Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges

our when the gate would be open, and he and his comrade, Job Lockwood, the porter's son, might go to the pond and see what fortune had brought them. At daybrea

he passage. Harry jumped up, thinking for certain it was a robber, or hoping perhaps for a ghost, and, flinging open his own door, saw before h

d out the boy, who

in's room that looked to the court, and Harry saw that the smoke came from a great flame of papers which were burning in a brazier when he entered the chaplain's room. After giving a hasty greeting

on this hole. "That is right, Harry," he said; "faithful lit

o to the stake fo

dly; "all you have to do is to hold your tongue. Let us burn these

him; and though he had seen it, could not understand a word of it, the letters being quite clear enough, but quite wi

cclesiastics to wear their proper dress; and he was, in consequence, in no wise astonished that the priest should now appea

w took out two or three dresses and perukes of different colours, and a couple of swords of a pretty make (Father Holt was an expert practitioner with the small sword, and every day, whilst he was at home, he and his pu

ind them, they'll tell no tales, except that Father Holt wore more suits o

ed. But they may take a fancy to pay a visit at Castlewood ere our return; and, as gentlemen of my cloth are suspected, they might choose to examine my papers, which concern nobody-at least, not them." And

only half burned them, some theological treatises which he had been writing against the English divines. "And now," said he, "Henry, my son, you may testify, with a safe conscien

d. Holt laughed; he was never more gay or good-hu

ept better. You must forget that I have been here; and now farewell. Close the door, and go to your own roo

was too high to reach from the ground; but, mounting on a buffet which stood beneath it, Father Holt showed me how, by pressing on the base of the window, the whole framework of lead, glass, and iron stanchions, d

ditch; and so, once more farewell, until I see thee again, my dear son." And with this the intrepid father mounted the buffet with great agility and briskness, stepped across the window, [pg 049] lifting up the bars and framework again from the other side, and only leaving room for Harry Esmond to stand on tiptoe and kiss his hand before the casement closed, the bars fixi

equivalent to a negation-and therefore a downright No, in the interest of justice or your friend, and in reply to a question that may be prejudicial to either, is not criminal, but, on the contrary, praiseworthy; and as lawful a way as the other of eluding a wrongful demand. For instance (says he), suppose a good citizen, who had seen his Majesty take refuge there, had been asked, "Is King Charles up that oak-tree?" His duty would have been not to say, Yes-so that the Cromwe

going to pay [pg 050] his duty to his highness the prince, as he mounted his pad and rode away with Nahum behind. The village people had orange cockades too, and his friend the blacksmith's laughing daughter pinned one into Harry's old hat, which he tore out indignantly when they bid him to cry, "God save the Prince of Orange and the Protestant religion!" but the people only laughed, for they liked the boy in the village, where his solitar

ent off early however to a school in London, whither his father took him and a volume of sermons in the first year of the reign of King James; and Tom returned but once, a year afterwards, to Castlewood for many years of his scholastic and collegiate life. Thus there was less danger to Tom of a perversion of his faith by the director, who scarce ever saw him, than there was to Harry, who constantly was in the vicar's company; but

looking for papers. The first room they asked to look at was Father Holt's room, of which Harry Esmond brought the key, and they opened the drawers and the cupboards, and tossed over the papers and clothes-but found nothing except his books and clothes, and the vestments in a box by themselves, with which the dragoons made

Catholic faith were apprehended by my lady, who said she did not believe that there was a word of truth in the promises of toleration that Dutch monster made, or in a single word the perjured wretch said. My lord and lady were

er and betray him. We know how to suffer, how even to forgive in the royal cause" (no doubt it was to that fatal business of losing the place of Groom of the Posset to which her ladyship alluded, as she did half a dozen times in the day). "Let the tyrant of Orange bring his rack and his odious Dutch tortures-the beast! the wretch! I spit upon hi

he spoke to me with a voice that reminded me of days gone by. 'Egad!' said his Majesty, 'you should go to the Prince of Orange, if you want anything.' 'No, sire,' I replied, 'I would not kneel to a usurper; the Esmond that would have served your Majesty w

ies in the dispirited party about the king; and the praise he got elevated him not a little in his wife's good opinion, and perhaps in his own. He wakened up from the listless and supine life which he had been

s the means of exit which Father Holt had employed, though how often the little window in the chaplain's room let in or let out my lord and his friends, Harry could not tell. He stoutly kept his promise to the father of not prying, and if at midnight from his little room he heard noises of persons stirring in the next chamber, he turn

came in or went out was watched by the outlying sentries. 'Twas lucky that we had a gate which their worships knew nothing about. My lord and Father Holt must have made constant journeys at night: once or twice little Harry acted as their messenger and discreet little aide

that a great rising of his Majesty's party should take place in this country: and my lord was to head the force in our county. Of late he had taken a greater lead in affairs than before, having the indefatigable Mr. Holt at his elbow, and my lady viscountess s

ected to his Majesty's cause were to come in with their tenants and adherents to Newbury, march upon the Dutch troops at Reading under Ginckel; and, these overthrow

health; my lady did not scold him, Mr. Holt came to and fro, busy always; [pg 054] and littl

little Harry to him, put the hair off the child's forehead, and kissed him, and bade God bless him in such an affectionate way as he never had used before. Father Holt blessed

Oh, that I might come too!-but in my si

marchioness's han

y lord in a grand manner. "Mr. Holt, I ask your blessing:" and

down and held my lord's stirrups for him to mount; there were tw

d see an officer in scarlet ride up t

his hat and making a bow to the officer who rode alongside him step for step: the trooper accompanying him, falling back, and riding wit

oming at milking-time riding one of our horses,

found fault with anybody; she played at cards for six hours; little page Esmond

ang, and old Lockwood waking up, let in one of my lord's servants, who ha

it was his duty to inform his lordship that he was not under arrest,

the captain chose to accompany him he was welcome, and it w

rd all of a sudden pulled up, and the

our to two; will you be so kind as to t

ine, my lord,"

r, drawing a pistol, snapped it at his lordship; as at the same mome

me. The orderly, gazing at the officer, looked sc

ooper, but the two servants were too much surprised to use their piece

f the dead officer for papers, gives his money to us two, and says, 'The wine is drawn,

nd she trotted home. We rode on towards Newbury; we heard firing towards midday: at two o'clock a horseman comes up to us as we were giving our cat

er on duty, and let his or

ble-book, one for my lady, and one for you, Master Harry; 'you

anything." Harry read this, ran upstairs to his mistress's apartment, where her gentlewoman slept near to the door, made her bring a light and

st do before, took down one of his reverence's manuscript sermons, and half burnt that in the brazier. By the time the papers were quite destroyed it was daylight. Harry ran back to his mis

s the viscountess stepped forth from her room, ready for departure, young Job Lockwood comes running up from the village with news that a lawyer, three officers, and twenty or

g