Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency Read online

  CHAPTER V.

  A COMFORTABLE INN, AND A GOOD LANDLADY----THE MISFORTUNES OF HEROES DONOT ALWAYS DESTROY THE APPETITE.

  As soon as Butler landed from the skiff, he threw his cloak into thehands of the sergeant; then, with a disturbed haste, sprang upon hishorse, and, commanding Robinson to follow, galloped along the road downthe river as fast as the nature of the ground and the obscurity of thehour would allow. A brief space brought them to the spot where the roadcrossed the stream, immediately in the vicinity of the widow Dimock'slittle inn, which might here be discerned ensconced beneath the cover ofthe opposite hill. The low-browed wooden building, quietly stationedsome thirty paces off the road, was so adumbrated in the shelter of ahuge willow, that the journeyer, at such an hour as this, mightperchance pass the spot unconsciously by, were it not for an insulatedand somewhat haggard sign-post that, like a hospitable seeker ofstrangers, stood hard by the road side, and there displayed a shatteredemblem in the guise of a large blue ball, a little decayed by wind andweather, which said Blue Ball, without superscription or device, wasuniversally interpreted to mean "entertainment for man and horse, by thewidow Dimock." The moonlight fell with a broad lustre upon the sign postand its pendent globe; and our travellers, besides, could descry,through the drapery of the willow, a window, of some rear building ofthe inn, richly illuminated by what, from the redness of the light,might be conjectured to be a bundle of blazing faggots.

  As the horses had, immediately upon entering the ford, compelled theirmasters to a halt, whilst they thrust their noses into the water anddrank with the greediness of a long and neglected thirst, it was with noequivocal self-gratulation that Robinson directed his eye to thepresignifications of good cheer which were now before him. Butler hadspoken "never a word," and the sergeant's habits of subordination, aswell as an honest sympathy in what he guessed to be the griefs of hissuperior officer, had constrained him to a respectful silence. Thesergeant, however, was full of thoughts which, more than once during thegallop from the Fawn's Tower, he was on the point of uttering by way ofconsolation to Butler, and which nothing prevented but that realdelicacy of mind that lies at the bottom of a kind nature, and inhabitsthe shaggy breast of the rustic, at least full as often as it lodges inthe heart of the trim worldling. The present halt, seemed, in HorseShoe's reckoning, not only to furnish a pretext to speak, but, in somedegree, to render it a duty; and, in truth, an additional verystimulating subject presented itself to our good squire, in hisinstantaneous conviction that the glare from the tavern window had itsorigin in some active operation which, at this late hour, might be goingon at the kitchen chimney; to understand the full pungency of whichconsideration, it is necessary to inform my reader, that Robinson had,for some time past, been yielding himself to certain doubts, whether hisfriend and himself might not arrive at the inn at too late an hour tohope for much despatch in the preparation for supper. In this state offeeling, partly bent to cheer the spirits of Butler, and partly toexpress his satisfaction at the prospect of his own comfort, he brokeforth in the following terms--

  "God bless all widows that set themselves down by the road-side, is myworst wish! and, in particular, I pray for good luck to the widowDimock, for an orderly sort of body, which I have no doubt she is; andkeeps good hours--to judge by the shine of the kitchen fire which isblazing yonder in the rear--and which, to tell truth, major, I began tobe afeard would be as dead, by this time o' night, as the day thehearth-stone was first laid. She desarves to be spoken of as apraiseworthy woman. And, moreover, I should say she has popped her housedown in a most legible situation, touching our day's march, by which Imean it isn't one step too near a reasonable bed hour. I count it lucky,major, on your account; and although it isn't for me to give advice inwoman affairs--for I know the creatures do try the grit and edge of aman amazingly sometimes--yet, if I mought say what was running in myhead fit for a gentleman and an officer like you to do in such atribulation, it would be this: drop thinking and chawing over yourtroubles, and take them with a light heart, as things that's not to bemended by a solemncolly long-facedness. A good victual's meal and a fairnight's rest would make another man of you. That's my observation; and Iremember once to hear you say the same yourself, upon occasion of yourlosing the baggage wagons last fall on the Beaufort convoy. You ha'n'tforgot it, major?"

