LIBRARY 
 
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 Of ILLINOIS 
 
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 v.\
 
 A MAN'S FOES
 
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 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 E. H. STRAIN 
 
 A man's foes shall be they of his own household. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 WARD, LOCK & BOWDEN, LIMITED, 
 
 WARWICK HOUSE, SALISBURY SQUARE, E.C. 
 
 NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE. 
 1895. 
 
 [All rights reserved J\
 
 V. I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The main facts upon which this tale is founded 
 are sufficiently well known ; and the writer has 
 ) spared no pains to ensure truth in the details, 
 j; so far as careful research and comparison of 
 ^'authorities enable one to arrive at it. Needless 
 ^ to say, there are many conflicting statements 
 
 ^^and opinions to harmonize ; but about the hard- 
 ^^ ships and privations endured in Derry during 
 ^the siege of 1689 all the authorities are agreed ; 
 as well as about the splendid gallantry and con- 
 stancy with which both citizens and garrison 
 '^J behaved throughout that trying time. The 
 ^writer may say with confidence that these are 
 ^'in no way overcharged. 
 
 "S. 
 
 I 
 
 <^^^
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. BEGINNING, IRISH FASHION, AT THE END OF THE 
 
 STORY . . . . .1 
 
 II. HOW THE LORD VISCOUNT MOUNTJOY LAY AT 
 
 CLONCALLY ON HIS WAY TO DUBLIN . 26 
 
 III. HOW THE LORD VISCOUNT RID AWAY FROM 
 CLONCALLY, LEAVING AN ANXIOUS HEART BE- 
 HIND HIM . . . . .68 
 
 IV. WHEREIN TWO IRISH BLACKGUARDS, A GREAT 
 AND A SMALL, MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE AT 
 CLONCALLY . . . . .88 
 
 V. IN WHICH THE SITUATION IS REGARDED FROM 
 
 TWO SEVERAL POINTS OF VIEW . -103 
 
 VI. A QUARREL AND AN ARREST . . -125 
 
 VII. HOW ONE MADE HIS ESCAPE FROM CLONCALLY, 
 THOUGH HIS GAOLER SAT AWAKE AND SAW 
 HIM ...... 140 
 
 VIII. HOW THERE CAME A MESSAGE OUT OF DERRY 
 
 TO MRS. HAMILTON . . . • 165
 
 viii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER FACE 
 
 IX. HOW ANOTHER AND A LESS WELCOME MES- 
 SENGER CAME TO CLONCALLY OUT OF DERRY 1 78 
 X. 6 SANCTA SIMPLICITAS ! . . . 200 
 XI. HOW THERE CAME NEWS TO CLONCALLY OF THAT 
 
 WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN A MASSACRE . 219 
 
 XII. HOW THE MESSENGER FROM NEWTOWN GOT NO 
 
 FURTHER BACK THAN TO CLONCALLY . 246 
 
 XIII. HOW THOSE AT CLONCALLY WERE TERRIFED BY 
 
 THE CHALLENGE OF A FRIEND . . 261
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BEGINNING, IRISH FASHION, AT THE END OF THE 
 STORY. 
 
 Strange and very strange it is to reflect upon 
 the changes that one year, one very short year 
 with twelve little months in it, may bring forth. 
 A foam-bell on a stormy sea, were it endowed 
 with sense and memory, might have some such 
 experiences as ours to recall at the end of its 
 day of life. Now on the crest of the wave, 
 now in the trough ; now sliding up the slope 
 of the tossing water, now sliding down ; now 
 sparkling in a flying ray of sunshine, now dark 
 in the sudden gloom ; w^helmed under the 
 plunging wave one moment, the next slipping 
 into the free light once more, and in the next 
 after that whirled, perhaps, clean into the air by 
 the wind. The likeness is apt enough between 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 2 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 such an existence as this and the Hfe we have 
 been leading for the last twelve months. 
 
 A year ; and that of the shortest, as it seems 
 when I look back upon it ; and yet what long 
 days have been therein — days that seemed to 
 hold months of ordinary life ; yes, and that will 
 count for more in our lives than months of 
 ordinary life. Perhaps it needed more than 
 the strength that will carry one through months 
 of quietness to live through one such day ; 
 perhaps our lives have been shortened by just 
 so much. And yet, could the choice be allow^ed 
 one. to have been In the thick of the fight or 
 quite out of it — a foam-bell on the crest of 
 the wave, or a foam-bell on the eddy of a 
 sheltered brook, where hardly even the sound 
 of the storm can reach it — would one choose 
 the calm ? I would not, woman though I be ; 
 for such days as these were filled — ay, to over- 
 flowing — with real life ; it was worth living to 
 have the chance of such. And that which hath 
 been done is worth the casting away of a dozen 
 lives, if one had them ; how mean and In- 
 glorious seems the common round of daily 
 business after the fate of a nation hath hunof 
 upon our actions ! And yet how sweet and 
 gracious is the orderly succession of daily 
 duties, tame and trivial though they be. It 
 doth seem to me that I never so much enjoyed
 
 A MAN'S FOES 3 
 
 the rarest junketing and holiday-making before 
 our troubles, as I now do the ordering of my 
 family and the arranging of my house. Inter- 
 ruption and derangement do give a new zest to 
 everyday interests, that is certain ; as that little 
 foam -bell might be figured, after its day of 
 storm, to find blessed rest in the calm that 
 had only wearied it before. 
 
 I said something like this to Margery, my 
 maid, who came into my chamber as I sat with 
 paper and ink before me, ready to begin to 
 write. 
 
 * Our storm left much wreckage behind it, 
 and caused much devastation,' said I. ' But 
 the wreckage is well-nigh cleared away, and 
 soon the havoc will be all repaired. Even the 
 very gray hairs, which you were so grieved to 
 see in my head, will soon disappear, I think.' 
 
 I spoke something gaily, for Margery doth 
 keep so grave a face that I am sorry for her ; 
 nor doth it indicate a right sense of all the 
 mercies of Providence towards us. If we have 
 suffered, have we not been richly repaid ? 
 
 She came up to me before she answered, and 
 pushed back my hair, looking to see if that 
 which I had said were true. 
 
 ' 1 should not wonder, madam,' said she. 
 ' Peace and happiness work wonders.' 
 
 ' Peace and happiness would almost seem to
 
 4 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 make the years run backwards, wouldn't they ?' 
 said I. 'What haggard old, grief- stricken 
 creatures we seemed, both you and I, when we 
 came back to Cloncally three months ago ! And 
 yet now, though no doubt we have lost much 
 that we shall never reorain, we don't seem to 
 have lost our youth, after all ; for that is coming 
 back to us.' 
 
 ' You may get back your round cheeks and 
 your pretty colour, madam,' said Margery ; 
 * and even your hair may come back to what it 
 was, who knows ? but your eyes will never be 
 what they were — never. They used to sparkle 
 like the sun on the lough,' said this foolish 
 woman, who used to think far too highly of my 
 looks, and now doth think far too highly of 
 me. 'And now,' says she, 'they're not the 
 eyes of a young woman at all.' 
 
 'What,' said I, 'are they so spoilt as that .'^' 
 And being, I fear, for all we have come through, 
 but a vain woman still, I bade her give me from 
 my table a little mirror, that I might look at 
 them. Then I said : ' I don't think they look 
 so wonderfully old, Margery, after all. I believe 
 they could sparkle yet, if ye were to try a bit 
 of flattery.' For I wanted to get a smile from 
 her. 
 
 * Ah, they're a bit sunken/ said she ; ' but it's 
 not that. 'Tis the years that are to come that
 
 A MAN'S FOES 5 
 
 one can see In them, more than the years that 
 are past ! There's a look in them now,' says 
 she, beginning to shed tears, 'that I'll know 
 you by in heaven, when I see you there ; faith, 
 madam, 'tis not age you have in your eyes, 
 but immortality.' 
 
 ' There, there, now, Margery ! you've fairly 
 beat yourself at praising me,' said I, trying to 
 make a joke of it, but 'twas of no use. She 
 cried, and I cried too — partly for sympathy, 
 and partly because even my waiting-woman, 
 with all her partiality, could not help showing 
 me that mine eyes were no longer as pretty as 
 they once were. 
 
 * In truth,' I said through the shower, 'our 
 immortality was very near us in those last days 
 of the siege, wasn't it ? Our hearts were so 
 full of it that we could not keep it all out of 
 our faces ; though death,' said I by an after- 
 thought, ' put his sign-manual there as well, to 
 witness his prior claim.' 
 
 ' 'Twas the thing that kept us living, the 
 thought of our immortality,' said Margery. 
 
 ' And it was pretty near all we had to live 
 on !' I could not help rejoining, though I know 
 that Margery hates flippancy. She is no longer 
 like a servant to me ; nor was she formerly a 
 mere ordinary servant, being a connection, 
 though a poor and very distant one, of my
 
 6 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 husband's family. But when mistress and maid 
 have passed together through such perils and 
 privations as have happened to us, there is 
 thenceforward a bond of friendship between 
 them, as well as of service rendered and re- 
 ceived. Therefore I drew Margery's face down 
 to mine and gave her a little kiss of peace 
 before I sent her out of my chamber, to give 
 me solitude for my writing. It hath ever been 
 a tendency of mine to give to serious matters a 
 streak, as it were, of a smile ; and whether it 
 be innocent and rather praiseworthy than evil 
 (as making them bear less heavily on the spirits), 
 or altogether a snare, I have never been able 
 rightly to make up my mind. But even in the 
 depths of our troubles there were times when 
 I could not quite govern my tongue into seri- 
 ousness ; but now and then a saying that had 
 the savour of a jest would escape me in my 
 own despite. 
 
 At the first, when we came back into this our 
 house of Cloncally, and were here established, 
 I was all eagerness to begin the writing down 
 of my remembrances ; yet now there have 
 passed nigh upon three months, and to-night is 
 the first time that I have taken pen in hand for 
 the purpose. To be sure, there hath been 
 much to see to, much to set in order ; for our 
 house, though it was not altogether dismantled,
 
 A MAN'S FOES 7 
 
 like so many that neighbour it, had yet suffered 
 severely by the occupation of the enemy, having 
 had a garrison of them posted therein. And 
 what such housekeepers as these were like to 
 make of their abode, sure anybody can tell well 
 enough, without description from me. Oh, my 
 pretty withdrawing-room, with its chairs of 
 tapestry-work, wrought by the hands of my dear 
 mother and aunts ; with the spinet and the 
 beautiful Italian cabinet that Captain Hamilton 
 caused to be brought from London, all the way? 
 to adorn our home withal ; not to mention the 
 gewgaws and chaney that his mother gave us ! 
 What a state it was in when I came back to it 
 out of Derry ! The costly hangings of Italian 
 silk, that were a present from my lord Duke, 
 my husband's kinsman and friend, sent to us 
 from his palace in Scotland, I had fortunately 
 saved, taking them with me among my mails 
 when we removed into the city before the siege. 
 But the floor that was the pride of Margery's 
 heart for its shining (which to maintain cost the 
 maids so much hard rubbing with the cicely 
 seeds from the river-bank) — 'twas of the same 
 colour as the road to the waterside of Derry, 
 and not a whit brighter ; and the staircase of 
 polished oak was in the same condition. 
 Throughout the house everything was in like 
 case, as was to be expected ; but the rest of the
 
 8 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 furniture, being more solid than that in my 
 closet, it hath suffered less actual damage, and 
 is now restored to something like its former 
 state. My pretty silk hangings are once more 
 in their old places ; many of the other things 
 have been repaired marvellous neatly ; some 
 pieces even of the chaney have been found, 
 and Margery hath mended them with a mys- 
 terious stuff that she makes from the pounded 
 lime of shells, mixed with the white of an egg, 
 and I know not what else. They will scarce 
 bear handling, but they stand in their old places. 
 Everywhere, to be sure, there are scars and 
 scratches — you can see them when you look for 
 them — nor would I wish to be rid of them 
 entirely, they being, as it were, a kind of written 
 history. But to a casual eye the house appears 
 but little different from what it was a year ago 
 — on the day, to wit, that my Lord Mountjoy 
 came to it with my husband out of Derry, to 
 sup here and lie all night, on his way to 
 Dublin. 
 
 Whenever I find myself disposed to murmur 
 at the destruction that hath been wrought in 
 my house, I have nothing more to do than to 
 think of the case of so many of our neighbours, 
 whose houses are for the most part either 
 burnt down or sacked to the bare walls. By 
 what means ours escaped the like treatment I
 
 A MAN'S FOES 9 
 
 do not know. 'Tis true that a person of very 
 great consideration was quartered here for a 
 time — no less than the French Ambassador 
 himself. But since I have heard that the very 
 headquarter residence itself — Sir Matthew 
 Bridge's house of Brookhall, to wit — was razed 
 to the ground by the Irish army at its leaving, 
 I well perceive that this cannot have been the 
 reason it was spared. And, indeed, from all I 
 can learn of Monsieur le Comte d'Avaux, he is 
 one much more like to have counselled the 
 destruction of any place that might harbour us, 
 and even urged it, than to have said a word in 
 favour of leaving it standing, he counting all 
 that have borne arms against King James the 
 enemies of King Louis as well. Howsoever 
 the marvel is to be explained, it is a truth that 
 we have a roof to cover us, and under it no 
 small share of the conveniences of life, and when 
 I hear murmuring from any of my people, I 
 spare not to point them to the numbers of poor 
 neighbours who are every day at our doors im- 
 ploring succour, persons that were every one of 
 them in the possession of a good competency 
 before the war. No doubt their losses will 
 be all made up to them ere long, and more, for 
 none can doubt that their Majesties King 
 William and Queen Mary (God bless them !) 
 have the will to be not only just but generous,
 
 lo A MAN'S FOES 
 
 as witness his Majesty's gracious letter that was 
 read in the Diamond of Derry in the early 
 days of the month of September. But in the 
 meantime they suffer much hardship and many 
 privations ; and it is much my will to be very 
 sparing in our own proper outlays, that so we 
 may have the more power to give them relief. 
 Having come together through so great rigour 
 and straitness, sure 'tis a pleasure at one's very 
 heart to share prosperity with them that were 
 our fellow-sufferers. 
 
 It is indeed one of my dearest blessings that 
 I have the wherewithal to be serviceable to 
 these poor friends ; nor should I have had so 
 much had I not plucked up a spirit to with- 
 stand Major-General Kirke, our very tardy 
 deliverer, in his exactions. For as soon as he 
 had fairly succoured Derry — that I should 
 ascribe it to him, who, for aught that hath 
 appeared, had more the will to look on at Its 
 destruction than to make any honest endeavour 
 to relieve it ! — no sooner, at any rate, was the 
 city relieved, than the Major-General sent 
 parties of soldiers in all directions to seize the 
 cattle and sheep that remained to the country 
 people, upon the pretence that they were the 
 abandoned booty of the enemy. Why he did a 
 thing so tyrannous none can say, save that it 
 hath ever been his wont to pillage upon any
 
 A MAN'S FOES ii 
 
 pretext or none. To be sure, it brought great 
 plenty into Derry. Perhaps he thought that in 
 the sudden abundance the people might forget 
 the famine that had there been endured so 
 lately, mainly through his tardiness. If this 
 was his reason, he had better have let it alone, 
 for the common people throughout all the 
 district have been reduced to such extremity 
 thereby, that now they say King James's 
 soldiers are better neighbours by far than King 
 William's. And the welfare of the province 
 hath been so undermined that, now that all he 
 gathered together hath been consumed in the 
 city, there is but little in the country that can 
 be brought into market, so that there is again a 
 scarcity, not in the city only, but all around it 
 in the country as well. And thus for every 
 good word that Kirke got in Derry in the time 
 of plenty, he now gets ten hard ones in the city, 
 and an hundred in the country. And that is 
 much more his due, as I think, than praise for 
 anything he hath ever done here in Ireland. 
 
 In due course, as was to be looked for, these 
 legalized marauders came to my house of Clon- 
 cally, where there was, one way and another, a 
 considerable number of cattle. When we were 
 forced to go into Derry before the siege, we 
 left our stock in the charge of some known 
 dependents and tenants, who chose rather to
 
 12 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 remain without the city and take protection 
 from the enemy. Much of our young cattle 
 we sent away into the hill-country, where 
 they still are ; but as soon as we were known 
 to be at home again, those that had the charge 
 of our cattle sent them back — such of them, at 
 least, as the enemy had spared to seize. Thus 
 we had a goodly number both of cattle and sheep 
 when General Kirke's marauders came our way. 
 
 I could not imagine what there was to do 
 that morning, what with the lowing of bestial 
 and shouting of men in the courtyard without, 
 and the tumult of voices within the house. I 
 was still in my chamber, not having finished 
 dressing, and Margery was with me ; so I sent 
 her to bring me some account of the noise. She 
 had scarce had time, as I thought, to reach the 
 kitchen, when she was back again, bringing with 
 her Jenny Hunter, the dairymaid — a woman that 
 hath her full share of sense and faculty, as she 
 hath more than once shown. She had been 
 waiting my convenience in the kitchen for some 
 time, as she told me. I promise you I quickly 
 gave orders that will hinder the like from 
 happening again. The convenience of a mis- 
 tress is a thing that may well give way to the 
 welfare of her household. 
 
 Poor Jenny, between rage and fright, had 
 quite lost the power to make herself under-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 13 
 
 stood. She began a jumbled lament about the 
 English soldiers, and Polly and Biddy, and 
 Nelly and Rosy, that told me nothing at all. 
 I made her sit down, even in my presence, 
 assuring her that things could not be so bad 
 but that something might be done to mend 
 them, would she but collect herself and tell me 
 clearly what was amiss. 
 
 * Auch, madam, the beautiful cattle !' said 
 she ; * sure we'll niver see them again, and 
 them beginning to be fat and nice again. 
 Auch, and two of them In full milk, too, when 
 milk's so scarce, goin' to be sold for beef at 
 a penny a pound In Derry !' 
 
 And at that she broke out once more Into 
 sobbing and crying, so that I could make 
 nothing of her at all. 
 
 'Jenny, Jenny,' said I, * something has cer- 
 tainly muddled your wits this morning. What 
 is It ? Can't ye tell me plainly what's wrong ? 
 I'm not going to sell my cows, either at a penny 
 a pound or a shilling a pound, so make your 
 mind easy.' 
 
 ' Sell them, madam ! No, indade,' said she. 
 * It's not yourself that '11 have the chance either 
 to sell them or to kape them. There's about a 
 score of English soldiers gatherin' them into 
 droves even now, to drive them into Derry for 
 beef to the town.'
 
 14 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' Nonsense !' said I ; ' that can't be true, for 
 I've received no letter of requisition ; and if I 
 had, there are young beasts enough to send 
 without killing our milk kine.' 
 
 * 'Tis even too true, madam,' said Margery, 
 who had been down again to gather news, 
 seeing how unfit Jenny was to tell them — ' 'tis 
 even too true,' quoth she. ' There's a party of 
 the English soldiers below in the yard that say 
 they have General Kirke's orders to bring 
 away all the live stock they can lay hands on, 
 pretending that 'tis all the booty of the Irish 
 army, and must therefore be the spoil of the 
 conquerors.' 
 
 At this I bethought me that Colonel Mitchel- 
 burne, our late military commander in Derry, 
 would be aware if this was within the right 
 of our defenders, as they scrupled not to call 
 themselves. The Colonel lay at Cloncally that 
 night — 'twas shortly before his departure for 
 England — and I sent Margery to desire he 
 would favour me with a minute's conversation 
 as quick as might be ; and that he did, being 
 with me in a very few moments. Jenny by 
 this time had got back her senses, and was able 
 to tell him all that had occurred. He straight- 
 way assured me that Kirke had no right — save 
 the right of the strong hand — to take from me 
 a horn or a hoof that was my husband's, save
 
 A MAN'S FOES 15 
 
 upon clear necessity shown, and then to give 
 me his bill of indebtedness for all that was taken 
 without payment made. 
 
 Upon that assurance I was for hastening 
 straight to the courtyard to expostulate with 
 the officer commanding the foraging party; 
 but Margery would have me delay till she 
 brought me the hood and negligee that I wear 
 when I go abroad in the mornings. 
 
 * For if you will speak to these rude men,' 
 said she, ' sure you must neither be flustered 
 nor appear to be in haste, but show the same 
 authority that you have among your own 
 servants.' 
 
 It chafed me to be hindered, even for a 
 moment ; but I have thought since that it was 
 she was the wise one that time, not I. It is 
 certain that a w^oman can do nothing to put 
 herself at greater disadvantage in treating with 
 men than to show any discomposure of manner, 
 or any appearance of contending with them. 
 If she be dignified and quiet, and show no 
 doubt of their desire to serve her, they will 
 scarce fail to show her that courtesy which 
 is her due ; such, at least, hath been my 
 experience. But in my sudden heat of in- 
 dignation, thinking that in my husband's 
 necessary absence they were about to plunder 
 him and me (for, having heard nothing of
 
 1 6 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 the exactions practised on my neighbours, 
 truly I thought this to be a case by itself), 
 I felt in myself the spirit to have chidden 
 the armed soldiers like naughty children ; and 
 had done it, too, but for Margery, and thereby, 
 no doubt, lost much. 
 
 My composure, thus assumed with my hood 
 and negligee, was nigh to failing me when I 
 saw the milch cows from the farmyard, and 
 the young cattle and stock from the pasture, 
 driven pell-mell into the courtyard, huddled 
 and hustled together into droves, in prepara- 
 tion for being driven away altogether. My 
 heart came into my very throat to think how 
 it had fared with me and with all of us had I 
 been timid and diffident of opposing mine own 
 will to the will of others, as women are for the 
 most part, and as I myself used to be. Then 
 had I certainly stood still, with indignation 
 burning in my heart and in mine eyes, no doubt, 
 but with never a word to say to hinder them 
 from stripping me of what I had to support my 
 family and household withal, and that without 
 reason given or payment so much as promised. 
 But since my marriage my husband's frequent 
 absences from home have forced me to acquire 
 the habit of governing his people ; thus I felt 
 my duty, and knew my right, to require a reason 
 for these arbitrary measures. As to the military
 
 A MAN'S FOES 17 
 
 dress and arms, they awed me not at all. Six 
 months' experience of the like in Derry had 
 shown me for certain that they covered flesh 
 and blood much similar to those of ordinary 
 men. 
 
 I therefore called to me one of the soldiers 
 that was nearest, bidding him desire his com- 
 manding officer to speak with me, and pre- 
 sently there came to me a man gray-headed and 
 weather-beaten, that had neither the bearing 
 nor seeming that belonged to one that held his 
 Majesty's commission ; nor did he, being but a 
 corporal. 
 
 Such were the persons empowered by Kirke 
 to deprive us at their will of our substance. 
 Sure there were men even in King James's 
 army that had thought it their duty to show 
 greater care of the well-being of conquered 
 enemies, let alone their loyal fellow-subjects 
 that they were sent to protect. But I am 
 bound to say for this man that he treated me 
 with all respect. 
 
 I asked him of his errand — whether it were 
 for the service of the garrison at Derry he was 
 collecting my cattle, to which he answered 
 ' Yes.' Then I desired him that he would 
 serve me with the letter, stating how many 
 cattle I was asked to provide them withal, and 
 upon whose authority the requisition was made. 
 
 VOL. I. 2
 
 1 8 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 At that he seemed something confused, but 
 made answer presently that he brought no such 
 paper as I spoke of. 
 
 ' But,' said he, ' it is by the orders and 
 authority of Major -General Kirke, military 
 Governor of Londonderry, that I take posses- 
 sion of the cattle.' 
 
 ' Then,' said I to him, ' tell me how many 
 cattle he hath bidden you to require of me, and 
 I will order mine own people to choose them 
 and deliver them to you, you giving me, of 
 course, your receipt for the same.' 
 
 The man seemed yet more taken aback than 
 at the first. 
 
 * Madam,' said he, after muttering something 
 to himself that was not meant for mine ears, * I 
 am not required by my orders to give receipts 
 for the cattle I collect, nor Is there a number 
 appointed me to ask. It hath come to the ears 
 of the General,' said he, gathering assurance, 
 ' that all the cattle in these parts Is nothing but 
 the stock that was abandoned by the Irish army 
 in Its retreat, which the country people have 
 taken for their own use, a thing that can by no 
 means be permitted, for by all the rules of war 
 the booty of a routed army belongs to the 
 conquerors. The General hath therefore sent 
 us out to bring It in.' 
 
 The man tried to speak roundly, but was let
 
 A MAN'S FOES 19 
 
 by his conscience ; for well he knew the false- 
 hood of that which, as he said, had been told to 
 the General. I answered him very quietly. 
 
 'Then the General is misinformed,' said I. 
 * For there is not an animal you see here but is 
 the undoubted property of Captain Hamilton, 
 my husband. They were all bestowed in safe 
 keeping while the Jacobite army was here, as 
 can be proved by many witnesses. Anyone 
 that knows Mr. Hamilton — and there are 
 enough of his acquaintance in Derry/ said I, 
 ' to speak to his reputation — will tell General 
 Kirke whether we are like to refuse anything 
 we have that is required for the public service, 
 so it be duly asked of us and the need for 
 it shown. But this is illegal exaction, and 
 I leave it to yourself to say if I should submit 
 to it.' 
 
 I finished in my very gentlest voice, which 
 was none so easy for me to compass, for ever 
 and anon there came a sound into it, in my own 
 despite, that was pure defiance, and even to 
 mine own ear said plainly, ' Do it if you dare !' 
 But I fought against this with all my might, for 
 it is not the way to succeed with men that have 
 weapons in their hands, to dare them to the 
 thing they have a mind to do. 
 
 The corporal looked at me, and then at the 
 cattle, and last of all he looked at his boots.
 
 20 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 He seemed to be suffering an extremity of dis- 
 comfort. At the last he said : 
 
 * This is all very well for you, madam, but I 
 hardly know how it will sound In the General's 
 ears, that a party sent by him to bring in cattle 
 have left the best lot — Gad ! by very much the 
 best lot — they have come across, at the bidding 
 of a lady.' 
 
 ' You had better consider likewise,' said I very 
 calmly, but in spite of myself my voice sounded 
 something stern, ' how It will sound in King 
 William's ears that his liege subjects, so lately 
 dwelling in the very shadow of death for his 
 service, have been violently deprived of their 
 substance without so much as a plea of necessity 
 made.' 
 
 ' Yes, yes, madam,' said the man, looking up 
 upon a sudden ; ' this is all very well — very well 
 indeed. Ye say the cattle are all yours, and no 
 doubt so you think. But how,' says he, ' am 
 I to know that It's true ?' 
 
 This was putting me Into a corner, as one 
 might say, for. Indeed, I knew not how to prove 
 that these Identical animals were our own, 
 though of the number returned by each person 
 that had charge of a parcel of them I could 
 aeslly have rendered an exact account ; and 
 sure the tally he m.Ight have made out for him- 
 self well enough. But here spoke up Jenny
 
 A MAN'S FOES 21 
 
 Hunter, who, seeing me so composed, had 
 grown composed herself. 
 
 ' Sure,' said she to him, ^an you'll have the 
 kindness to bid them red-coats leave alone the 
 milch cows, I'll soon let you see if they're our 
 own, any way.' 
 
 Then she began to call to them in the out- 
 landish jargon that she doth use to bring them 
 to her out of the field, the creatures raising and 
 turning their heads forthwith, as those that 
 knew the call. Then, they being no longer 
 restrained and threatened of the soldiers, she 
 called to each by its name, and as she called 
 they came to her one by one, save that the last 
 of them grew impatient, and ran to her all at 
 once, not waiting to be called. 
 
 ' Will ye open the door of the byre, Teddy ?' 
 she said then to a man of ours that was near 
 her. 
 
 And he set it open. Then she began 
 another chant, as barbarous as the first ; but at 
 the sound of it, the animals, understanding it, 
 filed orderly and quiet into the byre, each taking 
 her own place and standing there ready to be 
 fastened up for the milking. 
 
 ' Will that content ye, ye reaving ruffians ?' 
 said she, which insult might easily have undone 
 the good effect of my gentleness, had they 
 perfectly understood it.
 
 22 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Then Teddy stepped up, and said that he 
 thought that some of the young cattle he had 
 tended might follow his voice, if I pleased he 
 should try. But the corporal declared himself 
 satisfied. Therefore, as I judged it well to 
 have his good word with General Kirke, I sent 
 him into the kitchen to break his fast ; for the 
 men I gave orders that something should be 
 brought to them where they were. Teddy 
 spoke up before them all, and told me that five 
 or six young animals had been sent away under 
 the charge of two troopers before I came out 
 into the yard. I cared not to press for the 
 restitution of these, lest by trying for over-much 
 I should lose all. I made Master Corporal 
 Simkins (for that was the name of him) give me 
 his receipt for them, however, Cargill, my 
 servant, writing both the paper and the 
 corporal's name, as he could not do so much 
 for himself; and he making his mark, which was 
 duly attested by two witnesses. This paper, 
 though I still possess it, hath never brought me 
 in a penny as yet ; nor do I care to press that 
 either, being well content to postpone mine 
 own just claims to those of others, my neigh- 
 bours, who have been bereft of all their sub- 
 stance, or near it. 
 
 I shall scarce get me to the siege, I fear, if I 
 spend so much time in telling beforehand what
 
 A MAN'S FOES 23 
 
 hath come after it, which is, as they say in this 
 part of the country, but an Irish way of making 
 a beginning. But I cannot forbear to relate 
 how I found the Colonel and Margery ensconced 
 beneath the little window that gives light to the 
 passage into the kitchen, whence they had 
 listened to every word that had been said ; and 
 had taken a peep from time to time, as they 
 judged it safe, at what was passing in the yard. 
 The Colonel had his pistols loaded and laid 
 ready to his hand, and had not hesitated to 
 interpose therewith on my behalf, had he 
 thought the men likely to molest me. It was 
 fortunate on all accounts that this was unneces- 
 sary. 
 
 If praise could have made me forget my 
 inward tremors of rage and defiance, and the 
 pain I had to keep them under in my speech, 
 I had it in plenty ; they went about to puff me 
 up like a wind-bag with their flattery, Colonel 
 Mitchelburne and Margery. 'Twas something, 
 no doubt, to be assured that whatever my feel- 
 ings were my conduct was what it should be — 
 the effect also was what I desired — yet to 
 Jenny Hunter was due no small part of the 
 credit of this, for, certes, without her I had 
 made but a poor demonstration of my owner- 
 ship of the cattle, and Margery's good thought 
 of the hood and negligee should not be for-
 
 24 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 gotten. I told her so, and rallied her, saying 
 that her praise of me was but as a bait put 
 forth to catch praise for her own wisdom. 
 
 ' Faith, madam, an you will say so,' quoth 
 she, dropping her demure curtsey, * I will say 
 that none of us has any credit at all In the 
 matter, but only the morning air and the vexa- 
 tion that hath put a colour Into your cheeks 
 that's like their own. Ah,' says she, 'I'd be 
 well enough pleased to have a visit from the 
 soldiers every morning if that might keep you 
 looking so like yourself.' 
 
 * Peace, silly 1' said I. ' Don't make me 
 blush for your folly, before the Colonel, too.' 
 
 ' I'm sure he'll bear me out In it,' said 
 Margery, all of a sudden run mad, as It 
 seemed. ' Send but now for that corporal, 
 madam, and I warrant he'll offer to send an 
 express after the cattle that are halfway to 
 Derry by this time if you ask him.' 
 
 * I like not this fooling, Margery,' said I to 
 her, a little ruffled ; and at that she held her 
 peace. 
 
 But as to the colour she spoke of. It had not 
 quite left my faded cheeks when I went to my 
 chamber after breakfast, and could see myself 
 in the glass. I was fool enough and vain 
 enough to rejoice thereat, though I spared not 
 to rate Margery for the liberty she had given
 
 A MAN'S FOES 25 
 
 to her tongue when the Colonel had left us in 
 the afternoon. 
 
 He rid to Glendermot that same day, at my 
 special request, which I made because I feared 
 that it might come to the ears of Kirke that he 
 had been at Cloncally when I had withstood 
 his messengers. He might then have given it 
 such a colour as to make it appear that the 
 Colonel had influenced me in what I did, and 
 this, no doubt, had been to his disadvantage 
 (that had disadvantage enough without it), to 
 appear as one in open opposition to his suc- 
 cessor. Military governor and civil likewise — 
 for Mr. Walker was gone to London, and 
 Kirke had stepped into his shoes as well as 
 Colonel Mitchelburne's — there was none to 
 come between him and the victims of his 
 rapacity. These were we ; it was as his prey 
 he viewed us, and not as faithful subjects put 
 into his ward for our own benefit. Or if he 
 thought otherwise, then did his conduct very 
 much belie him.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW THE LORD VISCOUNT MOUNTJOY LAY AT 
 CLONCALLY ON HIS WAY TO DUBLIN. 
 
 I BEGAN this narrative of our troubles by reflect- 
 ing on this strange thing — that where circum- 
 stances seem most ordered and stable around 
 us, as if they might go on in their customary 
 round till the end of time, then on a sudden 
 comes a change, and after that change upon 
 change succeeds, so that, could we but have 
 foreseen the turmoil, our very wits had been 
 turned topsy-turvy with thinking of it. Here 
 is another strange thing, now, when one thinks 
 upon it — that there is not in our hearts the 
 least inkling of what is coming upon us. One 
 might think that we men might have an inner 
 warning of the storm, as beasts and birds 
 perceive the approach of the thunder before 
 the tempest bursts about their ears — nay, the 
 very daisies in the grass and the yellow pile- 
 wort under the hedge do know to shut them-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 27 
 
 selves aofainst the coming of a shower. But It 
 is not so with man. 
 
 Sure, there was not another woman in Ulster 
 busier than I, nor happier in what she was 
 about, on the very day when the first tiny cloud 
 came up on our horizon ; not near so big as a 
 man's hand, it seemed, but rather like a fleck 
 of sunshine made visible, or like to one of 
 those gold and scarlet specks that the sun doth 
 leave in the sky after his setting on the clearest 
 evenings of summer. When the prophet sent 
 his servant to scan the sky the first time, I 
 wonder if there was upon the face of it such 
 another little golden cloud, not to be known of 
 such a messenger for what it was because of 
 the brightness it was steeped In. Had Elijah 
 gone himself to look, would even he have 
 recognised the herald of abundance of rain, I 
 wonder ? Or would he, too, have been deceived 
 until it gathered blackness, though still so small 
 and so far off.'* We are but purblind poor 
 creatures, w^e mortals ; and as for the gift of 
 prophecy, it hath departed out of the world. 
 
 It was the visit of my Lord Mountjoy to 
 Cloncally that was the harbinger of evil, though 
 at the time it seemed nothing else than a 
 pleasure and an honour. Nay, It seemed not 
 only, but so It undoubtedly was, that my 
 husband's commanding officer should grace
 
 28 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 our poor house with his presence ; not but that 
 Mr. Hamilton can count among his kinsfolk men 
 as great as he, and greater — and these none so 
 distant kinsmen, neither — but that doth nothing 
 lessen the courtesy my Lord Viscount did us 
 in becoming our guest — a courtesy I rated very 
 high, and much desired to show my sense of it 
 in his entertainment. 
 
 To this end I busied myself, as I said but a 
 moment ago, not leaving Margery to arrange 
 all matters, as she commonly doth, but seeing 
 to things myself; it was scarce needful, yet it 
 was pleasant to me, and, in truth, there was 
 enough for everyone to do to have all things 
 in the readiness that I thought fit for my Lord 
 Viscount and his company. He could scarce 
 expect, in the house of a simple gentleman, 
 that state to which he is accustomed ; but I 
 desired he should lack nothing either of comfort 
 or of observance. We have no pretension to 
 entertain with magnificence, like greater folk, 
 but in our own degree we might hope to 
 compass completeness ; and so, indeed, I 
 believe we did. 'Tis ever a matter of careful- 
 ness with me that my husband be not shamed 
 in his household, but the contrary ; the more 
 especially that he took me from a family lower 
 in station than his own. 
 
 At last everything was ready, both above
 
 A MAN'S FOES 29 
 
 stairs and below ; nothing more remained to 
 
 be seen to, unless I should have stood over the 
 
 cook as she over her spits and stewpans. 
 
 The sun had come out sweetly after a morning 
 
 that was raw and cloudy, though seasonable, 
 
 for sure In October we must expect such 
 
 weather, and this was the twentieth of October 
 
 last, a year ago and a week to the very day. 
 
 Dear ! how clear that day doth stand out In my 
 
 memory. In spite of all that hath come and 
 
 gone since then ; as clear as though the week 
 
 alone had passed, and the year were clean 
 
 blotted out and orone. 
 <_> 
 
 Wamphray's wife, my dear sister Rosa (though 
 sister by marriage and not by blood), was with 
 me, she having ridden out of Derry with her 
 little son James and his nursemaid to pass a 
 week at Cloncally ; and I proposed to her that, 
 having an hour to spare, we should walk as far 
 as to the garden, a thing which she was nothing 
 loath to do. For in the whole county there was 
 no other garden like ours as It was then, before 
 King J ames's soldiers had made havoc of it ; such 
 lilies, late and early, such cowslips of all kinds 
 and colours, such pansles, such gilliflowers, such 
 roses In their season, and such good vegetables 
 and fruits into the bargain. 'Twas the pride of 
 the heart of Rabble Wilson, the old Scotch 
 gardener, that learned his trade In Scotland, In
 
 30 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 the gardens of my Lord of Hamilton, but hath 
 been at Cloncally longer than any of us, longer 
 even than Captain Hamilton, whom he can 
 remember In his boyish days. Rabble Is but a 
 simple man, one that pretends to nothing be- 
 yond his station, yet there are few things per- 
 taining to the management of a garden that he 
 Is Ignorant of; and, If he had but the learning, I 
 am sure he hath the knowledge to make as 
 good a book on the subject as Master Parkin- 
 son's ' Paradise.' 
 
 Rosa and I walked through the most of the 
 garden before ever we cast eyes on him, how- 
 ever; at the last we caught sight of him upon 
 his knees, In the midst of a patch of new-turned 
 earth, just where the ground begins to slope 
 towards the wilderness that abuts upon the river. 
 He lifted his head and gave us a look that scarce 
 seemed of welcome, but loosed his apron that 
 he wore, and came towards us forthwith ; and 
 when I asked him what he was a-doing, he 
 began to explain that he was setting some 
 shoots of strawberry of a rare and fine kind, 
 newly brought from the plantations In Virginia. 
 
 ' Suckers,' said he, ' that were sent me but 
 yesterday frae the Duke's gardener. Master 
 Anderson. He says they're grand fruit, twice 
 as big as the common sort, or maybe mair ; so 
 I'm gi'en them every chance, the best o' the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 31 
 
 sun an' the best o' the soil. I'd be laith to fa' 
 short o' Master Anderson's weight frae the 
 same number o' plants, gin the bearin'-time 
 comes. But what's your leddyship's wull ?' for 
 it is as ' my ladyship ' that Rabbie persists in 
 addressing me. * Is there aucht wantit for the 
 hoose ? Margery's been at me a dizzen times 
 the day, an' a hale clamjamfray o' lasses oot o' 
 the kitchen as weel, no to mention Annot hersel', 
 that should ken better. It's '' Rabbie, hae ye 
 on'y chives ?" the noo, an' " Rabbie, hae ye 
 on'y chervil ?" the next time. Dod, but 'twould 
 save a heap o' fash if they'd tak' a thocht an 
 inch or twa ayont their noses, an' no come 
 taiglin' me ance errant ilka errant.' 
 
 Here was a well-ordered tongue, forsooth, in 
 an ancient good servant ; but the truth is that 
 Rabbie, like Margery, is a privileged person. 
 Thus, instead of taking him to task for his 
 over-freedom, I found me presently craving his 
 patience for Margery and the maidens, and 
 Annot his wife, as if it had lain in his mouth 
 to chide any of them but the last. 
 
 ' You must even forgive them, Rabbie, this 
 morning,' said I. ' It's not every day we have 
 a great company of lords and baronets and 
 such-like grand folks to sup at Cloncally ;' for, 
 indeed, I had bidden a goodly company of our 
 neighbours to supper to meet my Lord Mount-
 
 32 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 joy. ' 'Tis no more than nature that they 
 should be something carried away by it.' 
 
 ' Like eneuch, Hke eneuch,' muttered the old 
 man. 'A pack o' hellicat hizzies, when a's 
 said, saving your leddyship's presence. But 
 what's your wull wi' me ?' asked he, with a 
 backward glance, in his own despite, as it were, 
 at his strawberry plants. 
 
 *■ Ah, Rabble,' said I to him, ' I see well that 
 you desire I should know that I have hindered 
 your work as well as the maid-servants.' 
 
 ' Na, na !' said the old man quickly. ' Fient 
 a hait ! it's aye a pleesure to ser' yoursel'. No 
 but I'd hae likit to finish the settin' while my 
 han' was in it, an' sic a fine sappy day for the 
 purpose,' finished he, compelled by his obstinate 
 honesty, which a litde irks me, even while I 
 respect it. 
 
 But I forgave him presently when he was 
 cutting for me, with a liberal hand, the best of 
 the flowers the season had left him : the late 
 gillyflowers, the marigolds, the hollyhocks, and 
 bunches of those wonderful pink roses that he 
 hath, that bloom both early in the year and 
 late ; an armful of sweets. At last we had as 
 many as we could carry ; we took them within 
 doors, and filled with them both bowls and 
 beau-pots, which we took and set in the with- 
 drawing-room, and likewise in the hall windows.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 33 
 
 How sweet they smelt when we had placed 
 them, clean smothering the savour of the con^ 
 fectlon of rose-leaves that I use to keep in all 
 my rooms for its fragrance! Presently after 
 that it was time for us to dress, ready to 
 receive my guests ; and, truly, we had but 
 barely finished when the first of them, arrived — 
 Adam Murray, my cousin, who had not done 
 answering our questions about the good folks 
 at Glendermot, when I had warning from my 
 heart of Captain Hamilton's approach. I am 
 often so when one that I love dearly is near 
 me ; some inner sense doth give me knowledge 
 of his presence before the bodily ear can hear 
 him, or the bodily eye espy him. But the sound 
 of the horses' feet was clear enough to any ear 
 but a deaf one by the time we got to the door, 
 and in another minute they came in sight — five 
 of them. There was but just time to cast a 
 glance right and left to see that all were in 
 their places — the grooms to take the horses, 
 Cargill and Margery behind myself — before 
 they were with us, riding up to the door at a 
 swinci[inof trot. Then came the bustle of dis- 
 mounting ; Cargill running to hold his master's 
 stirrup, as in duty bound, who was ofT his horse 
 without waiting for any aid, and hastening to 
 render the like courtesy to my Lord Mountjoy ; 
 which was his bounden duty likewise, both as a 
 VOL. I. 3
 
 34 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 host to his guest and as a soldier to his superior 
 officer. But my lord himself was off his horse 
 in the twinkling of an eye, and came up to me 
 with his beaver in his hand, greeting me by the 
 name of the Rose of Derry, which is a foolish 
 title that the young men of the town bestowed 
 upon me long ago, before my marriage. I felt 
 my face redden as I smiled. 
 
 'Ah, my lord,' said I, ''tis a long time since 
 I have heard that old name, and it brings me 
 in mind of old times. But here is a lady that's 
 able to deprive me both of the style and title, 
 having a baptismal right to them, as well as one 
 plainly to be seen in her face. Will your lord- 
 ship permit me to present you to my sister, 
 Mrs. Murray ?' 
 
 Lord Mountjoy bowed twice very low ; but 
 he must ever have his answer. 
 
