St. Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England

reat pain of my flayed hands, and had nothing to treat them with; I was hungry and thirsty, and had nothing to eat or to drink; I was

estored. The key rattled in the lock, and Master Ronald ent

he said, and shook

's a liber

my position is infernall

'and what do you

ing upon me with a convincing air of youth and innoce

th a little gesture. 'You must d

he cried: '

e that we are just in the position of one ordinary gentleman to another, where friendship usually comes before the law. Observe, I only say arguable. For God's sake, don't th

ld you do, th

ow,' said I. 'Hesitate, as

hink, that I am thinking. It is General Graham of Lynedoch-Sir Thomas Gr

have good reason to. I have fought with him, bee

ied. 'You wer

ominably, as they usually did in a pitched field; the Marshal Duke of Belluno made a fool of himself, and not for the f

' said the boy. 'I wish to pleas

steady; in front of them a mounted officer, his hat in his hand, white-haired, and talking very quietly to the battalions. Our Major, Vigo-Roussillon, set spurs to his horse and galloped out to sabre him, but seeing him an old man, very handsome, and as composed as if he were in a coffee-house, lost heart and galloped back again. Only, you see, they had bee

e boy,-his eye

Sir Thomas fed the Major from his own table f

ul story,' said Ronald. 'And yet

it freely

'I believe it's treason to my sovereign-I believe there is an infamou

to you, a brute and a coward. You are a noble enemy; you will make a noble soldier.' And with rath

to eat, but it will not be for six,' he added, with a smile: 'only what we can get smuggled o

smile also, I should feel ashamed. If my son shall be only like him when he com

eded in his place. She brought me a few crusts of bread and a jug of mil

e whisky in the milk-it is more wholesome so-and with eggs you will be able to make something of a meal. How many eggs will you be wanting to that milk?

in the hen-house, I displayed my blee

reaking eggs,' said I; 'and it is no bagatelle to escape f

rought a fork too; I should have been a good person to take care of Jacobites or Covenanters in old days! You shall have more to eat this evening; Ronald is to bring it yo

else I may lack-and I lack everything-it is not money.' I pulled out my sheaf of notes and detached the top one: it was written for ten pounds, and signed by that very famous individu

,' said she. 'I must

offended?'

y offers for the future. There was in it a shadow of reproach, and such warmth of communica

d she, 'ta

ch me eat. There was about this tall young lady at the moment an air of motherliness delicio

thes will you be

am best qualified to play. Mr. St. Ives (for that's to be my name upon the journ

atter. But the clothes of a fine gentleman-O, it is absolutely necessary that these should f

abilities are just what mankind has to suffer under. Yourself, you see, you're ver

t away, and without the smallest breath of pause wen

do not say they would not be becoming; but for a journey, do you think they would be wis

I not daft?'

o think you a

the bitterest thing in this captivity has been the clothes? Make me a captive-bind me with chains if you like

all pained to the heart. Even my aunt-though sometimes I do think she was not quite in good taste-you should have seen her and

ter,' said I. 'But since you sa

aimed. 'Not for one moment. It was

a harlequin, and be

distress, and nobly s

he more anxious, for my sake, for my country's sake, and for the sake of your kindness, that you should see him whom you have helped as God meant him to

much of clothes,' she said.

beautiful reminders, of these keepsakes, that I cannot be parted from until I lose memory and life. Many of them are great things, many of them are high virtues-charity, mercy,

to go. Perhaps this attitude emboldened me to profit by the last secon

at my sun was blown out, my enchantress had fled away, and