  "Thank you, thank you, sergeant. Your counsel is kindly offered andwisely said, and I will follow it. But it is a little hard, fellowsoldier," added Butler, with something like an approach to jocularity,"it's a little hard to have one's misfortunes cast in his teeth by acomrade."

  "I thought it would make you laugh, major!" replied Robinson, with agood-natured solicitude, "for it wan't in the possibilities of a mortalearthly man to save the baggage; and, I remember, you laughed then, aswell as the rest of us, when them pestifarious, filching sheep stealersmade off with our dinners: nobody ever blamed you for it."

  "Ah, Galbraith, you are a good friend, and you shall say what you pleaseto me," said Butler, with a returning cheerfulness; "sorrow is a dullcompanion to him who feeds it, and an impertinent one to everybodybeside. So, ride forward, and we will endeavor to console ourselves withthe good cheer of the widow. And, hark, Galbraith, this Mistress Dimockis an especial friend of mine: pray you, let her see, by yourconsiderateness towards her, that you are aware of that--for my sake,good Horse Shoe."

  The two soldiers soon reached the inn, and, having dismounted, Butleraroused the attention of the inmates by a few strokes upon the door withhis riding rod.

  The reply to this summons was a shrill invitation, in a feminine voice,to "walk in;" and no sooner had Butler thrown open the door and advanceda few paces into the passage, than the head of an elderly female wasseen thrust through the partially expanded doorway of the adjoiningroom. Another instant, and the dusky figure of Mistress Dimock herselfwas visible to our travellers.

  "What would you be pleased to have, sir?" inquired the dame, withevident distrust at this untimely approach of strangers.

  "Accommodation for the night, and whatever you have good to offer afriend, Mistress Dimock."

  "Who are you that ride so late?" again interrogated the hostess; "I amcowardly, sir, and cautious, and have reason to be careful who comesinto my house; a poor unprotected woman, good man."

  "A light, mother," said Butler, "and you shall know us better. We aretravellers and want food and rest, and would have both with as littletrouble to you as possible; a light will show you an old friend."

  "Wait a moment," returned the dame; and then added, as she observedButler walk into a room on the left, "Take care, sir, it is risking afall to grope in the dark in a strange house."

  "The house is not so strange to me as you suppose. Unless you have movedyour furniture I can find the green settee beyond the cupboard," saidButler, familiarly striding across the room, and throwing himself intothe old commodity he had named.

  The landlady, without heeding this evidence of the conversancy of hervisitor with the localities of the little parlor, had hastily retreated,and, in a moment afterwards, returned with a light, which, as she heldit above her head, while she peered through a pair of spectacles, threwits full effulgence upon the face of her guest.

  "Dear me, good lack!" she exclaimed, after a moment's gazing; "ArthurButler, o' my conscience! And is it you, Mr. Butler?" Then, putting thecandle upon the table, she seized both of his hands and gave them a longand hearty shake. "That Nancy Dimock shouldn't know your voice, of allothers! Where have you been, and where are you going? Mercy on me! whatmakes you so late? And why didn't you let me know you were coming? Icould have made you so much more comfortable. You are chilled with thenight air; and hungry, no doubt. And you look pale, poor fellow! Yousurely couldn't have been at the Dove Cote?" which last interrogatorywas expressed with a look of earnest and anxious inquiry.

  "No, not there," replied Butler, almost in a whisper; "alas, my kinddame, not there," he added, with a melancholy smile, as he held the handof the hostess and shook his head; "m
y fortune has in no jot improvedsince I left you almost a year ago. I broke from you hastily then toresume my share in the war, and I have had nothing but hard blows eversince. The tide, Mistress Dimock, sets sadly against us."

  "Never let your heart fail you," exclaimed the landlady; "it isn't inthe nature of things for the luck to be for ever on the shady side.Besides, take the good and bad together, you have not been so hardlydealt by, Captain Butler."

  "Major Butler, madam, of the second Carolina continental reg'larinfantry," interrupted Robinson, who had stood by all this timeunnoticed, "_Major_ Butler; the captain has been promoted, by occasionof the wiping out of a few friends from the upper side of the adjutant'sroll, in the scrimmage of Fort Moultrie. He is what we call, in commonparley, brevetted."

  This annunciation was made by the sergeant with due solemnity,accompanied by an attempt at a bow, which was abundantly stiff andungraceful.

