CHAPTER XLVIII.
HONOURABLE DISGRACE.
January of 1646, according to the division of the year, arrived, andwith it the heaviest cloud that had yet overshadowed Raglan.
One day, about the middle of the month, Dorothy, entering ladyGlamorgan's parlour, found it deserted. A moan came to her ears from theadjoining chamber, and there she found her mistress on her face on thebed.
'Madam,' said Dorothy in terror, 'what is it? Let me be with you. May Inot know it?'
'My lord is in prison,' gasped lady Glamorgan, and bursting into freshtears, she sobbed and moaned.
'Has my lord been taken in the field, madam, or by cunning of hisenemies?'
'Would to God it were either,' sighed lady Glamorgan. 'Then were it asmall thing to bear.'
'What can it be, madam? You terrify me,' said Dorothy.
No words of reply, only a fresh outburst of agonised--could it also beangry?--weeping followed.
'Since you will tell me nothing, madam, I must take comfort that ofmyself I know one thing.'
'Prithee, what knowest thou?' asked the countess, but as if careless ofbeing answered, so listless was her tone, so nearly inarticulate herwords.
'That is but what bringeth him fresh honour, my lady,' answered Dorothy.
The countess started up, threw her arms about her, drew her down on thebed, kissed her, and held her fast, sobbing worse than ever.
'Madam! madam!' murmured Dorothy from her bosom.
'I thank thee, Dorothy,' she sighed out at length: 'for thy words andthy thoughts have ever been of a piece.'
'Sure, my lady, no one did ever yet dare think otherwise of my lord,'returned Dorothy, amazed.
'But many will now, Dorothy. My God! they will have it that he is atraitor. Wouldst thou believe it, child--he is a prisoner in the castleof Dublin!'
'But is not Dublin in the hands of the king, my lady?'
'Ay! there lies the sting of it! What treacherous friends are theseheretics! But how should they be anything else? Having denied theirSaviour they may well malign their better brother! My lord marquis ofOrmond says frightful things of him.'
'One thing more I know, my lady,' said Dorothy, '--that as long as hiswife believes him the true man he is, he will laugh to scorn all thatfalse lips may utter against him.'
'Thou art a good girl, Dorothy, but thou knowest little of an evilworld. It is one thing to know thyself innocent, and another to carrythy head high.'
'But, madam, even the guilty do that; wherefore not the innocent then?'
'Because, my child, they ARE innocent, and innocence so hateth the veryshadow of guilt that it cannot brook the wearing it. My lord isgrievously abused, Dorothy--I say not by whom.'
'By whom should it be but his enemies, madam?'
'Not certainly by those who are to him friends, but yet, alas! by thoseto whom he is the truest of friends.'
'Is my lord of Ormond then false? Is he jealous of my lord Glamorgan?Hath he falsely accused him? I would I understood all, madam.'
'I would I understood all myself, child. Certain papers have been foundbearing upon my lord's business in Ireland, all ears are filled withrumours of forgery and treason, coupled with the name of my lord, and heis a prisoner in Dublin castle.'
She forced the sentence from her, as if repeating a hated lesson, thengave a cry, almost a scream of agony.
'Weep not, madam,' said Dorothy, in the very foolishness of sympatheticexpostulation.
'What better cause could I have out of hell!' returned the countess,angrily.
'That it were no lie, madam.'
'It is true, I tell thee.'
'That my lord is a traitor, madam?'
Lady Glamorgan dashed her from her, and glared at her like a tigress. Anevil word was on her lips, but her better angel spoke, and ere Dorothycould recover herself, she had listened and understood.
'God forbid!' she said, struggling to be calm. 'But it is true that heis in prison.'
'Then give God thanks, madam, who hath forbidden the one and allowed theother, said Dorothy; and finding her own composure on the point ofyielding, she courtesied and left the room. It was a breach of etiquettewithout leave asked and given, but the face of the countess was again onher pillow, and she did not heed.
For some time things went on as in an evil dream. The marquis was inangry mood, with no gout to lay it upon. The gloom spread over thecastle, and awoke all manner of conjecture and report. Soon, after afashion, the facts were known to everybody, and the gloom deepened. Nofurther enlightenment reached Dorothy. At length one evening, hermistress having sent for her, she found her much excited, with a letterin her hand.
'Come here, Dorothy: see what I have!' she cried, holding out the letterwith a gesture of triumph, and weeping and laughing alternately.
'Madam, it must be something precious indeed,' said Dorothy, 'for I havenot heard your ladyship laugh for a weary while. May I not rejoice withyou, madam?'
