
 consent to be employed, in negotiating for me with Messrs. 
 Greedy, at the sign of the Golden Spur, besides Frankfort 
 Gate."
 
 THE TWO MISERS. 69 
 
 "Negotiating, sir? I have but little skill, I fear, in 
 making a bargain; and Messrs. Greedy are cunning 
 bankers, are they not ? " 
 
 Mr. Woollcombe laughed. " Greedy by name and 
 greedy by nature, I fear," he answered. "But that we 
 will arrange for. I will name a price for my goods, 
 and they shall either give or take it ; we need have no 
 trouble of bargaining in the matter. If either my health 
 or my circumstances enabled me to go out, I would not 
 trespass at all upon your good nature." 
 
 " I shall be too glad to be of use to you, sir, if you can 
 assure me, on your word, as a gentleman, that this is not 
 a service a soldier of the Parliament need hesitate to 
 render." 
 
 Mr. Woollcombe drew himself up to his fall height, 
 which yet was not great ; his spare figure seemed to 
 quiver with dignified annoyance, and I felt ashamed of my 
 hesitation and apparent doubt of him. 
 
 " I am sorry, young sir, you have formed so mean an 
 opinion of me. Let us not say another word on this 
 matter. I am not master of myself if honesty is ques- 
 tioned." 
 
 " Dear father, Mr. Holbeck has not questioned your 
 honesty," said Lucy, interposing; "he could not. But, 
 remember, he is comparatively untried. You all our 
 world knows you for an honourable man." 
 
 She spoke the words proudly, as if she gloried in her 
 relationship to a man of such character. I felt these occur- 
 rences were at least bringing me closely acquainted with 
 the mind and heart of Lucy Woollcombe. She turned to 
 me and said frankly, you will do this service for my 
 father?" 
 
 Could I refuse her anything ? Every moment only in- 
 creased my admiration for this beautiful girl. Admiration ? 
 That is a small word for my feelings towards her, whose 
 presence caused my pulses to throb, my heart to beat, my
 
 70 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 personal identity to vanish, lost in hers, whose every word, 
 whose every glance, whose slightest tone, were of more 
 moment to me than aught else besides. Had it not been for 
 the expostulation of my commanding officer, and the dread- 
 ful realities to which it awoke me, I must have gone on in 
 blind joy and ecstasy, living only to love her, careless of 
 all besides. As it is, my thoughts often wander in strange 
 reverie concerning her and myself. I can sometimes hear 
 my parents, especially my mother and my dear sisters, 
 asking each other why Ben could not have found some 
 one to love in his own country a girl of a northern type, 
 large, powerful, commanding, instead of this sweet little 
 flower of warmer southern climes. Above all, why not 
 with a girl whose sympathies were on the right side ? I 
 can even imagine how they think of Judith Preston, with 
 whom I used to play when we were children, and wonder 
 how it was I did not grow to be fond of her in my early 
 manhood as well. Our farms are adjoining, and neither 
 Mr. Preston nor my father would be adverse to the 
 match; of that my father has even informed me. But 
 I hope Judith cares not for me, and will wholly forget me 
 now that I am away from her. But is it fate or Pi'ovidence 
 that has called me into Devonshire, and shown me here 
 the only woman, malignant or Parliamentarian, whom I 
 could or would ever wed ? 
 
 I answered her question as she wished, glad to obey her 
 will. 
 
 " Indeed, I shall be proud to do your father service, Miss 
 Woollcombe." If the accent deepened on the word your, 
 would she not forgive me ? 
 
 Mr. Woollcombe, directly I said this, went aside to an 
 old ebony chest or cabinet, and unlocked it. When its 
 outer lid was down he touched a secret spring, and drew 
 out a small drawer from the side of the cabinet. From 
 this drawer he abstracted something wrapped in soft 
 woollen substance, and then fastening the cabinet in all
 
 THE TWO MISERS. 71 
 
 its parts securely, came over to us with tlie little woolly 
 roll in his hand. He sat down and tenderly uncovered 
 a jewel, of whose value I could form no opinion what- 
 ever, being perfectly unaccustomed to such things. The 
 shining rich dark red stone lay on the palm of his hand, 
 beautiful in its colour at any rate, and finely cut, if I, 
 who am no judge, may presume to say. 
 
 " This is the treasure on which I desire Messrs. Greedy 
 to advance me somewhat, young sir." 
 
 " How much do you expect for it, Mr. Woollcombe ? " 
 
 " Not a sale, not a sale ! Pray quite understand me. I 
 shall redeem it when once the siege" here he paused, 
 looked a little plaintively at me, and added, " when once 
 these troubles are overpast." 
 
 " How much do you consider they should advance to 
 you in consideration of your leaving it in their hands ? " 
 
 " Just so ; well put," answered Lucy's father. And I 
 thought Lucy smiled as if she felt pleased for her father 
 to praise me. No one will wonder that this made me the 
 more eager to carry the business skilfully through. " It 
 should be fifty pounds at the very least," said the old man, 
 after consideration. 
 
 " I will do my best," I said, when I had received the 
 stone again, carefully wrapped in the wool, and placed for 
 security in a leather bag of small dimensions, which I 
 could easily put in my pocket, and so avoid all suspicion. 
 
 " After you have done your business you will come here 
 and sup with us ? " said Mr. Woollcombe, as I rose to go. 
 
 " Pardon me, that would be to excite remark, and 
 would take more time than I have a right to take without 
 reporting myself ; besides, there is a drill to which I must 
 go after I have been to Messrs. Greedy." I found it hard 
 to refuse the tempting offer, tempting above all because it 
 would again place me near Lucy Woollcombe ; but I was 
 obliged to do so. 
 
 "And I shall know nothing of the success of your
 
 72 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 mission till to-morrow ? that is indeed a great anxiety," 
 said Mr. Woollcombe. 
 
 I flushed hotly ; if he suspected me of finding it possible 
 to wrong him, I would not do this thing at all. I drew 
 the precious parcel from my pocket and laid it on the 
 the table, as I said 
 
 " We had better not speak of this again, sir ; my time, 
 my life, belong to the cause I serve ; only I would will- 
 ingly have also served a friend whom I honour." 
 
 " Mr. Holbeck," said Lucy Woollcombe, coming near 
 and laying her little hand upon my arm, "you are as 
 proud as a Cavalier," and she smiled. 
 
 Her touch thrilled me pleasantly, and I looked down 
 at her with an answering smile. 
 
 " I have yet to learn, Miss Woollcombe, that honesty is 
 peculiar to a Cavalier." 
 
 She answered me by lifting the little parcel from the 
 table and giving it into my hand, while Mr. Woollcombe 
 said 
 
 " Forgive the impatience of an old man, Mr. Holbeck. 
 May God speed you with the crafty misers ! You will 
 come to us to-morrow, at latest ? " 
 
 "Indeed I will." Directly I made this promise I 
 reflected how often I had been quite differently occupied 
 on the morrow of any given day to what I had expected ; 
 I thought it best, therefore, to make some reservation. 
 f ' If I cannot come to you for any reason to-morrow, I will 
 at least send you word what I have done." 
 
 " That will do," he assented, and we all three parted 
 cordially. 
 
 Messrs. Greedy, at the sign of the Golden Spur, beside 
 Frankfort Gate. I knew the house perfectly, though I 
 had never before been inside. Having entered now, and 
 explained in some sort my business to an elderly man of 
 grave, even melancholy aspect, I was conducted, after a 
 parley between him and his masters, to a cellar-like room
 
 THE TWO JIISEES. 73 
 
 below the entrance, where sat in darkness, only half illu- 
 mined by a single rushlight, two old men, one on each 
 side of a plain bare deal table. The chairs they occupied 
 were hard upright wooden chairs of substantial make, 
 besides which two desks of plain unvarnished deal, some 
 shelves and pigeon-holes of the same material, and a few 
 huge iron boxes or safes, heavily clasped with the same 
 metal and padlocked, were gradually seen by me, peering 
 through the gloom, as my eyes became used to the un- 
 natural darkness of the place. 
 
 It was cold weather for this country, though not so 
 cold as Yorkshire at this season, for as yet we have not 
 had any snow and no severe frosts, but in the cellar of 
 these gentlemen I found my teeth almost chattering and 
 my body shivering. A visit to them would have nearly 
 killed the delicate frame of Mr. Woollcombe. 
 
 " This is the young gentleman, sir," said the grave, 
 melancholy clerk, standing stately and still at one of the 
 deal desks. Neither of the brothers stopped their pens, 
 nor troubled themselves to look up ; so far as they 
 appeared to have heard it the remark might have been 
 unmade. But the clerk stood still, not again speaking, 
 and in a few minutes one of the massive heads was half, 
 but not wholly, raised from the desk and the ledger, and 
 the words 
 
 " Very well, Coffin," in deep guttural tones escaped the 
 lips of the Sphynx-like head. 
 
 In another few minutes, all which time the clerk waited 
 motionless and silent by the desk, precisely the same 
 thing happened on the other side. The other Sphynx-like 
 head half-lifted itself, and the lips spoke 
 
 " Veiy well, Coffin." 
 
 Were they machines ? The clerk bowed, but neither of 
 his masters apparently saw the courtesy, certainly neither 
 of them acknowledged it. Then he left the room. I 
 almost wished I had followed him, when I had sat for
 
 74 
 
 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 what seemed quite a long while, and yet none took the 
 slightest cognizance of my presence. The quills were 
 driven along the paper, making as they went that soft 
 squeak, which I have sometimes thought is like a mild 
 protest on the part of the goose for this employment of 
 the feathers of his wing. 
 
 I grew so tired, at last, of the monotonous silence and 
 absence of human voice or sign, that I drew from my 
 pocket the small leather bag, hoping thus to tempt one of 
 the two old men to look my way. I had a certainty in 
 my mind that they could see what was passing, and that 
 anything of monetary value would probably have a greater 
 attraction for them than a member of their own species.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A STRANGE INTERVIEW. 
 
 " Moonlight walks, when all the fowls 
 Arc warmly housed, save bats and owls, 
 A midnight bell, a parting groan 
 These are the sounds we feed upon." 
 
 BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. 
 
 ROTHER, we are guilty of an extravagance," 
 said one of the old men at last, when my 
 patience was well-nigh exhausted. 
 
 "Not so, Roger, I hope," returned the other; 
 " we have surely ceased such youthful folly 
 as that, in whatever shape it may be pre- 
 sented to us." 
 
 Their voices sounded deep and hollow and uncanny to 
 me, as if I were in the gloom of buried years, and these 
 old men were but moving spectres of the past. 
 
 " I am right," returned the first speaker, Roger Greedy ; 
 " we use dots to our i's and crosses to our t's, and both may 
 be dispensed with to the saving of ink." 
 
 A low chuckling sepulchral laugh was the response 
 which his words met. I thought at first the brother 
 ridiculed the idea of such absurd parsimony, till the words 
 followed, " Good, Roger, good, my brother, I have made 
 the last dot to an i, the last cross to a t. Canst thou not
 
 76 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 devise some other wise means of husbanding our poor 
 little resources, through the straits which afflict the king- 
 dom, and do most particularly afflict us ? " 
 
 " See, brother," said Roger ; " I beseech thee without 
 further delay to amputate the superfluous part of our 
 luminary." 
 
 It would have taken me longer to understand what he 
 meant by this roundabout speech, had he not pointed to 
 the candle as he spoke, and had not the other old man 
 deftly nipped off the end of the rushlight with fingers 
 that were, I shrewdly suspect, well hardened to the 
 operation. 
 
 Then they went on writing as before. But every reason, 
 business, duty, impatience, now moved me to greater haste 
 concerning my errand. I rose. " Sirs," I said, " if you 
 cannot attend to my concerns, I will bid you good-day." 
 
 Again the chuckling laugh, this time of both the old 
 men, resounded through the subterranean chamber; and 
 Roger condescended to speak to me. 
 
 " Youth is impatient, I well know, young sir ; what 
 may your business be ? " 
 
 I stated it briefly, not mentioning any names, save 
 that of Mr. Woollcombe, which I had arranged to give 
 throughout, he being acquainted previously with Messrs. 
 Greedy, and I suppose known to them as a man of 
 substance. 
 
 " Why does he send yon here if, indeed, he sends you ? " 
 inquired Roger Greedy suspiciously, while the other old 
 man eyed me, even more narrowly than Roger, if that 
 were possible. 
 
 " He is ill, unable to leave his house, and requested me, 
 as a'friend, to do him this little service. 
 
 " A friend ! " the words were expressive of extreme 
 irony. I was not at a loss to account for this. My dress, 
 though I was not in my full uniform, revealed the occupa- 
 tion of a Parliamentary officer ; and if the bankers had
 
 A STRANGE INTERVIEW. 77 
 
 any reason to know the politics of Mr. Woollcombe, their 
 surprise at my employment by him could not be pro- 
 nounced unnatural. 
 
 "Where is the jewel ? " asked, not Roger but the other 
 Mr. Greedy, whom, from his being termed " brother," I 
 concluded was the elder. 
 
 I opened the bag, and laid the stone in the hand of the 
 old man. He, in his turn, laid it on the bare deal desk, 
 and moved the candle around it, so that the feeble light 
 might shine on every part. Leaving it there, he, without 
 the least preface, deliberately blew out the candle. 
 
 " What a pity ! " I exclaimed, involuntarily, almost 
 believing its extinguishment must have been accidental. 
 
 " A pity ! " I heard echoed around me, " a pity ! " and 
 it seemed as if the room had grown full of voices and 
 sounds, so weird-like and even horrible, it became to me 
 in the utter darkness. I could not see my hand, though 
 I lifted it before my eyes, I could not tell where the two 
 old misers were placed in regard to me. Suppose they 
 made away with Mr. Woollcombe's jewel ! A cold per- 
 spiration spread itself over my frame at the thought. If 
 they would take such pains to retain possession of a drop 
 of ink, what would they not do for a stone that might, for 
 aught I knew, be worth hundreds of pounds. 
 
 Again, was it all a conspiracy ? Had Mr. Woollcombe 
 been traitorous to me, and sent me here to my ruin ? I 
 would not, could not think so. Lucy had asked me to do 
 this errand. Lucy at least could do me no unkind act. 
 The thought of her sweetness, her purity, her loveliness, 
 helped me here in this dark den, which avarice made 
 hideous even if other crime were separate from it. But I 
 remembered a text that had been expounded to us by a 
 godly minister at Briar Grange, when I was a child, which 
 vivid exposition had made me afraid to go to bed for 
 many nights after: "Men loved darkness rather than 
 light, because their deeds were evil." The preacher
 
 78 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 reminded us so cleverly of the sorts of men who prowled 
 in the dark, and the character of their deeds, that I 
 imagined thieves and assassins were lurking in every 
 corner of the dear old farm ; and time alone and my 
 grandmother's tenderness could soften the impression. 
 
 " When you have learned to take care of that which is 
 worth caring for, young sir, you will not wonder that we 
 find it very necessary to study economy ; we never require 
 a candle to talk by ; speech can be prosecuted as satis- 
 factorily in the dark as in the light ; " thus spoke a voice 
 out of the gloom, but it did little to reassure me. Then 
 the other voice asked, " How much does Mr. Woollcombe 
 ask for on his stone ? " 
 
 "Fifty pounds." I said it boldly; I had no wish to 
 parley long with these miserable specimens of humanity. 
 If they would give it, well ; if not, I would leave them. 
 But I was not prepared for the laugh that penetrated 
 every corner of that cellar, every comer of my own frame, 
 and made me shiver as if I were exposed to bitter cold. 
 Now it chuckled, now it burst forth loud and long, now it 
 died away, only to be renewed in its unearthly tones. 
 But my spirits rose after a few moments. I had an idea 
 they meant to quell me, and make me come to their terms 
 by that hideous ironical laughter. I would do nothing of 
 the kind. I had stood unflinchingly to be shot at : should 
 I condescend to be conquered by two wretched old men in 
 a plain straightforward matter of business ? I strode at 
 once to the position I imagined the desk to occupy, and 
 put out my hand, to grasp again the precious stone. 
 Instead, I overturned an ink bottle, as I knew by the thick 
 moisture that enveloped my hand, and spread itself so 
 readily over every object. 
 
 " Ugh ! this nasty ink-bottle is upset ! Be good enough 
 to bring a light, and I will take Mr. Woollcombe 's stone, 
 and go." I said this, but I hardly recognized my own 
 voice, it sounded so strangely.
 
 A STRANGE INTERVIEW. 7$ 
 
 " Stay, young sir ; damages must be paid before that 
 happens, and we must consider many things before we 
 can assess them. The value of the bottle the value of 
 the ink " 
 
 " Be quick about it, then, or I may have counter 
 damages for loss of time," I said, astonished at my own 
 boldness. 
 
 " Things of moment cannot be accomplished in a hurry," 
 said one old man ; but I heard with satisfaction that the 
 other was quitting the apartment, as I hoped, to seek a 
 light. This was indeed the case ; Roger Greedy brought 
 a candle, and carefully examined the amount of mischief 
 that had been done. The ink had not flowed over any- 
 thing save my fingers, and in a little stream over the deal 
 desk, from which it dropped lazily to the floor. Directly 
 he was assured of this the miser again blew out this 
 second candle, and said, " Stand where you are, Mr. 
 Holbeck, and we will arrange this matter." 
 
 I made no answer. I was annoyed at the absence of 
 means to rid rny fingers of the ink, and still more that he 
 addressed me by name. 
 
 " People think we can get fifty pounds as easily as when 
 there was no war ; they are mistaken." 
 
 " Let them be," I responded, curtly and savagely. 
 
 "Just so," echoed Roger, chuckling again, " 'let them 
 be : ' a veiy good joke, Mr. Holbeck, but not very practical. 
 ' Let them be,' will hardly do to take as an answer to Mr. 
 Woollcombe, will it ? " 
 
 I was yet more troubled to remember that it would not, 
 and I was also gix>wing anxious about the inquiries that 
 might possibly be made concerning my share in this trans- 
 action, which, instead of occupying only half an hour, as 
 I had hoped and expected, was taking quite a long time, 
 and a very dreary, dismal time too. So I was silent now, 
 because if I spoke at all, I must show the anger I felt, 
 which I had no wish to do. All three of us might have
 
 80 I, BEXJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 formed the same resolution to be silent, so still was the 
 cellar. 
 
 " Are you meditating an escape from this edifice by the 
 orifice that admits the luminous particles, young sir ? " 
 asked a voice then, but to which of the two old men it 
 belonged, I could not have told. It took my dull brain 
 quite a long time to reflect that he meant by these high- 
 flown words, simply the window. 
 
 " I don't see any to escape by," I said, when his meaning 
 dawned upon me, " and I am not accustomed to fly from 
 any place till my business is accomplished. But if you 
 had any proper idea of the value of time to a military 
 man, you would not waste mine as you are doing." 
 
 " Yalue of time ! value of time ! We have no know- 
 ledge of the value of time ! Don't we sell time inch by 
 inch for gold, and don't we sell gold, carolus on carolus, 
 for time ? " 
 
 " Then pray reflect how needful it is to give me an 
 answer to take to Mr. Woollcombe, and let me go." 
 
 " You may go ; my brother will see Mr. Woollcombe 
 himself mx this business." 
 
 " Then return the stone to me," I said, very much 
 disappointed at these words. 
 
 " The stone can remain with us ; it is safer here than at 
 Mr. Woollcombe's." 
 
 A light seemed to flash across my mind at these words, 
 which served to explain in some sort what had happened, 
 and the parlous treatment to which the two old misers 
 had subjected me. They believed that I a Parliamenta- 
 rian officer had not come fairly by this jewel belonging 
 to a Cavalier. They had kept me in a sort of durance 
 while they sent a messenger to inquire the truth of my 
 story. 
 
 " I shall certainly not leave the stone," I said, firmly, 
 " unless I have a receipt for it, from you, to take to Mr. 
 Woollcombe."
 
 A STRANGE INTERVIEW. 83 
 
 Then there was a whispered confabulation between the 
 brothers, at some distance from me, after which they drew 
 nearer again, and one said 
 
 " That is reasonable, young sir," while the other quitted 
 the apartment. On his return with flint and steel he 
 struck a light, and in his efforts to do this, while the 
 sparks gleamed out into the darkness, like the fire-flies 
 of which we read of in the wondrous tales of travellers 
 to the Ne\v World, the picture they momentarily half 
 revealed was quaint and curious. The old, massive, much- 
 lined faces of the two brothers were half seen in the blue 
 light, and then almost instantly vanished again, swift as 
 the fancies of a dream. 
 
 At last the rushlight was re-lit, and Roger Greedy 
 wrote swiftly over a piece of paper these words 
 
 " From Mr. Woollcombe, by the hand of Ensign Holbeck, 
 one rnby, unset. I say, received." 
 
 To which Michael Greedy and Roger Greedy respectively 
 signed their names. I was veiy reluctant to leave the 
 stone, and my commission thus but half fulfilled. Nor 
 would I go quite in this way. 
 
 " When will Mr. Woollcombe hear from you, gentle- 
 men ? " I asked. 
 
 " To-night," responded Roger Greedy promptly. This 
 was the one satisfactoiy word I had heard in that place. 
 I folded the receipt, carefully put it in an inner pocket, 
 and walked towards the door. The blackness of my hands 
 was not to be borne longer. " Is there any place here 
 where I can wash my hands ? " I inquired. 
 
 " We do not provide soap and towels free of expense to 
 our customers," returned Roger Greedy, and both the old 
 men chuckled again. " Mr. Coffin will doubtless inform 
 you where the offensive ink stains can be removed. Young 
 gentlemen whose hands have had ghastlier stains, might 
 bear a little ink Avithout anger, methinks."
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 'CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR." 
 
 ; E are like to have a sorry Christinas this 
 year, and cannon balls will be our only 
 Christmas puddings. "We make so much 
 of Christmas in Yorkshire, with our yule 
 logs, and yule fires, and fermety, and carol- 
 singing, besides our Christmas cheer of 
 roast beef and plum pudding, that I miss 
 the preparations which, at home, are going on now. I 
 have compared notes with the Tonkin family, and find 
 that far less is ordinarily made in these southern parts 
 of Christmas than we do in the north, perhaps because 
 our cold is so much more intense. 
 
 Yet here, too, the "waits" go from street to street and 
 house to house, and many curious customs are observed, 
 and Christmas plays are acted in the homes amongst the 
 families, such as St. George and the Dragon, and many 
 others. This town of Plymouth may be said to have two- 
 giants connected with it, whose fame, methinks, might 
 well be remembered at Christmas-time. One of these is 
 called Gog Magog, and the other Corineus. And, foras- 
 much as I know my dear sister Lettice likes well to read 
 strange stories, I am minded to write for her this queer 
 old legend, which she will care more to hear when she
 
 "CHKISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A TEAK." 85 
 
 knows that I myself have seen the gigantic patterns of 
 these two warriors cut out ingeniously in the grass on the 
 Hoe, within a few yarda of our fort. 
 
 Twelve hundred years before the birth of our Lord, 
 Brutus, the Trojan, came to conquer these islands. They 
 landed at Totness now, I am told, an inland town, but 
 which may, at so great a distance of time, have been girt 
 by the sea. They liked the country around so well they 
 determined to stay in these parts, and to conquer the giant 
 inhabitants, to make good their possession. But one day, 
 while Brutus and his friends were holding a festival to 
 their gods, these giants thought fit to assemble in full 
 force and make an attack upon them. A terrible struggle 
 ensued, but at last the Trojans were victorious, and killed 
 all their enemies, save the leader of them, Gog Magog, 
 who was reserved for single combat with Corineus. Gog 
 Magog was twelve cubits high, and of such strength that 
 with one stroke he pulled up an oak, as it had been a hazel 
 wand. Nevertheless his adversary met him manfully, 
 holding it a diversion to encounter giants, and a tre- 
 mendous fight ensued. Gog Magog at length broke three 
 of his opponent's ribs, which so enraged the Trojan that, 
 taking the giant upon his shoulders, he ran with him. to 
 the shore, and getting upon the top of a high rock, hurled 
 down the savage monster into the sea, where, falling on 
 the sides of craggy rocks, he was torn to pieces, and 
 covered the waves with his blood. This high rock was 
 the Hoe, a grassy eminence on which our fort, and the 
 windmill of which I have spoken, and Sir Francis Drake's 
 compass and landmark, and various other buildings have 
 been erected. Here, in times of peace, plenty of good 
 sport is to be had, so my friends of this town inform me, 
 and here the train-bands as well as the regular troops 
 are exercised. Around the w T indmill is a seat which is 
 always occupied with old and young ; the old delight to 
 criticize our drill, and the young admire our uniforms and
 
 86 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 emulate our practice. Perhaps some few of the lasses 
 admire ns. 
 
 These two giant figures cut in the turf are not of equal 
 size, and they hold clubs in their hands. My sister Lettice 
 may make of the story what it is worth, she will at least 
 like to know the curious things I look upon. But I could 
 have wished, as a Briton, that the Trojan had been beaten 
 by the British giant, Goe Magog or Gog Magog, as his 
 name is variously written, instead of our old hero being 
 cast so ignominiously into the sea. 
 
 There is a watch-tower as well as a beacon on the Hoe. 
 The beacon is always kept well stored with furze, where- 
 with to signal the approach of danger. When Drake and 
 the other Admirals chased the Armada, its approach was 
 signalled by the watchman at Rame Head in Cornwall, on 
 his bold point, who lit his fire, and spread the news along 
 the coast, watch-tower to watch-tower answering, marking 
 the proud defiance of our heroes of the seas to the Papists 
 and oppressors. I do rejoice to know that Englishmen 
 have never been in love with oppression, and are not 
 to-day. 
 
 This time of year, when we have never hitherto failed 
 to be together at Brier Grange, sends my thoughts home- 
 wards with very sad forebodings. I have despatched a 
 short letter to my mother many weeks ago, by the hand 
 of one whom I hoped might prove a safe messenger ; but 
 I am in much doubt of its reaching her. I have had no 
 further news of my father, and the brave old sergeant, 
 whose regard for him seemed like a link between mysel 
 and my parent, is no longer on this earth to cheer me with 
 his noble words and inspire me by his determined acts of 
 heroism. I could better dispense with Christmas cheer 
 if I could receive the old accustomed Christmas greetings 
 of Brier Grange. 
 
 Dick Tonkin, in his kindly way, has invited me to 
 dinner on Christmas Day, and I have joyfully accepted his.
 
 "CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE "A YEAR." 87 
 
 invitation. Two of Dick's brothers have become officers 
 of the train-bands. Mr. Tonkin's spirits have sunk very- 
 low, so that there is little prospect of cheerfulness from 
 him, and his wife has many anxieties. But she always 
 has a smile of welcome for her visitors, and a kindly word 
 for everybody. Dick and his mother are blessed with 
 sunny tempers : they see a possible good out of evil, and, 
 rest like children in the hands of God. I much fear I 
 shall never attain to such a high state as theirs. 
 
 For the last few days there have been some skirmishes 
 between ourselves and the enemy, though nothing of very 
 great moment. They sought to gain an advantage at 
 Lipson, but we, by our counter-battery, kept them off, for 
 we played upon them from a commanding ground. On 
 Wednesday, December 20th, through the carelessness of 
 the captain of the guard, who omitted to order out sentries 
 on a wet and dirty night, the enemy raised a square work, 
 using a corner of a field for two sides thereof, within 
 pistol shot of Maudlyn Work, almost in a direct line 
 between that and Pennycomequick, which, if they had 
 held, might have cut us off from the relief of that work. 
 Next morning, as soon as this was discovered, the ordinary 
 guard, about sixty men, fell on, in hopes to have regained 
 it without any more help, but found their work guarded, 
 with two or three hundred men, and so were obliged to 
 retreat till help came from the town. 
 
 About nine o'clock we were ordered to repair ta 
 Maudlyn to assist the handful of men there, and thence 
 to the enemy's new work, which we fell on, and received 
 a repulse twice, once even after we had gained their work ; 
 but the cry of " God with us ! " reanimated our brave 
 fellows, whose perseverance is wonderful and worthy of 
 great admiration. Another attempt was altogether suc- 
 cessful ; we took the work, and slighted it, that it should 
 not do us a fresh damage. Amongst our prisoners were 
 a captain and the trumpeter of Prince Maurice, the King's
 
 88 1, BEXJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 nephew, while near a hundred men were killed. All our 
 loss were two lieutenants, prisoners, of whom we cherish 
 a good hope that they may soon be exchanged. Upon the 
 enemy's retreat, we could hardly dissuade our soldiers 
 from falling on their works to gain their ordnance, but 
 we had too few men to adventure on so hazardous a 
 design. 
 
 Next day, to our great joy, news was brought to us that 
 the enemy were preparing to draw off their ordnance. 
 Many of the townsfolk were utterly unbelieving, amongst 
 them Mr. Tonkin. Such mercies, the poor gentleman 
 thought, were not for him ; but being persuaded by his 
 wife, and accompanied by his son Richard, he ventured 
 outside Frankfort Gate, and beheld for himself, in the 
 distance, the withdrawal of the cannon from some of the 
 enemy's works. Now there was nothing but rejoicing, 
 though somewhat silently, for fear of what the enemy 
 might really purpose ; but the next day being Christmas 
 Day, the very day that Prince Maurice boastfully promised 
 his soldiers they should eat their roast beef and plum- 
 pudding in Plymouth, they were compelled to raise the 
 siege and march away from us, owing, as all will acknow- 
 ledge, to the steadfastness of the townsfolk in their 
 allegiance to the Parliament, aided by the valour of the 
 soldiers, both of which have been, I needs must write, 
 memorable and praiseworthy, though I would add with 
 reverence, as our good old sergeant would wish me to do, 
 " to God be all the glory." 
 
 No sooner were the besiegers gone, than it seemed as if 
 an oppressive weight were lifted from every heart, and 
 crowds of the townspeople, who had been compelled to 
 remain inside the gates, issued out with joyful hearts, 
 to see the accustomed country, and to behold the several 
 parts of which they had heard so much, and in which 
 actions of so much moment to them and theirs had taken 
 place.
 
 " CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR." 89 
 
 A day of thanksgiving was appointed to celebrate God's 
 great mercy in enabling us to be steadfast until our 
 enemies were removed from us. The bells of the church 
 of St. Andrew rang merrily, and Christmas Day was a day 
 of rejoicing. But good cheer of that abundance, and 
 that kind, associated in our minds with the word Christ- 
 mas was necessarily, as the old saying has it, " conspicu- 
 ous by its absence," and the first two courses I enjoyed at 
 Mr. Tonkin's were fair representatives of what even the 
 more opulent classes could furnish. First, we had a soup, 
 made, as Mrs. Tonkin said playfully, of everything but 
 turtle, and to which Harry Tonkin, a merry lad who has 
 always a joke to enliven us with, gave the name of " om- 
 nium gatherum soup." 
 
 The next course was a portion of dried fish, well soaked 
 and boiled, with a limited quantity of melted butter as a 
 Christmas luxury. But after that we had the pudding, 
 made by the fair daughters of the house, who told us 
 beforehand, as a great secret, that they had been put to 
 their wits' end to find the proper ingredients. It was 
 received with shouts of mirth, as the servants bore it in, 
 suitably decorated with a piece of holly from the garden, 
 while the dish was itself prettily garnished with bunches 
 of holly berries, ingeniously made to represent the words, 
 " A merry Christmas to you." 
 
 "Bravo, girls!" cried Harry; "we're not without a 
 Christmas pudding, after all ; and the maligs have turned 
 their backs upon us that's a very good Christmas box, 
 isn't it, mother ? " 
 
 " Maligs " was Harry's way of calling our enemies, the 
 malignants. 
 
 Mr. Tonkin prepared to cut the pudding, all the family 
 looked on attentively as he did so. I think the various 
 faces around the board might have made a picture. The 
 serving- woman paused at the door to see it done. 
 Mrs. Tonkin looked amused, Harry and the elder sons
 
 90 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 expectant ; the girls archly glanced at each other, being in 
 each other's secret ; I was curious to know what sort of 
 a compound we were to partake of. The master of the 
 house looked grave and suspicious, and was slow in his 
 operations. The outside colour of the pudding was all 
 that could be desired, a rich handsome brown ; but if, 
 indeed, it were a veritable plum-pudding, where, either 
 for love or for money, had the Misses Tonkin been able 
 to procure the spices, the plums, the currants, the lemon- 
 peel ? 
 
 Yet all were there, though proportionately and skil- 
 fully mixed, and so mingled by long boiling that each 
 blended with the other as a Christmas pudding should do. 
 
 Beyond Harry's impulsive exclamation when he had 
 tasted his first morsel, " Never ate a better, girls ! " little 
 was said for a few moments, whilst we all more cautiously 
 repeated Harry's experiment. But each, as he or she 
 tasted, was .evidently inclined to echo the lad's verdict. 
 Curiosity increased as appetite was satisfied. I had a- 
 shrewd suspicion that the servant-woman knew some- 
 thing about it ; she had lingered so persistently to enjoy 
 the surprise. 
 
 " The credit of this pudding is due to Rhoda," said 
 Mrs. Tonkin, " and we must ask her to come in and tell 
 us the story later on, when she has enjoyed her share in 
 the kitchen." 
 
 This was the story that Rhoda, a fine-looking woman 
 of thirty, had to tell us, prefaced by these words of her 
 mistress : 
 
 "I need not tell you, Master Holbeck, nor any of us, 
 that the women of this town have done good service to 
 our army, all the while we have been put to these sore 
 straits ; for, though some of them, and amongst the rest 
 Rhoda here, have been shot through several garments, 
 and even once or twice received a graze upon their skins, 
 yet they have continued to take such provisions as they
 
 "CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAR." 91 
 
 had to the Parliamentarians engaged at our defences, and 
 strong waters to rally them when wounded or faint." 
 