 ' Faith, madam,' said he, ' she shall have her 
 own style and title, and none of yours ; for 
 'twere more like her if her godfather and god- 
 mothers at her baptism had named her the 
 Lily. She shall be called the Lily of the 
 Valley, and you shall still be the Rose of 
 Derry.' 
 
 My sister upon this pretty speech took a tint 
 so exquisite, as she greeted him, that I marvel he 
 did not revoke his words the next instant after 
 they were uttered. But I, leaving him to greet
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 35 
 
 Adam Murray, whom he knew, turned to wel- 
 come the other gentlemen ; my husband last of 
 all, which, though it be but ordinary courtesy, 
 and the behaviour of any well-nurtured woman, 
 is sure a piece of manners most irksome and 
 unnatural to practise. 
 
 In a very short time after that I had my 
 hands full enough, receiving my guests and 
 making them welcome. My Lord Massareene 
 was next, with Mr. Skeffington, his son, still In 
 mourning both of them for my lady, that died 
 last year; and after them my Lady Hamilton, 
 my husband's aunt, whom I was most happy to 
 see — she came, as I afterwards understood, In 
 her great state carriage, wdth her two gentlemen 
 pages, that v/aited on her during supper. The 
 order in which the rest of the guests arrived I 
 now forget, and sure 'tis no great matter ; but 
 all were assembled, and I in the Instant expecta- 
 tion that supper should be announced, when 
 Cargill came something mysteriously Into the 
 room. Indeed, being sure that he was about to 
 say ' Madam is served,' I had actually risen from 
 my chair to give the signal, when something In 
 his face checked me. It passed through my 
 mind that some disaster had befallen the supper, 
 and, I promise you, it was no pleasant thought 
 to a woman that was ambitious to be thought 
 notable in her des^ree. But that which Caro^IU
 
 36 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 came to tell me of was no disaster, but merely 
 the arrival of another guest — one that had not 
 been Invited. It was Master MIcaiah Brown- 
 ing, the brother of my sweet Rosa Murray, a sea- 
 captain to his trade. I had met this gentleman 
 but two or three times, for all he was brother to 
 my brother's wife ; to be sure, though a person 
 of condition and breeding, he Is scarce of 
 Captain Hamilton's standing, nor even of my 
 brother's. Rosa, for all her beauty, comes of 
 no great family, though of one that Is good 
 enough. But, like myself, she hath married 
 above her own degree ; though certainly so 
 gracious and lovely a creature might have wed 
 with a king, and conferred a new grace upon 
 his crown. 
 
 Little as 1 knew of her brother, I knew him 
 for a gentleman that was equal to any company; 
 In truth, I had been greatly struck with his 
 manner, which had Rosa's winning dignity, 
 mixed with an air of absolute command that 
 was all his own ; and that I a little wondered to 
 see, knowing that he had held no greater office 
 than the command of a vessel, and that not 
 even in the navy. Cargill told me that Captain 
 Browning made some scruple about joining us, 
 being only in an ordinary riding dress ; but I 
 quickly sent Captain Hamilton to persuade him 
 to put that scruple out of his mind.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 37 
 
 ' Tell him/ said I, ' that his sister is in such 
 perfect looks to-night that no one will look past 
 her face at the clothes of anyone else.' 
 
 ' It's not the case !' said he in mine ear, being 
 still very much my lover, as I pray God he may 
 never lose the pretty trick. ' It's not the case ; 
 there's somebody else fixes my eyes, at any 
 rate, and hath her full share of admiration from 
 all the rest.' 
 
 * Ah, then !' said I, ' they have to look at their 
 hostess, out of mere manners.' 
 
 * Madam,' says he with his low bow, ' sure 'tis 
 partly a pleasure, judging by myself,' and then 
 went straight to do mine errand to Mr. Brown- 
 ing, none having heard a word of what had 
 passed save we ourselves, so great by this time 
 was the buzz of talk become. 
 
 Presently I saw him re-enter the room, bring- 
 ing Mr. Browning with him; they came but 
 slowly towards me, the room being so crowded. 
 Thus it came about that I was struck anew with 
 the perfection of his manners, and this in the 
 midst of that company, which, sure, was far 
 beyond any he could be accustomed to. Yet, 
 as Captain Hamilton presented him to some of 
 the greatest persons present, which he could not 
 help, when they made way for them to pass, 
 anyone regarding had certainly said that here 
 was the great man — the guest of the evening.
 
 38 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 It was, In part, no doubt, his assured calmness 
 that gave him such an air of greatness ; yet 
 there was no arrogance In It, only a power and 
 statellness that would not have misbecome a 
 prince among his subjects. He had a habit, 
 too, of looking a man straight and considerately 
 In the eyes, that some found disconcerting. 
 Colonel Lundy, in especial, my Lord Viscount's 
 second In command, I remember, shuffled with 
 his feet even under Mr. Browning's look; yet It 
 lasted but an Instant, no more. This Is a thing 
 most characteristic of a born leader of men, as 
 I think ; to be able to look through a man's eyes 
 into his soul, and rate him at once at his proper 
 worth. 
 
 I was pleased with him, bet I think that 
 Rosa's manner with him pleased me better yet. 
 She had made a great Impression. Mr. Clot- 
 worthy Skeffington, In especial, seemed greatly 
 struck with her ; but so, for the matter of that, 
 was every other man In the room, though they 
 had not, like him, the pleasure of holding her 
 In talk at that moment. But In spite of his 
 gallantry, which I make no doubt was great, 
 there was some tinge of weariness upon her 
 face, which I set down to Wamphray's absence. 
 Admiration doth not fill the heart, and a feast 
 that lacks the salt of one wished-for presence Is 
 but a savourless feast after all.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 39 
 
 But the moment her brother came within her 
 sight, all that was changed ; her face grew as 
 rosy as any bride's. There came into her eyes 
 such a light as I had never seen in them before. 
 She withdrew no jot of her attention from 
 Mr. Skeffington, and yet any that had eyes in 
 their heads could discern that she was conscious 
 of Mr. Browning's presence from the top curl 
 of her head-tire to the tip of her velvet shoe. 
 1 would fain hope that my own attention 
 wandered not, so as to be seen ; yet I noted 
 this, and, what is more, I noted it with envy. 
 There was no such feeling between Wamphray 
 and me as this that lived between Rosa and 
 Mr. Browning. We were close friends, as it is 
 pity that brother and sister should ever be other ; 
 but for these two, the relation between them was 
 a thing altogether by itself. 'Twas more like 
 the tales that are recorded of twins than aught 
 else that ever I saw ; and yet they were no 
 twins. On the contrary, Rosa was so much 
 the younger that she might well have passed 
 for Mr. Browning's daughter instead of his 
 sister. 
 
 Being presented to Mr. Skeffington by Rosa, 
 Mr. Browning joined in their talk, that I could 
 hear had something to do with the disturbed 
 Slate of affairs in England, whereof my Lord 
 Massareene hath ever early news. But in a
 
 40 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 moment after I heard so much, the suppei was 
 announced in earnest, and for an hour or more 
 after that 'twas but little attention I paid to any 
 of them, being most fully occupied with the two 
 lords, that were seated the one on my right 
 hand and the other on my left, as was, of 
 course, their due. Faith, had I given them less 
 of my notice, and more to the general drift of 
 the talk, as was my plain duty in times so 
 dangerous, it had been better for all of us in the 
 long-run. And yet even now I scarce can 
 blame myself, for my Lord Mountjoy had a 
 vein of talk that night that had been enough 
 to beguile the ear of a maid at her marriage. 
 And then, there was not a Catholic present, nor 
 any stickler for the high doctrine of the Right 
 Divine ; we were all to my knowledge of one 
 mind on the questions of Protestantism and the 
 Test Act, and the other subjects of danger, so 
 that my watchfulness might well have winked, 
 even had my lord been dull. There are 
 Hamiltons Catholic and high loyalist, to be 
 sure, but not one of them was present that 
 night. 
 
 It was Rosa and Mr. Skeffington that drew 
 our feet into the paths of danger at the last, 
 she asking my Lord Massareene, from her place 
 on the other side of the table, for some further 
 account of the things his son had been telling
 
 A MAN'S FOES 41 
 
 her of. To which he responded cautiously 
 enough, no doubt, at first ; but becoming heated 
 with the subjects he handled, he threw prudence 
 to the winds, and began to tell us instances of 
 the King's infatuation that went beyond belief. 
 Mr. Skeffington took up the ball on his side of 
 the table, adding circumstances that my lord, 
 his father, had forgotten, or perhaps had judged 
 it wise to pass over. 
 
 More and more the company ceased to talk 
 apart, and began to listen to these two ; at last 
 one took it on himself to doubt whether some- 
 thing my lord had said could be very fact ; 
 whereat Sir Arthur Rawdon struck in, declaring 
 he had heard the same report as my Lord 
 Massareene. 
 
 ' But it may be a mere report — a story of a 
 cock and a bull,' said the gentleman that had 
 spoken before ; I think 'twas Mr. Hawkins. 
 
 ' I think not, sir,' said a calm voice from 
 further down the table — Mr. Browning's. ' My 
 lord hath had the matter reported to him 
 exactly as I believe it befell ; there is nothing 
 over-stated.' 
 
 My Lord Massareene, that had a little red- 
 dened to hear his story doubted (though sure 
 am I that Mr. Hawkins meant him no dis- 
 courtesy), bent forward to see Mr. Browning 
 the better; and I heard my Lady Hamilton ask
 
 42 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 my husband, from where she sat on his right, 
 who the gentleman was that spoke with so 
 much authority, and how he came to know so 
 well. With that Captain Hamilton spoke to 
 Mr. Browning from his place, and the attention 
 of every soul at the table was arrested. 
 
 ' Mr. Browning,' said he, ' here's a lady that 
 desires your better acquaintance : permit me to 
 present you to Lady Hamilton, my aunt ; per- 
 haps you'll tell her and all of us how you come 
 to speak of the matter with such assured know- 
 ledge. Not that I mean to cast the smallest 
 doubt upon your right to do so.' 
 
 ' Nor I neither, sir,' said Lady Hamilton, as 
 they bowed to each other. 
 
 ' 'Tis a matter easy enough to answer,' said 
 Mr. Browning, with a smile. ' I am but just 
 returned from England, where the tale is in 
 everybody's mouth ; I had it myself from an 
 eye-witness.' 
 
 ' My Lord Massareene/ said the old lady, 
 ' perhaps you will do me the favour to repeat 
 this wonderful tale for my benefit ; for I protest 
 I did not hear a word of it.' 
 
 Being thus questioned, my lord had no choice 
 but to tell the tale again ; it was that of King 
 James's attempt to obtain the assent of Lord 
 Lichfield's regiment to his assumption of arbi- 
 trary power in dispensing with the Test Act
 
 A MAN'S FOES 43 
 
 and the penal statutes. He described, with 
 much humour, the haranguing of them by the 
 King in person, and how he enlarged to them 
 his purpose of procuring toleration for all 
 opinions ; as though there was a man among 
 them that knew not the meaning of that, or 
 that knew not w^here his toleration for the Non- 
 conformists would fly to, let him but once be 
 surrounded by Catholics in office. Yet he stuck 
 not to ask them to express by their acclama- 
 tions their acceptance of this his design, or else 
 to lay down their arms, telling them that such 
 as did so should never lift them again in his 
 service. 
 
 ' Then,' continued my lord, ' instead of accla- 
 mation, there was heard a low murmuring all 
 along the line, the officers joining in it as well 
 as the men. There was a little hesitation that 
 lasted scarce a moment, and then, beginning 
 with the officer commanding, they one and all 
 laid down their arms — at least,' said he, correct- 
 ing himself, ' I believe there was one officer 
 that retained his, and maybe a score of private 
 soldiers, all told.' 
 
 ' And what said his Majesty to that ?' asked 
 Lady Hamilton, putting the question that was 
 on the lips of everyone that had not heard the 
 story told the first time. 
 
 * Why, he was extremely displeasured,' said
 
 44 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Lord Massareene ; * at that none can marvel. 
 He ordered the regiment back into quarters, I 
 suppose under arrest, and told them that never 
 while he lived would he honour them again by 
 asking them for their opinion.' 
 
 He looked to Mr. Browning for confirmation, 
 who bowed. 
 
 ' 'TIs the exact story In every circumstance/ 
 said he, ' as I heard it from one that was 
 present, save only that he said nothing about 
 arresting them ; that, perhaps, had scarce been 
 prudent, considering the temper they had shown 
 He rated them soundly, as your lordship hath 
 said, making use of the very words you re- 
 peated ; but I believe he let them take up their 
 arms before retiring to their quarters.' 
 
 ' And so ends his Majesty's ill-judged attempt 
 to repeal, by his single authority, a law the 
 country is determined to uphold. 'Twill be a 
 lesson to him another time, no doubt.' 
 
 James Hamilton, my lady's son and our 
 cousin, spoke to this effect. 
 
 ' Under your favour, sir,' said Mr. Skeffing- 
 ton, a little hotly, ' what earthly reason have 
 we, at this time of day, to hope that King 
 James will stoop to accept a lesson so salutary ?' 
 
 There was a little stir here and there round 
 the table at these bold words ; a cautious man 
 might have been warned and checked, but
 
 A MAN'S FOES 45 
 
 Mr. Skcffington was not. He continued, 
 taking no heed of it : 
 
 ' The aboHtion of the Test Act hath been his 
 chief aim since ever he came to the throne ; 
 sure, there's none of us but knows what to 
 expect if he should ever carry it. Will he ever 
 give it up, sir, do you think ?' said he, appeal- 
 ing to Mr. Browning, four or five down the 
 table on the other side from himself. 
 
 ' I fear not, indeed, sir,' answered he, shaking 
 his head. 
 
 ' No, truly,' went on Mr. Skeffington ; ' as 
 soon entice a bloodhound to leave the trail as 
 persuade the King to abandon a purpose he 
 had given his mind to, especially if he think it 
 a matter of religion.' 
 
 'That is sure a noble quality,' said I. 
 
 * Surely, madam,' said Sir Arthur Rawdon, 
 ' were it but mixed with judgment, which it is 
 not ; or even with some sense of human error, 
 which it is still less.' 
 
 ' And that's very true, Sir Arthur,' said Mr. 
 Skeffington. ' A man had need to be a very 
 prophet, or a very Pope, to be as inflexible in 
 the pursuit of his designs as King James. But 
 you, sir, that are newly from England, tell us, 
 if you will, how things seem to be going in that 
 country.' 
 
 ' But very poorly, sir, I fear,' answered Mr.
 
 46 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Browning. ' Since the birth of this young 
 Prince of Wales there is everywhere a looking- 
 up on the part of the Papists. While the 
 Princess Mary was her fathers heir, they 
 were reasonably humble. His Majesty's favour 
 and protection elated them to some degree, no 
 doubt ; but yet they knew it was no more than 
 a season of prosperity ; they were well enough 
 assured that at their patron's death the sun 
 would come round again to the other side of 
 the hedge. But now ' 
 
 Here he stopped, looking at Captain Hamil- 
 ton as if he feared to transgress the bounds 
 of prudence if he should say more. 
 
 My husband is none of the most prudent of 
 men with his tongue ; but yet both he and all 
 the rest of us were aware of the pains and 
 penalties attached to high treason, and sure 
 there was none of us that desired to stand 
 within their danger. Therefore I suppose 
 that, had he taken time to think, he had 
 turned the conversation into another channel, 
 as Mr. Browning by his manner plainly hinted 
 would be safe. But a man's zeal doth run 
 away with his wit full often ; and so likewise 
 doth the zeal of his company, if he share it. 
 And the table was circled with zealous Protes- 
 tants ; even our chief guest himself, though up till 
 that time reputed a staunch Royalist, was known
 
 A MAN'S FOES 47 
 
 to all the world for one of the heads of that party 
 in Ireland. It was he, when Captain Hamilton 
 paused, that bade Mr. Browning continue. 
 
 '• Well, sir ; and now pray continue. What 
 do they now expect ?' said he. 
 
 ' Faith, my lord, pretty much the same as we 
 should expect In their place,' struck In Mr. 
 Skeffington, who was the keenest partisan 
 among us, save only, perhaps, Sir Arthur 
 Raw^don. ' A continuation of the favour 
 they're enjoying at present, at the very least, 
 v/ith very likely a charge at their old enemies, 
 the Protestants, into the bargain. And not a 
 doubt but they'll get It, If we manage not our 
 affairs the better. The young Prince will be 
 brought up a Papist, like his father — that's past 
 praying against ; he will be taught to think it 
 the capstone of his glory if he should attain to 
 reconcile the three kingdoms with Rome. And, 
 after such a training, what can be looked for 
 but that he should try to bring it about by fair 
 means or foul ?' 
 
 At this speech the last shreds of wisdom 
 were cast to the winds ; there was not a man 
 at table, save one only, but waited for an 
 opportunity to put In his word and speak his 
 mind. My Lord Mountjoy leant forward in his 
 place to address Mr. Browning. The words I 
 missed, but it was plainly a question as to his
 
 48 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 own private opinion on these matters. Thus 
 appealed to, and by such a man, he had no 
 choice but to say distinctly what he thought ; 
 and so he did. 
 
 * The last gentleman that spoke put the case 
 exactly, as it seemed to me,' said he. * No one 
 hath the least doubt that the young Prince (if 
 he be indeed the Prince, on which point many 
 doubts are cast) will be brought up in the 
 Romish faith, and to think it his plain duty to 
 restore it as the established Church of the three 
 kingdoms. What meant those pilgrimages to 
 Loretto that all mouths were full of if not that ? 
 
 What reason could there be ?' Here again 
 
 he paused, and looked at Captain Hamilton. 
 
 ' We are all friends here, and of one mind, 
 as I take it,' said he, replying to the look. 
 
 For the servants, of whose discretion one 
 could not make certain, especially when so 
 many of them were strangers, having come but 
 for the day with their masters, had long since 
 left the room. 
 
 ' You 20 about, sir, more than the most of us,' 
 continued my husband, ' and have more oppor- 
 tunity of learning what's thought on the other 
 side of the Channel, and it will be a favour ii 
 you will be frank with us. We are all friends, 
 I'm certain.' 
 
 And with that he looked up and down the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 49 
 
 table. Everyone present, man and woman, 
 assented in one fashion or another. Mr. Brown- 
 ingr bowed, and then continued : 
 
 ' If his Majesty have indeed committed this 
 stupendous fraud — to pass off upon the country 
 a child that is not his and the Queen's — what 
 can be the motive but to procure himself a 
 successor that will carry out all his plans ? 
 Mind you, I am far from affirming that he 
 hath done this — God forbid he should be base 
 enough ! — but it is currently reported through- 
 out England, for I missed no chance of hearing 
 what was said. High and low, they are all in 
 one tale, that the King is one that will stick at 
 nothing to carry out his plans. Now, the mere 
 fact that such a story is told and believed points 
 no more plainly to their mistrust of him than to 
 their fear of a Romish successor.' 
 
 ^ Why should they have so great a dread of 
 that ?' asked I, repenting me of my foolish 
 question before it was well out of my mouth. 
 For truly there was not one of us but knew 
 well enough, and too well, what reason the 
 country hath to mislike a Catholic on the 
 throne. 
 
 ' Why, madam ?' said he, answering me. 
 * Because he will establish his father's acts, 
 and continue his tyranny for a certainty. The 
 Test Act once repealed, what is to hinder him 
 
 VOL. I. 4
 
 50 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 from filling all offices and all commands with 
 Catholics, as he hath already filled the best 
 of them ? Once let the Papists get the upper 
 hand of us, and we know what to look for. 
 Hath anyone forgotten what happened in 
 England in '85 ? That which came to pass 
 in this very county in the year '41, when the 
 grandfather of my lord at your right hand 
 saved Derry from fire and the citizens from the 
 swords of the Irish, hath still a plenty of living 
 witnesses. Nay, I have myself seen things — 
 and that none so long ago, neither — that are 
 enough to make a man forswear his country, 
 if the author of them is to be upheld.' 
 
 As he ended, half a dozen gentlemen spoke 
 at once, the memories he recalled laying hold of 
 them, so that there was a small tumult for a 
 moment. Then Mr. Dacre of Ouantock, our 
 old and dear friend, was heard, the other voices 
 occupying themselves in begging pardon of each 
 other. Mr. Dacre hath good reason to remem- 
 ber the troubles of the forties, for as long ago 
 as they happened ; for his father's house on the 
 Boyne was one of those that held out against 
 the rebels, being well fortified and bravely 
 manned ; in the long-run, the house being 
 tenable no longer, they made good their escape 
 to Drogheda, where they took part In the 
 famous defence of it against the Irish.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 51 
 
 * Remember It !' he was saying when I could 
 hear him. ' I can just fairly hear the yells of 
 the wild Ultoghs at this moment, now that 
 you've sent my mind back upon it.' 
 
 Here my Lord Mountjoy spoke, command- 
 ing at once the attention of all at table. 
 
 ' Gentlemen,' said he, * I am sure our host 
 and hostess will agree with me that this conver- 
 sation is trenching on matters that were best let 
 alone. We are all friends and Protestants, 'tis 
 true ; but for all that 'tis unwise to cast asper- 
 sions at the powers that be. Besides, I hardly 
 see myself that the Government can be held 
 responsible for many acts that have caused dis- 
 content, they being done without its sanction.' 
 
 Had my lord contented himself with recom- 
 mending caution, which came very well from 
 his mouth, no doubt his advice had been fol- 
 lowed. But this attempt to justify the Govern- 
 ment could scarce be allowed to pass unchal- 
 lenged. It was my Lord Massareene that 
 replied to it, the only man at table that could 
 have done so without presumption. 
 
 * I would have you to consider, my lord 
 Viscount,' said he, ' whether it hath ever 
 
 • disowned any the worst of them. The actions it 
 may, perhaps, on very rare occasions, though I 
 protest I cannot call to mind a single instance ; 
 but the actors never, if they can be depended
 
 52 
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 on to do the King's will through thick and thin. 
 What other title to favour had the Lord Chief 
 Justice, to name but one example, than his utter 
 contempt of the law when the King's will ran 
 counter to it ?' 
 
 ' Ah !' said Sir Arthur Rawdon ; ' and what 
 other title to favour had lying Dick Talbot, our 
 most worshipful Lord Deputy, than his dis- 
 regard of all obligations, human and Divine, 
 save when it might happen that to observe 
 them led straight to royal favour ?' 
 
 * Nay, under favour,' said Mr. Phillips, our 
 neighbour at Newtown-LImavady, * you're too 
 hard on the Lord Deputy there, Sir Arthur. 
 It's not so much his happiness to bask in the 
 King's smile as King — not that I mean to say 
 he holds it lightly, especially when it carries 
 earldoms and such-like gauds along with it. 
 But it's as an Irishman working for the 
 supremacy of the Irishry that he's in his 
 element ; and it's because his views and the 
 King's on that point jump together that they're 
 so thick.' 
 
 ' '' Thick as thieves," you might say, and 
 wrong neither of them,' said Mr. Skeffington. 
 * Faith, 'tis a thieving end they have in view, to 
 take the land from them that have it, and give 
 it to them that want it !' 
 
 ' Ay, truly,' said Sir Arthur, * and the power
 
 A MAN'S FOES 53 
 
 from them that can use It, to give it to them 
 that are as certain to abuse it as death is to 
 come at the end of Hfe.' 
 
 * Ay, and it's sure enough death Is to come 
 before the end of Hfe,' said another, whereat 
 there was a kind of sudden laugh that sounded 
 more Hke a groan. * Well, then, before the 
 natural end of it, I mean, if the Irish get their 
 way. Skeans and great hunting-knives for 
 them that never hunt, and chain-bridles for 
 them that are more used to a bit of straw- 
 rope to their garrons' jaws ! Wasn't it your- 
 self, Mr. Phillips, that got hold of a cool fifty of 
 them in the house of a parish priest the other 
 day ?' 
 
 ' Ay,' said Mr. Dacre, not noticing the 
 question ; ' and every blackguard of an Ultogh 
 with his brace of pistols — or, just as like, his 
 piece — while every man of the Protestant 
 gentry hath an order served upon him to 
 deliver up his arms to Tyrconnel's nominee ; 
 and the nominee certain to be a Catholic, too, 
 to give his fellows news that we're unarmed, if 
 they desire to have at us. Ah, but it's possible 
 they may catch a Tartar here and there, for all 
 their carefulness.' 
 
 ' You may make oath of that,' said Mr. 
 Phillips, very dryly. ' I warrant the anclentness 
 of the fashioning of the firearms of the Ulster
 
 54 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 gentry hath not escaped notice up at the Castle 
 in Dubhn. We shall be having search-warrants 
 presented next at our houses by these same 
 Catholic nominees/ 
 
 ' With very like a clause in them to inform 
 the lieges in Ireland that it's a matter of high 
 treason, with the pains and penalties thereto 
 attached, should arms of any sort be found in 
 their possession !' said Mr. Skeffington. 
 
 ' Ah, like enough,' said someone near him, 
 ' when it's too late to profit by the warning, 
 were one so inclined. That is ever the course 
 of the present Government. The question for 
 us is, Are we going to endure such usage 
 any longer? Is it not time that we should 
 think of means for our own defence, when the 
 Government that ought to defend us is bent 
 on selling us, like sheep for the slaughter, 
 to them that will think no more of killing a 
 Protestant than of killing a sheep.' 
 
 *Morer said Mr. Dacre. 'Faith! it's easy 
 to see you're over-young, sir, to remember the 
 year '41. More ! Why, sir, 'tis a great merit 
 towards Heaven to kill a Protestant, be he man 
 or maid — or infant in arms, for the matter of 
 that. A man that dies in fight against us is as 
 safe of heaven as any Mussulman killed in a 
 war against misbelievers. Why, sir, they carry 
 charms to absolve from the sin of perjury,
 
 ^A MAN'S FOES 55 
 
 suppose they should swear quarter to us if we 
 lay down our arms, and then kill us as soon as 
 they get at us.' 
 
 ' Sir, sir/ said my Lord Mountjoy, that had 
 more than once endeavoured to interpose, 
 but had never been able to make himself 
 heard in the babel, ' sure you're saying more 
 than you have warrant for. There's human 
 nature in Catholics and Irishmen, I dare 
 swear.' 
 
 ' None but what the priest can send to sleep, 
 my lord,' said Mr. Dacre bluntly; 'and never 
 a w^ord have I said but what I've seen on the 
 back of their dirty little charm-papers, wrapped 
 round their holy grains of St. Joan, and so 
 forth. My good old friend, Nicolas Barnard, 
 the Lord Bishop of Drogheda, had them by the 
 dozen, taken from the corpses of the Irish 
 soldiers. I've seen them many a time. Lord ! 
 the trash the poor benighted heathen would 
 carry passes belief — St. James's girdles to 
 ensure against death in batde ; pictures' of the 
 Virgin Mary's shoe-sole to make them proof 
 against cold steel. Sure, I grudge them none 
 of these, were these all ; but it's the doctrine 
 that no faith need be kept with heretics that 
 sticks in my throat. I can forgive them any- 
 thing else but that.' 
 
 ' But that,' said my lord, ' is a doctrine held
 
 :56 . A MAN'S FOES 
 
 only by the Jesuits ; you mustn't blame the 
 Catholics in general for that.' 
 
 ' Devil a bit of it, my lord ! (that I should 
 say such a word before the ladies!),' said Mr. 
 Dacre. ' Or, at least, if so it be, there's more 
 of them Jesuit than owns it. If it began among 
 the Jesuits, the other Papists have taken to it 
 like ducks to water. Think but of the King 
 himself and his promises, and you'll be con- 
 vinced ; you'll very soon see what faith it's 
 wise to put in promises that the priest can 
 absolve from.' 
 
 'You'll argue a long time,' said Lord Mount- 
 joy with some heat, ' before you'll convince me 
 that his Majesty hath ever acted with deliberate 
 perfidy, and I hope 'tis a task you won't attempt. 
 Why, sir, times change ; 'tis no more than justice 
 to consider that. A man might even require to 
 break a promise in the letter to keep it In the 
 spirit.' 
 
 ' Is it so that you deem of the King's breaches 
 of faith ?' asked Mr. Dacre dryly. 
 
 ' Think but of him fairly,' said my lord ; 
 ' impute not evil to him without due cause. 
 You were never wont to be ungenerous In your 
 reading of men's motives, Mr. Dacre. Is it 
 overmuch to ask the same charity for your 
 Sovereign that you show to men your equals ?' 
 
 My lord spoke with the dignity that became
 
 A MAN'S FOES 57 
 
 him, and It told to advantage among the rest 
 that were more heated. His sentiments sat 
 well on him, too, his family havingr ever been 
 supporters of the Stuarts, from whom they have 
 derived much favour; as witness my lord's ow^n 
 peerage, a very recent instance. He spoke, 
 therefore, only as he might have been expected 
 to speak, for all his Protestant faith, and he 
 had the advantages of coolness and deliberation 
 besides ; but he carried not a man at table with 
 him, for all that. But Mr. Dacre, putting aside 
 the heat of the moment, appeared to be gather- 
 ing himself together, as it were, to reply de- 
 liberately to my lord's deliberate speech ; and 
 none could help seeing then how much deeper 
 went the bitterness than the heat, it being ever 
 the plainer the calmer he became. 
 
 'It Is perfectly true, my lord Viscount,' said 
 he, * that his Majesty hath often told us roundly 
 what to expect at his hands, and in the article 
 of fulfilment he hath but rarely come short of 
 his word ; for, having promised to chastise us 
 with whips, he hath many times chastised us 
 with scorpions Instead. Few will have the 
 hardihood to deny that. But as a matter of 
 deliberate perfidy, and that since your lordship 
 hath challenged it, what think you of his con- 
 duct to the hiofh diornltarles of the Church ? 
 What think you of his behaviour at Oxford in
 
 58 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 the filling up of the vacant Princlpalship of 
 Magdalen ? Was Farmer a fitting person to 
 hold it in John Hough's room, think you ? We 
 have all heard of what befell the fellows and 
 graduates, all of them that demurred to his 
 Majesty's illegal action in that instance, and 
 that after promises given and repeated. And 
 that is but one case out of many — many. Here 
 in Derry itself is it not within our own know- 
 ledge how he appointed Dean Manby, a 
 Romanist, to the temporalities of the deanery, 
 a thing he hath no more right to do, my lord, 
 than I have to authorize your butler to draw 
 the rents of my Lord Massareene here ? And 
 is a breach of trust less perfidious than the 
 breach of a promise made In words ? These 
 are small instances, perhaps ; I can give you 
 more, and greater, If you so desire. What say 
 you, my Lord Mountjoy, to the means he Is 
 well known to have taken to gain a verdict 
 against persons that were obnoxious to him, 
 and that not once nor twenty times ? He that 
 makes no scruple to pack a jury, not to say a 
 bench of judges, so to steal away an Innocent 
 life, is he not guilty of deliberate perfidy ? May 
 we not ask, rather, if there is any other act of 
 treachery so black that he will stick at It ? In- 
 gratitude is perhaps scarce treachery, yet 'tis 
 flour out of the same bag ; and do but think of
 
 A MAN'S FOES 59 
 
 the reward that some of his most loyal subjects 
 and faithfullest servants have met with, they 
 being Protestant ; think but of his Grace of 
 Ormonde, to take one instance out of scores. 
 The old man died broken-hearted but a very 
 few weeks before the University incurred the 
 King's renewed displeasure — and that none so 
 delicately expressed neither — by choosing his 
 son for their Chancellor instead of my Lord 
 Cliief Justice Jeffries, of whose services the 
 King hath a deeper sense than of Ormonde's 
 and Ossory's. My Lord Viscount Mountjoy, to 
 you and your family the King hath shown a 
 litde of that gratitude which all his faithful 
 servants had a right to expect he would feel, 
 even if he lacked the means to show it. Per- 
 haps you are therefore bound to him, but I am 
 not, nor are any of the rest of us here present. 
 I have nothing to hope from his favour, and at 
 my age 'tis scarce worth while to begin to hold 
 him in terror. I look at his expressed inten- 
 tions, I consider the means he hath chosen to 
 carry them out, and I mistrust both him and 
 his tools. A man that would try to filch from 
 his own daughter one of the three kingdoms 
 that are her just inheritance — as James un- 
 doubtedly tried to do this of Ireland before this 
 precious Prince of Wales appeared — will do 
 anything else that is underhand. I therefore
 
 6o A MAN'S FOES 
 
 say deliberately that I acknowledge him no 
 more as my Sovereign. I hear v/hlsperlngs of 
 an embassy to the Prince of Orange ; should he 
 come over to our relief, I for one will join him 
 with such poor strength as I may muster. In 
 any case, I renounce King James.' 
 
 This was going further than most of those at 
 table dared ; there went among them a long- 
 drawn breath, as It were, of awe at his temerity, 
 and hesitation whether to follow him or no. 
 But the next moment Mr. Skeffington sprang 
 up from his seat with his eyes on fire, as one 
 might figure their passion ; and as he did so, I 
 saw from my place that Sir Arthur Rawdon, 
 sitting next but one to Mr. Dacre, passed his 
 hand in front of Mrs. Hawkins, that sat between 
 them, and grasped the hand of Mr. Dacre. 
 
 ' I am with you, sir !' said he quite audibly. 
 
 'And I, sir!* said Mr. Skeffington in a 
 strange voice, that rang clear through a kind 
 of husklness, like one half choked with his own 
 eagerness. ' Sir,' he went on, ' you have blood 
 in your veins ! Sir, you have a heart In your 
 breast ! You teach us younger men both how 
 we ought to feel and how we ought to act. 
 'Tis no time for passive obedience any more, 
 and the divine rlo^ht of kIno;s doth not extend 
 to treachery and murder, as you truly say. A 
 man might surrender his own neck, perhaps.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 6i 
 
 rather than to break a tie so dear as loyalty ; 
 but the lives of his wife and children, the lives 
 of his sisters and his mother, crave defence at 
 his hands. Sir, I for one will not sit me down 
 cowardly at my fireside, there to be over-ridden 
 by Irish scullogues, for fear of offending the 
 powers that be. I will "gar my hand keep my 
 head," as a good Scotch saying hath it — ay, and 
 the heads of them that depend on me — so far as 
 one man's power may compass their protection. 
 And if there be anything public toward, with 
 the purpose of keeping the right side upper- 
 most, I am for it.' 
 
 'And so say I,' said Sir Arthur Rawdon. 
 ' There are Protestants enough in Ulster to 
 make good their defence against any force the 
 Irishry can raise, so undisciplined as they be. 
 It will be our own fault if we let them come to 
 such a head that we cannot deal with them. 
 I shall do my best to get this properly laid 
 before all the gentlemen of influence in the 
 province, and it will go hard but we make a 
 league that shall be strong enough to set us 
 beyond the need of defence from the Govern- 
 ment.' 
 
 ' My dear Sir Arthur ! my dear Clotworthy !' 
 said Captain Hamilton, with a laugh that was 
 not very merry, but was rather meant to put 
 a face of mere hot-headed talk upon what was,
 
 62 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 in truth, a very serious matter, ' you will be 
 pleased to remember that I hold his Majesty's 
 commission, and not to say anything in my 
 house that shall make it my duty to deliver you 
 up to the military authorities at table.' 
 
 ' Indeed, Mr. Hamilton,' said my Lord 
 Mountjoy, ' I was just about to put you in mind 
 of that same fact of your commission, thinking 
 that your remembrance of it is something of 
 the latest.' 
 
 ' With your lordship's pardon,' said Captain 
 Hamilton, ' I hold it no offence to discuss the 
 King's actions, even for men that hold a com- 
 mission in his name. We have that same good 
 example of Lord Lichfield and his regiment to 
 back me up in mine opinion, showing that the 
 King himself cannot object to such discussion, 
 seeing he doth all in his power to further it. 
 But of course,' said he, with a very sly bow to 
 Sir Arthur and Mr. Clotworthy Skeffington 
 (both of them famous for an excessive zeal 
 w^hich doth run away with their wisdom) ' I 
 can't be a party to absolute sedition under pre- 
 sent circumstances.' 
 
 * That would almost seem to imply,' said 
 Colonel Lundy, who, listening to every word, 
 had yet taken no part at all in the conversa- 
 tion, save to profess himself a friend — ' that 
 would seem to imply that under other circum-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 63 
 
 stances your conscience might perhaps absolve 
 you.' 
 
 I have said already that Captain Hamilton 
 is apt to be imprudent in his speech, though 
 not to Sir Arthur's and Mr. Skeffington's 
 degree, and he is, moreover, as unsuspicious 
 as he is rash. There was that in Colonel 
 Lundy's manner that Avarned me to put nothing 
 in his power, and I would have given much for 
 the chance of speaking but one single word to 
 my husband before he replied. But though he 
 looked at the two lords at my right and left 
 before he spoke, I could not catch his eye for 
 so much as a glance of warning. 
 
 'Well, Lundy,' said he, 'if our Colonel will 
 permit us to speak exactly as we feel — and, as 
 we're all friends, I scarce see why we should 
 forbear it — I believe it will come to that sooner 
 or later. I would fain believe the King's in- 
 tention to be as he states it — to wit, of tolera- 
 tion to Nonconformists and Catholics alike. 
 There might lurk a danger in that, no doubt ; 
 but yet, considering the King's own creed, a 
 reasonable man could scarce refuse it to him. 
 But I sadly fear that all the likelihood runs 
 just the other way, and that as soon as the 
 Catholics are strong enough to do without the 
 Nonconformist alliance, the Nonconformist allies 
 (supposing them to have become such, of which
 
 64 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Mr. Browning tells us there Is no sign at 
 present) will be treated with exactly the same 
 mercy and toleration which King James showed 
 them In Scotland when he was Duke of York. 
 They themselves must look for nothing else, 
 or else do you think they would refuse so great 
 a benefit as toleration when 'tis set within their 
 reach ? That carries " Nay " on the face of It. 
 Now, there's no one here but knows the King's 
 character, how persistent he Is. When he hath 
 set his mind upon a purpose, 'tis like rending 
 his prey from a tiger to make him give It up. 
 I greatly fear that things which might serve as 
 warnings to another man will but provoke him 
 to greater obstinacy — such scenes, for Instance, 
 as that with the troops on Hounslow Heath, 
 whereof we have even now heard, or such as 
 London was full of from end to end as soon as 
 the seven bishops were known to be acquitted. 
 Then, you see, Lundy, and gentlemen air — 
 looking round upon his company — ' the choice 
 would fall to be made. Would we, because we 
 hold his commission, uphold him in measures 
 we heartily disapprove of against the Noncon- 
 formists that are our fellows in belief — measures, 
 too, that he can only enforce at our swords' 
 point ? I would not, for as little of a Non- 
 conformist as I be, nor, I think, would many 
 of us.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 65 
 
 * And If he yielded not to the expostulations 
 of his officers, nor to the desires of the bulk of 
 his troops ?' questioned Lundy. ' If he persisted 
 still with any strength that might be left to him, 
 what then ?' 
 
 'Why, then,' said Captain Hamilton, 'it 
 might come to be necessary to have our com- 
 missions new made out in the name of another 
 Stuart that is known to be as much attached to 
 the Reformed religion as her father is against 
 it, and whose husband is the bulwark and hope 
 of that religion throughout Europe — under 
 Heaven, of course.' 
 
 'Well, Captain Hamilton, I must say that 
 for a gentleman presently holding the King's 
 commission, at all events, you go pretty far,' 
 said Lord Mountjoy. 
 
 ' You may trust me to do nothing against 
 his authority while I do retain it,' replied my 
 husband. 
 
 ' Then, sir, you must not indicate to his liege 
 subjects that, In certain contingencies highly 
 dishonourable to his Majesty, you will think 
 yourself justified in transferring your service 
 to his daughter and her husband, the Stadt- 
 holder.' 
 
 ' Should such contingencies arise,' said 
 Colonel Lundy, ' how would your lordship 
 think it your duty to behave, yourself?' 
 
 VOL. I. 5
 
 66 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Lord ! where do men keep their eyes, and of 
 what use are they to them ? For as Mr. Lundy 
 put this question he looked up the table full at 
 my lord Viscount, and thus I as well as he 
 had a full and even look at him, and of all the 
 treacherous, cruel, and false eyes that ever I 
 saw in a human visage, Colonel Lundy's were 
 the falsest, the cruellest, the most full of the 
 advertisement of treachery. Had Eve looked 
 the serpent in the eyes at the moment of her 
 temptation — to be sure, they all but shut them 
 in the daylight — she might have seen some 
 such expression^ and surely, being a woman, 
 she had been warned. But my lord, sitting 
 in his place, looked this other serpent straight 
 in the face, and saw nothing there but pure 
 honesty. Such is the penetration of a man 
 when suspicion hath not put him on his mettle. 
 
 'Sir/ he said, 'if King James should show 
 himself the vindictive and oppressive and 
 deceitful wretch that these gentlemen do him 
 the honour to suppose him, no man of heart 
 and honour coiM support him. I, being, I 
 hope, a man of honour and of some heart, 
 should no doubt renounce his service like the 
 rest. Perhaps I, too, might go the length of 
 attaching myself to his opponents ; but that,' 
 said he, looking round upon us very proudly, 
 * will never be.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 67 
 
 Alas, my poor lord! he hath had good 
 reason to change his mind since then. 
 
 But Colonel Lundy's face took on the ex- 
 pression that a fox's might display if by any 
 chance he should entrap a lion that he had 
 feared.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW THE LORD VISCOUNT RID AWAY FROM 
 CLONCALLY, LEAVING AN ANXIOUS HEART 
 BEHIND HIM. 
 
 Miserable woman was I, as I remembered this 
 our folly the next morning, before it was time 
 to rise. Through and through the sieve of my 
 memory I passed that which had been said, like 
 one that endeavoured to bray it small enough 
 to pass clean out of mind as a thing of no 
 account. But ever the more I tossed it to and 
 fro, the harder and the greater appeared the 
 clots, the balls that we had made for ourselves 
 to be struck thereby — and undone. 
 
 There was enough in the thought merely of 
 the breach of manners we had been guilty of to 
 hinder me of my rest. He that had honoured 
 us by coming under our roof, that honoured us 
 still by abiding there, all courtesy required that 
 his pleasure should have been consulted before 
 everything else, and certainly in the subjects we
 
 A MAN'S FOES 69 
 
 chose to converse upon. Instead of which, he 
 had been countered and well-nigh browbeaten 
 at my table ; his wishes disregarded for all so 
 plain as he had been driven to speak them, and 
 himself thwarted in his endeavour to turn us 
 back into the paths of prudence. 'Twas little 
 less than shameful rudeness, and I scarce knew 
 with what face I might crave his pardon. 
 
 Then came my thoughts back again to the 
 graver matter ; sure and indeed it was grave 
 enough, the best I could make of it. In the 
 cool reflection of the morning silence I could 
 not shut mine eyes to the fact that we had put 
 our heads into a pretty noose, if any hand were 
 there to draw it ; my husband just as throughly 
 as his friends, in the long-run, for all he had 
 tried to hold them back at the first. And my 
 mind misofave me but there was a hand to draw 
 that noose — a hand that had no distaste to the 
 office. The face of Lundy dwelt upon mine 
 eyes ; I saw it painted out upon the darkness ; 
 I saw it between me and the dawning light ; I 
 saw it as he put the question to Lord Mount- 
 joy, ' In such a contingency, what would you do 
 yourself ?' At the thought of the look it wore, 
 my heart died within me. 
 
