Micah Clarke Read online

  Produced by Lionel G. Sear

  MICAH CLARKE

  HIS STATEMENT AS MADE TO HIS THREE GRANDCHILDREN JOSEPH, GERVAS, ANDREUBEN DURING THE HARD WINTER OF 1734

  By Arthur Conan Doyle

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER.

  I. OF CORNET JOSEPH CLARKE OF THE IRONSIDES.

  II. OF MY GOING TO SCHOOL AND OF MY COMING THENCE.

  III. OF TWO FRIENDS OF MY YOUTH.

  IV. OF THE STRANGE FISH THAT WE CAUGHT AT SPITHEAD.

  V. OF THE MAN WITH THE DROOPING LIDS.

  VI. OF THE LETTER THAT CAME FROM THE LOWLANDS.

  VII. OF THE HORSEMAN WHO RODE FROM THE WEST.

  VIII. OF OUR START FOR THE WARS.

  IX. OF A PASSAGE OF ARMS AT THE BLUE BOAR.

  X. OF OUR PERILOUS ADVENTURE ON THE PLAIN.

  XI. OF THE LONELY MAN AND THE GOLD CHEST.

  XII. OF CERTAIN PASSAGES UPON THE MOOR.

  XIII. OF SIR GERVAS JEROME, KNIGHT BANNERET OF THE COUNTY OF SURREY.

  XIV. OF THE STIFF-LEGGED PARSON AND HIS FLOCK.

  XV. OF OUR BRUSH WITH THE KING'S DRAGOONS.

  XVI. OF OUR COMING TO TAUNTON.

  XVII. OF THE GATHERING IN THE MARKET-SQUARE.

  XVIII. OF MASTER STEPHEN TIMEWELL, MAYOR OF TAUNTON.

  XIX. OF A BRAWL IN THE NIGHT.

  XX. OF THE MUSTER OF THE MEN OF THE WEST.

  XXI. OF MY HAND-GRIPS WITH THE BRANDENBURGER.

  XXII. OF THE NEWS FROM HAVANT.

  XXIII. OF THE SNARE ON THE WESTON ROAD.

  XXIV. OF THE WELCOME THAT MET ME AT BADMINTON.

  XXV. OF STRANGE DOINGS IN THE BOTELER DUNGEON.

  XXVI. OF THE STRIFE IN THE COUNCIL.

  XXVII OF THE AFFAIR NEAR KEYNSHAM BRIDGE.

  XXVIII OF THE FIGHT IN WELLS CATHEDRAL.

  XXIX. OF THE GREAT CRY FROM THE LONELY HOUSE.

  XXX OF THE SWORDSMAN WITH THE BROWN JACKET.

  XXXI. OF THE MAID OF THE MARSH AND THE BUBBLE WHICH ROSE FROM THE BOG.

  XXXII. OF THE ONFALL AT SEDGEMOOR.

  XXXIII. OF MY PERILOUS ADVENTURE AT THE MILL.

  XXXIV. OF THE COMING OF SOLOMON SPRENT.

  XXXV. OF THE DEVIL IN WIG AND GOWN.

  XXXVI. OF THE END OF IT ALL.

  APPENDIX

  Chapter I. Of Cornet Joseph Clarke of the Ironsides

  It may be, my dear grandchildren, that at one time or another Ihave told you nearly all the incidents which have occurred during myadventurous life. To your father and to your mother, at least, I knowthat none of them are unfamiliar. Yet when I consider that time wearson, and that a grey head is apt to contain a failing memory, I amprompted to use these long winter evenings in putting it all beforeyou from the beginning, that you may have it as one clear story in yourminds, and pass it on as such to those who come after you. For now thatthe house of Brunswick is firmly established upon the throne and thatpeace prevails in the land, it will become less easy for you everyyear to understand how men felt when Englishmen were in arms againstEnglishmen, and when he who should have been the shield and theprotector of his subjects had no thought but to force upon them whatthey most abhorred and detested.