 "My brother is a soldier," said Rhoda, "and my father 
 and other relatives are in the train-bands ; so of course I 
 was necessitated to be very anxious about them, though 
 I would not have had them anything different, of course. 
 My mistress " and here she glanced with an expression 
 blended of love and pride at Mrs. Tonkin " could not do 
 enough kindness to me and them ; she often spared me to 
 take them things when she wanted me at home, and still 
 more often gave me the things to take. The Lord reward 
 her for her goodness to His suffering ones ! " 
 
 Rhoda, I knew, was a religious woman of high cha- 
 racter, much esteemed by her mistress and all the family, 
 acting up to her principles in all things, like Sergeant 
 Gurney, "fearing God and knowing no other fear." 
 
 " One day," she continued (" our lieutenant and Ensign 
 Holbeck will remember it well), at that last great fight 
 at Lipson, when poor Captain Wansey fell, there was a 
 grievous slashing and driving on both sides at the enemy 
 as well as at ourselves, whereby the slaughter was great, 
 and the number of wounded very many. I was attending 
 on our poor men, when I saw a prisoner amongst us, 
 dreadfully wounded, and no surgeon to attend him. So 
 I bound him up as well as I knew how, and my brother, 
 who was wounded too, took a little interest in the poor 
 wretch. I waited on him a little, from time to time, and 
 did what I could for him it wasn't much till by-and-by, 
 at the end of a week maybe, he was exchanged, and his 
 imprisonment came to an end. I never expected to hear 
 any more of the matter, not looking for much gratitude 
 amongst malignants," and here Rhoda looked rather grim; 
 " but this one was to show himself more of a man than 
 some of them. The next time afterwards that there was 
 an exchange of prisoners, one of our men who came back 
 from Widey, where he had been during his imprisonment,
 
 92 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 brought for me a parcel, not of very small size, from my 
 patient, who, he told me, was an officer's servant to a 
 gentleman high in authority under Prince Maurice. It 
 was some days before the parcel came into my hands, 
 owing to a little accident I had had, which prevented my 
 going to the fort as usual." Here Rhoda looked mean- 
 ingly at her mistress. 
 
 " Rhoda' s little accident was being shot at and slightly 
 wounded," said Mrs. Tonkin, drily. 
 
 " Our man was told," continued Rhoda, "on no account 
 to deliver the parcel to any one but myself, and he 
 smirked and simpered about it just as if he thought it 
 might be a love-message. But he little knows Rhoda 
 Calmady, who thinks she would allow herself to love a 
 malignant." 
 
 The woman drew herself up proudly, and her eyes 
 flashed. I felt my colour come vividly over my face, and 
 feared everybody would notice it. Did Rhoda suspect 
 my love for Lucy Woollcombe ? 
 
 " I was certainly curious to know what my parcel 
 contained," continued the serving- woman ; " but I would 
 not let the other soldiers guess as much, so I quietly put 
 it in my basket and went on with my work, dealing out 
 the food and drink my mistress had sent for the poor 
 hungry fellows. On my return home there were certain 
 duties to be fulfilled in this house for the family, so that 
 I had to put my curiosity to some test. At last I had 
 time for my own concerns." 
 
 " If we had known, poor Rhoda," said Moll Tonkin, 
 a sprightly girl of eighteen, " we would have given you 
 time to peep into your mysterious packet at once. It 
 must have been dreadfully tantalizing to wait so long ! " 
 
 Rhoda smiled at her young mistress. 
 
 " I found, on removing the outer covering, that the 
 parcel consisted of a small wooden box, and on opening 
 this discovered various separate packets, all of which I
 
 "CHRISTMAS COMES BUT ONCE A YEAE." 93 
 
 of course proceeded to examine. In one was sugar, in 
 another spice, in another raisins, in another currants, in 
 another lemon-peel, and in another tea; and beneath all 
 I found this note." 
 
 Here Rhoda took a sheet of paper from her pocket, and 
 read : 
 
 " ' Mistress Rhoda Calmady will do the sender a favour 
 by accepting the accompanying articles for her Christmas 
 pudding, which otherwise he fears may not be worth the 
 eating. He would have put in flour, but fears to add too 
 greatly to the weight of this, supposing, as he does, that 
 Mistress Calmady herself must transport it from Lipson 
 to Plymouth. He wishes he could do this service for her, 
 a wish in which he has no expectation that Mistress 
 Calmady will join him.' 
 
 " I should think not ! " interposed Rhoda. 
 " ' He hopes these little matters will at least prove that 
 Mistress Calmady's kindness to him is not forgotten by 
 one who signs himself by the name she knows him to 
 bear.' " 
 
 Here Rhoda abruptly concluded. 
 
 " I am not going to read that name. I think it better 
 not in the presence of his enemies." 
 Dick Tonkin laughed merrily. 
 
 " Nay, Rhoda ; after that pudding you may be assured 
 we are his friends, at all events now that the siege is raised 
 and he has betaken himself to other regions. But do as 
 you will, you are a prudent woman, yet I would not will- 
 ingly kill our grateful malignant, who has provided us with 
 such suitable sustenance on this festive occasion. But we 
 have to thank you most of all that you did not, as so many 
 would have done, keep these things for yourself, but 
 generously gave them for the family feast." 
 
 Rhoda's countenance beamed with affection as she 
 answered oracularly, yet with a not much hidden meaning 
 in her words
 
 04 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 " Master Dick ! Master Dick ! we should none of us be 
 as we are, if we were different. There's never been a day 
 since I first stepped into this house, sixteen years ago, 
 when I wasn't treated as one of the family, sharing their 
 goods even more than their ills. Would you think me less 
 grateful than my malignant ? " Tears came into her 
 honest eyes, and she retreated. " I will send a bit of 
 pudding to father and mother, mistress," she said, as she 
 went out of the door, quite in a different tone. 
 
 " Dear good Rhoda ! God bless you, Rhoda ! " 
 
 Such exclamations greeted her pleasantly, from the 
 young people. 
 
 After this, Mrs. Tonkin and her daughters Grace and 
 Moll, with Lieutenant Dick and Harry and myself, all 
 went out towards Lipson Fort. 
 
 " It was such a treat," the girls declared, " to be a bit 
 free again, after being shut up like hens in a coop."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 NEWS FROM HOME. 
 
 Tell me, ye merchants' daughters, did ye see 
 So fayre a creature in your towne before, 
 So sweet, so lovely, and so mild as she, 
 
 Adorned with beauty's grace and virtue's store ? " 
 
 SPENSER. 
 
 S we proceeded out of North Gate, by Resolu- 
 tion Fortj towards Lipson, we saw just before 
 us a female fignre I knew well, leaning on the 
 arm of an older woman for support, and 
 advancing but at a slow pace. I was walking 
 at the side of Mrs. Tonkin, and I now bent 
 and whispered to her 
 
 " You see Miss Woollcombe, dear Mrs. Tonkin ? I must 
 lend her my arm ; she really needs better assistance in 
 .walking than Bridget can render her." 
 
 " I am not sure of that, Benjamin," said my kind friend, 
 smiling ; " but, if you desire it, we will make one party in 
 our walk. Surely no one can feel other than friendly to- 
 wards sweet Lucy Woollcombe." So she advanced a little 
 more quickly till we were even with Lucy and her maid, 
 when Mrs. Tonkin gently laid her arm on that of the 
 young girl, and said 
 
 " I suppose we are all of us glad of the chance to see
 
 96 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 the fields again, this blessed Christmas day, dear Lucy, 
 My young Roundheads here will help you along ; yon are- 
 still weak. Come, Master Holbeck, give my young friend 
 your strong arm." 
 
 Thus skilfully and kindly, for which every one of my 
 dear ones who reads this may know I heartily thanked 
 her in my soul, did Mrs. Tonkin prepare my way. 
 
 But Bridget's wooden face was as unyielding and ex- 
 pressionless as a door. The broad mouth opened and shut 
 again without a word, as if by machinery, or as if taking 
 a bite at an invisible object; then she opened it once 
 again and said, in broad Devonshire 
 
 " If that was all, I could carry her out and home ; her's 
 no more than a fly to me, in manner of speaking ; and 
 when we talk about weight, her may lean as hard as her 
 likes, her won't hurt me." 
 
 " Of course not," said Mrs. Tonkin ; " but, Bridget, let 
 it be as I say, for I have two or three things I have occa- 
 sion to ask your advice upon." 
 
 If any of us were inclined to think this only an excuse, 
 we changed our opinion when Mrs. Tonkin and Miss 
 "VVoollcombe's wooden-faced servant walked together, 
 and appeared to enter at once into confidential talk. 
 I gave Mrs. Tonkin credit for being the most straight- 
 forward and yet clever diplomatist the world had ever 
 seen. 
 
 And now that I looked at Lucy, the first time I had 
 seen her out of doors save at the moment of the accident, 
 I felt a strong pang of anxiety concerning her health, so 
 exquisitely pink and white was her sweet face, so fragile 
 and delicate her whole appearance. Was it possible that 
 this awful war, besides killing strong men in the field, 
 caused beautiful maidens to be struck and to pine to death 
 in besieged cities ? 
 
 "Miss Woollcombe," I said tenderly, as I raised her 
 little hand upon my arm, and entreated her to lean upon
 
 NEWS FROM HOME. 99 
 
 me, " how is it you regain strength so slowly ? I fear you 
 are not taking care of yourself." 
 
 " I am doing very well, my kind doctor says," she 
 answered ; " pray do not trouble about me. What a little 
 thing my death or my life would be to any one save my 
 father. What I think about is the peril of my King, and 
 of the many brave men with him, as well as on the side of 
 the Parliament your side," she added, looking at me, as 
 I thought, a little reproachfully. " Only this morning, 
 my dear father has had news that has grieved him sorely, 
 it happened long weeks ago, on the 20th of September, I 
 think my father said." 
 
 "At the battle of Newbury '? " I queried, watching her 
 sweet face intently. 
 
 " Yes," she replied ; " but my father has only to-day 
 received letters from his friends describing it. In that 
 battle, as you may have heard, Lord Falkland fell." 
 
 " Lord Falkland ! I think I heard the name, but have 
 no knowledge of the gentleman," I said. Surely it was 
 not possible Lucy Woollcombe took an especial interest in 
 this nobleman ! 
 
 " From all I have heard of him," she continued, her 
 face glowing with enthusiasm, her dark blue eyes kind- 
 ling, " he was my type of a Christian hero and gentle- 
 man." 
 
 Her words could but pain me. 
 
 " Once I went with my father to London, when I was 
 almost a child, and I saw him. Such a beautiful, intel- 
 lectual face, such a chivalrous manner, such a graceful 
 form ! And now oh ! it is horrible ! " and she sighed 
 mournfully. 
 
 " Tell me all about it, Miss Woollcombe." 
 
 " He was our poor clear King's secretaiy of state, and 
 only thirty-four years old. He enlisted in Lord Byron's 
 cavalry corps as a volunteer. No Roundhead could be 
 more truly religious than he, Mr. Holbeck ; besides this
 
 100 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 lie was clever-, even brilliant, and his honour was unim- 
 peachable. You know he tried all he could to make the 
 King understood by your party, and to reconcile us all, 
 and re-establish peace. If all the King's ministers had 
 been like Lord Falkland, my father says, the disagreement 
 would never have existed at any rate, would never have 
 widened into war. He was a true patriot, Mr. Holbeck r 
 and when hostilities began, it is said, he grew quite mor- 
 bid and melancholy, neglected his dress, and gave way to 
 tits of dejection, weeping over the calamities that must 
 afflict his country and her people, and was often heard to 
 repeat to himself the one word, ' Peace ! peace ! ' as if he- 
 longed for that more than all besides. I think I under- 
 stand just how he must have felt," said Lucy ; " my own 
 life seems so altered. It is quite difficult to me to imagine 
 that less than two years ago, I was one of the merriest 
 girls in Plymouth, spending my life in song and mirth, 
 never dreaming of all that was so soon coming for me and 
 all those I love." 
 
 "Perhaps in another two years the storm-cloud of war 
 and sorrow will have passed away, and you will be merry 
 and happy again. God grant it may be so ! " I said. 
 
 " There will be so many dead," she said pensively. 
 
 "Tell me more about Lord Falkland, Miss Woollcombe." 
 
 " It is said in my father's letters that on the morning 
 of this battle of Newbury he appeared to have a presenti- 
 ment of his fate ; he attired himself richly, and said play- 
 fully to a friend that his body should not be found by the 
 enemy in a slovenly condition. Then he added these 
 words, ' I am weary of the times, and foresee much misery 
 to my country ; but believe me, I shall be out of it before 
 night.' He was inspired by this solemn conviction when 
 he took his place in the ranks, and in the first onset he 
 fell, mortally wounded, by a cannon shot; he only lived 
 about an hour afterwards." 
 
 Lucy's eyes filled as she ended her simple yet pathetic
 
 NEWS FROM HOME. 101 
 
 narration. I remembered afterwards that I had heard the 
 name of Lucius Carey, Lord Falkland, spoken of by our 
 officers as amongst the killed at Newbury. 
 
 " He was indeed one of the Cavalier heroes," I said, 
 " and in all his good, grand qualities, I desire to imitate 
 him. May I tell you, in my turn, of a Puritan hero, in a 
 humbler rank of life, who has died amongst us at Ply- 
 mouth here ? " 
 
 " Do," she said ; " true bravery is always good hearing." 
 
 How I loved her for those words. My Lucy ! Ah, if 
 only I could ever hope to call her so ! So fair in form, so 
 equally fair in mind and soul, happy will be that man who 
 wins so priceless a treasure for himself ! 
 
 In a few brief words I told her the pathetic little story 
 of our old Sergeant Gurney, and his giving his life up for 
 the poor, young, half-fed lads he commanded and trained. 
 I told her of his motto the motto of the Ironsides "Fear 
 God, and have no other fear," and then I added, for the 
 thought came into my mind, and I desired my heart to be 
 open as a book to Lucy " Who knows, perhaps Sergeant 
 Gnrney and Lord Falkland are united in heaven, though 
 they could not be on earth." She glanced at me with 
 such a look in her true deep eyes, which were soft with 
 tears shed this time for the Puritan sergeant ; I thought 
 there was no sincerer tribute to his honoured memory. 
 We had no further opportunity of private speech, for we 
 were drawing near the fort, and conversation became 
 general. And then on the return, Mrs. Tonkin chose to 
 take Lucy to herself a while, and Lieutenant Tonkin 
 walked with me and the merry lad Harry, who was full of 
 interest, and asked more questions than one could answer 
 him. But I felt, when I conducted Miss Woollcombe and 
 Bridget to their home in Looe Street, and took leave of 
 them, that we had advanced considerably in our acquain- 
 tanceship. I did find opportunity to ask her if the matter 
 of the stone was satisfactorily settled between Messrs.
 
 102 I, . BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 Greedy and her father, and she told me yes. I had before 
 this ascertained that they had paid their promised visit to 
 Mr. Woollcombe. 
 
 This eventful Christmas day was not to end for me 
 without one more pleasure, for on my return to the fort 
 and to my chamber, I found an ample packet laid on the 
 little table, and joyfully recognized the handwriting of 
 my sister Lettice. Several signatures of officers, by whom 
 the parcel had been " passed " on its transit from York- 
 shire into Devonshire, interested me, notably those of our 
 great leaders, Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. 
 But one signature was of yet more worth to me : it was 
 this, " Benjamin Holbeck, colonel, all well." So it had 
 passed through my father's hands, and bore news of him 
 also important to me. He was raised to a colonelcy, on 
 Avhich I heartily congratulated him ; and he was well, for 
 which I praised God from my very soul. Here is the 
 letter of Lettice : 
 
 " Brier Grange, November 8, 1613. 
 
 " MY DEAR BROTHER, 
 
 " How is it we hear no news of you ? Surely it 
 cannot be impossible, if you be alive, to let us hear of you; 
 at all hazards send us some news, for we are troubled, 
 especially mother. Grandmother says, ' The dear lad is 
 in God's hands, whether in battle or at peace,' which 
 reminds me of the words of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, that 
 * we are as near heaven at sea as on shore.' But for all 
 that I like to know people are well, and not wounded or 
 killed, so pray send us news. 
 
 " My father wrote and told us you were in a besieged 
 place, and could hardly get enough to eat, he feared. 
 Poor Ben ! how gladly would I go hungry that thou 
 mightest eat. Sometimes I almost choke when I have a 
 good meal, and think of thee, and the tears will come 
 rolling down into my plate. Mother says then, rather
 
 NEWS FROM HOME. 103 
 
 sharply, ' Tears are poor sauce, Lettice.' But grand- 
 mother says, ' Let her cry, dear child ; her heart will 
 lighten, if her tears flow gently.' 
 
 " Dear Ben, there is another thing I must say to thee, 
 that I would to God I knew thou wert a Christian. It 
 must be a dreadful thing to fight, and not feel that we 
 shall go to heaven when we die ; above all to fight for 
 God's cause, and yet not to seek for His blessing. Father's 
 leaving us, and thy going away, and many other matters, 
 have induced my poor stubborn soul to yield at last to 
 the Lord's good Spirit, which has long striven to lead me 
 to Him. And now, dear Ben, I think I want nothing so 
 much as to know that all whom I love are also loving the 
 Lord with me. Be assured, dear brother, that I pray for 
 thee continually, and that I have full faith that my 
 prayers will be answered. I do believe thou dost dearly 
 love me. Wilt thou not please me in this one thing, that 
 thou wilt read thy Bible daily, and pray for me as I do for 
 thee? Father says thou hast had the news sent on to 
 thee about Master Thackeray and Sister Miriam. His 
 coming over often makes us lively, when otherwise it 
 would be but dull for such a family of lone women. 
 Jonathan Thorp goes ' foraging for news ' sometimes, as 
 he calls it, and picks up a good deal that interests us, bat 
 when we ask him to learn news of thee, he says thou art 
 too far away, where none of our pikemen or musqueteers 
 ever reach. This is a very great pity. We hope thou wilt 
 send full particulars of where thou art, and what the 
 place is like, and who thy friends are. I hope they are 
 godly young men, like Colonel Cromwell's Ironsides. My 
 father says there are no oaths, no profane talk, no drunken- 
 ness in their ranks, and more praying and preaching, of 
 a high class too, than he ever heard before. He says they 
 all feel God is present, and act accordingly. Isn't that 
 a beautiful thought, dear brother ? Yet no more beautiful 
 than true. God is present in our Yorkshire dales and
 
 104 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 wolds, as in your besieged town. If only we could 
 always remember this. 
 
 " Now that I have once begun, dear Ben, to open my 
 heart to thee, I find it difficult to stop, yet I must bring 
 my letter to a close ere long, for we have heard of an 
 opportunity, through good Master Thackeray, to send it 
 to thee. So while he is in our parlour, courting our sister, 
 I am writing this in the kitchen, at a warm nook near 
 grandmother's chair by the fire, for him to take away 
 with him, later on. Yet, as he is never in a harry to end 
 his discourse with her (and it is wonderful to me how 
 much lovers have to say to each other), I reckon upon 
 a full hour longer in which to continue my chat, and 
 to pack those little matters of comfort which Patience has 
 brought to my side on the great dining-table, and which 
 I may be able to squeeze for thee into so small a compass 
 as that to which I am limited. 
 
 " Mother insists on sending thee a bottle of a wonderful 
 essence, which she has succeeded in procuring from long- 
 boiled beef, made after the manner of invalid's beef-tea, 
 only boiled to a jelly. She fancies that it will sustain life 
 for a long time in a hungry man indeed, for quite a fabu- 
 lous time. I have somewhat less faith, bat desire to be 
 obedient, though it is difficult to pack. Grandmother 
 sends some of thy favourite Pontefract liquorice cakes, so 
 good against colds and coughs. Miriam has made thee 
 a warm knitted covering for thy chest and woollen cuffs 
 for thy wrists. I risk sending thee my small store of 
 money, which mother says is foolish, but I hope it may 
 not prove so. We all wish we could pack a barrel for thee 
 with one of our prime hams, and cheese, and other good 
 things. 
 
 "I send thee my Bible, dearest Ben, with many passages 
 marked for thee that have been a blessing to myself. 
 Jonathan Thorp recommended a bottle of strong waters, 
 to cure thee of many ills, but I told him plainly I had
 
 SEWS FROM HOME. 105 
 
 neither room nor inclination to send such to thee, and that 
 he was the last man who shonld have given such ill advice. 
 Poor man ! he looked somewhat crestfallen at that, and 
 then I took to pitying him, and have told him for his 
 encouragement that I will give a good account of him to 
 thee ; for indeed he has only been drunk three times this 
 autumn, and that upon strong provocation to drink, which 
 is really great improvement for Jonathan, and bids me not 
 to give up all hope of him. 
 
 " Grandmother enjoins me not to finish this letter with- 
 out giving some public news. Once, when the troops of 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax came into these parts, we had some 
 of them quartered here at Brier Grange, and though I 
 suppose they behaved decently, yet it was a great trouble 
 to us to have them here. Bat grandmother gently talked 
 to them, all rough as some of them were, and persuaded 
 them to attend our family devotions in the great kitchen, 
 night after night, and, by the end of the fortnight, when 
 they departed again, they thanked her for her kind care of 
 their souls, as well as their bodies, and many of them 
 seemed softened before the Lord. Our brave leader has 
 suffered much in himself and those dearest to him in these 
 troublous times, for his wife has been taken prisoner by 
 the Earl of Newcastle's troops, while he himself had to 
 defend the ferry at Selby, that his father, the Lord 
 Ferdinando Fairfax, might cross the river. Sir Thomas 
 was shot in the wrist, the poor, dear brave man, and for 
 twenty hours sat on his horse, with his wrist shattered, 
 while his poor little daughter, the little Lady Mary, was 
 so overcome with the fatigues of this dreadful retreat he 
 sustained, that they thought to have lost her. He hoped 
 to have a little rest at Burton, and lay down to take it, 
 but was called up again in a quarter of an hour by the 
 sudden appearance of the enemy, and had scarcely time to 
 huddle his ordnance 011 board a ship in the Humber, when 
 the King's troops galloped into the town. So, in this
 
 106 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 mangled condition, covered with blood, without a shirt, 
 and his clothes rent, he arrived only just alive at Hull. 
 I am glad, for the honour of Earl Newcastle, to say that 
 he sent home Lady Fairfax a few days later in his own 
 coach, attended by a maid of honour. Surely it must be 
 hard on a gallant gentleman, on their side or ours, to take 
 a lady prisoner and away from her husband's protection, 
 to unknown peril. Dear Ben, I hope war will not make 
 thee cruel, but that thou wilt be very tender of prisoners, 
 especially if they be women. 
 
 " So now I must bring my letter to an end, hoping it 
 will not weary thee, which I do not think it will, seeing 
 thou hast not many letters to read. 
 
 " Grandmother sends thee her love and her blessing ; 
 mother desires me to say, with her tenderest love and care 
 for thee, that she beseeches thee to write and relieve her 
 anxiety, as a good son should. Patience and Miriam send 
 their best loves, and Master Thackeray sends his love. 
 He, with Miriam, has just come into the kitchen for 
 supper, of which I wish thou, dear hungry brother, couldst 
 take part. I have determined to put in a small vessel of 
 my savoury potted meat for thee, and let Master Thackeray 
 complain of the weight, if he will ; also a very small jar 
 of mince-meat, for Christmas draweth nigh, and maybe 
 thou wilt not have a Christmas dinner, poor dear brother ; 
 Jonathan Thorp commends himself to thy remembrance, 
 so likewise do all the household. Dear, dear brother, 
 good-bye. Thou knowest how much of my love thou hast, 
 and never so much as now. God keep thee, dear Ben. 
 " Thy sister, 
 
 " LETTICE. 
 
 "P.S. It is reported that, for his bravery in various 
 actions, our dear father is made a colonel. We are all 
 pleased at this, as thou wilt be."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A MONTH OF BLOCKADE. 
 
 HE enemy now quartered at Tavistock and 
 Pljmpton to refresh their men, for we soon 
 found they had no intention to draw off from 
 us altogether; a blockade, under Sir John 
 Digby, being our next experience. But we 
 so sorely needed rest that even this was wel- 
 come to us. Some of us have had six or 
 seven nights' duty, without any relief, which has sorely 
 tried our strength. 
 
 A heavy fine was obtained from one Sampson Hele, 
 Esq., of Fardel, who came with a message from the Prince 
 to persuade the yielding of the town. But as he came 
 offensively "without drum or trumpet," he was mulcted 
 in the sum of two thousand pounds, which proved a great 
 boon to us, providing, as it did, for the payment and 
 clothing of our soldiers, without which it is difficult to 
 imagine we could possibly have held out so long. 
 
 The enemy's word, " The town is ours," has proved 
 very false, while ours, " God with us," has proved as true. 
 The worst strait is just now, that, though the siege is 
 raised, the blockade prevents our receiving the supplies of 
 food which we so sorely need. Prince Maurice issued this
 
 108 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 order against the relief of the garrison before he left, to 
 the constables and tything men of Egg Buckland and 
 St. Budeaux : 
 
 " Forasmuch as divers persons disaffected to his 
 Majesty's service make their daily recourse into Ply- 
 mouth, furnishing the rebels there with all manner of 
 provision for man and horse, contrary to his Majesty's 
 proclamation prohibiting the same ; these are therefore to 
 signify that if any person, of whatever degree or quality 
 soever, presume to have any commerce or dealing with 
 any in the said town, or take or carry with him any 
 horses, oxen, kine, or sheep, or other provision for man 
 or horse into the said town of Plymouth for the relief of 
 the rebels there, every such person and persons shall be 
 proceeded against, both in person and estate, as abettors 
 of this horrid rebellion and contemners of his Majesty's 
 proclamation, according to the limitation of the Court of 
 Wards in such cases provided ; willing and requiring all 
 mayors, justices of peace, bailiffs, contables, and all other 
 of his Majesty's officers and ministers, to cause them to be 
 forthwith published in all churches, chapels, markets, and 
 other places, whereby his Majesty's loving subjects may 
 the better take notice thereof. MAURICE." 
 
 And though I believe, spite of this, the country folk 
 would look at the money rather than it, and willingly 
 bring us provisions if the country were open, yet it will 
 hardly pay a man to lose his head to sell his crop. 
 
 We hear that the cavaliers of Devon and Cornwall have 
 entered into a solemn vow and protestation, to the utmost 
 of their power to assist his Majesty's armies in reducing 
 Plymouth. 
 
 Generals Wardlaw and Gould are sending a despatch 
 to the Parliament, and they have intimated to the officers 
 from the east and north-west their messenger may also 
 cany letters of small weight for our relations in those 
 parts, which will be forwarded as opportunity arises from
 
 A MONTH OF BLOCKADE. 109 
 
 London. I have not been able to send all my papers, as 
 I had intended on the first opportunity, but I have written 
 a letter to my father, thinking there was most hope of his 
 receiving it, and begging him to send it on to Yorkshire 
 to my mother at Brier Grange. 
 
 We have no reason whatever to hope for a long cessa- 
 tion of hostilities ; indeed, even now that the siege is 
 raised, Mount Stamford guns favour us daily with some 
 great shot ; but the Lord hath not permitted their firing 
 to do any further damage, so that the enemy wastes his 
 ammunition to small profit. "We hear that the patience 
 and perseverance of this town are much commended by 
 the Parliament, this western country being so much given 
 up to the power and authority of the malignants ; some, 
 indeed, compare us prettily to a green oasis of truth in 
 the midst of a wilderness of error. The doctors have been 
 too busy of late in this town a thing to be much regretted 
 and yet not wondered at : so many of us have really lacked 
 sufficiency of nourishment, and the food we have had has 
 been too often of a poor quality. Mr. Tonkin dwells dis- 
 mally on these facts, and tells me that in this month of 
 December when twenty deaths were the average of the 
 town, there have been instead one hundred and thirty, 
 and that only the number buried in the churchyard, and 
 not all those who fell in skirmishes. 
 
 Lettice's letter, so fond, so kind, T read many times, 
 and each time with the greater satisfaction and interest. 
 The little memorials of their love for me were acceptable 
 intrinsically, and yet more from the true affection they 
 manifested. And now such cold weather set in at the 
 turn of the year as made every warm thing necessary ; and 
 having taken a bad cold when the extreme moist was 
 exchanged for severe frost, I was glad to cover my wrists 
 with Miriam's warm cuffs, and my chest and shoulders 
 with her vest, and to betake myself to the frequent use 
 of Pontefract cakes, through dear grandmother's kindness.
 
 110 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 I do not want to spend Lettice's money, which is almost 
 four pounds, unless I am necessitated. 
 
 We soldiers of the Parliament's army are not paid as 
 punctually as we think we deserve to be ; yet, as we have 
 but little occasion or even opportunity to spend, we feel 
 this the less. 
 
 I have resolved to take Lettice's letter with me the next 
 time I go to Mr. Woollcombe's. I feel a desire to let Lucy 
 know as much of Lettice as she can learn from this epistle. 
 Bat we are busier than ever now, setting the town in a 
 good posture of defence, not knowing what more the future 
 will bring to us of fighting. The siege was only raised 
 just in time to prevent the ingress of the malignants ; 
 for the very day after, part of two of the works fell 
 down. 
 
 Parties go out every day to strengthen and repair the 
 old fortifications and make new ones. Colonel Wardlaw's 
 health is completely shattered by his exposures in this 
 siege, and the active conduct of all things has devolved 
 this long time upon Colonel Gould. All the redoubts and 
 batteries of the enemy are very effectually slighted by us, 
 and we destroyed the hedges immediately contiguous to 
 their outworks. 
 
 The country around this town is very beautiful, with 
 abundance of gentle slopes and woods, and snug valleys 
 nestling between. Now that the frost has covered the 
 bare trees, so that the branches of them shine silvery in 
 the sunshine, the prospect is very fair indeed, while the 
 near or distant views are generally enlivened with the 
 sight of the sea, on which, in this slight cessation of 
 hostilities, are to be seen more sails of ships and divers 
 little boats. Only this morning we had a fall of snow, 
 enough to powder the headlands above Fort Stamford 
 and Mount Edgecumbe on the opposite side with white- 
 ness, which gave a new beauty to the scene ; and miles 
 away in the east and north the quaint tors of Dartmoor
 
 113 
 
 stood op white and glistening against the sky, the snow, 
 storm there beiiig much more severe than in this place- 
 Dartmoor is a reg-ion I often wish to visit* bat at 
 present it is just as impossible as for me to go to Brier 
 Grange. 
 
 I was so poorl j as to be excused without asking for it 
 from sentry work, and I availed myself of my freedom to 
 go with my sister's letter to visit Lucy Woollcombe. 
 Bridget was quite excited, for her, when I requested to 
 see her mistress. She was sure that Miss Woollcombe 
 was too pleasantly engaged to receive any one. The family 
 had company. She so evidently expected me to go, that 
 I actuafly found it most difficult to stay. Yetifldidnot 
 see Lucy now, who could say when another opportunity 
 might arise ? So I told Bridget that my business was 
 somewhat particular, and slipped a silver piece into her 
 hand (a thing 1 had never done before), as I entreated 
 her to inform her mistress of my presence. 
 
 A curious widening of her wooden face, a curious 
 twinkle in her greenish grey eyes, followed her reception 
 of the coin, and I had just come to the flattering conclu- 
 sion that I had done a wise thing, and purchased her 
 willing service, when her arm was jerked out in my direc- 
 tion, and her hand dropped again into mine the piece of 
 money. Had I insulted her by offering so small a sum ? 
 I very much feared I had. 
 
 <; Mr services are not to be bought by an enemy of my 
 Bong," said Bridget, with her curious smile, Ci least of all 
 
 when " then she stopped herself abruptly as if she 
 
 had said too much, and thus she awakened my curiosity, 
 as I believe she fully purposed to do, without intending 
 to satisfy it in the least. 
 
 But here Lucy's voice was heard calling, c: Bridget ! 
 Bridget ! I want you ; " and the serving- woman hastened 
 away. Lucy's voice was enough to quicken my pulses, 
 and it was with difficulty I controlled my inclination to
 
 114 1, BENJAMIN HOLE EOF. 
 
 hasten to her. Presently Bridget reappeared. "You 
 may come in for a little while ; Miss Woollcombe is alone 
 till the gentlemen rejoin her after their wine," she said 
 drily enough. 
 
 The gentlemen ! Was it possible Lucy had an admirer 
 amongst the Royalists, who had managed on the raising 
 of the siege to get into the town ? Fierce jealousy at the 
 thought filled my mind for a few minutes, but I speedily 
 took comfort from her permission to myself. 
 
 There was more cordiality than usual in her manner to 
 me, though it was blended with some nervousness and 
 hesitation, that gave a deeper flash to the soft carmine of 
 her delicately rounded cheeks, and a brighter look to her 
 deep blue eyes. 
 
 " You are not well, Mr. Holbeck," she said gently, as 
 she looked at me attentively, and invited me to a seat. 
 Such sympathy was delightful, worth far more than all 
 the inconvenience of the chill I had taken. 
 
 " I suppose there is no one to look after you when you 
 are ill ? " she said again, after I had explained to her that 
 my indisposition was but trifling, and thanked her for her 
 kind inquiry. From this it was easy to tell her of my 
 letter, and to produce it and beg her to read it, if it was 
 not too great a trespass on her time. 
 
 " Certainly not," and soon she held Lettice's epistle 
 open before her; then she added, smiling archly, "You 
 are quite sure there are no secrets you would rather not 
 confide to me, Mr. Holbeck ? " 
 
 The pretty playfulness of her manner almost tempted 
 me to confessions that would have been, rash at that 
 moment. With an effort I .restrained my inclination and 
 answered simply, " Quite sure, Miss Woollcombe." 
 
