Delphi Complete Works of the Brontes Charlotte, Emily, Anne Brontë (Illustrated) (272 page)

Continuing on his course which became more dangerous at every step he at length arrived at a vast Cavern the entrance of which was closed with Iron doors: these rolled back as he advanced & admitted him into an imense hall of stone. he entred the doors closed after him & he found himself alone in this strange apartment dimly lighted by a blue flame in the middle, huge massive pillars rose to the vaulted roof: their capitals were ornamented with human skulls & crossbones their shafts were in the form of grisly skeletons & their bases were Shaped like tombstones, the hall was so long that he was unable to see the end & as he walked to & fro he heard the echoing of his footsteps at a distance as if the sound was reflected by vaults or cells, after a considerable time the noise of an opening door was heard - light well known footsteps fell on his ear & in another moment he embraced his beloved son. almost at the same instant they found themselves on the plateau were Seringapatan & lord Wellesley anxiously waited for them.

the meeting between the two brothers was joyful in the extreme & after a short time spent in tears of gladness & affectionate congratulating the whole party returned in saftety to Strathfeildsay. to all the questions put to the marquis respecting his sufferings while in that cave his invariable answer has been that they were indiscribable.

CB May 5 1830

CHAPTER TWO

MAY6 1830

It was a bright afternoon in August 1829 when the Duke of Wellington rose from the dry wearisome ocupation of composing & copying state documents (better fitted for the mind of a Jhon Herries or a P. Courtnay than his lofty & energetic spirit) which employment he had constantly followed for above 3 months without any relaxation whatsoever. after locking his writing desk and placing all the papers in order, he determined forthwith to proceed to the Horsegaurds. for tired of the tedious dull society of gentlemen in office & creeping crawling clerks; ready & even ambitious to lick the dust beneath his feet, he longed once more to breathe the fresh free millatry air of that priveliged retreat of all the great Feild marshals Generals staff officers & colonels now alive. Just as he had formed his resolution the door of his apartment opened & little king & queens entred in their usual form, they accosted him with, “Duke of Wellington come to the Horsegaurds: we are going there & we wish you to accompany us in order that you may point out all that is worth seeing. “

“I was just about to proceed thitherf replied his Grace “& shall be much honoured by your society.”

In a few moments they set out & after a quater of an hours walk reached the place of their destination, the gate was closed but a soldier who stood by, imediately hastened to open it as soon as he saw his Grace approach presenting arms & making a low bow. they entred & it was shut after them, the yard of the Horse guards was covered with rough stones & gravel 2 or 3 sentinels were pacing about ocasionally turning their eyes towards a lofty triangle & fixed at one end on which a poor soldier was undergoing the lash of the cat-o- nine-tails17 inflicted by the merciless hand of orderly-man who stood with his shirt sleeves rolled up exerting every sinew in the cause of cruelty.

“What crime has that fellow been guilty of to bring on his head or rather his back such a bloody punishment?” exclaimed the Duke as he walked towards the instrument of torture.

uhes been making faces at lord Hill when he told him to lick the dust of his shoes.f replied Orderly-man halting for a moment.

“lord Hills a scoundrel” replied his Grace uin the first place for flogging a man because he refused to comit a crime (which that he commanded him to do would have been) & in the second place for ordring you to triangle him which none but I have a right to. Take that wretch down instantly orderly-man. Bring Lord Hill & set him in his place.”

For the first time in his life Orderly-man hesitated to obey his masters mandates, casting the whip on the ground he sighed deeply tears came into his glittering gray eyes & marks of evident greif & disappointment appeared on his rugged countenance;

“What is the matter?” said the Duke in the utmost surprise. “I should think the fellow was absolutely under the influence of witchcraft: why don’t you fly like lightning to execute my command?”

for a few moments he was unable to reply. at length a flood of tears came to his releif & then the following words intermixed with sobs & moans made their way.