  "My friend Sergeant Robinson," said Butler; "I commend him, MistressDimock, to your especial favor, both for a trusty comrade, and a mostsatisfactory and sufficient trencher man."

  "You are welcome and free to the best that's in the house, sergeant,"said the landlady, courtesying; "and I wish, for your sake, it was asgood as your appetite, which ought to be of the best. Mr. ArthurButler's word is all in all under this roof; and, whether he be captainor major, I promise you, makes no difference with me. Bless me! when Ifirst saw you, major, you was only an ensign; then, whisk and away! andback you come a pretty lieutenant, about my house: and then a captain,forsooth! and now, on the track of that, a major. It is up-up-up-theladder, till you will come, one of these days, to be a general; and tooproud, I misdoubt, to look at such a little old woman as me! hegh, hegh,hegh! a pinch of snuff, Mr. Arthur." And here the good dame prolongedher phthisicky laugh for some moments, as she presented a box of Scotchsnuff to her guest. "But I'll engage promotion never yet made theappetite of a travelling man smaller than before; so, gentlemen, youwill excuse me while I look after your supper."

  "The sooner the better, ma'am," said Robinson; "your night air is a sortof a whetstone to the stomach; but first, ma'am, I would be obligated toyou, if you would let me see the ostler."

  "Hut, tut! and have I been drivelling here all this time," exclaimed thedame, "without once spending a thought upon your cattle! Tony, Tony,To-ny, I say," almost shrieked the hostess, as she retreated along thepassage towards the region of the kitchen, and then back again to thefront door. "Are you asleep? Look to the gentlemen's horses; lead themto the stable, and don't spare to rub them down; and give them as muchas they can eat. Where are you, old man?"

  "What's the use of all this fuss, Missus Dimck? Arn't I here on thespot, with the cretur's in my hand?" grumbled out an old, stunted negro,who answered to the appellation of ostler; "Arn't I getting the baggageoff, as fast as I can onbuckle the straps?--I don't want nobody to tellme when I ought to step out. If a hos could talk, he ain't got nothingnew to say to me. Get out, you varmints," he shouted, with a suddenvivacity of utterance, at three or four dogs that were barking aroundhim; "Consarn you! What you making such a conbobberation about? You allthroat when you see gentmen coming to the house; better wait tell yousee a thief; bound, you silent enough then, with your tail twixt yourlegs! Blossom, ya sacy slut, keep quiet, I tell you!"

  In the course of this din and objurgation, the old negro succeeded indisburdening the horses of their furniture, and was about to lead themto the stable, when Robinson came to give him some directions.

  "Mind what you are after with them there cattle. Give them not amouthful for a good hour, and plenty of fodder about their feet; I'lllook at them myself before you shut up. Throw a handful of salt into thetrough, Tony, and above all things, don't let me catch you splashingwater over their backs; none of that; do you hear?"

  "Haw, haw, haw!" chuckled Tony; "think I don't know how to take care ofa hos, mass! Been too use to creturs, ever sense so high. Bless thegentman! one of the best things on arth, when you're feared your hos istoo much blowed, is to put a sprinkling of salt in a bucket o'water, andjust stir a leetle Indian meal in with it; it sort of freshes the creturup like, and is onaccountable good in hot weather, when you ain't got notime to feed. But cold water across the lines! oh, oh, I too cute in hoslarning for that! Look at the top of my head--gray as a fox!"

  "Skip then, or I'll open upon you like a pack of hounds," saidRobinson, as he turned on his heel to re-enter the house, "I'll look inafter supper."

  "Never mind me," replied Tony, as he led the horses off, "I have tendedCaptain Butler's hos afore this, and he wan't never onsatisfied withme."

