Friends, though divided: A Tale of the Civil War, Page 2

  CHAPTER II.

  FOR THE KING.

  It was late that evening when Sir Henry Furness returned from Oxford;but Harry, anxious to hear the all-absorbing news of the day, had waitedup for him.

  "What news, father?" he said, as Sir Henry alighted at the door.

  "Stirring news, Harry; but as dark as may be. War appears to be nowcertain. The king has made every concession, but the more he is ready togrant, the more those Puritan knaves at Westminster would force fromhim. King, peers, bishops, Church, all is to go down before this knot ofpreachers; and it is well that the king has his nobles and gentry stillat his back. I have seen Lord Falkland, and he has given me a commissionin the king's name to raise a troop of horse. The royal banner will behoisted at Nottingham, and there he will appeal to all his loyalsubjects for aid against those who seek to govern the nation."

  "And you think, sir, that it will really be war now?" Harry asked.

  "Ay, that will it, unless the Commons go down on their knees and ask hismajesty's pardon, of which there is, methinks, no likelihood. As was tobe expected, the burghers and rabble of the large towns are everywherewith them, and are sending up petitions to the Commons to stand fast andabolish everything. However, the country is of another way of thinking,and though the bad advisers of the king have in times past takenmeasures which have sorely tried our loyalty, that is all forgottennow. His majesty has promised redress to all grievances, and to ruleconstitutionally in future, and I hear that the nobles are calling outtheir retainers in all parts. England has always been governed by herkings since she was a country, and we are going to try now whether weare to be governed in future by our kings or by every tinker, tailor,preacher, or thief sent up to Westminster. I know which is my choice,and to-morrow I shall set about raising a troop of lads of the samemind."

  "You mean to take me, sir, I hope," Harry said.

  "Take you?" his lather repeated, laughing. "To do what?"

  "To fight, certainly," Harry replied. "I am sure that among the tenantsthere is not one who could use the small sword as I can, for you havetaught me yourself, and I do not think that I should be more afraid ofthe London pikemen than the best of them."

  "No, no, Harry," his father said, putting his hand on the boy'sshoulder; "I do not doubt your bravery. You come of a fighting stockindeed, and good blood cannot lie. But you are too young, my boy."

  "But if the war goes on for a couple of years, father."

  "Ay, ay, my boy; but I hope that it will be ended in a couple of months.If it should last--which God forbid!--you shall have your chance, neverfear. Or, Harry, should you hear that aught has happened to me, mountyour horse at once, my boy; ride to the army, and take your place at thehead of my tenants. They will of course put an older hand in command;but so long as a Furness is alive, whatever be his age, he must ride atthe head of the Furness tenants to strike for the king. I hear, by theway, Harry, that that Puritan knave, Rippinghall, the wool-stapler, istalking treason among his hands, and says that he will add a bravecontingent to the bands of the Commons when they march hither. Hastheard aught about it?"

  "Nothing, father, but I hope it is not true. I know, however, thatMaster Rippinghall's thoughts and opinions lie in that direction, for Ihave heard from Herbert--"

  "Ah, the son of the wool-stapler. Hark you, Harry, this is a time whenwe must all take sides for or against the king. Hitherto I havepermitted your acquaintance with the wool-stapler's son, though, intruth, he be by birth no fit companion for you. But times have changednow. The sword is going to be drawn, and friends of the king can nolonger be grip hands with friends of the Commons. Did my own brotherdraw sword for Parliament, we would never speak again. Dost hear?"

  "Yes, sir; and will of course obey your order, should you determine thatI must speak no more to Herbert. But, as you say, I am a boy yet, tooyoung to ride to the wars, and Herbert is no older. It will be time forus to quarrel when it is time for us to draw the sword."

  "That is so, Harry, and I do not altogether forbid you speaking withhim. Still the less you are seen together, the better. I like the lad,and have made him welcome here for your sake. He is a thoughtful lad,and a clever one; but it is your thoughtful men who plot treason, anduntil the storm be overpast, it is best that you see as little of him asmay be. And now I have eaten my supper, and it is long past the timethat you should have been in bed. Send down word by Thomas Hardway toMaster Drake, my steward, to bid him send early in the morning noticesthat all my tenants shall assemble here to-morrow at four in theafternoon, and bid the cook come to me. We shall have a busy dayto-morrow, for the Furness tenantry never gather at the hall and go outempty. And short though be the notice, they shall not do so this time,which to some of us may, perchance, be the last."