“Well my lord its baking day today & I was just begining to make a good? currant cake when lord Hill called me off to triangle this beast & now when I’ve done that I’m forced to triangle him too & my cake will be eaten by Seringapatan or some other horrid glutton in the Baking-room while I shall have none at all though I bought the stuff it’s made of,” here as if touched by the recital of his own misfortune he wept anew, the Duke of Wellington laughed aloud & placing his hand on his shoulder told him not to break his heart as he would give him something better than a peice of Bread - Orderly-man consoled by this assurance hastened to obey his lord & in a few minutes Hill suspended from the triangle suffered the penalty of his crime.

Little King & queens understanding from the previous conversation that it was baking day in the Horsegaurds expressed a wish to go into the room where the bread was prepared & made ready.

“Your majesties are perfectly at liberty to do so if you please” said his Grace “ provided my attendance can be dispensed with, as I never frequent the apartments were the soldiers cook their food.f uvery well Duke of Wellington we can do without you” replied the fairies angrily & imediately quitting him in an abrupt manner they entred the Horsegaurds & proceeded to the Bakehouse. It was a large room built of brick without any ceiling so that all the great beams & rafter that formed the roof were exposed to the eye & paved after the fashion of streets & thoroughfares, a fire of a suficient size & feirceness to roast an ox was blazing at one end. a long table ran down the centre at which 2 or 3 hundred soldiers were standing busily employed in the manufacture of coarse loaves & cakes; at the head on a high rustic tripod sat a very old man apparently more than six feet in height with muscles as strong & supple as those of Hercules & bones as big as a mammothsf. his grizzled grey hairs were drawn all together tied with a peice of a rope and plaited into a long queu behind, his nose was like an eagles beak when by reason of its age the upper mandible has peirced through the under & the venerable posessor unable either to eat or drink lies in its inacessible eirie made like a charnel house by the blanched bones of those which in its vigorous youth it has slain now - I was going on but I find that the metaphor is too diffuse allreadyf. Seringapatan’s nose then (for the old man was no other) was exceedingly aquiline & his mouth a scarlet thread stretching from ear to ear & together with his fine large dark expressive eye betokened him of true Milesian origin. He sat on his exalted throne in an atitude of extreme dignity & imperial majestyf. his head gently inclined to one side leaned on a hand whose coulour the snow might have envied, it being of a dark tawny red. One foot lay on the far side of the table & the other on the head of a horrible wretch who had ventured to rebel against his high power but who at lenght having sucumbed from a gentle intimation that tomorrow at drilltime he should suffer for his impudence, was now doing penance for his black crime. When Seringapatan spoke he invaribly streched out his right arm intuwards? imitating the elegant action of all the great Grecian Roman British & Hibernian orators.

After little king & queen’s had viewed this scene for some time they left the room & proceeded to find out the Duke of Wellington, they found him in the public apartment for the officers, it was an ample rotunda carpeted with green cloth, a large brass lustre suspended from the roof was covered with the accumalated dust of several years, a billiard table stood in the middle about which a number of officers sat playing or talking. The Duke was standing at one end of the room surrounded by Lords Rosslyn Berresford, Sommerset & Arthur Hill together with Generals Murray Hardinge Londonderry Fitzroy &c &c. Rosslyn was just delivering an enconium upon his Grace in the following words.

“My Lord when you appear a mist seems withdrawn from my eyes. You are as the clear splendor of the sun shining after rain. the dark clouds hasten at your approach to mingle with the swelling waves of the deep from whence they came & to whence they will return, a hundred flowers Whose beautiful heads drooped beneath the fury of the storm & whose radiant colours waned as it beat upon them, raise again their slender stems unfurl their emerald leaflets & hold up their golden crowns towards the first beam of light which heralds your appearance that they may be filled with loveliness & joy for lo you have allready glorified the last drops of the departing shower into a faint but fast brightning rainbowf. as I gaze on that mighty apparition spanning the whole earth & heaven, a solemn sign that the victorious waters shall never again roar triumphantly over the worlds highest mountain which clave the clouds with their summits or roll in her pleasant valleys the palaces of beauty & silence. I think by a mysterious conection of the humble snowdrop both the arch of the sky & the first blossom of spring are alike in their origin, though one be a child of heaven & the other of earth, for each is “rocked by the storm & cradled by the blast” Eh? my lord is not that very pretty?” said he & at that moment he certainly bore a much greater resemblance to a monkey than a man.