 She read the letter all through, and appeared to grow 
 interested as she read ; after she had finished its perusal, 
 she folded the sheet and returned it to me. 
 
 " Thank you ; 1 feel to like your sister Lettice very
 
 A MONTH OF BLOCKADE. 115 
 
 much. It is a very interesting letter; but," she added, 
 " I am afraid your warm things should have come sooner. 
 Will you let me be your doctor ?" 
 
 I laughed, and assured her I should like nothing better. 
 So she rose and went to a cupboard, and took therefrom 
 a, phial bottle full of a white-looking liquid, which she 
 gave into my hand, saying, " You look a little feverish, 
 Mr. Holbeck ; I think this medicine will do you good. 
 Will you promise me to take a dose three times a day, the 
 first when you go to bed to-night ? It is very useful in 
 cases of feverish cold, and often prevents more serious 
 
 I thanked her, and said something about her goodness 
 to me, and then, foolish as it was, being, I suppose, much 
 weaker and more out of health than I quite knew, I broke 
 down and sobbed for a few moments like a child. But 
 I soon felt ashamed of myself, and tried to rise and leave 
 her, knowing how she would despise such cowardice. But 
 her little hand was laid firmly, restrainingly, upon my 
 arm ; and her sweet pitying face, pure and good as the 
 face of an angel, was near mine, and then she raised her 
 soft hand, and drew the hair caressingly, soothingly 
 back from my burning temples, and laid her palm upon 
 them. 
 
 " There is nothing to be ashamed of in our tears," she 
 said softly, as if she perfectly divined my feelings, " when 
 they arise from bodily weakness or true sources of grief. 
 Even to men," she continued, with a little of that sweet 
 playfulness which she had manifested once before that 
 evening, " tears may be a great relief. We all know 
 women enjoy a good cry when their hearts are too heavy 
 to enjoy anything else. But I am afraid you are seriously 
 unwell ; don't trifle with yourself. I am not sure my 
 medicine will be strong enough to suit you. Now I must 
 advise you, for your own good, to go back at once to your 
 quarters and go to bed, and if you are not better to-morrow,
 
 116 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 you must not rise, but seek the advice of an experienced 
 doctor." 
 
 " Sweet tyrant ! " I said sadly, " will you send me from 
 my physician ? " 
 
 Her face flushed deeply. " Indeed I must." 
 
 At that moment we heard voices in the passage outsidc- 
 I rose. Lucy drew herself away from my side. One 
 voice, a loud, noisy voice, certainly not that of Mr. Wooll- 
 combe, just then uttered these words, distinctly audible. 
 
 " Then why did you not let the Prince know your 
 secret, Mr. Woollcombe ? " 
 
 The voice of Lucy's father uttered some words which 
 could not be distinguished, then came the answer, in the 
 noisy tones that had before spoken 
 
 " Wasn't it worth while to sacrifice a few to thirst, for 
 the sake of our cause ? " 
 
 Lucy hurried to the spinnet, and began to play a lively 
 air. " You must not hear any more, Mr. Holbeck," she 
 said in agitated tones ; " you have heard too much already. 
 You must stay and meet them now. Pray arrange my 
 music for me. Go when they come, if you can." 
 
 I obeyed her about the music, and nodded my assent to 
 the rest, for at that moment the door opened and Mr. 
 Woollcombe and a tall, coarse-featured, sensual-looking 
 military man entered. He stared rudely at me, which 
 I felt, rather than saw, for I studiously avoided looking at 
 him until I should be introduced. 
 
 " Mr. Holbeck, I did not know we had the pleasure of 
 your company," said Mr. Woollcombe, extending his hand 
 to me with his usual grace and cordiality, though I could 
 detect some slight embarrassment in his tone. 
 
 " Who is this, pray, that Miss Woollcombe is so obliging 
 as to entertain with her music ? " inquired the new-comer, 
 rather demanding than asking. 
 
 " He is a gentleman, sir," said Lucy, with much spirit, 
 " to -whom we are obliged for many favours in these
 
 A MOSTH OF BLOCKADE. 117 
 
 troublous times, and to be grateful is the last thing that 
 I shall forget, I trust." 
 
 " Very pretty, very pretty, my fair hostess," said the 
 Cavalier, who had the air and manners and swagger of a 
 soldier of fortune; "but we must not show too many 
 favours to the enemy. Any man may be glad to win such 
 gratitude as this." 
 
 " Sir ! " cried Lucy, rising from the spinnet, drawing 
 her small form to its full height, and speaking with such 
 authority and dignity that the other seemed as much 
 surprised at her as I must own I was myself, though he 
 had no reason to share my delight, " Sir, do you mean to 
 insult me in my father's house and presence ? How dare 
 you ? You ! " 
 
 He fairly cowed at her manner, and took a seat beside 
 her father at some distance from us. She told me by her 
 eyes, rather than her words, not to go quite yet, and 
 consulted with me aloud as to the music she should play. 
 When this piece was ended, she said, " Thank you, Mr. 
 Holbeck ; I have already detained you somewhat, I fear ; 
 good-night." 
 
 She laid her hand in mine confidingly. Mr. Wooll- 
 combe rose and escorted me to the door ; I bowed stiffly to 
 the new-comer as I passed him. Lucy glided out after us, 
 and ran, singing softly, upstairs ; I thought it was to 
 show to him and to me the annoyance she felt towards 
 him. 
 
 My disease gave way to my fair physician's remedy. 
 I took the prescribed dose on my return to quarters, fell 
 into a profuse perspiration, and slept soundly. I kept in 
 bed late the next morning, and was free from my worst 
 symptoms when I arose. 
 
 The rest of our month of blockade I did my fair share 
 of work, being by no means desirous to spare myself, 
 but far more anxious for sweet Lucy's sake to be pro- 
 moted to a lieutenancy, though there was little chance
 
 118 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 of this, save by some exploit of unusual bravery in active 
 service. 
 
 I did not reflect then, as I have done very often since, 
 that the positions into which this unnatural civil war 
 placed men, was often extremely incongruous. My own 
 feelings in regard to the promotion I desired, is an instance 
 of this. I anticipated with pleasure the opportunity of 
 gaining an advantage over Lucy's friends, in order that 
 I might become of greater moment in her eyes. 
 
 If, indeed, she regarded me with even the faintest 
 shadow of that intense love which I now freely acknow- 
 ledged to myself 1 felt for her, she must rejoice in my 
 ad vancement ; and yet, rejoicing in that, did she not wrong 
 her party ?
 
 CHAPTER XTY. 
 
 A DILEMMA. 
 
 IGHTI^G began again on the 26th of January. 
 But before I tarn to the events which then so 
 quickly succeeded each other, as to keep us in 
 a constant state of expectation and interest 
 and bustle, I must not omit to record what 
 made the sweetness of my life for several days, 
 when I could not see Lucy, and could only 
 thankfully remember her kindness to me. Tom, to whom, 
 ever since our dear old sergeant's death, I had taken a 
 special liking he had been so fond of that good man, and 
 so affected by his sudden end came to me the morning 
 after I had met the Cavalier at the house of Mr. Wooll- 
 combe, and said gravely, but with a queer look on his 
 face 
 
 "If you please, sir, there's a grown Dutch doll wants to 
 speak to you." 
 
 I was in bed, following my gentle doctor's advice, and 
 could not rise to speak to any visitor. But the absurd 
 description made me recognize at once the person of 
 Bridget, and I was very unwilling to let her go away 
 without knowing her errand ; indeed, it was not to be 
 thought of.
 
 120 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 " Tom, don't speak disrespectfully of my friends, if you 
 please," I said, somewhat sharply, though I could not but 
 laugh inwardly at the lad's smartness. " Mistress Bridget 
 is a person of authority. The Lord has not given to all of 
 us handsome forms and countenances." 
 
 Tom looked abashed, as I meant him to, for his own 
 face is homely featured, thongh extremely pleasant, with a 
 bright quick eye, and a merry smile, and he is immensely 
 popular in our garrison. " I must see Mistress Bridget," 
 I added ; " for her business is peculiar ; bring me some- 
 thing to make myself presentable to her, and then show 
 her in. But be sure you tell her my sickness confines me 
 to bed, so that if she would rather not enter, she may go 
 away." 
 
 Tom obeyed me promptly. He threw over my shoulders 
 a new rug, which had not been used for any horse yet, and 
 set the room straight. Then he went back to the " grown 
 Dutch doll," as he had saucily yet not inaptly called 
 Bridget, and presently he ushered her in. 
 
 Bridget stood at " attention " just within my room door, 
 and eyed me scrutinizingly. 
 
 "You be ill, then, sir? " she said, curtly enough. 
 
 "I am very much better, thank yon, Bridget. Will 
 you be good enough to say to Miss Woollcombe that 
 her medicine has done me a great deal of good, and 
 that, thanks to her, I hope in a few hours to be well 
 again ? " 
 
 "You stay in bed to get well, sir ? " she demanded. 
 
 " Just to make sure," I answered, smiling. 
 
 " Pretty soldiers you be ! " was Bridget's scornful 
 rejoinder. 
 
 The change in her manner somewhat surprised me, but 
 I only laughed. Then she pulled out from some mys- 
 teriously hidden pocket a small sealed note, and my 
 heart beat fast at sight of it But Bridget never did 
 things in a hurry, unless under very strong provocation,
 
 A DILEMMA. 121 
 
 and I was anxious now, as always, to propitiate her if 
 possible. 
 
 "Some folks is thought a deal of for doing nothing," 
 she remarked, "and other folks is thought little of for 
 doing much." 
 
 "Very true," I assented. 
 
 " And them that does little be always they that thinks 
 they does much," she continued. 
 
 I could hardly doubt that her words were intended to 
 apply to myself, but I was determined, for my sweet 
 Lucy's sake, not to feel annoyed with her faithful servant. 
 I had detected unmistakable signs of jealousy towards 
 me before now, yet I would be purposely blind to it. 
 
 " I have no doubt you are right," I answered. 
 
 " I'm not one to be always talking and parleying and 
 disputing about Bible texes and Bible words ; but the Bible 
 does say we've not got to serve two masters ; I know 
 that." 
 
 " We cannot," I answered, " if the masters are opposed, 
 and require a different kind of service." 
 
 She answered, not with any words, but with a significant 
 grunt, and pushed out her under lip so as to form what, 
 when I was a child, was called a dripping-pan. This ugly 
 pout by no means improved the personal appearance of 
 the " grown Dutch doll," and I began to realize that Lucy 
 Woollcombe might have a good deal to put up with in the 
 strange temper of her liege woman. Yet that she was 
 devotedly fond of, and loyally attached to, her sweet 
 young mistress I was fully assured ; and that alone would 
 have made her bearable in my sight, whatever she had 
 said or done to me personally. 
 
 " There's no use wasting words about it," she observed 
 at length, as she handed me the note, dropped me a 
 curtsey, and disappeared before I could detain her. 
 
 I was very sorry, but saw not how to mend matters by 
 regrets. I opened Lucy's note. No one will blame me
 
 122 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 that I delayed to do so till I had kissed again and again 
 the fair superscription to 
 
 Ensign Benjamin Holbeck, 
 Plymouth Fort. 
 
 What a delicate tracery it was ! just suitable to emanate 
 from those soft little hands that last night I had felt, with 
 their delicious power of soothing, on my burning brows - t 
 I could feel them yet. This was her dear letter : 
 
 " DEAR MR. HOLBECK, 
 
 " I hope Bridget will be able to tell me on her 
 return that you are very much better. Indeed, you must 
 take care of yourself, for the sake of your dear family so 
 far away at Brier Grange, and for the sake of all your 
 many friends here. 
 
 " I am afraid you heard last night what it was not at all 
 intended any one should hear who is not on the side of the 
 King. I am very much puzzled how to act in this matter. 
 But I think I shall feel 1 have done all that is required of 
 me if I ask you not to mention what you heard, unless, 
 indeed, you feel it to be contrary to your honour not to do 
 so. Then I trust, however serious the consequences may 
 be, I am the last who could advise a man [these two words 
 were crossed out and the one word "you" substituted] 
 against your duty. 
 
 " I remain, sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 " LUCY WOOLLCOMBE." 
 
 I was half ashamed to remember how little attention I 
 had paid to the words of the Cavalier the preceding 
 evening, in relation to our condition as an army. I had 
 been absorbed in my fair charmer, and the progress I 
 believed I had made in her favour ; so delighted that she 
 had shown her liking for me as a friend so unmistakably 
 to her guest, that his words had not set me thinking, as
 
 A DILEMMA. 123 
 
 Lucy doubtless had believed they would do. Now, like a 
 flash of lightning, I seemed to understand it all. 
 
 " Wasn't it worth while," the Cavalier had said, " to 
 sacrifice a few to thirst for the sake of our cause ? " 
 
 Mr. Woollconabe, then, had devised a plan to cut off oui- 
 water supply, but had not divulged it to Prince Maurice, 
 probably from reasons of humanity. 
 
 The water of Plymouth was brought into the town from 
 the beautiful springs of Dartmoor, just fifty years ago, by 
 the good skill and careful engineering of Sir Francis 
 Drake, for which some, notably Mrs. Tonkin, are willing 
 to give him more praise than for all his bravery abroad. 
 
 Mr. Tonkin had pleasantly related to me the ceremony 
 of first receiving the water, which he, though then a very 
 little child, has a clear remembrance of. For the Mayor 
 in his robes and all the Corporation went out in state to. 
 meet the water, as it flowed along towards the town,, 
 through its newly cut channel ; and every pai-ent was. 
 minded that his child should taste of the pure stream on 
 that auspicious day ; and many eloquent speeches were 
 made, and the ability of the great navigator much lauded. 
 Before this time, merchant vessels putting into this 
 harbour, otherwise so convenient, had had great difficulty 
 in obtaining water. 
 
 But my heart seemed almost to stand still as I reflected 
 how easily impediments might be put in the way to block 
 the channel, if once the idea had got into the minds of the 
 besiegers. And I felt troubled and anxious lest, if the 
 blockade should be again changed into a siege, the plans 
 of Mr. Woollcombe should be adopted, and the garrison, 
 and, above all, the townspeople themselves, should die of 
 thirst. There were wells, it is true, but sadly insufficient 
 for a bountiful supply of water. 
 
 Must I make known what I had heard ? if I did not,, 
 would not the blood of the innocent victims be on my 
 head ? And if I made it known, what but ruin could
 
 124 
 
 I. BENJAMIN HOLBECK 
 
 come to my Lucy ? I wished much I could consult with 
 my father in so difficult a business, and yet more often, 
 perhaps, I regretted the death in our fort of that good old 
 sergeant to whom I might have confided the matter. 
 After much reflection, I decided to ask the Almighty to 
 direct me, knowing that both those to whom I would so 
 gladly have turned for advice had it been possible, would 
 themselves have turned to Him for counsel. And it 
 seemed to be made very plain to me that I must do 
 nothing rashly.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PROMOTION. 
 
 EKEWED fighting began by the Cavaliers at 
 Plympton and Buckland falling upon some of 
 our scattered parties ; but our Major Halsey, 
 with his horse, pursued and attacked the 
 enemy at the village of Tamerton. 
 
 In February we were again invested by 
 the malignants. The Royalists were concen- 
 trated at the neighbouring town of Modbury, and the 
 Parliament's forces in Devonshire made their rendezvous 
 at Kingsbridge, for the purpose of attacking them. The 
 Cavaliers, under Sir Ralph Hopton who, I hear, is one of 
 their bravest generals, and a man of a chivalrous and 
 noble nature occupied an entrenched camp. The assault 
 was led by the Bideford and Bamstaple contingent, who 
 arrived on the ground first. Hopton was defeated, and 
 one thousand stand of arms taken. As a consequence of 
 this, our siege was again raised, the Cavaliers being forced 
 to flee with such haste that they left behind them three 
 great guns and some powder. Sir Ralph's head-quarters 
 were at Saltash, of whose powerful women I have before 
 written. We hired a Newcastle ship to batter him at that 
 place, but the master of it failed of his bargain, and meanly 
 betrayed his trust.
 
 12G I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 Again we had some weeks after this of comparative 
 quiet, and no news was sent from this town to the 
 Parliament, the commanders being " more desirous to 
 serve their God and country than to cackle like hens on 
 the laying of every egg." Yet in one of the sallies that 
 took place, Colonel Digby, of the malignants, received a 
 rapier wound in the eye, and the conduct of the siege fell 
 into the hands of Sir Richard Grenville, that champion 
 his young relative, whom I captured with his colours, was 
 so proud of, but to whom the people of this town feel no 
 great love. 
 
 Now a great calamity befel us, in the death of our 
 esteemed and noble commander, Colonel William Gould, 
 a man of high authority and of great force of character. 
 All of us who could be spared attended the service, when 
 one of our chaplains, the Rev. Stephen Midhope, improved 
 the occasion of his death. Colonel Wardlaw is incapaci- 
 tated by disease, incurred during this war, so that the 
 command is put in commission to the Mayor, Colonel 
 Crocker, and Lieutenant-Colonel Marten, till a com- 
 mander-in-chief is appointed by the Parliament. On the 
 15th of March, before Colonel Gould's death, Sir Richard 
 Grenville sent a letter into the town addressed to the colonel, 
 officers, and soldiers of the fort, and to the town itself. 
 
 The Tonkins have much to tell me of this gentleman, 
 and so have many of our officers and men who belong to 
 the place. For he was supposed to be favourable to the 
 Parliament, and, indeed, declared himself for it, and was 
 even offered the government of Plymouth by them. And, 
 though I esteem it a possible thing for men to wisely turn 
 from a bad unto a good cause, yet for a man who has been 
 in a good cause to turn therefrom unto a bad, is surely 
 worse than foolish. Men do generally abhor a turn-coat, 
 and the feeling of the town towards this Sir Richard is 
 unmistakable, amounting to bitter hatred with many, and 
 scorn and contempt in almost all the rest.
 
 PROMOTION. 127 
 
 " Skellum Grenville," " Renegade Grenville," are his 
 common names amongst us, unless worse ones are used. 
 In his letter he excused himself for turning from one 
 party to the other, and gave certain reasons for doing so 
 viz. the non-payment of his men in the service of the 
 Parliament, and the sectaries that infested the Protestant 
 religion, and made the war an occasion of their own 
 advancement. He ended by counselling the town to lay 
 aside its rebellion against the King, and propose a peace. 
 " Thus," said he, " my affection urgeth me to impart unto 
 you, out of the great desire I have, rather to regain my 
 lost old friends by love than by force to subject them to 
 ruin, and on that consideration I must conclude, your 
 loving friend, RICHARD GREXVILLE." 
 
 This letter was written at a place called Fitzford, a 
 mansion close adjoining the ancient town of Tavistock, 
 and not, I am told, above a mile or so from Crowndale, 
 the birthplace of Sir Francis Drake. 
 
 A very scornful and haughty reply was the return given 
 by the garrison to this missive. They told him they 
 should have only answered him with silence, save that he 
 intended to publish his own letter ; they declared their 
 satisfaction that he had become an open foe, rather than 
 remained a pretended friend. They somewhat shielded 
 the King from the blame of the war, alleging that his 
 mischievous counsellors had rendered him cruel to his 
 subjects. One or two sentences of this letter were both 
 pithy and trite. " As for our proposing conditions of 
 peace, we shall most gladly do it, when it may advance 
 the public service ; but to do it, to the enemies of peace, 
 though we have been thereto formerly invited, yet hath it 
 pleased the Disposer of all things to preserve us from the 
 necessity of it, and to support us against all the fury of 
 the enraged enemy. The same God is still our rock and 
 refuge, under whose wings we doubt not of protection and 
 safety, when the seducers of a king shall fall and die, and
 
 128 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 that name which by such courses is sought to be per- 
 petual in honour shall end in ignominy." The letter con- 
 cluded thus : " Whereas you mind us of the lost condition 
 of our town, sure it cannot be you should be so truly per- 
 suaded of it, as they are of your personal, who subscribe 
 themselves, and so remain friends to the faithful." 
 
 In Sir Richard's letter was enclosed a book entitled 
 " The Iniquity of the Covenant." We were summoned 
 to the burning of this volume, which took effect in the 
 market-place of the town, which is situate near unto the 
 great church. It was done by the common hangman, and 
 by order received from the Council of War. An immense 
 crowd of townspeople and soldiery gathered at this burning. 
 It was a beautiful spring day, the air soft and balmy, the 
 sunshine fresh and bright, and the flames leaped up spor- 
 tively amongst the leaves of the book, but the faces of 
 many of the older men and women were gloomy and 
 anxious, and the children were chidden when they indulged 
 in merry play. Proclamation was then made that all 
 those who had any of these books, and did not bring 
 them forth, should be held and dealt with as enemies to 
 the State and town. 
 
 To Colonel Marten was now given the authority, and we 
 had reason to rejoice that we had over us a commander of 
 so much decision and vigour. He acted upon the offen- 
 sive, to prevent the enemy from taking up close quarters 
 again, but the Cavaliers drew .their circle around us nearer 
 and nearer. Colonel Gould had been a rigid man, stern 
 and severe to offenders against God's laws : he purged oui- 
 army from swearers, drunkards, and abominable livers, 
 causing the town and garrison to be very careful in 
 observing the Lord's day and days of humiliation, and to 
 be frequently present at the ordinances of the Lord of 
 hosts. And now our new colonel was of equal decision in 
 these matters, and with more daring and energy, which 
 suited us well. For we were tired of being inactive, and
 
 PROMOTION. 129 
 
 greatly desired to do some mighty act that should deliver 
 us from our persistent foe. 
 
 We were well pleased to hear that the town has gotten 
 the name of " Tough old Plymouth " from the malignants, 
 and we are the last, to the shame of these two counties, it 
 must be owned, that adhere to the Parliament in either 
 Devon or Cornwall. 
 
 Colonel Marten first determined to make an assault upon 
 St. Budeaux. This is a little village north-west of the town, 
 where there were stationed five hundred Cavaliers. They 
 had garrisoned the church tower, and made various other 
 preparations for defence. Colonel Marten ordered a party 
 of six hundred to advance upon this place, while at the 
 same time he sent some horse to Plympton, as if we were 
 to encounter the besiegers there. This was but a feint. 
 Our men got separated, which was disastrous at first, but 
 <>i\r foot rallied, captured the church tower, spite of its 
 defenders, took two officers and forty-four other prisoners, 
 as well as some powder, horses, and arms. 
 
 And now there was swift exchange of shot and sword. 
 Only three days later we beat up the enemy's quarters at 
 Xewbridge, on the way to Plympton. Here our forlorn- 
 hope disobeyed orders in their too great zeal, and fell on 
 while yet the reliefs were a mile behind. They beat the 
 Cavaliers from hedge to hedge, and captured a breastwork 
 iu advance of the bridge. But, their powder being spent, 
 they were compelled to retreat before the enemy's main 
 strength. Yet only two men were wounded. This was 
 on the 19th of April. On the 21st another small skirmish 
 took place, an attack being made from Prince Rock upon 
 the malignants at Pomphlet Mill, but some prisoners and, 
 what we needed more, some provisions, were brought in. 
 
 Our next encounter was at Trenaman's Jump. We 
 issued from Hopton's Work, an old fortification of our 
 besiegers, opposite our fort of Maudlyn. We were one 
 thousand foot and a hundred horse, with four hundred
 
 130 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 musqueteers and twenty-five horse, to prevent a flank 
 attack ; these were stationed in the ways about the village 
 of Compton. We had here a signal triumph, through the 
 mercy of God, for we beat the enemy thoroughly, and 
 brought back one hundred prisoners, notwithstanding 
 attempts were made at a rescue. We only lost one mau. 
 and he an unskilful soldier. 
 
 But our next adventure, as it has an especial interest for 
 me, will, I know, be of as especial an interest to the 
 readers of this at Brier Grange, and I must endeavour, 
 therefore, to be the more particular in my narration 
 thereof. 
 
 Colonel Marten thought it good to make an effort for 
 Mount Edgecumbe, now in the hands of sturdy Royalists. 
 This fair mansion, situate in extensive and beautiful 
 grounds, is on the western shores of the bay, and whoever 
 possesses it has large power to further or hinder the en- 
 trance of ships into Plymouth Sound and Millbay Pool, as 
 well as the parts of the sea more closely commanded 
 by our fort. Captain Haynes was ordered across from 
 Cremill Point to Mount Edgecumbe, our colonel himself 
 following us with twenty horse. We were three hundred. 
 
 The colonel first despatched the following summons to 
 the mansion : 
 
 " To prevent the effusion of Christian blood, I do hereby 
 require you immediately to deliver Mount Edgecumbe 
 House unto me for the use of the King and Parliament. 
 And you shall have fair quarter, which, if you shall refuse, 
 I have acquitted myself from the guilt of the blood which 
 may be spilt in obtaining my just desire. 
 
 "ROBERT MARTEN. 
 " Passage, May 15, 1C44. 
 " To the Governor of Mount Edgecumbe House, these." 
 
 Our Isuitliiig \va.s effected at the Wan-en. At this place 
 there were mounted three small guns, which used greatly
 
 PROMOTION. 131 
 
 to annoy our boats going to Stonehouse. In this expe- 
 dition I was given the command of a detachment, for, 
 besides our captain and a lieutenant, there were no other 
 officers to be spared to this duty ; and my men captured 
 these guns at the outset with much ready bravery, the 
 gunners retreating to the house. 
 
 The colonel's summons produced no result ; he there- 
 fore ordered us to press omvard, leaving a party to watch 
 the garrison of Mount Edgecumbe, which was defended by 
 musqueteers. We assaulted Maker Church tower, and took 
 it, wherein was a barrel of powder. This church standeth 
 on a height overlooking the sea, and has a most fair 
 prospect on eveiy side. It has been much used for years 
 past as a beacon and signal tower, on account of its com- 
 manding situation. I could but reflect, amidst the bustle 
 and turmoil of our action, what a rude contrast was pre- 
 sented to the exquisitely lovely scenery around. I could 
 but remember how much Lettice would like to be here 
 with me, in happier times, for the hawthorn bushes were 
 white and fragrant around us, and I saw how the bluebells 
 nestled in the glades of the park as we passed ; their little 
 blue heads dancing to the soft, warm courting of the 
 spring breezes ; and the heights were golden with the 
 furze blossoms, and the fragrance of them was warm and 
 sweet ; while the sky was dotted here and there with 
 larks, who, as they rose and fell in the bright clear aii% 
 sang as if nothing could ever come and destroy God's 
 peace and goodwill to man. And if I had other thoughts, 
 of her who was herself a human blossom of this most 
 charming southern land, if I longed to be roaming here 
 with her in peaceful days, when no cruel fate should 
 divide us, and when my words of love might be tenderly 
 breathed forth to her in a scene that was little short of 
 an earthly paradise, surely I shall be forgiven. Our 
 thoughts are swifter than our actions, else I should not 
 have had time to muse thus, in the midst of deeds that
 
 132 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 required quick intelligence and the oversight of others. 
 Next we marched through a series of God's pictures, lying 
 all around and above us on the sea and earth and sky, 
 to a fort at Cawsand, a fishing village lying nestled in the 
 shoi'es of the bay of that name, and so on through flowery 
 meadows and lanes to Millbrook, another village further 
 west. This place was entrenched and garrisoned by two 
 hundred and fifty men, but we carried it. Thence we 
 marched to Inceworth, where the fort was abandoned 011 
 the approach of our victorious forces. 
 
 But our captures, unfortunately, could not be held. 
 For the Cavaliers, enraged at our successes, got speedily 
 together, and came down upon ns in force from their 
 head-quarters on the Cornish side of the Taniar at Salt- 
 ash ; so that Colonel Marten, thinking he had given them 
 enough for one day, and not wishing to lose his booty, 
 retreated. We had taken two hundred prisoners and 
 twelve pieces of cannon a great loss for them and a 
 great gain for ns. 
 
 On the road back he assaulted Mount Edgecmnbe, but 
 here we were repulsed. We burnt the banqueting-hall 
 and out-offices, but the main building of stone resisted 
 our attacks. 
 
 We found on our return that while we were out the 
 besiegers had attacked our outworks with a thousand 
 horse and foot, but had been gloriously beaten back. 
 
 The next morning our colonel had mo before him, and 
 Avas pleased to praise me much for my "great bravery 
 and modest behaviour therein on the previous day. The 
 Lord needs such officers as you, Ensign Holbeck, in His 
 army," he was good enough to add ; " and I have great 
 pleasure in promoting you to a lieutenancy, in the place 
 of Lieutenant Morris, who was so unfortunately wounded 
 and captured by the enemy at Trenaman's Jump." 
 
 "God send young Morris back to tis again, Colonel
 
 PROMOTION. 
 
 133 
 
 Marten ! " I said respectfully ; for I was unwilling to take 
 what I lioped he had not permanently left. 
 
 Oar colonel smiled. "I like you none the worse, 
 ensign, for those words," he said; "rest assured I will 
 
 OUR COLONEL HAD ME BEFOKE HIM. 
 
 not deprive him of his reward either, if we are so happy 
 as to see his face again." 
 
 From this I gathered that young Morris would be 
 iibove a lieutenant on his return to us, and, in that case, 
 I was well pleased to receive and enjoy my promotion.
 
 CHAPTER XVT. 
 
 TONKIN'S IRONSIDES. 
 
 ,N being promoted to my new lieutenancy, I 
 received many kind congratulations, and none 
 more cordial than that from my true friend, 
 Dick Tonkin. Dick's health had never been 
 so sound since his wound, but his temper was 
 as sweet and his manner as playful as eve r. 
 Only I sometimes noticed that there was be- 
 hind all this a more serious tone of thought, and I am 
 sure he took his stand amongst iis as one of those officers 
 who were actuated, not by mere necessity for employment, 
 or love of adventure, but by a real fh-m belief in the jus- 
 tice of the Parliamentary cause. 
 
 He studied, in his moments of leisure, various papers 
 and pamphlets written by godly men, who were well 
 disposed toward their country, and for that reason dared 
 speak their minds. Dick has shown me some of these 
 writings, which show that if a monarch is unfaithful to 
 his vows towards his people, he ceases, in fact, to be 
 their monarch, and releases them from the obligation to 
 serve him. And also that our jealousy for the Constitu- 
 tion of England is a godly jealousy, deserving of commen- 
 dation ; and that as no man had these rights now, but by 
 the careful work of the ages that are past, since this.
 
 TONKIN'S IRONSIDES. 135 
 
 nation was a kingdom, so no man has a right lightly to 
 let them slip from his grasp, but should cherish and 
 maintain them for this nation's inheritance in the future. 
 
 Dick and I have many earnest discourses on these and 
 various other subjects, yet sometimes he will very play- 
 fully and merrily interrupt our talk to propose some 
 music, or some game, or some other diversion, into which 
 no one can enter more heartily, or throw more gaiety and 
 fun than he. 
 
 " I was never so happy in my life, Ben," he said to me 
 one day, "as since I took our dear old sergeant's advice, 
 to 'fear God, and know no other fear.' I used to have 
 a fear of death, a dread of life even, and now I know 
 nothing inside but peace for a foundation. I don't mean 
 to set myself up as faultless you know that, Ben but 
 I pray to be kept from wilful sin, and when I know I 
 have sinned, through unwatchfulness, I go straight to 
 God for forgiveness, for the sake of Christ ; and I feel 
 I am forgiven, and I hope I "try harder next time to 
 struggle against sin, because of God's forgiving love. It 
 is just like when I was a little child, and did amiss and 
 ran to mother and told her, and she forgave me. I felt 
 clear and happy again ; and yet I always wanted to be 
 a better child, because she loved me so." 
 
 I nodded, for I could nob speak ; his words, so honest, 
 so earnest, went home to my heart. 
 
 " Do you remember that text in the Bible, Ben, ' There 
 is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared ' ? 
 I understand it now. I often Avonder why preachers talk 
 so much of the terrors of unbelief; I should be won 
 quicker by the joys and goodness of belief. The ground 
 of my 'fearing God and. knowing no other fear' is, that 
 I am forgiven." 
 
 I enjoyed these talks with Dick, and I hope I profited 
 by them. It was not very long before he began to pray 
 with his men in his quarters, and invited me and my
 
 136 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 company to join them. He read a chapter to them, ox- 
 got any of them who could do so (but these were not 
 many) to read the chapter themselves, and then he simply 
 expounded it ; and I have often thought I derived more 
 good from these little services than from the stated ones 
 I attended. And, one by one, Dick's men and my men, 
 among whom was Tom, began to kneel and pray aloud 
 amongst their comrades, their hearts being touched by 
 the Spirit of God. And I used to feel as if our dear old 
 sergeant must be glad if he knew, and that perhaps God 
 permitted him to know. 
 
 Various books got amongst us at this time, some 
 written by Richard Baxter, a godly man in the Eastci-n 
 counties, and some versions in rhyme of the Psalms, such 
 as the Scots are accustomed to use in their form of 
 worship ; and now we added to our services the singing 
 of hymns, which became very popular amongst the men. 
 and led to an increase of our numbers from other com- 
 panies and regiments. While Sergeant Gurney was alive 
 there had been something of this kind in his quarters, 
 more particulai-ly amongst the non-commissioned officers 
 and elder soldiers. But this grew especially with the 
 younger men, and though their elders did not interfere, 
 it is very certain that they were well pleased that it 
 should be so. And Colonel Marten once linked his arm 
 in Dick's, and walked up and down a long time with him 
 on onr parade ground ; and, as my friend told me, 
 strengthened him much, and even playfully called his 
 company " Tonkin's Ironsides." 
 