  The next day there was bustle and hurry at Furness Hall. The ponds weredragged for fish; the poultry yard was scoured for its finest birds; thekeepers were early afield, and when they returned with piles of haresand rabbits, these were seized by the cook and converted into huge piesand pasties. Two sheep were slaughtered, and the scullions were hard atwork making confections of currants, gooseberries, plums, and otherfruits from the garden. In the great hall the tables were laid, and whenthis was done, and all was in readiness, the serving men were called upto the armory, and there, throughout the day, the cleaning of swords andiron caps, the burnishing of breast and back pieces, the cleaning offirelocks, and other military work went on with all haste.

  The Furness estates covered many a square mile of Berkshire, and fiftysturdy yeomen dismounted before Furness Hall at the hour named by SirHenry. A number of grooms and serving men were in attendance, and tookthe horses as they rode up, while the major-domo conducted them to thegreat picture gallery. Here they were received by Sir Henry with astately cordiality, and the maids handed round a great silver gobletfilled with spiced wine.

  At four exactly the major-domo entered and announced that the quota wascomplete, and that every one of those summoned was present.

  "Serve the tables then," Sir Henry said, as he led the Way to the greatdining-hall.

  Sir Henry took the head of the broad table, and bade Harry sit on hisright hand, while the oldest of the tenants faced him at the oppositeend. Then a troop of servants entered bearing smoking joints, coldboars' heads, fish, turkeys, geese, and larded capons. These wereplaced upon the table, with an abundance of French wine, and of strongale for those who preferred it, to wash down the viands. The firstcourses were followed by dishes of meats and confections, and when allwas finished and cleared away Sir Henry Furness rose to his feet.

  "Fill your glasses all," he said; "and bumpers. The toast which I giveyou to-day is 'The king, God bless him.' Never should Englishmen drinkhis health more earnestly and solemnly than to-day, when rebels havedriven him from his capital, and pestilent traitors threatened him witharmed force. Perhaps, my friends, you, like me, may from time to timehave grumbled when the tax-collectors have come round, and you have seenno one warrant for their demands. But if the king has been forced so toexceed his powers, it was in no slight degree because those atWestminster refused to grant him the sums which were needful. He has,too, been surrounded by bad advisers. I myself loved not greatly eitherStratford or Laud. But I would rather bear their high-handed ways, whichwere at least aimed to strengthen the kingdom and for the honor of theking, than be ground by these petty tyrants at Westminster, who wouldshut up our churches, forbid us to smile on a Sunday, or to pray, exceptthrough our noses; who would turn merry England into a cantingconventicle, and would rule us with a rod to which that of the king wereas a willow wand. Therefore it is the duty of all true men and good todrink the health of his majesty the king, and confusion to his enemies."

  Upstanding, and with enthusiastic shouts, the whole of the tenants drankthe toast. Sir Henry was pleased with the spirit which was manifested,and when the cheering had subsided and quiet was again restored, he wenton:

  "My friends, I have summoned you here to tell you what many of you nodoubt know
already--that the king, driven from London by the traitors ofParliament, who would take from him all power, would override the peers,and abolish the Church, has appealed to his faithful subjects to standby him, and to maintain his cause. He will, ere a fortnight be past,raise his banner at Nottingham. Already Sir John Hotham, the rebelGovernor of York, has closed the gates of that city to him, and it istime that all loyal men were on foot to aid his cause. Lord Falkland hasbeen pleased to grant me a commission to raise a troop of horse in hisservice, and I naturally come to you first, to ask you to follow me."

  He paused a moment, and a shout of assent rang through the hall.

  "There are," he said, "some among you whom years may prevent fromyourselves undertaking the hardships of the field, but these can sendsubstitutes in their sons. You will understand that none are compelledto go; but I trust that from the long-standing friendship between us,and from the duty which you each owe to the king, none will hold back.Do I understand that all here are willing to join, or to furnishsubstitutes?"