 Who could say but my lord, though he had 
 said so much to hold us back from the paths of 
 peril, had ended by thrusting his own neck into
 
 70 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 the same noose he feared for us ? It was even 
 but too likely, a thought whereat I could well 
 have groaned aloud. Why, being wise for us, 
 was he not wise for himself ? Why did he not 
 evade that wicked question ? — which Lundy, 
 instead of being answered, should have been 
 rebuked for daring to put to his superior officer. 
 
 I protest that, unquiet as I was in mind about 
 Captain Hamilton, I had well-nigh been content 
 to bear that trouble could I but have made sure 
 that, whatever peril threatened him, my lord was 
 free of it. It seemed a thing weak to wicked- 
 ness to have sat by and seen him enticed to his 
 own betrayal, when a spoken word might have 
 saved him. I asked myself what spell it was 
 that had forced me to silence. Why could not 
 I have traversed his reply, had it been but with 
 some light jest ? 'Twas a discourtesy I had 
 been well content to answer. Alas ! the thought 
 of the thing I might have done was but an 
 added folly, since it was the thing I had not 
 done. To be wise behindhand is but to lock 
 the door when the steed is stolen. 
 
 Another thing that kept stirring in my mind 
 was that which Adam Murray said to me, when 
 he came to take his leave. ' I would/ said he 
 to me, drawing me apart — ' I would we had been 
 more guarded with our tongues before that 
 sour- faced Puritan, Colonel Lundy.' ' If he be
 
 A MAN'S FOES 71 
 
 but a sour-faced Puritan,' quoth 1 to him, ' we 
 shall do well enough,' whereat he shook his 
 head. ' I mislike him,' said he. ' I wish he 
 had been bereft of his ears this day, or else we 
 of our tongues !' To which I rejoined, being 
 willing to pass the matter off lightly, so to lighten 
 mine own fear, ' The tongue is an unruly evil, 
 Adam ; who can guide it ? Not a weak woman, 
 sit she never so firm in her chair at the head of 
 the table !' But his fear weighed upon me like 
 a fetter, and bound mine own upon me ten 
 times more straitly, for he spoke but mine own 
 thought, and he, as well as Mr. Browning, is a 
 man that hath the leader's gift of making by 
 instinctive apprehension a true estimate of men, 
 their character and worth. 
 
 Well, it was useless, and worse, it was weak, 
 to brood on these things, seeing I could not by 
 brooding alter them a whit ; and so I rose and 
 dressed me, seeking to put trouble aside until 
 such time as Captain Hamilton should awake. 
 He slept as peaceful and as quiet as any child. 
 Men are strange creatures, after all ; danger is 
 but a medicine to them. One should say that 
 it doth but brace them to a new sense of life, as 
 the chase affects a hound that is bred to it. 
 
 Returning to my chamber after the morning 
 round of inspection that I ever use to make, 
 unnecessary though it be, with Margery at the
 
 72 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 heels of the maids before me, I found him 
 awake and astir. The time I judged no bad 
 one to open the matter, before he should 
 come In company of my lord Viscount and 
 his party that were all in the house. Sitting 
 down, therefore, beside him, I gave a loose to all 
 my misgivings and all my regrets, which I found 
 him much disposed to set at naught. 
 
 ' It's perfectly true, Mary,' said he to me, 
 * that we let our tongues run away with our 
 wits, more or less ; but, after all, what doth it 
 matter ? There was none among us but had 
 his share in the pie, not one. And if it were 
 not so, do ye think there was any man at table 
 not fit to be trusted ? Believe me, we're safe 
 enough, for all our folly.' 
 
 ' But my lord Viscount,' said I. ' We treated 
 his scruples with scant respect. How often he 
 desired we would quit the talk of politics ; he 
 might as well have spoken to the winds. He 
 hath good enough reason to think us a set of 
 unmannerly companions.' 
 
 ' It's a certain fact that we should have paid 
 more respect to his cautions,' said Captain 
 Hamilton. ' They met with scant observance, 
 as you say ; but, after all, there were men at 
 table as good as he, and better, that he could 
 scarce look to control with a word, like a 
 dominie his boys. My lord is too good a
 
 A MAN'S FOES 73 
 
 comrade, Mary, not to take into account the 
 effect that a pint of claret under his belt hath 
 on a man's tongue, at such a time of public 
 excitement, too, when matters of State mount 
 into men's brains like wine.' 
 
 * It was for that very reason he besought us 
 to keep clear of them,' said I. 
 
 ' True enough, I believe,' said he ; ' but for 
 all that, you needn't forget that he took his own 
 share in setting the ball a- rolling. In fact, I 
 wouldn't take my oath that it wasn't himself 
 that started it off at the first, asking Browning 
 for his opinion of the temper of the nation over 
 in England. A man that had done that can 
 scarce expect to whistle back his company as 
 the huntsman doth a pack of hounds that have 
 mistook their quarry. My lord is too reason- 
 able a man to bear malice for a fault of discre- 
 tion he led the way to himself. And even if he 
 did, which, I assure you, I think most unlikely, 
 we are as safe in his hands as a babe in its 
 mother's. My lord is staunch to a very fault — 
 a man that might be trusted to keep his mouth 
 shut on the rack rather than hurt his friends.' 
 
 ' I think no less of him, indeed,' said I. 
 * But do you think we can put the same confi- 
 dence in every one of the gentlemen that came 
 hither in his company ?' 
 
 * Now, which of them do you glance at there ?
 
 74 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 said Captain Hamilton, with a look that was 
 anything but satisfied. 
 
 I shook in my shoes, I promise you, before I 
 spoke ; for there is nothing that so angers him 
 as a suspicion that he thinks unfounded. But 
 I judged it a time to use great plainness, so, 
 braving his displeasure, I mentioned Colonel 
 Lundy to him by name. 
 
 ' Lundy ?' said he, amazed, as it seemed. 
 ' Lundy said she ? — heard ever man the like ? 
 Now, Mary, I know well enough that this idea 
 proceeds solely from your anxiety for your hus- 
 band's safety, which it's most engaging of you 
 to concern yourself about so tenderly ; other- 
 wise, do you know, I'd have been apt to tell 
 you that your suspicion of my friend does but 
 little honour either to yourself or me.' 
 
 ' Is Colonel Lundy, then, your friend ?' asked 
 I, with a faltering voice ; for it hath very rarely 
 happened to me to be chidden by my husband, 
 and It touches me very nearly at the heart. 
 
 ' All the officers of a regiment are supposed 
 to be friends to each other, according to their 
 degree,' said he. ' Unless, to be sure, at such 
 times as there may be an affair on foot, and 
 after that's over they're better friends than ever. 
 But I will tell you, my dear and sweet little 
 wife, what Is a very safe rule for any lady to go 
 by : and that's to consider that any man her
 
 A MAN'S FOES 75 
 
 husband brlno^s into his house Is to be treated — 
 ay, and thought of — as his sworn friend and 
 brother all the time he's there.' 
 
 Now, this speech of Captain Hamilton's 
 showed me, as plain as If he had said it, that 
 there was no friendship at all between the 
 Colonel and himself; for this is not the way in 
 which my husband, one of the warmest-hearted 
 of men, speaks of such men as he cherishes a 
 true regard for. Had anybody hinted evil 
 against Adam Murray, for instance, that is my 
 kinsman and not his, how far different had been 
 his denial ! But as for persisting in what I 
 would fain have said, I dared not do it, being 
 clean daunted already by the thought of his 
 anger. 
 
 And yet it was a thing equally beyond me to 
 let him ride away with that man — a traitor, as 
 I would have wagered my right hand — without 
 another attempt to put him on his guard. That 
 which I had said already had done nothing at 
 all, save to Increase the danger, as I was 
 abundantly aware. For well I knew my hus- 
 band, and his knight-errantry of generosity. 
 Knowing the man to be suspected — and, as he 
 thought, unjustly — by one so near himself as 
 his own wife, it was great odds but he went out 
 of his way to repose confidence in him, even to 
 the imperilling of his own safety, so to atone to
 
 76 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 him, as it were, for the insult of my distrust, 
 whereof he knew nothing. 
 
 While I pondered how to lay the matter 
 before him once more, and that without seeming 
 to question his right to forbid the subject, 
 Margery brought litde Roland to the door of 
 the chamber — three years old and a month, 
 almost to a day, and, though I say it myself, as 
 forward and fine a child of his age as one could 
 wish to see. His father takes much pleasure in 
 seeing him trotting about his knees, and it was 
 our custom, whenever Captain Hamilton was 
 at home, to bring Roland into the room Ho help 
 dada to be d'essed,' as he said. As I was play- 
 ing with the little fellow, tossing him up and 
 down, a thought came into my head : I might 
 say that to the child in play which I wished the 
 father to hear in earnest. So, fearing like any 
 coward lest my heart should fail me if I gave 
 it time, I even plunged forthwith into the midst 
 of the stream. 
 
 * Baby boy,' I said, ' dada's going to ride back 
 to Derry this very day.' 
 
 ' Dat's a pity !' said Roland. 
 
 * Tell him to take care of himself, for mother's 
 sake and yours, baby boy,' I went on. 
 
 ' Dada,' said the child, ' mind 'oo takes care 
 and not tumble down, cos muddy and Roy 'd 
 
 ky;
 
 A MAN'S FOES 77 
 
 * Muddy and Roy would cry, would they ?' 
 said his father, smiling. 
 
 ' Yes, they would,' said I. ' If anything hap- 
 pened to hurt father, it would break their hearts!' 
 
 ' Bake 'ems hearts,' repeated Roland very 
 seriously, putting his hand on his stomach, 
 whereat his father began to laugh. 
 
 'And oh, tell him, little Roland,' I went on, 
 taking hold of my courage with both hands, as 
 the saying is — ' tell him that if he were to say 
 anything to any bad man that the bad man 
 might repeat, and so bring evil upon him — oh, 
 Roland darling, whatever should we do ? we'd 
 never smile again.' 
 
 This was far too long a speech for the dear 
 little child to carry, or even to understand ; but 
 one thing he plainly gathered — that some evil 
 was about to befall his adored ' dada.' He 
 toddled up to him with the most pitiful face 
 imaofinable. 
 
 ' Nebby, nebby 'mile again !' said he, holding 
 up his two little hands and bursting into tears. 
 
 Captain Hamilton could not help catching 
 him up to kiss and comfort him. He spoke to 
 me, making a vain endeavour to be stern : 
 
 ^ I could well be angry with you, Mary, for 
 this persistent folly,' said he, * if I did not see 
 you had it so deeply at heart. Will it content 
 you, now. if I promise to be careful ?'
 
 78 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' Careful to the verge of cowardice/ said I, 
 trying to smile, but with tears in my eyes and 
 in my voice. 
 
 ' What, Mary — tears ? You f said my 
 husband, amazed ; for, indeed, 'tis very seldom 
 that I use to weep. ' Oh, the little silly ! Oh, 
 the trick to beguile a man of his wrath ! Well, 
 then, careful to the verge of cowardice,' says 
 he in a different voice, * if that's what you 
 desire in your husband.' 
 
 ' Only in speech,' said I. 
 
 So then he comforted me, as well as the 
 child ; and presently I went down stairs with a 
 lighter heart than I had carried up them. 
 The past could not be undone, that was sure 
 enough ; but yet it was something to be 
 assured for the future, and I was thankful 
 accordingly. 
 
 When my Lord Mountjoy made his appear- 
 ance, I made him at once, and in plain 
 language, the apology that was his due. He, 
 on his part, made as though there had been 
 naught amiss ; never woman had a guest more 
 amiable or one more desirous to discharge her 
 of all blame that she knew herself to have 
 merited. But for all his complacency to me, 
 there was that in his face when he regarded 
 Captain Hamilton that I had given the world 
 to have been able to fathom.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 79 
 
 Captain Hamilton thought It a proper civility 
 on his part to set his guests on their way to 
 Dublin ; Indeed, It is a roundabout road to that 
 city to take Cloncally on the way. Neither 
 can It be called a stage on the journey, being 
 but barely four miles from the Diamond of 
 Derry ; but 'tis no bad starting-place, either, 
 for the river is easy enough to cross at Claudy 
 Ford If the ferry-boat should not be running at 
 Carrlgans. My lord set forth about eleven of 
 the clock, bidding me good-bye with many 
 civil expressions of gratitude and pleasure at 
 his entertainment, which sank me but the lower 
 in my remorse for my remissness. Had there 
 been another party to supper at Cloncally that 
 day, I warrant they had met with a sterner rule 
 from the table-head. 
 
 They left Cloncally, riding in two ranks of 
 three, as they had come, my lord and Colonel 
 Lundy riding in front with Captain Hamilton, 
 and the other three gentlemen behind. Their 
 servants had left an hour before, and were to 
 await them at Strabane with their mails. They 
 rode for a little time, as Captain Hamilton took 
 occasion to tell me in the evening, in the same 
 order as they left the house in, Colonel Lundy 
 having most of the talk to himself, for my lord 
 was something moody and inclined to muse. 
 After awhile he roused himself, and very
 
 8o A MAN'S FOES 
 
 courteously desired Colonel Lundy of his good- 
 ness to ride behind with the other gentlemen, 
 signifying his wish to have some private talk 
 with Captain Hamilton. I could well have 
 danced with pleasure at hearing that, for I 
 took it to mean that my lord himself had some 
 suspicion of his second in command ; wherein 
 I was in error. But it must have displeased 
 Lundy mightily, the born spy that he was, to 
 ride behind and see them talking, and yet to 
 hear no word of what they said. 
 
 Lord Mountjoy being thus left private with 
 Captain Hamilton, began to speak to him of the 
 conversation of the night before, at which my 
 husband seized his opportunity, and expressed 
 his regret that we and our guests had so far 
 forgotten the consideration due to his known 
 loyalty. My lord most graciously put that 
 aside, as he had done to me, declaring almost 
 in Captain Hamilton's own words of the morn- 
 ing that in such times, when public feeling ran 
 so high, 'twas impossible to make men observe 
 such restraints. 
 
 * But you,' said he, ' should have remembered 
 that you stood in a different position from the 
 most of them ; you held King James's commis- 
 sion, which the other offenders did not.' 
 
 This was very true, and could not be denied ; 
 and so Captain Hamilton expressed himself,
 
 A MAN'S FOES ^ 8i 
 
 though saying that some of those that spoke the 
 plainest have held it very lately. At that they 
 glanced into the debatable ground again, my lord 
 endeavouring to prove, what I think he must 
 have found something of the stiffest, that the 
 King's meaning had been honest from the first, 
 but partly thwarted by those that stood near 
 the throne, and partly misunderstood by them 
 that thought themselves threatened. Captain 
 Hamilton, with all possible deference, en- 
 deavoured to justify his misgivings. At last 
 my lord, in the friendliest manner that was 
 possible under the circumstances, brought up 
 my husband's unhappy speech concerning the 
 possibility that he might be driven to exchange 
 King James's service for that of the Prince of 
 Orange. That, he said (and sure it was the 
 case), was going further than any man in his 
 situation had a right to do. His duty made it 
 impossible to overlook it in one of his officers. 
 He begged Mr. Hamilton to give him a 
 positive assurance that he had spoken without 
 reflection, carried away by the heat of the 
 moment ; or else he said he had no choice, 
 save to desire him to resign his commission. 
 
 Could a man in my lord's situation be fairer 
 or more forbearing ? Had it been the case of 
 a brother he was dealing with, could he have 
 shown a friendlier desire to put safety within 
 
 VOL. I. 6
 
 82 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 his reach ? It was exactly true that what 
 Captain Hamilton had said amiss had been let 
 slip in an unguarded moment, utterly without 
 consideration ; so much he might have sworn, 
 and done no violence to his conscience. But 
 what must he do now — led, I must suppose, by 
 some cross devil of independence — but to fall to 
 justifying himself? Half the officers in. the 
 service, he told my lord, and far more than 
 half the men, held the very same mind as he 
 did. My lord himself had avowed sentiments 
 that were but little short of his own. This was 
 what he saw fit to say to his Colonel command- 
 ing, who had just £-07ie out of his way, as they 
 say, to open to him a door of retraction. 
 
 My lord Viscount at this grew perceptibly 
 more haughty ; so much might well have been 
 foretold. He rebuked him in terms that were, 
 perhaps, a thought too severe, considering the 
 terms of friendship upon which they stood, 
 going even so far as to say it was his duty to 
 put Mr. Hamilton under arrest for a rebel, at 
 which Mr. Hamilton bowed very low, and 
 begged to know to which of the officers my 
 lord chose he should surrender his sword. 
 
 Lord Mountjoy at this grew as white as the 
 dead, and broke out with some expression of 
 his personal regard for Mr. Hamilton that 
 fairly took the heart from him for any further
 
 A MAN'S FOES 83 
 
 dispute. He begged his Colonel's pardon for 
 all that he had said that had given him pain. 
 
 ' But, sir,' said he, ' I should deal very un- 
 candidly with you if I failed to tell you frankly 
 at this moment, since things have gone so far, 
 that I have had scruples for a long time about 
 retaining that commission which you have just 
 been talking of taking away from me. Per- 
 haps, considering all that hath come and gone 
 since we rid out of Derry yesterday, it will be 
 best, after all, that your lordship should con- 
 sider that I give it up to you this present 
 minute ; 'twill save you the trouble of de- 
 priving me of it if any word of our unhappy 
 conversation should leak out.' 
 
 ' Have sense, sir,' says Lord Mountjoy — 
 ' sense and foresight. Consider but how it will 
 look if any word of your rashness doth leak out, 
 that you gave up the King's service the next 
 day. Will it not have all the appearance of 
 premeditated treason ? I fear 'tis my strict 
 duty to deprive you without giving you the 
 option to resign ; but, man alive ! don't I know 
 you ? I can't offer you such a dishonour, nor 
 thrust you into such a risk. Why, then, should 
 you insist upon doing so ill an office to yourself ?' 
 
 Upon this they fell to arguing the point, 
 whether it were wiser for Mr. Hamilton to 
 resign his commission forthwith — indeed, he
 
 84 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 offered to deliver the paper itself into the hands 
 of Colonel Lundy the next day, upon his return 
 to Derry — or that he should retain it until such 
 time as my lord himself returned from Dublin, 
 when all risk of scath to them that had taken 
 part in the seditious talk at our table might be 
 supposed to have passed over. Lord Mountjoy 
 was very strong for this latter course. Captain 
 Hamilton, having once made up his mind to 
 broach the subject of his resignation, was 
 desirous (as his manner is) to have the matter 
 over and done with as speedily as might be. 
 For once, as the event proved, his impatience 
 had been the better policy. The haste he would 
 have used had brought, no doubt, its own 
 dangers ; but the delay which my lord recom- 
 mended was but a stumbling course — a hesitation 
 that had well-nigh proved fatal to both him and 
 Mr. Hamilton. But he being so anxious that 
 Captain Hamilton should submit to be guided, 
 and there being some reparation due to him, as 
 well as some deference, my husband ended by 
 accepting his advice, agreeing to continue in 
 command of his company until my lord's return 
 from Dublin, and of his own accord promising 
 to keep clear of politics in the meantime. 
 
 My lord, upon his side, undertook to receive 
 Captain Hamilton's commission immediately 
 upon his return, if he were still minded to
 
 A MAN'S FOES 85 
 
 surrender It, and promised to say nothing to my 
 Lord Deputy which should in any way preju- 
 dice my husband, should he by that time have 
 changed his mind, and be desirous to continue 
 in the service. 
 
 * Though sure,' said he to me, as he finished 
 his account of the conversation, ' there was 
 no need for him to say a word about that. If 
 I trusted him not so far, there's no power in the 
 world should make me delay my resignation 
 a single day.' 
 
 As for me, with all the faith in the world in 
 my lord's kind intention, it was as though a 
 leaden weight had been laid upon my heart. 
 Never a word had my husband said to me of 
 his intention to resign ; not even that morning, 
 when It had been a cordial to me. At the first 
 word of it, I felt it was the one way out of the 
 false position he had put himself into, for, once 
 clear of the King's service, he would be no 
 worse situate than Sir Arthur Rawdon or Mr. 
 Skeffington. It was on my very lips to ask 
 him why he had permitted himself to be over- 
 ruled. But seeing that it was too late then to 
 mend his error, I was even fain to hold my 
 tongue, save that I besought him once more, as 
 he left me to get to horse in the evening, to be 
 cautious, careful to folly even, prudent to 
 cowardice, as he had said in the morning. At
 
 86 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 my earnestness he fell to laughing, calling me 
 all the names of a coward in a kind of loving 
 blame, and asking me if I thought he was like 
 to be entrapped into some act of overt rebellion 
 in the next fortnight ? And so he rid away to 
 Derry through the dusk, leaving a heavy heart 
 and an anxious behind him. 
 
 I strove to put away my fears, and to look 
 at what had passed as he did ; but in spite of 
 myself I was tormented by an instinctive fore- 
 boding of mischance, such as we women have a 
 prescriptive right to. Men laugh at us for 
 them ; but sure 'tis themselves they ought to 
 laugh at sometimes for being too uplifted to 
 profit by them. They are stronger than we, 
 and no doubt wiser, as they say ; but yet It 
 were well for them if they should submit to be 
 warned now and then by those very forebodings 
 that they laugh at. 
 
 As I turned to go back into the house, I 
 caught sight of a spider's web on one of the 
 bushes, In one corner whereof there was a fly 
 struggling helplessly for its freedom. The 
 spider, gorged, I suppose, left it to struggle at 
 its will, secure that It could not break loose and 
 escape. It was even but too faithful an image, 
 to my mind, of Captain Hamilton's case — en- 
 meshed between his written bond and his spoken 
 promise, and helpless to break forth to freedom ;
 
 A MAN'S FOES 87 
 
 nay, hindered by his given word from so much 
 as a single effort for it. 
 
 Moved by I scarce know what folly, I put 
 my finger delicately beneath the fly and care- 
 fully set it free. It prinked itself for awhile 
 where I placed it, and then flew away into the 
 dusk. If it escaped the other spiders' webs 
 that were spread for wandering flies, little doubt 
 but the cold put a speedy end to its poor life. 
 
 ' But yet,' said I to myself, ' it hath a chance 
 to live to its natural term.' 
 
 Then, laughing at mine own foolishness, 1 
 went into the house, striving to forget my dread 
 in the thousand nothings that make up a 
 woman's life.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHEREIN TWO IRISH BLACKGUARDS, A GREAT 
 AND A SMALL, MAKE THEIR APPEARANCE AT 
 CLONCALLY. 
 
 I SCARCE looked to see my husband again till 
 after Lord Mountjoy's return from Dublin, ex- 
 cept, perhaps, for an hour upon some day when 
 he had time to ride out to Cloncally and back 
 again to Derry. It was therefore with the 
 keenest pleasure that I got word, on the 
 Saturday morning of the next week after my 
 lord's departure, that he had his leave for the 
 Sunday, and might be expected that night to 
 pass the four-and-twenty hours In his own 
 house. The one compensation for our many 
 partings was our many meetings. Sure, there 
 is no joy on earth like the first sight of a 
 beloved face after a time of separation. This 
 time, following quicker upon his last visit than I 
 had any right to hope, his coming had a special 
 grace.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 89 
 
 To show a due sense of it, as well as to gain 
 a few minutes of his company, I set forth about 
 three of the clock in the afternoon to meet him, 
 taking Roland in my hand. The day was 
 lowering and gusty, drawing down, as I thought, 
 to rain ; and when we had passed out of the 
 shelter of the garden wall, so raw a wind met 
 us full in the face, blowing from the north-west 
 across the river, that I thought it not wise 
 to face it with the child. I paused for a minute 
 or two on the bridge across the little brawling 
 stream that runs down through the wilderness 
 into the Foyle, looking beneath my lifted hand 
 towards the Waterside of Derry, if so I might 
 descry him on the road. But there was no sign 
 of him, and I was turning away, with my eyes 
 still upon the distance, when Roland pulled at 
 my skirt. 
 
 ' Boy !' said he to me. * Boy under ze tree.' 
 His observation is extraordinary quick for 
 a child of his age. I looked where he pointed, 
 and there truly, under one of the ragged bushes 
 that skirts the course of the brook, lay what 
 might well have passed for a heap of rags. I 
 had never marked it, save for Roland ; but it 
 was no weather to leave a human being sleeping 
 out of doors. Whether he had lain down from 
 sickness or merely from laziness, 'twas clearly 
 my duty to rouse him up. I went towards him.
 
 90 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 and presently could make out that he was a lad 
 of perhaps twelve years. Roland, who seemed 
 mightily taken with him, could make out some- 
 thing more. 
 
 * Boy dot round spots on him's face,' said he. 
 
 This was true, or, rather, it had been truer 
 had he said round holes ; for the face of the lad 
 was most pitifully scarred with the small-pox, 
 seeing which, I bade Roland keep the other 
 side of the road while I roused him up. 'Tis 
 an illness I have little mind to catch. So I 
 kept my hands by my sides, and merely spoke 
 to the sleeper. It was a hard and a cold couch 
 he had chosen, but for all that his slumbers 
 were as deep as if he had lain on down. I 
 called to him half a dozen times before he 
 stirred and sat up. Then I asked him how he 
 could be rash enough to go to sleep out of 
 doors in such a wind. 
 
 'Sure, 'tis safe enough,' replied the small 
 rascal, rubbing a pair of very little bright-blue 
 eyes, 'whin the good angels is goin' about.' 
 
 'The good angels won't prevent you from 
 taking a chill if you do such foolish things,' said I. 
 
 ' Och ! yes,' said he, with a grin that was 
 something of the widest, yet pleasant somehow 
 in spite of its dimensions. * Och ! yes ; wan of 
 them comes and wakens you up whin the cold's 
 beginnin' to catch on to ye.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 91 
 
 'What, you monkey!' said I, 'have you 
 learnt so soon to flatter ?' 
 
 * Not a bit, me lady,' said he with a comical 
 earnestness. ' Av ye haven't come from hivin, 
 sure it's because ye carry it about wid ye 
 whereiver ye go.* 
 
 'Get up this minute/ said I, for the lad was 
 still seated on the damp earth ; ' get up, and 
 tell me how long it is since you had the small- 
 pox.' 
 
 * 'Twas in the cold weather,' said he ; * in the 
 spring-time, I mean. I was up and about by 
 the time the days were warm and long.' 
 
 Hearing that, I was no longer afraid to touch 
 him. 
 
 ' Get up at once from the ground,' said I, 
 taking his hand, ' and tell me how you came to 
 go to sleep in such a place.' 
 
 * Och ! my lady,' said he, and very frail and 
 little he appeared when at last he stood on his 
 feet, though older, I thought, than I had at 
 first supposed — ' och ! 'tis pretty aisy tired I 
 am ivver since the faver, an' it was weary, 
 weary I was when my father left me to go up 
 to the house, so I sat down where he left me, 
 under the tree ; an' it's the truth I'm tellin' ye, 
 an' not a bit of a lie, I never knew I was aslape 
 till you wakened me up. Sure, my lady, I 
 wouldn't desave you !' said he very earnestly,
 
 92 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 fancying^, no doubt, that I looked upon his fall- 
 ing asleep on my premises as a kind of blame- 
 worthy trespass. 
 
 * Is it to Cloncally your father has gone ?' I 
 asked him. 
 
 * 'Tis to the great house, any way,' said he. 
 * 'Tis to see the Captain he came.' 
 
 'Captain Hamilton?' said I. 
 
 ' Sure, it's meself that doesn't know his name,' 
 said the lad ; * but the jantleman that lives in 
 there,' pointing to Cloncally. 
 
 * Then, my boy/ said I, taking Roland by the 
 hand, ' you had better walk up to the great 
 house with us. You will find your father there, 
 no doubt ; and. Indeed, you'll rest more safely 
 beside the kitchen-hre than under a blackthorn 
 bush In weather like this ;' for even as I spoke 
 to him I saw the poor lad shiver In the damp 
 wind. 
 
 We set forth, therefore, without further delay. 
 I could well have laughed at the fixedness of 
 Roland's eyes, which he kept as firmly set upon 
 the lad as one that hath been brought under a 
 spell. In truth, he scarce endured to hold my 
 hand, because when he did so I came between 
 him and the object of his wonder. 
 
 * Werry funny boy,' said he in a tone of 
 reverent satisfaction. 
 
 To me he seemed, on the contrary, a very
 
 A MAN'S FOES 93 
 
 miserable one. He was either footsore or so 
 extremely weary that he could scarce set one 
 foot before the other. 'Tis a thing I never 
 could abide, to see a child in pain, and so I 
 offered him my hand that was free ; it was, at 
 least, a little help. 
 
 'Werry funny boy,' repeated Roland, peeping 
 round my skirts ; and as he said the word, 
 there rose with a startling suddenness from the 
 side of the road that hath no fence a man that 
 was anything but 'funny,' being, indeed, the 
 most evil-looking ruffian that ever I saw so 
 near. I had some ado to avoid letting him see 
 how little I liked the situation, for, indeed, my 
 heart fluttered and beat to my very great dis- 
 comfort. 
 
 ' My father/ said the little lad beside me by 
 way of explanation. 
 
 The man stopped us in a manner that was 
 short to very insolence, much different from the 
 fawning way these low Irishmen commonly use 
 to the Englishry. He seemed a very typical 
 specimen of the sort, with the low, receding 
 brow, short nose, showing too much of the 
 nostril, small cunning eyes, long cheeks and 
 chin, wide, cruel mouth, and for clothing such 
 rags, so foul and tattered, as my people had 
 scarce endured to see upon a scarecrow. Here 
 was a pretty figure to frighten a lady. The
 
 94 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 boy, though poor and thinly clad, seemed yet a 
 creature of another race than his father's. 
 
 ' When will the Captain be at home ?' asked 
 the man, without the least courtesy of ' av ye 
 plaze' or 'by your lave,' and even without 
 removing his hat, which latter omission my son, 
 my little champion, was quick to notice and 
 rebuke. 
 
 ' Off 'oo hat, bad man !' shouted he, with a 
 stamp of his little foot, and in a voice of so 
 much authority that I could scarce forbear to 
 smile, considering the size of him that assumed It. 
 
 With that smile came my courage pricking 
 back into my heart, like the blood into the 
 skin when one hath been nigh to fainting. 
 
 'The child is right,' said I very coolly. * No 
 man that hath any respect for himself forgets to 
 uncover when he speaks to a lady.' 
 
 He took off his hat mighty awkwardly, and 
 with the act of deference it was evident that his 
 insolence began to ebb. With that, my courage 
 rising the higher as his declined, I began to 
 question him about the business that brought 
 him to Cloncally, concerning which he was far 
 from communicative ; but learning that he had 
 walked five or six miles to see Captain Hamil- 
 ton, I thought it a pity that he should be 
 baulked of it for the matter of half an hour's 
 waiting. I therefore directed him to give his
 
 A MAN'S FOES 95 
 
 son his arm and follow me to the house, both 
 of which he did, though with something the air 
 of one that was astonished at himself. For my 
 own part, I, too, was something astonished at 
 myself, for though we were in mine own pre- 
 mises, it was hardly likely that any of my 
 people should be within call should I have 
 need of them. And certes, in spite of the face 
 I contrived to put upon my cowardice, the 
 courage in my heart was of the thinnest. I 
 had much ado to forbear imagining a bare 
 skean in the hand of the Ultogh behind me, and 
 once or twice it seemed as though I had a mar- 
 vellous clear idea of what 'twere like to feel one 
 in the back. 
 
 But presently, for all my fears, we came safe 
 and sound to the house-door, where, having 
 summoned Cargill, I gave him charge to see 
 my two Irishmen safe bestowed in the kitchen 
 and something given them to eat. At this, not 
 a little to my chagrin, a new difficulty arose ; 
 for Roland refused to be parted from the * boy,' 
 and clamoured to be permitted to take him to 
 his nursery. I a little demurred to it at the 
 first, but Roland begged so earnestly that, 
 being assured that more than six months had 
 passed since the other had been sick of the 
 ' faver,' as they called it, I gave my consent. 
 The lad's face spoke for him powerfully, being
 
 96 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 both good-natured and intelligent. His clothes, 
 though poor and worn to a degree, were cleaner 
 than his father's, and showed some sign of a 
 mending hand, whereat I much wondered till I 
 heard from him that his mother was of the 
 Englishry, at which, sure, I wondered more 
 than ever how such an one could have so 
 lowered herself as to become the wife of a man 
 like him before me. I was myself something 
 taken with the lad, and under Margery's sharp 
 eyes sure he could do no harm to Roland ; so, 
 as I say, I consented to allow him to go to the 
 nursery and not to the kitchen. 
 
 The father, one might well have supposed, 
 would be pleased with the notice taken of his 
 son. Perhaps he was ; at any rate, his evil 
 scowl was transformed into a kind of i2:rin, but 
 the grin was so much more evil than the scowl, 
 being less germane to the face, that I could 
 endure his neighbourhood no longer, and so 
 hurried away after the children. 
 
 Willing to m.ake some explanation to Margery 
 of the coming of so strange a guest, I followed 
 them into the nursery, to find that her good 
 heart needed none, beyond the evident weari- 
 ness of the lad. She had seated him already 
 in an elbow-chair, where truly he seemed much 
 at his ease. He had just told her his name, which 
 was one no less Irish than Gorman O'Cahan :
 
 A MAN'S FOES 97 
 
 he seemed, Indeed, to have all the will to tell 
 us whatever we chose to ask him of himself. 
 I was pleased with his openness ; I was pleased 
 with his civil manners, marvelling, indeed, no 
 little at the same until he told us his mother 
 was of the English, when the wonder ceased. 
 The poor lad, though he had a misfortune in 
 his father, had no doubt a heaven's blessing in 
 his mother ; we could discern it more and more 
 evidently in every word he spoke. A towardly 
 lad he was, and one that his mother had no 
 need to blush for, and in his apprehension, as 
 I thought, quick beyond the common. 
 
 Roland broke in upon the questioning, 
 coming suddenly out of his closet of toys, where 
 he had been searching by himself, with a jack- 
 in-the-box of the most extreme ugliness in his 
 hand. He caused it to play up and down in its 
 box with much satisfaction to himself. 
 
 'Zis is '00,' said he to the little Irishman. 
 * Werry like '00 f 
 
 ' Sure, 'tis flattherin' me the little jantleman 
 is !' said Gorman, with the completest enjoy- 
 ment of the jest, and with a glance so comical 
 that Margery and I broke out into a fit of 
 laughter, for, indeed, the puppet was so hideous 
 that to describe Roland's saying as ' flattery * 
 was no bad jest, and I felt my heart warm still 
 more to the lad thereat. One of an ill nature, 
 
 VOL. I. 7
 
 98 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 I thought, had certainly taken it amiss to be 
 compared to such a monster. 
 
 I left the nursery with the children's laughter 
 ringing in mine ears ; sure, there is no sound 
 like it for music in the world. At the door of 
 mine own chamber I found Cargill, who had 
 been there to seek me ; it was to tell me that 
 the Irishman desired speech of me. 
 
 * And what about/ said he, * I'm sure I don't 
 know, unless 'tis to complain of his supper. 
 Indeed, madam, he's just the worst-looking 
 blackguard that ever I clapped eyes on, and 
 that's a pretty long word, too,' says he, ' when 
 a man has lived nigh upon twenty years in 
 Ireland.' 
 
 For Cargill was born and brought up in 
 England, and so hath even a greater contempt 
 for the Irishry than we of the colony, who 
 know that there be good and bad among them. 
 But this O'Cahan was of the worse sort — his 
 looks proclaimed it — and as he stood before 
 me again in the hall, I wondered more than 
 ever what spell he had used to induce a woman 
 of the Englishry to become his wife. From 
 my heart I pitied her, the mismated creature, 
 for that she was one of the better sort the bring- 
 ing up of her son was sufficient proof. 
 
 That which the man desired to say to me 
 was no complaint, but a question — to wit, if
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 99 
 
 I certainly looked for Captain Hamilton's 
 coming that night ? His business, he said, 
 was pressing, and scarce would brook the delay- 
 he had already been led into ; if the Captain's 
 coming was doubtful, he would walk on to 
 Derry, where he would be certain to find either 
 him or some other of the officers of the garrison. 
 This showed me In a moment that it was 
 regimental business he was after, but even as 
 he said it, there came to our ears the sound of 
 my husband's voice speaking to the grooms 
 that were in waiting. Both I and the Irish- 
 man went toward the door, and as we reached 
 it Captain Hamilton opened it from without 
 and entered. 
 
 ' Ah, sweetheart !' quoth he, seeing me ; 
 * sure, 'tis a cure for sore eyes, and sore heart 
 as well, to find you expecting a man at the very 
 door.' And so he would have taken me In his 
 arms, but suddenly he saw the Irishman stand- 
 ing at his elbow. ' Who's this ?' he asked, in 
 the sharp, imperious way he hath with him. 'Tis 
 a trick most officers acquire sooner or later. 
 
 ' Well,' said I, ' 'tis a man that hath been 
 waiting here for an hour or more to see you, 
 but what his business Is I don't know.' 
 
 Captain Hamilton looked at the man from 
 head to foot in a way that seemed little 
 friendly.
 
 loo A MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' What, another of them ?' said he, in a tone 
 so full of anger and vexation that I gazed at 
 him. 'Hark ye, my man! are you an Irish- 
 man of Ulster, desirous to enlist in my company 
 of Lord Mountjoy's regiment of foot ? and have 
 you a letter to me from his Reverence Dean 
 Manby that is to tell me all about the matter ?* 
 
 ' Your honour's a witch of a guesser !' said 
 the man, in some surprise. 
 
 'I'm right, then? Well, you can go back 
 
 to the Dean, and tell him from me Or, 
 
 stay; I'd better read the letter. There may 
 be some reason in this one, or something in 
 the nature of an apology — who knows ?' said he 
 bitterly. 
 
 But having read the letter, 'twas plain that 
 he found nothing of the sort in it, for he spoke 
 with much severity to the man. 
 
 * Go back to Dean Manby,' said he, ' and tell 
 him — with my compliments, mind that ! — that 
 I've no vacancies in my company, and that I've 
 no mind to make them as he desires — by 
 cashiering loyal Protestant men. I'd write you 
 a note, my man, but it's quite unnecessary ; he 
 will hold you blameless, for he hath had 
 the same message from me five times in the 
 last two days, in writing and by word of 
 mouth.' 
 
 The man muttered something that I failed to
 
 A MAN'S FOES loi 
 
 catch, it being in the Irish tongue, which I do 
 not understand. But Captain Hamilton speaks 
 it a little, being country-bred, and he caught 
 this that the man said, and answered it in the 
 English. 
 
 * Make us pay for our pride, did ye say ? 
 And when, may I ask, and how ?' said he. 
 
 Finding himself understood, which he had 
 not looked for, the Irishman began to try to 
 explain away what he had said. This was, as I 
 knew, the sure way to anger Captain Hamilton 
 to the point of actual violence ; he doth so hate 
 and contemn cringing and deceitfulness. I 
 thought it well to interpose, therefore, and did 
 so, speaking to him of his son, and desiring to 
 know if he were going straight home, to which 
 he answered : 'No, but into Derry, to have 
 speech of the Dean.' At that I asked him to 
 leave the lad at Cloncally, promising to send 
 him home early the next day, for, indeed, he 
 was too frail and weary to set out on such a 
 toilsome journey at so late an hour. 
 
 ' 'Tis a troublesome wake crater he is,' said 
 the man, ' ivver since he had the faver.' 
 
 He looked so ill-conditioned as he spoke, and 
 even when he fell to expressing his gratitude 
 for the offer, that I was thankful for the poor 
 boy's sake to have leave to keep him. Had I 
 known what was before us, truly I had been
 
 I02 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 thankful for mine own, and for the sake of all 
 and everyone that I held dear ; for the friend- 
 ships done by Gorman O'Cahan to me and 
 mine — ay, and to the city, and to the kingdom — 
 since that day have out -weighed that poor 
 bounty of a night's lodging by many and many 
 a thousandfold. 
 
 As the man turned from the door, a groom 
 that stood thereby, waiting no doubt his master's 
 orders, was heard to wish ' bad luck to him for 
 a scoundrelly rap.' 
 
 * And what's the use of that, now ?' said 
 Captain Hamilton. ' Is it to anger the man 
 you would like ?' 
 
 * Did you hear what he said, sir ?' asked the 
 groom, saluting, but with a strange flash in his 
 eyes. 
 
 ' No, what was it ?' said his master. 
 
 ' He said, sir — 'twas in the Irish, and under 
 his breath, but I caught it — "They'll all be 
 beneath our feet before long, and then we'll 
 grind the77i /" and sure, he ground his heel on 
 the doorstep as if we'd been beneath it then !'
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN WHICH THE SITUATION IS REGARDED FROM TWO 
 SEVERAL POINTS OF VIEW. 
 
 It was perfectly evident that Mr. Hamilton was 
 extremely discomposed ; for without taking the 
 least notice of the merry laughter that was 
 ringing through the house from the nursery, he 
 walked straight past the door of it into his own 
 room. 
 
 ' Gad !' said he, turning to me, * I'd give 
 something to be at the bottom of this insolence 
 on the part of the Irish.' 
 
 'That man's insolence was sure uncommon,' 
 said I. 'I never saw the like before.' 
 
 * It's little I'd care for him, and all the rest of 
 his equals,' said Mr. Hamilton. ' If they got 
 beyond bounds, 'twould mean no more than 
 treating them to a good beating, to bring them 
 back to their senses ; there's no great difficulty 
 in that, that ever I could hear ! But the thing 
 I mistrust is the backing they must know of ; 
 never a man of the Irishry would dare behave
 
 I04 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 like that in the house of an English gentleman 
 unless he were sure of his backing ! To be 
 sure, there's no secret made of it that it's at 
 Tyrconnel's orders they're moving heaven and 
 earth to bring them into the army. But that's 
 a trifle in comparison with such assurance as 
 this ; it points to nothing less than an under- 
 standing between themselves — for as wretched 
 scullogues as they are — and people in the 
 highest quarters !' 
 
 'But that's no news!' said I. 'We have 
 known for many a day that my Lord Deputy 
 and all his friends would like nothing better 
 than to turn the world about, as I might turn a 
 sand-glass. We have the Irish under our hand 
 at present, but It's pleased the Lords of the 
 Pale would be to set their feet on our neck, 
 ah ! and no less pleased to see their country- 
 men, down to the lowest, setting their feet there 
 too. But, dear!' said I, bent on turning my 
 husband's thoughts to the hopeful side, 'the 
 side that hath the upper hand can surely keep 
 it ; and what's to fear ?' 
 
 ' What would be to fear, my wife,' said he, 
 ' If one were to undermine the foundations of 
 his ramparts ?' 
 
 *Why, to be sure they would overset,' said 
 I. ' But there's never a man in the whole 
 world so great a fool.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 105 
 
 * Is there not, indeed ?' said he, laughing. 
 But the laugh had so little mirth that it daunted 
 me more than his dismay. ' That's good 
 hearing, now! for by what I've seen myself I'd 
 have said it was the very folly that half the 
 Englishry of the province are bent on bringing 
 to pass.' 
 
 * What do you mean ?' said I. 
 
 * Well, Tyrconnel's mind toward us is well 
 enough known, as you said but one minute ago. 
 A Papist of the Papists is Tyrconnel, an Irish- 
 man of the Irish ; he owes us no love by his 
 own showing, and 'tis a fact that he bears us 
 none. It would be the best day of his life if he 
 could contrive to turn the world about, as you 
 expressed it, set his countrymen where we stand, 
 and lower us out of our place into theirs, or 
 worse than that. And his master is of one 
 mind with him, not a whit more friendly. He'd 
 be as pleased as Tyrconnel to see the back of 
 the last Protestant in Ireland.' 
 