'You shall, my good girl: hearken: I will read:--'My dear Heart,'--Whois it from, think'st thou, Dorothy? Canst guess?--'My dear Heart, I hopethese will prevent any news shall come unto you of me since mycommitment to the Castle of Dublin, to which I assure thee I went ascheerfully and as willingly as they could wish, whosoever they were bywhose means it was procured; and should as unwillingly go forth, werethe gates both of the Castle and Town open unto me, until I werecleared: as they are willing to make me unserviceable to the king, andlay me aside, who have procured for me this restraint; when I considerthee a Woman, as I think I know you are, I fear lest you should beapprehensive. But when I reflect that you are of the House of Thomond,and that you were once pleased to say these words unto me, That I shouldnever, in tenderness of you, desist from doing what in honour I wasobliged to do, I grow confident, that in this you will now show yourmagnanimity, and by it the greatest testimony of affection that you canpossibly afford me; and am also confident, that you know me so well,that I need not tell you how clear I am, and void of fear, the onlyeffect of a good conscience; and that I am guilty of nothing that maytestify one thought of disloyalty to his Majesty, or of what may stainthe honour of the family I come of, or set a brand upon my futureposterity.'
The countess paused, and looked a general illumination at Dorothy.
'I told you so, madam,' returned Dorothy, rather stupidly perhaps.
'Little fool!' rejoined the countess, half-angered: 'dost suppose thewife of a man like my Ned needs to be told such things by a green gooselike thee? Thou wouldst have had me content that the man was honest--me,who had forgotten the word in his tenfold more than honesty! Bah, child!thou knowest not the love of a woman. I could weep salt tears over ahair pulled from his noble head. And thou to talk of TELLING ME SO,hussy! Marry, forsooth!'
And taking Dorothy to her bosom, she wept like a relenting storm.
One sentence more she read ere she hurried with the letter to herfather-in-law. The sentence was this:
'So I pray let not any of my friends that's there, believe anything,until ye have the perfect relation of it from myself.'
The pleasure of receiving news from his son did but little, however, todisperse the cloud that hung about the marquis. I do not know whether,or how far, he had been advised of the provision made for the king'sclearness by the anticipated self-sacrifice of Glamorgan, but I doubt ifa full knowledge thereof gives any ground for disagreement with thejudgment of the marquis, which seems, pretty plainly, to have been, thatthe king's behaviour in the matter was neither that of a Christian nor agentleman. As in the case of Strafford, he had accepted the offeredsacrifice, and, in view of possible chances, had in Glamorgan'scommission pretermitted the usual authoritative formalities, thuskeeping it in his power, with Glamorgan's connivance, it must beconfessed, but at Glamorgan's expense, to repudiate his agency. This hehad now done in a message to the parliament, and this the marquis knew.
His majesty had also written to lord Ormond as follows: 'And albeit Ihave too just cause, for the clearing of my ho
nour, to prosecuteGlamorgan in a legal way, yet I will have you suspend the execution,'&c. At the same time his secretary wrote thus to Ormond and the council:'And since the warrant is not' 'sealed with the signet,' &c., &c., 'yourlordships cannot but judge it to be at least surreptitiously gotten, ifnot worse; for his majesty saith he remembers it not;' and thus againprivately to Ormond: 'The king hath commanded me to advertise yourlordship that the patent for making the said lord Herbert of Raglan earlof Glamorgan is not passed the great seal here, so as he is no peer ofthis kingdom; notwithstanding he styles himself, and hath treated withthe rebels in Ireland, by the name of earl of Glamorgan, which is asvainly taken upon him as his pretended warrant (if any such be) wassurreptitiously gotten.' The title had, meanwhile, been used by the kinghimself in many communications with the earl.
These letters never came, I presume, to the marquis's knowledge, butthey go far to show that his feeling, even were it a little embitteredby the memory of their midnight conference and his hopes therefrom, wentno farther than the conduct of his majesty justified. It was no wonderthat the straight-forward old man, walking erect to ruin for his king,should fret and fume, yea, yield to downright wrath and enforcedcontempt.
Of the king's behaviour in the matter, Dorothy, however, knew nothingyet.
One day towards the end of February, a messenger from the king arrivedat Raglan, on his way to Ireland to lord Ormond. He had found the roadsso beset--for things were by this time, whether from the successes ofthe parliament only, or from the negligence of disappointment on thepart of lord Worcester as well, much altered in Wales and on itsborders--that he had been compelled to leave his despatches in hiding,and had reached the castle only with great difficulty and after manyadventures. His chief object in making his way thither was to beg oflord Charles a convoy to secure his despatches and protect him on hisfarther journey. But lord Charles received him by no means cordially,for the whole heart of Raglan was sore. He brought him, however, to hisfather, who, although indisposed and confined to his chamber, consentedto see him. When Mr. Boteler was admitted, lady Glamorgan was in thechamber, and there remained.