 Tho name got wind, and was not unwillingly appro- 
 priated ; we loved to be called " Tonkin's Ironsides." 
 Mrs. Tonkin's face was very beautiful to look at when 
 I told her of this, and the tears would not stay in her 
 eyes, but trickled softly over her cheeks, they came so 
 fast* and she was forced to hide for a little her happiness 
 and holy pride from my sight.
 
 TONKIN'S IRONSIDES. 137 
 
 " God be praised ! My dear, my precious son. Ben, 
 I gave him to the Loi'd from the beginning," she said 
 tenderly ; and then I did not wonder any longer. 
 
 Early in July we were fighting again, but, Prince 
 Maurice being repulsed, drew off his forces, and left us 
 under a blockade by Sir Richard Grenville, with three 
 thousand men. 
 
 Various skirmishes, mostly in pursuit of food or stores, 
 had taken place between the attack on Mount Edgecumbe 
 in May and the withdrawal of Prince Maurice. Once our 
 party brought in nine guns, one hundred and fifty 
 prisoners, one hundred cows, and five hundred sheep, 
 which latter set us in good heart again, our victuals 
 having run very low. 
 
 At another time we killed a fine young captain, Arun- 
 <lell by name, in a skirmish, when fifty horses were taken 
 by us. This gallant young officer was the son of the 
 Governor of Pendennis Castle, in Cornwall, and his father 
 bears the nicknames of " Old Tilbury " and " John for the 
 King." He was shot in the entrenchments by Captain 
 Braddon. Some of our prisoners were sent to Lydford, 
 and imprisoned there by Sir Richard Grenville in the 
 castle of that town. Three of them were executed without 
 trial for high treason by the same remorseless foe of a 
 cause he once espoused. Lieutenant-Colonel James Hals, 
 of Efford, near this town, is in prison there yet, greatly to 
 the grief of his friends, who know not how matters will 
 fare with him after such sad examples. Sir Richard 
 Grenville is notorious for his cruelty. One of our men, 
 but lately returned to us, described how upon one occasion 
 be compelled one of two prisoners that were taken to 
 hang the other, while he sat the while on horseback close 
 by beholding the spectacle. After this, our men have 
 a natural horror of falling into his power. 
 
 We have had some further trouble on account of Mr. 
 Collins. A relation of his has been accused of sending
 
 138 I, BKXJAMIX HOLDKCK. 
 
 clothes to him, and not only has she committed this 
 offence (for which I could hardly find it in my heart to 
 punish her), but .she has betrayed to the enemy what store 
 of powder there is, and incited the malignant commanders 
 to an assault. It is also proved that she invited Cavalier- 
 Major Harris to stay at her house if the town should be 
 taken, and declared the Protestant religion in Plymouth 
 to be decaying. For all these offences she is, though 
 quite a lady, brought to the castle and confined therein. 
 
 Hearing of this made 'me reflect on the words of my 
 sister Lettice in regard to prisoners, and especially female 
 prisoners, whom this war has introduced to a position 
 they would never have occupied otherwise, and exposed 
 to the deprivation of their liberty for political offences. 
 
 At this part of the siege those in authority were very 
 much straitened for money, so that our pay as soldiers 
 was far in arrears, and my sister Lettice' s present proved 
 a great boon to me. It is not difficult to understand that 
 the merchants and traders of the town, especially those 
 who were dependent upon traffic with ships, were far 
 behindhand in their receipts. 
 
 Nevertheless, we were now well enough supplied with 
 provisions, and never likely to suffer as we had done in 
 our early experience as a besieged place; for by forays 
 and skirmishes we had learned how to provide for our- 
 selves and those within the walls, who were not able to 
 procure food without our help. Our beef is now only 
 threepence-halfpenny a pound, and we learn that our 
 cheese, coal, and meal are cheaper here than in London. 
 
 But what I had such good reason to di*ead has come to 
 pass : our water leat is cut off. I have had many sad 
 forebodings on this subject, many arguments with and 
 against myself, as it were, which were hard indeed to 
 bear. For I could not believe, if I gave any information, 
 but that the whole matter from beginning to end would 
 be wormed out of me by citrious questions, and how could
 
 TOXKIX'S IRONSIDES. 139 
 
 1 endure to implicate Lucy's father ? Now that the thing- 
 is passed out of my power, I see ways that I might have 
 adopted to guard against our thirst, without endangering 
 the freedom of Mr. Woollcombe, and I call myself a fool 
 many times a day, but it does not restore the leat to us. 
 
 I punish myself by restricting as much as I can my use 
 of the fluid which circumstances have rendered so precious 
 to us. This is the first time in my life that I have learned 
 to properly appreciate this great blessing, which God has 
 given to man so freely and so unsparingly in this favoured 
 land. Now during the time since the scarcity began may 
 be seen strange sights at almost every hour of the day, for 
 the heat makes people thirsty, and they go about, young 
 and old, rich and poor, with every kind of vessel in their 
 hands, begging water from the favoured owners of wells. 
 
 It is fortunate there are so many of these, which, 
 indeed, the names of the streets of this town themselves 
 signify, as Westwell, Tinewell, Well, Buckwell, etc. 
 Besides which there are various conduits, but these are 
 dependent upon the leat, and dry enough now in this 
 warm summer weather. But we have had abundance of 
 rain, so that the purpose of the malignants to let us die 
 of thirst has been frustrated considerably ; for whilst we 
 can catch rain-water for washing purposes, and drink of 
 the wells, we shall live to fight them more than they 
 desire.
 
 CHAPTER XVIT. 
 
 MARCHING ORDERS. 
 
 UR blockade under Sir Richard Grenville did 
 not last long, for rumour soon told him, as it 
 did us, of the approach of the Earl of Essex 
 with the army of the Parliament, and we 
 rejoiced at the news as much as he was down- 
 cast to hear it. Lord John Robartes persuaded 
 the Earl to advance to the relief of Plymouth. 
 I heard much of Lord John and the part he took in public 
 affairs from Mrs. Tonkin, who belonged, as 1 have said, to 
 this great Cornish family. And indeed, whatsoever family 
 he belonged to, had it been royalty itself, might w r ell have 
 been glad to own her one of them, so pure, so true, so 
 kind, so gentle was she, so perfectly well-bred a lady. 
 An atmosphere of refinement pervaded her household, 
 emanating from her as imperceptibly as the perfume from 
 the rose ; and her son Richard inherited the same noble- 
 ness of manner to every one. 
 
 Mr. Tonkin was by no means the equal of his wife in 
 anything, but more proud than she of her family, and 
 loved to speak loudly and boastingly of his cousin, the 
 Commissioner for Cornwall, and to harp upon' his title. 
 
 As the Lord General Essex drew near, so did Reiiegado 
 Grenville prepare to retreat. He drew off to Tavistock
 
 MARCHING ORDERS. 141 
 
 with his reduced forces, consisting of only eight hundred 
 both horse and foot, and abandoned all his positions, veiy 
 much to our surprise. 
 
 The welcome that the Lord General and his army 
 received I cannot describe ; a great shout of gladness and 
 triumph went up from ITS all, townsfolk and garrison, 
 and the eagerness to see him on the part of the women 
 and children was unbounded. 
 
 Fort Stamford, which we had lost at the beginning of 
 the siege, was now easily retaken by us, to our no small 
 satisfaction, and thus the only solid fruit of the besiegers, 
 after a year and a half's efforts, was again plucked from 
 their grasp. Here we took four guns, and at Plympton 
 eight, with cannon and arms at Saltash. And now the 
 Lord General determined to march on into Cornwall by 
 Newbridge, and to take between two and three thousand 
 of our garrison with him. I received marching orders, 
 unexpectedly to myself, and had no time to take leave of 
 my friends. 
 
 I strove all that was in my power to say good-bye to 
 Lucy Woollcombe, for no man could march away as an 
 officer in this time of war, without knowing full well that 
 he might be marching to death. I haunted the house 
 that contained the one object dearest to me on earth, at 
 a late hour, after I knew my destiny, hoping I might, 
 by some good chance, behold her. We were to leave 
 Plymouth very early next morning. But the house was 
 still, not a light visible, no sound to be heard, save the 
 mewing of a melancholy cat on the doorstep, shut out 
 from his usual warm bed. How my heart rose in prayer 
 for the gentle soul within, and for myself, that, by God's 
 mercy, we might not have parted for ever. I was not 
 ashamed of the tears I shed that night. Lucy had told 
 me tears were not always cowardly, and I knew she was 
 true. I. returned to my quarters unwillingly, and spent 
 a long time over my first letter to her, which I had
 
 142 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 determined to leave for her in the care of Bridget next 
 morning. 
 
 Bridget was a most prodigiously early riser ; the good 
 soul seldom got up later than four o'clock in summer and 
 six in winter, and expended her strength in such gigantic 
 cleaning operations as only such indefatigable people can 
 rightly estimate. I told Lucy in my letter of the unex- 
 pected command I had received to march with the rest of 
 my regiment under Essex, but I did not tell her in what 
 direction, because of her father. I reminded her grate- 
 fully of the many kindnesses she and Mr. Woollcombe had 
 accorded to me, and thanked her and him for them. I 
 got on so far pretty well, but when I reflected that this 
 was, perhaps, the last time I should ever convey my feel- 
 ings to her, I became confused, irresolute, and I hardly 
 know what I wrote ; more, perhaps, than I could yet have 
 said, although but little of what my feelings really were 
 for her. I entreated her, if she wished me back in safety 
 if she would still think kindly of me, to throw me down a 
 token from her window, on receipt of my letter. Then 1 
 begged her to forgive my boldness, and so signed myself 
 
 "Ever, dear Miss Woollcombe, yours faithfully, 
 
 " BENJAMIN HOLBECK." 
 
 I had little sleep that night ; I was tossing about in the 
 warm summer air, restless and excited. I had been so 
 long confined to Plymouth and its immediate neighbour- 
 hood, that to march was in itself a thing of interest, and 
 then I had such heavy forebodings, such intense longings 
 for some word or sign from Lucy before I left her, that I 
 could not compose myself to rest. Very early, as soon as 
 ever it was really morning, I was astir, and directly 1 
 thought Lucy would be awake, I carried my letter to the 
 house in Looe Street. I immediately espied Bridget 
 under the archway and beckoned to her. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " she asked stiffly ; " folks is 
 stirring early. I thought folks loved their bed too well."
 
 MARCHIXG ORDERS. 143 
 
 I was too much in earnest to think very much about 
 Bridget's reception of me. 
 
 "lam going away presently, Bridget," I said, "and I 
 may never come back/' 
 
 Bridget pursed up her long, wide, flat mouth into a 
 carious shape, as if she would whistle, but apparently she 
 thought the better of it, and decided not to. 
 
 " If you don't never come back, sir, we must do without 
 *ee," she said drily. 
 
 I did not know whether to laugh at the obvious absur- 
 dity she managed to put into this plain statement of fact, 
 or to resent the cool satisfaction which she seemed to feel. 
 "Come, Bridget, don't be hard-hearted. My life is 
 nothing to you, but it may be of a little value to some 
 people. If this is the last favour I ask of you, you won't 
 be sorry to have granted it to me." 
 
 " What if it hain't the last ? " she asked, eyeing me so 
 comically ont of the corners of her eyes, Avhich, as it 
 seemed to me, were the only round, fat-looking things 
 about her, that I was obliged to smile. 
 
 " Then I shall want you to do me other favours, Mistress 
 Bridget." 
 
 " That's it ; it takes such as me to remember there's a 
 future time as well as & present. What do 'ee want, sir? " 
 I gave her the note, and begged her to take it to Miss 
 Woollcombe, and at once. But just at that moment I saw 
 the blind of the window over the archway move, and, by 
 the side, detected a face peeping out, a sweet face, shaded 
 by soft tresses of hair, now unconfined. Our eyes met, 
 Lucy's cheeks grew crimson, the blind dropped, and she 
 was hid from my view. I was in an ecstasy of joy that 
 my plan had been so successful beyond my highest hopes : 
 I had seen her once again. 
 
 Bridget, as well as I, had seen her mistress's face, and 
 took the letter with her upstairs. I paused awhile, wait- 
 ing for her answer. There were few people in the street ;
 
 144 I, BEXJAMIX nOLBECK. 
 
 only a group of fishermen passed me, as I lingered, with 
 their nets on their shoulders, going towards their boats ~ 
 a little lad or two, a child carrying a fat baby I remem- 
 ber them as in a sort of di-eam. The street was half in 
 shadow, half in sunshine, in the early summer morning ; 
 Lucy's home was bathed in the bright light, for it faced 
 the south. Bridget did not come back, and she had shut 
 the heavy house door. But after a few minutes, the time 
 necessary for the reading of my letter, the blind was* 
 drawn aside, the window partly opened, and something 
 fell at my feet. I stooped to pick it up : it was a buncb 
 of roses, several on a stem, pale pink roses "cluster- 
 roses " Lucy called them when I asked her once ; they 
 grew in rich luxuriance in the garden behind the house- 
 and climbed over the walls. There was a paper hastily 
 curled around the stem, and tied with a piece of stocking- 
 worsted. I immediately unravelled the string, unrolled 
 the paper, and read the kind words, "May the Lord grant 
 you journeying mercies ! LUCY WOOLLCOMBE." 
 
 I looked up at the window again, and there she sat, 
 holding the blind aside, looking down at me ; her person 
 closely enveloped in a large black-and-white plaid shawl, 
 only her sweet face visible ; a tender almost sad smile on 
 the dear lips, her eyes soft with tears. I kissed the roses- 
 and the little scrap of paper in her sight, talked to her as 
 best I could with eyes and hand ; she waved one fair hand 
 from out the shawl, nodded gravely to me as I was compelled 
 to tear myself away, and thus we parted ; my Lxicy ! 
 
 Our first halt was at Tavistock, where we assaulted 
 and took Sir Richard Grenville's house, Fitzford, with 
 one hundred and fifty prisoners, and three thousand 
 pounds' worth of pillage. Three days afterwards we 
 forced our passage into Cornwall, at Newbridge, on the 
 River Tamar, a place as romantically situated as any it 
 has been my fortune to behold. We lost at this place but 
 forty men, the enemy four hundred. The gallant action
 
 MARCHING ORDERS. 145 
 
 of our Plymouth, horse was much commended. Had 
 Grenville been the great soldier he has been alleged to be 
 we might have fared differently, for the narrowness of the 
 gorge, the sides of which are comparable to a precipice, and 
 the great depth of the river below, might have proved fatal 
 to many of us, had the malignants defended it bravely, and 
 thereby, if they could not have prevented our passage, 
 they might at least have made the place memoi'able to 
 them and to us, as that of Thermopylae to the Greeks. 
 
 We had left some of the Parliamentary fleet at Ply- 
 mouth with the intention to summon Mount Edgecumbe 
 to surrender. This, as we afterwards learned, was done 
 in the following terms : 
 
 "Robert, Earl of Warwick, Lord High Admiral of 
 England, Ireland, and Wales, and Captain General of his 
 Majesty's seas and Navy Royal, to the Commander-in. 
 Chief at Mount Edgecumbe. 
 
 " I do hereby summon you, in the name of the King 
 and Parliament, forthwith to render to me Mount Edge- 
 cumbe, now in your keeping, for the use of his Majesty 
 and the Parliament, with all things in it. Else you may 
 expect the rigour of war, I being resolved otherwise to 
 enforce your speedy obedience. You are to return me your 
 answer by this bearer, my lieutenant. "WARWICK. 
 
 "Aboard his Majesty's ship, The James, in Plymouth Sound, 
 30th July, 1644." 
 
 The answer he received was to the following effect : 
 " NOBLE EARL OF WARWICK, 
 
 " Whereas you have summoned me, in the name of the 
 King and Parliament, to render unto your lordship the 
 house, Mount Edgecumbe, may it please your Honour, I 
 am here entrusted to keep the house for my master, Colonel 
 Edgecumbe, till his return ; to whom, as I conceive, it 
 doth justly belong. " Your humble servant, 
 
 " HENRY BOURNE. 
 
 " Mount Edgecumbe, July 30th, 1644."
 
 146 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 The Earl of Warwick did not succeed in forcing a sur- 
 render any better than we had done. But the measure of 
 our success in Cornwall during the month of August was 
 far different to what we had supposed, and everywhere we 
 fcund the men of the West had made up their minds to 
 take the side of the King against his people. The Earl 
 of Essex had to own at last that this was the greatest 
 blow the Parliament had received. The King, with Prince 
 Maurice, had followed us into the country. We were all 
 bitterly disappointed, yet detei-mined, as far as in us lies, 
 to make good our retreat to faithful Plymouth, if we 
 could do no more. 
 
 My dear friend Lieutenant Tonkin was conspicuous in 
 action in many places, especially at the last, at Boconnoc, 
 where our noble Essex was hemmed in without chance of 
 escape, as it at first appeared. This was the same place 
 where, earlier in the war, before Providence called me to 
 this Western part of England, an action had already 
 occurred, in which Colonel Ruthven, a brave Scotchman, 
 then commander of the Plymouth garrison, was defeated 
 by Sir Ralph Hopton. 
 
 Our plight was serious, and some desperate movement 
 could alone save us. Now it was that Sir William Bal- 
 fonr, with two thousand three hundred of the horse, broke 
 through the lines of the malignants, and we reached Ply- 
 mouth eventually, by way of Saltash. General Skippon 
 with the foot, in which also was a contingent from Ply- 
 mouth, surrendered. 
 
 Lord Essex, with Lord Robartes, Sir John Merrick, and 
 a few others, escaped from Fowey to Plymouth in a small 
 vessel. Oar return was a terrible contrast to our depar- 
 ture ; then, with hopes high and determination strong, 
 we believed that the hearts of the men of the Western 
 peninsula would beat as truly as our own for religious 
 laws and just government in the high places. We had 
 found out our mistake. And we could not doubt that the
 
 MARCHING ORDERS. 147 
 
 Royalists would follow up their successes promptly, and 
 that Plymouth would suffer for its bravery. I was anxious 
 all the time I was absent to return once more to the place, 
 which, as certainly as Brier Grange, I felt to be my home. 
 Here, at least, lived the one who could alone ever make 
 " home " for me. Her party, her father's party, was now 
 proved to be in the ascendant in these parts, outside of 
 Plymouth. Would she exult in this ? Would she rejoice 
 that I was beaten ? I tried to believe she would not. 
 Even the uncertainty was a trouble to me. 
 
 During 1 our absence a quantity of supplies had been 
 received, and every preparation that was possible had 
 been made to resist the attack of the Royalists, flushed 
 with victory, from whom we had no reason to expect other 
 than a closer investment, if not a thorough defeat.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MARSTON MOOR. 
 
 HE day after my return to Plymouth, an orderly 
 brought Colonel Marten a sealed packet bear- 
 ing my name. Rumour, and then certain 
 news, of the great battle of Marston Moor, had 
 already reached us, and the success of the Par- 
 liament there somewhat soothed our troubled 
 spirits, in our discomfiture in the West. Had 
 I known then what I know now, I should have had small 
 reason to be comforted ! 
 
 I opened the packet with as pleasurable feelings as can 
 come to a man, who, having received a great and un- 
 expected check in his work, hopes to find solace in the 
 love of his family. I expected another of Lettice's pretty 
 letters, or one of the firm, kind, manly epistles of my 
 father. It was neither ; but a letter written all over one 
 side of a large sheet of paper, in a hand I could not 
 recognize, with something solemn and official-looking 
 about it. Here it is : 
 
 " Lieutenant Holbeck. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " The great battle that has been yesterday fought 
 between the King's forces and the army of the Parliament 
 has been very disastrous to you.
 
 MARSTON MOOR. 149 
 
 " The manner of the action was in this wise. The 
 King's nephew, Prince Rupert, collected a considerable 
 force to relieve York, which we of the Parliament had 
 strongly invested ; and with Sir Charles Lucas, who 
 commanded the Marquis of Newcastle's horse, he had a 
 force of twenty thousand men. The Parliament's army 
 abandoning the siege, drew up on Marston Moor, five miles 
 and a half north-east of Tadcaster, a place that may be 
 known to you. Oar force consisted of the Scots, under 
 Leven ; those of the Earl of Manchester, under my own 
 command; and the army under the Lord Fairfax. At 
 break of day yesterday, July 2nd, we were drawn up in 
 order of battle, facing each other with a long hedge 
 between us, but the ground was clear in front of our right 
 and left wings. Our army covered a space of three miles 
 on the slope of an eminence called Marston Field. In the 
 left wing, serving bravely under me, was my well- esteemed 
 friend and your honoured father, Colonel Benjamin 
 Holbeck." 
 
 I paused in my reading, and niy heart stood still. A 
 terrible certainty of what more I had to read was in my 
 soul as I resumed. 
 
 "In a conflict where abundant gallantry was manifested 
 on both sides, your father was yet conspicuous for his 
 bravery. The opposing forces were on this day so singu- 
 larly alike in appearance as to necessitate a badge of dis- 
 tinction between them. The King's troops unanimously 
 laid aside their bands and scarves ; our men wore a piece 
 of white paper or a handkerchief round their hats or 
 helmets. Your father suggested this mark. Though we 
 began to get into position early, it was past noon before 
 this was accomplished. Through the afternoon we had 
 little fighting, the Prince, apparently, being somewhat 
 awed by our stern front ; and it was not until the hour of 
 six that the real conflict commenced. Seeing such tardy 
 work on the part of the Prince, we opened fire, and soon
 
 150 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 the scene of carnage and battle presented that terrible 
 appearance -which, is not unknown to you in your own 
 experience. From our position, the forces I had the 
 honour to command were necessitated to make a long 1 
 detour ; we could not, therefore, come into action at once, 
 but were commissioned by the Lord to sweep down upon 
 the field when our friends most needed our assistance. 
 On the other wing the Royalists had the advantage ; but 
 we turned the day to God be all the glory, for if He had 
 not fought with us, vain were all our endeavours. 
 
 " I spent the night after the battle upon the field, fear- 
 ful lest the Prince should return ; and anxious to solace, 
 as I might, the dying men, of whom there were very great 
 numbers of both parties. My own nephew, son of my 
 sister, a bold youth, very dear to me, was carried off 
 early in the battle, mortally wounded. The Lord's will 
 be done ! I had missed your honoured father at the head 
 of his men, and could obtain no news of him, save that he 
 had his horse shot under him twice, and was seen after 
 that upon a third charger, dauntless as before. But, as 
 I busied myself at night amongst the wounded on the 
 battle-field, I heard a voice from a mangled body, that 
 I believed to be a corpse; a weak, feeble voice, and 
 I thought it spoke my name. I bent to listen. ' General 
 Cromwell ! ' and a hand was raised a little. ' Colonel 
 Holbeck : ' I answered, as I grasped it in mine. ' The 
 earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof,' said the weak 
 voice then. I responded. 
 
 " ' This is a grand victory, general ; ' the words were 
 gasped rather than uttered; 'the Lord's victory; His 
 outstretched hand; let not man ascribe it to his own 
 feeble arm.' 
 
 " I attempted to raise him then, and offered to carry 
 him away, but he refused ; ' I could ask nothing more 
 from the Almighty than to have thy ministrations, 
 general,' he said, with tears gathering in his eyes, 'unless
 
 FIKDIXG MY FATHER OX MAESTOX MOOR.
 
 MARSTON MOOR. 153 
 
 I could have those of my poor wife and family at Brier 
 
 Grange. Let them know, and Ben ' 
 
 " These were his last words. A braver, more godly man 
 has not fallen in this fight. Truly, young sir, in giving 
 you such a father the Lord has given you a goodly 
 heritage ; see that you are worthy of it. The sad news 
 shall be conveyed to Brier Grange. Duty forbids you to 
 solace your mother and sisters by your presence ; see to it 
 that above all things your conduct, as well as your written 
 letters, do this, in so far as may be. The Lord bless you 
 and make you strong to do His will upon the earth, in the 
 room of your father. " Your friend, 
 
 " OLIVER CROMWELL." 
 
 Dead ! I could not realize it for a moment. All my 
 memories of him were instinct with full, strong, active 
 life. The first up in the morning at the farm, out and 
 about ; singing and praising God amongst his corn-fields, 
 and his beeves, and his barns. A fully rounded life from 
 earliest dawn to dewy eve had been his, from my infancy 
 until now. Could it be altered ? "Was it all ended ? and 
 he lying amongst a heap of slain, dead ? the fine hand- 
 some form and face pulseless colourless, save for the 
 awful lines of the grave, and motionless. I sat stunned, 
 as truly as if shot by a cannon-ball, my powers benumbed, 
 all save the busy thoughts which went round and about 
 the field of battle on Marston Moor. How proudly we 
 had gazed on my father a year ago, when he first put on 
 his military dress and mounted to ride to the war. How 
 well his athletic form, his manly countenance bore the 
 military garb, the armour ; how grandly he sat his proud 
 horse ! 
 
 I mind well that the serving-women looked at him as 
 they might have gazed at a fine picture, with unbounded 
 admiration and surprise that their good master could make 
 so splendid a soldier. And Lettice, our sweet pretty
 
 154 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 darling Lettice, looked at him with awe and surprise for a 
 moment, and then ran to him smiling, and lightly sprang 
 before him on the saddle, his hand helping her, and tried 
 to kiss him under his helmet, and exclaimed, gaily and 
 archly, " Why, 'tis our dear, dear father, after all ! " 
 
 And still memory would be busy. I thought of long 
 past days, when we were little children playing amongst 
 the hay, and father only a bigger child amongst the little 
 ones, going on all fours, while we loaded him for a hay 
 cart, heaping up upon his back the fragrant burden, with 
 our fat arms for pitchforks, and laughing till we could 
 laugh no longer, as the great hay-cart upset and came 
 rolling over us. 
 
 Or in the golden harvest-fields, when he would come 
 amongst the gleaners, and bid us follow him and glean 
 likewise for some poor old man or woman or fatherless 
 little child, into whose glad, trembling arms he would put 
 the rich produce of his and our work ; or else, still more 
 often, bid them let his children help carry home the 
 welcome store. 
 
 And if poor dear mother, as was her wont sometimes, 
 showed some little doubt in regard to this wholesale 
 gleaning, he would look at her tenderly, as he could often 
 look, and say, with something of apology in his tone, 
 " Remind me of it when we starve, dear Miriam." It was 
 seldom indeed that his words did not bring into her face 
 an answering look of love. 
 
 How is it I never thought of all this before ? How is it 
 that Death has been the key to unlock the door into this 
 gallery of pictures, each, as I gaze, seeming to me more 
 beautiful than the last ? 
 
 What a man my father was for climbing into the cherry 
 trees and apple trees in our orchard, and shaking down 
 the delicious fruit ! And there never was an autumn 
 that he did not have a gleaning for the poor here also, 
 as well as in his corn-fields, getting his authority for
 
 MARSTON MOOR. 155 
 
 this duty in the latter verses of the 24th chapter of 
 Deuteronomy, which he often read to us, commencing at 
 the 19th : " When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy 
 field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not 
 go again to fetch it : it shall be for the stranger, for the 
 fatherless, and for the widow : that the Lord thy God may 
 bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou 
 beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs 
 again : it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and 
 for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vine- 
 yard, thou shalt not glean it afterward : it shall be for the 
 stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou 
 shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of 
 Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing." 
 
 " This is my thank-offering for my deliverance from the 
 bondage of the land of Egypt ' spiritually,' " he would say 
 to us children ; I understand him now. 
 
 What laughing, what shouting, what enjoyment his 
 bounty gave to the poor little ones and great ones who 
 came amongst us, gleaning the orchard ! And how lovingly 
 Lettice, who was always at father's side at such times, 
 would gather the rosy fruit into her little pinafore for the 
 baby children, or the old men and women who could not 
 stoop, becaiise they bent already so low towards the 
 ground. 
 
 I cannot go on ; tears blind my eyes ; Lettice herself is 
 fatherless, my mother a widow ! . . . My poor mother ! 
 And I, her only son, cannot reach her; cannot be even 
 sure that my letters will reach her. I ought to be near 
 her to stand, as much as may be, in my father's place, 
 between the world and her. Can this be duty, my 
 God, which keeps me from her in her agony and trouble ? 
 
 How dreadful is this clash of men's passions, and 
 interests, and principles, which we call war, which 
 deprives a woman of her husband by cruel death, and 
 of her son by a distance that may not be traversed,
 
 156 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 without running the risk of a death even more terrible 
 than in battle. By degrees, many things presented 
 themselves to my notice. The length of time that had 
 elapsed without my hearing of my father's death, I found 
 it less difficult to understand, after some consideration, 
 than I did at first. The letter which Lieutenant- General 
 Cromwell had done me the great honour to write had, 
 doubtless, arrived soon after we set out on the march for 
 Cornwall, and our movements there had been too uncer- 
 tain for despatches to follow any save our chief officers. 
 But what I found most puzzled me was the fact that no 
 tidings from Brier Grange had yet arrived, seeing that 
 the same generous hand had informed them of the sad 
 event. How to get a letter conveyed from me at once to 
 my mother was now of the first importance, and I deter- 
 mined to consult our kind commander, and to acquaint 
 him with my father's death. Colonel Marten received me 
 with the greatest cordiality, and listened not unmoved to 
 my sad narrative. He was looking ill and worn and 
 troubled, and I noticed his poor health to him. He 
 thanked me, and acknowledged he had been much tried 
 of late, and that it appeared we should have need for even 
 greater vigilance in the future than ever before ; " for," 
 said he, " the King, with Prince Maurice and Sir Richard 
 Grenville, are at Tavistock; and almost at this moment 
 a trumpeter has come summoning the town to surrender." 
 
 ' Never, sir ! " I said impetuously ; " I for one would 
 sooner die in this great and holy cause die as my 
 father has died. Have you made answer ? " 
 
 He smiled sadly, but kindly, at my last words. " We 
 shall answer to-morrow, and as you would wish," he said. 
 ' ' The Lord's arm is not shortened that it cannot save ; 
 neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear.' Write your 
 letter to your poor mother, Mr. Holbeck, and, if possible, 
 it shall be sent to her without delay. It shall share the 
 fate of my most important despatches to the Parliament."
 
 MARSTON MOOE. 157 
 
 I thanked him, and left him. But never had any one 
 a more difficult task to write a letter. How could I 
 comfort her ? I could only use words that seemed cold 
 and commonplace, when my heart is aching sorely for 
 her and for all of us. I could only pi-omise to try, more 
 than ever I had tried, to be increasingly worthy of my 
 father's love and to honour my father's memory. 
 
 But while I was writing, our colonel's orderly came 
 again to me, and with another packet in his hand. The 
 letters from Brier Grange ! It was a heartrending task 
 to read them. My poor mother had dictated a letter for 
 me to Lettice ; for writing is a great task to her : and 
 even grandmother had written a beautiful little letter, like 
 herself, so good and true. But how can I speak of these 
 things ? For all of us there must come, at some hour or 
 other, a descent into the valley of the shadow of death ; 
 happy for us, then, if we, like grandmother, see the light 
 shining all along it, the light from the Sun of Righteous- 
 ness, with " healing in His wings." 
 
 As I wrote my answers, through all the terrible hours 
 of grief, since the news of my father's death had reached 
 me, I had been conscious of one strong impulse, which as 
 yet I could not gratify ; the longing to inform Lucy 
 Woollcombe of my trouble and to have her near to 
 comfort me. 
 
 But the knowledge that my father had been killed by 
 her friends, and that Mr. Woollcombe would rejoice, even 
 if Lucy did not, that we had been driven back from 
 Cornwall with so much humiliation and disappointment, 
 checked my impulse, which was at first very strong, to 
 visit her at once and to seek, in her gentle and sincere 
 sympathy, some alleviation of my sorrow. I took a kind 
 of miserable satisfaction in thus purposely adjuring the 
 company even of the sweetest of malignants, because it 
 was through their action that the dark cloud of sore 
 affliction was resting upon my Yorkshire home.
 
 158 
 
 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 The more I gave heed to such thoughts, the more hold 
 they had upon me, till I even suffered from so strange 
 a revulsion of my feelings towards Lucy not truly as 
 Lacy, but as a malignant that I greatly aggravated my 
 own sufferings, and doubted much how I should behave 
 towards her in the future. 
 
 I WAS TVR1TIXG WHEN THE ORDERLY CAME IX.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A VIEW OF THE KING. 
 
 VENTS of moment soon followed our return 
 from Cornwall. While the Lord Essex and 
 his forces were in that county, and we pressed 
 our advance forward as far as Bodmin, Lost- 
 withiel, and Fowey, the general's head-quar- 
 ters were at the seat of Lord Robartes, Lan- 
 hydrock, and on the llth of September, less 
 than a fortnight after our return, this kinsman of Mrs. 
 Tonkin was appointed Governor of Plymouth, to her no 
 small satisfaction, and to the yet greater content of Mr. 
 Tonkin, who cannot forget to speak of it, whenever I see 
 him. Lord Robartes is a man in the very prime of life, 
 just forty years of age, of whom an enemy has said that 
 "he must be overcome before he would believe that he 
 could be so;" that he is "a great opiniatre," and "of a 
 sour and surly nature." But truly we want a man who 
 does not believe in defeat, and amongst his friends who 
 know him best, he is thought to be very clever, and, what 
 is still better, a most noble, religious, and pious lord. 
 
 Between our governor and Sir Richard Grenville there 
 is no very good feeling. The day before Lord Robartes 
 Avas appointed, the army of the malignants marched to 
 Roborough, where they camped, this being a fine open
 
 160 I, BEXJAMIX HOLBECK. 
 
 down. Hence their Sir John Campsfield, with the Queen's 
 regiment of horse, was sent to demonstrate against onr 
 town, which perceiving, a detachment of our forces was 
 ordered to follow his return at a less respectful distance 
 than was convenient. 
 