 * Sure enough !' said I. ^ The thing is matter 
 of notoriety. But sure, the very openness of 
 their hatred robs it of its danger ; forewarned 
 is forearmed, all the world over.' 
 
 * Wouldn't you say so ?' said he. * Would 
 you ever think that men that knew so well 
 what to look for, should the wrong side come 
 uppermost again, would listen for a moment to
 
 io6 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 his blandishments ? 'Tis enough to make a 
 man believe In witchcraft, but I tell you the 
 truth, Mary ; he hath set himself to disarm 
 the Protestants, and they're willing, to all ap- 
 pearance, to set their own hand to the deed. 
 Ah, would you think that, knowing what they 
 know of the Lord Deputy, they'd let him 
 wheedle their weapons out of their hands ?' 
 
 * 'Tis clear if they do,' said I, ' that the world 
 is altered since Solomon writ his Proverbs. 
 "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight 
 of any bird.'' ' 
 
 * So he said, indeed,' said Captain Hamilton. 
 ' But the wisest of men would see reason to 
 change his mind were he going about this day 
 in the Province of Ulster, or else there be men 
 more foolish than the fowls. The blindness 
 they show passes understanding. 
 
 * But how ?' I asked of him, a little frightened 
 in spite of myself. 
 
 * Well, this that you've seen to-day is a part 
 of it,' said he. 'You know the changes that 
 have been made of late in the Corporation of 
 Derry, of course ?' 
 
 * Cormack O'Neill is made the Mayor,' said I. 
 ' I know that.' 
 
 * Yes, he is,' replied Captain Hamilton; 'he 
 is. And what right hath he to it, I'd like to 
 know, except his name, which is Irish, and his
 
 A MAN'S FOES 107 
 
 leanings, which are all Tyrconnel's way ? But 
 he's no more than an Irish mayor set up to 
 guide a tribe of Irish councillors ; for there's 
 not a man left that's not more Irish than Eng- 
 lish, and that, mark you, could never have been 
 brought about by the Government except with 
 the town's consent.' 
 
 *Any man that is not foolish,' said I, 'can 
 see well enough what that tends to bring 
 about.' 
 
 ' One would say so, at least,' said he ; * but 
 yet he hath no more to do than to begin his 
 piping, and they're all dancing presently to the 
 tune he likes. And having succeeded in that 
 move — I dare say far beyond his hopes — here 
 comes the next. The army must be cleared of 
 Protestants and filled with Papists ; and once 
 that's accomplished, the end's at hand. When 
 the wolves have the care of the sheep, the 
 rending and raven ing's not far off, take my 
 word for it.' 
 
 *Well, and if they should submit to have 
 such watch-dogs foisted on them/ said I, * they'd 
 have none to blame but themselves. But the 
 Lord Deputy hath gone too far at last, I should 
 fancy. He hath begun a measure now that no 
 man will dance to, let him charm as wisely as 
 he may.' 
 
 * I would I could think so,' said Captain
 
 io8 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Hamilton ; ' but the news of every morning 
 gives the lie to such a hope. The drafting 
 goes on apace, I can tell you. The Rapparees 
 have been sent to us by dozens and scores since 
 ever Mountjoy was ordered to Dublin, and every 
 man of them recommended by some Catholic of 
 note — men, I declare to you, Mary, that have 
 scarce learnt yet to walk abroad in the sunshine, 
 'tis so lately they went in fear of a halter.' 
 
 * But the Catholics of note will soon tire of 
 that game,' said I, * when they find their rascals 
 returned upon their hands like bad money.' 
 
 * But that's just what they're not,' said he. 
 * If they were, then all were going as we'd have 
 it, we that have the good of the country at 
 heart. There's scarce a man but has taken 
 them on as fast as they have applied. Lundy 
 himself hath made room for every Catholic that 
 hath been sent to him, and is turning off the 
 Protestants — it's the truth I'm telling you — to 
 make room for them.' 
 
 It surprised me no whit to hear this of Colonel 
 Lundy, though I meant not that my husband 
 should divine it. But he did, and fell at once 
 to excusing him. 
 
 * Oh, I know what you're thinking, Mary, for 
 all so innocent a face as you wear ; but you're 
 wrong. He's no traitor, I'm sure ; but in this 
 matter he's misled, like many another honest
 
 A MAN'S FOES 109 
 
 man. Sure, he hath Tyrconnel's orders, sent 
 direct to himself, I beHeve, since Mountjoy's 
 not in Derry. He's staunch enough, but he 
 hath no stomach for controversy ; he wants to 
 humour the great folk that have fortune In 
 their gift as far as ever he can with safety/ 
 
 ' Call that staunch ?' said I before I recol- 
 lected myself. 
 
 * Ah, well,' said Captain Hamilton, 'let him 
 that is without sin among us cast the first stone 
 at him. There's not a man of us,' said he, who 
 Is himself far more apt to defy the powers that 
 be than to truckle to them — ' there's not a man 
 of us but would like to keep well with head- 
 quarters could It be done. But Lundy's short- 
 sighted in this affair ; he can't see how unlikely 
 it Is that this Government should ever show 
 favour to a Protestant were he never so abject, 
 and he's taking a stick to break his own back 
 In filling his regiment with Papists at any man's 
 bidding. The next thing will be that, the ranks 
 being Papist, they won't brook the command 
 of a Protestant, and then the officers will be 
 cashiered to make room for Catholics to suit 
 the men.' 
 
 * Perhaps he'll even qualify for a command 
 under such circumstances as these,' said I. 
 
 Truly I know not what urged me to speak so 
 to Captain Hamilton of one that I desired to
 
 no A MAN'S FOES 
 
 see thrust out of his confidence ; but so I did, 
 and had my reward forthwith, as, indeed, I 
 might have known. 
 
 'Now, Mary,' said Mr. Hamilton, * you're 
 most unfair to Lundy, and I'm sure I don't 
 know why, for he's civil to a fault to every 
 lady. But give me leave to say to you plainly 
 for once that your suspicions of him are perfect 
 nonsense. No, no ! I may say to you in pri- 
 vate that I think he carries compliance too far ; 
 and, faith ! I told him the same thing to his face 
 no longer ago than this very afternoon. But 
 he's as good a Protestant as any of us. I'm 
 certain he'd quit his command in an instant if 
 he thought that honour required it. But/ 
 added he, after a pause, ' it's an irritating thing, 
 after all, to see him deliberately putting it out 
 of his own power and out of the power of his 
 friends to do anything else.' 
 
 A man convinced against his will, as the 
 saying goes, is of the same opinion still. And 
 sure 'tis no less true of a woman, though, indeed, 
 I had been very happy to be convinced in this 
 matter if I could. My dear and generous hus- 
 band ! even while I grieved for his excess of 
 confidence, I loved it. He were less himself, 
 and therefore less lovable, if he were more 
 prudent ; and perhaps the advantage were too 
 dearly purchased at the price. For all that, he
 
 A MAN'S FOES iii 
 
 that can see no man with his back to the wall 
 without an impulse to take his stand beside 
 him is like to give his wife many an anxious 
 moment. 
 
 * Well,' said I, letting him have his way, 
 'and what course do you mean to hold your- 
 self ? Are you going forth to meet the trouble, 
 or to wait for it at home ? Though, after all, 
 what you have done already leaves you little 
 choice ; your conduct to this very man is pretty 
 like to bring about your ears the whole set that 
 are for compliance.' 
 
 * Faith and indeed !' said he, 'and that's about 
 all the good it hath done, I fear. A man can 
 do but little for or against unless he hold a 
 more important command than mine. But as 
 to what I'll do in the future, that matter pretty 
 well settles itself. I hold my commission under 
 ^protest, as you know, and only until Mountjoy's 
 return ; I shall deliver it into his hands as soon 
 as ever 'tis decent after he comes back. Then, 
 being free of it, 'twill go hard but with the 
 assistance of those I know of that are of the 
 right way of thinking, we get something effectual 
 set on foot for the defence of the province. 
 We've had our warning ; there are plenty that 
 have no desire to sit with their hands folded 
 waitinof for their fate.' 
 
 This conversation, and yet more my husband's
 
 112 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 manner herein, so unwontedly serious, left a 
 deep Impression on my mind — deeper, truly, 
 than on his own, for all the seriousness was 
 gone by the next afternoon when he rid back 
 into Derry. I begged him for all sakes, when 
 he was leaving the house, to remember his 
 promise to me, and use every possible caution, 
 at which he fell to laughing, and told me ' 'twas 
 plain his neck was dearer to me than to him- 
 self, since I suffered such constant fear lest he 
 should put it in peril.' 
 
 'And If It be,' said I — 'as I would not 
 wonder but It may — is there aught In that 
 to blame ?' 
 
 ' Keep a quiet mind, sweetheart,' quoth he. 
 ' It hath a certain value, even to myself.' 
 
 And so rid away, waving his hand. 
 
 ' A merry-hearted gentleman as one could 
 wish to see,' said a voice beside the doorway. 
 And this was the voice of Rabble Wilson, who, 
 having nothing to do on the Sabbath afternoon, 
 had come out to see his master ride away. 
 ' Ay, madam,' continued he, observing that 1 
 marked him ; ' he's the very same e'en noo 
 that I mind him when he was a callan' ; there 
 was never a thing sae fashions but he'd tak' it 
 lauchin'.' 
 
 'It's a habit I've thought at times that it 
 would be good If he could lay aside,' said I.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 113 
 
 For the times when I have the gravest 
 doubts whether 'tis justifiable to treat serious 
 matters Hghtly are those when Captain Hamil- 
 ton takes that way In speaking of my fears. 
 
 * It's a thocht pagan, maybe,' said Rabble ; 
 * but there's a fine rantin' gallantry about It 
 that's gey an' pleasin', too. Ay, my leddy, 
 I'd be gey an' sweered to see the malster tak' 
 his bit o' fashes like ither fowk, wl' the tear 
 m s ee. 
 
 I, making meditation afterwards of all that 
 had come and gone, and all that was like to 
 come to pass, was one moment of his mind, and 
 the next of my own. But things being as they 
 were in Ulster, I think mine own had the 
 uppermost at last, for a man's graces will not 
 mend his neck should his gallantry lay It on 
 the block. 
 
 This visit of Captain Hamilton's took place 
 on the last Sunday of October ; and It was 
 about the Wednesday following, if my memory 
 serve me aright, that there came an orderly 
 soldier to Cloncally, bringing a letter to me from 
 Lord Mountjoy. This was to say that he was 
 on his way from Strabane to Derry, and 
 desired to know If he might go about to Clon- 
 cally and sup with us. It was as though my 
 very wish had been consulted, for had I been 
 asked what favour I should desire of Provi- 
 
 VOL. I. 8
 
 114 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 dence, it had been no other than that Mr. 
 
 Hamilton should have an opportunity to tell 
 
 my lord Viscount of his conduct in the affair 
 
 of these Irish recruits before Colonel Lundy 
 
 had his ear. Accordingly, having despatched 
 
 the orderly in the one direction, I lost no time 
 
 in despatching a groom in the other with a 
 
 letter to let Mr. Hamilton know whom I 
 
 expected, and to desire he would bring whom 
 
 he pleased to bear him company at supper. 
 
 No sooner was he gone out of earshot and 
 
 past recall than I began to repent me of an 
 
 error ; for, indeed, it was one, considering what 
 
 I had at heart, to mention my lord by name. 
 
 I might have been sure enough, and so I was, 
 
 that if Lundy and he had come to words about 
 
 the drafting, it was Lundy Captain Hamilton 
 
 would invite to be his guest, so to avoid the 
 
 look of taking an advantage of him. And so it 
 
 proved, for when my husband rid into the court 
 
 in the afternoon it was Colonel Lundy that rid 
 
 beside him. Nor was there any doubt but 
 
 something was amiss betwixt them, for whereas 
 
 they had been wont to treat each other with 
 
 some familiarity, they were now as full of 
 
 ceremony as men that are newly acquainted. 
 
 ' Faith and indeed !' I thought to myself, 
 * I have contrived to throw away the good that 
 Providence set ready to my hand.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 115 
 
 Captain Hamilton bade me expect Wam- 
 phray Murray and Rosa to supper ; but when 
 Rosa arrived, it was not my brother that accom- 
 panied her, but her own, Wamphray desirinfT 
 to be excused on account of an engagement 
 that could not be postponed. This arrange- 
 ment was none so disappointing to me as it 
 might have been at another time, Mr. Brown- 
 ing having an authority and weight with him 
 that Mr. Murray is something short of; and 
 sure was I that if my husband's conduct should 
 be viewed unfriendly (which yet I scarce 
 dreaded), the influence of Mr. Browning would 
 be thrown upon the side of the balance. 
 
 Lord Mountjoy's arrival followed hard upon 
 theirs. To my surprise, he was alone, save for 
 his servant and half a dozen soldiers of his 
 escort. He was full of the news he brought — 
 that the regiment was ordered to Dublin with- 
 out delay. It had been affecting news to me 
 had I been ignorant of Captain Hamilton's 
 intention to resign ; and so it was to Rosa, 
 who was so. But as things stood, I was little 
 moved by it. I was busy watching my lord, 
 who on his part was busy watching his two 
 officers ; methought he was little surprised at 
 the distance they observed to one another. No 
 doubt he was prepared for something of the 
 sort. For himself, he had plenty of talk, as
 
 ii6 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 he always hath, and it lacked neither point nor 
 wit. But to mine ear there was something in 
 the voice that fitted neither to the matter nor to 
 the manner of what he said. My lord, I thought, 
 was putting a strain upon himself to seem the 
 very same as usual ; and even the men, that 
 are for the most part (God help them !) but 
 surface observers, were quickly aware of it. 
 Perhaps there was that in the mind of each that 
 opened his eyes for once. Once or twice, 
 observing my lord Viscount, I saw his eyes 
 dwell on Mr. Hamilton's face with that strange 
 expression that on his former visit it had 
 baffled my wit to fathom. This time also it 
 both disquieted me and puzzled me ; it was a 
 riddle beyond my guessing ; but none the less 
 I was sure in my heart that its import was of 
 evil, and evil that my lord would fain avert had 
 he the power. 
 
 Whatever the danger, little doubt but frank- 
 ness was an innocent man's best shield ; and 
 to give him the opportunity to exercise it, I 
 very early left the gentlemen to their wine. 
 
 But Rosa and I had not been by ourselves 
 above half an hour, when, something to my 
 wonder, Lord Mountjoy followed us into the 
 withdrawing-room. It is little his custom to 
 leave his wine so early. 
 
 Presently, with one of those charming com-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 117 
 
 pliments which he knows so well how to turn, 
 he escorted Rosa to the harpsichord ; she is 
 known for one that hath a talent that way, and 
 it seemed, as he manoeuvred it, the most natural 
 thing in the world that he should wish to hear 
 her play. ' 'Tis with her he desires to speak, 
 then,' thought I, it being clear enough that he 
 had not followed without some reason. But, 
 having beat time very civilly with his hand for 
 a minute or two, he left her, and came back to 
 where I sat. ' Ah !' thought I, ' 'tis with me.' 
 And remembering his looks at the table, I 
 knew further that he came to speak with me 
 about my husband. Some inner impulse 
 prompted me to tell him that I divined his wish. 
 
 * I see you wish to speak to me apart, my 
 lord,' said I; 'and if I'm not mistaken, 'tis 
 about Captain Hamilton.' 
 
 'You are right, madam, in both particulars,' 
 said he ; ' though I'm at a loss to think how you 
 divined the last. Sure, to be sure, that you 
 ladies have the hearts of men so universally at 
 your feet, that it's no wonder if you read them 
 like an open book.' 
 
 'Tis his lordship's way, as I said a minute 
 ago, to turn a pretty compliment whenever he 
 hath the chance ; but this one rang something 
 flat — it was as if his tongue spoke it without 
 the guidance of his mind. Then he fell to
 
 ii8 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 musing, like one that scarce knows how to open 
 the matter he hath In hand. 
 
 Thinking to lessen his difficulty, I began to 
 speak of the friendship that subsists between 
 himself and Captain Hamilton. 
 
 ' If one that Is In the house to-night had said 
 as much,' said I, ' I ml^ht fear to hear more. 
 But I know I can trust your friendship for 
 Captain Hamilton to speak of him as I would 
 desire ; or as I might myself, that know him 
 the best of men.' 
 
 ' Madam, you may,* said he, and paused 
 again. * I am about to speak of my friend to 
 my friend's wife,' said he at last, speaking the 
 word ' friend ' with some force. ' And that's 
 what daunts me.' And at the words he looked 
 me In the face with an expression so strange 
 upon his own that I in turn was daunted, and 
 sat silent. 
 
 ' Don't be afraid,' said he quickly. ' There's 
 no cause, or at least not much, if you will show 
 yourself as brave and prudent as I think you. 
 I am about to put mine honour Into your hands, 
 Mrs. Hamilton,' he continued, lifting his eyes 
 to mine. Question met question there ; and 
 yet it was not so much a question mine were 
 full of, as an answer to that which he had said 
 — an answer that my tongue strove in vain to 
 frame. Being unable for all my striving to find
 
 A MAN'S FOES 119 
 
 a word to say, I bowed my head for answer, 
 a gesture that satisfied him. * 'Tis safe there, 
 I am well assured,' said he. 
 
 Then, with a sudden change of voice and 
 manner, he went on quickly : 
 
 * But there's no time to lose; I must get back 
 to the table before the others fall to wonder- 
 ing at my absence. It's very strange, Mrs. 
 Hamilton, and raises all manner of suspicions 
 in my mind, but the Lord Deputy hath had 
 news of the conversation that passed at supper, 
 that night I lay here on my way to Dublin.' 
 
 It did not greatly surprise me to hear it ; I 
 thought I could have laid my hand upon the 
 sender, and was on the very brink of saying so, 
 Then I bethought me of my husband's opinion, 
 and held my tongue. 
 
 ' He is much incensed against Hamilton, and 
 I must admit he hath some reason,' continued 
 my lord Viscount. ' For he spoke most foolishly, 
 considering his position, and that supposing his 
 opinions were undoubtedly true, which they're 
 not. I had much difficulty — but that's no 
 matter now. Something new must have come 
 to Tyrconnel's ears since I left him ; for this 
 very day, as I was leaving Strabane, I was 
 overtook by an express, desiring I would send 
 Hamilton to Dublin under a strong guard, and 
 that without delay.'
 
 120 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' I knew it!' said I, half choking. ' 'Tis this 
 new matter of the Irish recruits. Ah, Lord 
 Mountjoy, didn't I forecast evil in my heart 
 from the first moment I knew he was remaining 
 in the regiment in your absence ? I was sure 
 some harm would come of it.' 
 
 'Irish recruits!' said he. 'What Irish re- 
 cruits ? — this is all news to me. But 'tis no 
 matter now,' he went on, not waiting for an 
 explanation. * The thing is to save him ; he 
 couldn't remain in the service any way. Madam, 
 if I send him to Dublin there's but one end to it.' 
 
 * I know,' I said. ' Lord Russell's — Algernon 
 Sydney's.' 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 ' They're savage,' said he. * Their best 
 friends can't deny it. But it's a hard service 
 to require of a man, to deliver up his friend to 
 his death, and that for a piece of mere folly of 
 the tongue ; for I do think that his words had 
 no purpose behind them — then.' 
 
 'Of treason, or of sedition,' said I, 'none! 
 Why, 'twas not until your lordship called him 
 to account for them that he so much as thought 
 of throwing up his commission.' 
 
 * You're sure of that ?' he asked of me. 
 ' Perfectly sure,' I replied to him. 
 
 ' Ah !' said he, ' that goes far to settle the 
 matter, then ; that's what I've been turning
 
 A MAN'S FOES 121 
 
 back and forth in my mind all day. Madam, I 
 fear 'tis only too plain where my duty lies ; I've 
 had orders from them I'm bound to obey.' At 
 that it seemed as if my heart would have 
 stopped beating ; and as for my Lord Mountjoy, 
 I thought he was but little less agitated than I. 
 * But I can't do it !' he broke out ; ' no, not 
 though my refusal set me in his place. Your 
 words have assured me of the thing I feared, 
 that 'twas I that kept him within their power. 
 By mine honour, I had no thought therein but 
 for his own good ! But for all that, except for 
 me he'd have been free of his commission 
 before ever Tyrconnel heard a word to his dis- 
 advantage. I can't have it on my mind that I 
 first tied his hands — however unwittingly — and 
 then sent him to Dublin, like a rat in a trap, to 
 his death. No, not for all Tyrconnel's honours. 
 I'll give him a chance to make his escape ; and, 
 madam, 'tis to this end I ask your help.' 
 
 ' How ?' I asked. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty I formed the single word, for my lips 
 and throat seemed as wooden as those of any 
 puppet, and all but refused to answer to my will. 
 
 * Very simply,' said he. ' I will quarrel with 
 him to-night — here, in his own house — on some 
 pretence or other. I will order him to his own 
 room under arrest. It will be your business to 
 get him away before the morning.'
 
 122 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 * I'll do it,' said I, feeling my courage come 
 back with a rush, the moment I knew the thing 
 I had to do. 
 
 ^ Understand me,' said my lord, with that in 
 his voice which was both pleading and com- 
 manding. ' 'Tis out of no sympathy with his 
 views I'm doing this. Had I relieved him of 
 his commission when he desired it, I make little 
 doubt he'd have been riding up and down the 
 country by this time, organizing some sedition, 
 but none so easy to lay hands on. He's a man 
 that doesn't stand still, as you know. He'll get 
 himself into further scrapes, I am very sure ; 
 and then, should I take him, 'twill be out of my 
 power to show him favour. My duty is to the 
 King, my master, whom he hath renounced. I 
 may say it has been a difficulty of the hardest 
 to choose between them this time. And if 
 'twere going to anything less than certain 
 death ' 
 
 * My Lord Mountjoy/ said I, ' I scarce can 
 wonder at your scruples ; and I scarce can 
 thank you for your decision. It Is life to me, as 
 well as to Captain Hamilton — that's all. If 
 ever I can repay you — but that's impossible.* 
 
 He bent and kissed my hand. 
 
 * We part friends to-night,' said he, * what- 
 ever the fortunes of the times may turn us 
 to.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 123 
 
 ' Never anything but friends !' said I, ' while 
 I remember the kindness you've done to me and 
 mine this day/ 
 
 He rose to go ; but after what had passed 
 between us, there was that in my heart that for- 
 bade me to let him go unwarned. Mistaken I 
 might be, it was even likely, but to keep silence 
 with such a suspicion brooding in my mind had 
 sure been flat ingratitude. 
 
 * My lord,' said I, ' one moment. My mind 
 misgives about one that is at your side. Perhaps 
 I ought not to say so, but I can't be thankless 
 enough to keep back a warning that hath the 
 least chance of being of use to you. Be wary 
 in your dealings with Colonel Lundy. 'Tis he, 
 I do think, that hath betrayed our conversation 
 to the Lord Deputy.' 
 
 * What makes you think so ?' said he, knitting 
 his brows. 
 
 ' Ask a woman for her reason !' said I. 'I 
 have none that can be put into words, but the 
 next time he asks you a question that you would 
 not answer to one you thought unfriendly, look 
 you in his eyes, and be guided by what you see 
 therein.' 
 
 ' I think you're wrong,' said he, musing. 
 ' Lundy's staunch enough to his friends, though 
 he hath a queer way of crying with the hounds
 
 124 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 and running with the hare. I think he is safe, 
 Mrs. Hamilton.' 
 
 * It can harm none to use caution,' said L 
 
 * No/ said he ; ' but 'tis unnecessary, I'm 
 persuaded.' And so left the room, without 
 another word.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A QUARREL AND AN ARREST. 
 
 Rosa turned round about in her seat by the 
 harpsichord, and looked at me with a smile. 
 
 * Now, there's many a man,' said she, * would 
 have thought it no more than manners to 
 bestow a word of thanks upon me for my music 
 before walking away in such a hurry. And 
 there's many a woman,' quoth she most demurely, 
 ' would have the grace to express some sense of 
 the good office I've done her. Haven't I sat 
 here playing for better than a quarter of an 
 hour, though neither of you marked a note -^ 
 What I not a word even now ? Such thankless- 
 ness I never saw the like of!' And so turned 
 round in her seat (for, indeed, I was in no mood 
 for jesting, and had never a word to answer), 
 and struck into another measure. 
 
 My eyes were fastened on the door by which 
 the lord Viscount had quitted the room. Sure, 
 I was sunk in musing, and yet they saw a thing
 
 126 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 which for another moment my mind took no 
 note of. This was that the door — the very 
 door mine eyes were fixed on — was first most 
 noiselessly pushed open, and then as stealthily 
 shut. For one moment, as I said, this conveyed 
 no meaning to my mind ; the next, I promise 
 you, it brought both meaning and fear. I 
 sprang up from my seat by the fire, and opened 
 the door as quick as ever I might ; indeed, I 
 think not many seconds passed ere I was in the 
 passage, looking both to right and left for the 
 intruder. It was perfectly well lighted both ways, 
 but for all that there was no sign of any creature 
 in it. Then I went forward to the staircase, 
 and looked there for my spy, but never a soul 
 could I discern. I leant upon the balustrade, 
 scanning the polished oak steps, as though I 
 thought to see footprints thereon that would 
 enlighten me ; and there came upon me the 
 strangest feeling of approaching disaster — a 
 certain expectation of mischance. One that is 
 condemned to die may have the like, as every 
 hour that passes brings him nearer to his inevit- 
 able doom. I went along the passage from end to 
 end, opening every door and looking into every 
 room, without finding, as they say, ei^/ier beast 
 or body. Then, much discomposed, 1 went 
 back Into my withdrawing-room. Rosa sat 
 where I had left her, her fingers idle upon the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 127 
 
 keys ; the fire burnt bright and cheerily ; the 
 room was eloquent of home and peace, and yet 
 it struck me with a sense of incongruity — there 
 was no room in my mind for its comfortable 
 brightness. Naked weapons, angry faces, the 
 scaffold, the block, and things yet worse than 
 these, filled it to overflowing. I would fain have 
 been up and doing, had I known the things 
 whereto I should set my hand. 
 
 The smile died from Rosa's face as she looked 
 at mine. 
 
 * Why, Mary, what's the matter ?' said she. 
 
 * You look as if you had seen a ghost.' 
 
 ' There's either a ghost or a spy in the house, 
 I believe,' said I, trying to make as though I 
 jested ; ' and I scarce know which is the worse.' 
 
 ' Let it be a ghost, then,' said she, laughing. 
 
 * They're harmless creatures compared to the 
 other sort. I'd rather have ten ghosts than one 
 traitor to deal with.' 
 
 'We're not permitted the choice,' said I, 'or 
 else I think I'd differ from you. Spies you 
 may circumvent, but ghosts you can't' 
 
 ' Spies tell tales,' said she, ' and ghosts do 
 nothing worse than frighten you.' 
 
 * They do that same most effectually,' said I, 
 putting my hand to my heart, where was so 
 obstinate a sinking as was hard to combat. 
 
 ' Why, but truly,' said she, ' you do look
 
 128 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 strano-e.' She left her seat and came to me, 
 putting her arm about me. ' You did not really 
 see aught to frighten you, Mary, did you ?' she 
 continued, smiling, ' either human or — other- 
 wise ?' 
 
 * I scarce can tell myself, dear heart,' I 
 answered, feeling myself a fool, yet knowing 
 myself to have reason in my folly. 
 
 It had eased my mind mightily to tell her 
 everything — both what my lord Viscount had 
 said and the other mystery — and yet I thought 
 it better to forbear, for I knew myself the 
 stronger woman of the two ; yet here was I 
 all but bereft of my wits by what had passed. 
 Why. I thought, should I make her partaker 
 of my terrible fear ? So I tried to smile in 
 answer to her smiling instead. 
 
 * Play to me, dear,' said I, willing to gain 
 some minutes for meditation — 'play to me, like 
 David to Saul, and lay the evil spirit. A ghost 
 should be easier laid than a devil, one should 
 think, especially if 'tis an imaginary ghost.' 
 
 * And shall I be as good at the laying as 
 David, do you think ?' said she, a little more 
 satisfied about me. And so began to let her 
 fingers wander over the keys, where presently 
 she struck into a dainty measure that fitted 
 little with my mood. 
 
 Truly, I scarce marked it. I sat down in
 
 A MAN'S FOES 129 
 
 my place by the fire, and tried to bring before 
 my mind a clear picture of what was like to 
 happen presently in the dining-room, and what 
 I was to do to get my husband safe away 
 before the morning. My lord Viscount's 
 words, as I recalled them, laid the ghost far 
 more effectually than Rosa's music. I could 
 all but hear him speaking them : ' I will order 
 him to his room under arrest. It will be your 
 business to get him away.' 
 
 I put my head between my two hands, so to 
 press help out of my brain, as it were. Away 
 — where to ? I asked myself. A hiding-place 
 is nothing difficult to find in our part of the 
 country ; but a safe hiding - place, and one 
 whence he could communicate with his friends, 
 was another matter. And my lord had said we 
 were to look for no further favour at his hands 
 should Captain Hamilton fall into them again. 
 
 Away — I thought again, having no light on 
 that point — but how ? How to get him forth 
 of the house, to begin with ? My lord was to 
 order him into his bed-chamber ; now, that is 
 on the second floor, and none so easy to steal 
 away from. And even were that contrived, 
 could I count upon his own consent ? I asked 
 myself. My husband hath a spirit so high that 
 if he thought himself wrongfully accused, 'twas 
 a great chance but he might refuse to go away 
 
 VOL. I. 9
 
 130 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 at all, and insist upon staying to stand his trial 
 by court-martial. For of course my lord could 
 give him no hint of his orders to send him to 
 Dublin for his trial ; nay, I fell to wondering 
 whether I might myself without a breach of 
 confidence towards my lord, for he had confided 
 his honour into my keeping, and should a word 
 of that leak abroad, where were it ? That were 
 a poor return for his friendship. But yet it 
 was a weapon he had himself put into my 
 hands, and even while I meditated how to use 
 it most considerately, I thanked him from my 
 heart for trusting me with one so effectual. 
 
 As I sat wringing my mind for an expedient, 
 and finding none that seemed sufficient, there 
 rose upon a sudden, from the vestibule below, 
 a noise of voices loud in anger. ' Presump- 
 tuous ' and ' insubordinate ' we could clearly 
 hear in the voice of Lord Mountjoy. Rosa 
 got up from the instrument, and I from my 
 seat, and so rapt had I been in my musing 
 that I protest my alarm was as real as her own, 
 and no acting, and this in spite of the warning 
 my lord had given me. We ran together to 
 the staircase, whence we could see and hear 
 all that was a-doing in the hall ; but before we 
 came there my wits had come in place again, 
 and I knew that this was no more than I had 
 to expect. For Rosa, she was so pale that I had
 
 A MAN'S FOES 131 
 
 given much to be able to tell her that which 
 had been told to me. As this was wholly out 
 of the question, I was even compelled to continue 
 cruel. We leant together over the balustrade, 
 looking and listening. The first man I saw 
 was Cargill, with a face so fixed in dismay that 
 'twas like a mask, and with a silver serving- 
 trencher half dropping from his hand, standing 
 in the corner by the entrance-door. Leaning 
 over, I could see all the rest — my husband 
 standing very pale and proud, and Lundy 
 beside him with his drawn sword in his hand. 
 My Lord Mountjoy stood in the doorway of 
 the dining-room, where his face was in the 
 shadow, but his attitude was even more full of 
 pride than Captain Hamilton's, I thought. He 
 was the first to catch sight of Rosa and me at 
 the top of the stair, and stopped in the midst 
 of what he was saying. There was a moment's 
 pause, and then my husband spoke. 
 
 * My lord Viscount,' said he, ' I would pray 
 you to consider whether it can ever be the duty 
 of a man to act against his conscience.' 
 
 'Sir,' answered Lord Mountjoy, 'a soldier 
 that hath accepted a commission hath no busi- 
 ness to scrutinize his orders or indulge himself 
 in scruples. He is a man under command, and 
 hath no responsibility of decision, but only of 
 obedience. His duty, if he cannot conscien-
 
 132 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 tiously carry out the orders he receives from 
 his superiors ' 
 
 * Is to resign his commission, my lord, as it 
 seems to me,' said Captain Hamilton, very 
 calm, * which I would beg you of your goodness 
 to recall to mind that I endeavoured to do 
 before your lordship's departure for Dublin a 
 fortnight ago. Whether it be fair to hold me 
 responsible for my disobedience to orders that 
 I foresaw, and that I tried to throw up my 
 commission for fear of ' 
 
 ' Why, sir,' said my lord, ^ what could it 
 matter to you whether your company had 
 Irish Catholics in it or not, or whether it con- 
 sisted entirely of Irish Catholics, for the matter 
 of that, when by your own showing you were 
 but waiting my return to leave the army 
 altogether.' 
 
 * I can scarce imagine you put that question 
 in earnest, my Lord Mountjoy,' answered my 
 husband. ' It's not a thing to promote the 
 welfare of the country to have the army filled 
 with Irish Catholics, as you well know, and, 
 sure, the welfare of the country matters to 
 every man that hath a stake in it.' 
 
 * It's not the business of any officer to 
 criticise his orders, as I told you before,' said 
 my lord. ' Gad ! if every man in the army 
 were to make himself the judge of everything
 
 A MAN'S FOES 133 
 
 he's told to do, things were at a pretty pass 
 indeed !' 
 
 * Your lordship's conduct Is an unimpeachable 
 example of your opinion,' said Mr. Hamilton, 
 beginning to lose his temper, ' for you can 
 scarce think this fair treatment of an ancient 
 comrade and friend.' 
 
 ' Man alive ! can't you be silent ?' said Lundy 
 at his elbow. 
 
 * No, I can't, Lundy, and I won't, either, for 
 'tis shameful!' said Mr. Hamilton, turning upon 
 him. ' Look at his face there, and say which 
 of us is the one that's ashamed of his conduct.' 
 My lord had taken a step forward, so that now 
 he stood in the light beside the rest, and, in 
 truth, he looked ill at his ease. ' By heaven !' 
 said Captain Hamilton, ' he looks a traitor, and 
 as for you, Lundy ' — turning upon him almost 
 with violence — 'you look a fiend.' 
 
 ' Captain Hamilton,' said my lord, putting 
 visibly a force upon himself to be calm — Indeed, 
 I believe the last taunt had told home, and in 
 his own despite his voice shook — ' Captain 
 Hamilton, this violence will avail you nothing. 
 I have but acted In accordance with my views 
 of the duty of a soldier ; and, indeed ' — at this 
 the words seemed to escape from a leash, as 
 one might figure it — * indeed, it does come 
 hard on a man to treat an old friend and
 
 134 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 comrade with so much severity ; but I have 
 no choice that I can see. Colonel Lundy, may 
 I beg you will conduct Captain Hamilton to 
 his bed-chamber, where he will remain under 
 arrest till to-morrow morning ?' 
 
 He was turning away, when I heard Lundy 
 mutter something about ' parole,' a most spiteful 
 suggestion from one that was so well aware of 
 Mr. Hamilton's temper. Well he knew that 
 his word once given had been an effectual fetter 
 to him, and one he had never tried to rid him- 
 self of. His lordship knew it also, for which I 
 was most thankful, though my heart gave one 
 throb that all but choked me. 
 
 * Sir,' said he, turning on Mr. Lundy with 
 a face that might well have struck him silent, 
 * I'm not in the habit of accepting suggestions 
 from my subordinates.' 
 
 ^ It might be better if you did, for all that,' 
 said Lundy, quite unabashed. * Come away, 
 Hamilton ; I'll have to rope ye.' 
 
 ' A guard at the door and at the window will 
 be sufficient,' said my lord, ' and that no one 
 enters the room.' 
 
 * My lord,' I exclaimed where I stood, ' may 
 not I go to my husband ?' 
 
 He looked up, and caught my eye. 
 
 * You may, madam ; but no one else.' 
 
 His glance had a meaning in it that I tried to
 
 A MAN'S FOES 135 
 
 fathom, but in vain. Perhaps it was some hint 
 he wished to give me of the mode wherein I 
 might contrive Captain Hamilton's escape. 
 But even while I had been listening to them, a 
 plan had sprung up full-grown, as one might 
 say, in my head. It was as if a chart lay plain 
 before mine eyes, with my course laid down 
 thereon ; and not my course alone, but every 
 rock and shoal whereon my ship was like to 
 strike or stick. 
 
 Here was the plan. Attached to my room 
 there is a closet that is my wardrobe ; it hath a 
 door that is commonly kept locked, which opens 
 into the servants' quarters. Nothing could be 
 easier than that Captain Hamilton should leave 
 the room by this door ; but then, of course, 
 began the danger of detection. Four of the 
 escort of six soldiers that had accompanied my 
 lord would be in that part of the house ; 'twas 
 very possible that one of these might recognise 
 him. But even while I thought of that risk, I 
 thought of half a dozen expedients to lessen it. 
 The sentinel that was to be placed below the 
 window in the court was a more serious obstacle. 
 Yet there was a way of passing him that seemed 
 mighty simple, as I considered it. Would 
 Fortune but stand my friend, it appeared to me 
 that Captain Hamilton's escape was as good as 
 made.
 
 136 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 The great danger was lest his promise, 
 refused by my lord (with how much of friend- 
 ship !) should be pledged to Lundy before I 
 could prevent it. And in truth, as he came 
 upstairs in Lundy's custody, it seemed as though 
 this were about to be done in my very hearing. 
 
 * You are a friend, Lundy, after all,' said he, 
 * and I beg your pardon for the words I made 
 use of to you a minute ago. I thank you for 
 the proposal you made to my lord, though it 
 had no success.' 
 
 Could anything seem more likely than that 
 Lundy should hereupon renew the offer ? But 
 he forbore. Perhaps he feared that Lord 
 Mountjoy should hear it, for the door of the 
 dining-room stood wide open. 
 
 As if everything conspired to forward my 
 design, the two gentlemen, setting foot upon 
 the landing where we stood, discovered Rosa to 
 be on the very point of fainting. I had never 
 marked her, being so rapt in my planning. But 
 here was the very diversion I desired ; and 
 in the confusion of calling to Cargill and to 
 Margery, I succeeded in whispering to Captain 
 Hamilton that he should on no account pledge 
 his parole cThomiettr to attempt no escape ; for 
 I had a plan that seemed feasible enough, to 
 get him away. 
 
 Then, pretending more care for Rosa than
 
 A MAN'S FOES 137 
 
 I fear I felt, for truly it was no time for me 
 to abandon myself to pity for another woman's 
 weakness, when a man's life hung on mine own, 
 I desired to have Mr. Browning informed of his 
 sister's state. As was to be looked for, he was 
 with us in a moment. I told him, to have the 
 opportunity of a word apart (for his assistance was 
 most essential to my plan), that there was cold 
 water in plenty in my room, would he but help 
 me to fetch it. And the moment we were within 
 the door, I begged him to ask a pass of my lord 
 Viscount, for himself and his servant to leave at 
 midnight. He had no servant in the house ; 
 but he smiled, understanding me as a woman 
 might have done. 
 
 ' I fear 'tis of no use, and that he will not 
 grant it/ said he. ' But I will ask it.' 
 
 ' Ay, do,' said I. 
 
 And in another moment we were with the 
 rest. Not one of them seemed to have marked 
 our absence ; but Rosa had somewhat recovered, 
 and was fit to be supported back into the with- 
 drawing-room. It was Captain Hamilton's arm 
 she clung to. To be sure, he was in a sort her 
 brother, and she thought his danger greater 
 than it was. Colonel Lundy kept as close to 
 him as his shadow, and at that I could have 
 smiled, for my warning was given. It was 
 Cargill I wished to speak to at that moment,
 
 138 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 and that was so easy that It needed no contriv- 
 ing. I desired he would have two horses in 
 readiness for Captain Browning, who would 
 leave Cloncally at midnight wz^/i Ms servant. 
 At that Cargill opened his eyes. Then I 
 ordered further that he would bring a suit of his 
 own clothes at once into Captain Hamilton's 
 bed-chamber ; and at that he smiled, smoking^ 
 as they say, my whole plot. But it mattered 
 nothing, for he is as true as steel. Then I went 
 into the room after the rest, to find Colonel 
 Lundy in the act of ordering my husband into 
 his bedroom. He had, he declared, allowed 
 him already more grace than he might be able 
 easily to answer for to my lord. It was to no 
 purpose that Captain Hamilton begged for only 
 a few minutes longer, that he might first see 
 Rosa perfectly restored to herself ; Lundy was 
 inexorable. Not another moment would he 
 grant ; Captain Hamilton must go at once into 
 his prison. Hereupon Rosa professed herself 
 too weary and too sick at heart to ride back to 
 Derry that night. It was much my will that 
 she should remain at Cloncally, and I would 
 have gone with her to see her comfortably 
 bestowed in her chamber ; but Lundy had a 
 word to say to that. 
 
 'Mrs. Hamilton,' said he, Mf you wish to 
 remain with your husband, as my lord hath
 
 A MAN'S FOES 139 
 
 given you leave, you must even leave Mrs. 
 Murray to the care of your waiting-woman, and 
 come with us. When once I have shut the 
 door on Hamilton, I shall not suffer it to be 
 opened again to-night, I promise you.' 
 
 In vain I pleaded, promising to come alone 
 to the door of the room ; he was harder to move 
 than any rock. So I even did as he ordered, 
 finding my ill opinion of him nowise lessened by 
 his harshness and the manners of a bluff soldier 
 that he had assumed. I placed Rosa in her 
 brother's arms ; I kissed her, and gave Margery 
 charge to tend upon her in my place. Then I 
 went into mine ow^n room, followed by Captain 
 Hamilton. But before I could open to him a 
 word of what I meant to do, Colonel Lundy 
 came in after us, and shut the door behind 
 him.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW ONE MADE HIS ESCAPE FROM CLONCALLY, 
 THOUGH HIS GAOLER SAT AWAKE AND SAW 
 HIM. 
 
 He came in, as I said, and shut the door 
 behind him ; he gave a glance around, and 
 then locked the door and put the key in his 
 pocket. After that he came forward in a very 
 leisurely manner to the fireplace, beside which 
 the Captain and I were standing. Without 
 saying a word, he drew in an elbow-chair and 
 seated himself with something of ostentation, as 
 one who should say : ' Mark me ; here I am, and 
 here I mean to stay, whether you like it or no.' 
 We looked at him for an explanation, not a 
 little astonished at conduct so extraordinary, 
 to which look he answered nothing, save by a 
 smile that had something in it both of triumph 
 and of malice. It set me thinking. It was the 
 face of a man that had turned the tables on one 
 that had thought to set him at a disadvantage.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 141 
 
 But why, I wondered, should Lundy's face wear 
 such a look when he regarded Captain Hamil- 
 ton ? Was there some special ill-blood between 
 them whereof I knew nothing ? Was it Lundy, 
 I wondered, that had spied upon my Lord 
 Mountjoy and me ? Had he heard my lord 
 declare his design to spare my husband ? And 
 if he had, was he concerned to baulk the one 
 of his wish and the other of his poor chance for 
 life and freedom ? I shrank at the time from 
 imputing so much baseness to any man that 
 might claim the title of a gentleman, even one 
 in whom I had so little trust, and for whom I 
 had so little liking. But for all my desire to 
 avoid the kindred baseness of undue suspicious- 
 ness, the thought sprang up in my mind again 
 and again that night, nor could I rid myself of it 
 afterwards, when I came to think the matter 
 over as a thing that is past and done with. 
 