Probably the respect to the king's messenger which had influenced themarquis to receive him, would have gone further and modified theexpression of his feelings a little when he saw him, but that, like manymore men, his lordship, although fairly master of his temper-horses whenin health, was apt to let them run away with him upon occasion of evenslighter illness than would serve for an excuse.
'Hast thou in thy despatches any letters from his majesty to my sonGlamorgan, master Boteler?' he inquired, frowning unconsciously.
'Not that I know of, my lord,' answered Mr. Boteler, 'but there may besuch with the lord marquis of Ormond's.'
He then proceeded to give a friendly message from the king concerningthe earl. But at this the 'smouldering fire out-brake' from the bosom ofthe injured father and subject.
'It is the grief of my heart,' cried his lordship, wrath predominatingover the regret which was yet plainly enough to be seen in his face andheard in his tone--'It is the grief of my heart that I am enforced tosay that the king is wavering and fickle. To be the more his friend, ittoo plainly appeareth, is but to be the more handled as his enemy.'
'Say not so, my lord,' returned Mr. Boteler. 'His gracious majestylooketh not for such unfriendly judgment from your lips. Have I notbrought your lordship a most gracious and comfortable message from himconcerning my lord Glamorgan, with his royal thanks for your formerloyal expressions?'
'Mr. Boteler, thou knowest nought of the matter. That thou has broughtme a budget of fine words, I go not to deny. But words may be butschismatics; deeds alone are certainly of the true faith. Verily theking's majesty setteth his words in the forefront of the battle, but hisdeeds lag in the rear, and let his words be taken prisoners. When hismajesty was last here, I lent him a book to read in his chamber, thebeginning of which I know he read, but if he had ended, it would haveshowed him what it was to be a fickle prince.'
'My lord! my lord! surely your lordship knoweth better of his majesty.'
'To know better may be to know worse, master Boteler. Was it not enoughto suffer my lord Glamorgan to be unjustly imprisoned by my lord marquisof Ormond for what he had His majesty's authority for, but that he mustin print protest against his proceedings and his own allowance, and notyet recall it? But I will pray for him, and that he may be more constantto his friends, and as soon as my other employments will give leave, youshall have a convoy to fetch securely your despatches.'
Herewith Mr. Boteler was dismissed, lord Charles accompanying him fromthe room.
'False as ice!' muttered the marquis to himself, left as he supposedalone. 'My boy, thou hast built on a quicksand, and thy house goeth downto the deep. I am wroth with myself that ever I dreamed of moving such abag of chaff to return to the bosom of his honourable mother.'
'My lord,' said lady Glamorgan from behind the bed-curtains, 'have youforgotten that I and my long ears are here?'
'Ha! art thou indeed there, my mad Irishwoman! I had verily forgottenthee. But is not this king of ours as the Minotaur, dwelling in thelabyrinths of deceit, and devouring the noblest in the land? There washis own Strafford, next his foolish Laud, and now comes my son, worth ahost of such!'
'In his letter, my lord of Glamorgan complaineth not of his majesty'susage,' said the countess.
'My lord of Glamorgan is patient as Grisel. He would pass through thepains of purgatory with never a grumble. But purgatory is for none suchas he. In good sooth I am made of different stuff. My soul doth loathdeceit, and worse in a king than a clown. What king is he that will liefor a kingdom!'
Day after day passed, and nothing was done to speed the messenger, whogrew more and more anxious to procure his despatches and be gone; butlord Worcester, through the king's behaviour to his honourable andself-forgetting son, with whom he had never had a difference except onthe point of his blind devotion to his majesty's affairs, had so lostfaith in the king himself that he had no heart for his business. Itseems also that for his son's sake he wished to delay Mr. Boteler, inorder that a messenger of his own might reach Glamorgan before Ormondshould receive the king's despatches. For a whole fortnight therefore nofurther steps were taken, and Boteler, wearied out, bethought him ofapplying to the countess to see whether she would not use her influencein his behalf. I am thus particular about Boteler's affair, becausethrough it Dorothy came to know what the king's behaviour had been, andwhat the marquis thought of it; she was in the room when Mr. Botelerwaited on her mistress.
'May it please your ladyship,' he said, 'I have sought speech of youthat I might beg your aid for the king's business, remembering you ofthe hearty affection my master the king beareth towards your lord andall his house.'
'Indeed you do well to remember me of that, master Boteler, for it goethso hard with my memory in these troubled times that I had nigh forgottenit,' said the countess dryly.
'I most certainly know, my lady, that his majesty hath graciousintentions towards your lord.'
'Intention is but an addled egg,' said the countess. 'Give me deeds, ifI may choose.'
