When John Willet saw that the horsemen wheeled smartly round, anddrew up three abreast in the narrow road, waiting for him and hisman to join them, it occurred to him with unusual precipitationthat they must be highwaymen; and had Hugh been armed with ablunderbuss, in place of his stout cudgel, he would certainly haveordered him to fire it off at a venture, and would, while the wordof command was obeyed, have consulted his own personal safety inimmediate flight. Under the circumstances of disadvantage,however, in which he and his guard were placed, he deemed itprudent to adopt a different style of generalship, and thereforewhispered his attendant to address them in the most peaceable andcourteous terms. By way of acting up to the spirit and letter ofthis instruction, Hugh stepped forward, and flourishing his staffbefore the very eyes of the rider nearest to him, demanded roughlywhat he and his fellows meant by so nearly galloping over them, andwhy they scoured the king"s highway at that late hour of night.
The man whom be addressed was beginning an angry reply in the samestrain, when be was checked by the horseman in the centre, who,interposing with an air of authority, inquired in a somewhat loudbut not harsh or unpleasant voice:
"Pray, is this the London road?"
"If you follow it right, it is," replied Hugh roughly.
"Nay, brother," said the same person, "you"re but a churlishEnglishman, if Englishman you be--which I should much doubt but foryour tongue. Your companion, I am sure, will answer me morecivilly. How say you, friend?"
"I say it IS the London road, sir," answered John. "And I wish,"
he added in a subdued voice, as he turned to Hugh, "that you was inany other road, you vagabond. Are you tired of your life, sir,that you go a-trying to provoke three great neck-or-nothing chaps,that could keep on running over us, back"ards and for"ards, till wewas dead, and then take our bodies up behind "em, and drown us tenmiles off?"
"How far is it to London?" inquired the same speaker.
"Why, from here, sir," answered John, persuasively, "it"s thirteenvery easy mile."
The adjective was thrown in, as an inducement to the travellers toride away with all speed; but instead of having the desired effect,it elicited from the same person, the remark, "Thirteen miles!
That"s a long distance!" which was followed by a short pause ofindecision.
"Pray," said the gentleman, "are there any inns hereabouts?" Atthe word "inns," John plucked up his spirit in a surprising manner;his fears rolled off like smoke; all the landlord stirred withinhim.
"There are no inns," rejoined Mr Willet, with a strong emphasis onthe plural number; "but there"s a Inn--one Inn--the Maypole Inn.
That"s a Inn indeed. You won"t see the like of that Inn often."
"You keep it, perhaps?" said the horseman, smiling.
"I do, sir," replied John, greatly wondering how he had found thisout.
"And how far is the Maypole from here?"
"About a mile"--John was going to add that it was the easiest milein all the world, when the third rider, who had hitherto kept alittle in the rear, suddenly interposed:
"And have you one excellent bed, landlord? Hem! A bed that youcan recommend--a bed that you are sure is well aired--a bed thathas been slept in by some perfectly respectable and unexceptionableperson?"
"We don"t take in no tagrag and bobtail at our house, sir,"
answered John. "And as to the bed itself--"
"Say, as to three beds," interposed the gentleman who had spokenbefore; "for we shall want three if we stay, though my friend onlyspeaks of one."
"No, no, my lord; you are too good, you are too kind; but your lifeis of far too much importance to the nation in these portentoustimes, to be placed upon a level with one so useless and so poor asmine. A great cause, my lord, a mighty cause, depends on you. Youare its leader and its champion, its advanced guard and its van.
It is the cause of our altars and our homes, our country and ourfaith. Let ME sleep on a chair--the carpet--anywhere. No one willrepine if I take cold or fever. Let John Grueby pass the nightbeneath the open sky--no one will repine for HIM. But fortythousand men of this our island in the wave (exclusive of women andchildren) rivet their eyes and thoughts on Lord George Gordon; andevery day, from the rising up of the sun to the going down of thesame, pray for his health and vigour. My lord," said the speaker,rising in his stirrups, "it is a glorious cause, and must not beforgotten. My lord, it is a mighty cause, and must not beendangered. My lord, it is a holy cause, and must not bedeserted."
"It IS a holy cause," exclaimed his lordship, lifting up his hatwith great solemnity. "Amen."
"John Grueby," said the long-winded gentleman, in a tone of mildreproof, "his lordship said Amen."
"I heard my lord, sir," said the man, sitting like a statue on hishorse.
"And do not YOU say Amen, likewise?"
To which John Grueby made no reply at all, but sat looking straightbefore him.
"You surprise me, Grueby," said the gentleman. "At a crisis likethe present, when Queen Elizabeth, that maiden monarch, weepswithin her tomb, and Bloody Mary, with a brow of gloom and shadow,stalks triumphant--"
"Oh, sir," cied the man, gruffly, "where"s the use of talking ofBloody Mary, under such circumstances as the present, when mylord"s wet through, and tired with hard riding? Let"s either go onto London, sir, or put up at once; or that unfort"nate Bloody Marywill have more to answer for--and she"s done a deal more harm inher grave than she ever did in her lifetime, I believe."