 In the meantime Lundy had brought out his 
 pistols, and was making a great show of looking 
 to their priming, and renewing the same. We 
 stood and looked at him the while, waiting to 
 be enlightened upon the subject of what he 
 meant to do. But not a word passed till 
 Lundy had finished the reloading of his 
 pistols. Then at last he looked up and spoke 
 to us, with that evil smile again upon his 
 face.
 
 142 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 * Sir,' said he, * and madam, you no doubt 
 expect me to e^ace myse//, as the Frenchmen 
 say ; to sit without there upon the landing and 
 watch the door rather than yourselves. Well, 
 'tis asking a good deal of a man on so cold 
 a night ; but I will do it if you, Hamilton, will 
 but pass your word to remain where you are 
 and make no attempt to escape.' 
 
 ' I will pass my word to you very faithfully,' 
 said Captain Hamilton, much nettled at the 
 man's manner, and still more, I believe, at the 
 want of courtesy he had shown to me in seating 
 himself in my presence without my leave — ' I 
 will pass my word to you very faithfully, sir, to 
 embrace the very first opportunity that offers of 
 getting myself out of this scrape.' 
 
 ' Mighty well, sir,' said Colonel Lundy ; * you 
 will, then, have to endure my company for the 
 night, an infliction which I protest I'm grieved 
 to impose upon you.' 
 
 He spoke with a certain surface smoothness 
 and quiet which did not conceal in the least the 
 fact that he was crossed and chafed inwardly. 
 
 ' Why, sir, you don't mean ' said Mr. 
 
 Hamilton, and stopped. 
 
 * To intrude upon you ? Oh, but I do, sir,' 
 said Lundy in reply. ' My lord Viscount, 
 below there in your dining-room, may have 
 no objection that I should be the scapegoat
 
 A MAN'S FOES 143 
 
 for his manifest design of letting you off ; but 
 I know better than to go into such a snare. 
 No, sir ; you were given into my charge, and, 
 will you nill you, I will render you up to him 
 to-morrow morning ; and on purpose to run no 
 risks, I mean to watch you all night. Not but 
 what I might leave you, I believe, and run but 
 little, for with a sentry under your window, and 
 another at each of the house-doors — you see, 
 I've taken the liberty to add to my lord's pre- 
 cautions, even without his consent — and with 
 myself outside your room-door on the landing, 
 I think you'd be pretty safe. But I'll risk 
 nothing ; you are subtle, both of you ; perhaps 
 you thought I marked you not whispering 
 together at the top of the stairs. Either give 
 me your word, or here I stay.' 
 
 Here was a pretty back-turn of that fickle 
 jade Fortune, as men with reason call her. 
 After so falling in with my plans, that I thought 
 them all but accomplished, thus to leave us in 
 the lurch ! Was it not a scurvy trick ? Hope 
 began to run out of my heart as quickly as the 
 sand out of an hour-glass when 'tis turned 
 about, leaving it empty for the incoming, not of 
 despair, but of anger. And, I promise you, 
 hope ran out and anger in the faster when 
 presently Lundy very coolly rose up from the 
 chair he had taken, and began peeping here
 
 144 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 and prying there throughout the room. It 
 was going beyond his commission^ and so, with 
 mighty Httle ceremony, I told him. Before 
 long he came to the door of the cupboard 
 whereon I had built so much of my plan of 
 escape ; It was locked, but he scrupled not to 
 require the key of It. 
 
 * 'TIs my private wardrobe, sir,' I told him. * 
 
 It was scarce worth the pain of struggling ; 
 but yet I desired to be as prudent as ever I 
 could. 
 
 ' And what of that, madam ?' returned he. 
 ' I am, as It were, the warder of a prison 
 to-night, and must make myself certain that 
 there Is no precaution overlooked nor no door 
 of escape left open. May I pray you will give 
 me the key at once ?' 
 
 I protest I meant not to look to Mr. Hamil- 
 ton for any Interference ; but In my embarrass- 
 ment my eye wandered towards him and caught 
 his, and the next moment he was, as one might 
 figure it, at Lundy's throat. 
 
 ' Sir,' said he, ' I protest I'm at a loss to 
 understand your meaning or your manners. Is 
 it to Insult my wife you are after ? Do you 
 think she has had time to conceal a rescue- 
 party In her wardrobe since my lord put me In 
 your custody ?' 
 
 Mr. Lundy looked at him with the same
 
 A MAN'S FOES 145 
 
 mocking smile his face had worn when he 
 entered the room. 
 
 ' You don't want to provoke a quarrel with 
 your gaoler, do ye now, Hamilton ?' said he. 
 * Because even your assurance can scarce expect 
 that he'll Indulge you in it. Come, sir,' with a 
 sudden change of manner, 'stand out of my 
 way, will you ? And you, madam, give me the 
 key, before I'm driven to call in the assistance of 
 force, for which ' — and behold, he was back to 
 his smooth manner again, soft as ever — ' I 
 believe you'd be more sorry yourself than I.' 
 
 I gave him the key, but with a very ill grace, 
 and the next moment our poor little door of 
 escape — as, indeed, I had meant it to be — was 
 discovered. 
 
 ' Aha, madam i' said he, coming out of my 
 wardrobe, ' have I put my finger on your pretty 
 little scheme ? And you, sir, highty-tighty, 
 high and mighty, 'tis not so much the Insult 
 to your good lady, I conceive, that you're so 
 apt to resent, as the discovery of your own 
 plans. Well, let him laugh that wins, as they 
 say. I have found you out, in spite of your 
 braggart loud words and your face of Innocence.' 
 
 Captain Hamilton knew nothing, I believe, 
 of the other door to my cupboard, and he 
 looked thunder-stricken at Lundy's discovery. 
 For me, I murmured something to that effect, 
 
 VOL. I. 10
 
 146 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 but so feebly that my voice was hardly audible 
 to either of the gentlemen. 
 
 * What's that you say, madam ?' said Lundy. 
 * Hamilton knew nothing of It ? A pretty story, 
 indeed, considering that this is his own house, 
 wherein he was born and bred up ! But I 
 pardon you for a tale that can hoodwink no 
 one, because it shows you to be at the very 
 end of your resources.' Here he came out of 
 the cupboard, which he had been again examin- 
 ing, and proceeded to shut and lock the inner 
 door. ' I will even make assurance surer,' said 
 he, ' for your pains.' 
 
 And with that he took out the key of that 
 door likewise, and put that, as well as the other 
 two, into his pocket. 
 
 'Colonel Lundy,' said I, 'do me one favour. 
 Give me out of my wardrobe one mantle, I care 
 not which ; I am cold ;' and so I was in truth, 
 cold to the heart, cold In the heart and in the 
 courage, as well as In body. 
 
 Lundy opened the door again, and gave me 
 the very first that came to hand, that which 
 hung on the back of it, the great old mantle 
 that I wear still when I go abroad of a chilly 
 morning or night. He even made as If he 
 would have wrapped It about me, but I endured 
 not to be touched bv him, and drew back from 
 him with so much haste that he was angered.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 147 
 
 * As you please, madam !' said he, with a tone 
 in his voice more harsh and snarling than he 
 had before permitted himself to use. ' As you 
 please ; it is your own fault if you will have me 
 for an enemy instead of a friend. And now, 
 Hamilton, you can scarce blame me if I use 
 more rigour towards you than I was disposed 
 to at the first. Sit down on that settle ' — point- 
 ing to one. 
 
 Captain Hamilton obeyed him without a 
 word. 
 
 'And now, sir, I give you warning that if 
 you move from where you sit, without leave 
 asked of me and given, I will shoot you as I 
 might shoot a rabbit. You saw me load my 
 pistols ;' and with that he took one in his hand 
 and sat down where he had been at first. 
 
 ' 'Tis not for me to blame you, Lundy,' said 
 Mr. Hamilton, * after what hath come out, 
 though 'tis a hard way of treating an old 
 comrade, and one that hath never harmed you. 
 You must watch your prisoner, of course, 
 though I think you show yourself more sus- 
 picious than there's any need for. For I pro- 
 test to you that I had no recollection of that 
 door of communication ; nor, I believe, had 
 Mary here any more than I.' 
 
 'Oh yes,' said I, unable to bear this; ' I re- 
 membered it very well.'
 
 148 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 At that Lundy smiled, supposing, I believe, 
 that I had given up the contest ; and so, indeed, 
 for the moment I had. 
 
 'Am I, like my husband,' I asked of him 
 coldly, ^to remain In one place on pain of being 
 shot ?' 
 
 * You, madam,' he returned, 'may move about 
 the room as you please, so you come not near 
 my pistols ;' and with that he laid the one of 
 them across his knees ; the other he placed 
 upon the mantelpiece ready to his hand. 
 
 I could not do less than thank him for the 
 leave he had granted me to move about, though 
 my words were, as his conduct merited, of the 
 coldest. Then I placed myself on the settle 
 beside my dear husband. Colonel Lundy rose 
 from his seat beside the hre, and began, pistol 
 in hand, to pace up and down the room ; at 
 first steadily and soldler-like, a sentry on duty, 
 as one might say, but after a time his steps 
 grew slower and slower, and he seemed like a 
 man sunk In thought. There came a knock to 
 the door of the room ; Instead of going himself 
 to challenge the newcomer, he made me a sign 
 with a great show of authority to do It. But I, 
 having no mind to betray any friend Into a diffi- 
 culty, sat still In my place and took no notice. 
 
 The knock was repeated, and followed quickly 
 by a question.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 149 
 
 * Is Mrs. Hamilton within, and can I have 
 speech of her ?' 
 
 It was Mr. Browning's voice, and I went to 
 the door at once, Colonel Lundy placing him- 
 self at my side, so that he might hear whatever 
 passed as well as I. I determined that he 
 should hear nothing, whatever Mr. Browning 
 had come to tell me, but what was meant for 
 his ears, and that supposing I checked some- 
 thing of what was meant for mine own. 
 
 * I am here, Mr. Browning,' I said, * and so 
 likewise is Captain Hamilton, and Colonel 
 Lundy is with us ; he hath adopted this Scrip- 
 tural fashion of watching his prisoner for his 
 greater security. I am sorry to have to desire 
 you will speak loud enough to be heard through 
 the closed door, for the Colonel hath already 
 refused — in your hearing, I believe — to open it 
 again to-night.' 
 
 At that I stole a look at Lundy where he 
 stood by my side, and though he caught it, and 
 tried to look unconcerned, I perceived with 
 some satisfaction that there was in his coun- 
 tenance the look of one that hath received a 
 check. 
 
 * I came merely to explain a thing to you,' 
 said Mr. Browning outside the door. * My 
 lord hath granted me leave to ride to Derry 
 to-night with my servant, leaving this at any
 
 I50 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 time before midnight. Now, if I may, I would 
 be fain to wait here till the very latest of my 
 leave to know how Rosa keeps/ 
 ' Is she worse ?' I asked of him. 
 
 * No ; better/ said he. ' But she hath not 
 fallen asleep, so Mistress Margery tells me ; 
 and if I might be sure that no one in the house 
 should be inconvenienced by it, I would even 
 delay my riding until I heard that she had, or 
 until it is as late as my pass allows.' 
 
 * He'd better stay the night, hadn't he ?' said 
 Captain Hamilton where he sat. ' Ask him if 
 he will not.' 
 
 I put the question as desired, caring but 
 little whether the answer were ' Yes' or * No.' 
 What did it matter, forsooth, whether he went 
 or stayed, seeing that his 'servant' was so 
 little like to be forthcoming ? But the answer, 
 of course, was ' No,' that he must be in Derry 
 before the morning. 
 
 'Can I,' said he, 'do any business there for 
 either of you ?' 
 
 I put the question to Captain Hamilton, who 
 sat too far from the door to hear distinctly what 
 was said at the outside of it ; Lundy, for all his 
 listening, never took his eyes off him. He 
 shook his head. 
 
 'Only,' said he, 'if Mr. Browning, while it 
 suits his convenience to be here, will bear my
 
 A MAN'S FOES 151 
 
 lord Viscount company, and see that he be 
 worthil}^ attended to his bed-chamber when 
 he retires, he will do me a very brotherly 
 service.' 
 
 * I believe my lord is even now retiring,' said 
 Mr. Browning. ' I will go and see that he 
 lacks nothing ;' and so, calling a * Good-night ' 
 to us, he went. 
 
 I turned away from the door and went back 
 to my old place, mightily discouraged and sick 
 at heart. Here were all things in readiness for 
 Captain Hamilton to ride to Derry were he but 
 ready to go, but this second readiness seemed 
 a thing past hope of attainment. One thing a 
 little comforted me, however, and this was that 
 Lundy seemed but little less moody than I my- 
 self. 
 
 * Ye were meant for a conspirator, madam, I 
 find,' said he to me, permitting himself that 
 snarling tone I had remarked before. 
 
 * You have little reason to say so. Colonel 
 Lundy!' said I, taking his meaning plain 
 enough, but choosing to make as though I 
 did not. 
 
 He drew down his brows at me, as though I 
 were a child to be frowned into reverence. At 
 that, seeing that he thought himself worsted, 
 though in so slight a matter, my spirits began to 
 rise again, and at the rise of my spirits my brain
 
 152 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 began again to ponder the plan of the escape. 
 Was all so hopelessly lost as I had been think- 
 ing ? I asked myself. I fell to turning the 
 ways and means back and forth in my mind, 
 and presently a thing occurred to me that had 
 hope in it. In another moment it seemed to 
 have so much, it stood out so complete and, as 
 I thought, so feasible, that it sent the blood 
 burning into my face like sudden pain. I dared 
 not look at Lundy lest he should see my thought 
 written in mine eyes. But I sat still in my place 
 pondering it for half an hour perhaps or better, 
 till I saw the thing as plain in my head as I 
 had the former plan that had miscarried. And 
 after that I continued to sit still, perhaps as 
 long again, desiring not to move in the matter 
 too soon, which were destruction. By that time 
 the house was quiet to absolute silence, and it 
 was likely that all were asleep save only those 
 whose business it was to watch. 
 
 The fire, too, had burnt low, which was my 
 signal, as well as my pretext ; but I dared not 
 to 2fo near it without leave, because of the 
 pistol on the mantelpiece, which Lundy had 
 forbidden me to approach. So I sat up, like 
 one rousing herself out of a doze ; in truth, we 
 had all been silent enough to have passed for 
 sleepers. I pressed my husband's hand, to 
 assure myself that he was not, and at the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 153 
 
 answering pressure I held It for one moment to 
 my heart. This was to give him notice that I 
 was about to attempt something, so to ensure his 
 attention, and his aid when I should need it. 
 Certes, 'twas a warning he could not choose 
 but heed, for Its beating was so strong that 
 there was no other strength left in my body, 
 neither to breathe, nor to hear, nor to see. 
 My throat was as dry as a sanded page ; my 
 ears were full of the sound of rushing wind , 
 there was a kind of blackness between my 
 eyes and whatever they tried to look at. But 
 it was very needful to hear and to see and to 
 speak, even to speak calmly and In my ordinary 
 voice, so I grasped at my will as one grasps 
 the bridle of a runaway horse ; I forced my 
 heart down out of my throat by main striving. 
 For one mighty moment I lifted up a voiceless 
 prayer to heaven; then I sat up and spoke to 
 Lundy. And, to mine own wonder, I spoke 
 plain and quiet ; my voice sounded In my own 
 ears even unconcerned. 
 
 * Sir,' said I, ' who's to mend the fire ?' 
 ' Well, I can scarce do It,' said he, stretching 
 himself. ' But you may, if you desire it.' 
 
 I rose^ and went forward slowly to the fire- 
 place ; I stooped over It, bringing the brands 
 Into place that were scattered ; and as I stooped, 
 I contrived to let my great cloak slip from my
 
 154 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 shoulders, as If by accident. It lay beside me 
 as I lifted the fresh billets that lay ready on the 
 hearth, and piled them on the old, making a 
 great show of dellberateness, so to gain time. 
 For my hands were cold to numbness, and my 
 knees seemed too weak to support me, even 
 while I knelt. 
 
 Then I rose slowly to my feet, and it was 
 upon a sudden as though a flame of fire flashed 
 through me from head to foot, turning me to 
 steel. I stooped slowly for my mantle, and 
 shook it out, as though to wrap it round me, 
 but Instead of that, I wrapped it, quick as light- 
 ning, round the head and arms of Lundy, seated 
 in the chair at my side. I wrapped it round 
 him in fold after fold, before ever he had time 
 to struggle ; having so much of vantage, 'tis 
 even possible I might have mastered him by 
 myself, but I had no need, for Captain Hamilton 
 was by my side in an instant. He took the 
 pistol from Lundy 's knee ; had he taken thought 
 to fire that, it had gone ill enough with my 
 husband and with me. But by Heaven's favour 
 vouchsafed to us, in the sudden bewilderment 
 of my attack, he put his hands up to draw away 
 the cloak from his face, not down to grasp and 
 fire the pistol that lay on his knees. 
 
 * Quick, Mary !' said Captain Hamilton, draw- 
 ing the cloak still closer round Lundy's face ;
 
 A MAN'S FOES 155 
 
 ' make haste ; fetch me a rope or something, to 
 tie him. We mustn't murder the man.' 
 
 There was no rope at hand, but I bethought 
 me of an excellent substitute ; I whipped a 
 sheet off the bed, and tore it into wide strips 
 that would bind him every whit as safely. I 
 had certainly grudged it bitterly, at any other 
 time, to destroy the good Hollands linen in 
 such prodigal fashion. But a woman's pride in 
 her plenishing is but as the small dust in the 
 balance, when her husband's life and liberty are 
 the weights in the other scale. 
 
 Captain Hamilton took one of the bands of 
 linen, and passed it quickly two or three times 
 round Lundy's body and the back of the chair, 
 tying it firmly behind, I taking my turn to hold 
 the mantle firmly in its place. This done, he 
 unwrapped a fold or two thereof, and drew 
 down Lundy's arms ; these in like manner he 
 secured to the back of the chair and to his 
 body, tying them securely just above the elbows. 
 
 ' Now,' said he, ' Mary, take you one of the 
 pistols ; be ready to hold it to his head the 
 moment I uncover his face ; if he attempt to 
 call out, shoot him as he'd have shot me.' 
 
 ' I will,' said I, taking the pistol. 
 
 I thought we had made good speed in se- 
 curing him ; but for all our haste, by the time we 
 unwrapped the cloak from his face, his breath
 
 156 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 was so far gone that there was little fear of his 
 crying out. His wit was not gone, however, 
 though his breath was spent, and so I placed 
 the muzzle of the pistol against his temple. 
 
 * We will do you no harm, Mr. Lundy, If you 
 will be still,' said I, 'and we will let you get 
 your breath before we gag you ; but if you 
 attempt to give any alarm, I will shoot you 
 dead on the Instant.' 
 
 After that warning, he sat still enough, if, 
 indeed, he could have gathered breath for a 
 proper halloo, b)- the time Mr. Hamilton gagged 
 him, which I hardly think. The only thing 
 that then remained to do, for safety, was to 
 fasten his legs to the chair as we had his arms ; 
 that done, it was almost laughable to see the 
 man as helpless as a wooden Image, that had 
 been our master a short ten minutes before. 
 Laughing at him was the last thing in my 
 thoughts, for all that. The moment I thought 
 my husband's peril past, I fell to trembling 
 again, like any fool, as if there were nothing 
 more to do to get him away. But oh the 
 thankful heart! If ever a woman were rapt 
 in thanksgiving to Heaven, that woman was I, 
 and the time was then. 
 
 There was no difficulty after he was set so 
 helpless in his chair in getting the keys, which 
 he had put into the pocket of his coat ; I judged,
 
 A MAN'S FOES 157 
 
 from what he had said when he came Into the 
 room, that there was no sentry at the door of 
 the room, therefore I chose the key of that one. 
 Fearing lest the smallest oversight might put 
 in peril that which had been gained, I oiled It 
 before I put it In the lock ; it turned without a 
 sound, and I peeped out. The landing was 
 empty — Captain Hamilton was free. 
 
 He turned upon the door-sill, however. 
 
 * Upon my word, Mary,' said he, * I scarce 
 can think to leave him in such a state ; he would 
 have taken my word, you know. If you will 
 pledge me yrjurs, Lundy, to give no alarm till 
 morning ' 
 
 Again that evil light sparkled In Colonel 
 Lundy's eyes. 1 knew that he would promise, 
 and I knew that he would break his word with- 
 out a scruple. So without a scruple I put in 
 mine own. 
 
 'Nay,' said I, 'but if he be found tied up 
 like this and gagged, 'tis sure and certain that 
 no blame will liglit on him for your escape; 
 'tis an Impossibility on the face of It for him to 
 stay you or to alarm the house. But If you 
 loose him, who will be his witness that he was 
 not your accomplice ? My word would go for 
 little in such a matter, I cannot but think. 
 Better leave him as he Is, dear James ; it's not 
 a very comfortable night he will pass, indeed,
 
 158 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 but he runs no danger to life or limb, and it 
 may save his reputation from a possible stain.' 
 
 Had I doubted the wisdom of the counsel I 
 was giving, the fierce look of disappointment 
 in the man's eyes would have confirmed me. 
 To be sure, he was suffering some discomfort, 
 and before long would even be suffering pain ; 
 but there was more in it than that. The man 
 was not fit to be trusted ; of that I was as sure 
 as if I had seen him perform a treachery. 
 Captain Hamilton had never shared my ill 
 opinion of him ; his anger against him for his 
 conduct that evening was all melted away now 
 that he was at his mercy, and it went sorely 
 against the grain with him to leave him tied 
 up as he was. He was for turning back again 
 to loose him after he was actually on the stairs, 
 but, unwilling to cross my earnest wish, he let 
 himself be over- ruled, desiring only that as 
 soon as I should judge it to be safe, and he be 
 beyond pursuit, I would at least unfasten the 
 
 gag- 
 There was now but one danger to run from 
 
 the other side — to wit, the passing of the 
 sentries at the doors, who were so well 
 acquainted with Captain Hamilton's appear- 
 ance ; but from our own they appeared to 
 multiply around us. Cargill's transports might 
 almost have published his master's escape to
 
 A MAN'S FOES 159 
 
 the whole house. I went near to wishing he 
 were gagged as fast as the enemy upstairs. 
 Captain Hamilton's own repugnance to leave 
 me was like to be another danger ; he seemed 
 scarce able, for all that had passed, to bring his 
 mind to it. 
 
 'You've saved me, Mary,' he said, again and 
 again, ' but I doubt 'tis at some peril to your- 
 self. How can I leave you to face it alone ?' 
 
 ' Don't think of it,' I told him. * I run no 
 risk at all, I believe. Lord Mountjoy is none 
 of your furious men, like Jeffries, to revenge 
 himself on a wife for taking the part of her 
 husband.' 
 
 * Ah, but if he should ?' said Captain 
 Hamilton. * How shall I hear how he takes 
 it ? How shall I learn how it goes with you, 
 Mary, when he knows of my escape and the 
 part you've taken in it.' 
 
 * I can't help agreeing with Mrs. Hamilton,' 
 said Mr. Browning ; ' my lord is not the kind 
 of man to be a hard judge to her, or to any 
 woman, acting in such a case. But we must 
 get to horse,' said he ; * my leave expires, you 
 know, at twelve o'clock. It would be a poor 
 return for what your wife hath done to lose the 
 fruit of it out of mere delay. Come, Hamilton; 
 make haste and disguise yourself.' 
 
 ' Disguise myself, sir !' exclaimed Mn
 
 i6o A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Hamilton. 'To what end? I shall do 
 nothing of the sort, you may rest assured. 
 Once past the sentry, I'm as safe here as if I 
 were in Holland.' 
 
 ' No doubt,' said he, ' but it's needful to pass 
 him unknown, you see, for were he to give the 
 alarm, who knows whether you might get clear 
 away ? And were he to fail in his duty, you'd 
 do no more than to put him in your own shoes, 
 which were an ill return for any favour he 
 might show you.' 
 
 'Very well said, Mr. Browning,' said I. 
 * Come, James' — holding out Cargill's coat that 
 he had laid ready — ' you won't be too high- 
 minded to wear this, since 'tis to ease my mind.' 
 
 * Ah, Mary,' said he, ' even have your own 
 way with me ; you have done what you liked 
 with me since ever I knew you, and, faith ! it's 
 not to-night I'm going to rebel.' 
 
 Cargill, armed with Lord Mountjoy's permit 
 to Mr. Browning, went out to the stable to get 
 the horses. We stayed together where we 
 were, and Captain Hamilton began to give me 
 some directions. I asked him whither he 
 meant to ride. 
 
 ' Indeed,' said he, ^ I think I'd better keep 
 that to myself, hadn't I ? You'll be safer 
 wanting the knowledge of my address to- 
 morrow m.ornlng.' And then he fell again to
 
 A MAN'S FOES i6t 
 
 deploring the need that I should face the morrow 
 morning without his presence. 
 
 At that Mr. Browning put in his word. 
 
 ' My lord granted me my pass on the pretext 
 of business/ said he, * and appearances, I 
 suppose, must be kept up. But what's to 
 hinder me from riding back as soon as I've 
 seen you in safety ? Give me the charge of 
 Mrs. Hamilton's welfare to-morrow ' 
 
 ' You are a good friend, Browning,' said my 
 husband ; ' I'll never forget this.' 
 
 * And I doubt not,' said Mr. Browning, 
 taking Captain Hamilton's hand, which he 
 held out to him — * I nothing doubt but we can 
 get word to you when once we know your 
 hiding-place.' 
 
 * I'll leave word of that In my quarters In 
 Derry,' said Captain Hamilton, rather grimly. 
 
 Whereat I smiled, thinking it no more than 
 a jest. 
 
 And now we could hear the horses' feet at 
 the door ; we could hear the sentry's voice as 
 he challenged Carglll. It was time for us to 
 tear ourselves apart — a thing that seemed a 
 sheer impossibility. He had the worst of that, 
 but I did not dare say more than I had done 
 already to lighten his burden. I was well 
 enough assured that my lord would permit no 
 harm to come to me for what I had done, but 
 
 VOL. I. II
 
 1 62 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 I could not say so. He left a tear upon my 
 face as he kissed me for good-bye ; it shamed 
 me, for my eyes were dry. And yet I knew 
 not whither he went, nor what dangers he 
 might have to face before I saw him again. 
 
 Mr. Browning went forward to open the 
 door, but my husband bade him wait another 
 moment. 
 
 ' Mary,' said he, ' now that I bethink me of 
 it, there are some of my men in the regiment 
 too good to be lost sight of; if they be dis- 
 charged, see if you can find something for them 
 to do about the place ; they may be better than 
 gold to us yet. See, if any man come to you 
 with this token, '' From Derry to the Rose," 
 know that he comes to you from me. Greet 
 him with this counter-sign, '' Stands the town 
 in the old place still ?" and if he reply, " Nay, 
 the half of it is across the lough at the 
 Waterside," then find that man a place, either 
 here or with a known friend ; and this as you 
 value a true man, and one that is faithful to me.' 
 
 * I will,' said I. 
 
 And then Mr. Browning began again to 
 open the door. 
 
 Again my husband stopped him. He had 
 no sense of any danger to himself in such 
 delays ; it was the thought of that in which he 
 supposed me to stand that filled his mind.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 163 
 
 ' How can I leave you so ?' said he — ' how- 
 can I ? I would I left you in Wamphray's 
 charge ; I would there were some man with 
 you to stand beside you to-morrow morning.' 
 
 ' Have not I promised to do what 1 can ?' 
 said Mr. Browning. 
 
 ' You have, and I thank you,' said my 
 husband — ' I thank you, and I beg your pardon 
 for appearing to slight you ; but you're not her 
 brother, Browning ; she hath no claim on you.' 
 
 ' She is sister to my sister,' said he, ^ and 
 that is a claim I shall be proud and happy to 
 meet with a brother's service, so you will 
 honour me by allowing it.' 
 
 ' You make me everlastingly your debtor,' 
 said Captain Hamilton, taking my hand, and 
 putting it into Mr. Browning's, who touched it 
 with his lips. 
 
 * And now/ said he, ' we must get to horse 
 in earnest ; we are here too long. Madam,' 
 said he to me, ' grantijng that men and captains 
 may respect your sex and treat you with for- 
 bearance, 'tis more than we have any right to 
 expect from the night airs. Pray stand away 
 from the door before I open it to ride away 
 with my servant. You see. Master Servant,' 
 said he to Captain Hamilton, ' if I be not ready 
 to discharge the trust you have reposed in me, 
 even in so trifling a matter as the risk of a chill.'
 
 i64 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 It was kindly done of him to attempt to 
 rattle, and perhaps it got my husband away 
 from me with less of pain than anything else 
 could have done ; but after all our whispering 
 and speaking low, I went near to crying out 
 aloud as the door closed behind them, and 
 though mine eyes had never a tear in them — 
 shame on them for their dryness ! — it was an 
 old, old broken woman I felt as I climbed the 
 stairs. It seemed a long, long journey from 
 the hall to the door of mine own room, where 
 I had Captain Hamilton's errand to do. This 
 time I found Colonel Lundy exceeding ready 
 to signify his promise to be silent till the morn- 
 ing ; when once the gag was off him, he was 
 willing to add his oath to his word if I required 
 it. But I judged him safe enough when I had 
 shut the door upon him, leaving him bound 
 still in his chair, and then I went to Rosa's 
 room, and told her all that had been done 
 since we had left her ; after that, for all that 
 was yet uncertain, I was presently as sound 
 asleep as any infant in its cot.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOW THERE CAME A MESSAGE OUT OF DERRY TO 
 MRS. HAMILTON. 
 
 'Tis a Strange thing, and hath the look of a 
 premeditation of fate to discredit our forecasting, 
 how rarely the thing we confidently expect 
 comes to pass. That which we have hoped for 
 is set beyond our reach, and that which we have 
 dreaded passes us by. And even if the thing 
 itself do come about, the circumstances that 
 attend it are all other than we looked for ; so 
 that 'tis of no use in the world to look forward 
 and plot and contrive and plan out our behaviour. 
 Far wiser were it, could one so rule one's own 
 spirit, to meet good and evil alike with uncon- 
 cern, trusting to be found sufficient to any need, 
 either of thankfulness or of fortitude. 
 
 Here was my husband, gone from me in 
 anxious apprehension of danger and trouble to 
 me that I knew to be unfounded, though it was 
 denied me to make him sharer of my knowledge.
 
 1 66 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Yet, though I saw that his carefulness for the 
 same was trouble merely wasted, I could not 
 take the lesson to myself, nor evit to fall Into 
 a like prodigality. My lord, I knew, would 
 stand between me and scath ; but yet, for his 
 own name, I could not see how he should avoid 
 some show of severity. For Lundy, I looked 
 for nothing better at his hands than a malicious 
 endeavour to revenge his disappointment on me 
 that had brought it about. I have no liking to 
 be rated, and had none, certainly, either to the 
 situation or to the outlook. In the early morn- 
 ing, when the house was full of the noise of the 
 discovery of Mr. Hamilton's escape, running 
 and scuffling, and calling indoors and out, and 
 blaming of the sentries in the courtyard under 
 my windows (poor fellows ! what could they 
 tell, save that the Captain had rid away for Derry 
 with his servant towards twelve of the clock, 
 according to his pass ?), I would have given 
 much to be anywhere else in the world than In 
 Cloncally. A7zj/ Bush had been 7ny Bield, as the 
 saying Is. I fell to listening for the sounds of 
 Mr. Browning's return, as though it were my 
 salvation to have the support of his presence. 
 And then there came Into my mind a new fear, 
 and one so terrible that I fell next to desiring 
 his absence yet more fervently — all but praying, 
 in sooth, for something that might delay his
 
 A MAN'S FOES 167 
 
 coming till after the departure of my lord and 
 the Colonel. 
 
 This was the fear : That one or both of these 
 gentlemen might suspect who the servant might 
 have been, and question Mr. Browning. I 
 judged him a man of too open a temper to have 
 much talent in evading questions. Were he 
 once convicted of abetting Mr. Hamilton's 
 escape, was it not even too likely that he might 
 be thrust forthwith into his danger ? And that 
 were as much as to put the fetters on Mr. 
 Hamilton's wrists, for nothing could be more 
 certain than that he would return at his best 
 speed, either to free his friend or share his 
 punishment. If it is true that love drives out 
 fear, 'tis no less true that a great fear drives 
 away a small one, so that I protest I never 
 carried a lighter heart to a merry-making than 
 that wherewith I heard myself summoned, still 
 in the gray of the morning, to attend my lord 
 Viscount's inquiry as soon as I possibly could. 
 Certes, I made no long tarrying, but was below, 
 with none but Margery to attend me or keep me 
 in countenance, in a far shorter space of time 
 than they looked for. 
 
 Here I found, now that things were come to 
 a point, that the trouble met half-way was but 
 trouble thrown away. I was not rated in the 
 least ; in truth, there was not a word said to me
 
 1 68 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 that need have caused me disquiet had I fore- 
 seen it. 
 
 My lord was bound to question me ; but he 
 did it wondrous civilly. I took refuge in my 
 right of silence, and desired to know if there 
 was any law that could compel a woman to give 
 information that might lead to her husband's 
 harming. 
 
 He desired upon this that I would not be 
 contumacious ; but to that I had a ready 
 answer. 
 
 ' My lord,' said I, ' I make no denial that 
 I got Mr. Hamilton away ; and Colonel Lundy 
 here can very well tell you the manner of it.' 
 At which methought his lordship's face a little 
 twitched, as though he had heard of It already. 
 * As to saying anything more, or anything,' I 
 continued, ' that can lead to my husband's 
 
 capture My lord, I shall have no objection 
 
 to reply to any question you would expect my 
 Lady Mountjoy to answer, supposing you to 
 stand In Captain Hamilton's case, and she in 
 mine.' 
 
 This, I thought, a little staggered my lord. 
 
 * But, madam,' said he, * I can't let you ride 
 off in such a fashion as this. Any question,' 
 said he, ' that it might be the duty of my wife 
 to answer, I expect you will answer the like.' 
 
 ' Even so be it,' said I ; ' I am content. And
 
 A MAN'S FOES 169 
 
 you yourself shall be the judge (as indeed you 
 are) whether it can be the duty of any woman 
 to say a word that can put her husband in 
 jeopardy, either of liberty or of life.' 
 
 On this matter, knowing something of his 
 mind, I made bold to speak out, and so he 
 told me. 
 
 ' You are bold, Mrs. Hamilton,' said he, 
 ' though I cannot but pardon your boldness, 
 for there is some truth in what you say.' 
 
 At this, seeing my advantage (and knowing 
 that in his mind I stood already clear of blame), 
 I even took it, and pushed the matter home. 
 
 'You shall likewise be the judge, my lord,' 
 said I, ' whether in what I did I went beyond 
 the duty of a wife. You, too, Mr. Lundy,' said 
 I, turning to him, 'shall tell me what you think, 
 considering all the circumstances.' 
 
 It was a question that perhaps was overbold ; 
 and it was my fear of Lundy, more than any 
 other thing, that drove me to put it. I was 
 moved to know how I stood with him, were it 
 the worst ; for 'tis a thing I cannot abide, a 
 half-seen danger. To my surprise, he came 
 very frankly off, with a great laugh, like one 
 that looked upon what was past but as a game 
 wherein we had bested him. 
 
 ' Indeed, madam,' said he, ' I think there's 
 none of us can blame you, unless, as you say.
 
 I70 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 we are prepared to bid our own wives stand 
 submissive in our time of need — I least of all, 
 though I must say your usage of me was none 
 of the gentlest. But what a man with loaded 
 pistols ready to his hand gets from a gentle- 
 woman with no better weapon than a great 
 mantle, I say he should take without grudging. 
 So if my lord be of my mind, I would even give 
 my voice for letting you go free.' 
 
 This speech of Lundy's was no small marvel 
 to me, especially when presently I found myself 
 at liberty to retire. i\n explanation occurred to 
 me later, whether 'tis the true one or no perhaps 
 it is scarce for me to say, so prejudiced as I 
 ever was against him. But it was simply this : 
 That if, indeed, he had found means to spy 
 upon us, either himself or by means of someone 
 in his pay, and had overheard some or all of our 
 dialogue of the evening before, he was aware 
 that my lord could not intend any punishment 
 to me. He considered, no doubt, that to show 
 rancour against me were useless ; and that to 
 take the thing as he had might perhaps lull our 
 suspicions of him to rest, and so give him 
 further opportunities to contrive my lord's down- 
 fall, on purpose to rise on his ruin. 
 
 The next thing was a searching of the house 
 from garrets to cellars, I think at Lundy's 
 instance ; who seemed convinced that the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 171 
 
 fugitive was concealed within the walls thereof; 
 though, indeed, we have no secret hiding-place 
 at Cloncally, such as have been often found so 
 useful In times of danger in houses where they 
 exist. While they were a-searching, first one 
 and then another of the soldiers that had smelt 
 out something of the truth, came to me privately 
 and begged leave to wish me luck for a brave 
 and fortunate lady. I say not but I was pleased 
 at the flattery, though still more to know my 
 husband so beloved in the ranks. They pre- 
 sently convinced themselves that, wherever 
 Captain Hamilton was concealed, 'twas out of 
 their power to lay hands on him, and so rid away 
 to Derry ; where, no doubt, they had some of the 
 news that I received a very few minutes after 
 their departure. I cannot imagine to this day 
 how they contrived to miss Mr. Browning that 
 brought it ; but so by great happiness they did. 
 And ere the sound of their horses' feet had 
 properly died away he was with us, mightily 
 chafed at that whereof I was so thankful — that 
 he had been absent from my side at the time of 
 the inquiry. 'Twas nothing less than a provi- 
 dence of God, I told him, and Rosa, that had 
 kept out of sight all the morning, backed me 
 up In it. And then immediately we desired his 
 news, which he was nothing loath to let us 
 have.
 
 172 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 This said news was so good, and so like my 
 husband's daring, that more than once (notwith- 
 standing the heavy reason I had for sadness) I 
 could not choose but laugh aloud. For do but 
 think of this man, supposed to be flying for his 
 life — what must he do, forsooth, but to ride 
 straight to Derry, and therein to his quarters; 
 where he first set to work to look over his 
 papers, some of which he burnt ; and some that 
 he judged it well to preserve he tied into a 
 parcel, and gave to Mr. Browning to be de- 
 livered into my hands. After that, what does 
 he next but to get up his orderly servant, one 
 of the trusty men of whom he had told me, 
 and send him for the others, of whom he had 
 said they were too good to be lost sight of ; to 
 them he gave tokens and countersigns, the 
 same as he had given to me, telling them, in 
 case they should be discharged, to present 
 themselves at Cloncally, where employment 
 should be found for them. Next he sends for 
 Gustavus Hamilton, the Major, and one or two 
 more of his brother officers that were in 
 quarters, and gives them an account of the 
 whole quarrel between my Lord Mountjoy and 
 himself from the time he had virtually resigned 
 his commission to my lord, before he rid away 
 to Dublin, begging them of their friendship to 
 have a care of his reputation while 'twas im-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 175 
 
 possible for him to defend it himself. To which 
 end, if they saw fit to draw up a paper stating 
 the case, he said he would be always to be 
 heard of either at Comber or at Moira, where 
 if they sent it to the charge of my Lord Mas- 
 sareene or Sir Arthur, he would set his hand to 
 it and send it back. 
 
 Heard one ever before of a runaway that 
 left his address behind him ? or of one that in 
 the very moment of escape thought less of 
 safety to his life than of safety to his honour ? 
 Having put his affairs into the order he desired, 
 he rid, as Mr. Browning told us, near the dawn- 
 ing of day, as calmly and quietly out of Derry 
 as though he were an envoy sent upon an 
 honourable errand, rather than a fugitive fleeing 
 from a halter. I myself might call his conduct 
 rashness and foolhardiness ; but if Rosa or 
 her brother had named it anything less than 
 gallantry, sure they had found me less than 
 friendly to reckon with. 
 
 Gallantry it was, in very truth, and of the 
 very sort that is most precious on the battle- 
 field — in the assault or in the defence of any 
 fortress — in any and every forlorn hope ; and 
 that he took no heed of it, more than the most 
 ordinary matter of routine, did that make it less 
 a credit to himself and a glory to his friends ? 
 How should a man be aware that he draws his
 
 174 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 breath ? And this Integrity of calmness in the 
 front of danger was as natural to Captain 
 Hamilton as breathing. As, bit by bit, all he 
 had done after leaving Cloncally was described 
 to me, 'twas the very man himself that stood 
 before my thoughts ; at every added feature I 
 was made to laugh, and laugh again, till the 
 tears stood in mine eyes, and for all 'twas 
 the laughter brought them, I could not tell 
 whether 'twas pain or mirth that was the 
 cause. 
 
 He sent me, through Captain Browning, a 
 score or more of messages — of thanks, of love, 
 of carefulness for my welfare ; and, sure, I knew 
 that no words he was master of would carry the 
 half of his meaning. It was even as if he 
 stood within call of me, as I heard and treasured 
 his dear words ; but the last message of all set 
 him far away from me once more. For thus it 
 ran : 
 
 ' As he turned to ride away,' said Mr. Brown- 
 ing, * I was at his bridle-rein, and he had yet 
 another word to add. '* See you fail not to 
 commend me to my wife," said he ; *' and tell 
 her that I leave all my family at Cloncally in 
 her care, with the utmost confidence in her 
 prudence and foresight." ' 
 
 I even threw up my hands with a cry at that 
 hearing.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 175 
 
 ' God be good to them, then,' cried I, * if I 
 be the best of their stay on earth !' And it was 
 as if till that moment I had never begun to 
 sound my loneliness. For do but think what 
 a plight I was in — and they that were left to my 
 charge. To manage the place I think nothing 
 of now, nor did then ; it was not that that was 
 my burden. But to be left to guide, and, as it 
 were, defend the household in so dangerous and 
 troubled times — where a step wrong taken by 
 any one of us might plunge the whole family in 
 ruin, as witness this affair of my husband's — 
 here was a burden for a stronger back, a task 
 beyond my power, conscious as I was of my 
 own weakness both of heart and arm. My 
 discretion and foresight, forsooth ! where were 
 they ? I knew myself rash where I should be 
 cautious, and yet but timorous to face the con- 
 sequences of my rashness ; ay, and but very 
 short of sight, where the gift of prophecy itself 
 had scarce been too liberal a preparation for the 
 difficulties we might have to face. And no 
 wise head, no bold heart, no strong arm beside 
 me, to fall back upon. Mine own heart and 
 head were true and frank, at least, if not wise 
 and bold, and gave me honest warning by 
 their quaking and trembling of the sort of 
 help I was like to have from them in time of 
 need.
 
 176 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 It was true that Mr. Browning had promised 
 me his counsel and assistance ; and that had 
 mightily heartened me, save for one thing ; to 
 wit, that in the nature of things he could not be 
 long at hand to give it. A sea-captain is tied 
 to his ship, as a soldier to his regiment ; when 
 she is ready for sea, to sea he must go, what- 
 ever the need for him on shore. How could I 
 tell but that, at the very moment when his 
 support should be most needful to me, this one 
 might be called away out of my reach ? Yet 
 even so, there was some small comfort in the 
 thought of his promise. 
 
 There was Wamphray, to be sure ; my 
 brother, and likely to be no further afield 
 than the Liberties of Derry should I send for 
 him. But in these days the ways of my good 
 brother Wamphray (for all the love we bore 
 one another) were not my ways ; nor, though 
 I esteemed him truly, was there that sympathy 
 between us — that understanding that needed no 
 words — that subsisted between Rosa and her 
 brother. 
 