  These cares being disposed of, Horse Shoe returned to the parlor. Thetidy display of some plain furniture, and the scrupulous attention tocleanliness in every part of the room, afforded an intelligentcommentary upon the exact, orderly and decent character of the WidowDimock. The dame herself was a pattern of useful thrift. Her shortfigure, as she now bustled to and fro, through the apartment, wasarrayed in that respectable, motherly costume which befitted her years;and which was proper to the period of my story, when the luxury of dresswas more expensive than at present, and when a correspondent degree ofcare was used to preserve it in repair. Evidences of this laudableeconomy were seen in the neatness with which a ruffle was darned, or aweak point fortified by a nicely adjusted patch, presenting, in somerespect, a token both of the commendable pride of the wearer, and of thestraitness of the national means, since the prevalence of war for fiveyears had not only reduced the wealth of individuals and renderedfrugality indispensable, but had, also, literally deprived the countryof its necessary supply of commodities; thus putting the opulent and theneedy, to a certain extent, upon the same footing. On the presentoccasion, our good landlady was arrayed in a gown of sober-coloredchintz, gathered into plaits in the skirt, whilst the body fittedclosely over a pair of long-waisted stays, having tight sleeves thatreached to the elbow. The stature of the dame was increased a full inchby a pair of high-heeled, parti-colored shoes, remarkable for theirsharp toes; and a frilled muslin cap, with lappets that reached underthe chin, towered sufficiently high to contribute, also, somethingconsiderable to the elevation of the tripping little figure of itswearer.

  In such guise did Mistress Dimock appear, as she busied herself inpreparing needful refreshment for the travellers; and for some time thehouse exhibited all that stir which belongs to this important care whendespatched in a retired country inn.

  By degrees, the table began to show the bounties of the kitchen. Asavory dish of fried bacon, the fumes of which had been, for a quarterof an hour, gently stimulating the appetite of the guests, now made itsappearance, in company with a pair of broiled pullets; and these werefollowed by a detachment of brown-crested hoecakes--the peculiarfavorite of the province; an abundance of rich milk, eggs, butter, andother rural knicknackeries, such as no hungry man ever surveys withindifference. These were successively deposited upon a homespun tablecloth, whose whiteness rivalled the new snow, with an accuracy ofadjustment that, by its delay, produced the most visible effects uponthe sergeant, who, during the spreading of the board, sat silently by,watching, with an eager and gloating earnestness, the slow process, everand anon uttering a short hem, and turning about restlessly on hischair.

  I may pause here, after the fashion of our worthy friend Horse Shoe, tomake an observation. There is nothing that works so kindly upon theimagination of a traveller, if he be in any doubt as to his appetite, asthe display of such a table. My particularity of detail, on the presentoccasion, will, therefore, be excused by my reader, when I inform himthat Butler had arrived at the inn in that depressed tone of spiritswhich seemed to defy refreshment; and that, notwithstanding thisimpediment, he played no insignificant part afterwards at supper; acircumstance mainly attributable to that gentle but irresistiblesolicitation, which the actual sight and fragrance of the boardaddressed to his dormant physical susceptibility. I might, indeed, havepretermitted the supper altogether, were there not a philosophical truthat the bottom
of the matter, worthy of the notice of the speculative andcurious reader; namely, that where a man's heart is a little teased withlove, and his temper fretted by crossings, and his body jolted bytravel; especially, when he has been wandering through the night air,with owls hooting in his ears; and a thin drapery of melancholy has beenflung, like cobwebs, across his spirits, then it is my doctrine, that aclean table, a good-humored landlady and an odorous steaming-up of goodthings, in a snug, cheerful little parlor, are certain to beget in him acomplete change of mood, and to give him, instead, a happy train ofthoughts and a hearty relish for his food. Such was precisely Butler'scondition.

  He and the sergeant now sat down at the table, and each drew theattention of the other by the unexpected vigor of their assaults uponthe dainties before them; Robinson surprised to find the major sosuddenly revived, and Butler no less unprepared to see a man, who hadachieved such wonders at dinner, now successively demolish what might bedeemed a stout allowance for a well fed lion.

  "It almost seems to go against the credit of my house," said thehostess, "to set gentlefolks down at my table without a cup of tea; butso it is; we must get used to be stripped of all the old-fashionedcomforts. It is almost treason for an honest woman to have such anarticle in her house now, even if it could be fairly come by. Still,I'll engage I am tory enough yet to like the smell of hyson. They haveno mercy upon us old women, major; they should have a care, or they willdrive us into the arms of the enemy."

  "Faith then, ma'am," interrupted Horse Shoe bluntly, as he threw his eyeover his shoulder at the landlady, who had broken into a laugh at herown sally of humor, "it would be no wonder if you were soon driven backagain."