  A general shout of "All" broke from the tenants.

  "Thank you, my friends, I expected nothing else. This will give me fiftygood men, and true, and I hope that each will be able to bring with himone, two, or more men, in proportion to the size of his holding. I shallmyself bear the expense of the arms and outfit of all these; but we mustnot strip the land of hands. Farming must still go on, for people mustfeed, even if there be war. As to the rents, we must waive ouragreements while the war lasts. Each man will pay me what proportion ofhis rent he is able, and no more. The king will need money as well asmen, and as all I receive will be at his service, I know that each ofyou will pay as much as he can to aid the common cause. I have here alist of your names. My son will take it round to each, and will writedown how many men each of you may think to bring with him to the war. Noman must be taken unwillingly. I want only those whose hearts are in thecause. My son is grieving that he is not old enough to ride with us; butshould aught befall me in the strife, I have bade him ride and take hisplace among you."

  Another cheer arose, and Harry went round the table taking down thenames and numbers of the men, and when his total was added up, it wasfound that those present believed that they could bring a hundred menwith them into the field.

  "This is beyond my hopes," Sir Harry said, as amid great cheering heannounced the result. "I myself will raise another fifty from my grooms,gardeners, and keepers, and from brave lads I can gather in the village,and I shall be proud indeed when I present to his majesty two hundredmen of Furness, ready to die in his defense."

  After this there was great arrangement of details. Each tenant gave alist of the arms which he possessed and the number of horses fit forwork, and as in those days, by the law of the land each man, ofwhatsoever his degree, was bound to keep arms in order to join themilitia, should his services be required for the defense of the kingdom,the stock of arms was, with the contents of Sir Henry's armory, found tobe sufficient for the number of men who were to be raised. It was eighto'clock in the evening before all was arranged, and the party broke upand separated to their homes.

  For the next week there was bustle and preparation on the Furnessestates, as, indeed, through all England. As yet, however, theParliament were gathering men far more rapidly than the king. TheRoyalists of England were slow to perceive how far the Commons intendedto press their demands, and could scarcely believe that civil war wasreally to break out. The friends of the Commons, however, wereeverywhere in earnest. The preachers in the conventicles throughout theland denounced the king in terms of the greatest violence, and in almostevery town the citizens were arming and drilling. Lord Essex, whocommanded the Parliamentary forces, was drawing toward Northampton withten thousand men, consisting mainly of the train-bands of London; whilethe king, with only a few hundred followers, was approaching Nottingham,where he proposed to unfurl his standard and appeal to his subjects.

  In a week from the day of the appeal of Sir Henry two troops, each of ahundred men strong, drew up in front of Furness Hall. To the eye of asoldier accustomed to the armies of the Continent, with their bandstrained by long and constant warfare, the aspect of this troop might nothave appeared formidable. Each man was dressed according to his fancy.Almost all wore jack-boots coming nigh to the hip, iron breast and backpieces, and steel caps. Sir Henry Furness and four gentlemen, hisfriends, who had seen service in the Low Countries, and had now gladlyjoined his band, took their places, Sir Henry himself at the head of thebody, and two officers with each troop. They, too, were clad in highboots, with steel breast and back pieces, thick buff leather gloves, andthe wide felt hats with feathers which were worn in peace time. Duringthe war some of the Royalist officers wore iron caps as did their foes.But the majority, in a spirit of defiance and contempt of their enemies,wore the wide hat of the times, which, picturesque and graceful as itwas, afforded but a poor defense for the head. Almost all wore theirhair long and in ringlets, and across their shoulders were the whitescarfs typical of their loyalty to the king. Harry bestrode a fine horsewhich his father had given him, and had received permission to ride forhalf the day's march by his side at the head of the troop. The trumpetersounded the call, Sir Henry stood up in his stirrups, drew his sword andwaved it over his head, and shouted "For God and King." Two hundredswords flashed in the air, and the answering shout came out deep andfull. Then the swords were sheathed, the horses' heads turned, and witha jingle of sabers and accouterments the troop rode gayly out throughthe gates of the park.