 The next day their army marched upon us, making a 
 gallant show enough, for they bedecked themselves with 
 much bravery in dress and accoutrements, and poured 
 down, fifteen thousand strong, upon the slopes of Manna- 
 mead and Compton, with drums beating and colours 
 flying. Though I had beheld them in Cornwall, yet never 
 had I such a good view of them as now, looking at them 
 from our fort at Maudlyn. They wear plnmed hats or 
 helmets, under which their long locks flow in the breeze, 
 with one long tress, which they fantastically call their 
 love-lock, waving over their left shoulder. Over their 
 buff coat or bright cuirass is spread a wide lace collar, 
 curiously rich, but little in keeping, as I think, with the 
 day's work in war-time. A brilliant scarf is always 
 sashed across the breast, sometimes of embroidered work, 
 the gift oftentimes, I doubt not, of fair maidens, skilful 
 in these matters as Lucy "Woollcombe, or the daughters 
 of Mrs. Tonkin, or ladies of yet higher birth. Their 
 fringed trousers descend below the knee, and they wear 
 the large cavalry boots, not unlike our own. The short 
 cloaks they wear and the doublets are common to both our 
 armies, but though these are alike, and our fashion like 
 theirs is to cultivate the beard and moustache, yet we do 
 eschew the feminine senseless curls of these fine gentlemen, 
 who look, so far as their hair is concerned, more like 
 pretty girls than armed warriors. Armour of many kinds 
 and patterns, that has been hanging on the walls of their 
 old castles and fortified houses, is now brought out and 
 worn by these Cavaliers, which makes a fine enough 
 show ; bat onr dress, for duty and for work, far exceeds 
 theirs in usefulness and service.
 
 A VIEW OP THE KING. 161 
 
 On this day there came riding with the King the 
 brilliant troop of his guards, who are composed, it is said, 
 of all the noble and wealthy Cavaliers who hold no 
 separate command. These were clad all over in armour 
 save the boots and plumed hats, and they had splendid 
 sword-belts and scarves of scarlet colour (ours are of 
 orange), making a brave array. The King's standard was 
 borne in the ranks, to which ours might well be opposed, 
 seeing that our five buff Bibles on the black ground show 
 well the source of our strength, and our motto in gold 
 beneath, " God with us," will serve us in better stead than 
 the honours to any earthly king. 
 
 And we received them fearlessly, not moved from our 
 position by the brilliant spectacle, and our cannons began 
 to open fire. The Cavaliers were not easily daunted; 
 their twenty-eight great guns were brought forward and 
 planted within half cannon shot of the outworks, and the 
 battle began. In that battle I felt as I had never felt 
 before ; the war was become a personal war my father 
 had to be avenged ! The cause of God was the cause for 
 which he fought, for which he was slain ; victory for that 
 cause was my one passion that day. One and another fell 
 before my fierce onslaught, and still I dashed forward to 
 the fight. I would have scorned to give or take quarter 
 as I thought of the pale, still form lying on Marston Moor, 
 and the desolated home at Brier Grange. But 1 was 
 overwhelmed by numbers, wounded, and taken prisoner 
 by one of the king's guards. 
 
 Now I had a nearer view of King Charles than I had 
 ever expected to have, for I w r as, being an officer, taken 
 to Widey Court, the King's head-quarters, to the house 
 of a yeoman of good estate, named Heales. There I was 
 very civilly and fairly treated, and my wound, a bad 
 sword-cut in my right shoulder, was attended to by one 
 of their doctors. Prince Maurice had his head-quarters 
 at Lipson, and there was much riding to and fro with 
 
 M
 
 162 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 messages between uncle and nephew, horses galloping at 
 all hours of day and night in hot haste up and down the 
 long winding path from Widey Court house to the main 
 road from Tavistock to Plymouth. I had heard much of 
 this abode, and had been curious to see it, it having been 
 placed at the service of the malignants from the beginning. 
 No better retreat so close to the town could have been 
 chosen for the head-quarters of the King, it being only 
 some two and a half miles distant, but yet completely shut 
 in from possible danger. The house itself stands on a 
 gentle knoll, well surrounded with trees, the ground oppo- 
 site it sloping upwards so as to hide the distant view of 
 the sea which lies in that direction, and so as to form, 
 indeed, a sort of natural earthwork and defence. I could 
 but think seriously as I rode along, a prisoner, guarded 
 on either side, and weaponless ; and this made me reflect, 
 perhaps, with more sympathy on the position of the King, 
 which is, at the best, critical and humiliating for a 
 sovereign. 
 
 There is nothing in his appearance to make me believe 
 he regards affairs lightly. It may easily be believed that 
 I could not refrain from looking at him anxiously and 
 earnestly whenever I had the opportunity, and this was 
 not unfreqnent. My parole was given that I would not 
 go beyond a fair garden belonging to this goodly mansion, 
 to which parterre is given the name of the Castle Garden, 
 and this being done, I was taken less heed of than I 
 expected. My lodging was a very small and somewhat 
 bare chamber overlooking the grounds, and from it I 
 beheld many things of interest to me ; for I saw the King 
 ride out several mornings attended by his chief officers, 
 and very often by the Prince Maurice also, a young man 
 of goodly countenance and martial bearing, a soldier from 
 his youth, though not of quite so fiery a spirit as his elder 
 brother, Prince Rupert, whose name is dreaded, I am told, 
 iu every quiet English household.
 
 A VIEW OF THE KING. 163 
 
 The King's countenance is very sad, his face under his 
 plumed hat is handsome, and would be manly were it not 
 for a certain vagueness and irresoluteness that are to be 
 seen in it. When he lifts his hat and I can see his fore- 
 head, which is high, there is more of admirable in his 
 countenance. He wears a moustache and peaked beard, 
 and the accustomed long curls of the Cavaliers. His 
 hands are soft and white as a girl's, and his mien very 
 gracious and refined, and there is a grand, quiet dignity 
 in his air that I never saw anything like before. I have 
 found myself often wishing that his behaviour in all things 
 had been equal to his outward appearance, so that I might 
 have echoed what I have heard him called many times at 
 Widey Court, " every inch a king." He has had the ill- 
 luck, I am told, to have had many evil advisers, and the 
 Queen is by no means a good Avife to him in this respect, 
 and he is too prone to take their advice, and to trust his 
 affairs to unprincipled men. Also, he is very sanguine of 
 success, even when he has no ground whatever to be so. 
 and believes that his high station will preserve him from 
 many evils. 
 
 These ideas are childish and unkingly to my mind, 
 though not, I suppose, to his. Worthiness seems to me to 
 be the only preservative from disaster, whether in a king 
 or a clown. Here, as well as at other places, there are 
 people anxious to be touched by him for the disease called 
 " king's evil," which his touch is able, say they, to cure, 
 and quite a little procession may have been seen of sick 
 and afflicted ones each morning he was at Widey, coming 
 up the path to the house for that purpose. Now it is the 
 "king's evil" that we hope to cure more promptly and 
 effectually, by far different measures, and therein we shall 
 succeed ; and yet not we ourselves, but the Lord, working 
 in us. 
 
 I found afterwards that Lord Digby, who was with the 
 King, made a private appeal to Lord Robartes to betray
 
 164 I, BEXJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 his trust and surrender the town to the King, offering him 
 on his Majesty's behalf preferment and honour if he would 
 yield; but to this Lord Robartes replied indignantly 
 enough. 
 
 The King sent from Widey this summons to our town : 
 " God having given me a great victory, yet as my desire 
 is to reduce my people by acts of grace and clemency, so 
 I am desirous of setting a special mark of favour on my 
 town of Plymouth, and do therefore require them to 
 surrender up the town, assuring them, on the word of a 
 king, that they shall enjoy all their wonted privileges, 
 and have no other garrisons put upon them than what 
 they had in the most peaceful times, viz. in the fort and 
 in the island, promising pardon to all townsmen and 
 soldiers for what is past, entertaining such as shall be 
 willing in my service, and requiring their speedy answer." 
 
 Though the reply to this was not sent very speedily, 
 there being many to be consulted thereon, yet it was very 
 decided at last. A drummer was sent by the Royalists 
 after the trumpeter who brought the message, and the 
 next day both returned, with a hint to the trumpeter that 
 if he came again he would be hanged. And the answer to 
 the King, couched civilly enough, meant only " No." 
 
 So, then, neither town nor governor yielding, fighting 
 began again, and a desperate attack was made on our 
 western line of defence by Stonehouse and Pennycome- 
 quick, but the King's troops were repulsed with great 
 loss. Our sailors for the Parliament's fleet, under Lord 
 Warwick, still lay in the Sound, and were specially 
 notable for their gallantly. Several nights the Cavaliers 
 gave alarms to the garrison, and there was much sharp 
 fighting while I was prisoner at Widey. 
 
 I understood afterwards the reason of the daily ride out 
 from Widey Court of the King and his officers ; they 
 proceeded each day as far as to Mannamead, in grand 
 parade, thinking, as is believed in the town, to touch the
 
 A VIEW OP THE KING. 165 
 
 hearts or the inclinations of the soldiers, or the towns- 
 people, or both. Many of them indeed, almost all of them 
 had thus a distant or a near view of their King, and 
 variously did his appearance affect the people. Some of 
 the women were somewhat captivated by his gallant 
 bearing, and his gentle manners and sad face, which 
 I can easily believe, for Lettice might have been so too, 
 could she have seen him, and had there been no battle of 
 Marston Mooi*. 
 
 But the soldiers had grown hard, and daily he was 
 received with a salute of shotted shells from our guns 
 at Maudlyn Fort. And Tom, with ready humour, re- 
 christened Mannamead, from this brave useless show and 
 idle vauntings, " Vapouring Hill," a name that sticks. 
 
 Then one day there was much stir and bustle at Widey, 
 and the King went to walk alone in the castle garden with 
 his nephew Maurice, as his manner had been each morning, 
 amongst the pleasant autumn flowei'S ; for this garden 
 was very gay with golden rod, tall and large enough to 
 have served, indeed, in Aaron's hand for the rod that 
 budded, and white and purple clematis hung over the 
 walls in thick masses, like tangled hair, and great cabbage- 
 roses smelled sweetly, while bachelor's buttons, and dahlias, 
 and marigolds supplied plenty of colour, though without 
 much perfume. The Michaelmas daisies were out, too, as 
 became their season, and bunches of lavender stood stiffly 
 up before heaven in the modest pride of usefulness. 
 
 What were the King's thoughts that morning as he 
 rested his gaze on the flowers close to his hands, or the 
 autumn -tinted trees and the fair green slopes that bounded 
 his view ? His eyes wandered away from his companion 
 often as they paced to and fro, to and fro, and I watched 
 them intently from my little window. Was he thinking, 
 perchance, of the town he called his own, yonder, which sd 
 determinedly held out against him, refusing its allegiance, 
 and willing to resist stoutly, even unto death ?
 
 166 
 
 BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 There is much, about Plymouth that might make any 
 king sorry to lose it from his grasp. The history of the 
 place is interwoven with the history of England itself, 
 
 My thoughts were interrupted by the little bustle that 
 now took place in the court below. A lady, closely 
 shrouded, rather than veiled, in an ample shawl of silken 
 
 SAT ISTENTLl 
 
 material, that fell in soft folds around her light small 
 form, drew near the person of his Majesty, and yet shrunk 
 back, as if appalled at her own boldness. Behind her, 
 closely following her every motion, only as an elephant 
 might imitate a gazelle, was the square stolid figure of a 
 woman, evidently her attendant. 
 
 Could I be in doubt? No. My heart beat fast; they 
 were, indeed, Lucy Woollcombe and Bridget. How fair, 
 how graceful was every attitude, every action of this 
 sweet woman who held my heart in her keeping. When 
 the King turned to her with an easy yefc not unkingly 
 grace, and a. sad smile on his handsome face, and raised
 
 A VIEW OP THE KING. 167 
 
 her from her knees on which she had fallen before him, 
 I heard a soft low wail of love, entreaty, sympathy 
 blended from Lucy's lips, of " Oh, my King ! " and I did 
 not wonder at it. 
 
 " Oh, my King ! " echoed my own heart bitterly the next 
 moment, " professing a fatherly regard for thy subjects, 
 yet thou hast made me fatherless by the cruellest of wars, 
 and separated me largely by a thousand adverse circum- 
 stances, over which I have no control, from the one woman 
 who can alone make home and happiness for me. ' Oh, 
 my King,' if thou couldst but have learnt that a king's 
 true prerogative lies not in the abject submission of his 
 subjects, but in honourable independent affection an 
 affection based on royal justice and truth ! " 
 
 The King gave Lucy his hand to kiss, and then accorded 
 the same privilege to her maid, Lucy interceding for it. 
 And then the King led my fair beloved one aside, and 
 conversed with her in low tones for two or three minutes. 
 I saw her point towards the town, and could well believe 
 she was excusing her father's absence on the score of ill- 
 health, and delivering some messages from him. 
 
 I can't tell how it was, unless it was that I kept my 
 eyes so irresistibly fixed upon her, and even that will 
 not explain the matter perhaps thought can command 
 thought in ways I know not of but presently, although 
 till then Lucy's eyes had been mostly on the ground, 
 save a few times that she raised them with filial reverence, 
 and even something of holy awe, to the King's face, she 
 glanced up at my prison window, inadvertently, as it 
 would seem, and met my gaze fixed intently upon her. 
 
 I saw her small hands clasp each other tightly, and a 
 crimson flush mantle her cheek ; not even the shawl could 
 hide that from me ; a start, a smile was it a smile ? 
 and then the glance fell. All had happened so swiftly, 
 that I could decide nothing. Lucy was talking to the 
 King again. Another look, sweet one ! even though it
 
 168 -I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 were a frown of displeasure. Anything, my Lucy, rather 
 than neglect, or coldness, or indifference. These I cannot 
 bear from thee. 
 
 " Lieutenant Holbeck, your presence is required below ! " 
 
 As in a dream I obeyed the summons. I have a vague 
 feeling that the trees waved and rustled somewhat in the 
 distance, stirred by a rather fresh breeze, that the sky 
 was almost cloudless, that many people were about ; and 
 the clank, and stir, and the bustle of preparation every- 
 where around. Everywhere, save where Lucy stood with 
 the King, and Bridget, grim and gaunt as a wooden statue, 
 behind her mistress. 
 
 " Lieutenant Holbeck," said King Charles, in a gracious 
 tone, as I stood respectively, my hat in my hand, before 
 him. I would not be other than mannerly to my greatest 
 enemy. 
 
 " Sire," I answered, not knowing how else to speak to 
 him, and stood as before, seeing Lucy, whose eyes were 
 lowered, and whose cheeks were deepest crimson, even 
 more than I saw the King, but with no opportunity given 
 to accost her. 
 
 " There is an exchange of prisoners ; you will ride back 
 to your own quarters to-day." 
 
 "I thank you, sire." I had not the remotest idea 
 whether I used the right form of expression to his 
 Majesty. In such sudden emergency I could do no other 
 than use those words which came the swiftest to my lips. 
 
 " This lady," said the King then, taking Lucy's hand, 
 "and her maid will return in your company and escort." 
 
 I bowed. " Nothing, sire, could afford me more plea- 
 sure than to render this lady every assistance in my 
 power." 
 
 " She tells me," said the King, " that you have done her 
 service, even to the saving of her life in the past unhappy 
 turmoil, and for that service to royalty in her person, 
 who is a most fair and faithful Royalist, I thank you."
 
 A VIEW OF THE KING. 169 
 
 " Sire, in that I did but what any true-hearted man 
 would have done. I deserve no thanks." 
 
 " Let it pass," said the King, with his sad smile. " I 
 would every man in this realm were hut faithful to 
 Royalty, and then would unhappy dissensions cease from 
 among us." 
 
 It came into my mind to say, " And I would that the 
 King were faithful to every man," but because he was now 
 in trouble, through our stout defence of Plymouth, and 
 because that it might needlessly wound Lucy through her 
 Sovereign, I refrained myself. 
 
 " Young sir," said the King, who I knew had observed 
 me closely, " does it seem a worthy occupation to you to 
 resist the right bestowed by God upon your Sovereign, 
 for the better government of this realm, a right acknow- 
 ledged by so many of the truest and the best of men ? " 
 
 " Sire," I answered, seeing that I must say somewhat, 
 and yet feeling that I had no power of speech adequate to 
 my needs in so difficult a juncture, " they best serve your 
 Majesty, to my thinking, who would heal the differences 
 between your Majesty and his people, by truth and 
 righteousness, not they who would flatter your Majesty 
 into believing there are no just differences to be healed." 
 
 " Tut ! tut ! " said the King impatiently, turning away 
 from me. Yet Lucy, to my surprise, now for the first 
 time gave me a quick glance, and that of approval. 
 
 But I was summoned away to put my things together, 
 and prepare for my removal. As I turned, with a rever- 
 ence to the King and to Lucy, I observed that she was in 
 the act of handing to him a small sealed packet. 
 
 Then, as in a dream the whole scene changed, for when 
 I had opportunity to look from my window, in less time 
 than a quarter of an hour, Lucy was gone, as I suppose, 
 within doors, and the royal pageant, the King, Prince 
 Maurice, and their retinues, with their pomps and their* 
 plumes, had ridden away from the courtyard, and most of
 
 170 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 the people belonging to Widey had gone with them to 
 escort them, on their way. 
 
 That same day, a few hours later, it happened as tho 
 King had said. Lucy and her maid on one horse rode by 
 my side into Plymouth, together with a few of our soldiers 
 who had also been prisoners. There were several of the 
 officers of the malignants captives with us, whom the King 
 and Prince were anxious to redeem. Yet the ride could 
 give me but little pleasure, save in her nearness, for there 
 was no opportunity for me to speak to her without bring- 
 ing on her just the kind of notice she would i>e most 
 anxious to escape. 
 
 Prince Maurice did not excite so much of my attention 
 as the King, nor is his person likely to command admira- 
 tion. A heavy, rather stolid young man is the King's 
 nephew, large and powerful, but with nothing of great or 
 noble in his appearance. If Prince Rupert, the bold 
 daring brother of Maurice, had been with the King, my 
 curiosity would have led me further to see him than even 
 his Majesty himself. The stories I hear of him from our 
 officers and soldiers, especially those I heard from the 
 men of Lord Fairfax's army with whom I conversed both 
 here and during our expedition into Cornwall, were rather 
 like the pages of a romance than those of sober truth 
 enacted in our days. And two or three droll tales of his 
 adventures may be written here, by me, for the amusement 
 of my dear sister Lettice if, indeed, her sad heart is now 
 able to bo amused. 
 
 Some two days after the skirmish which took place at 
 Worcester, at the beginning of this sad war, Prince 
 Rupert came to the abode of an old woman a widow 
 within a mile of the city, and asked her what victuals she 
 had in the house. He was not dressed in the habit he 
 wore in the field, but like a country gentleman. The old 
 woman told him she had nothing but collops and eggs : if 
 he pleased to have any of them, he should be welcome.
 
 PRINCE RITERT AND THE COUNTRYMAN.
 
 A VIEW OF THE KING. 173 
 
 Ready they were made, and he fell to roundly. After- 
 wards he called for some drink, and she told him she had 
 none but small drink ; she was a very poor widow, and 
 had none but herself and her son. He asked her where 
 her son was ? She told him gone to Worcester, to hear 
 what news of the Cavaliers, for she heard say (thank God 
 for it) that his Excellency (Essex) had made them fly the 
 city a company of rude knaves they were ! He asked 
 her what she thought of Prince Rupert. " A plague 
 choke Prince Rupert!" said she; "he might have kept 
 himself where he was born ; this kingdom has been the 
 worse ever since he landed." 
 
 " There's three pieces for that word," said the disguised 
 Prince, " for I'm of thy mind." With that he took pen, 
 ink, and paper, and wrote to the Mayor of Worcester to 
 this effect : he had given unto the bearer thereof three 
 pieces, to conceal him from their search, which note he 
 did enjoin her to present with her own hand, and she 
 should be nobly rewarded. 
 
 Another time, when Essex lay at Dunsmore Heath, his 
 yeomen not being far off, the Prince Rupert, riding as 
 near to our army as he durst, overtook a fellow driving a 
 horse laden with apples. He asked the fellow what he 
 had got there, who told him he was about to sell his ware 
 to his Excellency's soldiers. 
 
 " Why dost thou not go to the Bang's army ? " inquired 
 the Prince ; "I hear they are generous sparks, and will 
 pay double." 
 
 " Oh ! " said the fellow, " they are Cavaliers, and have 
 a mad prince among them, and not a penny could I get in 
 the whole army." 
 
 The Prince asked him what he would take for the load, 
 and the fellow answered ten shillings. 
 
 " Hold thy hand," said the Prince, " there is a piece for 
 thee ; now hold my horse, change habit with me, and stay 
 here while I sell thy apples only for a merry humour
 
 174 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECtf. 
 
 that I have and at my coming back I'll give thee a piece 
 more." 
 
 The fellow willingly lent him his long coat and hat, 
 and away went the Prince, selling the apples through the 
 army at any rate, viewing their strength, and in what kind 
 they lay ; and, returning to the fellow, gave him another 
 piece, with this charge, " Go to the army, and ask the 
 commanders how they liked the fruit Prince Rupert, in 
 his own person, did but this morning sell them ! " 
 
 The third story is about Rupert when he made a recon- 
 naissance towards Warwick, and this, too, was very early 
 in the war. Perhaps since then for him, as it has ever 
 been for us, there has been little mood or time for trifling. 
 
 He made this reconnaissance to employ himself while 
 the King was wasting time at Banbury and Broughton 
 Castle. He was attended in his exploit by only a single 
 Cavalier trooper. This was the kind of adventure he 
 rejoiced in. When near Warwick, he was overtaken by a 
 heavy shower, and took refuge in an ale-house. There 
 he found a country-fellow, who was on his way to War- 
 wick to sell cabbage-nets. 
 
 The Prince, it is said, can easily ingratiate himself 
 when he pleases with those about him, and he was soon in 
 high favour with all the topers at the inn. 
 
 I can readily imagine how our poor Jonathan Thorp 
 would listen open-mouthed, in his cups, to such a fine 
 fellow as this large, handsome Prince would seem to be, 
 for he of course passed himself off as a Puritan. 
 
 Suddenly a thought seemed to strike him. 
 
 " Hold, my good fellow," said he to the net-seller ; " I 
 want to go to Warwick, and I'll sell your nets for you ; 
 here's a crown for you and these good fellows to drink till 
 I come back ; for I must have your horse, ay, and your 
 coat too, my friend. I want to put a touch on a friend of 
 mine." 
 
 The countryman thought that this was at the same
 
 A VIEW OP THE KING. 175 
 
 time " a good bargain and a good joke," so lie doffed his 
 long coat and slouched old hat, and the disguised Prince, 
 having assumed them, rode forward to the stronghold of 
 his enemies. He soon sold his nets, as the purchasers 
 might have them at their own price ; he heard at the 
 same time all sorts of accounts of the battle of Edgehill, 
 which had been fought but a few days before, and no 
 small share of execration on himself, which he bore with 
 great philosophy, and apparently with relish. He ascer- 
 tained the strength of the Roundheads' army, and all the 
 approaches of the town, and then returned to his ex- 
 pectant friend at the ale-house. 
 
 Having resumed his own attire, and mounted his own 
 horse, he told the countryman he might inform his cus- 
 tomers in Warwick that Prince Rupert had been their 
 salesman ; that he was obliged to them for their custom, 
 and would soon be among them to supply them with 
 something else. 
 
 These stories remind me of the drolls and legends 
 about King Alfred, which Lettice and I have read to- 
 gether a dozen times or more, only that our Saxon king's 
 grand, quiet sweetness and patience of character is not 
 comparable to the wild, harum-scarum, dashing ways of 
 Prince Rupert, or Robert, as some call him, while others 
 call him the offensive name of the " Robber Prince." But 
 1 would wish to be fair to every man, and as he regards 
 the whole nation as belonging to the King, his nncle, I 
 suppose he deems it not unjust to take what he cannot 
 win by demanding the consent of the owner. 
 
 Yet I should be sorry if our cause had a Prince Rupert. 
 War will never, I trust, be deemed a light thing or a 
 pastime by thoughtful men in this our own dear land, as 
 he too largely regards it.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE DUCKING-STOOL. 
 
 ' Then said the wise man * * * 
 That the displeasure of the mighty ia 
 Than death itself more dread and desperate." 
 
 SPENSEK'S Faery Queen. 
 
 AVING entered the town, I escorted Mistress 
 Lucy Woollcombe and Bridget to their home 
 in Looe Street, and, there leaving them, pro- 
 ceeded at once to the castle, to give an 
 account of what had happened to me to my 
 commander. He listened intently to all I 
 had to say, being much interested in my 
 narrative of my interview with the King, before he rode 
 away from Widey Court ; and he told me that during the 
 King's stay there he had somewhat narrowly escaped the 
 shots of our forts, some of which fell very near to him, for 
 he had ventured to the top of the rising ground on which 
 they had a battery, but which our works overlooked. 
 
 After this departure of the King from Plymouth, the 
 close siege was raised and a blockade substituted tinder 
 the infamous Richard Grenville. I think the King must 
 be sore pressed for officers to leave so important a work 
 to so mean a man. There are few but have some ill- 
 knowledge of this man ; even his own party cannot find
 
 THE DUCK1XG-STOOL. 177 
 
 anything good to say of him. There are evil stories con-, 
 cerning his treatment of his wife, because she did not 
 bring him a sufficient fortune ; his love, as I understand, 
 being for the lucre rather than the lady. There is but 
 one thing I hear in his favour, and that is, that he keeps 
 the soldiers under him in better order towards the country 
 people than did Prince Maurice, whose troops were a 
 rough lot, and little restrained by those over them. 
 
 His purpose was to stop our supplies, and this necessi- 
 tated a great many skirmishes. In one of these wherein 
 my dear friend Dick Tonkin and myself and our men 
 had part, we took a notable prisoner, a lad of sixteen, a 
 near kinsman of Sir Richard and of his name. This 
 young Grenville was persuaded into a plot to betray the 
 town into his cousin's hands. But, owing to the vigilance 
 of my friend, and in some little measure, I may add with- 
 out vanity, my own, this scheme was discovered, the 
 quick wit of Tom being not wanting in the discovery. 
 Our second in command over all the garrison, Colonel 
 Serle, was basely attacked by this young upstart, and 
 offered 3000 to betray his trust. But he, nobly ex- 
 posing the whole business, and our proof being forth- 
 coming as to the tampering with the men and subordinate 
 officers, a court-martial was held, and he was condemned 
 to death. 
 
 On the 24th of September his execution took place 
 accordingly upon Plymouth Hoe. Truly a sad and 
 lamentable end to so jxmng a life, and do what I would, I 
 could not so steel myself but that my heart bled for those 
 who loved him. But treachery is a base sin, and must at 
 fill hazards be put a stop to. And where there are, as 
 amongst us, many young, untried, and needy men, the 
 temptation to take a heavy bribe cannot fail to be so soi'e 
 as that some may be too likely to fall into it. 
 
 The death of this young man inspired a greater hatred 
 even than had previously existed between Sir Richaixl 
 
 if
 
 178 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 Grenville and our governor, Lord Robartes. Sir Richard 
 vowed that whoever of our men fell into his hands should 
 be put to death without mercy, by the sword or the 
 halter. 
 
 Which, when Tom heard, he gathered the men around 
 him on the castle wall, and made a speech to them, in- 
 forming them of the fate that awaited them if they fell 
 into the hands of Skellum Grenville. 
 
 " For my part, boys," said he, after haranguing them 
 amidst cheers for himself and their officers, and groans 
 for Grenville, " this puts an end to quarter ; henceforth 
 1 fight till I die or conquer. I will fall into God's hands, 
 not Grenville's." 
 
 On the 4th of October, our men being weary of inaction, 
 our officers in highest authority thought it well to give 
 them some work, and a party was sent to take Saltash. 
 Here we had a short but vigorous encounter, and were 
 victorious, and thus encouraged took Millbrook the next 
 day, and the fort at Ins worth. 
 
 But Grenville was not thus to be beaten. He came 
 like a roused lion upon us at Millbrook, where forty men 
 of our troops fell and thirty-three were taken prisoners 
 a " gloomy fate," as Tom phrased it. Thence he went on 
 to our garrison at Saltash, where we had left five hundred 
 men. Here a fierce fight ensued ; two hundred were 
 killed in the assault, the other three hundred refused 
 quarter, and were taken prisoners. This brutal general 
 threatens to hang them, and our fears are great for our 
 comrades. This disaster to our forces occurred on the 
 llth of October. 
 
 This month was also disastrous to us by the death of 
 our well-beloved Lieu tenant- Colonel Richard Mai-ten ; he 
 was buried in the graveyard of St. Andrew's Church, 
 with due military honours, and, what was better, with 
 the regretful love of every man of us. Though he had 
 not the glory attached to a death on the battle-field, yet
 
 THE DUCKIXG-STOOL. 179 
 
 he died as surely through the effects of his devotion to 
 his country's cause in this memorable siege. Exposure 
 and anxiety were the beginning of the illness, from which 
 he never rallied. 
 
 The evening of the day on which he was buried, Dick 
 Tonkin and I were discoursing together the mysteries of 
 life and death. There are moments when Death is so 
 familiar to the soldier, that he treats him almost as a 
 friend; there are others when its very frequency and 
 commonness seem to render it only the more dread and 
 awful. 
 
 Several of " Tonkin's Ironsides " were awaiting an un- 
 known destiny from Sir Richard Grenville's hands, and 
 Dick was unhappy and anxious about them. 
 
 " I feel as if I had been unfaithful to them to have 
 escaped their fate," he said in a troubled voice, "as if 
 they may wonder how I, who preached Christ to them, 
 could bear to leave them." 
 
 " They are too good soldiers to think that, Dick ; they 
 will rather rejoice that at least you are not taken." 
 
 " They are generous enough for that," said Dick, 
 warmly ; " they are some of the noblest young fellows that 
 ever breathed." 
 
 Dick Tonkin was always enthusiastic about his men, by 
 whom he was almost idolized. 
 
 " Ben," he said presently, " have you ever thought 
 about that text, that command, ' Go ye into all the world 
 and preach the Gospel to'every creature ' ? " 
 
 " The preacher's warrant ? " I questioned ; " certainly 
 I have. It gives them very full authority." 
 
 Dick was silent ; he only smiled. 
 
 "You don't mean that; you think the Protestant 
 people should do more of the missioning work, like the 
 Catholics do, and travel into foreign lands to preach. Is 
 that it, Dick ? " 
 
 " I don't think it is a text only for preachers, Ben ; it
 
 180 I, BEXJAMIX HOLBECK. 
 
 is a text for every Christian, for you and for me, and for 
 our men; it is the great truth, of which 'And let eveiy 
 one that heareth say, Come,' is but the echo. We can't 
 get rid of our individual responsibility to 'preach the 
 Gospel to every creature ' by giving the work to another, 
 an ordained minister. It is your duty ; it is mine." 
 
 I liked to listen to Dick when he talked thus, and I 
 was silent, thinking, too, he must be in the right. " Our 
 preaching is not to be in words only, but in deeds," he 
 went on ; " it is difficult to know exactly how, but I have 
 an assurance that we may be preaching the Gospel to 
 every creature, even when we are fighting the wrong, as 
 well as when we are doing the tenderer works that seem 
 .so much more in consonance with it. If I did not think 
 this, of course I would not remain in the army. But there 
 is a solemn responsibility on Englishmen to-day, as I con- 
 ceive, to preach through the most terrible of actions. I 
 pray God that this preaching, because of our work now, 
 may be accomplished more happily in future times, more 
 peacefully." 
 
 " I wonder what the end will be, Dick ? " I said, rather 
 idly perhaps. But I was thinking of the unhappy King, 
 whom, because I had seen and spoken to, I could never 
 again regard as a vague creature of the imagination 
 mei*ely. His history, his feelings, his looks even, were 
 now of so much more interest to me. His family affairs 
 had been pretty largely talked of amongst us all that 
 summer, but I had taken small heed comparatively. A 
 little daughter had been born to the royal pair at Exeter 
 in June of this year ; and on this western " progress " of 
 the King's, as his friends called it, she had been baptized 
 in the name of Henrietta Anne by the bishop in Exeter 
 Cathedral, in presence of her father. The Queen, her 
 mother, had some time previously left that city, and made 
 sure her own escape to France, because Lord Fairfax 
 lcsicn-ed Exeter. But I wonder much what sort of a
 
 THE DUCKING-STOOL. 181 
 
 Another she could b3, to entrust so young a child to the 
 are of strangers. It is believed by many that she loves 
 herself better than either the King or her children, and 
 that since she cannot reign as Queen in England, she will 
 rather plot and design her own affairs abroad than comfort 
 her husband at home, which, as I think, is a good wife's 
 first business. 
 
 The siege of Exeter was raised by the King. During 
 their want of provisions they have a story of deliverance, 
 matching unto our pilchards, for a flight of fine, fat larks 
 came to their relief, of which one clergyman, named 
 Fuller, testifies : " I was not only an eye, but a mouth 
 witness." At this city the King had his eldest son 
 Charles with him, and they sojourned at Bedford House. 
 But now Lord Fairfax has again besieged it, and they 
 will soon have need, perchance, of more larks. Now, to 
 my remark, " I wonder what the end will be ? " Dick 
 made answer 
 
 " That is of small moment, Ben, compared to this : Am 
 I helping on the right end to the utmost of my power ? " 
 
 That is just like Dick. 
 