  "Shame on you, Mr. Sergeant Robinson," retorted the dame, laughingagain, "I didn't expect to hear such a speech from you; that's a verysorry compliment to a poor country woman. If the men on our side thinkso little of us as you do, it would be no wonder if we all desert toKing George; but Major Arthur Butler, I am sure, will tell you that weold bodies can sometimes make ourselves very useful--gainsay it whowill."

  "You seem to be rather hard, Galbraith," said Butler, "on my good friendMistress Dimock. I am sure, madam, the sergeant has only been unlucky inmaking himself understood; for I know him to be a man of gallantry toyour sex, and to cherish an especial liking for the female friends ofour cause, amongst whom, Mistress Dimock, I can certify he is preparedto set a high value upon yourself. The sergeant was only endeavoring toprovoke your good humor. Try this honey, Galbraith; Mistress Dimock isfamous for her beehives; and perhaps it will give a sweeter edge to yourtongue."

  "I spoke, major," replied Robinson, awkwardly endeavoring to extricatehimself under this joint rebuke, and, at the same time, plunging a spooninto the dish to which Butler had invited his notice, "consarning thedifficulty of having ladies--whether old or young makes no difference,it wan't respecting the age of Mistress Dimock, nor her beauty, by nomeans, that I said what I did say; but it was consarning of thedifficulty of having the women with them in their marches and theircounter-marches. What could such tender creatures have done at such aplace as the sieging of Charlestown? Certain, this is most eleganthoney!" he added, by way of parenthesis, as he devoured a large slice ofbread, well covered with a fragment of honeycomb, as if anxious to gaintime to collect his ideas; for, with all Horse Shoe's bluntness, he wasessentially a diffident man. "It is my opinion, ma'am, the best thingthe women can do, in these here wars, is to knit; and leave the fightingof it out, to us who hav'n't faces to be spoiled by bad weather andtough times."

  "I don't want to have art nor part in these quarrels," replied thewidow. "The saints above are witnesses, I think it unnatural enough tosee a peaceable country, and a quiet honest people, vexed and harried,and run down with all this trooping of horses, and parading of armies,and clattering of drums, amongst the hills that never heard any thingworse than the lowing of a heifer before. But still, I wish well toliberty; and if it must be fought for, why, I am even content to take myshare of the suffering, in my own lonesome way; and they that bear theheat of the day, and their friends, shall always be served in my housewith the best that's in it, and at the most reasonable rates. Even ifthey come without money, I am not the woman to turn them off with anempty stomach; I mean them of the right side."

  "Well, that's as sensible a speech, Mistress Dimock," said Horse Shoe,quickly seizing the occasion to make amends to the landlady for hisformer bluntness, "and as much to the purpose, and spoken with as muchwisdom and circumscription, as mought come out of the mouth of e'er alady in the land--high born or low born--I don't care where the othercomes from. And it does a man's heart good to hear the woman-kindholding out such presentments. It's encouraging on the face of it."

  During this conversation the supper was finished, and Mrs. Dimock hadnow seated herself, with her elbows upon the table, so placed as toallow her to prop her chin upon her hands, in which position she fellinto an earnest but quiet, under-toned confabulation with Butler, whopartook of it with the more interest, as it related to the concerns ofthe family at the Dove Cote.

  "Mr. Lindsay, poor man," said the dame, in the course of thisconference, "is wofully beset. It almost looks as if he was haunted byan evil spirit, sure enough, which folks used to say of him after hiswife's death--and which, to tell you the truth, our young lady Mildredhas sometimes more than half hinted to me; he is so run at, andperplexed, and misguided by strangers that can have no good intention incoming to see him. There is Mr. Tyrrel, over at the Dove Cote at thisvery time, on his third visit, major, in less now than two months past;yes, let me see, he brought the news here of the recapitulation--I thinkyou military call it--though, heaven knows, I have but a poor head forthese bloodthirsty words--I mean the taking of Charleston; three timeshas he been here, counting from that day. Where he comes from, and whoare his kith and kin, I am sure I don't know."

  "Tyrrel, ha! yes, I have heard of him to-night, for the first time,"said Butler.

  "He must be a rich man," continued the hostess, "for he travels with twowhite servants, and always pays his way in gold. One of his men is nowin the house; and, between you and me, major, this man is a veryinquisitive sort of person, and would hardly be taken for a serving man;and he is a cautious fellow too, although there is a good deal ofswagger and bullying about him, which might deceive one at first sight."