 Wamphray 's ways were none of mine, nor 
 mine of his ; he was too fine-drawn and 
 subtle to be my guide, and I too headstrong 
 and eager (as he said, finding me blameworthy 
 therein) to be his pupil. No ; the more I con- 
 sidered the matter and all my circumstances, the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 177 
 
 more certain I grew that there was no possi- 
 bility of shifting the burden of care and charge 
 from mine own shoulders to any other; and 
 God alone, who made my heart, knew how 
 unfit it discerned itself for the load, and how 
 it shrank appalled at the prospect before it. 
 
 VOL. I. 12
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW ANOTHER AND A LESS WELCOME MESSENGER 
 CAME TO CLONCALLY OUT OF DERRY. 
 
 If ever I was taken by surprise In my life — and 
 sure that Is a thing that happens to me as oft as 
 to my neighbours — I was so In the afternoon 
 of that very day — the day following Captain 
 Hamilton's escape out of Cloncally. Carglll 
 came Into the room where I sat with Rosa and 
 her brother, and let me know that Master 
 Jededlah Hewson, my father's minister, waited 
 below In the vestibule, and desired to see me. 
 Had It been a visit from my Lord Deputy 
 Tyrconnel he came to announce, It had scarce 
 been more unexpected or less welcome, for 
 there is no man in the world that so despises 
 and suspects me as Mr. Hewson doth. For 
 my part, I despise not him, but I am no 
 friend to him ; it is he, I do verily think, 
 that hath come between me and my father 
 and brother.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 179 
 
 Never was a woman, I think, more parted 
 from her home and her kinsfolk by her marriage 
 than I. All the affairs and interests of my 
 husband and his friends were different from my 
 father's ; in some matters they were even 
 opposed, Captain Hamilton belonging both by 
 birth and training to the moderate Royalist 
 party, and my father being an old Common- 
 wealth's man. It therefore is scarce needful to 
 mention that my husband was an Episcopalian 
 in his doctrine, and my father a Puritan of the 
 old school ; and what he was to entJmsiasm, 
 Master Hewson was to fanaticism. It hath 
 ever been a matter of great wonder to me how 
 my marriage to Captain Hamilton came to 
 pass ; sure, that was made in heaven, as they 
 say, contrived and brought about alike by 
 powers that could not be withstood. 'Twas no 
 more unlikely that a Cavalier should fix his 
 fancy on a Roundhead maiden than that a 
 Puritan of the Puritans should give his consent 
 to his daughter's marriage with a Malignant ; 
 yet both miracles happened. I think in no long 
 time my father began to be of opinion that, in 
 giving his consent thereto, he had acted rashly 
 and wrongly. Mr. Hewson's view appeared to 
 me to be that, in so doing, Mr. Murray had 
 committed the unpardonable sin; unless, indeed, 
 the unpardonable sin was mine own, in changing
 
 i8o A MAN'S FOES 
 
 to my husband's creed and Church from that 
 wherein I had been born and brought up ; which 
 I need not say was of the straitest sect of the 
 Pharisees. There ! 'tis written. I have thought 
 it very often, but I never dared before to put 
 it into words ; but, indeed, I had come to the 
 conclusion, years before my marriage, that in 
 their zeal for the pureness of doctrine and disci- 
 pline my father and his friends were like the 
 Pharisees of old, in that they turned aside from 
 the substance of religion to embrace the shadow 
 thereof. 
 
 To mistrust every impulse of our nature, lest 
 it lead into a snare — to be ever on the outlook 
 for things to be forbidden and thwarted, so to 
 gain the favour of God that made them pleasant 
 — to make it the object of our chief endeavours 
 to avoid giving Him cause for anger — is this 
 religion ? Which religion they yet tell us is no 
 slave's yoke of bondage, but a dear tie and 
 support. To have filled this world with things 
 beautiful and delightful, which yet to enjoy is to 
 transgress His law — to have created us full of 
 impulses and appetites, which yet we satisfy at 
 the peril of our souls — is this benevolence ? Is 
 this worthy of our reverence ? Is this worthy 
 of our hearts' adoration ? And yet they teach 
 us that this is the attitude of our God towards 
 His creatures, adding to that that He is a
 
 A MAN'S FOES t8i 
 
 God of love — nay, that He is Love — Love 
 in essence. It is, and ever hath been, a thing 
 wonderful to me, how men can so wrest their 
 conscience as to believe so flat a contradic- 
 tion. 
 
 How anxiously I myself strove to believe it 
 — with what daily pain^ with what strong crying 
 and tears, I fought the battle of Reverence for 
 Right against Reverence for Belief, striving to 
 convince my heart, wiser than my head, that 
 this was the right Divine goodness, and that 
 'twas only mine own natural depravity that 
 rebelled at thinking it so — none knows save 
 God, and He, I hope, hath forgiven me. For, 
 sure, it is a sort of blasphemy to try to wrest 
 that conscience which Himself hath made our 
 guide (in belief as well as in conduct) against 
 its own light. 
 
 No one, even among the Puritans, can call 
 Captain Hamilton lax either in principle or in 
 practice ; but his view of these matters is other 
 than this, and bears less hard upon the spirits. 
 There may well be a truth in that where- 
 with my father taunted me when we had so 
 grievous a difference concerning my going with 
 Captain Hamilton to Church ; and that, the yoke 
 being of a sudden lightened, I stood in danger 
 of throwing it off entirely. And yet I know 
 not.
 
 i82 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 To follow the good Is more comfortable than 
 to flee the evil, and hath more of encourage- 
 ment ; but I know not that 'tis any easier. I 
 think it is the contrary. I myself find it an 
 easier matter to deny myself in ten sins than 
 to attain to one virtue ; but for all that, the 
 one is the child's duty and the other the slave's 
 task. 
 
 I never have doubted, since I had a child of 
 my own, which way of looking at this was the 
 more Divine. ' Like as a father pitieth his 
 own children, so is the Lord merciful to them 
 that fear Him ' — 'twas the Psalm for the day 
 when Roland was christened. And then, how- 
 it goes, ' For He knoweth whereof we are made ; 
 He remembereth that we are but dust' If this 
 be true — as who can doubt it, being the words 
 of His own Scripture ? — then 'tis not so much 
 the giving offence to Him that we should dread, 
 as the falling short of any nearness to Him 
 whereto we might, being helped of Him, hope 
 to attain. 'Look also,' saith the Psalm, 'how 
 far the east Is from the west ; so far hath He 
 set our sins from us.' ' How fair a prospect ! 
 How gracious a removal !' quoth my own heart 
 to Itself. ' And yet how consonant to what we 
 know r For if. In one view of It, they be as far 
 asunder as the poles of heaven, yet in another 
 it is but as the turning of the face from east to
 
 A MAN'S FOES 183 
 
 west, from the doing of our own will to the 
 following of His. A step by step progress, no 
 doubt, as befits our dust ; but yet, being turned 
 by His mercy in the right direction, a progress 
 wherein every faltering step leads through 
 brightening light to the perfect day. 
 
 'Tis but the shield reversed, according to the 
 fable ; but, sure, 'tis an unimaginable gain to 
 have passed from the side of iron to the side of 
 gold ; and I came out of Church a freed woman 
 from barriers that had oppressed me all my 
 life. Then, lest through mine own diffidence 
 I should fail to grasp the liberty that was set 
 within my reach, I did forthwith the thing 
 I had long been pondering, and severed myself 
 altogether from my father's communion, and by 
 the same stroke from his affection and from 
 mine old home. He despised my opinions — 
 what he knew of them — as wanting in strength* 
 which to him hath always seemed to include 
 sternness ; me also he despised as an apostate 
 from the faith of my girlhood, which, as I have 
 been explaining, I was not. 
 
 I, on my part, was debarred from resenting 
 an attitude of mind that I had foreseen, though 
 it grieved me ; I could even, strange as it 
 seemed, understand it, and find somewhat in it 
 to reverence. But I understood it best, and 
 had most toleration for it, when my father and
 
 i84 . A MAN'S FOES 
 
 I were apart, and consequently was disposed to 
 acquiesce in his manifest desire that we should 
 not often meet. For Wamphray and Rosa, 
 something to my wonder, no restraint was laid 
 upon their intercourse with us, and this was an 
 immense solace and satisfaction to me. For 
 Mr. Hewson, he avoided me in the most pointed 
 manner, taking pains in the family to show (as 
 I gathered from a word let drop by Rosa now 
 and then) that if to Mr. Murray I was despicable, 
 to him I was absolute anathema. Wherefore I 
 could not choose but marvel when, on the day 
 after Captain Hamilton's escape, he came into 
 my room, sat him down at my side, and held 
 out to me once more, as it were, the right hand 
 of fellowship. Me he greeted with something 
 of distance in his manner ; Rosa, if one may be 
 permitted an expression so paradoxical, with 
 a sort of austere warmth ; to Mr. Browning his 
 manner was dubious, as that of one who holds 
 his judgment in suspense. He answered our 
 questions concerning Mr. Murray's health and 
 Wamphray's with that preciseness that Is his 
 characteristic, as though it were a matter of 
 conscience to leave out no detail ; and then fell 
 to asking questions of his own about Captain 
 Hamilton's escape; whereof Wamphray had had 
 word early In the day, mixed with many new 
 circumstances and enlaro^ements that had no
 
 A MAN'S FOES ' 185 
 
 counterpart In the actual truth of what had 
 passed ; which I told him, he listening with rapt 
 attention. 
 
 ' Frail human nature/ he said, when I had 
 finished my story, helped out now and then by 
 the others — ' frail human nature would say that 
 this was well done of you ; but frail human 
 nature is ever too much disposed to give the 
 glory to the mortal instrument rather than 
 where the praise is really due. I trust, Mrs. 
 Hamilton, that you have not so far forgot your 
 early training as to take the glory to yourself; 
 you were but the tool In the hand of Almighty 
 Power, to whom 'tis as easy to discomfit 
 a thousand as half a dozen.' 
 
 Now, this was the very first time that anyone 
 had expressed to me a feeling anything like 
 mine own, respecting the occurrences of the 
 night before. How could I, remembering my 
 tremors, my weakness, my first plans that I 
 thought so feasible so ignominiously frustrated ; 
 and then the second, that scarce were mine at 
 all in any real sense, brought beyond all reason- 
 able expectation to succeed — how could I, 
 remembering all these things, doubt for a 
 moment that what he said was the pure truth, 
 and that I deserved no praise for the escape, 
 but Almighty Providence alone ? Also this was, 
 to the best of my remembrance, the first time
 
 1 86 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 that Master Hewson had said anything to me — 
 at least, since I began In any measure to think 
 for myself — to which I could assent heartily 
 and without reservation. So I answered him 
 to his wish, agreeing that what he said was no 
 more than truth, and disclaiming any credit 
 or praise for myself for the occurrences of the 
 night. 
 
 He looked surprised. 
 
 ''Tis but rarely, Mrs. Hamilton,' said he, ' If 
 report speak truly of you, that you now show 
 a disposition so gracious. But I am come 
 neither to praise you nor to blame you, but am 
 simply the bearer of a message to you from 
 your father.' 
 
 ' I am ready to hear you,' said I, thinking in 
 myself that I was pretty well aware of what the 
 message was like to be. 
 
 Whereupon he began to expound my father's 
 mind to me. No word less important will 
 convey an idea of his manner of discharging his 
 errand. He did all but to give out a text for 
 his homily ; and even without that aid to serious 
 exposition, he went very nigh to dividing it into 
 heads. As, for example : 
 
 Firstly, that the country was in a troublous 
 state ; and no longer fit for safe and quiet dwell- 
 ing whereon he enlarged at some length. 
 
 Secondly, that we were far from English
 
 A MAN'S FOES 187 
 
 neighbours, and were therefore in a more 
 dangerous state than those that had such. 
 
 Thirdly, that we had no longer a man at the 
 head of the household, but a frail, weak, foolish 
 woman ('tis the very fact that he spared not to 
 characterize me as such to my face), and that 
 therefore our dangers were multiplied by ten. 
 
 Fourthly, that, there being none to come to 
 our aid in any emergency, 'twould be our 
 wisdom to go where emergencies were less 
 likely to arise. 
 
 Fifthly, that such a place was Derry ; and 
 such a place, we being got to Derry, was my 
 father's house therein. 
 
 And then followed the application : that it 
 was my father's conclusion, arrived at after 
 much and painful thought over my matters, 
 that I should forthwith betake myself to this 
 place of refuge, that very day if I could, or the 
 next at the latest ; riding daily, if I pleased, to 
 Cloncally, till all my goods should be bestowed 
 in safe keeping, and the house so far dismantled 
 as I should think fit. 
 
 * Such reasonable liberty,' he continued, clear- 
 ing his throat as if for his peroration, * as a 
 married woman may think her right, worthy 
 Master James Murray hath empowered me to 
 promise you ; he, on his part, looking for such 
 compliance and obedience as a father hath a
 
 1 88 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 right to from a daughter of any age or con- 
 dition.' 
 
 'Tvvas as tempting an offer, to my mood, as 
 could well have been made me. To leave 
 behind me the care I shrank from ; to provide 
 duly for the safe keeping of my husband's 
 property, and yet to have the burden of the 
 charge of It taken off my back — It was what 
 I could have wished, had wishing been having, 
 that day. And even the condition that I should 
 render obedience to my father, to his own 
 interpretation of what was his due, seemed 
 a thing not too hard to promise, a price not too 
 dear for so many and great benefits. I looked 
 to Mr. Browning, if, perhaps, I might discern 
 some inkling of his mind anent the offer ; but 
 he had turned his eyes away. And this set me 
 meditating ; for. Indeed, I was not so dull, nor 
 so besotted with the wish to be free from my 
 responsibility, as to have failed to see, even 
 while Master Hewson was speaking, where the 
 difficulty lay. 
 
 It was, of course, that Captain Hamilton had 
 never contemplated my leaving the place, and 
 that we knew not his mind upon It. Clearly, 
 he thought It not too difficult a charge for me, 
 nor too dangerous a dwelling, since he had 
 directed me to receive men from his company, 
 should they come to me, and to find them
 
 A MAN'S FOES 189 
 
 employment about the place. 'Twas evident 
 that he looked I should remain upon the place 
 to do his will. 
 
 His property — if he thought It In my charge, 
 had I any right to shift the care of It to other 
 shoulders ? I could send a message to him, it 
 was true, and then and there I resolved to do 
 it, and upon my fear lest it should fail to come 
 safe to his hand, was all of a sudden enlightened 
 as to what folly It were to quit the house with- 
 out both sending it and hearing his reply. For 
 put the case that It m.Issed him, and that he 
 should hear unprepared that Cloncally was 
 dismantled and deserted, might he not suppose 
 that I had suffered for my action In his escape, 
 and be goaded on to do some desperate 
 thing that might damage his cause past 
 mending ? 
 
 ' Master Hewson,' said I, having come to my 
 conclusion, * I were a happy wom^an could I 
 think It right to accept my father's offer as 
 freely as he makes it. But this that he hath 
 counselled Is too great a change to venture upon 
 all at once, without careful thought and con- 
 sideration ; and besides that, I should think 
 that I acted ill by Captain Hamilton to leave 
 his house without his knowledge and permission. 
 It would lift a load from my mind could I even 
 give you a promise ; but that also is impossible
 
 I90 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 until I hear from my husband, and who can say 
 when that may be ?' 
 
 * May a man so far presume as to crave of 
 you some reason for so whimsical a conclusion ?' 
 demanded Master Hewson, in his old tone of 
 sarcasm. 
 
 I had all but forgot It, but at the first sound 
 of it a hundred scenes of strife between us rose 
 into my mind — scenes wherein I had ever and 
 always been worsted. Even then it shook for 
 one moment my faith In mine own judgment, 
 and had perhaps shaken it yet more rudely, had 
 not Mr. Browning lifted his eyes, first on 
 Mr. Hewson and then on me. As I met them 
 I knew that I had answered to his mind, and 
 thereupon felt that I had answered right. I 
 plucked up a spirit, therefore, and told him one 
 by one the reasons I have written down above, 
 which I even looked should convince him. 
 Nothing of the kind ; he rebuked me sternly. 
 
 * 'Tis ever your habit, madam,' said he, ' to 
 ^kinJ^, as you term It, /or yourself, Instead of 
 being guided by an older and far wiser head 
 than your own ; and that head your father's, 
 too, whose wishes you are bound to reverence, 
 for as great as you think yourself. But she 
 that dares to show such a temper in matters 
 spiritual, how should we look for other manners 
 from her in matters temporal ? That you find
 
 A MAN'S FOES 191 
 
 no cause to repent your contumacy In this case 
 is what I shall endeavour to wish for you rather 
 than hope or expect. Come, Mrs. Murray ; 
 your good husband and the rest will be looking 
 for us long ere we can get back to Derry. 
 Shall we go ?' 
 
 ' Nay, but under your favour, sir/ said Mr. 
 Browning, ' it seems to me that you are some- 
 thing over-severe on Mrs. Hamilton. 'TIs 
 no longer to her father's wish, but to her 
 husband's, that she owes her first obedience ; 
 and taking Into the count all she hath urged, 
 as well as a word or two he let drop last night, 
 I think she hath decided wisely •' 
 
 * Hath he made you his spokesman, sir ?' 
 asked Mr. Hewson, looking upon Captain 
 Browning very sternly. 
 
 * I might retort the question,' said Mr. 
 Browning, * were it civil to bandy words in 
 a lady's presence. But, sir, I rather choose 
 to answer it, and you shall understand that if 
 he have not gone so far as to give me authority 
 to speak for him, he hath at least desired me 
 to counsel Mrs. Hamilton when she asks it; 
 and, sir, if she had asked me to counsel her in 
 this business, I must tell you plainly that I 
 would have advised her to give you the answer 
 she hath done.' 
 
 ' Well, sir,' said Mr. Hewson, * you are very
 
 192 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 bold thus to support an undutlful daughter in 
 her rebellion ; 'tis hardly, give me leave to tell 
 you, the conduct I expected from your sister's 
 brother.' 
 
 Mr. Browning bowed, as one who should 
 say : ' We have been over this ground before ; 
 why need we retrace our steps ?' Then he 
 spoke : 
 
 ' Give us but a little time, Master Hewson ; 
 there can be no question but the city is safer 
 dwelling in these troubles than the country ; 
 I have scarce any doubt but that Captain 
 Hamilton, when we can hear from him, will 
 wish his wife to establish herself in security 
 within its wall. But I own I think that were 
 she to leave this house with the haste you 
 counsel, she would show small consideration 
 or respect to him, and that for the reasons she 
 stated herself. Why, sir, think but of it. 
 Were her message to miss him, or be delayed 
 — as who could warrant it would not ? — what 
 were his feelings were he to venture here In 
 Ignorance of her departure ? 'Tis we, I think, 
 who must wonder if you be serious in your 
 recommendation of a course so hasty and so 
 unseemly.' 
 
 'Twas all against my desire, as I said, but 
 according to my mind ; and Mr. Hewson had 
 nothing to urge against it, and so held his
 
 A MAN'S FOES 193 
 
 peace. It must have gone sorely against the 
 grain with him to be so silenced. 
 Presently he rose to take his leave. 
 
 * Mrs. Murray/ said he, ' 'tis more than time 
 we were on our way. May I pray you will be 
 speedy in your preparations ?' 
 
 ' Nay,' I broke in. ' Mr. Hewson, my sister 
 leaves me not to-night.' 
 
 * Her husband expects her, madam,' said he. 
 * Since you lay such stress on the cogency of a 
 husband's wishes, you will scarce put your will 
 in competition with that.' 
 
 * Nay, but under your favour, sir,' said Mr. 
 Browning, with a twinkle of a smile. ' I am 
 grieved to appear to go counter to you, but 
 Rosa is not fit to travel to-day ; my good 
 brother is in ignorance of her illness of last 
 night, else I am sure he had never desired her 
 to ride. I will myself conduct her to Derry 
 to-morrow, and that in better time ; 'tis too 
 late now for women and children to be out of 
 doors.' 
 
 Mr. Hewson's lips opened to reply to this — 
 no doubt by way of protest, for the man hath 
 a most absolute belief in the infallibility of his 
 own judgment — but at the moment the door 
 of the room was opened from without. Inter- 
 rupting us. He turned, and we all looked to 
 see who was about to enter. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 194 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Two children, Rosa's son and mine own, 
 stood in the doorway, with Margery behind 
 them. It can scarce be a mother's partiality, 
 I think, else my memory and my present 
 judgment are alike at fault ; but a lovelier 
 picture than was formed by the pair mine eyes 
 have never beheld. Nearly of an age, and 
 exactly of a height, they were in respect of 
 feature, complexion, and expression a perfect 
 contrast. James, Rosa's boy, was slim for his 
 height, and though he hath something of his 
 mother's exquisite tint, 'tis evident that by- 
 and-by he will be dark ; he hath brown eyes, 
 and his hair, though still golden fair, hath dark 
 shadows. He hath at times, and had that day 
 remarkably, a look of great depth and rapture 
 in his beautiful wide-opened eyes ; 'tis the look 
 of a little angel that hath been charged with 
 a message from heavens — as yet he lacks the 
 words to declare the same, and so can do no 
 more than to look it. My Roland is in every 
 point the opposite of his cousin ; as lusty a 
 child as ever I set eyes on, he hath his father's 
 sunny hair and blue laughing eyes. He seems 
 the very embodiment of earth at its best, as the 
 other hath borrowed some of his beauty from 
 heaven. 
 
 They stood for a moment hand-in-hand 
 in the doorway, and then each child ran to
 
 A MAN'S FOES 195 
 
 his mother. How the mothers responded to 
 their advance 'tis sure scarce needful for me to 
 set down. 
 
 There was one regarding us, however, that 
 had little sympathy with us. Master Hewson 
 knows nothing of the feelings of a parent, and 
 he hath no liking for children ; their ways, I 
 should judge, have too much of Nature and of 
 life to be pleasing to one whose opinion of 
 Nature Is that she is the mother of corruption, 
 and of life that it hath been bestowed upon us 
 chiefly in order to be repressed and thwarted. 
 He looked for a moment in grave disapproval, 
 first at the one of us and then at the other ; 
 then he spoke to Rosa. 
 
 ' For shame, Mrs. Murray,' said he sternly, 
 * that you will fondle your child thus foolishly ; 
 'tis not thus that you entreat him in your 
 husband's house. How shall he be disciplined 
 and taught obedience if you thus teach him to 
 know himself your Idol ? You put me much 
 in doubt of you in other respects, Mrs. Murray ; 
 for the mother that will thus kiss her child 
 openly on a week-day may well be sCispected 
 of kissing him secretly on the Sabbath.' 
 
 I looked not to see how Rosa received this 
 rebuke ; for myself, I clasped my boy the closer 
 in mine arms. 
 
 *Ah, but, Mr. Hewson,' said I, M't is God
 
 196 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Himself that hath filled the hearts of mothers 
 with love to their children ; and, sure, of all His 
 gifts to His creatures, 'tis the dearest and the 
 best' 
 
 ' Like all His other gifts, madam,' said he 
 sharply, ' it is capable of being carried to excess, 
 and then it is no better than any other excess. 
 God hath given you hunger, but He means not 
 that you should eat to gluttony ; and thirst, but 
 it is sin to drink to drunkenness. Love of 
 children ! Yes, truly, in strict moderation 'tis 
 a good thing enough ; but when Indulged out 
 of measure, as with you, 'tis a temptation and 
 a snare.' 
 
 ' Sir,' said Mr. Browning, ^ had you been a 
 father no doubt but you had learned to make 
 another estimate of a parent's love. 'TIs never 
 he that hath his child's welfare at heart that 
 will be so ill a friend to him as to spoil him, 
 but the very reverse.' 
 
 ' You will scarce dispute, sir,' said Mr. 
 Hewson, girding up his loins, as it were, to 
 the battle (sure a battle of words Is a greater 
 matter to him than any battle of blows) — ' you 
 will scarce dispute that indulgence beyond what 
 is meet in any carnal passion is a danger to the 
 immortal part of man. Love of children, gild 
 it how you will, is but a carnal passion when 
 all's said ; the very brutes possess it, and exhibit
 
 A MAN'S FOES 197 
 
 it In no small measure. Would you desire to 
 see your sister and your friend lower them- 
 selves by their folly and fondness to the level 
 of the brutes that perish ?' 
 
 'Why, sir, 1 will be bold enough/ said Mr. 
 Browning, * to crave your pardon beforehand, If 
 I be plain with you to very roundness, and so 
 will take the freedom to say that I think you 
 meddle here with matters that are beyond your 
 sphere. 'TIs God Himself, as Mrs. Hamilton 
 truly says, that hath put Into the hearts of 
 mothers everywhere the great love they bear 
 to their offspring ; and, truly, I would not think 
 so meanly of His goodness as to suppose He 
 hath done It for a snare to them. 'Tis a great 
 light and a mighty strength to them in the hard 
 and noble task of training the young souls ; and 
 though 'tis true, no doubt, that 'tis given in 
 some sort to the brutes, that were rather, in 
 my judgment, ennobling to the brutes than 
 degrading to the emotion.' 
 
 * This is all mighty specious, Mr. Browning,' 
 said Mr. Hewson ; 'and were you of my cloth 
 I would not stick to answer you. But can you 
 doubt, sir, that the contact of everyday matters 
 hath a blunting effect upon the mind, blinding 
 it to the finer issues of thought ? As a minister, 
 I claim my right to guide my flock, being 
 specially set apart by mine office to think for
 
 198 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 them in those matters wherein they can scarce 
 look to be able to think for themselves.' 
 
 ' To think for them, perhaps, Master Hewson,' 
 said Rosa, suddenly plucking up a spirit and a 
 voice, her son upon her lap being her inspira- 
 tion, I doubt not — ' to think for them, and 
 perhaps even to guide them, but scarce to 
 lead them in bonds. No minister, were he 
 the wisest that ever drew breath, can dispense 
 them from the rule of their own conscience ; 
 'tis that that must be their guide, blaming or 
 acquitting.' 
 
 'What, Mrs. Murray, you too!' said he, 
 astonished as though a lamb had turned to 
 withstand him — ' you too ! 'Tis past belief, the 
 corrupting influence of evil example, even on 
 one so gracious. For sure am I that you had 
 not dared to answer me thus in your husband's 
 house ; no, nor will not, when I make this the 
 subject of an evening's exhortation, as I shall 
 very soon.' 
 
 He rose to his feet. 
 
 ' I must be going,' said he ; I had bidden 
 him to stay for our supper, but he disregarded 
 mine invitation altogether, answering me not by 
 so much as a single word or a sign. ' Be you 
 sure of this, gentlewomen both,' said he by way 
 of farewell, ' that he that indulges himself in 
 idolatry heaps up retribution to his own soul ;
 
 A MAN'S FOES 199 
 
 an idol is a sure rod in the hand of an avenging 
 God.' And so left us, without a word of saluta- 
 tion. 
 
 Captain Browning, as my representative, fol- 
 lowed him from the room, leaving Rosa and me 
 by ourselves with the children.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 6 SANCTA SIMPLICITAS ! 
 
 Scarce had they left us, when Rosa put her son 
 from her lap. 
 
 So did not I, being wroth in my heart with 
 Mr. Hewson for his presumption in rating us 
 like two froward children. What had he to do, 
 I wondered, to settle for us when and how often 
 we might kiss our children, he who had none ? 
 Without meaning it, he had effectually undone 
 his errand ; mine appetite for my father's pro- 
 tection was all gone, now that I remembered 
 what it would be to accept along with it the 
 sauce of his minister's admonitions. Even 
 before my marriage, when these were familiar 
 to me as my daily tasks, they were distasteful 
 to me ; now disuse had made them altogether 
 offensive and unendurable. 
 
 Presently the little James began to clamour 
 to Rosa to be taken up again upon her knee. 
 The mother in her could not resist his caresses.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 201 
 
 She took him again, and bent her head over his 
 shining curls, and I could see that a tear dropped 
 upon them. 
 
 'What, Rosa!' I exclaimed. * In tears? You 
 would never attach so much importance to any- 
 thing Mr. Hewson might say ?' 
 
 ' Why not ?' she answered, veering round 
 upon a sudden from the view she had held but 
 a minute ago to side with him. ' Is he not a 
 good and holy man ? Is it not true what he 
 said, that he is one set apart by his very calling 
 to decide upon the lawfulness or sinfulness of 
 what we do ?' 
 
 * Having renounced the Pope,' said I flip- 
 pantly, ^ I'd scarce acknowledge the right of 
 any other man to do so much.' 
 
 ' Mary !' said she in a tone of reproof, and 
 paused. ' But oh, Mary !' she continued the 
 next minute, * whether he have the right or no, 
 you know he claims It. And Is It a little thing 
 to be made the subject of his exhortations 
 before the whole family ; to be held up to 
 reprobation, as it were, until for very peace^ 
 sake I submit, whether I be convinced or no ?' 
 
 * A small thing, forsooth !' said I In a sudden 
 heat of indignation, so keenly did this her fear 
 recall to me Mr. Hewson's dealings with myself 
 in former years. ' No, Indeed, it is not to be 
 borne ! I wonder that you will so much as
 
 202 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 think of enduring such insolence from any man, 
 were he a minister ten times over. Complain 
 to Wamphray ; ask him to protect you from it.' 
 
 * My dear Mary,' said she, smiling, as one 
 might figure it, through rain, ' you have cer- 
 tainly forgotten what Mr. Hewson's position is 
 in your father's house. Complain to Wam- 
 phray indeed ! What do you think he'd do 
 if I did ? Interfere with the minister's authority 
 and in my behalf ? He were far more like to 
 support him against me. And if they were to 
 fall out, 'tis Wamphray, I do verily think, that 
 would have to shift his quarters, not he.' She 
 paused again, and then again continued, her 
 voice breaking and changing so that I pitied 
 her for all she angered me. ' But when all's 
 said,' said she. * 'tis being convinced I dread 
 more than being coerced. I care less that he 
 should impose his will on my obedience than 
 his opinion on my conscience.' 
 
 * I wonder to hear you, Rosa!' said I, a little 
 vexed with her for her tenderness. ' Is this 
 fit language for a woman that is a Protestant ?' 
 
 Captain Browning returned at the moment, 
 and I appealed to him. 
 
 ' Come here,' I said to him, * and listen to a 
 tale of a Protestant director as absolute as ever 
 was Catholic priest since the beginning of the 
 world. Here is Master Hewson at the head of
 
 A MAN'S FOES . 203 
 
 the spiritual affairs of my father's house. Here 
 is Rosa more than half ready to submit to him, 
 even in a matter wherein her judgment accords 
 not with his ; partly for peace' sake and partly 
 for fear of his tongue, which is as bad as the 
 pillory. Her husband, so she says, is more 
 likely to support him than her should she be 
 driven to resist. Whatsoever he says, they all 
 agree to ; what he permits, they allow them- 
 selves in ; what he disapproves, they regard as 
 a thing unlawful, and even accursed if the dis- 
 approval be emphatic' 
 
 ''Tis a highly-coloured picture,' said Mr. 
 Browning, smiling. 
 
 ' 'Tis done from the life, I assure you,' I re- 
 joined. ' Ask Rosa else, though she be but a 
 half-hearted witness, being much inclined to 
 admit his right to all that I say.' 
 
 ' Surely,' said she, ' 'tis at least half admitted 
 in the man's mere office. What is the use of 
 ordaining a man a minister if he be not ' 
 
 ' To rule instead of to serve ?' I finished for 
 her as she paused, clean forgetting my manners 
 in the heat of the discussion. 
 
 ' There can sure be little question of the un- 
 lawfulness of such a claim,' said Captain Brown- 
 ing; 'though I marvel less that it should be 
 allowed than that men should set it up.' 
 
 * Less !' said I, astonished.
 
 204 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 * Yes, truly,' said he, with a twinkle far back 
 in his eye, but yet, methought, with something 
 as keen as mine own feeling deeper yet than 
 that. ' Submission to such a claim,' said he, 
 ' is easily understood, when you remember the 
 difficulty your ordinary man hath in coming to 
 any conclusion whatever outside his own ordinary 
 affairs of every day. I feel it myself whenever 
 I am met by a spiritual issue. He that would 
 save me the pain of decision were a friend 
 indeed ! I am but a plain sailor ; sure, ques- 
 tions in casuistry are out of my sphere, to say 
 nothing of the further embarrassment that, when 
 with labour of mind I have arrived at an opinion, 
 'tis great odds but my nearest neighbour may 
 be ready to come to blows with me to compel 
 me to alter it. See what pains we be saved, 
 and what heart-burnings into the bargain, if we 
 both agree to be led by some other man — say, 
 for argument's sake, by our minister.' 
 
 I laughed. 
 
 ' You may be plagued with such an infirmity 
 of decision as you describe,' said I, thinking the 
 contrary of him while I said it. ' But I am 
 very certain that my father hath no difficulty of 
 the sort.' At that both he and Rosa fell to 
 laughing also. 'And yet,' I continued, 'of all 
 Mr. Hewson's followers, he is the heartiest and 
 the most undoubting.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 205 
 
 ' 'TIs the exact contrary with him,' said Mr. 
 Browning, still laughing. * But extremes meet, 
 as they tell us; and the result is the same. His 
 opinions are so strong that he thinks them cer- 
 tainties ; Mr. Hevvson's agree with his in every 
 point. Now, 'tis an indisputable fact that when 
 a man tells me the thing I am sure of, I am 
 sure he is telling me the thing that is true. Mr. 
 Murray, therefore — it follows of course ! — hear- 
 ing Mr. Hewson say always the thing that he 
 himself is sure of, is sure that he says always 
 the absolute truth ; and he that says always the 
 absolute truth, wherein falls he short of infalli- 
 bility ? 'Tis a demonstration — and the applica- 
 tion is that he is one to be followed without 
 swerving or doubting. With your father, belief 
 in Mr. Hewson hath come to so great a height 
 that I think, were they to disagree — to be sure, 
 it is a thing most unlikely — but were it to 
 happen, I think — I do verily think — that Mr. 
 Murray might go so far as to consider whether 
 he might not himself be in the wrong.' 
 
 I laughed again. 
 
 ' Nay,' said I ; 'if Mr. Hewson can do 
 miracles, we may as well submit to him at once 
 and have done with it.' 
 
 * This is all very well, and very amusing,' 
 said Rosa, with her brother's sparkling of the 
 eye, but like him, as I thought, with a ground
 
 2o6 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 of serious Interest beneath the light surface. 
 Her arms were close around her son, who had 
 fallen asleep upon her lap. ' You show much 
 subtlety in your apprehension of the relations 
 between Mr. Murray and his minister, whom 
 yet you will not go so far as to call his spiritual 
 guide ; and yet it is a fact that I have seen Mr. 
 Hewson in the very mood of an oracle, as 
 mysterious and as imperative ! But it sets me 
 a-marvelling that my brother, who hath but just 
 ended his confession, wherein he professed him- 
 self so conscious of his liability to error, should 
 forthwith fall a-quarrelling with one that desires 
 to assume that same good office towards him, 
 of guide and director. Sure, what would you 
 have ?' 
 
 * My guide by force ? 'tis little argument of 
 his fitness for the post,' said Mr. Browning, 
 with a change of tone that was both sudden 
 and striking. * You ask what I would have ? 
 — faith, I would have him that aspires to so 
 delicate an office show at least some small sense 
 of his share In that same weakness. Is he not 
 human like myself, and as apt to err ? sure, he 
 shows it most broadly, to my thinking, in that 
 very article of his claim to rule the consciences 
 of others, his equals. Advice, to the best of 
 his faulty human judgment, he might offer with 
 modesty, and I might accept it with gratitude.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 207 
 
 if mine own endorsed it. But how far unlike 
 this is Mr. Hewson's attitude towards you !' 
 
 ' 'Tis at the least excusable/ said Rosa, ' that 
 he should desire to have me go by his matured 
 opinion, rather than by mine own careless im- 
 pressions. He pushes it too far, it is true, but 
 the meaning is good.' 
 
 * No doubt,' said Mr. Browning, * had he one 
 touch of humility to temper his imperiousness. 
 But now, Rosa — waverer that you are ; for I 
 thought you gave Mr. Hewson a very good 
 answer, and one that he deserved — but tell me 
 this : what is to hinder you from having an 
 opinion of your own as matured as his, and as 
 much to be trusted, instead of those careless 
 impressions that you speak of ?' 
 
 ' Ah !' said Rosa, with a quick glance at the 
 sleeping child in her arms, ' 'tis the deceitful- 
 ness of riches, past question. My darling T 
 said she, stooping to touch his forehead with 
 her lips. ' Your question is only too easy to 
 answer, brother,' said she, looking up at him 
 where he stood. * More shame for me !' 
 
 Waverer she was as she spoke ; for there was 
 that in her face that went to and fro between 
 tears and laughter ; but however tempered by 
 the laughter, it was the tears that came from 
 the deeper source. Her brother looked at her 
 with much the same face as she at her son.
 
 2o8 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' Rosa,' said he very softly, ' I begin to think 
 that 'twas because you feared to be convinced 
 by Mr. Hewson that you took courage to con- 
 tradict him.' 
 
 ' It was so, exactly,' said she, with a covert 
 half-smile to me. For this was the very thing 
 she had confessed to me before he entered the 
 room. 'Twas a strange trick of these two, and 
 one I often noticed, to think, as it were, each 
 other's thoughts, and speak each other's words 
 unwittingly. 
 
 He stood for a minute silent and pondering. 
 Then he spoke, with a more weighty earnest- 
 ness than ever I heard from any other lips. 
 
 ' I would not emulate his arrogance,' said he, 
 * nor presume to tell you your duty, for all I be 
 your brother and was once your guardian. But, 
 Rosa, were I in your place, I would be before- 
 hand with him, and have my mind made up 
 before he hath the chance to determine it. You 
 told him very truly that it was not in his power 
 to dispense you from obedience to your own 
 conscience. But if it is your own conscience 
 you must obey, then certainly it is your own 
 conscience, undisguised by any man's gloss, that 
 you must listen to.' 
 
 * But what if I mistake its orders ?' asked she. 
 
 ' Then I ask you again,' said he — ' 'tis the 
 old question that we can never get away from
 
 A MAN'S FOES 209 
 
 — who may not ? Is he more assured from 
 error than yourself ? You will grant me that he 
 is not ; but I go further — much further — than 
 that : I hold that even if you do mistake its 
 orders — nay, even if your conscience be itself 
 in error — it is yet your duty to be guided 
 thereby, and to bring all other guidance to 
 its test before you yield to it.' 
 
 *A paradox,' said I, thinking within myself 
 that it was a paradox savouring mightily of 
 Anabaptistry. 
 
 'A paradox, no doubt,' he replied to me, 
 * but a verity none the less.' 
 
 ' Scarcely, I think,' said Rosa, ' for see where 
 it would lead you : the most wicked actions — 
 you could not condemn them if you believed 
 them to spring from a true sense of duty.' 
 
 ' Could I not ?' said he. ^ I said not so, I am 
 sure.' ^ 
 
 ' Why/ said I, ' even those actions of the 
 King's, that you hold so evil that they are our 
 justification for renouncing him — those actions 
 that we all combine to denounce — upon your 
 own showing you cannot condemn him for them.' 
 
 ' I cannot, nor I do not,' said he, with a half- 
 smile at my vehemence. ' If his conscience did 
 verily require them of him, he had no choice 
 but to obey. But it is not forbidden, that I can 
 see, to put the question : Whether a man with 
 
 VOL. I. 14
 
 2IO A MAN'S FOES 
 
 a conscience so at variance from the consciences 
 of the great majority of his subjects can be fit 
 to bear rule over them. Him, if I hold him 
 governed by a pure wish to do the right, I 
 cannot condemn ; but 'tis by what he does that 
 I must gauge the rightness of his apprehension 
 thereof, and I hold him one whose conscience 
 hath directed him amiss — far amiss — as a com- 
 pass might point to the south instead of to the 
 north. His actions carry their own condemna- 
 tion, as I think ; for he that is so bent as the 
 King on his right to choose his own Church, 
 how can he refuse the same to his subjects ? 
 He is self-convicted in that article, had he but 
 the eyes to see it. But yet I believe him truly 
 desirous to do the thing he deems his duty, and 
 'tis partly for this reason that I would fain refer 
 the matter to the arbitrament of Heaven, the 
 ancient wager of battle.' He paused. * And 
 therein,' he ended gravely, * may God defend 
 the right.' 
 
 ' Amen,' said Rosa. 
 
 *And amen,' said I. 'Though I say 
 ** Amen," ' I added the next moment, ' with a 
 certain reservation — to wit, that the right be on 
 our side.' 
 
 ' It is even but too natural,' he admitted 
 ruefully. ' But I would fain say it without 
 reference to mine own believing ; and if it be
 
 A MAN'S FOES 2n 
 
 Otherwise with me, then God amend my mean- 
 ing.' 
 
 He was become mighty grave as he spoke 
 these words. We fell quickly into his mood. 
 
 * I fear,' I told him, 'that I cannot follow you 
 in all you say; I think you go too far — I mean 
 with reference to the duty of being led by our 
 own private consciences, and by these alone.' 
 
 * I fear I can,' said Rosa at my side. ' I'd 
 rather close mine eyes to it, for all that ; 'tis a 
 privilege I have little liking to, that same of 
 independence.' 
 
 ' The voice of God,' I said, pursuing mine 
 own thought — ^ conscience, that is the voice of 
 God speaking in our hearts, can never, sure, 
 lead us so far astray as the King hath gone !' 
 
 ' I nothing doubt but it is the voice of God,' 
 said Mr. Browning. ' But speaking, as you say, 
 in our hearts, it hath but poor interpreters, mis- 
 leading as harbour-lights seen through a shift- 
 ing fog ; and yet, where else is any light or any 
 hope ? Lady,' said he to me, ' you have not 
 had your ship to bring to port, through the 
 storms and mists of the channel, as I have, else 
 had you learnt both to know your judgment for 
 as faulty as it is, and to trust it in spite of its 
 faultiness. What are you smiling at ?' — to Rosa. 
 
 * I was but wondering,' said she very slyly, 
 * if the whole race of pilots had become extinct.*
 
 212 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 If he smiled at her sauciness — which had yet 
 its core of earnest — it diverted him no whit 
 from the matter in hand. 
 
 * For once that they can steer you, each in 
 his own narrow channel,' said he, ' there are a 
 thousand times where you must steer yourself 
 — ay, and with none to help you should you fall 
 upon destruction. I must beg pardon for my 
 presuming,' said he to me, ' for, sure, 'tis nothing 
 less in a man like me, plain to very rudeness, to 
 attempt to handle so great subjects. But to 
 say the truth, this one of all others doth set me 
 preaching in mine own despite. 'Tis the very 
 pith and marrow of our Protestantism ; 'tis the 
 prime gain of all our struggles ; this, of freedom 
 from those that stood between our souls and 
 our God. If we lose it — if through diffidence 
 or weakness we let it slip from our grasp — what 
 have we gained that is worth the coil we have 
 kept ?' 
 
 His eyes had lit up like flames, and glowed 
 with the fire of his vehemence. I found it 
 greatly to my mind to see a man of action thus 
 carried away by a thing so intangible as a 
 thought. 
 
 ' I am with you in the principle/ I answered 
 him. ' I demur only to the length you carry It. 
 I cannot but think that you push it too far.' 
 