  My story is one which you may well treasure up in your memories, andtell again to others, for it is not likely that in this whole county ofHampshire, or even perhaps in all England, there is another left alivewho is so well able to speak from his own knowledge of these events,or who has played a more forward part in them. All that I know I shallendeavour soberly and in due order to put before you. I shall try tomake these dead men quicken into life for your behoof, and to call backout of the mists of the past those scenes which were brisk enough inthe acting, though they read so dully and so heavily in the pages of theworthy men who have set themselves to record them. Perchance my words,too, might, in the ears of strangers, seem to be but an old man'sgossip. To you, however, who know that these eyes which are looking atyou looked also at the things which I describe, and that this hand hasstruck in for a good cause, it will, I know, be different. Bear in mindas you listen that it was your quarrel as well as our own in whichwe fought, and that if now you grow up to be free men in a free land,privileged to think or to pray as your consciences shall direct, you maythank God that you are reaping the harvest which your fathers sowed inblood and suffering when the Stuarts were on the throne.

  I was born then in the year 1664, at Havant, which is a flourishingvillage a few miles from Portsmouth off the main London road, and thereit was that I spent the greater part of my youth. It is now as it wasthen, a pleasant, healthy spot, with a hundred or more brick cottagesscattered along in a single irregular street, each with its littlegarden in front, and maybe a fruit tree or two at the back. In themiddle of the village stood the old church with the square tower, andthe great sun-dial like a wrinkle upon its grey weather-blotched face.On the outskirts the Presbyterians had their chapel; but when the Act ofUniformity was passed, their good minister, Master Breckinridge, whosediscourses had often crowded his rude benches while the comfortable pewsof the church were empty, was cast into gaol, and his flock dispersed.As to the Independents, of whom my father was one, they also were underthe ban of the law, but they attended conventicle at Emsworth, whitherwe would trudge, rain or shine, on every Sabbath morning. These meetingswere broken up more than once, but the congregation was composed of suchharmless folk, so well beloved and respected by their neighbours, thatthe peace officers came after a time to ignore them, and to let themworship in their own fashion. There were Papists, too, amongst us, whowere compelled to go as far as Portsmouth for their Mass. Thus, you see,small as was our village, we were a fair miniature of the whole country,for we had our sects and our factions, which were all the more bitterfor being confined in so narrow a compass.

  My father, Joseph Clarke, was better known over the countryside by thename of Ironside Joe, for he had served in his youth in the Yaxleytroop of Oliver Cromwell's famous regiment of horse, and had preachedso lustily and fought so stoutly that old Noll himself called him outof the ranks after the fight at Dunbar, and raised him to a cornetcy.It chanced, however, that having some little time later fallen into anargument with one of his troopers concerning the mystery of the Trinity,the man, who was a half-crazy zealot, smote my father across the face, afavour which he returned by a thrust from his broadsword, which sent hisadversary to test in person the truth of his beliefs. In most armiesit would have been conceded that my father was within his rightsin punishing promptly so rank an act of mutiny, but the soldiers ofCromwell had so high a notion of their own importance and privileges,that they resented this summary justice upon their companion. Acourt-martial sat upon my father, and it is likely that he would havebeen offered up as a sacrifice to appease the angry soldiery, had notthe Lord Protector interfered, and limited the punishment to dismissalfrom the army. Cornet Clarke was accordingly stripped of his buffcoat and steel cap, and wandered down to Havant, where he settled intobusiness as a leather merchant and tanner, thereby depriving Parliamentof as trusty a soldier as ever drew blade in its service. Findingthat he prospered in trade, he took as wife Mary Shepstone, a youngChurchwoman, and I, Micah Clarke, was the first pledge of their union.