“Rosslyn” replied the Duke smiling sarcastically “you have certainly out done yourself to day though I am afraid if a jackal? or a mandrill a pinch or a pigmy could be brought to speak it would still surpass you in giving utterance to all that is conceited & devoid of sense in the compass of Apish phraseology. But sir & I am now serious if you bother me again with such language more resembling the watry scum of a weak whining poetaster’s28 brains than the conversation of an officer of sense & spirit or even of a civillian whose capacities are but mediocre in every respect I shall certainly allow you the privelige of showing off some elegant French atitudes scrapes & bows wether of the head or the back will I presume be perfectly imaterial on a triangle formed of deserters halberts exposed to the view & derision of the whole regiment of the gaurds. You will likewise Sir be expected to attend drill every day to officiate as caller of the muster roll to clean your own arms & accoutrements without the aid of any menial attendant, to associate with the common shoe blacks valets & soultlers? of the army in order that you may teach them the polite art of elocution besides improving their general maners by your elegant example & finally you will be cashiered for a few months to the end that you may enjoy your favourite solitued which will perhaps enable you to produce more masterly specimens of ryhming than you have hitherto favoured us with.f here his Grace stopped. all the generals around stood staring contemptuously at Roslyn & when he happened to come near any of them they shrank from his touch as if he was infectious not deigning to speak to him for a moment. Seeing their strange conduct & hearing the words of his master the poor wretch burst into a flood of tears sobbed aloud & then as if unable to contain himself he ran out of the room as fast as he was able & a few minutes after he was heard at a distance singing the following verses

To the forest to the wilderness Ah let me hasten now Wher’ere I go I still shall see My master’s lowering brow The Woods black shade won’t hide my greif No influence now I have But ‘th stream will give more quick releif I’ll seek a watry grave Unto the shore I’ll swiftly fly I’ll plunge into the sea The foam bells will ascend on high When drowning sets me free

Drown all the ills which life doth give O mis’ry in me dwells when no longer shall I live The tide of sorrow swells

Suspended from an elm tree tall I’ll end my mournful life My soul more bitter is than gall My heart is full of strife

I’ll cut my neck with some sharp blade I’ll swallow poison dire No now my resolution’s made I’ll set myself on fire

Just then a loud noise was heard in an adjoining appartment & Game keeper came rushing into the room exclaiming that Lord Rosslyn had thrown himself into the fire but that he had been pulled out before he was hurt.

“take him” replied the Duke of Wellington “to the lowest dungeon keep him there & feed him on nothing but bread & water for a month.” His Grace then quitted the room & little King & queens followed him.

“Where are you going?” said they.

“to Arthur’s appartmentf he replied “will your majesties honour me by your company?”

“yes” they answered shortly & in a few minutes after mounting a flight of stone steps they arrived at the end of a long gallery terminated by a door which when opened discovered a small antichamber, where was an arched entrance veiled by a curtain of thick green baize, the Duke undrew the curtain & a most elegant but rather small saloon presented itself, the floor was spread with a rich persian carpet, low sofas surrounded the room covered with green satin elegantly embroidered in needle work. A Dome tastefully painted in the arabesque style formed the roof, several stands of beautiful white marble supported alabaster vases of the finest & most fragrant flowers. On the Parian mantle peice stood a number of images clasically designed & well executed in Japan china & on a hearth slab of costly Tabruz? marble were ranged magnificent porphory, lapis lazuli and agate vessels filled with the most exquisite perfumes the East can supply, all the windows were shaded with orange & myrtle trees which grew in large pots of Seville china, at one of these were seated the Marquis of Douro & Lord Wellesly. the former was habited in the uniform of his regiment, imperial blue & gold, the latter in white silk lightly bordered with green & a purple mantle fastened on one shoulder by an ornament of saphire & emerald.

As soon as his Grace entred they both started up joyfully welcoming him to their peaceful retreat from the noisy & turbulent Rotunda. In a few minutes he sat down & then after a short silence he observed “What a luxurious place this is Arthur quite unfited I assure you my son to prepare a man for those hardships which every one has to encounter during some part of his life.”