 I have been made somewhat uneasy by a rumour that 
 has got abroad that Lucy Woollcombe conveyed assistance 
 to the King during his stay at Widey Court. So far I 
 have not been questioned, and it is certain that, come 
 what may, I could not incriminate her. But I have many 
 fears lest others should, and I cannot deny, should I be 
 asked, that I saw something pass between them ; that is, 
 from her hands to his there was conveyed a small parcel, 
 
 Our newly appointed commanding officer is Colonel 
 Kerr. 
 
 To-day we have seen a strange sight on the Hoe, which, 
 because there is little of importance doing in a military 
 point of view, and because of its nature, attracted a vast 
 concourse of spectators, both of soldiers and civilians. 
 Those of my dear family at Brier Grange who may ever
 
 182 I, BEXJAMIX HOLBECK. 
 
 read these words of mine will perhaps remember the 
 imprisonment of one feminine malignant which took place 
 some months back. There was another accused about 
 the same time of tampering with the enemy, but it was 
 decided rather sternly by the town authorities that she 
 should be allowed to " sleep for a while, that her shame 
 and doom might be the heavier." 
 
 This foolish woman, one Betty Smith by name, instead 
 of keeping herself aloof from all things that could offend, 
 used both her tongue and her means freely against our 
 good and holy cause, doing what one woman may against 
 the success of our forces, and to further the aims of the 
 malignants. So that I can but own she richly deserved 
 the punishment, and might even be thankful that her life 
 was spared. But when I remember Lettice's words con- 
 cerning mercy to female malignants, and think that my 
 Lucy may even be so termed by some people, I could feel 
 little inclination to laugh at or scoff at the poor wretch. 
 It was decreed that she, being a scold, a brawler, a dis- 
 turber, and a disqnieter of her peaceful neighbours, both 
 concerning private and public matters, to the great 
 detriment of the otherwise present prosperous affairs of 
 the town of Plymouth in its relation to the malignants, 
 and to the great offence of Almighty God, in order to the 
 reformation of this her abuse of that talent Avherewith 
 God hatli entrusted her, viz. speech, it is ordered and 
 enacted that she shall be committed to the ducking-stool 
 appointed for the punishment of such offenders, and there- 
 upon be punished for her deserts." 
 
 Betty Smith was a strong and powerful woman, rather 
 good-looking, and not one to yield an inch of herself that 
 she could maintain against her foes. She was brought by 
 two men on to the Hoe on this autumn afternoon, crying 
 and shouting and struggling to a dreadful degree, and 
 followed by a rabble of children and fishermen, and soldiera 
 and sailors, as well as artificei-s and labourers, and many of
 
 THE DUCKING-STOOL. 183 
 
 the genteeler sort. And few seemed to have any pity, 
 because her offence was thought worthy of a still heavier 
 punishment, and she was reminded sharply enough, fully 
 a dozen times, that she might think herself happy to get 
 off so cheaply. 
 
 These words moved her to retort in a very hideous and 
 foul-mouthed way indeed, so that the men who had her in 
 charge were fain to check her at last by promising her an 
 extra dip for every oath and evil expression that fell from 
 her lips, after they had so warned her, and this had some 
 little effect towards stopping her tongue. 
 
 Arrived at the water-side, the framework on wheels was 
 properly adjusted, so that once she was fastened in the 
 chair upon the beam, the men with their ropes cause the 
 iiplifted end to rise or fall, and thus obtain a perfect see- 
 saw. The purchase of this machine is such that the 
 culprit can be launched forth some sixteen to eighteen 
 feet into the water, while the men who administer justice 
 stand themselves on the dry beach. It was a great piece 
 of work to make her take her seat in the chair, but this 
 once being done, she began to cry aloud for mercy. 
 
 The men gave her a dip that seemed to take her breath 
 away. She came up panting, and so dark in the face that 
 the women cried out for mercy on her, and even some 
 gentlemen high in authority told the officers of justice to 
 wait a little before the second plunge. 
 
 Then some man in the crowd began to sing in a crazy 
 voice these words, and to get ha'pence for his doggerel, and 
 there was much hearty laughter as he sang : 
 
 " If noisy dames should once begin 
 To drive the house with horrid din, 
 ' Away,' you cry, ' you'll grace the stool, 
 We'll teach you how your tongue to rule.' 
 The fair offender fills the seat 
 In sullen pomp, profoundly great, 
 Down in the deep the stool descends, 
 But here at first we miss our ends ;
 
 184 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 She mounts again, and rages more 
 
 Than ever vixen did before, 
 
 So throwing water on the fire, 
 
 Will only make it born the higher ! 
 
 If so, my friend, pray let her take 
 
 A second tarn into the lake, 
 
 And rather than you patience lose, 
 
 Thrice and again repeat the dose : 
 
 No brawling wires, no furious wenches, 
 
 Xo fire so hot but water quenches."* 
 
 The little lads and lasses ran about repeating these lines 
 as they could pick them up, and enjoying the fun. There 
 was a shout of triumph every time Betty was dipped, and 
 the process was repeated so often that I had serious fears 
 at last it would happen to her as it did to the wretched 
 ci-eature dipped in the Thames at Ratcliffe Highway, who, 
 when they at last released her, was found to have been 
 dipped once too often, and was quite dead, as I have heard 
 my dear father relate. This I mentioned to Dick Tonkin 
 and HaiTy, who stood with me at some distance, and even 
 Harry's merry face grew sober then. 
 
 " They shouldn't do it so much as that," he said. 
 " Shall I go and tell Williams and Smale to stop ? " 
 
 Just as he ran off to suggest this to the two men for 
 we did not hinder his remonstrance the ducking stool was 
 swung round on to dry land, and the woman released from 
 it. She was a pitiable object, and yet none seemed 
 willing to help her ; dripping wet, her face pallid, her 
 limbs trembling, she appeared quite unable to stand alone 
 for a few seconds, and even then to walk alone would be 
 evidently too much for her. Many, no doubt, feared to be 
 suspected of complicity with her treachery if they showed 
 themselves kind, but I never liked Harry Tonkin better 
 than when he went up boldly to the frightened woman, 
 and gave her his arm, exclaiming 
 
 * From " Jfiscellaneous Poems," by Benjamin West, published 1870.
 
 MHE DUCKIXG-STOOL. 
 
 185 
 
 " I'll help her, if nobody else will. Everybody knows 
 I'm for the Parliament; they won't suspect me of sympathy 
 with her doings, because I pity her for her duckings." 
 
 There was a general cheer for Harry, and at that 
 moment I saw on the other side of the humiliated woman 
 a little graceful form, who linked her arm unhesitatingly 
 in that of Betty Smith, and the three went off together. 
 
 " God bless the dear ! God bless 'em both ; pretty dears 
 both, they be ! " said one old woman, " to take pity on a 
 poor creature in distress ! " 
 
 And my heart echoed the old woman's words. My 
 Lucy! 
 
 THE DUCKING-STOOL.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MY FRIENDS IX TROUBLE. 
 
 E made good use of the pause in our actire 
 operations, caused by the slothfulness of Sir 
 Richard Grenville, after the taking of Salt- 
 ash, to repair our fortifications and to extend 
 them. At Gasking and East Gates we added 
 half -moons to our defences; our chain of 
 earthworks and their several communica- 
 tions were strengthened, and the earthworks themselves, 
 palisaded. We increased the number of our redoubts, and 
 made them much more formidable. We reared on a 
 peninsula, called Mount Batten, a fort of very great 
 strength. This peninsula, which is made into an island at 
 high tide, is just below that Mount Stamford where one 
 of our very earliest memorable engagements with the 
 malignants took place. The fort there I mean on Mount 
 Stamford remained slighted ; the ground we now held 
 extended from Mount Batten in the east to Mount Wise 
 in the west, a distance of at least three miles. At Mount 
 Wise a guard was stationed. 
 
 I think the readiness of the good townsfolk of Plymouth 
 to take an active part in their own defence deserves to be 
 recorded by me. For, whereas I have read of special kinds 
 of soldiers, such as sappers and miners, and the like, to be
 
 MY FRIENDS IK TROUBLE. 187 
 
 necessary for the making of fortifications and the repairing 
 of breaches, here, in this godly town, when the walls were 
 battered by the besiegers' guns, or a weak point in the 
 outer line of defence needed palisading, the tradesmen 
 went and did the work as readily as if it were the building 
 of an ordinary house yea, even more willingly ; and some- 
 times it was necessaiy that we soldiers should stand 
 defending them at their work, and now and then they 
 even hazarded their lives in this good service. 
 
 It was during this time that I was again gladdened by 
 receiving news from Brier Grange. Ever since I had* 
 received the tidings, on my return from Cornwall, of the 
 death of my honoured and beloved father in the battle of 
 Marston Moor, I had felt it impossible to seek the house of 
 Lucy Woollcombe, and I had only seen her on the two 
 occasions I have mentioned the day when she and I stood 
 in the presence of the King, and she afterwards returned 
 to her home under my escort ; and Avhen the ducking-stool 
 had been administered to Betty Smith, and she had come 
 to the assistance of that dishonoured and unhappy creature. 
 
 Yet I had been conscious all along of a yearning that 
 only she could satisfy, and a terrible agony of heart at the 
 knowledge of the great gulf which the blood of my father, 
 and of many another brave and dauntless man, seemed 
 to fix between her and myself. I recalled sometimes with 
 remorse, sometimes with a wild joy that nothing could 
 stifle, the knowledge that I could not undo the past, that 
 I could not draw back with honour from the words of the 
 little note I had written to her on my departure from 
 Plymouth with the Lord Fairfax, and that she could not- 
 deny the feelings that had pi^omoted her to throw the spray 
 of cluster roses at my feet, with the kindly words en- 
 twined around their stem. 
 
 How had she felt all these long weeks of my cruel 
 silence, of my studied neglect ? Had she explained them 
 away by the necessities of my position, by the difficulties
 
 188 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 I had to encounter in visiting her ? Had she heard of 
 iny sorrow ? I did not believe she had. If by any means 
 she had been made acquainted with the fact that I was in 
 trouble, it was not in her sweet nature to withhold her 
 hand from a few words at least of comfort. The longer I 
 stayed away from her, and nourished the idea that thus 
 I was taking vengeance for the slaying of my father by 
 the malignants, the less was I inclined to break through 
 the crust of reserve I had myself created. How ungenerous 
 I was to her, my darling, and what self-imposed misery I 
 endured ! Now and then Dick Tonkin, who, I sometimes 
 fancied, guessed my feelings pretty plainly, rallied me 
 playfully on my doleful countenance ; at other times he 
 looked a little anxiously at me, as I engaged in some noisy 
 exhibition of insincere mirth. He asked me often during 
 these weeks to the pleasant home in Southside Street, and 
 never had Mrs. Tonkin shown herself more kind, more 
 forbearing, and more motherly to me than now. 
 
 And then my letter came ; it was from Lettice, and it 
 was full of news. My sister Miriam was married, and 
 happily settled with her good husband. " My mother feel- 
 ing it advisable to have a man in the family near at hand 
 during such times as these," Lettice rather quaintly said, 
 as if poor Miriam's wishes had not been the chief matter 
 of moment. Jonathan Thorp had been so upset ever 
 since my father's death ' that he had been good for little at 
 the farm, and now he had mounted and gone to the war 
 himself. Poor Jonathan ! " And mother really thinks 
 we do better without him." Again Lettice's letter made 
 me smile. Grandmother was ailing ; " she never com- 
 plained of the news from Mai-ston Moor, and yet I think 
 it broke her dear heart ; she keeps to her bed, and says 
 she has only one thing more to live for to see you come 
 back to your home, dear Ben ! Have you the least faint 
 hope of this, that I may cheer her with it ? Oh, Ben ! 
 with father and grandmother gone, the farm will never
 
 MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE. 189 
 
 seem like home again to me." Here I was fain to do as I 
 think Lettice had done before me, to lay my head upon 
 the page and weep, such tears as Lucy had told me it was 
 not unmanly to shed. There were brighter words after 
 this : " We are all so proud of you, dear Ben ; mother 
 looked cheerful for the only time since she heard how 
 father died, when we read about your promotion. She 
 says she rejoices that she has a son to follow in the foot- 
 steps of his father, and to think nothing too good for the 
 cause of God. We heard the news first from General 
 Cromwell, who has promised mother, for father's sake, not 
 to lose sight of you, if you prove yourself worthy, and he 
 thinks you will. What a great, good man he is. Oh, 
 Ben ! if you had seen the holy comforting words he wrote 
 to mother, you would learn thaf he is indeed a man of 
 God. I took his lettei', Ben, and went out and sat down 
 under ' father's tree ' in the orchard, and thought it all 
 out the best I could, in the light of that letter and God's 
 promises, and I begin to understand it a little now. But 
 oh, Ben dear ! I grow a coward in regard to all fighting', 
 when I remember that every death upon every battle-field 
 may mean to some one, at the very least, what this one 
 death means to me ; and I can only cry from my very 
 heart, ' God help and pity all ! ' Some one has told us 
 that on many slain bodies of the Cavaliers there were 
 found love-tokens hanging round their necks by silken 
 cords and placed above their hearts, such as locks of 
 ladies' hair and trifles of that kind. Poor ladies ! I think 
 dear father carried a bigger love-token ; the happiness of 
 us all was bound up in his heart." 
 
 Here I felt my own pulses throbbing, for did I not wear 
 next my heart one of Lucy's cluster roses, faded now, yet 
 precious still ? Cavalier and Roundhead, we are all very 
 human, it would seem, with our dreams and our loves, 
 and, alas ! also our terrible hates. 
 
 I was interrupted in the reading of my letter by the
 
 190 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 entrance of Dick Tonkin into my quarters. I answered 
 his well-known knock by my customary " Come in," but 
 directly he entered I saw quite plainly there was some- 
 thing amiss. 
 
 " What is it, Dick ? your mother " 
 
 " Oh no ! " he said, much more cheerfully than I ex- 
 pected ; " nothing personal to me, Ben, but I know you 
 will be troubled, because it touches your friends." 
 
 I saw in a moment, as by a flash of light. Lucy was 
 accused of aiding the malignant cause, in the person of the 
 King ; yet I could not utter a word. My tongue felt dry 
 nnd parched. I only gazed at him stupidly, waiting for 
 his next word. It was a terrible moment ; my neglect of 
 her now was a crime for which I could never forgive my- 
 self. But it was over. At thought of her danger, her 
 possible sufferings, my love, which had only been forced 
 loack, rushed over every impediment, and surged over my 
 whole being. 
 
 "Nothing is fixed," said Dick, in answer to my look, 
 for I had not spoken " only the authorities have deter- 
 mined to examine Miss Woollcombe and her father to- 
 morrow." 
 
 I laughed scornfully, and said, loudly and bitterly, 
 *' What else could be fixed ? They won't condemn her 
 unheard, if there's such a thing as justice, even in a 
 Roundhead." 
 
 " Hush, Ben, hush ! " said my Mend, looking round 
 him, with a caution that was not natural to him. " If we 
 are to be of any use to our friends we must discourse of 
 this with bated breath, not with noisy vehemence." 
 
 But I laughed again so wildly, so extravagantly, that 
 Dick grew alarmed. He came over to me, persuaded me 
 to sit down beside him, brought me a drink of water, and 
 pressed his cool hands over my throbbing temples. 
 
 " We must not talk of this any more," he said firmly, 
 ""if you cannot play the man. I came- to you, Ben,
 
 MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE. 191 
 
 because I thought you could devise some means to assist 
 them." 
 
 The stress he laid upon that word " you " did more to 
 force my calmness and attention than anything else could 
 have done. It compelled me to 'think of her more than of 
 myself. Had I not said to myself a hundred times that I 
 could lay down my life for her ? Now it was incumbent 
 upon me that I should, in the first place, conquer, for her 
 sake, all this terrible, almost irresistible emotion that 
 overwhelmed me. Dick had wisely given me this to do 
 for her, and it steadied me at length. I learnt that Mr. 
 Woollcombe and his daughter, who had, it was well 
 knoAvn, strong' Royalist sympathies, had been regarded 
 hitherto as veiy properly abstaining from intercourse with 
 the malignants, or from rendering them any aid. But 
 the surreptitious manner in which Miss Woollcombe and 
 her maid had left the town to visit the King, and some 
 passages since, had now led the authorities to believe that 
 their line of conduct, formerly so commendable, had been 
 altogether altered ; and it was determined that they must 
 remain under the immediate surveillance of the military 
 or of the toAvn, unless, upon examination made, they were 
 able entirely to clear themselves from all suspicion. 
 
 While Dick and I were talking I received a citation to 
 appear as a witness in the matter. As I had never given 
 any one the least hint as to what I had observed to pass 
 between the King and Lucy Woollcombe at Widey, I 
 could only explain this summons from the fact that I had 
 had the lady and her servant placed under my escort back 
 into the town on the day of their " surreptitious visit." 
 
 My first and strong impulse was to go to Lucy at once, 
 at least to send to her.] [I suggested this, substituting her 
 father's name, however, for her own, to Dick Tonkin. 
 P , "I don't think, Ben," said he, "you could do a more 
 foolish thing for the success of your good intentions to- 
 wards them. Let me explain why. Every particle of
 
 192 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 evidence you gave to-morrow would then or at all 
 events might then be deemed a concocted plan between 
 you ; but if you are able to testify that you have not had 
 any communication with her from that day to this, and 
 that on a public occasion, and at a distance, your words- 
 will have, we may hope, a very good purpose in allaying 
 the suspicion that so unfortunately rests upon her and her 
 father." 
 
 " And what will be done to them, if it can be proved ? '* 
 
 " At the worst, imprisonment," said Dick. 
 
 I groaned involuntarily. Oh, dear little sister Lettice, 
 thou never thoughtest of the meaning the words ' : feminine 
 malignant " might one day have for me ! My love in 
 prison and I free ! the idea was bitterness itself, 
 
 " They may only deem it necessary to place a sentry at 
 the house, to see that no one enters or departs unseen." 
 
 "I would gladly take the post," I said, smiling sadly. 
 
 " You will be the last man for it, unless you manage to 
 hide your prejudice in their favour," said Dick, cheerfully. 
 
 At " ten of the clock " the next morning, in a room of 
 the castle used for all such purposes, were assembled 
 Justinian Peard, the mayor, with his aldermen, all in 
 their long black cloth robes, richly ornamented with 
 strips of black velvet, and black square velvet collars, 
 lined with fur ; Lord Robartes, the Governor of Plymouth ; 
 and Colonel Kerr, commander of the forces, to whose- 
 united authority such cases were committed. But my 
 eyes were, not unnaturally, most of all attracted to the- 
 two, who, accommodated with seats, could hardly fail to 
 have touched with respect and compassion the most casual 
 onlooker. Mr. Woollcombe's small, spare person was 
 almost lost in the heavy cloak which was wrapped around 
 him. On his first appearance he was muffled round th& 
 throat and over the month, above which wraps his keen 
 yet somewhat wistful eyes looked rather anxiously around. 
 Bridget was at her master's side, and relieved him of his-
 
 MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE. 193 
 
 manifold outer coverings ; and then the earnest, thought- 
 ful, refined face of the old Royalist, with its handsome 
 profile and dignified expression, were made visible, paler 
 even than usual. I saluted him respectfully. If my life 
 had been forfeited by that act, I must have performed it, 
 not only because he was Lucy's father, but from his in- 
 trinsic nobility and true gentlemanliness. 
 
 He smiled graciously and pleasantly, and returned my 
 .salutation. Bridget performed the nearest appi'oach to 
 a gratified recognition of my presence that was to be ex- 
 pected under the circumstances. Her square lips widened 
 a little, and her eyes assumed a somewhat nearer resem- 
 blance to gooseberries. 
 
 Then I bowed gravely and respectfully to Lucy, and 
 her sad, sweet face and bowed head as gravely responded 
 to my gesture. How fragile she looked to-day ! Surely 
 she had grown thinner and whiter, and sadder than I had 
 ever before seen her. She sat close to her father, and 
 only smiled when she looked at him, as if to comfort him. 
 
 " All witnesses must leave the court." 
 
 I did not know who said it, but I knew I must go. I 
 saw Lucy give a quick start, as I moved to quit the apart- 
 ment. Did she think I had brought her to this ? From 
 my heart I ejaculated the words, " God forbid ! " As I 
 left I heard some one murmur to a friend 
 
 " Two shadows of a past royalty." 
 
 I met Mrs. Tonkin just outside the threshold of the 
 court-room ; she shook hands with me. 
 
 " I meant to have been here before it opened," she 
 whispered, " to sit beside the dear child, if they will let 
 me. She has no mother, you know, Benjamin," she added, 
 with tears in her kind eyes. 
 
 I could only wring her hand in answer, and bless her 
 in my heart. 
 
 During my absence from her dear presence I mean, of 
 course, Lucy's I was tortured with the thought that she
 
 19J; I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 looked, indeed, as though fading from earth. Had my 
 cruelty, my silence, my coldness, after saying so much, 
 anything to do with this ? If she were not indifferent 
 to me and I hoped, oh ! how earnestly I hoped, that 
 she at least felt kindly to me had I not, by my vain, 
 miserable, selfish behaviour, wounded both her tenderness 
 and her pride ? All this, and the anxiety I felt as to how 
 I should answer the questions that might be asked me, 
 were but a poor preparation for the cool collectedness that 
 should characterize a witness in a court of inquiry. 
 
 I was ushered in sooner than I had expected, and Lord 
 Robartes himself questioned me, my answers being taken 
 down by a gentleman who sat at a table close by. 
 
 " Lieutenant Benjamin Holbeck ! " 
 
 I saluted him respectfully. 
 
 " You know this gentleman, Mr. Woollcombc, and this 
 lady, his daughter, Miss Lucy Woollcombe ? " 
 
 " Yes, my lord." 
 
 "Do you know of any unlawful intercourse either of 
 them has had with other malignants ? " 
 
 " I beg your pardon, my lord, if I ask you to give me 
 the meaning of ' unlawful intercourse.' I have almost no 
 acquaintance with courts of justice, and I think, my lord, 
 you will understand how naturally a soldier of the Parlia- 
 ment would dislike the business of an informer." 
 
 I spoke in an easy, frank way, that seemed given to me ; 
 and there was a slight applause in the assembly, which 
 was, however, checked, when Lord Robartes said rather 
 .sternly, though I fancied a smile lurked at the corners of 
 his mouth 
 
 "In your difficulty, Lieutenant Holbeck, the most 
 straightforward, soldier-like thing you can do, will be to 
 tell all the circumstances that can bear upon the case." 
 
 As he spoke I glanced at Lucy, and was delighted to 
 find that Mrs. Tonkin had a seat beside her. Her rela- 
 tionship to Lord Robartes had doubtless made this easy
 
 MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE. 195 
 
 for her, as I am sure it must have been comforting to 
 Lucy. 
 
 I was thinking how best to frame a truthful statement 
 for I remembered painfully the words concerning the 
 water supply of the town, which I had heard Mr. Wooll- 
 combe use to the Royalist stranger, as well as the passage 
 between Lucy and her King, which seemed so much less 
 worthy of blame. A gentleman I knew to be a lawyer 
 amongst the aldermen, Mr. Coryndon by name, rose as I 
 hesitated, and said 
 
 " My lord, if you will pardon the interruption, I would 
 suggest that some member of the legal profession should 
 ask this young officer a few leading questions. In my 
 opinion, it is an extremely difficult thing for any one 
 to give an account of a matter, unless he knows pre- 
 cisely what to say and what to leave unsaid. He will be 
 apt to introduce an immense amount of wholly irrelevant 
 matter, which will be tedious to those who listen to him, 
 and not come to the real matter in hand, save with 
 difficulty and perplexity." Thus saying, he sat down again. 
 How grateful I felt to him ! 
 
 " If Mr. Coryndon will oblige the court by asking these 
 questions, it will expedite matters," said Lord Robartes, 
 with a gracious nod at the lawyer. 
 
 Mr. Coryndon, nothing loth, as I thought, immediately 
 began looking at me in a quick, bright way that some- 
 what embarrassed me, glad as I had been of his assistance. 
 He made me think of a bird with its sharp, bright eyes, 
 that could hop round you on the other side, if you shirked 
 him on this. 
 
 "You are a friend of Mr. Woollcombe and his 
 daughter ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " You visit there I mean at their house ? " 
 
 il I have done so a few times." 
 
 " All things are to be explained, I suppose? Will you
 
 196 I, BEXJAMIX HOLBECK. 
 
 tell the court in a few words how it comes to pass that 
 
 you, a Parliamentary officer, as you just now said " 
 
 He paused, as if to expect me to answer. 
 
 ' ; Certainly, a Parliamentary officer," I said, and drew 
 myself up a little, Harry Tonkin told me afterwards, as if 
 six feet one and a half were not height enough for any 
 man. 
 
 ' ; Should be," continued Mr. Coryndon, as if there had 
 been no interruption in his sentence, " on intimate terms 
 with a Royalist a very pronounced Royalist and his 
 daughter ? " 
 
 " That is easily explained, sir," I began. 
 " I am glad of it," said Mr. Coryndon, smiling know- 
 ingly, and preparing himself to listen with something of 
 unction in his manner. 
 
 I related as briefly as I knew how, the circumstances I 
 have already narrated for my dear readers at Brier 
 Grange, and tried to be careless of the quizzing counte- 
 nances that looked at me so narrowly the while. 
 
 " The story is a romantic one, but doubtless "rue," said 
 Mr. Coryndon, with that same self-satisfied smile, as if he 
 saw the whole consequences, without any further enlighten- 
 ment, "and I am sure no gentleman here, considering the 
 charms of the lady " and he bowed to Lucy " and the 
 susceptible age of the young gentleman, can wonder at 
 anything that followed." 
 
 Lord Robartes, who was at this time still a young-look- 
 ing man, being only forty-four, smiled, and smiles beamed 
 on the faces of every alderman present. But the officers, 
 especially the elder ones, looked grave, as if they did not 
 enjoy the joke at the expense of one of their number. 
 
 "Now that you have been so good as to furnish us with 
 so much interesting information, I hope you will continue 
 to entertain us, Lieutenant Holbeck," said Mr. Coryndon. 
 ' Pray how went matters afterwards ? You visited at the 
 honsc to inquire after the fair patient you had so happily
 
 MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE. 197 
 
 saved from a worse than merely sudden death. I have 
 heard the story, my lord, before," Mr. Coryndon went on, 
 turning suddenly to Lord Robartes, "and I will confess 
 I have had a little curiosity to see both the lady and the 
 officer, especially the lady, for who ever heard before of 
 any one being fired at by a friend, and saved by an 
 enemy?" 
 
 " Sir," I said, for I felt that Lucy must be undergoing 
 torture from so much painful attention to herself, and I 
 desired to save her, "I think you said you had further 
 questions to put to me ? " 
 
 "Yes; we are getting on very nicely," said Mr. 
 Coryndon, " Now, when you were visiting at the house 
 of Mr. Woollcombe, did you ever meet any one, friend or 
 foe?" 
 
 I hesitated involuntarily. What I dreaded was coming. 
 I looked steadily at Lucy for a moment, beseeching her 
 for advice, for pardon if I condemned her, or if I must 
 hide the facts. But if eyes ever said to other eyes, 
 " Speak the truth fearlessly and leave consequences to 
 God," her dear blue eyes said so then, when my courage 
 faltered, and the untruth that should screen her from 
 blame seemed to tremble almost as a virtue on my lips. 
 
 I was strengthened by that glance. " I met a Cavalier 
 there on one occasion, for a few minutes." 
 
 " In your presence was anything said, or any plan made 
 to the prejudice of the Parliament in this siege? " 
 
 " No, sir ; not in my presence." 
 
 " It was hardly likely there would be," suggested the 
 mayor. " This young gentleman wore his officer's dress, 
 I take it, and was known even to the Cavalier as a 
 Parliamentarian. Was not that the case ? " 
 
 " It was, sir." 
 
 "And you heard nothing in the house between Mr. 
 Woollcombe and this gentleman that would materially 
 assist us in this inquiry ? "
 
 198 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 "Nothing that can affect the present position of affairs 
 in the least, sir," I said. The question I so much dreaded 
 had come. "As you are gentlemen, I can appeal to you 
 not to cause me to repeat what I accident ly overheard, 
 since I can most truthfully assure you it is of no moment." 
 
 But, as I had feared, this was not allowed to pass. It 
 \vas said by some one that I was no adequate judge, through 
 my youth and inexperience, of what might or might not 
 be of moment. All I could gain was, that I might 
 privately inform Colonel Kerr of the matter, and if he 
 decided I was right, no further notice would be taken of 
 it. So we withdrew, and I made a confession to him of 
 the words I had heard concerning the cutting off of the 
 water supply. He reprimanded me sharply for not 
 having told my commanding officer at the time ; but 
 since the leat was guarded now, he came to the conclusion 
 that silence was wisest. This greatly comforted me, and 
 we returned to the court. Then followed a rigid exami- 
 nation of the words and even of the looks of the King at 
 Widey Court. 
 
 "You saw this lady, Lucy Woollcombe, give a parcel 
 into the hands of the King ? " 
 
 " I did, sir." 
 
 " What sort of parcel ?" 
 
 " A very small one, not so large as her hand." 
 
 There was another smile; and Mr. Coryndon said 
 funnily, " Did you measure the two ? " 
 
 "No, sir : but inasmuch as her hand covered the parcel, 
 I conclude it was the larger." 
 
 " Very good ; and where did she give it to him ? " 
 
 "Just before the house at Widey Court." 
 
 " Was it a soft or a hard parcel ? " 
 
 " I did not feel it, sir." 
 
 "Did the little hand that covered it make any im- 
 pression on it ? " 
 
 " I did not see, sir."
 
 MY FRIENDS IN TROUBLE. 199 
 
 " It might have been money or jewels ? " 
 
 " I am not in the least able to say what was inside, 
 sir." 
 
 Lucy, on being asked, made, of course, no attempt to 
 deny the giving of the packet to the King. It had been 
 entrusted to her by her father, for presentation to his 
 Majesty, and she must decline to say whether she knew 
 or did not know the contents. 
 
 Then Mr. Woollcombe himself was questioned, and 
 replied to every question with dignity, sometimes even 
 with playfulness, and with the most unswerving loyalty. 
 He made some answers that were, I thought, touchingly 
 beautiful. It was demanded 
 
 "Had he aided the King by his substance to fight 
 against his people and protract a cruel war ? " 
 
 "I am an old and feeble man, more feeble than old, 
 my lord," he said. Then turning again to Lord Robartes : 
 "Had I been young, or had I been strong, my sovereign 
 could have needed no service I would not have adventured 
 for him. I have no son to take my name and my place, 
 and fight for me and for my King. My sweet child there 
 has the heart of a woman but the soul of a man, and 
 nothing she could have dared would have been wanting 
 had her frame been strong, or had her father been other 
 than an invalid needing her tenderness and care. I Jiave 
 given what of my substance I could spare for the pressing 
 necessities of my King. If this is a crime in your eyes, 
 punish me ; if it be a virtue, spare me. My God has set 
 my King over me ; if I fail to do him reverence, if I fail 
 to Tear God and honour the King,' I disobey the 
 command of the Scriptures through the writings of the 
 Apostle Peter." 
 
 There was silence for a little while : and then, the 
 inquiry having lasted for a long time for the evidently 
 extremely ill-health of Mr. Woollcombe, it was adjourned 
 until the next day.
 
 200 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 All being in our places again the next day, Lord 
 Robart.es expressed his sense of the propriety of making 
 such an examination in all such cases, and of the extreme 
 need for circumspection in every inhabitant of the town, 
 both in regard to himself and his neighbours, not to 
 consort openly or in secret with those who make a boast 
 of dishonouring the Parliament; this Mr. Woollcombc 
 had certainly not done, he having avoided naming the 
 Parliament except with respect. The present case would 
 be met, it was judged, by a caution ; but if any further 
 communication was sought or took place between the 
 aforesaid Charles Woollcombe and Lucy Woollcombe and 
 the person of his Majesty, or any of the malignants, 
 whether officers or privates, imprisonment must follow. 
 
 Mrs. Tonkin had again accompanied Lucy to the 
 castle, and I could but admire her brave kindness to the 
 lonely young Royalist. Through these two days I had 
 decided that my own conduct had been so cowardly 
 towards Lucy that I could only wonder if her patience 
 and kindliness towards me were not wholly exhausted.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MR. WOOLLCOMBE'S OBJECTION. 
 
 " She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd ; 
 She is a woman, therefore to be won." 
 
 SHAKESPEARE, King Henry VI. 
 
 S Miss Woollcombe in, Bridget?" I had 
 knocked three times at the door of the dear 
 home in Looe Street, and when Bridget 
 answered it, I accosted her at once with the 
 question that was on my tongue. I had 
 never seen the faithful human dragon that 
 guarded my lady-love wear so forbidding and 
 unpromising an aspect as at that moment. 
 
 " Sir," she said, in a cold hard voice, " we've had 
 trouble enough ; don't bring us more ; " and she began to 
 shut the door in my face. 
 
 But I was desperate. I had come resolved to see 
 Lucy, to speak to Lucy, and to know my fate. The 
 longing I had felt from the first to tell her of my trouble, 
 but which I had so long conquered, punishing her per- 
 chance and certainly myself from the false idea of thus 
 honouring my father's memory, was very strongly working 
 in me now. I had never had a more settled purpose in 
 advancing upon the enemy, than I had now that I would 
 enter this house. If I did not shrink from the cannon's
 
 202 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 mouth, it is hardly to be expected that I should do so- 
 from Bridget, formidable as she was. " My business is 
 particular; I must see Miss Woollcombe, Bridget." 
 