 ' Madam,' said he, with a voice of conviction,
 
 A MAN'S FOES 213 
 
 * it Is the principle that lies at the very heart of 
 greatness ; in the service of God, no less than 
 in other matters, it shines every way, like a 
 candle in a clear lantern ; and there is nothing, 
 I think, too remote to be reached by its rays. 
 Though who,' continued he, with a gesture of 
 self-contempt — ' who am I that I should speak 
 of greatness, either In the service of God or of 
 my country ? 'Tis set for ever beyond my 
 reach ; 'tis almost out of my view. I, the 
 plainest of plain sailors ; my ship a mere 
 victualler ; my calling truly hath little to do 
 with such matters ; 'tis with routine, far more 
 than conscience, that I must concern myself. 
 Were I a fighting sailor even, and in a King's 
 ship, there were a chance of drawing my sword 
 for my country. But as it Is ' 
 
 ' 'Twere an easy matter, no doubt, to make 
 the change,' said I, ' if you have it so deeply at 
 heart.' 
 
 For the man's voice thrilled as he spoke with 
 his eagerness. 
 
 ' Nay,' said he, * I can scarce say that I desire 
 it ; that is the strange thing. My conscience', 
 said he, ' that I hold it so unquestionably my 
 right and privilege to obey, doth tell me to 
 abide in mine own appointed calling, and to dis- 
 charge the duty that hath fallen to my lot, 
 trifling though it be. If there be greater
 
 214: A MAN'S FOES 
 
 service for me to do, I nothing doubt but it 
 will find me where I am,' said he slowly, and 
 with a half-smile. ^ A few more cargoes safely 
 brought to hand — a passenger or a message 
 taken where they be desired — that is the limit 
 of the likelihood. And yet,' he went on, ' I 
 cannot chose but ponder the great subjects ; I 
 turn them over and about in my mind, and 
 form mine own conclusions, for all the world as 
 if I were a minister like Mr. Hewson. If it 
 stood with your good liking, now,' said he, * I 
 would fain tell you a little tale that hath passed 
 through my mind more than once while w^e 
 have been talking ; it is one very pertinent to 
 the subject we have been debating.' 
 
 I signified my desire that he would proceed. 
 
 * I would wager that I know the story/ said 
 Rosa, smiling. 
 
 * You were very forgetful else,' said her 
 brother, ' for many and many's the time you 
 have heard it. 'Tis one I love to repeat, for it 
 hath often been a happy guide to me in my 
 perplexities. 'Tis a story of John Huss, the 
 reformer and martyr,' said he to me, ' a saying 
 of his at his burning. You know, doubtless, 
 the main facts of it.' 
 
 * Of his death ? Yes/ I said. ' How he was 
 lured from safety upon a safe-conduct, which 
 was basely violated, and burned to death at the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 215 
 
 stake for his faith — a holy martyr if ever there 
 was one.' 
 
 * A holy martyr, past question,' said Mr. 
 Browning. ' I wonder if you will admit some- 
 thing of the spirit of the martyr in him that 
 was the other actor in the tale ? The martyr 
 did; 
 
 ' Tell it/ I said, ' and we shall see.' 
 ' It was at his burning,' said Mr. Browning. 
 ' All was ready ; he was fastened to the stake, 
 the faggots were piled about him, the soldiers 
 stood around ready to set fire to them. At 
 that moment there appeared, making his way 
 through the crowd, a wretched peasant, lean, 
 ragged, aged, loaded with a great faggot of 
 wood, as great as he could carry, on his back. 
 '' Hold," he cried ; " let me add this faggot to 
 the pile; I bring it to help to burn the heretic." 
 But when it was placed he was not satisfied. 
 It was not near enough to Huss. He desired, 
 he said, that it should be part of the very wood 
 that should consume him, and that he should 
 see and be sure that it was so. At that the 
 soldiers fell to jeering him for his folly, the 
 crowd to blaming him for his rancour. No one 
 would put forth a hand to help him to place it 
 to his mind. Then Huss spoke to him. '' Have 
 I ever done any harm to you or yours," said he, 
 *' that you show such bitterness against me ?"
 
 2i6 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 " To me or mine ? None," said the man. 
 '' Then why do you desire so greatly to lend 
 a hand to my burning ?" said Huss. '' Because 
 you are a heretic," said the peasant — " a heretic 
 accursed and hateful to God, If not to man. 
 He that helps to kill you is doing God service. 
 The wood in our valley Is scarce this year and 
 dear ; the winter, they tell us, will be a hard 
 one. I am poor and old, and shall dearly miss 
 this faggot that I bring. Therefore I would 
 not have it wasted ; I desire that It bear Its part 
 In burning a heretic off the face of the earth. 
 So shall my sacrifice be pleasing to God ; so 
 may it help to save my soul alive." Then Huss 
 put forth his own hand, and helped the peasant 
 to place the faggot to his wish. ''O sanctd 
 simplicitas^' said he. "Perhaps this thy faggot 
 may help to save us both." ' 
 
 The water stood In mine eyes as he ended. 
 
 * It was a Chrlst-like saying,' said I. 
 
 * None was ever more so,' said he. ' But the 
 peasant — he that was commended of the 
 martyr — what say you of the spirit he showed V 
 
 ' It was the clean contrary of Christ-like,' said 
 I quickly. ' A rancorous spirit and a bitter, 
 nowise admirable to me.' 
 
 * And yet the martyr praised It,' said he, and 
 so was silent, to let me consider the marvel. 
 Sure, at the moment I thought it no less.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 217 
 
 As I bent my mind to it, there came a woman 
 out of the dusk of the doorway, and stood 
 beside us. It was old Annot Wilson, the 
 gardener's wife. She had come with Margery 
 into the room to fetch away the children, and 
 so had heard something of what had been 
 said. 
 
 ' Never praise him, sir,' she said to Mr. 
 Browning, with a little visible trepidation in her 
 manner, as of one that knew herself presuming ; 
 she is, indeed, a civil woman enough, and hath 
 never forgotten her place that I remember but 
 this once. ' Never heed his martyrdom. Was 
 he ocht mair than a man for that ? My certie, 
 he was far astray that would lippen to w^orks for 
 salvation, let alane sic a wark as that, sinfu' 
 an' deevilish baith in the thocht an' in the 
 actin'.' 
 
 And with that she dropped her curtsey and 
 was gone with Roland in her arms. 
 
 I, as though there needed no more than to 
 show me the image of my narrowness to cure 
 me thereof, felt as though a veil were drawn 
 away from before mine eyes. Annot, poor 
 woman ! had no desire but to set the truth 
 before us. She did, I believe ; but how 
 differently from her meaning ! 'Tis a strange 
 thought this ; I have often pondered it since. 
 
 * It is true,' I said to Mr. Browning, 'that he
 
 2i8 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 did the best he knew, and that he spared not to 
 make some sacrifice for his faith, such as it 
 was.' 
 
 * And that,' he rejoined, ' if it be not the 
 whole of salvation, is at least the beginning of 
 grace. To do the best we know — is it not the 
 first step we take on the Way of Life ?'
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW THERE CAME NEWS TO CLONCALLY OF THAT 
 WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN A MASSACRE. 
 
 Not much of any Interest passed In the first 
 fortnight after my husband's escape from Clon- 
 cally. Things went on from day to day In their 
 accustomed course ; save, to be sure, that dally 
 and almost hourly there crept into the ordinary 
 rule of the house a greater caution, a more war- 
 like order. 'Twas a natural thing enough, when 
 one comes to think of it, that, having lost our 
 chief defender, we should look more sharply 
 than formerly to the means whereby we might 
 fill his place. Not, truly, that ever Captain 
 Hamilton had much time on his hands to see 
 to the defence of his own house ; but then, had 
 we ever stood In need of his presence for our 
 safety. It had been at the least possible that we 
 might have it. Now, let us need it never 
 so sorely, there was but slender hope of It, 
 therefore it behoved us to cast about for means
 
 220 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 whereby we might attain to stand on our own 
 feet, as one might phrase It, and suffice for our- 
 selves. 
 
 We were but copying herein the example 
 that had long been set us by most of the other 
 houses of the county, and for that matter, by 
 all I could hear, by most Protestant houses 
 throughout all Ireland. There were none in 
 our neighbourhood, I know, but had done for 
 weeks as we now proceeded to do also. This 
 was nothing less than to turn the house, every 
 evening of our lives, Into a fortress — a fortress 
 as strong as we could make it. All doors, both 
 of house and offices, were shut before sundown, 
 and secured as if we meant to stand a siege. 
 The windows were all shuttered and barred 
 from within, and in the shutters of those on the 
 lower stories were loopholes, through which our 
 men might fire on any enemy. In the entrance- 
 hall was placed a stand of arms ready loaded. 
 They caused as much alarm to some of the 
 women' — foolish souls ! — as ever they were like 
 to do to any enemy. The men were all 
 quartered in the mansion-house itself, and took 
 it in turns to mount guard throughout the 
 night ; and, indeed, It brought me nigh to 
 laughter to see how well they played the 
 soldier ; for one night, about six of the clock, 
 my brother Wamphray having ridden out from
 
 A MAN'S FOES 221 
 
 Derry to visit me, it was wonderful to see the 
 parade that Cargill made of reconnoitring 
 before he would open the door to him ; nor 
 would he do it even when he was satisfied as to 
 who our visitor was, except two footmen stood 
 beside him with muskets loaded and levelled, 
 and he himself had his gun laid ready to his 
 hand upon the table. 
 
 Wamphray commended them highly for all 
 this diligent wanness, on the ground that 'tis 
 too late to lock the door when the steed is 
 stolen; saying that In the state the country then 
 was, it being Impossible to tell friend from foe, 
 he was the truest friend to peace and order that 
 afforded the least temptation to violence or 
 aggression. 
 
 Now, there was no one at Cloncally (save 
 perhaps, as I said a minute ago, one or two of 
 the maids) that was given to Idle tremors and 
 fears. Cargill had served in his youth, and 
 most of the men in the yard knew the smell of 
 powder, and found It relishing. But though 
 one may be able to look steadfastly on fair 
 fighting, even in prospect (when 'tis far worse 
 than the reality), 'tis quite another matter when 
 it comes to being butchered by a mob of wild 
 savages ; and there was never a man of the Pro- 
 testants in Ulster In those days that dared to 
 say at night, when he laid his head upon his
 
 222 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 pillow, that he would open his eyes peacefully 
 on the morrow's light. For there was 111 blood 
 between the Ultoghs and the men of Ulster — 
 ill blood and a constant chafing sore. Nor 
 was It altogether between the Irlshry and the 
 Englishry ; among these latter there was di- 
 vision ; and It was greatly a matter of religion 
 whether a man sided with his own countrymen 
 or aealnst them. It will be hard for future 
 generations to believe this, but so It was ; even 
 at this day, as I write, there be many among 
 the Catholics that would sooner see their 
 countrymen at the mercy of the Irish than to 
 have things settled as they be. 
 
 Never a day passed, in the end of November 
 and the first of December, but some disquieting 
 news came to our ears. 'Twas daily hearing 
 how the Irlshry and the low Catholics were 
 gathering together chain -bridles and skeans 
 and half-pikes. The priests kept the same in 
 their houses, for greater safety In the storing 
 and ease In the distributing of them. Our own 
 priest in the village, Father Gorman O'Neill, 
 gave out In one week two score half-pikes and 
 two score chain-bridles, and who but he ? — and 
 yet he hath but forty pounds a year to his cure. 
 I had it from a sure source, and could well be- 
 lieve it, besides, from that which had come with- 
 in mine own knowledge. For when Timothy the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 223 
 
 groom took my jennet to be shod, O'Shane, the 
 blacksmith, told him very coolly that he must 
 wait his leisure ; ' for,' said he, ' my hands are 
 far too full e'en now to shoe ladies' horses.' A 
 fact that spoke for itself; for what Irishman 
 would have dared to return such answer to his 
 master, had he not looked to have the same 
 presently under his feet, to be trampled upon at 
 his pleasure ? 
 
 Day by day the rumours grew and the fear 
 increased. 'Twas become an old story, that of 
 the disarming of the Protestants by Tyrconnel's 
 orders ; and though it was never obeyed in 
 Ulster to the same degree as I believe it was 
 in the South, yet the mere name of it took, as 
 it were, the backbone out of us ; as knowing 
 that there was no help for us in our governors, 
 who should, nevertheless, have been the praise 
 and protection of us well-doers, and the terror 
 of the others who did evil. Clean the contrary 
 were they ; and yet I know not but the dis- 
 couragement of their conduct was a blessing in 
 disguise, as stirring us up to do the best we 
 could for ourselves. 
 
 All this time there came out of Derry but 
 two of these true men, and tall of their hands, 
 that Captain Hamilton had given us charge to 
 entertain. The rest, I could but conclude, had 
 marched with their colonel to Dublin ; for 'twas
 
 224 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 on the 23rd, but a day or two after Captain 
 Hamilton's escape, that the regiment left Derry 
 for that place. I believe I had the very last of 
 the news of them ; for about noon on that day 
 there came an orderly spurring in haste into the 
 court, the bearer of my Lord Mountjoy's part- 
 ing courtesies, and desiring, of his part, to hear 
 that I had not suffered in health from the late 
 excitement ; to which I returned such answer 
 as seemed fit. A soldier's wife should have 
 understood how strange a thing it was that the 
 garrison should be withdrawn from a town 
 before the incoming regiment was on the spot 
 to replace them ; and it was well enough known 
 that no other regiment had marched into Derry. 
 But I protest I thought nothing of it at the 
 time ; nor, among all the old soldiers I had in 
 my employ, nor from any of those that came to 
 see me, did I hear so much as a w^hisper of its 
 strangeness. Yet now, to look back upon it, it 
 does seem w^ell-nigh as incredible that the thing 
 should have drawn so little notice, as that 
 Richard Talbot, soldier as he was, or once had 
 been, should have done it. 
 
 Still, another week passed by quietly enough ; 
 nothing befell of any interest, though the 
 threatening rumours came in thicker and 
 thicker. 'Tis ever the way with your great 
 storm, whether in the sky or among ourselves,
 
 A MAN'S FOES 225 
 
 to go on threatening and threatening, plh'ng 
 deeper darkness upon that which was dark 
 enough before, till of a sudden they burst upon 
 you with peal upon peal of thunder, and lashing 
 rain, and danger and fear to boot. 
 
 And as, in the gathering tempest, there wants 
 not the flying gleam of sunshine to give force, 
 by contrast, to the gloom ; so here likewise we 
 had our burst of brightness — a glorious one. 
 Ah, sure ! no mere freak of driving cloud, but 
 a true earnest of the sun, steadfast above the 
 storm, and of the shining time that should 
 follow it, its fury being spent. 
 
 Mr. Browning was he that brought me the 
 tidings, coming into my presence on one of 
 those days of waiting with a flush on his cheek 
 and a fire in his eye that prepared me for the 
 great news he brought. Sure, I had guessed it 
 before ever he opened his mouth. I knew it 
 was no matter of private import that had so 
 moved this man as to give him the air of 
 a prophet rapt out of himself for the glory 
 of his message. And had not all men's 
 hearts and eyes been turned for months to 
 Holland ? 
 
 I rose to meet him, and remained standing, 
 out of expectation of some communication that 
 should command my reverence. And, sure 
 enough, I had it. 
 
 VOL. I. 15
 
 226 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 * Ah, madam, you divine it !' was his greeting 
 to me, nothing else or less. 
 
 Aught personal would have been clean out of 
 place in the mouth of such a messenger. 
 
 ' I divine I know not what,' I answered him ; 
 * but there is '* glad tidings of great joy " writ 
 large upon your face to-day.' 
 
 ' The champion of our cause hath appeared, 
 and hath declared himself,' said he. 'The 
 Prince of Orange hath landed in Torbay — nay, 
 he may be in London by this time, for aught I 
 know ; 'twas on the fifth of last month, three 
 weeks ago and more, that he came ashore. 
 'Tis sure news, and truly, if ever it was the 
 duty of men to rejoice, 'tis ours this day, that 
 see the end of all our troubles.' 
 
 ' Alas !' I said, shaking my head, ' I doubt 
 there be some of our troubles, at least, to come. 
 King James will struggle hard before he 
 renounces the cherished hope of years ; he 
 hath power at his back. There will be 
 fighting. Who knows but the three kingdoms 
 may be in a flame before our deliverance is 
 assured ?' 
 
 * Suppose they should,' he flashed out upon 
 me. ' In faith, I little doubt but they will. 
 But what man is he that will count the cost 
 when the issue lies plain before him and the 
 end is assured ?'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 227 
 
 * The end assured ?' I repeated. ' How can 
 that be ? Alas, sir ! the gauntlet once thrown 
 down, who can say which side will come out 
 victorious ?' 
 
 ' Why, that will 1/ said he, ' and venture my 
 life upon my prophecy. The King hath another 
 adversary to face this time than any he hath 
 hitherto encountered. Ah, madam ! this is no 
 curled and scented darling, like Monmouth, 
 that hath taken our cause in hand ; 'tis a man, 
 and a great one. There lives not such another 
 leader ; Berwick is a child in arms to him. 
 And as he is, so are his soldiers — or such they 
 grow. Fear, as it hath no place in his heart, 
 so it abides not his presence. The meanest 
 man in his army takes some tincture of his 
 quality, as the loadstone touches all iron with 
 its own temper. I cannot but foresee his 
 triumph, he being such as he is and his 
 cause so righteous. To doubt it were to 
 question the goodness of God, that hath heard 
 the cry of His people and is risen to deliver 
 them.' 
 
 How happy was I in his confidence ! How 
 near and how sure seemed victory and peace at 
 that moment I Nor yet was his confidence 
 misplaced. Victory we have this day ; and 
 Peace, sure it follows hard upon her footsteps. 
 We saw them plain enough, and near, and so
 
 228 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 they were : our faith seemed already to be 
 sight ; our hope, possession. But betwixt us 
 and them there was a great gulf fixed that we 
 saw not or saw but dimly — a gulf of pain and 
 effort — pain of our own bearing, effort of our 
 own endeavouring. What champion could help 
 us here, or close the gulf to save us ? Why, 
 none ; Curtius himself could have done us no 
 more good than the most ordinary mortal. 
 Many and many a Hfe was swallowed by that 
 gulf before the first foot was set in safety upon 
 the other brink. Even had we known all that 
 lay before us, I believe we had rejoiced more 
 than we had feared at the first hearing of news 
 so comfortable ; as it was, being so short of 
 sight, both I and mine went about our daily 
 tasks with hearts that sang in our breasts for 
 joy of a load removed. 
 
 This confidence endured for two days, and 
 then came news of a different sort that scattered 
 it all to the winds. It was sent to me in a 
 letter from our good friend and neighbour, Mr. 
 Phillips, of Newtown-Limavady. The letter 
 lies open before me as I write, whereof there is 
 but little need, for in truth it lies as plain in my 
 mind as ever it can to mine eyes ; and so, 
 indeed, doth every incident pertaining to that 
 time, down to the smallest and most trifling. 
 It is as though my mind had been branded
 
 A MAN'S FOES 229 
 
 with an iron, like the cheek of a malefactor ; 
 nor is this the case with the incidents alone ; 
 but the reports that came to mine ears, true 
 and false — the very converse that was held 
 respecting them — sounds still in mine ears as I 
 turn my thoughts back upon it — ay, even to the 
 very manner and gesture of the speakers. 'Tis 
 strange to myself, for it was not till long after- 
 wards that I knew the significance of many of 
 the things that are freshest in my memory. 
 
 Here is Mr. Phillips' letter, which was 
 brought to me by a mounted servant : 
 
 ' Madam, 
 
 ' I learn from a sure source that the 
 regiment new levied by my lord the Earl of 
 Antrim marches this week to Derry, being 
 commanded there to take the place of my Lord 
 Mountjoy's that were lately withdrawn. You 
 shall understand that this regiment is but a raw 
 rabble, scarce to be called soldiers at all ; they 
 are, indeed, no better than " meer Red-shanks," 
 as the country people dub them, and so poorly 
 paid as is a shame to hear of. Moreover, my 
 Lord Antrim himself rides not with them, but 
 is to follow them at a day's interval. 
 
 ' I send you this news to the end that you 
 may take order for your own safety should they 
 chance to come nigh to your house of Cloncally,
 
 230 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 whereof there should be but Httle fear, were 
 they well-drilled men, you lying so far off from 
 the straight road to Derry. But I doubt they 
 may rove in hope of plunder, being all but 
 desperate men. And you are out of the way 
 of succour should danger happen you. I would 
 gladly send you a man or two of mine if they 
 be needed. Trusting that you w^ill choose the 
 wisest course, whether to go into Derry or to 
 provide a competent strength in your own 
 house, and commending you to the protection 
 of God, I take leave to subscribe myself, 
 madam, 
 
 ' Your well-wisher and humble servant to 
 ' command, 
 
 ' George Phillips.' 
 
 Before I had well done reading this letter I 
 was fallen into a brown study, computing how 
 many men I could get together and arm ; and 
 tell them how I might, I could make but a dozen 
 of them, counting gardener, grooms and all. 
 This was a slender force, truly, to withstand 
 a regiment should it come my way. But, then, it 
 seemed in the last degree unlikely that it should. 
 As to deserting my house, the thought of it came 
 not into my head, so visionary seemed any real 
 danger from my Lord of Antrim's Red-shanks. 
 For who in his senses would go from Newtown-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 231 
 
 Lirnavady to Derry by way of Cloncally, that 
 is as much as four miles out of the straight 
 road ? 
 
 The first thing to do was certainly to send a 
 grateful acknowledgment to Mr. Phillips, both 
 of his good counsels and of his offers of help, 
 and that was speedily despatched by his man 
 Tomkyn, the same that had brought his master's 
 letter to me. That done, I began to cast about 
 in my mind what things might be done by way 
 of precaution in the house. The men made so 
 great a pedantry of their watchfulness that 
 there was no possibility of doing more in that 
 direction ; but I did begin to foresee that if any 
 of these new-levied men should come in our 
 way, they were like to be more dangerous on 
 account of their hunger and misery than on 
 account of their ill-will to us English. Your 
 hungry man, as Annot Wilson hath it, is ever 
 your angry man. And therefore, more, I pro- 
 test, to be making some use of Mr. Phillips' 
 well-meant warnings than for any necessity that 
 appeared, I gave orders that a quantity of pro- 
 vision should be prepared and ready dressed, as 
 much as would be a sufficient meal for fifty 
 men. There was litde fear of its being wasted, 
 for mine own household was become a large 
 one, counting men and women, and they might 
 be depended on to relish their meat.
 
 232 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 Some inkling of Mr. Phillips' warning crept 
 about in the house by means of these orders ; 
 and I saw sidelong glances, and heard now and 
 then timid whispers, of which I took no manner 
 of notice. But on the Thursday night of that 
 week the timidity suddenly shot up into a 
 mighty scare, so that it could no longer be 
 overlooked or disregarded. Late at night — as 
 late, I believe, as eleven of the clock — there 
 came a great knocking and calling for admit- 
 tance at the door which leads into the yard ; he 
 that made the outcry proved to be a groom of 
 Mr. Phillips', not his servant Tomkyn, but an- 
 other man whose name I have forgotten ; not 
 that 'tis of any importance to be set down, if I 
 bore it in mind. What I well remember is the 
 face of fright he brought into my presence, 
 along with the letter whereof he was the bearer. 
 I never saw the like ; his eyes went to and fro 
 in his head, his breath came thickly in short 
 gasps, like the breath of one that hath been 
 running over-hard for his strength, and even 
 his duty of respect to me could not hinder him 
 from casting fearful glances over his shoulder, 
 as though he looked to see something terrible 
 at his back. I took the letter he carried, mar- 
 velling if this were one of the men that Mr. 
 Phillips had sent to help me. A fool -faced 
 fellow I thought him, and more like to be a
 
 A MAN'S FOES 233 
 
 charge upon us than any use in helping to 
 defend the house. 
 
 The very superscription of the letter showed 
 the haste wherein Mr. Phillips had writ It. 
 Thus it ran : 
 
 ' Madam, and dear Friend, 
 
 * The foremost company of Lord An- 
 trim's regiment is arrived at Newtown, and 
 report hath made them no worse than they are. 
 Raw wild Rapparees of the Irishry, scarce a 
 man of them Is able to ask for what he wants 
 in the English tongue. There is besides the 
 company a great rabble of boys and women, as 
 the manner of the Ultoghs is when they intend 
 slaughter. I pray God that their meaning be 
 less than my fear, but truly I like not the looks 
 of them, if the rest of the regiment be no better 
 than this company. _ 
 
 ' I am sending an express to Derry with the 
 news, and the man hath orders to go to Clon- 
 cally In the first place, to the end you may have 
 time to do what seems fit for your own safety. 
 My counsel would be that you should go into 
 Derry with all convenient speed, to-night if you 
 can do It ; for in truth these are no times, nor 
 Ireland Is no country, for a woman to live by 
 herself in a house so far removed from succour 
 as Cloncally is. If this may not be, send me
 
 2 34 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 but a line by any sure hand (but no man that 
 you count on to guard the house), and I will 
 send you some men of mine ; they shall leave 
 Newtown so soon as the last of the Red-shanks 
 shall have passed It, and can easily pass them, 
 being mounted, and be with you in time 
 enough. 
 
 ' And so, dear lady, commending you once 
 more to the protection of God, I remain, 
 
 ' Your very humble servant to command, 
 ' George Phillips.' 
 
 Now that all these events lie behind me, at 
 one distance off, as one might say — like a 
 picture, wherein all the parts may be seen at 
 once, and the proportions compared — I can see 
 how wise was Mr. Phillips' advice. For our 
 case was exactly as he put it ; there was no 
 neighbour near on whom we could count for 
 aid, let our need be never so great. The men 
 in the village were as like to take part against 
 us as with us, though, sure, they have ever 
 had enough kindness shown them by Captain 
 Hamilton and his people to bind them to his 
 fortunes. But when will your Irishman take 
 any part, however righteous, that is discoun- 
 tenanced by his priest ? 
 
 But as I read the letter, this prudent course 
 seemed to me no better than a cowardly one.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 235 
 
 All that had been urged in favour of my con- 
 tinuing at Cloncally at the first, when mine own 
 mind had been to leave it, came back upon me 
 then with tenfold force. Perhaps it was the 
 soldiers' blood that I have in my veins that 
 woke up in me at the moment when 'twas 
 wanted — I know not ; but had I fled from 
 Cloncally with that haste that was counselled in 
 Mr. Phillips' letter, I had seemed to myself 
 like the dastard who, for his own poor safety, 
 deserts the post that hath been committed to 
 his charge. 
 
 Even as I read the letter, with such thoughts 
 as these flashing to and fro in my mind like the 
 wild-fire over the marsh at night, there came to 
 mine ears such a hubbub, such crying and wail- 
 ing, as I protest I never heard the like, even in 
 our worst troubles. 'Twas more like the noise 
 that one may hear from the wild Irish, at their 
 wakes or at their feasts, than aught one might 
 expect to hear in the sober family of a gentle- 
 man like Captain Hamilton. No grass, as the 
 saying is, had time to grow under my feet, 
 before I was among the silly frantic creatures ; 
 sure, I know not if they thought I was struck 
 deaf, so as not to hear the riot they made. 
 Cargill was among them, trying vainly to make 
 them listen to reason ; they cried but the louder 
 at every word he said. But at the first sight
 
 236 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 of their mistress there was none left that dared 
 continue the unseemly disturbance ; they stood 
 silent In my presence like sheep In the penfold, 
 or like rebellious children that know they have 
 earned a rating, and expect It forthwith. Nor 
 was there one among them ready to answer me 
 when I desired to know why they behaved them 
 so wildly. At last one took courage to murmur 
 under her breath * that It was very well for me 
 to ask them such a question.' 
 
 ' Well for me ?' I answered her quickly. 
 ' An If It be, what Is amiss for you ? Am 
 not I a woman like yourself.^ If it be well for 
 me, what Is there to fear for my maids ?' 
 
 At that the foolish thing fell to shedding 
 tears ; but she was none so easy to silence, for 
 all her softness. Presently she took heart to 
 murmur again, 'that I bore such a heart as 
 nothing daunted me.' 
 
 ' But as for me and the rest,' she went on, 
 gathering courage with the sound of her own 
 voice, * we go about our work all day trembling 
 for fear ; and we lie down at night not knowing 
 what horror may be upon us before the morn- 
 ing's light.' 
 
 * Do you so !^' said I. * And if any such 
 horror should come upon the house, shall I be 
 out of it ? Shall I not be the very first to 
 suffer, being the head ? Sure, if I see no
 
 A MAN'S FOES 237 
 
 cause for terror, you and your fellows may 
 keep your minds easy enough.' 
 
 Sure, 'twas as if these words woke up anew 
 the clamour that had been stilled, mixed with 
 such words as showed me that the foolish 
 groom had thought it pity to hold his tongue 
 for one little minute, and had no sooner got 
 him downstairs than he had blabbed his errand. 
 Sure, he had infected every soul of them with 
 his mad terror of the Red-shanks as fast as ever 
 the plague runs through a house. The folly of 
 it all angered me so bitterly that I gave them 
 as sound a rating for their fear, which they 
 scarce could help, as ever I did for their 
 idleness, which they could. But it was to no 
 purpose. One broke out a-weeping after 
 another, and nothing would serve them but to 
 be sent to Derry without delay. 
 
 'Well,' I told them, 'if 'tis the Red-shanks 
 you're afraid of, you are like enough to meet 
 them if you go to Derry ; 'ds the very place 
 they're bound for. But here, what likelihood 
 is there that any men in their senses will go 
 four miles of a roundabout to rabble a house 
 that hath neither the name of riches nor of 
 great store of weapons ? You're safe enough 
 here if you would but think it. Go to your 
 beds, and have more respect for God's provi- 
 dence than to think He would smite with danger
 
 238 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 and trouble them that know so little how to 
 profit by the same.' 
 
 At that Cargill, standing behind me In the 
 doorway, carried his hand to his forehead, after 
 the fashion of a soldier saluting. I saw him 
 out of the corner of mine eye, and turned 
 towards him. 
 
 ' Brave words, madam,' said he, * if they 
 mean that danger and trouble will never daunt 
 the heart that can profit by them.' 
 
 Faith, I had Intended no such meaning, 
 though no doubt the words I had used pointed 
 to It. And at CarglU's salute the strangest 
 feeling passed through my mind, that, having 
 claimed for myself, though unthinkingly, some 
 share of such a quality, I was bound more than 
 ever to shrink from no test that came my way. 
 It passed through my head, and was gone 
 straightway till this moment that I recall the 
 affair to describe it ; and yet I nothing doubt 
 but it made me the stiffer to stay in mine own 
 house in spite of counsels of prudence and fears 
 of the faint-hearted. 
 
 For their own sakes solely I tried to reason 
 my maids out of their terror, which seemed to 
 me of the sort that makes your terrified horse, 
 for instance, leap from a precipice that will 
 break his neck. But I might as well have 
 debated the thing with the stone of the wall,
 
 A MAN'S FOES 239 
 
 as the saying is. Before I left them I had 
 given them leave to quit Cloncally at daybreak ; 
 against my will, very surely, but not at all to 
 my discomfiture. Little discernment was needed 
 to perceive that we were nothing weakened, 
 should real danger arise, by the absence of 
 such as could do nothing to avert it but to weep. 
 
 At dawn of day they had permission to 
 depart ; and at dawn of day they departed, 
 long before the tardy groom thought it possible 
 to be gone upon his master's errand, though 
 that was of so great importance. The men in 
 the yard flouted them for their folly ; but what 
 cared they for flouting, that were gone towards 
 city walls and safety ? Margery Hamilton and 
 Annot Wilson were the only women that 
 remained in Cloncally but myself; they were 
 of another temper than those tremblers. I 
 looked at my twelve brave men as they went 
 out of the house to their several duties, and 
 truly I thought that we three and Roland were 
 none so badly off; I feared not five times their 
 number of such soldiers as Mr. Phillips de- 
 scribed, mine being within walls and they in the 
 open. It seemed a very pity that he should 
 trouble himself and his servants to come to 
 mine aid, that had already a good sufficiency of 
 brave defenders. 
 
 It might be nine of the clock when Margery
 
 240 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 came to tell me that there was a boy at the door 
 desiring speech of me. 
 
 ' Like his impudence, too !' she remarked, 
 half to herself. ' A slip of a boy like that to 
 come asking speech with the like of yourself at 
 such an hour of the morning !' 
 
 ' Do you know who he is,' I asked her, ' or 
 what is like to be his errand ?' 
 
 * I never cast eyes on him in my life before 
 that I know of,' said she. ' And as to his 
 business, 'tis for your own ear only, if you please. 
 So he told me when I would have brought 
 it to you in a more fitting manner than by the 
 mouth of a little dirty spalpeen like himself.' 
 
 Margery tossed up her head, and I thought 
 I divined the cause of her displeasure with the 
 messenger. She was mistaken in saying that it 
 was the first time she had ever cast eyes on him, 
 for all that ; for it was the same boy, Gorman 
 O'Cahan, that we had fed and rested in Roland's 
 nursery a month before. I knew him the 
 moment I saw him. He was scarce so lean as 
 he had been, and not near so wan and sickly to 
 look at ; but the droll, good-humoured smile 
 was not to be forgotten or mistaken. I called 
 him by his name at once. 
 
 ' What do you want of me, Gorman 
 O'Cahan?' said I. 
 
 At which he broke into that great smile of
 
 A MAN'S FOES 241 
 
 his. Certes, the largeness of his mouth makes 
 up for the littleness of his nose and eyes, which 
 yet have something in them that is friendly 
 and faithful. 
 
 ' Would your ladyship take me to some place 
 where there's none can hear us speak ?' said he. 
 ' It's yourself alone that must hear my irrand.' 
 
 Margery, at my back, muttered something 
 about a beating ; but there was that in the 
 lad's face that spoke of urgency. I took him 
 for a true man, in spite of my tire-woman's dis- 
 pleasure ; and so brought him within doors and 
 into the dining-room, shutting the door lest 
 anyone should hearken to that which did not 
 concern him. 
 
 No sooner were we alone than my little 
 Irishman's face went as solemn as the face of a 
 bishop ; down he dropped on his knees at my 
 feet. 
 
 ' Oh, me lady !' said he, in a tone to wring the 
 heart, ' do ye wish to save your life ? Do ye 
 wish to save the life of the little jantleman ? 
 Do ye care anything for the big woman that 
 didn't want to let me Inside the door of the 
 house ?' 
 
 'What do you mean ?' I asked him, angry 
 with myself because my heart quivered in my 
 breast, and my voice faltered in my throat. 
 
 Mr. Phillips' two letters had no wise fluttered 
 
 VOL. I. 16
 
 242 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 me ; 'twas strange that the first words of a 
 child should have power to move me so greatly. 
 
 ' Me lady,' said he, * I'm forbidden to mane a 
 thing, an' sure 'tis little enough I've been told. 
 But I know there's mischief on foot. There's 
 skeans, for I've seen them. An' my mother gave 
 me leave to come here and tell you that, but 
 not a word more ; only that if you value your 
 life, you're to beware how you let a man of the 
 Irishry inside your doors, neither in the day- 
 time nor in the night, but specially not at night.' 
 
 From a grown person this speech would have 
 moved me to laughter ; from a child, in all 
 reason, it should have seemed more trifling 
 still ; but, by some unknown power of persuasion, 
 the lad's manifest belief in the shadowy fear he 
 told of so vaguely took hold of me in mine own 
 despite. 
 
 Seeing me something mazed, he rose from 
 his knees and came close to me. 
 
 ' 'Tis Sunday — Sunday — that's to be the day,' 
 said he, almost in a whisper. 
 
 ' The day for what ?' I asked him sharply. 
 
 * Oh, lady dear, 'tis yourself that knows as 
 much as me !' said he, with his earnest face. 
 ' 'Tisn't to the like of meself they'd tell much ; 
 but, musha, haven't I got eyes in my head ? an' 
 can't I keep my ears open ? They've dropped 
 a word now an' then that I've picked up, an'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 243 
 
 that's all, except what my mother told me to 
 tell you — that there's mischief intended ; sure, 
 haven't I done it ?' 
 
 I sat me down upon a chair. 
 
 ' Where is your mother ?' I asked of him. 
 
 * At home, sure ; where would she be ?' 
 answered he, opening his eyes. 
 
 ' And your father — is he with her ?' 
 ' Musha, no!' said he, breaking into his 
 ready grin, ' or it's little you'd a' seen of meself 
 this morning. It's with the soldiers my father 
 is nowadays, an' it's in Derry itself they mane 
 to be this night, sure enough.' 
 
 * And have you told me all your message ?' I 
 asked him again. 
 
 ' I very word, lady dear — ivery word,' said he 
 earnestly. ' Not a word do I know but what 
 I've told you. There's mischief in the wind, 
 an' it's Sunday that's the day ; an you'll be 
 doin' wrong av you open your doors to anny 
 man of the Irish, av he came to you wid nivver 
 such a distressful story. That's all' 
 
 And looking into the lad's earnest face, I saw 
 that it was truly all. All he knew or suspected 
 was either said or glanced at in these words. 
 He saw in my face that I believed him, and 
 once more that grin of his broke over his own, 
 like one that hath prospered in a task whereto 
 he hath set his will and his heart.
 
 244 ^ MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' It's meself that'll have to be going now/ 
 said he. 
 
 * No,' said I ; 'you shall go into the kitchen 
 first and have something to eat.' 
 
 ' 'Tis like yourself to ax me !' said the boy ; 
 *but I couldn't do it. It's too long I'm here 
 already. Musha ! I might be seen about the 
 place, an' then ' 
 
 'And then?' said I. 'Well, what then? 
 What if you were seen about Cloncally ?' 
 
 ' Maybe it's a taste of a skean I'd get myself, 
 for a handsel,' said he. 
 
 He smiled as he said it. Care for himself 
 was like water on a duck's back, as they say, 
 now that he had cleared his mind of his warn- 
 ing to us. 
 
 ' But wait a moment,' I said. ' I wish to 
 give you something for a reward for coming so 
 far to bring me this message.' 
 
 ' Never name it, lady dear !' said the boy 
 anxiously. ' Sure, there's not the thing I'd 
 have taken to let it alone.' And with that was 
 out of the room, and would have been out of the 
 door as quickly, save that it was locked and 
 chained. 
 
 Cargill came to my call and opened it. He 
 looked curious and a little stern to boot, and 
 held it in his hand for a moment, as though to 
 give me time for some explanation. But I
 
 A MAN'S FOES 245 
 
 spoke not a word to him at that time. I went 
 to the threshold and looked after my little Irish 
 friend ; sure, he merited the title that would put 
 himself both to labour and risk for no fee nor 
 reward, save that of doing me some service. 
 
 But it was as if the pixies had carried off the 
 lad from my very doorsili. Scarce a moment 
 had passed since the door was opened, and 
 already there was no more sign of him than of 
 a figure rubbed off a slate. I stood and peered 
 before me, and to left and right, into the shining 
 frosty mist ; but the little lad was gone as 
 suddenly as any ghost.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HOW THE MESSENGER FROM NEWTOWN GOT NO 
 FURTHER BACK THAN TO CLONCALLY. 
 
 But through that same frosty haze I could 
 catch the sound of one galloping in haste, 
 riding, as it might be, for his life. That could 
 not be my little messenger, or, if it were, then 
 the pixies had him in very sooth ; for the sound 
 was at a good distance — nigh as far off as it could 
 be to be heard. And it was coming nigher with 
 every hoof-fall, not drawing away into silence. 
 My Irish lad and his strange departure were 
 blotted clean out of my mind, and I listened as 
 though there were nothing else on earth but 
 this newcomer and what his coming should 
 signify. Cargill, smit by the same foreboding, 
 came forth upon the doorsill at my side, peer- 
 ing forth into the mist as though to meet the 
 ill news halfway, as the saying is. For the 
 pace was over-speedy to bode of good. He 
 that brings glad tiding rides at his leisure.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 247 
 
 I remember that a shudder passed through 
 me from head to foot. 'Twas the chill of the 
 frosty air, nothing more ; nor did I so much as 
 fancy that 'twas anything more or more mys- 
 terious. But yet that mere bodily shiver 
 seemed to mix itself with the shrinking of the 
 mind from that fear which as yet we knew not, 
 but which was speeding toward us, nearer with 
 every second of time. 
 
 Speeding it was, and that at a great pace, for 
 now could be discerned a certain labouring in 
 the rhythm of the gallop, like the gait of a horse 
 that is cruelly over-ridden. And it was to 
 Cloncally it was hastening — where else ? There 
 is none other house near to which 'twas even 
 possible it should be bound. Even as we 
 listened upon the threshold, the rider took the 
 turning to the courtyard, and the sound ceased 
 upon the instant. Cargill was gone from my 
 side as hastily, darting through the house like 
 any boy, to and out of the courtyard door, 
 to meet the messenger that had ridden so hard. 
 
 I came within doors like one in a dream. 
 * 111 news travels fast !' I said to myself, as I 
 shut the door and tried to bar it ; but the bolt 
 was over-heavy for my hand. That which the 
 Irish lad had told me not ten minutes before 
 mixed itself in my thought with that which 
 I knew was at hand. In the merest superstitious
 
 248 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 folly, mine effort to secure the door seemed to 
 my mind as an omen ; should I succeed, then, I 
 thought, we should weather the storm that 
 threatened ; should I fail, then we must suc- 
 cumb to the same. I put my whole strength to 
 the bolt, and it shot into its socket with a rusty 
 growl. And my spirits, however unwarrantably, 
 threw off incontinent the gloom that had begun 
 to weigh them down. Yet, as I turned into 
 the dining-room, I found myself muttering that 
 * Sunday was the day.' 
 
 Presently I heard Cargill's voice in the 
 passage without, encouraging someone with 
 the assurance of safety; the next moment he 
 was at the door of the room, half leading, half 
 supporting a man that clung to his arm like 
 one bereft of strength. This was none other 
 than Colonel Phillips' messenger returned from 
 Derry. Truly, if the man had looked fool- 
 faced and fearful the night before, this morning 
 he was ten times worse. His tongue refused 
 
 o 
 
 to form the words he would have uttered ; his 
 knees shook so that he could not have stood 
 before me, save for the help of Cargill's arm. 
 I had heard before of men struck dumb and 
 helpless with fear ; now I saw it for the first 
 time, and the sight was little to my liking. 
 
 'The Irish — the massacre' was all he could 
 babble forth ; and then again, in answer to aJJ
 
 A MAN'S FOES 249 
 
 my questions, 'the Irish' and 'the massacre.' 
 Sure, I thought nought but that Derry lay in 
 ruins, and every creature there a corpse in his 
 blood, to see the man so amazed. 
 
 ' What massacre ?' I asked him sharply, for 
 perhaps the fourth or fifth time. ' Who have 
 been slain 1 Be a man ; pluck up a heart, and 
 tell us.' 
 
 Cargill, out of all patience, loosed his hold of 
 the coward creature's arm, and fell instead to 
 shaking him by the shoulder. He dropped 
 upon his knees at my feet, having no power to 
 sustain himself upright ; but, sure, it was as if 
 Cargill had shaken some more words out of his 
 throat, for they came with a rush — a thing so 
 absurd that even at such a moment it set me 
 smiling. 
 
 ' The massacre that is to be on Sunday,' said 
 he ; and then broke into a kind of wail : ' Oh 
 dear ! oh dear ! there won't be a man, woman, 
 or child of the Englishry alive on Monday 
 morning !' 
 
 As sharp a spasm of anger as ever I knew 
 passed through me as I took in the meaning 
 of what he said. An evil that was merely 
 threatened, a danger that might be averted, 
 to put a man into so deadly terror ! I could 
 have beaten him for his folly. 
 