'Alas! the king hath but little in his power, and the less that hisbusiness is thus kept waiting.'
'Your haste is more than your matter, master Boteler. Believe me,whatsoever you consider of it, your going so hurriedly is of no greataccount, for to my knowledge there are others gone already withduplicates of the business.'
'Madam, you astonish me.'
'I speak not without book. My own cousin, William Winter, is one, and heis my husband's friend, and hath no relation to my lord marquis ofOrmond,' said lady Glamorgan significantly.
'My lord, madam, is your lord's very good friend, and I am very much hisservant; but if his majesty's business be done, I care not by whose handit is. But I thank your honour, for now I know wherefore I am stayedhere.'
With these words Boteler withdrew--and withdraws from my story, for hisfurther proceedings are in respect of it of n
o consequence.
When he was gone, lady Glamorgan, turning a flushed face, andencountering Dorothy's pale one, gave a hard laugh, and said:
'Why, child! thou lookest like a ghost! Was afeard of the man in mypresence?'
'No, madam; but it seemed to me marvellous that his majesty's messengershould receive such words from my mistress, and in my lord ofWorcester's house.'
'I' faith, marvellous it is, Dorothy, that there should be such goodcause so to use him!' returned lady Glamorgan, tears of vexation risingas she spoke. 'But an' thou think I used the man roughly, thou shouldsthave heard my father speak to him his mind of the king his master.'
'Hath the king then shown himself unkingly, madam?' said Dorothy aghast.
Whereupon lady Glamorgan told her all she knew, and all she couldremember of what she had heard the marquis say to Boteler.
'Trust me, child,' she added, 'my lord Worcester, no less than I am, iscut to the heart by this behaviour of the king's. That my husband, sillyangel, should say nothing, is but like him. He would bear and bear tillall was borne.'
'But,' said Dorothy, 'the king is still the king.'
'Let him be the king then,' returned her mistress. 'Let him look to hiskingdom. Why should I give him my husband to do it for him and bedisowned therein? I thank heaven I can do without a king, but I can't dowithout my Ned, and there he lies in prison for him who cons him nothanks! Not that I would overmuch heed the prison if the king would butshare the blame with him; but for the king to deny him--to say that hedid all of his own motion and without authority!--why, child, I saw thecommission with my own eyes, nor count myself under any fartherobligation to hold my peace concerning it! I know my husband will bearall things, even disgrace itself, undeserved, for the king's sake: he isthe loveliest of martyrs; but that is no reason why I should bear it.The king hath no heart and no conscience. No, I will not say that; but Iwill say that he hath little heart and less conscience. My goodhusband's fair name is gone--blasted by the king, who raiseth the mistof Glamorgan's dishonour that he may hide himself safe behind it. I tellthee, Dorothy Vaughan, I should not have grudged his majesty my lord'slife, an' he had been but a right kingly king. I should have wept enoughand complained too much, in womanish fashion, doubtless; but I tell theeearl Thomond's daughter would not have grudged it. But my lord's truthand honour are dear to him, and the good report of them is dear to me. Iswear I can ill brook carrying the title he hath given me. It is myhusband's and not mine, else would I fling it in his face who thuswrongs my Herbert.'
This explosion from the heart of the wild Irishwoman sounded dreadful inthe ears of the king-worshipper. But he whom she thus accused the kingof wronging, had been scarcely less revered of her, even while the idolwith the feet of clay yet stood, and had certainly been loved greatlymore, than the king himself. Hence, notwithstanding her struggle to keepher heart to its allegiance, such a rapid change took place in herfeelings, that ere long she began to confess to herself that if thepuritans could have known what the king was, their conduct would nothave been so unintelligible--not that she thought they had an atom ofright on their side, or in the least feared she might ever be brought tothink in the matter as they did; she confessed only that she could thenhave understood them.
The whole aspect and atmosphere of Raglan continued changed. The marquiswas still very gloomy; lord Charles often frowned and bit his lip; andthe flush that so frequently overspread the face of lady Glamorgan asshe sat silent at her embroidery, showed that she was thinking in angerof the wrong done to her husband. In this feeling all in the castleshared, for the matter had now come to be a little understood, and asthey loved the earl more than the king, they took the earl's part.
Meantime he for whose sake the fortress was troubled, having beenreleased on large bail, was away, with free heart, to Kilkenny, busy asever on behalf of the king, full of projects, and eager in action. Not atrace of resentment did he manifest--only regret that his majesty'streatment of him, in destroying his credit with the catholics as theking's commissioner, had put it out of his power to be so useful as hemight otherwise have been. His brain was ever contriving how to remedythings, but parties were complicated, and none quite trusted him nowthat he was disowned of his master.