  My father, as I remember him first, was tall and straight, with a greatspread of shoulder and a mighty chest. His face was craggy and stern,with large harsh features, shaggy over-hanging brows, high-bridgedfleshy nose, and a full-lipped mouth which tightened and set when hewas angry. His grey eyes were piercing and soldier-like, yet I have seenthem lighten up into a kindly and merry twinkle. His voice was the mosttremendous and awe-inspiring that I have ever listened to. I can wellbelieve what I have heard, that when he chanted the Hundredth Psalm ashe rode down among the blue bonnets at Dunbar, the sound of him roseabove the
blare of trumpets and the crash of guns, like the deep roll ofa breaking wave. Yet though he possessed every quality which wasneeded to raise him to distinction as an officer, he had thrown off hismilitary habits when he returned to civil life. As he prospered and grewrich he might well have worn a sword, but instead he would ever bear asmall copy of the Scriptures bound to his girdle, where other men hungtheir weapons. He was sober and measured in his speech, and it wasseldom, even in the bosom of his own family, that he would speak of thescenes which he had taken part in, or of the great men, Fleetwood andHarrison, Blake and Ireton, Desborough and Lambert, some of whom hadbeen simple troopers like himself when the troubles broke out. He wasfrugal in his eating, backward in drinking, and allowed himself nopleasures save three pipes a day of Oronooko tobacco, which he kept everin a brown jar by the great wooden chair on the left-hand side of themantelshelf.

  Yet for all his self-restraint the old leaven would at times begin towork in him, and bring on fits of what his enemies would call fanaticismand his friends piety, though it must be confessed that this pietywas prone to take a fierce and fiery shape. As I look back, one or twoinstances of that stand out so hard and clear in my recollection thatthey might be scenes which I had seen of late in the playhouse, insteadof memories of my childhood more than threescore years ago, when thesecond Charles was on the throne.

  The first of these occurred when I was so young that I can rememberneither what went before nor what immediately after it. It stuck in myinfant mind when other things slipped through it. We were all in thehouse one sultry summer evening, when there came a rattle of kettledrumsand a clatter of hoofs, which brought my mother and my father to thedoor, she with me in her arms that I might have the better view. It wasa regiment of horse on their way from Chichester to Portsmouth, withcolours flying and band playing, making the bravest show that ever myyouthful eyes had rested upon. With what wonder and admiration did Igaze at the sleek prancing steeds, the steel morions, the plumed hatsof the officers, the scarfs and bandoliers. Never, I thought, had sucha gallant company assembled, and I clapped my hands and cried out in mydelight. My father smiled gravely, and took me from my mother's arms.'Nay, lad,' he said, 'thou art a soldier's son, and should have morejudgment than to commend such a rabble as this. Canst thou not, child asthou art, see that their arms are ill-found, their stirrup-irons rusted,and their ranks without order or cohesion? Neither have they thrown outa troop in advance, as should even in times of peace be done, and theirrear is straggling from here to Bedhampton. Yea,' he continued, suddenlyshaking his long arm at the troopers, and calling out to them, 'ye arecorn ripe for the sickle and waiting only for the reapers!' Several ofthem reined up at this sudden out-flame. 'Hit the crop-eared rascal overthe pate, Jack!' cried one to another, wheeling his horse round; butthere was that in my father's face which caused him to fall back intothe ranks again with his purpose unfulfilled. The regiment jingled ondown the road, and my mother laid her thin hands upon my father's arm,and lulled with her pretty coaxing ways the sleeping devil which hadstirred within him.