  Upon their way north they were joined by more than one band of Cavaliersmarching in the same direction, and passed, too, several bodies offootmen, headed by men with closely-cropped heads, and somber figures,beside whom generally marched others whom their attire proclaimed to bePuritan preachers, on their way to join the army of Essex. The partiesscowled at each other as they passed; but as yet no sword had been drawnon either side, and without adventure they arrived at Nottingham.

  Having distributed his men among the houses of the town, Sir HenryFurness rode to the castle, where his majesty had arrived the daybefore. He had already the honor of the personal acquaintance of theking, for he had in one of the early parliaments sat for Oxford.Disgusted, however, with the spirit that prevailed among the opponentsof the king, and also by the obstinacy and unconstitutional coursepursued by his majesty, he had at the dissolution of Parliament retiredto his estate, and when the next House was summoned, declined to standagain for his seat.

  "Welcome, Sir Henry," his majesty said graciously to him, "you areamong the many who withstood me somewhat in the early days of my reign,and perchance you were right to do so; but who have now, in my need,rallied round me, seeing whither the purpose of these traitoroussubjects of mine leads them. You are the more welcome that you have, asI hear, brought two hundred horsemen with you, a number larger than anywhich has yet joined me. These," he said, pointing to two young noblemennear him, "are my nephews, Rupert and Maurice, who have come to joinme."

  Upon making inquiries, Sir Henry found that the prospects of the kingwere far from bright. So far, the Royalists had been sadly behindhandwith their preparations. The king had arrived with scarce four hundredmen. He had left his artillery behind at York for want of carriage, andhis need in arms was even greater than in men, as the arsenals of thekingdom had all been seized by the Parliament. Essex lay at Northamptonwith ten thousand men, and had he at this time advanced, even the mostsanguine of the Royalists saw that the struggle would be a hopeless one.

  The next day, at the hour appointed, the royal standard was raised onthe Castle of Nottingham, in the midst of a great storm of wind andrain, which before many hours had passed blew the royal standard to theground--an omen which those superstitiously inclined deemed of evilaugury indeed. The young noblemen and gentlemen, however, who hadgathered at Northampton, were not of a kind to be daunted by omens andauguries, and finding that Essex did not advance and hearing news fromall parts of the country that the loyal gentlemen were gathering theirte
nants fast, their hopes rose rapidly. There was, indeed, somediscontent when it was known that, by the advice of his immediatecouncilors, King Charles had dispatched the Earl of Southampton withSir John Collpeper and Sir William Uvedale to London, with orders totreat with the Commons. The Parliament, however, refused to enter intoany negotiations whatever until the king lowered his standard andrecalled the proclamation which he had issued. This, which would havebeen a token of absolute surrender to the Parliament, the king refusedto do. He attempted a further negotiation; but this also failed.

  The troops at Nottingham now amounted to eleven hundred men, of whichthree hundred were infantry raised by Sir John Digby, the sheriff of thecounty. The other eight hundred were horse. Upon the breaking off ofnegotiations, and the advance of Essex, the king, sensible that he wasunable to resist the advance of Essex, who had now fifteen thousand mencollected under him, fell back to Derby, and thence to Shrewsbury, beingjoined on his way by many nobles and gentlemen with their armedfollowers. At Wellington, a town a day's march from Shrewsbury, the kinghad his little army formed up, and made a solemn declaration before themin which he promised to maintain the Protestant religion, to observe thelaws, and to uphold the just privileges and freedom of Parliament.

  The Furness band were not present on that occasion, as they had beendispatched to Worcester with some other soldiers, the whole under thecommand of Prince Rupert, in order to watch the movements of Essex, whowas advancing in that direction. While scouring the ground around thecity, they came upon a body of Parliamentary cavalry, the advance of thearmy of Essex. The bands drew up at a little distance from each other,and then Prince Rupert gave the command to charge. With the cheer of"For God and the king!" the troop rushed upon the cavalry of theParliament with such force and fury that they broke them utterly, andkilling many, drove them in confusion from the field, but small loss tothemselves.

  This was the first action of the civil war, the first blood drawn byEnglishmen from Englishmen since the troubles in the commencement of thereign of Mary.