 *A massacre that only is to be,' said I, 'and
 
 250 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 you are feared to death !' My voice trembled 
 for very contempt as I spoke to him. ' Why, 
 man, there be two whole days to take order 
 against it ! Be a man, if you would not be 
 thrust forth from my doors like a hound ; pluck 
 up a heart, and tell us what you heard in Derry 
 to put you in such a taking.' 
 
 But, Lord ! it was as if my threat had 
 knocked his senses all astray once more. 
 
 * Madam ! madam !' cried he, catching at my 
 skirts, and bursting Into tears ; ' oh, my lady, 
 for God's love ! Oh, don't send me out of 
 the house while the Red-shanks be upon the 
 road ! Let me stay here till they be out of the 
 way.' 
 
 I could not restrain myself from spurning 
 the whining craven with my foot, not enduring 
 to be touched by so base a creature. Cargill, 
 that had with difficulty refrained from speech 
 all this time, broke out at last. 
 
 ' Saw ever mortal such a coward ?' said he, 
 with indignation. ' Madam, give me but your 
 leave to carry him Into the barn. Tim and I 
 will give him somewhat to moan for. I 
 warrant I'll make him fear me as much as any 
 Irish mob ; and then perhaps he'll see fit to tell 
 us what has put him into such a fright.* 
 
 This terrible threat, whereat I could have 
 smiled, had some effect upon the groom. He
 
 A MAN'S FOES -251 
 
 saw that there was no indulgence to be looked 
 for from either one of us, and at last he seemed 
 to make some effort to command his scattered 
 wits. 
 
 * Oh, Master Cargill, sir !' said he, still weep- 
 ing, ' had you been the bearer of my news into 
 Derry, and there heard news ten times worse 
 — one terror on the back of another — perhaps 
 you'd have had the sense knocked out of your 
 head as well as me, for all so high as you 
 hold it.' 
 
 ' I'd part with it, and welcome/ said Cargill, 
 forgetful of my presence, 'before I'd demean 
 myself like you.' 
 
 'Silence, Cargill!' said I, displeased. 'And 
 you, sirrah, if you can so far command your 
 fool fears, tell us your news, and let us be 
 judges of their awfulness. Nay' — drawing 
 back, as he put forth his hands to lay hold of 
 my skirts once more — 'be assured that if you 
 do not so, and that instantly, I will cast you 
 from the door within the hour. Ay, though all 
 the Ultoghs in the province were there with 
 their skeans. Stand, up on your feet, man! 
 Stop whimpering like a maid, and speak out 
 what you know !' 
 
 At that, as if my words had wrought a very 
 miracle, and cast out a dumb devil of fear, sure 
 enough my man stands up on his feet, and
 
 252 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 begins to rub his eyes with his knuckles — a 
 sorry sight indeed. 
 
 * My lady,' he began, speaking more like a 
 rational being than I had heard him yet, 'you 
 know that I rid from this place to Derry before 
 break of day this morning with my master's 
 letter to Mr. Alderman Norman about the 
 Red-shank soldiers.' 
 
 ' Ah,' muttered Cargill at my back, ' I should 
 like to know how you came to be so well aware 
 of what your master had writ in his letter, 
 you ' 
 
 I took no notice of him, but listened to the 
 groom. 
 
 ' I delivered that letter, madam,' said he, 
 ' and was bid to go into Mr. Alderman's 
 kitchen with his servants to breakfast. I was 
 refreshed, and was at the very point to depart, 
 being in the hall awaiting Mr. Alderman's 
 pleasure if he had any despatch to send to my 
 master, when there comes to the door another 
 Alderman, one Mr. Tomkyn, and inquires for 
 Mr. Norman with a very fearful face on busi- 
 ness of the last importance. So I — I — waited,' 
 he went on, becoming confused. 
 
 * You waited, I warrant,' said Cargill behind 
 me, in the same low voice — ' oh yes, you 
 waited ; not a doubt of it ! You thought as 
 you'd carry home some account of that same
 
 A MAN'S FOES 253 
 
 important business, but not for Colonel Phillip's 
 ear — oh no ! / know your sort !' 
 
 * Carorill !' I said, turnlnor round. 
 
 He begged my pardon. 
 
 'I waited,' the man continued, 'and, sure, 
 madam, there wasn't long to wait ; Mr. Alder- 
 man's servant was not even bid from the room 
 while Mr. Tomkyn opened his business. 'Tis 
 all over the city by this time.' 
 
 ' Well, now, and what is it, after all ?' I asked 
 him, desiring to cut short the commentary and 
 be at the text. 
 
 ' Madam, an it please you, 'tis what I told 
 you before,' said he. 
 
 ' Heard one ever the like ?' said I, out of all 
 patience. * Must we drag the words out of you 
 with punishment, as Cargill threatened ? Why, 
 you've told us nothing yet — nothing at all.' 
 
 'Ah, then, my lady,' said he, * 'tis the 
 massacre ! Oh, me lady, 'tis the massacre. 
 The Irish have fixed to slay man, woman, and 
 child of the English ; they're going to rise up 
 everywhere throughout the province, and what 
 can we do against so many ? Sunday — 
 Sunday's the day.' Again he began to shed 
 tears. ' There won't be a soul of the English 
 left alive by Monday morning.' 
 
 I stood silent. This tallied with the warning 
 of Gorman O'Cahan.
 
 254 ^ MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' 'TIs news as sure,' went on the groom, 'as 
 Mr. Phillips' to you of the Red-shanks ; and 
 them I saw with my own eyes. You will see If 
 they be not in Derry by nightfall.' 
 
 I would have questioned that, if I could, but 
 it seemed even too likely. A regiment duly 
 commissioned of his Majesty to garrison the 
 city ! sure and indeed they must be admitted, 
 were they never such scullogues. ' Sunday v/as 
 the day,' said the groom ; ' Sunday was the 
 day,' Gorman had said before him. Faith, it 
 seemed all too likely that, Derry being a place 
 of strength whereto many might fly for safety. 
 Lord Antrim's Red-shanks had been ordered 
 there for the very purpose of putting it in pos- 
 session of the Irish. No doubt it was in their 
 commission to put man, woman and child of the 
 citizens to the sword. Was ever such a treason 
 on the part of a monarch before ? and this to- 
 wards a town that had shown no fault towards 
 him, save that of professing the religion he had 
 sworn at his coronation to protect and allow ! 
 
 Even as I pondered it, I cast about in my 
 mind for some circumstance that might give the 
 lie to all these warnings and fears, but there 
 was none — not one. To the contrary, mine 
 unbelief sank overwhelmed beneath the load 
 of evidence ; one proof after another sprang 
 up to confound me, out of things that were
 
 A MAN'S FOES 255 
 
 within mine own knowledge. Sure, I have 
 already set down many of them in these pages ; 
 it needs not to repeat them over and over 
 again. 
 
 But that we should sit down quiet and submit 
 to our fate ! — be slain like sheep in the shambles, 
 as this fool groom would, were he left to his 
 own helpless terrors! If the King's treason 
 was difficult to credit, this was clean impossible. 
 I knew my countrymen too well. And sure, 
 even I myself had some duty to discharge 
 towards our defence. 
 
 ' Sirrah,' said I to the groom, ' here is no 
 question of remaining at Cloncally till the Red- 
 shanks be safe in Derry. You must ride on 
 instantly to Mr. Phillips' and give the alarm at 
 home.' 
 
 ' I could not, madam — I could not indeed,' 
 said the pitiful creature ; to call him man is sure 
 to offer an insult to those that are such. ' I'd 
 be dead of fear or ever I got there.' 
 
 It was even too evident that he spoke truth, 
 and that, should we send him from Cloncally 
 by main force, he would make no scruple of 
 finding another shelter, rather than risk himself 
 on the open country. 
 
 * Saw one ever such a chicken-heart ?' said I 
 in anger. ' But word must be got to our good 
 friend at Newtown, and that immediate. Will
 
 256 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 you ride with It, Carglll ? and will you set off 
 within the hour ?' 
 
 'Why, madam,' said he, ' I would never think 
 twice of It, were It not for leaving you a man 
 the weaker, in case these rumours be truth/ 
 
 * You may be here again by nightfall, or 
 soon thereafter,' said I ; but presently began to 
 ponder how he was, so to put it, the captain 
 of my little garrison ; I could spare him but 
 grudgingly. ' Is there any of the men that 
 may be sent In your stead?' said I to him; 
 ' for send on the news we must.' 
 
 We fell to telling over the men ; there was 
 none but had his own post and his own duty, 
 and there were but just enough, all told, to man 
 the house sufficiently. But on the other hand 
 there was no reason to apprehend any attack 
 that day, or the night following. It seemed 
 best upon the whole that Carglll himself should 
 go, and that at once, to be back the sooner ; I 
 taking upon myself, during his absence, his duty 
 of oversight. 
 
 No sooner was this decided than qualms and 
 tremors began to vex me ; of such fickle stuff 
 am I made — hot one moment upon a project, 
 and cold the next. Being left alone, I fell to 
 pacing the room from side to side, and putting 
 it to myself, in what case should I be if harm 
 befell Carglll upon his journey — he that was the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 257 
 
 best of my men, and his master's trusted ser- 
 vant ? A single horseman upon the road, I saw 
 him in my fancy beset by the rabble of Ultoghs, 
 wild from the hills ; scarce to be controlled by 
 their officers, even were these disposed to 
 protect the wayfarer. The poor groom's fears 
 began to seem less despicable, now that one 
 whose life I valued was about to take his place. 
 But what should hinder him, after all, to take 
 the bridle-path across the hills ? I asked my- 
 self this, and was something eased In mind, for 
 it was little likely he should meet them there. 
 
 Yet even so, the room grew all too strait for 
 me ; I went forth Into the hall, and thence to 
 the door of the court. I looked through the 
 little window of one pane that is beside it. 
 There yet stood the groom's horse as he had 
 been left of his rider ; it was extremely careless 
 of my man Timothy, and I was angered. So 
 good a beast, and not so much as a quarter- 
 cloth thrown over him after such a race. But 
 he was still steaming after it ; it might be there 
 was yet little harm done. ' It were nothing less 
 than a charity,' I thought, ' if someone should 
 ride him quietly home.' But Cargill was over- 
 heavy for him. 
 
 I tried the door, which was fast locked, and 
 the key gone ; this was one of Cargill's pre- 
 cautions, who was by way of having little con- 
 
 VOL. I. 17
 
 258 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 fidence in the prudence of the women ; no doubt 
 he had It at that moment in his pocket. I must 
 remember, I thought, to get it from him ere he 
 left the house. But the first thing was to see 
 the good horse cared for, and to that end I 
 must eet out of the house Into the yard. The 
 front-door, as I had secured it, I could open it ; 
 and so with some little difficulty I did, and went 
 out, closing it after me. 
 
 I had made but two steps when I thought I 
 heard a sound at the door I had that moment 
 closed; I turned and looked at it. It was not 
 the door that had sprung open, that was fast 
 enough ; but in the shallow recess of the little 
 window that is to the left of it, pressed close to 
 the wall to escape observation, there was a little 
 ragged figure that I knew — Gorman O'Cahan. 
 He came forth as soon as he saw himself 
 observed. 
 
 * Me lady,' said he, ' I heard the horse coming, 
 an' I thought I'd stay awhile in case 'twas some- 
 body that might have a word or two to say to 
 meself.' 
 
 It flashed upon my mind that here was a way 
 out of my perplexity. This child, I thought, 
 would run small risk were he to take my 
 message. 
 
 ' Gorman,' I said, ' you have brought a mes- 
 sage to me this morning. Will you take another
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 259 
 
 from me to a friend of mine before you go 
 home ?' 
 
 * Sure, lady/ said the lad earnestly, ' It's proud 
 an' happy I'd be to do ye the laste little service 
 in life.' 
 
 * Can you ride ?' I asked him. 
 
 * Faith, me lady, I hardly know !' said he. * I 
 can stick on to a garron, anny way.' 
 
 'That will do, I think,' said I, smiling in 
 answer to his smile ; for Mr. Phillips' horse 
 was scarce In the mood to quarrel with his 
 rider, and I meant that Gorman should ride him 
 home. ' Do you know Colonel Phillips' house 
 at Newtown-LImavady ?' I asked him. 
 
 * I do not,' replied he : ' but it'll be a quare 
 place av I can't find it out. I know where 
 Newtown lies, anny way.' 
 
 I took the lad within doors to be fed while I 
 writ my letter. Cargill was ready for the same ; 
 but I explained to him, he marvelling greatly 
 the while, how I had found another messenger. 
 While I was writing, he went to see Mr. Phil- 
 lips' horse made ready for his journey ; I could 
 hear him where I sat rating Timothy for his 
 neglect. 
 
 We asked no leave of the cowardly groom, 
 nor, indeed, spoke a word to him about the 
 matter. But In a very few minutes we had set 
 a rider of another temper on his horse's back.
 
 26o A MAN'S FOES 
 
 On the bridle-path to Newtown there was little 
 fear of his falling in with the Red-shanks, who 
 would certainly keep to the road. And should 
 he be challenged by any not a friend for his 
 possession of so good a beast, which was the 
 one risk he ran, we must even trust that his 
 own good wit would provide him with an 
 answer. The wit of the animal, we knew, 
 might be trusted to find the way which the 
 rider knew not. But with every good hope I 
 could set before my mind, my heart would not 
 be forbid to shrink as I saw horse and rider 
 depart. 
 
 I take no shame to confess that I went 
 straight to my chamber, and on my knees be- 
 sought our Lord to direct them safely ; thinking 
 that He who had in old times condescended to 
 guide brute beasts upon their way, so to save 
 His Ark from the hands of the heathen, would 
 pardon a woman in trouble that asked him to 
 do the like once more to save a household from 
 destruction. And that His hand was around 
 my little messenger, I nothing doubt ; for though 
 I knew It not till later, he and his steed came 
 safe to their destination.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HOW THOSE AT CLONCALLY WERE TERRIFIED BY 
 THE CHALLENGE OF A FRIEND. 
 
 Though oppress'd in mind at the thought of 
 the toilsome journey undertaken at my instance 
 by one who would accept no reward at my 
 hands ; no, not so much as a single coin — ' for,' 
 said he, ' what account could I give of it if 
 'twere found upon me ?' — yet was I more 
 heartened thereby than cast down. No doubt 
 but it was the merest folly to set store by such 
 trifles ; I thought shame, even at the moment, 
 that they should move me up or down, yet 
 move me they did ; and I that had felt the 
 stirring of the great door-bolt as a promise of 
 escape from threatened peril had sure more 
 reason to look upon the appearance of this 
 friend from the ranks of our foes as a very 
 earnest and assurance of help in time of need. 
 It came into my head an hundred times that 
 day how he had come to mine aid in the very
 
 262 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 nick of time, and at every remembrance with a 
 fresh hghtening of the spirits, so that I found 
 my mind rendered equal to the contemplation of 
 so many and such disquieting messages. 
 
 Nor was I left for long time to ponder them 
 by myself alone. 'Twas yet early In the day 
 when I had two visitors, one of them marvelling 
 to find himself unlooked for. Sure, if he was 
 unexpected, he was but the welcomer for that — 
 as welcome as dawn to the wanderer, or cock- 
 crow to him that is haunted by a spectre. 
 Sure, I knew not myself so faint-hearted till 
 I had the arm of a strong man whereon to 
 lean. 
 
 That strong man was Mr. Browning, who 
 had ridden out of Derry to bring me notice of 
 the reports that were afoot in the city concern- 
 ing the massacre planned by the Irish. By the 
 time he started the city was gone clean mad 
 with fear and rage, so that he knew not what 
 manner of tale would have grown out of the 
 truth by the time it should reach Cloncally. 
 
 His wife rode with him, not enduring her 
 husband to be out of her sight among unknown 
 dangers. 'Twas the first time that ever I met 
 this lady, who hath but lately come to Derry 
 from Greencastle. She seemed older than her 
 husband, but a pleasant woman, and one I was 
 ere long to see much of, though then we knew
 
 A MAN'S FOES 263 
 
 neither that nor many other things that were 
 presently to befall us. 
 
 I took it for no small proof of friendship on 
 her part and her husband's that they should 
 trust themselves upon so lonely a road as that 
 from the Waterside of Derry to Cloncally, with 
 such a rumour in the air ; and so I told them, 
 but Mr. Browning made very light of it. 
 
 * Why now,' said he, ' didn't you hear me 
 promise to Captain Hamilton to have a care of 
 you in his absence, and do you any service that 
 lay in my power ? Faith, if 'tis ever to lie in 
 my power at all, it seems like to be betwixt this 
 and Sunday.' 
 
 That set us a-going, and, to my shame be it 
 spoken, we were presently deep in the subject 
 — the whole wide subject — of the peril wherein 
 we stood, with all of our kinsmen and country- 
 men, and what were best to be done in these 
 emergencies; and that before ever my guests 
 had sat down, or Mrs. Browning had laid aside 
 her riding-hood. 'Twas one that bore a deal of 
 discussion, however, and was scarce more clear 
 an hour later, when we were seated all together 
 around the fire. Derry, with Lord Antrim's 
 Red-shanks for garrison, seemed but a poor 
 refuge to flee to ; to quit Cloncally for such 
 a shelter was like to be a case of otd of the 
 frying-pan into the fire. And yet, what could
 
 264 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 my dozen of men do against such a mob of 
 Irishry as might come against us — as was certain 
 to come against us, if Derry should be so 
 handled as was feared ? A black look-out was 
 our brightest, and ever the blacker the more we 
 looked at It. 
 
 After much debate, the wisest course appeared 
 to be to remain where w^e were for the present, 
 until it should be seen how the Regiment of Raps 
 demeaned itself in Derry. This being decided, 
 and likewise another matter that was no small 
 comfort to me — to wit, that Mr. Browning and 
 his wife should remain my guests till Monday — 
 there seemed little else to be done than to eat 
 and drink and make as merry as circumstances 
 would allow. For now it was drawing towards 
 the four hours ; twilight was deepening Into 
 nightfall, though scarce as yet to dark. 
 
 At Carglll's request, Mr. Browning was gone 
 with him to make the round of the house, and 
 to see that the defences were all In order ; there 
 was a distant sound of bolting and slamming 
 that told us that the rest of the men w^ere come 
 within doors for the night. Of a sudden there 
 came about the house a mighty unpleasing 
 noise — the noise of a multitude of men ; steps 
 and voices so disorderly as it made me quake 
 to hear them. Presently came a great knock- 
 ing at the back-door. I ran with Mrs. Brown-
 
 A MAN'S FOES 265 
 
 ing to an upper window that commands the 
 courtyard. How she felt at that moment I 
 know not. For myself, I take little shame to 
 confess that the blood buzzed in mine ears like 
 the sound of the bees in summer, and my heart 
 beat in my throat as though I were choking. 
 For we nothing doubted but these were the 
 men that had it in charge to take our lives, and 
 that it was upon that very business they were 
 come. 
 
 The knocking upon the door was repeated ; 
 then a loud voice commanded ' Silence !' in 
 a tone of anger. At that the hubbub a little 
 quieted ; but still the air was alive with a 
 rustling, as of men that crowd together and 
 speak in whispers. At that moment, and as I 
 tried to hold my breath to listen the better, 
 there came from the nursery the joyous cry of 
 ' Mother ! mother !' 
 
 'Twas the hour of the day when Roland is 
 always brought to me. Sure, any woman may 
 think out of her own heart with what a pain I 
 took my son in mine arms the next moment, 
 not knowing but it was the last time I should 
 ever hold him there. 
 
 By the time I had stilled his prattle, and was 
 able to listen once more to what was going on 
 below me in the court, it was come to a parley. 
 Of that so little could be heard where I stood
 
 266 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 that I ran downstairs as speedily as I might, 
 taking my son In mine arms. My guest I 
 clean forgot in my great fear, but she followed 
 me without a bidding, and we came to the door 
 together. 
 
 Here was Carglll, with musket loaded and 
 levelled, at the little opened window, speaking 
 to one without. Mr. Browning was at his 
 elbow, listening to every word. 
 
 The voice of him they spoke with had 
 nothing of bluster or arrogance, being a kind of 
 beggarly whine. Before ever I heard a word I 
 knew from the cozening tone that 'twas a favour 
 he was asking. Faith ! the singing In mine 
 ears and hammering In my pulses abated upon 
 the Instant. Yet I remembered that Gorman's 
 words had glanced at some pretext of mendi- 
 cancy or sudden sickness, to gain an entrance 
 within our premises, and drew near the window 
 in a frame of mind as little charitable as ever I 
 felt in my life. 
 
 The spokesman, whoever he might be, of the 
 crowd In the yard had doubtless been making 
 some claim of old acquaintance with Carglll, 
 who, for his part, was denying the same without 
 any scruple. 
 
 * Never crossed words with you before in my 
 life !' were the first words I heard, to which 
 there was some soft-voiced blarneying answer,
 
 A MAN'S FOES 267 
 
 whereof I heard no word. ' Sold me a horse, 
 did you ?' said Cargill quickly. * I remember 
 ye now. A wretched beast as ever I backed ! 
 You cheated me most abominably ; and I 
 believe 'twas a stolen horse at that. I'd like to 
 know what I owe you for that, unless 'tis a 
 hidinof.' 
 
 Again I lost the answer ; so I came closer to 
 the window, pressing my child's cheek to my 
 neck to keep him quiet. 
 
 * How many are there with you ?' asked 
 Cargill sharply. 
 
 'Two score, maybe,' said the voice without, 
 a true Irish voice, the keynote thereof the desire 
 to curry favour. ^ There or thereabouts : maybe 
 a man or two more.' 
 
 * Here's a modest asking !' said Cargill. 
 ' Supper and lodging for two score men, or 
 more, and all on the strength of having cheated 
 me with a horse two years ago. No, indeed, 
 my man. Begone to Derry, where you're en- 
 titled to room and rations.' 
 
 ' Troth !' said the other, something less 
 smoothly, * had we gotten what was our rights 
 in Derry, 'tis not ourselves would have troubled 
 you to-night' 
 
 At that we all pressed nigher to the window, 
 so that Cargill's musket was pushed through it. 
 
 * Ach ! Kape that to yourself, will you ?'
 
 268 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 said the man in his natural tone, startled out of 
 his artificial cringing by the sight of it. 
 
 And at that, though my first thought was how 
 little need there was to fear one whom the mere 
 sight of a musket so daunted, yet my second 
 was that cowards be ever the cruellest foes, 
 once they know themselves to have the 
 mastery. 
 
 ' What do you mean ?' questioned Cargill. 
 ' Are there over-many of you for your quarters, 
 or what's the matter ?' 
 
 A sort of inarticulate growl forced itself from 
 the man, in his own despite. 
 
 ' What is it I mane, is it you're askin' ?' said 
 he. 'Ach, thin, 'tis the outside of the gate 
 they've had the face to show his Majesty's 
 troops — no less. Bad luck to them ! The 
 divvle fly away wid them for an unmannerly 
 pack, as they are !' 
 
 ' Nay, but what do you mean, after all ?' ex- 
 claimed Cargill. * Have they turned you out of 
 the city ?' 
 
 ' Tur-rned us out ?' answered the man 
 angrily — ' tur-rned us out, is it ? No, begorra! 
 there's not the men in their skins that would 
 have done that same. No, bedad ! but it's kep^ 
 us out they've done, bad cess to thim ! Shut 
 the gates in our very faces, bedad ! without so 
 much as a " by your lave " to us. Tur-rned
 
 A MAN'S FOES 269 
 
 us out, did ye say ? No, but they had no more 
 manners than to send us packing from the gates 
 as if 'twas a pack of thieves they took us for ; 
 and promised to tur-rn wan of the great guns 
 upon us, bedad ! If we made not the better speed 
 out av their sight !' 
 
 ' Oh, brave hearts !' said Mr. Browning, turn- 
 ing toward us with sparkHng eyes. ' Oh, how 
 well have they deserved of their country this 
 day!' 
 
 * Fegs ! ye may well say that,' said a voice 
 behind us. 
 
 And, turning, sure enough there was a 
 perfect concourse at our backs — Margery and 
 Annot Wilson, the white-vlsaged groom peer- 
 ing forth from the kitchen with starting eyes, 
 and Andrew Wilson, who had spoken. His 
 post was at the window of the dining-room, 
 w"i..:h he had forsaken to listen to the parley. 
 Faith, It needed but one scowl from Cargill 
 to send him skurrying back to It quicker than 
 he had left it. 
 
 Outside the window, the leader's account of 
 the treatment they had received at Derry gate 
 had raised a perfect tumult of murmuring and 
 of imprecations, so that he could neither make 
 himself heard of us nor of them. At last he 
 fell to cursing them roundly. 
 
 'And how/ said he, 'do you think I'll
 
 2 70 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 persuade them to let us have shelter and food 
 to put in our empty bellies if you frighten 
 them with such a hellish noise ?' 
 
 At that Cargill made as though he fell into 
 a passion of laughter. 
 
 ' Fair and softly, Master Captain !' he called 
 out — ' fair and softly, sir, with your frightening. 
 I would have you to know that we be men 
 enough here to laugh at your beggarly two 
 score of recruits. But what token have you 
 to give us that 'tis the truth you're telling us, 
 and no lie ? And where be the rest of the 
 regiment ? You be ten times two score, I 
 warrant, all told. Are the rest of them in 
 Derry, or wandering men like yourselves ?' 
 
 ' Divvle a man of thim's in Derry, anny way,' 
 replied the man whom Cargill had addressed 
 by the style of ' captain,' and, indeed, he had 
 so professed himself before we came to the 
 window. We afterwards found that he actually 
 held this rank in the Red-shank regiment. 
 Heavens ! what a creature to hold a king's 
 commission — one that had been a seller of 
 horses to grooms and such-like people, and, as 
 Cargill informed us, shrewdly suspected of 
 horse-stealing to boot ! 
 
 Between hunger and fatigue he was finely 
 cowed by the time we had to do with him, and 
 fell to protesting by all the saints he could call
 
 A MAN'S FOES 271 
 
 to mind that he had told us nothing but the 
 simple truth. I had bethought me more than 
 once or twice, while he was speaking, of the 
 store of ready-dressed victual I had in the 
 house ; and at this point, hearing that the Irish 
 captain was gone from protesting to imploring, 
 I beckoned to Mr. Browning to follow me into 
 the dining-room, meaning to tell him what I 
 had done, and to hear his mind upon the 
 matter, though, truly, had it been other than 
 mine own, I doubt I had gone counter to it. 
 For the men, if what their leader said was true, 
 must be nigh to desperate with hunger. What 
 could be looked for from such but violence of 
 all kinds ? Or what else should we deserve at 
 their hands should we refuse relief to their 
 necessity ? 
 
 I told him in a very few words of the 
 store of victual I had by me He, on his part, 
 was scarce longer in bestowing upon me the 
 counsel I had asked. One or two shrewd 
 questions put to Cargill, anent the tale of the 
 precious Red-shank captain, convinced him that 
 there was little reason to doubt the same. To 
 be sure, 'twas a better thing than we could have 
 hoped to hear ; 'tis ever easy to credit that 
 which we desire in our hearts. 
 
 * And where would you feed them ?^ he asked 
 of me next.
 
 272 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 'In the ereat barn/ I answered. * There is 
 room enough for twice as many as two score ; 
 'twere no great task, neither, to set the pro- 
 visions there ready for them. And they might 
 sleep there afterward ; there is plenty of straw ; 
 it were better lying, at least, than under the 
 hedees. And into the house will I let none of 
 them.' 
 
 ' No, truly,' said he, with a smile. ' I was 
 something afraid lest your charity should pro- 
 pose to let them come within the doors to sup.' 
 
 'And after that,' said I, * you need not put 
 your advice in words that shall be any plainer. 
 'Tis clear you are of one mind with me, and 
 mean that the hungry shall be fed, be they 
 never such scoundrels.' 
 
 At that both he and his wife fell a-smiling ; 
 I smiled too, for very lightness of heart. 
 
 ' Let us keep them waiting no longer than 
 can be helped,' said he. * Where is the larder ?' 
 
 Where was the larder indeed ? Where, but 
 at the further side of the courtyard ? All these 
 hungry, undisciplined ruffians were between the 
 house and it. 'Tis a very ill position for a 
 larder; and so for the first time I perceived, 
 while I was telling the same to Mr. Browning. 
 
 ' But surely,' said he, ' you keep not your store 
 of provisions so far from your kitchen ?' 
 
 * Faith, but we do,' said I.
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 273 
 
 ' 'TIs an error, and a great one,' said he. 
 ' Not a deadly one, in this instance, since the 
 men are already cowed, and are but scantily 
 armed. But were they the bitter mob of 
 fanatics we had reason to look for, in what 
 case had you been a day or two hence ? 'Tis 
 an error you will never fall into again, I dare 
 warrant you.' 
 
 And with that he began to give such orders 
 to Cargill as blanched my cheek once more, and 
 his wife's as well. Yet we stood silent beside 
 him, both the one and the other ; when this 
 man issued an order there was none that dared 
 open his mouth to protest against it. Cargill 
 received them with a bow, and went forthwith 
 to gather the men, each from the window he 
 guarded. Then Mr. Browning turned to me, 
 with a grave face indeed. 
 
 ' Dare you, madam,' asked he, ' be left in the 
 house alone with your women while we men 
 divide their portions to the Irish ?' 
 
 * Dare I ? Oh yes,' said I. 'If your wife 
 hath no fear, no more have I. But surely there 
 is no need for you to leave us ?' 
 
 ' Why,' said he, * that we'll see presently. 
 How many men are we, all told — twenty.-^' 
 
 ' Fourteen,' said I. 'And of these one is an 
 arrant coward ; he must be left within doors. 
 He would do nothing among the Irishmen but 
 VOL. I. 18
 
 274 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 to weep and quake. They would be put in 
 heart to fall upon us should they once see him.' 
 
 * Thirteen, then,' said he — ' thirteen, counting 
 myself ? Yes. Then, madam, we are not a 
 man too many for the work ; there's no saying 
 what a mob of starving men may do once they 
 see food within their reach for the snatching. 
 No, we must be enough to keep them in check ; 
 so many to carve, and so many to guard the 
 carvers.' 
 
 'Yes,' said I, 'but are you enough to hold 
 so ereat a number in check ? I doubt it. 
 Were it not better to deliver the key of the 
 larder to that captain of theirs, and let them use 
 my provision as they list ? What is the victual 
 — what is all that is in Cloncally — compared to 
 a single life ?' 
 
 ' There were no surer course,' said he, ' to 
 start them a-marauding. Bethink you, madam, 
 that there is as much danger — ay, more ; ten 
 times more — in any seeming fearfulness as in 
 any boldness when dealing with a rabble. Ay, 
 in such a case foolhardiness is your true 
 caution ; I am sure of it. Nay, madam, be 
 not so cast down.' I was so, and cared not to 
 disguise it. ' We run into little danger ; the 
 men intend no violence. We be well armed 
 to boot, and they neither have proper weapons 
 nor are skilled to use them if they had.'
 
 A MAN'S FOES 275 
 
 And here Roland, who had looked with 
 wondering eyes from one to another all this 
 time and held his tongue — stilled by the pres- 
 sure of my hand — lifted up his small sweet 
 voice, and bade me never fear. 
 
 ' yl/^ will go wis ze rest of ze men,' said he, 
 putting his hand in Mr. Browning's, who lifted 
 him up and kissed him. 
 
 'You will stay in the house and take care of 
 mammy and the other lady,' said he — a charge 
 which Roland proudly accepted. 
 
 Here Cargill returned to the room to tell us 
 that the men were now all assembled. 
 
 ' Time too/ said the old soldier briskly. 
 ' They in the yard are growing clamorous. 
 But what,' said he next mom.ent, ' if another 
 band of these masterless men should find their 
 way to Cloncally, perhaps to the front of the 
 house ? Madam cannot be left to parley with 
 them by herself.' 
 
 'Twas a new fear, and none could call it an 
 unfounded one. 
 
 ' I have it,' said I. We were now in the 
 hall, where were Captain Hamilton's weapons 
 hanging on the wall, his hunting-gear as well. 
 I took a horn from its place. ' I can wind this,' 
 said I, * well enough. Should we have need of 
 a man's help I will blow it, one blast ; should 
 we need you all, thrice in quick succession.'
 
 276 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 ' A good signal, and well thought of,' said 
 Mr. Browning. * One blast, then, for one man ; 
 three, if we be all required.' 
 
 And then, with scarce a gesture of leave- 
 taking, he fell to marshalling the men, each in 
 his place. Then came Annot Wilson forth 
 from the kitchen, bringing the cressets ready 
 kindled ; they had not been hung up in the 
 courtyard by the time the Irishmen beset the 
 house. The men took them whose duty it was 
 to tend them every night. 
 
 Next there was a short parley at the window, 
 Mr. Browning being himself the spokesman on 
 our behalf; he stipulated that all the men of 
 the party should pile their arms in a corner of 
 the 3^ard, to which they made no objection, 
 understanding it to be the condition of their 
 receiving a meal of meat. And then Annot 
 Wilson (that is as calm in time of danger as 
 any man ever I saw^ in my life) began to undo 
 the bolts of the courtyard door ; she held it, 
 once 'twas set wide, while the brave men filed 
 out by twos ; those going first that had the 
 cressets. Mr. Browning went last by himself, 
 bearing his drawn sword in his hand ; he 
 turned him upon the threshold, with a little 
 gesture of farewell ; and so was gone out of 
 our sight. 
 
 When the noise of the drawing of bolts and
 
 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 277 
 
 turning of keys was over, the courtyard was 
 almost silent, save for a little sound of tramp- 
 ling and calling at the further side, where were 
 the barn and the larder. But it was nothing 
 to alarm the faintest of heart. But just as we 
 were leaving the passage, thinking that all 
 was now in order in the court, Timothy, the 
 groom, called without and asked leave to put 
 the great mastiff Nero into the house ; he so 
 tugged at his chain and growled, it seemed, 
 that they were put in fear lest he should break 
 it ; then, should he fall upon the strangers, 
 it might provoke bad blood and a riot difficult 
 to quell. 
 
 It had truly been a day of sudden alarms — 
 from dawn to dusk one unlooked-for thing had 
 come so fast on the back of another that I 
 suppose I was become hardened ; for sute and 
 certain it is that now a feeling of confidence 
 took possession of me, and spread from me to 
 my guest and my women; as if the worst had 
 come that was like to come, and was none so 
 awful, when all was said. Mrs. Browning was 
 able to smile at me again, though the situation 
 of her husband was one that would have 
 daunted many a woman. Presently she came 
 with me into the nursery, where, between us, we 
 put Roland to bed, Margery being occupied 
 below, with Annot, in preparing the supper and
 
 278 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 the table. In truth, my worst unhapplness at 
 that moment was to think that neither of my 
 guests had tasted bite or sup since they were 
 come into the house. It was now not to be 
 mended, however, save by hastening the supper, 
 which was a-doing. 
 
 Scarce was Roland's head upon his pillow, 
 when his eyes were closed — so great a thing it 
 is to be a child, and have no comprehension of 
 peril. We came then below to the dining- 
 room. We had left the great mastiff snuffing 
 about in every corner. By this time he had 
 completed his search, and was laid down at 
 length just within the door of the dining-room. 
 When we came into that room, and sat down to 
 wait for Mr. Browning's return, he changed his 
 place to the side of the chair I took. He 
 seemed restless. I put my hand upon his neck 
 to quiet him, and it did, for soon he dropped 
 his nose upon his paws, and appeared to fall 
 asleep, like Roland. 
 
 We were fallen into a musing silence, listen- 
 ing, I believe, for the incoming of the men, 
 when suddenly my dog lifts his nose into the 
 air with a low growl — it had been a bark the 
 next moment, save that I dropped my hand 
 again upon his neck, stilling him. But he kept 
 his attitude of listening, and we fell into the
 
 A MAN'S FOES 279 
 
 same ; but that which was perceived by the 
 finer sense of the brute was blank silence to us. 
 In another minute he sprang to his feet, I still 
 checking him ; then in the hush of the empty 
 house came a distant clatter of dishes and 
 murmur of the women's voices in the kitchen. 
 But it was not that which had aroused my dog; 
 and that there was something was, alas ! only 
 too evident, for his hair was all a-bristle on 
 his back, and for all my soothing he would not 
 stop his low rumbling growl, which is a sound 
 to give pause to any that hears it. 
 
 In another moment we could hear distinctly 
 steps upon the path ; steps of but one or two 
 persons, methought, but stealthy, and therefore 
 fearful. Sure, in that moment I felt as never 
 before the passion of the words of Agag to 
 Samuel, ' Surely the bitterness of death is past ?' 
 But one minute ago so confident, and now 
 plunged back again into worse fear than ever ; 
 'twas bitter to bear ! We rose with one con- 
 sent, and slipped out of the room. I went 
 close to the great door, to listen if I might hear 
 aught to guide me. Mrs. Browning, with the 
 heart of a soldier, went to tell the women that 
 they must leave their women's duty, and 
 become men for the nonce. 
 
 We had not spoken a single word to each
 
 28o A MAN'S FOES 
 
 other, acting in concert by a like impulse ; but 
 yet the men without must have heard some 
 sound to render them the carefuller, for all again 
 was silence as I listened at the door. Then 
 came the very slightest, softest rubbing against 
 the little window beside it, wherefrom one may 
 challenge a stranger in troubled times. A kind 
 of horror fell upon me, to think that someone 
 was trying to peer through it into the lighted 
 hall. It was shuttered fast, but there be chinks 
 in the shutter, and a hole as well for the gun. 
 The dog was at my knee ; I could feel him 
 trembling with eagerness, but he was bid to 
 silence, and obeyed, uttering no sound at all. 
 Then Mrs. Browning came back into the hall ; 
 she took the hunting-horn from its place as she 
 passed, and brought it to me. Annot Wilson 
 and Margery followed her from the kitchen, and 
 the poor trembling groom followed them for 
 sheer desire of company. 
 
 It had occurred to me before that 'twere well 
 to challenge the intruders, ' Friend or foe ?' 
 before recalling my men from their task ; but I 
 had dismissed the thought upon a moment's 
 consideration, since to utter a challenge in a 
 woman's voice were but to provoke violence. 
 But the moment this groom came in my sight, 
 I determined he should do me that office, since
 
 A MAN'S FOES 281 
 
 he could do naught else. The stand of arms 
 was ready to my hand. I took therefrom a 
 musket and clapped It into his shaking hand ; 
 then I ordered him to unshutter the loophole, 
 level the musket, and question the newcomers. 
 He was nigh to dropping the musket in his 
 terror. He was opening the fool mouth of him 
 to beseech and protest, but I put a speedy end 
 to that. I snatched a loaded pistol from the 
 stand, and clapt it to his ear. 
 
 * If you do not as I order you this instant, 
 said I In a very fierce whisper, * may God have 
 mercy on your soul, for I'll blow your brains 
 out!' 
 
 Later, when the terror was past, I scarce 
 could forgive myself for so harsh a threat ; but 
 at the moment it steadied my trembler, and I 
 had no sooner seen the effect of it than I gave 
 him another dose. For as he began with 
 trembling hands to unshutter the loophole, 
 ' Take you a good full breath,' I told him, * and 
 speak out boldly ; for if you falter, your last 
 moment has come !' 
 
 At this moment Mrs. Browning touched 
 my arm, and pointed to the mastiff, that was 
 behaving very strangely. The bristling of his 
 coat had ceased, and he was snuffing at the 
 door with a quivering ear and tail. A wild
 
 282 A MAN'S FOES 
 
 thought flashed through my mind as I saw it, to 
 be dismissed as quick. There be many Irish 
 coming and going at Cloncally from the village. 
 It mieht well be that the doer should know the 
 newcomer, and yet he be no friend ; yet that 
 and my pistol together put some heart into the 
 groom. He threw open the loophole with a 
 firmer hand than I could have believed, stuck 
 the musket through it, and asked in something 
 like a man's voice. Who was there ? Friend 
 or foe ? 
 
 Rut ah ! can any that shall read this picture 
 to himself what was my feeling when I heard 
 the answer ? 'Twas in the voice that I know 
 best in all the world, and love best, but not a 
 note of hope was in it. 
 
 ' Ah, Canning, what did I tell you ?' said he. 
 
 With that the barrel of the musket was seized 
 and dragged as quick as thought from the nerve- 
 less hands that held it. 
 
 ' Ah, you scoundrels !' shouted he in such a 
 tone of grief and rage as I hope never to hear 
 again. ' Open the door, will ye, and answer 
 me what you've done with my wife and child.' 
 
 Faith ! the first word was scarce out of his 
 mouth ere I was dragging at the bolts and 
 chains, the women helping me, and the dog 
 hindering with his eagerness. Before Captain 
 Hamilton could comprehend the situation, I
 
 A MAN'S FOES 283 
 
 was hanging upon his neck, laughing, crying, 
 hugging him, thanking God — Margery and 
 Annot well-nigh as distraught as I with very 
 joy. And so our greatest fear was turned into 
 a happiness that for a little time was near as 
 hard to bear. 
 
 Then what a questioning and answering, and 
 what confusion In the same ! None of us fit to 
 answer for the desire to ask, nor able to put a 
 clear question for our eagerness to make ex- 
 planations. Scarce can I marvel to think of It, 
 neither ; sure, a cup can be filled no fuller than 
 to the brim, and my mind and heart were even 
 like to overflow with this great mercy of my 
 husband's happy return ; at the very moment — 
 oh, the very moment ! — when, had a wish been 
 granted me, the prayer of my soul had been for 
 his presence. 
 
 Dear ! every other thought was driven clean 
 out of my head ; I took none to greet his com- 
 panion (Mr. Canning of Garvagh), nor yet to 
 make him known to Mrs. Browning, whom he 
 had never met till then. It was she who a 
 little recalled me to composure ; for. seeing that 
 Mr. Phillips' groom so handled the musket that 
 'twas become a danger to all of us, she very 
 coolly took it from him, and put it in its place 
 upon the stand. Whereat I was put in remem- 
 brance of my pistol, that in my sudden madness
 
 284 ^ MAN'S FOES 
 
 of joy I had cast down, loaded as it was, upon 
 the settle ; and from the thought of that sprang 
 up the thought of the rest I was neglecting. 
 
 If ever there was happiness upon this earth, 
 'twas round our supper-table this night ; and 
 with happiness came even mirth and gaiety, so 
 great was the rebound of our spirits from despair 
 and gloom. 'Twas like the sudden breaking- 
 forth of the sun when the heavens had threatened 
 a tempest. Yet, sure, the gloom of the thunder- 
 clouds was scarce abated ; scarce, for aught we 
 knew, was the bursting of the storm delayed. 
 The barn was full of men that we knew for un- 
 friends to every soul of our race, and that had 
 been furnished, by the treachery of them that 
 should have been our protectors, with both 
 equipment and opportunity to show their enmity 
 in the deadliest way. But yet they were not 
 in Derry ; that was some comfort. Oppor- 
 tunity, at least, had been snatched from their 
 grasp, and that, had we known it at the 
 moment, by the gallantry and promptitude of 
 a very few and inconsiderable persons. Yet 
 the treachery remained, and was not to be 
 denied ; and what harm that treachery might 
 work us yet, sure, thought could hardly fathom. 
 Nay, had we known the straits it was to bring 
 us to, there had been little merrymaking in our 
 heads that night, for all the mercy we had
 
 A MAN'S FOES 285 
 
 experienced. Perhaps the choicest mercy of all 
 was this, that the future was covered from our 
 eyes, in such sort that a respite was possible 
 from the wearing anxiety which yet beset our 
 pillows, ready to lay hold of us once more at 
 the breaking of the day. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLIN0I9-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 042251790