  On another occasion which I can remember, about my seventh or eighthyear, his wrath burst out with more dangerous effect. I was playingabout him as he worked in the tanning-yard one spring afternoon, whenin through the open doorway strutted two stately gentlemen, withgold facings to their coats and smart cockades at the side of theirthree-cornered hats. They were, as I afterwards understood, officers ofthe fleet who were passing through Havant, and seeing us at work in theyard, designed to ask us some question as to their route. The younger ofthe pair accosted my father and began his speech by a great clatter ofwords which were all High Dutch to me, though I now see that they were astring of such oaths as are common in the mouth of a sailor; though whythe very men who are in most danger of appearing before the Almightyshould go out of their way to insult Him, hath ever been a mystery tome. My father in a rough stern voice bade him speak with more reverenceof sacred things, on which the pair of them gave tongue together,swearing tenfold worse than before, and calling my father a cantingrogue and a smug-faced Presbytery Jack. What more they might have said Iknow not, for my father picked up the great roller wherewith he smoothedthe leather, and dashing at them he brought it down on the side of oneof their heads with such a swashing blow, that had it not been for hisstiff hat the man would never have uttered oath again. As it was, hedropped like a log upon the stones of the yard, while his companionwhipped out his rapier and made a vicious thrust; but my father, who wasas active as he was strong, sprung aside, and bringing his cudgel downupon the outstretched arm of the officer, cracked it like the stem ofa tobacco-pipe. This affair made no little stir, for it occurred atthe time when those arch-liars, Oates, Bedloe, and Carstairs, weredisturbing the public mind by their rumours of plots, and a rising ofsome sort was expected throughout the country. Within a few days allHampshire was ringing with an account of the malcontent tanner ofHavant, who had broken the head and the arm of two of his Majesty'sservants. An inquiry showed, however, that there was no treasonablemeaning in the matter, and the officers having confessed that the firstwords came from them, the Justices contented themselves with imposing afine upon my father, and binding him over to keep the peace for a periodof six months.

  I tell you these incidents that you may have an idea of the fierce andearnest religion which filled not only your own ancestor, but most ofthose men who were trained in the parliamentary armies. In many waysthey were more like those fanatic Saracens, who believe in conversion bythe sword, than the followers of a Christian creed. Yet they have thisgreat merit, that their own lives were for the most part clean andcommendable, for they rigidly adhered themselves to those laws whichthey would gladly have forced at the sword's point upon others. It istrue that among so many there were some whose piety was a shell fortheir ambition, and others who practised in secret what they denouncedin public, but no cause however good is free from such hypocriticalparasites. That the greater part of the saints, as they termedthemselves, were men of sober and God-fearing lives, may be shown by thefact that, after the disbanding of the army of the Commonwealth, the oldsoldiers flocked into trade throughout the country, and made their markwherever they went by their industry and worth. There is many a wealthybusiness house now in England which can trace its rise to the thrift andhonesty of some simple pikeman of Ireton or Cromwell.

  But that I may help you to understand the character of yourgreat-grandfather, I shall give an incident which shows how fervent andreal were the emotions which prompted the violent moods which I havedescribed. I was about twelve at the time, my brothers Hosea and Ephraimwere respectively nine and seven, while little Ruth could scarce havebeen more than four. It chanced that a few days before a wanderingpreacher of the Independents had put up at our house, and his religiousministrations had left my father moody and excitable. One night I hadgone to bed as usual, and was sound asleep with my two brothers besideme, when we were roused and ordered to come downstairs. Huddling on ourclothes we followed him into the kitchen, where my mother was sittingpale and scared with Ruth upon her knee.

  'Gather round me, my children,' he said, in a deep reverent voice, 'thatwe may all appear before the throne together. The kingdom of the Lord isat hand-oh, be ye ready to receive Him! This very night, my loved ones,ye shall see Him in His splendour, with the angels and the archangels intheir might and their glory. At the third hour shall He come-that verythird hour which is now drawing upon us.'

  'Dear Joe,' said my mother, in soothing tones, 'thou art scaring thyselfand the children to no avail. If the Son of Man be indeed coming, whatmatters it whether we be abed or afoot?'