  "Here, in the house to-night?" inquired Butler.

  "Speak low, major, the man is now walking the porch before our windows."

  "What does Mildred say of this Tyrrel?" asked Butler.

  "Has she been here lately?"

  "The good lady never stirs from home whilst Tyrrel is at the Dove Cote;for fear, I believe, that he will follow her, for they do whisper aboutin the neighborhood--though I don't say it to alarm you, Mr. Arthur,that this man is of the high quality, a nobleman, some say, and that hehas come here a-courting. Only think of the assurance of the man! But ifhe was a prince, and every hair of his head strung with diamonds, andMiss Mildred was as free as the day you first saw her, I can say withsafety he would find but cold comfort in that game; for she despiseshim, major, both for himself and for his tory principles. She does hatehim with a good will. No, no, her heart and soul are both where theyought to be, for all her father, poor man, and this rich gentleman! Oh,it is a cruel thing that you and our pretty lady cannot live quietlytogether; but Mr. Lindsay is past talking to about it. I declare I thinkhis mind is touched: I positively believe it would kill him if he knewall that has passed in this house; but he is, in the main, a good man,and a kind father, and is very much to be pitied. I see you are sad andsorrowful, Mr. Arthur: I didn't mean to distress you with my prating.You tell me, you think you may travel as far as Georgie."

  "Even so far, good dame, if some accident should not shorten my career.These are doubtful times, and my path is as uncertain as the chances ofwar. It may be long before I return.

  "I grieve night and day, and my heart bleeds for Miss Mildred, for sheis so good, so constant, so brave, too, for a wom
an," said the widowwith unaffected emotion. "Well-a-day! what woes these wars have broughtupon us! You told her your plans, Mr. Arthur?"

  "Our interview was short and painful," replied Butler. "I scarcely knowwhat I said to her. But, one thing I entreat of you: my letters will bedirected to your charge; you will contrive to have them promptly andsecretly delivered: oblige me still in that, good mother. Henry willoften visit you."

  "And a brave and considerate young man he is, major; I'll be surety forhis making of an honorable and a real gentleman. Do you join the army inCarolina?"

  "Perhaps not. My route lies into the mountains, our troops struggle fora footing in the low country."

  "If I may make bold, Major Butler, to drop a word of advice into yourear, which, seeing that I'm an older man than you," interrupted thesergeant, in an admonitory whisper, "I think I have got good right todo, why I would just say that there may be no great disconvenience intalking before friends; but sometimes silence brings more profit thanwords. So, I vote that we leave off telling the course of our march tillsuch time as it is done, and all is safe. There will be briers enough inour way, without taking the trouble to sow them by the road-side. Theman that stands a little aside from that window, out on the porch,throws his shadow across the sill oftener than is honest, according tomy reckoning. You said, ma'am," continued Horse Shoe, addressing thewidow, "that the fellow in the porch yon is Mr. Tyrrel's man."

  "He walks later than usual to-night," replied Mrs. Dimock, "for thoughhe can't be called a man of regular hours, yet, unless he can find anidler to keep him company, he is accustomed to be in his bed beforethis."

  "He is after no good, depend upon that," said Horse Shoe. "I have twiceseen the light upon his face behind the shutter: so, true man or spy,it's my admonishment not to speak above the purring of a cat."

  "You are right, Galbraith," said Butler. "We have many reasons todistrust him; and it is at least safest to keep our affairs private."

  "If I thought he was prying," continued Galbraith, "which I domeasurably insinuate and believe, I would take the freedom to give himthe benefit of a drilling on good manners. Ha, major! as I have a hand,he is reconnoitring us now at this identical time! Didn't you see himpass up and down before the door, and look in as greedily as if ourfaces were picture-books for him to read? I will have a word with him,and, wise or simple, I will get his calibre before I am done with him.Never let on, major; stay where you are. I promised to look after ourhorses."

  The hostess and her guest now continued their communion; in which weleave them, whilst we follow Horse Shoe towards the stable.

  CHAPTER VI.

  There're two at fisty-cuffs about it; Sir, I may say at dagger's drawing, But that I cannot say, because they have none.

  _Mayor of Quinborough._