 " Then you can't," she answered rudely ; " and this 
 door has got to be shut, sir." 
 
 Annoyed as I was, the sight of her queer square face 
 framed in the gradually shutting door was so comical, as 
 piece by piece it receded from my view, that I coiild not 
 help laughing. And she opened the door a little to say 
 
 " There bain't much to laugh at, Mister Holbeck." 
 
 "No, very little," I answered; "so little, that we must 
 make the most of what there is, Bridget." 
 
 She seemed to relax somewhat. " What is it you want 
 a-prowling round this house ? If I had my way, the 
 door 'd be barred and bolted against you, sir. What's the 
 good of cats and rats a-trying to live comfortable-like 
 together? Them as the Almighty doesn't make to fit, 
 hadn't better try to do it theirselves, there ! " And 
 again the remorseless door was coming towards me. 
 
 "Which is the strongest of us two, Bridget ? " I asked. 
 
 " I am, sir, in this house." And the door closed. 
 
 What was to be done ? I never felt quite so angry in 
 my life, I think, as for the first few minutes. To be 
 checked thus, and by a woman by a woman and for o, 
 woman ! That thought made me soften. I could not 
 think of Lucy and cherish malice against any one who 
 loved her, even if that love were displayed in a very 
 unfortunate manner to myself. I glanced up at the 
 windows of the house. It was early in the evening, but 
 the days were short; the candles were lighted in tho 
 sitting-room within, and the blinds were down. The 
 temptation I felt to attract Lucy's attention by throwing 
 a little sand on the glass or by tapping was resisted, 
 through fear of frightening her. Presently the door 
 opened very cautiously, and I saw a head peep out as 
 cautiously, certainly not the head of Bridget. I hurried
 
 MR. WOOLLCOMBE'S OBJECTION. 203 
 
 towards it, from my inspection of the windows, just as the 
 door was about to be shut. 
 
 " Lucy ! Miss Woollcombe ! " I was not a moment too- 
 soon. 
 
 " Oh, Lieutenant Holbeck ; have you. knocked ? Pray 
 walk in." 
 
 Her manner was cool and reserved ; in any one but Lucy 
 it would have been cold. Her sweetness, which she could 
 never hide, softened the bare words, the constrained 
 manner. 
 
 " I am alone that is to say, my father is not well, and 
 has gone to bed veiy early. Bridget has just taken him 
 .some gruel. That accounts for your being kept so long." 
 
 " Bridget shut me out, Miss Woollcombe." I could not 
 restrain a smile as I said so; but Lucy looked pained, 
 displeased. 
 
 " Shut you out, sir ? " she repeated ; " I do not under- 
 stand." 
 
 I had to explain. 
 
 " Bridget forgets that I am mistress, and the only one 
 to choose who must enter," she said gravely. 
 
 " I do not wonder Bridget feels angry with me, when 
 Bridget's mistress has so much, so very much to for- 
 give." 
 
 " To forgive ? oh no, sir ! You have been busy ; mere 
 acquaintances must not expect much of each other." 
 
 " Mere acquaintances ! " I echoed the words. Was this 
 the end of it all ? the sweet dreams, the faint hopes r 
 which, though faint, had been all I had looked forward to 
 in this life ? " Would I had died weeks ago in battle, 
 fighting bravely, as my father had done, if this were all." 
 So I thought in my bitterness, and so, not knowing hai-dly 
 that I spoke the words, I said aloud. 
 
 Lucy hid her face in her hands. Then she looked up 
 at me, pale, trembling, and in tears : " Your father 
 dead ! Oh, Mr. Holbeck, and you have not told me ! '"
 
 204- I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 she said reproaclif ally ; " could you. not at least trust 
 my sympathy ? " 
 
 That was the beginning, but not the end of our talk. 
 The words Lucy spoke to me and I to her are too sacred 
 between us to bear repetition. My darling ! What have 
 I done to be worthy of this her love for me ; that by slow 
 degrees, rather because she could not help it than wil- 
 lingly, she owned, and with so much pretty shyness and 
 womanly modesty, timid to confess the wealth of the gift, 
 because she does not measure aright its value ? 
 
 Oh the happiness of those hours ! life were worth 
 living if but to have experienced them. 
 
 Bridget knocked at the door, and Lucy started up with 
 a heightened colour on her sweet face, and a bright look 
 in her blue eyes. Never, surely, had she looked so beau- 
 tiful as now. Bridget followed her knock by opening 
 the door and entering. 
 
 " I have brought your supper, Miss Lucy." 
 She carried a little tray in one hand, laid with the 
 snowiest of cloths, and on it a white basin covered over 
 with a china cover. The expression of her face when she 
 saw me was a mingled one of annoyance, amusement, and 
 unbounded surprise. Bridget was too self-possessed to 
 make any sign of this ; she would not allow me to think 
 myself of so much importance. I was too generous in my 
 happiness to triumph over her in the slightest degree. 
 
 " 'Tis clear there's a traitor in this camp," she said 
 demurely ; " we're not all as we ought to be, for the 
 King." 
 
 " Have you any more of this nice broth, Bridget ?" said 
 Lucy, smiling as she uncovered the basin, whence there 
 issued a very savoury smell, " because if you have you 
 must please bring another basinful ; I feel sure Mr. 
 Holbeck will like it. Every one appreciates such appe- 
 tizing broth as this." 
 
 " 'Tisn't meat for Parliament men ! " said Bridget
 
 MR. WOOLLCOMBE'S OBJECTION. 205 
 
 indignantly, or with well-assumed indignation ; " bat I 
 suppose you're like the rest, Miss Lucy, now the Parlia- 
 ment's getting on. 
 
 ' Such as are wise 
 Leave falling buildings fly to those that rise.' " 
 
 " I hold most to my friends when they're in. most 
 trouble, Bridget," said Lucy, playfully but firmly. " Go 
 and get the broth." 
 
 " If I had known you'd had him in I wouldn't have 
 made it ready," said Bridget to herself as she retreated, 
 yet loud enough for us to hear every word. But we only 
 laughed, we were too happy to do anything else. But 
 when it came to parting, the obstacles between us seemed 
 to spring up in Lucy's mind and affright her. The tears 
 came into her eyes. 
 
 " I have done very wrongly, I am afraid, to let you love 
 me ; my father will not like it, will not allow it, and I 
 cannot, I must not, disobey my father." 
 
 " Don't trouble yourself, Lucy, dearest ; your father 
 cannot prevent our loving each other. For the present 
 let that thought cheer us. Happier days than these 
 will come for our dear country and for our affaire ; 
 for ourselves we can scarcely have a happier day than 
 this, can we ? " 
 
 The next time that I was at liberty to seek my sweet 
 Lucy, I was ushered in, willingly enough but very grimly, 
 by Bridget to the presence of her master, who, seated in 
 an easy chair by the fire and propped up by pillows, looked 
 worse than I had ever seen him. 
 
 "Pray be seated, Mr. Holbeck," he said in his usual 
 courteous tone. " It is necessary we should talk together. 
 You have not acted kindly nor rightly, sir. I am sorry 
 I have been mistaken in you. I deemed you a gentleman, 
 sir. You have taken unfair advantage of my state and 
 my dear child's kind heart. It is impossible I can sanc- 
 tion her alliance with any man of your opinions. I am
 
 200 T, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 grieved indeed to find that she has herself so far forgotten 
 her duty to her King as to allow herself to love you, a 
 trai ," he interrupted himself " a Roundhead." 
 
 "Hearts are not bound by politics, sir," I said gently. 
 
 "They should be, where politics are religion. What 
 a source of dissension already exists between you two 
 foolish young people ! The kindest, most generous thing 
 you can do, Mr. Holbeck, is to retreat from your false 
 position. Give Lucy up " 
 
 "Never, Mr. Woollcombe; then indeed you might call 
 me a traitor, and not hesitate to finish the word." 
 
 He smiled, though sadly. " If you had only been on our 
 side, Mr. Holbeck, the side of religion, of the Constitution, 
 and of the King, nothing could have pleased me better. 
 There is no personal enmity or even dislike in what I say 
 to you. I believe, or I have hitherto believed, you to be 
 a man of honour and integrity, anxious to do your duty 
 according to your ideas of it. What pride I could have 
 taken in j'Oti, your stature, your strength, if all this had 
 been dedicated to your country and your King ! " 
 
 "It is, Mr. Woollcombe; if only the King knew his 
 true friends, if only he would take their counsels, we might 
 soon be at peace again ! " 
 
 " Let us have a clear understanding about Lucy," said 
 Mr. Woollcombe. " She will not, she says, retract her 
 promise to you poor, foolish child, how could she make 
 it without consulting me? But she has promised me, 
 Mr. Holbeck, not to marry without my consent. Beware 
 how you ever tempt her to forget that promise ! " 
 
 Lucy entered at that moment. I kissed her tenderly. 
 She looked anxiously at me. 
 
 " I cannot disobey papa, Ben," she said piteously. 
 
 " I do not think you will hear me ask you to, darling." 
 
 Her manner grew gayer at once, and the time we three 
 passed together was not unhappily spent.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF XASEBY. 
 
 " The scarlet livery of unfortunate war 
 Dyed deeply on his ace." 
 
 BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. 
 
 HBISTMAS came and went in the blockaded 
 town, and then there was little peace for us 
 for many long days. Grenville, with his force 
 of six thousand men, made a desperate assault 
 upon our outworks Lipson, Holiwell,Maudlyn, 
 and Pennycomequick. He drove our men from 
 all these, and threatened to point our own guns 
 at us, but only succeeded in maintaining his position at 
 JMaudlyn. For the garrison rallied from their surprise, 
 and drove the malignants back again with terrible force ; 
 three hundred of them were slain, seventy- five of whom 
 were left dead around the batteries, and many more 
 hundreds were wounded. The captured work was then 
 stormed on all sides by our men, who behaved with extra- 
 ordinary gallantry. All the forces within it were either 
 killed or taken prisoners ; those who did not fall eventually 
 surrendered upon quarter. 
 
 This was good news to send to the Parliament, and their 
 thanks were sent back to us, with a promise of supplies 
 for the garrison. The city of London itself petitioned
 
 208 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 that due regard should be had to the necessities of the 
 town. 
 
 But Richard Grenville now, as always, took a mean 
 revenge on those who were, unfortunately, in his poweiv 
 and pistolled Colonel Champernowne and his brother, the 
 news whereof did not, as may well be imagined, improve 
 our feelings with regard to this bloodthirsty general. 
 
 The town wall and outworks were greatly damaged in 
 this fight, and were as quickly repaired. But we had 
 little breathing-time. On the 17th of February, Sir 
 Richard ordered his troops across to Mount Stamford, 
 where they clevei-ly effected a lodgment among the ruins 
 of the slighted work, and raised 'a breastwork of faggots 
 twelve feet thick, which they intended to complete next 
 night. We were not prepared for this. But measures 
 were speedily resolved upon. Our force at Mount Batten 
 was strengthened at noon by a party of horse and foot, 
 amongst whom were my dear friend Dick Tonkin and 
 myself. Part of this force of foot were seamen, under the 
 command of Captain Swanley, who had but just come to 
 our relief, and landed a body of soldiers. 
 
 To keep the malignant force occupied, a faint sally was 
 made from Pennycomeqiiick, which engaged the main 
 body of the besiegers. We, under cover of the fh'e of sixty 
 guns from our ships and forts, which our men pleasantly 
 told each other " beat up the dust about the Cavies' ears," 
 marched up the hill and attacked their new Fort Stamford, 
 and after a hard struggle carried it. We drove the 
 Cavaliers from the field in various directions, and pursued 
 them at least two miles. Our prisoners were numerous ;. 
 we took twelve of their officers, which included a lieu- 
 tenant-colonel, a majoi", and four captains, and ninety-two 
 soldiers, with a good store of mattocks, shovels, and 
 faggots. 
 
 On our side only one was slain, and that by an unfortu- 
 nate accident ; but our favourite, Tom, was badly wounded,
 
 NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF NASEBY. 209 
 
 arid because his mother lived at Oreston, a little village 
 not far off, to which he could be easily sent in a boat, I was 
 commissioned to take him there when the fight was ended. 
 Tom, though he flushed and grew pale by turns in the 
 paroxysms of his pain, never quite lost heart, and joked 
 with me if he got a moment's ease. 
 
 " Lord love you, lieutenant," he said once, when I had 
 expressed some pity for him, " there's many a better man 
 wounded to-day than I am, even amongst the Cavies ! " 
 Then a twinge of pain brought the bright flush to his 
 face and a groan to his lips. " I'm actually better for 
 that groan, sir," he said, smiling again directly it was 
 past, " if only I could keep it all from poor old mother. 
 She'll think I'm hurt every time I groan, and it really 
 makes me better. Then think of the honour, sir, the 
 honour of being wounded in the Lord's cause ! " 
 
 I sympathized with him heartily. Tom was as sincere 
 as he was playful. 
 
 "And not a prisoner, sir, not in Skellum Grenville's 
 hands. Isn't that something to be thankful for ? If I've 
 prayed for anything, I've prayed for that. I should 
 have been tempted to kill myself, sir, if I'd been in his 
 hands." 
 
 When we reached the shore I despatched another soldier 
 who had come with us in the boat, to tell Tom's old 
 mother what had happened, and Tom raised himself a 
 little and bit his lips to keep back the expression of the 
 agony he suffered from his mother's ears. The old woman 
 came down to the shore hurriedly, in her bedgown and 
 spotless white apron and mob cap, a dear meek old face, 
 full of tender anxiety, and her person as spotlessly clean as 
 it was possible to imagine. 
 
 "Here I am, mother, come back to 'ee, my dear, once 
 more," said Tom, bravely, with a smile, like the young 
 hero he was. 
 
 " Do 'ee get him out ! do 'ee get him out ! " said the poor
 
 210 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 old woman, tears rolling over her face as she caught sight 
 of the bandaged leg. 
 
 Any amount of help was forthcoming, and we took him 
 as easily as we knew how into the little cottage, where we 
 laid him on the snowy bed, and gave the old woman the 
 doctor's directions for her son, whom he had promised he 
 would come to see on the morrow. All expenses would be 
 paid by his officers, and Tom was to want for nothing. 
 Even in her trouble the good old soul could enjoy the few 
 words of praise for Tom's bravery which I uttered, and 
 mother and son looked at each other, as if there were 
 comfort to each in the other's nearness. But my heart 
 ached, for I feared Tom's leg would never be of use to him 
 again. 
 
 The cottage at Oreston was regularly visited from this 
 -time by both officers and men; but Tom's bright sunny 
 face never again gladdened the garrison during the siege. 
 
 For the next few months we were less actively engaged. 
 No general attack was made, and we used our leisure, as 
 before, to improve the defences. 
 
 Little Maudlyn and Little Pennycomequick works were 
 erected. At Lower Lipson we raised additional forti6ca- 
 tions, and a new redoubt was thrown up, which was called 
 after our late revered commandant, Colonel William 
 Gould. Palisading work was also engaged in diligently. 
 When Sir Richard Grenville marched away from us to the 
 siege of Taunton, he only left two thousand foot and four 
 hundred horse before Plymouth. 
 
 When the news from Taunton came that he was 
 dangerously wounded in the thigh, there was little regret 
 felt for him and but small commiseration. 
 
 Danger was slight for us after the Mount Stamford 
 fight, wherein poor Tom got his leg shattered, although 
 we were continually harassed. And from my own ex- 
 perience, I should deem it far preferable to be more 
 actively engaged than to be continually in expectation of
 
 NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF NASEBT. 211 
 
 that which may or may not happen, as we were now, 
 with little chance of distinguishing ourselves in any way. 
 The Kentish regiment, which had come to our aid the 
 preceding October, were now dismissed, with proper 
 respect for their services, and thus many pleasant acquain- 
 tances ended, perhaps never to be renewed, they marching 
 for Lyme. 
 
 In June, Sir John Berkeley succeeded Sir Richard 
 Grenville, but he took no more active steps than his 
 predecessor, and the blockade continued. Indeed, we 
 began to understand that we were as strong as the party 
 ou-tside. Men were coming over to us from the King's 
 forces, and were received willingly, though cautiously. 
 Grenville had taken his pay for very little work, and had 
 thus impoverished the King he professed to serve. 
 
 In May of this year the town petitioned to have Lord 
 Bobartes continued in office as its governor ; but the self- 
 denying ordinance had prevented this, and a committee 
 of five were appointed for the government of the town. 
 The self-denying ordinance was passed to prevent those 
 who served in the army from serving in either House of 
 Parliament as well, and those who held appointments in 
 Parliament were incapacitated from serving in the army ; 
 only a very few exceptions have been made to this. 
 
 The autumn of this year we were greatly cheered by 
 news from other parts, as well as by our own greater 
 sense of security. Tor the tidings of the great victory at 
 Naseby came to us, the bearer of which was presented 
 with a silver tankard which weighed twelve ounces. 
 
 It may easily be imagined that a man with such news 
 as this of so great a victory was eagerly surrounded by 
 all the officers of our garrison, and, after the official com- 
 munications with which he was entrusted had been duly 
 made, he was invited and permitted to tell us somewhat 
 of the memorable engagement, in which he had himself 
 borne an honourable part, albeit only accidentally. For he
 
 212 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 was not a soldier by profession, but a messenger between 
 great ones of the army and the Parliament ; nevertheless 
 he held his own when set upon at Naseby, and aided 
 another of our side to escape from being surrounded and 
 cut off. A dashing, high-spirited, brave little fellow waa 
 this messenger, and he stood amongst us, his young, 
 pleasant face much animated and his manner excited, as 
 he told us the story of the important engagement. 
 
 "Yon see, sirs," he said, after telling us of General 
 Fairfax's engagements, " during this time his Majesty, 
 always a little too confident of his divine right to rule us 
 all, amused himself hunting. The King discovered at 
 last that he was surrounded by our troops, and was 
 actually called up out of his sleep at eleven at night, to 
 know, in a council of war, what was best to be done. It 
 was concluded that retreat was impossible, the King's 
 men having learned that General Fairfax was at Har- 
 borough, General Ireton hanging upon their flank within 
 two miles of Naseby, and that they must therefore fight. 
 
 " Their superior horse and experienced commanders 
 made them determine to give battle, and very confident 
 of victory. His Majesty believed," said our new friend, 
 with a grim smile and a merry twinkle of his grey eyes, 
 "that it was as easy to hunt down my Lord Fairfax's 
 army as to chase deer and rabbits. The King's forces 
 took up their position on some heights opposite Naseby, 
 which is a mere hamlet, yet it will be a name henceforth 
 dear to the hearts of Englishmen, methinks. The King 
 commanded his centre, in person; Prince Rupert and 
 Prince Maurice, of whom you know somewhat here at 
 Plymouth, with Sir Marmaduke Langdale, took his right 
 and left, with strong reserves of horse and life guards 
 behind them. Below, on the low moorland hills, the Par- 
 liament's army was marshalled under my Lord Fairfax, 
 sustained at the extremities by Generals Ireton and 
 Cromwell, with his artillery train enclosed in a ring of
 
 THE BATTLE Ot NAJSBBY.
 
 NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF NASEBY. 215 
 
 firelocks in the rear. The preparations on both sides 
 were solemn and minute, ominous of the frightful 
 slaughter about to ensue. 
 
 " On the wide sweep of plain, between these higher and 
 lower hills was the scene of the battle. Our battle-cry 
 you know well, ' God our strength ! ' theirs was ' Queen 
 Mary ! ' a wholly idolatrous cry for all the Protestants in 
 their ranks. The right wings of each army began the 
 affray Prince Rupert and General Cromwell, the one 
 impetuous for the King, the other eager to achieve a 
 victory for the Lord. The Prince charged up the heights 
 of Naseby, General Cromwell plunged down into the 
 broad plain with such fierce resolution that he fell upon 
 Langdale's horse at the sword-point, threw them into a 
 panic, and pursued them anywhere, everywhere, a full 
 quarter of a mile beyond the field of action. A desperate 
 encounter took place between Prince Rupert and General 
 Ireton's forces, whose movements were embarrassed by 
 dykes and pits of water. The general himself had his 
 horse shot under him and was wounded in the thigh with 
 a pike and in the face with a halbert, and in the rush of 
 the contention he was taken prisoner, though he soon 
 managed, by dint of the confusion, to recover his liberty. 
 It was this valiant soldier, sirs, to whom I had the 
 happiness to be of use." 
 
 "Let us have the history of the matter," said I; "it 
 must needs be of interest and of moment to us." 
 
 " All in good time, sir," answered the young Londoner 
 courteously ; " let me first finish the story of Naseby, and 
 then tell of my own small part therein to you, who have 
 proved yourselves such courteous listeners. Prince Rupert, 
 with one of those tremendous dashes for which he is 
 famous, broke through General Ireton's cavalry, and 
 forced them to retreat towards Naseby. On his return 
 he reached the artillery train, and was by them mis- 
 taken for Lord Fairfax."
 
 216 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 A groan from, some of us attested our anxiety as we 
 listened to this point of the story. 
 
 " One of our officers advanced," resumed the mes- 
 senger, " hat in hand to him, to ask how the day sped. 
 The dreadful mistake was soon discovered. When the 
 Prince offered them quarter, they replied by a shower 
 of bullets. There was no time for Rupert to argue the 
 matter. The King himself was in peril, and the Prince 
 flew back with his victorious horse to succour him. But 
 it was too late, for the fate of the day by that time was 
 decided. In another part of the field Lord Fairfax's 
 troops, though beaten back at first, were rallied by his 
 officers. Old General Skippon, of whom you all must have 
 heard, was shot in the side, yet he still staggered on in 
 his saddle, and refused to stir from the ground while 
 there was a man left ; and others acted almost as bravely ; 
 they clutched at their colours, and brought up the reserves 
 to supply the breaks in the centre. The Cavaliers were 
 broken and dispersed all along the line. The King bravely 
 rallied his forces with despei-ate courage (for he is no 
 coward, sirs, before the enemy), to charge once more. 
 Lord Fairfax had recovered his position, and made a last 
 descent upon the King. Charles Rex could no longer 
 rally his discomfited troops, they broke away in disorder, 
 the King himself flying towards Leicester, pursued by 
 Cromwell's cavalry for a distance of twelve or fourteen 
 miles. Such, sirs, was the victory of the 14th of June." 
 
 " And your spoils, sir ? " asked one. 
 
 " Four thousand private soldiers, one thousand officers, 
 the train of artillery, a quantity of rich pillage which the 
 Cavaliers had gained at Leicester, several coaches, and 
 his Majesty's private cabinet, containing letters and 
 papers of an important nature." 
 
 And now I repeated my request that he would tell us 
 of that particular action of his in relation to General 
 Ireton, of which we had heard some tidings. For though
 
 NEWS OF THE BA1TLE OF NASEBT. 217 
 
 I much like such a general view of a battle as he had 
 given us, personal accounts interest me still more. But 
 I had scarcely signified my wish and received his 
 affirmative smile, when an orderly summoned him to 
 partake of refreshment with our commander, and before 
 nightfall he was again on his way to the Parliament, 
 accompanied by our good wishes. So we were destined 
 to be altogether disappointed of our story. 
 
 Meanwhile, to return to our own Plymouth matters. 
 Sir John Berkeley did not hold his position more than 
 about three months, and was succeeded by Sir John 
 Digby. And forasmuch as he had little success here 
 almost two years ago, I am surprised he cares to come 
 into these parts again. 
 
 It was just at this juncture that I received a command 
 from Lieutenant- General Cromwell to come to him at 
 Tiverton, and, with this command, permission from 
 Colonel Kerr to obey it. This, as may well be under- 
 stood, put me into many difficulties. Great as I felt the 
 honour, I was at first sorely tiied, lest I should not return 
 to my sweet Lucy again, from whom I had not thought to 
 be separated, at least until the siege was at an end. For 
 although I had been careful not to go very often to the 
 house, my weekly visit to her was as an oasis in the 
 desert to both of us. And there were accidental times 
 when we met, to our mutual joy. Very often in church 
 we had at least the satisfaction of seeing each other, and 
 feeling ourselves under the same roof, and of worshipping 
 God together ; and now and then, though rarely, for she 
 seldom left her father, I came upon her hurrying to the 
 market or gliding along the streets. 
 
 The events that were so quickly following each other, 
 the signal disasters to the King's party, had precisely the 
 same effect on Mr. Woollcombe that the trouble of those 
 he loves must always have for a generous soul : he 
 thought of them the more ; he clung to the falling cause
 
 218 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 with the faithfulness of his nature. And Lucy shared 
 his feelings largely, though she was not so blind as he 
 was to the defects of the King and his generals ; yet she 
 could also admire, with me, the nobleness of the nature 
 of Oliver Cromwell, whom the Royalists and even the 
 Presbyterians soon condemned bitterly, as a self-seeker 
 and a betrayer of the liberties he professed to love. 
 
 By her advice, as well as because I hardly knew how 
 to refuse so great an honour and kindness, I went to 
 Tiverton. I can never forget that interview. I sat 
 awaiting the coming of the lieutenant- general in a small, 
 plainly furnished chamber of the house he occupied as his 
 quarters, and, when the door opened, I looked up and 
 started to my feet, curious to behold what sort of gentle- 
 man this was. 
 
 And I saw, in simple costume, a noble commanding 
 presence, of rather above middle height, in whom, to me 
 at least, dignity and kindliness were blended. His body 
 was well compact and strong, preparing you for the under- 
 standing of his great exertions; his head so shaped as 
 you might see it a storehouse and shop both, and a vast 
 treasury of natural parts. Some one has said, " He is 
 naturally compassionate towards objects in distress, even 
 to an effeminate measure, though God had made him a 
 heart, wherein was left little room for any fear but what 
 was due to Himself, of which there was a large pro- 
 portion ; yet did he exceed in tenderness towards sufferers. 
 A larger soul, I think, hath seldom dwelt in a house of 
 clay than his was." 
 
 I and my family have good reason to know this, and 
 the thought of his friendship for my father was in my 
 heart in presence of this kingly man. For, notwith- 
 standing that King Charles had a dignified and elegant 
 bearing, the man now before me had precisely what the 
 other lacked of great manliness and firmness, that made 
 you feel you could trust such an one, whoever else failed
 
 NEWS OF THE BATTLE OP NASEBY. 219 
 
 you in the hour of need. The mouth of Oliver Cromwell 
 was a firm mouth ; that of the King a weak mouth. 
 
 He met me most kindly, and was pleased to say that 
 had he not been informed as to who I was, he must needs 
 have known me from my likeness to my father " one 
 of my most dauntless, and faithful, and godly Ironsides," 
 he said, with a smile so frank and genial, that it lit up 
 the somewhat massive features of his countenance, as 
 sunshine lights up and improves the great tors of this 
 Devonshire Dartmoor, and drew me close to him in heart, 
 as I had long been in mind. 
 
 Much conversation followed between us. The siege 
 of Plymouth interested him greatly, and in the answers 
 to a very few particular questions which he asked me, he 
 seemed to obtain a wonderful knowledge of all events, of 
 every important sally, and to learn how our forts were 
 situated in regard to each other and to the enemy, in 
 a way quite surprising to my small experience. And 
 when I said as much, he smiled again, and answered 
 
 " None need wonder at me, for I too am yet but an 
 ignorant man, ever needing to learn. Yet I have had 
 such sore and constant training of late in all things 
 pertaining to military matters, that I must needs learn 
 somewhat. But believe me, Benjamin Holbeck, you or 
 any one else who accuses me of love of fighting will do me 
 wrong. Did I not see this great nation of the Lord's 
 people in such great straits, through lack of suitable 
 leaders, and men who are truly in earnest for this cause 
 of the Almighty, I could gladly go back to my more 
 simple duties as an honest citizen and a chosen member 
 of Parliament." 
 
 Then returning to the matter of the siege again, he 
 added : "I should well enough like to see this same town 
 whence you come, for it has a history of its own ; and 
 were it but for the Mayflower that sailed away from its 
 Barbican, it would have an interest for me."
 
 220 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 Then he talked to me of my father and my widowed 
 mother, and desired to know whether I was anxious to 
 get back into Yorkshire and to see them all at Brier 
 Grange. 
 
 " I shall be, general, when there is no more to do at 
 Plymouth. But I would fain stay and see how matters 
 there are ended before I go north again." 
 
 "Hike your answer, young man," said General Crom- 
 well, and again the firm face relaxed its grave look. 
 " But I sent for you that I might know you, and to offer 
 you a place amongst my Ironsides ; this, for your father's 
 sake, if I should find you a godly young man, following 
 in his steps. Our men are all chosen by me, and, above 
 all, as I verily believe, by the Lord Himself. They be no 
 swearers, no ale-house fellows, and many of them " (here 
 he looked playful), "I will affirm, are better preachers 
 than were my late Lords of Canterbury and York." 
 
 I answered him with deep respect and thanks, that 
 nothing would please me better, if I might have the offer 
 still after Plymouth was out of leaguer. But that being 
 so long in her, and with so much interest and so many 
 friends inside of her, I had certainly both curiosity and 
 affection enough to her fortunes to wait for the end. 
 
 He was by no means displeased. 
 
 "Very well, then. If I and my Ironsides last longer 
 than Plymouth and her leaguer, you will come to me ; 
 good, my son, I hold you to that bargain. ' Seek the 
 Lord and His face continually,' " he added, looking at me 
 earnestly ; " let this be the business of your life and 
 strength ; and let all things be subservient, and in order 
 to this. You cannot find nor behold the face of God but 
 in Christ, therefore labour to know God in Christ, which 
 the Scripture makes to be the sum of all, even life eternal. 
 My weak prayers shall be for you, Benjamin Holbeck. 
 Take heed of an inactive, vain spirit. This advice I give 
 you as to my own son. Now, farewell, and if we never
 
 NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF NASEBT. 
 
 221 
 
 meet in the flesh again for life is uncertain, and never 
 more uncertain to soldiers than in this terrible war, where 
 a man's foes are too often they of his own household 
 take heed, young sir, that we meet above, and that your 
 father finds you not wanting from his side, by-and-by."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 " TUltRIS FORTISSIMA EST NOMEN JEHOVA." 
 
 |UCY rejoiced at my return; she had believed, 
 she said, that General Cromwell would insist 
 on keeping me, and that none was strong 
 enough to resist his iron will. But her cheeks 
 blanched, and her eyes filled, to hear of the 
 promise I had given to be enrolled amongst 
 his Ironsides when once the siege was over. 
 The blockade continued until December. Then Sir 
 John Digby made an attempt to take the town. But gold, 
 not steel, was to do the storming, and bribery and 
 treachery were to open the gates. Here is the letter he 
 sent to Colonel Kerr : 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 " I am troubled to understand that, through the 
 ingratitude of those you serve, you are likely to be re- 
 warded with the dishonour of having a person of much 
 inferior merit put over your head an injury insupport- 
 able to any man of spirit, and which may offer you a 
 justifiable occasion of doing a very eminent service to 
 your native King and country ; and which, if you will 
 embrace and deliver up the town with the works of 
 Plymouth, I shall engage myself, on my honour and the
 
 "TDREIS FORTISSIMA KST NOMEN JEHOVA." 223 
 
 faith of a gentleman, you stall be rewarded with ten 
 thousand pounds, and have the command, if you please, 
 of a regiment of five hundred horse, with what honour 
 yourself can desire. Sir, be not scrupulous in taking the 
 advice of an enemy that desires heartily, on these terms, to 
 become your true friend and faithful servant. 
 
 " JOHN DIGBY. 
 " For Col. Kerr, Governor of Plymouth, Dec. 30, 1645." 
 
 To which neatly set trap, with its bait of gold and glory, 
 our military governor replied as a gentleman of honour 
 should : 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 " Tour motion to treason I have seen, and detest 
 it. It is below my spirit for personal injury (supposed only 
 by an enemy) to take national revenge, and for a punctilio 
 of honour to take advice from hell, and betray my trust. 
 I am sorry that one so ingenious as yourself should abuse 
 your natural parts only to do mischief. Yet I have no 
 reason to wonder much at your persuasion to treachery, 
 because I have had the experience of the endeavours of 
 your family to corrupt others also. I remember the Gun- 
 powder Plot, the letter which your brother wrote to the 
 Lord Robartes in this place for the same purpose, and his 
 negotiation with General Browne at Abingdon. Surely 
 these principles came from Spain ; but yon should have 
 told roe also that Spanish proverb ' to love the treason 
 and hate the traitor,' etc. 
 
 " Your assured servant, 
 
 "Dec. 30. "JAMES KERR." 
 
 At this spirited reply I think even Sir John Digby 
 must have winced, obtuse as he was to sentiments of 
 honour. The brother of his that was conspirator in the 
 Gunpowder Plot was Sir Everard Digby, and he deserved 
 to be thus reminded of him.
 
 224 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 At this time we were still busy strengthening our 
 defences. Oar platforms on the earthworks were kept 
 efficient, and in this month of December, when Colonel 
 Kerr was tempted to betray us to the malignants, the 
 town wall was repaired, and a new guard-room was built 
 at Frankfort Gate. For all were well assured that, both 
 in matters spiritual and temporal, we must " work out 
 our own salvation." 
 
 And now, being weary of inaction, it was determined 
 that we should take the offensive. Our besiegers had a 
 small redoubt at Kinterbnry. This we attacked, both by 
 water and by land, the boats laden with men being sent 
 np the waters of the Hamoaze, while the rest of us 
 marched to the place. We conquered easily, taking 
 seventeen prisoners and a store of arms and ammunition. 
 