  'Peace, woman,' he answered sternly; 'has He not said that He will comelike a thief in the night, and that it is for us to await Him? Joinwith me, then, in prayerful outpourings that we may be found as those inbridal array. Let us offer up thanks that He has graciously vouchsafedto warn us through the words of His servant. Oh, great Lord, look downupon this small flock and lead it to the sheep fold! Mix not theli
ttle wheat with the great world of chaff. Oh, merciful Father! lookgraciously upon my wife, and forgive her the sin of Erastianism, shebeing but a woman and little fitted to cast off the bonds of antichristwherein she was born. And these too, my little ones, Micah and Hosea,Ephraim and Ruth, all named after Thy faithful servants of old, oh letthem stand upon Thy right hand this night!' Thus he prayed on in a wildrush of burning, pleading words, writhing prostrate upon the floorin the vehemence of his supplication, while we, poor trembling mites,huddled round our mother's skirts and gazed with terror at the contortedfigure seen by the dim light of the simple oil lamp. On a sudden theclang of the new church clock told that the hour had come. My fathersprang from the floor, and rushing to the casement, stared up with wildexpectant eyes at the starry heavens. Whether he conjured up some visionin his excited brain, or whether the rush of feeling on finding that hisexpectations were in vain, was too much for him, it is certain thathe threw his long arms upwards, uttered a hoarse scream, and tumbledbackwards with foaming lips and twitching limbs upon the ground. For anhour or more my poor mother and I did what we could to soothe him, whilethe children whimpered in a corner, until at last he staggered slowly tohis feet, and in brief broken words ordered us to our rooms. From thattime I have never heard him allude to the matter, nor did he ever giveus any reason why he should so confidently have expected the secondcoming upon that particular night. I have learned since, however,that the preacher who visited us was what was called in those days afifth-monarchy man, and that this particular sect was very liable tothese premonitions. I have no doubt that something which he had said hadput the thought into my father's head, and that the fiery nature of theman had done the rest.

  So much for your great-grandfather, Ironside Joe. I have preferred toput these passages before you, for on the principle that actions speaklouder than words, I find that in describing a man's character it isbetter to give examples of his ways than to speak in broad and generalterms. Had I said that he was fierce in ins religion and subject tostrange fits of piety, the words might have made little impressionupon you; but when I tell you of his attack upon the officers in thetanning-yard, and his summoning us down in the dead of the night toawait the second coming, you can judge for yourselves the lengths towhich his belief would carry him. For the rest, he was an excellent manof business, fair and even generous in his dealings, respected by alland loved by few, for his nature was too self-contained to admit of muchaffection. To us he was a stern and rigid father, punishing us heavilyfor whatever he regarded as amiss in our conduct. He bad a store of suchproverbs as 'Give a child its will and a whelp its fill, and neitherwill strive,' or 'Children are certain cares and uncertain comforts,'wherewith he would temper my mother's more kindly impulses. He could notbear that we should play trick-track upon the green, or dance with theother children upon the Saturday night.

  As to my mother, dear soul, it was her calm, peaceful influence whichkept my father within bounds, and softened his austere rule. Seldomindeed, even in his darkest moods, did the touch of her gentle hand andthe sound of her voice fail to soothe his fiery spirit. She came of aChurch stock, and held to her religion with a quiet grip which was proofagainst every attempt to turn her from it. I imagine that at one timeher husband had argued much with her upon Arminianism and the sin ofsimony, but finding his exhortations useless, he had abandoned thesubject save on very rare occasions. In spite of her Episcopacy,however, she remained a staunch Whig, and never allowed her loyalty tothe throne to cloud her judgment as to the doings of the monarch who satupon it.

  Women were good housekeepers fitly years ago, but she was conspicuousamong the best. To see her spotless cuffs and snowy kirtle one wouldscarce credit how hard she laboured. It was only the well ordered houseand the dustless rooms which proclaimed her constant industry. Shemade salves and eyewaters, powders and confects, cordials and persico,orangeflower water and cherry brandy, each in its due season, and all ofthe best. She was wise, too, in herbs and simples. The villagers and thefarm labourers would rather any day have her advice upon their ailmentsthan that of Dr. Jackson of Purbrook, who never mixed a draught undera silver crown. Over the whole countryside there was no woman moredeservedly respected and more esteemed both by those above her and bythose beneath.

  Such were my parents as I remember them in my childhood. As to myself, Ishall let my story explain the growth of my own nature. My brothers andmy sister were all brownfaced, sturdy little country children, with novery marked traits save a love of mischief controlled by the fear oftheir father. These, with Martha the serving-maid, formed our wholehousehold during those boyish years when the pliant soul of the childis hardening into the settled character of the man. How these influencesaffected me I shall leave for a future sitting, and if I weary you byrecording them, you must remember that I am telling these things ratherfor your profit than for your amusement; that it may assist you in yourjourney through life to know how another has picked out the path beforeyou.