 Thence, with this happy augury of success, we marched 
 on to St. Budeaux, where already, a year and a half ago, 
 we had had a fight of some notoriety. Yet this was 
 destined to be better remembered by me. The church 
 and tower had again been turned into a garrison, and here 
 we fought desperately for an hour and a half, capturing 
 the chnrch at last, and in it Major Stucley, twenty more 
 officers, and a hundred soldiers. Besides these prisoners, 
 fifty-five horses with arras and ammunition fell into our 
 hands. But I knew nothing of this at the time. I saw 
 my dear friend, Dick Tonkin, him whom I loved as a 
 brother, God knows, dash bravely forward into the 
 thickest of the fight ; I saw dashing after him his gallant 
 men, " Tonkin's Ironsides." My men and I went too. I 
 saw that brave young hero fall, shot through the heart ; 
 and then Major Haynes rallied us all to the renewed 
 attack ; a gnn from the church tower killed this brave 
 man, and I fell senseless to the ground. I thought I was 
 killed : I mean absurd as it may seem to write these 
 words that as I fell I believed I had received my death 
 wound. My last conscious thought was of dying, as my
 
 " TURBI3 FOETISSIMA EST NOMEN JEHOVA." 225 
 
 father died, in fiei-ce conflict, and my mother, my Lucy, 
 and Lettice, all crowded into my mind. But I seemed to 
 see Lucy hovering over me as an angel, then all was 
 blank. 
 
 I awoke, many hours afterwards, in a snowy bed, its 
 sheets slightly perfumed with the dry lavender in which 
 they had been laid. A bright wood fire burnt on the 
 hearth of the room, and beside it sat my angel, Lucy 
 Woollcombe. It was all a beautiful dream. But by 
 degrees, and yet not so much by degrees, as in one awful 
 flash of returned consciousness, I remembered all : I saw 
 Dick there will never be another comrade to me like 
 Dick falling death- stricken from his horse. I turned, or 
 tried to turn, my head to the pillow to hide my tears. 
 But, trying to turn, the agony was acute, and I groaned 
 involuntarily. Lucy rose and came to my side at 
 once. 
 
 " Dearest Ben," she said timidly, and in a low tone, 
 " I did not know you were awake. Hush ! don't try to 
 talk. The doctor insists upon it that you. must be kept 
 quiet ; you shall have all your questions answered by-and- 
 by. For my sake, Ben, be still." She bent over me and 
 kissed me quietly, softly, soothingly. " They won't trust 
 me to nurse you unless you obey me, dearest Ben," she 
 said, and laid her soft cheek upon my hand as she knelt 
 beside the bed. 
 
 The consciousness that she was right in every word she 
 said made me lie still then, and Lucy sang me to sleep 
 again, with my hand holding one of hers. There was 
 peace and rest for me only in her presence. 
 
 The next day there was an operation on my body, a search 
 for the ball that had done a good deal of damage already, 
 and that, undiscovered, threatened to do much more. It 
 was a wearisome business, and the doctors' probing and 
 punching would have made me wish I had been killed 
 outright, if it were not for Lucy and the dear ones at 
 
 Q
 
 226 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 Brier Grange. The two surgeons of the garrison, Messrs, 
 Lumley and Parker, and the two physicians, Drs. Gold- 
 smith and Hall, seemed, as I thought then, but do not by 
 any means since, to take a malicious pleasure in ascer- 
 taining how much agony a soldier can bear. Since, I 
 have thanked them more than words can tell for the 
 patient skill they exercised, and the persevering labour 
 they performed, to save one Roundhead lieutenant for the 
 great and good cause. 
 
 Mr. Woollcombe had said once that his child had the 
 heart of a woman but the soul of a man. He was right, 
 and a hero-soul too. I had never believed it possible she 
 could prove herself so brave as well as so tender. Her 
 tenderness I had never doubted : the unflinching nerve 
 with which she acted as my nurse would alone have made 
 me love her, and be lost in admiration of her, had not 
 my heart been already so long in her keeping. 
 
 When at last the ball was found and extricated from 
 the flesh, and I was beginning to heal of my wound, I 
 insisted on knowing all about that solemn day, which had 
 nearly proved as fatal to me as it did to so much better 
 a man. I learned that nine of our men fell Major 
 Haynes, Lieutenant Tonkin, and seven soldiers, six of 
 whom were of the number of his fine young Ironsides. 
 
 Amongst the earliest of my visitors, when the first few 
 days were over, was the closely veiled mother of my dear 
 friend, arrayed in deepest mourning. She sat down beside 
 my bed, and for many minutes could do nothing but cry, 
 softly yet bitterly. 
 
 " Oh, this is wrong, Ben," she said at last, raising her 
 sweet, tearful face, and looking tenderly at me. " Did I 
 not tell you I dedicated him to God ? and God has taken 
 him. My dear, dear son, my precious Dick ! There 
 never was such a boy to his mother, Ben ; our hearts 
 were knit together ; ' bound up in the bundle of life ' 
 together, and not separated even now, though his is
 
 "TUKE1S FORTISSIMA EST NOMEX JEHOVA." 227 
 
 already eternal life, mine as yet but mortal. Tell me 
 about him, Ben. Nothing is so grateful to a mother's 
 ears as the praises of the dai'ling she has lost, when she 
 knows them to be true," she added, with a tone of almost 
 happy pride. 
 
 I did as she requested ; I was never weaiy of thinking 
 and talking about him who had so generously befriended 
 me. I came to this good old town a stranger and a raw 
 stripling, lonely and self-confident and self-opinionated, 
 as it is the manner of youth to be, till real life works a 
 change and knocks the conceit out of us. I recalled the 
 merry fun he indulged in, the sweet sunny gaiety of his 
 nature, that had of late blended with such rare and 
 spiritual gifts. 
 
 "Harry is like his brother in his fun and playful 
 innocent nonsense," said Mrs. Tonkin ; " if he only may 
 become like him in higher, better attributes ! " 
 
 " Dear Mrs. Tonkin," said Lucy's sweet voice then, 
 " do you not believe that the playful graces God bestowed 
 on your dear son were the very means of his great useful- 
 ness to his fellows ? His men could not resist his bright, 
 gay. cheeiy manner, and were delighted to find religion 
 blended with what so charmed them." 
 
 "I think you must be right," said Mrs. Tonkin. Then 
 she added, " Dear Lucy, you have not told me how you, a 
 Rovalist, came to shelter this Roundhead young friend of 
 mine. Were not our authorities afraid to trust so fasci- 
 nating a hostess of opposite views with so impressionable 
 a young officer ? " She sighed even while she smiled at 
 saying all this. 
 
 " I pleaded his goodness to me, and I think they were 
 glad of an assurance of careful nursing for him," began 
 Lucy, but she blushed almost painfully, then she fell on 
 her knees besides Mrs. Tonkin and hid her face iu that 
 clear friend's lap ; and said, " Tell her, Ben, tell her ; she 
 is more like my mother to me than any one."
 
 228 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 I was glad of this permission, and only wished I could 
 have confided the matter to Dick also. 
 
 Mrs. Tonkin gave us, when I had ended, just the 
 sympathy she could never refuse. " But you will have 
 much to bear ; I foresee that, dear ones," she said ; " may 
 God give you such grace that every trial may send you 
 closer to Him, and nearer in heart to each other." 
 
 We were all of us silent a little, before she spoke again, 
 then it was of her son. 
 
 " After the Sunday battle in December two years ago, 
 you remember, Ben, our thanksgiving day, and that the 
 town adopted then for its motto ' T arris fortissima est 
 nomen Jehova,' and had it engraven on the town seal. 
 Do you also remember Dick's pleasure at that, and how 
 he declared it should be his motto as well as his town's ? " 
 
 I did, perfectly well. The talk about it had taken place 
 at our Christmas dinner, when Rhoda's pudding had so 
 agreeably surprised us. 
 
 " What better words could we have on his tombstone, 
 think you, Ben ? " 
 
 " None," I answei-ed promptly ; " and every soldier and 
 every townsman who reads them will understand." 
 
 " Turris fortissima est nomen Jehova," I read the 
 graven words at the head of Dick's grave in St. Andrew's 
 churchyard many weeks after, when I tottered out for the 
 first time from Looe Street, supported by Harry Tonkin 
 and Lucy. 
 
 I should do scant justice to Bridget were I not to 
 acknowledge her kindness to me in this long and weari- 
 some sickness. Though she must surely have looked 
 upon me as a most unwelcome intruder and heavy 
 addition to her work, she ti'eated me with a courtesy I 
 had never expected from her ; and demurely insisted, as 
 it were, that " bygones were bygones," and that she never 
 had any quarrel against an openly received and acknow- 
 ledged guest.
 
 "TURRIS FORTISSIMA EST NOMEN JEHOVA.' 
 
 229 
 
 But whether under the wooden mask of her coun- 
 tenance, which she had the power of making most pro- 
 vokingly impenetrable, she indulged in any bitterness 
 against me, I was quite unable to discover, and, in my 
 weakness, preferred to leave it amongst things unknown.
 
 CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 "RAISED." 
 
 FTER Kinterbuiy and St. Budeaux were cap- 
 tared, Buckland Abbey was also taken by 
 storm, and in it one hundred prisoners. Next 
 to Buckland, Saltash was captured, which 
 had in it five pieces of ordnance. 
 
 I received provision from Colonel Ken- 
 while I lay at Mr. Woollcombe's house. This 
 sum, I, of course, insisted upon delivering to that gentle- 
 man. When he as warmly insisted he would not have it, 
 not a farthing of it, Bridget was made the recipient. She 
 took it grimly, much more than gratefully or willingly. 
 
 In January there was a sally made against Fort 
 Arundel, near Hooe, on the south of the Cattewater. 
 
 The Lord Fairfax was now advancing from Exeter to 
 Totnes, and everywhere victorious. Panic struck into 
 the hearts of the malignants since Naseby. The Royal 
 cause had grown continually weaker, and the character of 
 Charles was lamentably deficient, as even his friends were 
 compelled to admit, of the settled resolution and fixed 
 purpose which are in themselves a source of strength to 
 any cause. "Conscious," as they say, "of the purity of 
 his own motives, he yet never ceased to divide mankind 
 into two simple classes : into those who agreed with him,
 
 " RAISED." 231 
 
 and those who did not into sheep, to be cherished, and 
 goats, to be rejected. Such narrowness of view was no 
 guarantee for fixity of purpose." The special fault which 
 marked King Charles as unworthy of respect was his 
 want of truthfulness. It may be that he had mental 
 reservations when he gave his word, but such reservations 
 were neither honourable, manly, nor kingly. " Sometimes 
 he went still further, apparently thinking that it was law- 
 ful to use deception as a weapon against those who he 
 considered had no right to know the whole truth." 
 
 On the 18th day of January the siege of Plymouth was 
 raised. The Royalists decamped at last in such a hurry 
 that they left guns, arms, and ammunition behind. We 
 took seven guns at Plympton. There was much rejoicing 
 amongst us at this victorious march of Fairfax through 
 Devon and Cornwall, where Essex had previously encoun- 
 tered such bitter hostility and such bad fortune. NOAV 
 Fairfax had retaken the guns of that commander at both 
 Bristol and Bridgwater, and in Cornwall he caused 
 Hopton's forces to surrender, just as our General Skippon 
 had had to do in the earlier time. I could but rejoice 
 greatly to see one of whom I venerated so highly as Sir 
 Thomas Fairfax. Besides which, he being a countryman 
 of my own, and having abundance of Yorkshiremen in 
 his train, I listened for his speech and that of his officers 
 and soldiers, as for the echoes of beloved and familiar 
 music. 
 
 And no sooner hardly had he and they arrived amongst 
 us than I was informed that a soldier desired to speak 
 with me. I had retired to my delightful invalid quarters 
 at the house of Mr. Woollcombe when this message was 
 brought to me by Bridget. I had already been greatly 
 excited, and Lucy feared the consequences of any further 
 interruption to my rest. But learning that the man was 
 without, I requested leave for him to enter the hall, 
 and I would just see him and put him off until the
 
 232 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 morrow. Almost directly I had left tlie parlour to do 
 this, my hand was eagerly grasped by a somewhat gaunt 
 and grizzled Yorkshireman, who shook it almost too 
 eagerly for my weak frame, and poured out in my 
 astonished ears a torrent of delightful greeting, in such 
 pure unadulterated provincialisms that I doubt any 
 Devonian could have understood him. Bat I, though I 
 smiled at his words, and thought how differently they 
 sounded to the softer southern tongue I had been used 
 to now for years, was astonished to find how right glad I 
 was to welcome perhaps the least worthy, though not the 
 least affectionate, of all my northern friends. 
 
 " Jonathan, lad, who could have believed you would 
 travel so far ? And when did you see any of them at 
 Brier Grange, or hear any news of them ? I have been 
 wounded, Jonathan. Have you escaped ? Why, it's like 
 old times again to see you turn up from yon far-off 
 place." 
 
 Yes, it was Jonathan Thorp, but a Jonathan sadly 
 changed for the worse. His broken-down, dissipated look 
 showed me plainly enough that he would have done far 
 more wisely to remain at the farm, than to wander from 
 place to place in an army a life which gives a man in- 
 clined to excess of any kind, little chance of improvement. 
 
 Even now, when I was obliged from my own exhaustion 
 to dismiss him, he begged sorely for the price of a glass 
 of strong waters. 
 
 " Jonathan, I am ashamed of you," I said ; " we want 
 no drunken Yorkshire lads in this good old town." 
 
 Lucy insisted he should have a basin of hot soup in 
 the kitchen, a little to Bridget's horror, if one may judge 
 from the likeness to gooseberries of her eyes and the flat 
 appearance of her mouth. But she made no objection 
 in words, and these two were pretty safe not to quarrel, 
 neither of them being able to speak plain English to the 
 other.
 
 " EAISED." 233 
 
 I am very sorry to have to confess that Jonathan Thorp 
 clid no honour, whilst in Plymouth garrison, to his native 
 county. It was evident that the poor fellow's love for 
 drink had grown upon him greatly, and none of my 
 persuasions could induce him to abandon his excesses. 
 He even made his trouble about my wound an excuse for 
 drinking, and blubbered in a senseless way to me about 
 my father till I was obliged to silence him. He could 
 give me no news from Brier Grange, having left it, as 
 Lettice had informed me, and he had not returned to it 
 again. I enjoined him to come to me there, when the war 
 was over, and I saw him march into Cornwall with feel- 
 ings akin to relief. If only he had been, as General 
 Cromwell said, " none of your ale-house men," I would 
 gladly have proposed to take him with me to join the 
 Ironsides. 
 
 Two Royalist garrisons held out after the siege was 
 raised. These were Mount Edgecumbe and Ince House. 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax offered good terms to Colonel Edge- 
 cumbe : " If he would disgarrison his house, lay down 
 arms, and persuade those of the Cornish in whom he has 
 good interest, to sit down and submit to all orders and 
 ordinances of Parliament, in that case I do undertake 
 that his house shall not be made a garrison, but that he 
 shall have the free liberty of it, security of his person and 
 goods as to my army ; and, further, that he shall have 
 from me a letter of recommendation to the Parliament or 
 committee for the army, that he may by them be dealt 
 withal as one that deserves their favour for his liberal and 
 -reasonable coming in." 
 
 Colonel Edgecumbe did not then surrender his mansion, 
 but did so eventually to Colonel Hammond, the Governor 
 of Exeter, who found in it thirty pieces of ordnance and 
 stores of arms and ammunition. 
 
 Ince House held out until the end of March. On the 
 29th of that month the last party we sent out from Ply-
 
 234 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 mouth summoned it to surrender. The garrison returned 
 <i scornful answer. Thereupon we Plymouth men sent for 
 our cannon, wherewith to do battle. Upon seeing the 
 guns the courage of the garrison failed, and they begged 
 for quarter. We took at this house four guns and ninety 
 muskets. 
 
 Being now well of my wound I engaged in this sally, 
 and have ever since been glad that I did, it being the very 
 last of all the siege operations, which had now continued 
 over three years, and I had been here all but a few months 
 of that time, till I was so incorporated both in affection 
 and interest with the people of this town that I can 
 feel no closer relationship to any folk, save to those of 
 Brier Grange, and Lucy will well understand that she is 
 excepted even from that exception. 
 
 Our success was glorious, but it cost many precious lives, 
 not less, I hear it estimated, than from three to four 
 thousand, besides many wounded, who, like poor Tom, 
 have gone home to die. 
 
 The trade of this valiant old town suffered terribly, and 
 scarcely a family but had endured some bereavement, 
 either amongst the soldiers or the train-bands. But 
 " tough " old Plymouth well earned its name ; it had 
 never wavered, and, like a lighthouse beacon, stood upon 
 the sea-shore a warning and a guide to less brave, less 
 faithful hearts. 
 
 There being now no more excuse for me^to stay, I 
 unwillingly bade adieu to my darling Lucy and her father, 
 to Mrs. Tonkin and her family, and to all my other Ply- 
 mouth friends, not forgetting, yet not daring to include, 
 the influential Bridget ; and in the early glory of the 
 summer-time, when Plymouth wears one of her most 
 charming aspects, joined Lieutenant- General Cromwell's 
 Ironsides, as he had directed me. 
 
 The future, all uncertain, was before me, the past which 
 I had attained was full of tender memories and sad regrets,
 
 " RAISED." 
 
 235 
 
 of friendships made, and some ended for time, but not, as 
 I dared to hope, for eternity. 
 
 Lucy's brave soul cheered me to trust our future in 
 God's hands, though I well knew the poor loving heart 
 must suffer bitterly when the buoyant soul dropped its 
 
 wings of faith, and affection triumphed. From Mr. 
 Woollcombe, at parting, I received an almost fatherly 
 embrace. 
 
 " I am not long for this world," he said gently ; " I 
 have thought much of your father lately, Ben, dying his 
 brave, sudden death on Marston Moor, doing his duty, as
 
 236 
 
 I, BEXJAMIN HOLBECC. 
 
 he thought. Perhaps we shall meet up there, Ben, and 
 there will be no fighting." 
 
 I could not answer him save by a pressure of his hand 
 and a kiss on his pale brow, as if he had indeed been a 
 father to me. 
 
 " I suppose }*ou will win the prize at last, Ben, and, if 
 you do, be kind to my little Lucy." 
 
 Those were the last words he ever spoke to me.
 
 ;: 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 UNDER THE PROTECTORATE. 
 
 TRANGELY unreal the past seems to me some- 
 times, and yet how it interests all of us to 
 recount its stirring events, in which we, 
 consciously or unconsciously, were actors or 
 participators. ' 
 
 When I left my Lucy to follow the fortunes 
 of General Cromwell, correspondence between 
 us we knew would be difficult and uncertain. It was no 
 small addition to the grief of separation that for weeks, 
 ay, months, we might have to take all on trust concerning 
 each other. But whenever I thought the fact of her being 
 a Royalist might delay the communication, or cause it to 
 suffer undue examination, I had arranged with our dear 
 friend Mrs. Tonkin to send the missive to her instead ; and 
 this kindness on her part led to Lucy's receiving far more 
 tidings of me than she would have done otherwise. 
 
 The influence of our beloved and honoured leader over 
 his soldiers can never be exaggerated. It was boundless. 
 He had never led them save to victory, and his victories 
 had rarely, if ever, been stained by the usual excesses of
 
 
 
 238 I, BEXJAMIX HOLBECK. 
 
 the soldiery at such times. Each triumph of his forces* 
 was moral as well as physical. His determination, which 
 sometimes unjustly gained him a character for cruelty, as 
 in Ireland and Scotland, where he was only anxious by 
 swift decision to save as much as possible the effusion of 
 blood, was the effect of a carefully digested knowledge of 
 all the circumstances under which both he and his 
 opponents fought. 
 
 For our Protector (then our General) was not only a 
 soldier but a politician and a preacher, and as truly a born 
 governor and leader of men in all of these relations as in 
 any one of them. 
 
 But these pages I have gathered together from the 
 various letters I sent to Brier Grange, and memoranda 
 meant for their information at home and to jog my own 
 memory relative to the siege of Plymouth. For while 
 there have been already, and are likely to be yet more, 
 abundant chroniclers of the doings of the greatest general 
 the world has seen in England for centuries, the siege of 
 Plymouth, because it never was graced by his presence 
 therein, has, as I conceive, been too much lost sight of. 
 And yet the brave holding out of her inhabitants and 
 garrison with most exemplary courage and diligence did 
 very much, as I must ever believe, to preserve the success 
 of the good cause of religions and political liberty at a 
 difficult time, when the hearts of many wavered or were 
 altogether turned aside. 
 
 I had several companions when I came to General 
 Cromwell, for all who remained of " Tonkin's Ironsides " 
 volunteered to serve under him, and he took great interest 
 in these young men, and liked for them and for me to tell 
 him of their brave leader, and how his young life was given 
 up for duty and for God. 
 
 I have another reason for taking good heed to pi-eserve 
 these records of so deservedly memorable a siege. Ply- 
 mouth must ever be a place of interest to our children, and 

 
 UNDER THE PROTECTORATE. 239 
 
 the story of their mother will ever hold the place in their 
 hearts. By-and-by, when the wee creatures grow into lads 
 and lasses, with hearts attuned for the story of our love, 
 they will pore over their father's somewhat uncouth hand- 
 writing, and puzzle it all out for themselves, and be, as it 
 seems to me, the better for every word they read of her. 
 
 My Lucy ! I cannot trust myself to write of her yet, 
 for I have a few more words to add of general matters, 
 but if my pen traces her dear name, if my fancy circles 
 around her, nothing else will be said. The fascination she 
 wields over my whole being is stronger than ever upon me 
 now. 
 
 In those long weary years of our separation, long 
 especially for her, who was not hurried, as I was, from 
 place to place amid excitement and turmoil and battle, 
 Lucy was tending the declining days of the father she so 
 tenderly loved and revered. The chance letters I received 
 from her had one sad strain the dread of an impending 
 loss, when, without him, and with me exposed to so much 
 danger, she must feel desolate indeed. Yet she always 
 managed to write some brave, hopeful words to me amidst 
 all her anxieties. 
 
 Have I said I would write not of Lucy, but of other 
 matters ? Let me make another trial. 
 
 Many and vain were the attempts made to force the 
 King and to persuade him to a treaty. Whenever I 
 heard of these and found some men's hopes were high that 
 it would be actually brought about, I seemed to see rise 
 before me the handsome but irresolute face, and the un- 
 certain speech that wanted so much the crystal light of 
 truth to recommend it. Parleys there might be, but 
 agreements that would hold, none. And so it proved at 
 last, and the sad end came, for men were weary of a 
 monarch who, like the dog in the manger, would neither 
 govern the kingdom wisely himself nor suffer others better 
 able to do it for him. The long open scroll of wrong-doing
 
 240 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 against Charles the White King, the Martyr, as his 
 friends delight to call him was made ready at last. He 
 was tried, and found wanting. His death followed. It 
 was a terrible end for any man, most of all for a king, for 
 whom so many had died, and so many others were willing 
 to die. And he endured these last acts of his tragic career 
 with the quiet, heroic resolution that almost silences the 
 voices of accusers. 
 
 This was in 1649. When he was a prisoner at Caris- 
 brook Castle, in the Isle of Wight, he had many oppor- 
 tunities of escape, and made one or two attempts, but he 
 was greatly deterred in this by letters from his Qneen, who, 
 for reasons of her own, it would appear had no desire to 
 have him with her in France. At all events she put him 
 off from using this, his best opportunity, until it was too 
 late. Nor was Prince Charles, his son, more anxious for 
 the relief of his father, but having possession of some 
 vessels of the fleet which had declared for the King instead 
 of the Parliament, he sailed away from that very place 
 where he could have aided the King, and proceeded to the 
 Dutch coast, where he was of no particular service either 
 to himself or any one else. 
 
 But those evil days are over, and the nation increases 
 in renown abroad and in peace and prosperity at home, 
 now that he who rules has a mind to know what he would 
 and would not do, instead of playing shilly-shally by turns 
 with all men. 
 
 There have been difficulties to contend with in bringing 
 matters to a settlement which for any other man than our 
 great leader may well have appeared insurmountable. 
 But in this month of August of the year 1658 the peace 
 of the kingdom is well established, and a notable future 
 before us if but the Lord in His good pleasure may 
 graciously spare him who now rules us, to the greater 
 quietness and order of all things. 
 
 I have been witness of many daring exploits, of many
 
 UNDER THE PROTECTOKATE. 241 
 
 terrible battles, of many close leaguers ; I followed our 
 noble general into Scotland, and shared the triumph of 
 Dunbar ; I was with him in Ireland, and testify fearlessly 
 that he spared whenever he believed that sparing could 
 by any possibility succeed in accomplishing the tranquil- 
 lity of that unhappy kingdom. And when he issued stern 
 orders and kept sharply to the time agreed upon, he did 
 by that means, once or twice laid down, prevent much 
 bloodshed in later cases, which even many o ( f our enemies 
 were fain to admit. 
 
 At Worcester, where the war ended, and the Prince 
 Charles to whom some people give the title of King 
 a king without a kingdom was forced to flee, I sustained 
 the other serious injury I received in all this war, my leg 
 being broken and my face badly cut with the sword of one 
 who engaged me in single combat. 
 
 This I cared most for, being fearful how Lucy would 
 bear my disfigurement, and having prided myself some- 
 what, if the truth must be confessed, on my regular 
 features and well-looking countenance. Perhaps for that 
 very reason the Lord was minded to teach me the lesson 
 that " beauty is vain." 
 
 It was a great while after the death of the King before 
 I heard from Lucy, and when I opened the letter I had 
 a presentiment of ill news. 
 
 For, though I do not believe in the foolish talk of the 
 astrologers who make out men's horoscopes and consult 
 the stars in regard to their actions, and who even assert 
 that the King's career and fate might all have been fore- 
 seen, yet could not be avoided, because of the position 
 and peculiarities of the stars under which he was born, 
 and their courses at certain periods of his history ; yet I do 
 think our sympathies often lead us to make very shrewd 
 guesses at circumstances in the lives of those dear to us. 
 
 I felt certain when I unfolded Lucy's letter that 
 henceforth, like myself, she was fatherless. And it was
 
 242 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 so. Mr. Woollcombe had never rallied after he heard of 
 the King's terrible death. ; he was haunted, as it were, by 
 the scene at Whitehall almost as vividly as if he had 
 really been a spectator of it. The enormity of the action 
 of his countrymen, as he deemed it, made him shrink 
 from, the name of Englishman as of something to be 
 ashamed of. For days, even weeks, all of which time he 
 was evidently sinking to his end, Lucy dared not mention 
 my name to him for fear of exciting him, and causing 
 him to say some word about me which she could not bear 
 to hear uttered without remonstrance. And such was her 
 own horror at the deed that Lucy suffered something like 
 a revulsion of feeling towards me, not individually, but as 
 one who upheld the party that "murdered" her King 
 a shade of that feeling which I had for all Royalists, even 
 for my darling, when I found they had been the death of 
 my father on Marston Moor. 
 
 Lucy has told me since, that nothing I ever said gave 
 her more real satisfaction than when I owned that I could 
 not have been one to recommend the taking of the King's 
 life, for that I believed it injured the good cause it was 
 intended to serve. 
 
 At the very last, as they gathered around the bedside of 
 the noble old Royalist, as faithful Bridget supported his 
 head, and his child knelt beside him with his hand in 
 hers, and gentle Mrs. Tonkin sat near them, he looked at 
 Lucy with a sweet playfulness on his face she had not 
 seen there before since the King died. 
 
 " Do you still love him, child ? " asked the old man. 
 
 " Indeed I do, father." 
 
 "When I am gone, Lucy, you'll be free to do as you 
 will." 
 
 " Don't say that, father ! don't say that ! " said the poor 
 girl, sobbing. 
 
 " I must not set my authority against human nature, 
 must I, Mrs. Tonkin ? " he asked, turning to our friend.
 
 UNDER THE PROTECTORATE. 243 
 
 " You will do wisely not to, Mr. Woollcombe." 
 
 " And I love the young man too," lie said, smiling 
 again at his daughter. " He's a very naughty boy to be a 
 Roundhead, but I suppose that wasn't his fault." Then 
 he sobbed a little, and murmured, " But oh ! Ben Hoi- 
 beck, you shouldn't have killed your King ! " 
 
 " Ben would not have done it, father ; 1 am sure of 
 that," said Lucy. 
 
 " Indeed, I think not," added Mrs. Tonkin. 
 
 " Then he shall have my child ! " And Lucy hang 
 about him, thankful that the bar that separated us and 
 prevented our actual union, had been at last removed by 
 her father himself. 
 
 These were his last words. Lucy had been a little shy 
 of telling me, so with her letter came another from Mrs. 
 Tonkin, relating the last scene. In it our friend wrote : 
 "It was in our house in Southside Street that you first met 
 dearest Lucy, and I suggest that thence you should take 
 her to your Yorkshire home, when, in God's good Provi- 
 dence, He enables you to wear the jewel you have won. 
 For the present she remains with Bridget, at the house 
 in Looe Street. If she has any desire to let it, James, 
 who is about to marry, but not quite directly, will be glad 
 to secure it of her." James was one of Mrs. Tonkin's sons. 
 
 About a year after I had left Plymouth and this I 
 ehould have mentioned sooner I found myself once more 
 at Brier Grange. My dear old grandmother had lived to 
 welcome me home. The great changes I found there in 
 all the rest were beyond what I had imagined. Miriam 
 was married, as I have already noted, and Lettice, little . 
 Lettice, whom I regarded as a child, was the object of 
 the esteem and admiration of a good minister at Leeds, 
 who came very frequently to the farm to visit her. He 
 was a grave,' portly man, of mature age ; but as Lettice 
 was peacefully happy, I had no reason, to complain, 
 though I found as much difference of opinion between us
 
 244 I, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 on important matters as ever had troubled the intercourse 
 of Mr. Woollcombe and myself. For the Rev. Andrew 
 Scott was a Presbyterian of very pronounced and deter- 
 mined views, and not to subscribe to the Covenant was, 
 in his sight, almost a crime. 
 
 My mother had grown prematurely old, and her 
 sorrows had increased a somewhat irritable manner. 
 Poor mother ! She fretted sadly labout the farm, and 
 the need there was for the presence of the master. But 
 I doubted whether she would have given up the manage- 
 ment to me very willingly. Patience, always kind and 
 gentle, though not so bright as some people, was the 
 blessed means often of soothing my mother and removing 
 her difficulties. I did not find it quite easy to make 
 known my love for Lucy Woollcombe in this dear house- 
 hold. 
 
 I first of all confided my secret to dear grandmother, 
 and from her received nothing but kindness and con- 
 sideration. Lettice was my next confidant ; Lettice would 
 have been glad to enter with sympathy into my hopes, 
 had she not been a little afraid that her sedate and clerical 
 lover would disapprove. My mother was hurt and sur- 
 prised at my not knowing better than to choose a Royalist. 
 
 "I know nothing against the young woman, of course, 
 Ben ; but when there are so many nice girls of our own 
 opinions, and our own county too, whom it would have 
 been wise to choose " 
 
 I knew she was thinking of Judith and her property, so 
 I said gently that I never saw any one in Yorkshire to 
 love; and also expressed myself decidedly, that, as soon 
 as circumstances made it possible, I should go and claim 
 my Devonshire bride. Very soon after this I had to leave 
 them all, and in a month or two our dear grandmother 
 exchanged earth for heaven. Lettice was right, the battle 
 of Marston Moor had given her a death- wound when my 
 father was slain.
 
 UNDER THE PROTECTORATE. 245 
 
 It was five and a half years after I had left her that 
 I was able, at last, to take my journey into Devonshire to 
 bring Lucy to my home. I had some grave doubts and 
 misgivings as to how the united families would live 
 together at Brier Grange. But my mother generously 
 solved all my difficulties. She was tired, she said, of 
 farming, and would gladly occupy a very pretty little 
 cottage at the other end of our village with my sister 
 Patience, and leave to us the old family house. My 
 father had declared to her his wish that this should be so 
 if I showed any inclination for the farm. 
 
 So after I had found this really was what she desired, 
 I agreed to it, and set my house in order for my Lucy 
 before I went south. Lettice had long ago left home for 
 Leeds, but she came over to us, and, together with 
 Patience and Miriam, devised much that was pretty and 
 useful in my furnishing, my mother having taken all she 
 needed for the cottage from Brier Grange on purpose that 
 we might have some new things about us. 
 
 The wedding was to be, as Mrs. Tonkin had so kindly 
 suggested, at Southside Street ; Bridget was, of course, to 
 accompany her mistress, though never has she brought her 
 mind as yet to call me " master." Moll Tonkin and her 
 sister acted as bridesmaids, and Mr. Tonkin gave the bride 
 away. Harry was the life of us that day. I was too full 
 of the perfect joy of reunion with my darling a union that 
 nothing but death need separate to be able to talk much ; 
 and Lucy had much to make the occasion solemn as well 
 as sweet to her. 
 
 But I hear her now, as I write this, laughing and sing- 
 ing like a girl amidst her children in the orchard yonder, 
 in a way that makes me remember how she told me, during 
 the siege, that she was very merry and light-hearted 
 before it began. 
 
 ; ' Ben ! father ! " she calls, " are you not coming to us ? 
 Charlie is waiting for you, and Lettice was promised the
 
 246 
 
 1, BENJAMIN HOLBECK. 
 
 rosiest apple long ago. And soon the village children will 
 be coming, father, and nothing ready for them. Come ! 
 Baby is making up his rosy lips to kiss you. You really 
 must not keep the little ones waiting so. And as to their 
 mother did she not wait long enough years ago ? Come, 
 Ben ! " 
 
 The last word must be written, the quill must be thrown 
 aside. The children will know why, when they read it. 
 
 " Coming, sweet wife ! coming, dear babes ! " 
 
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