Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty
‘She’s quiet. I always like ‘em to faint, unless they’re very tender and
composed.’
‘Can you take her by yourself?’ asked Hugh.
‘I don’t know till I try. I ought to be able to; I’ve lifted up a good
many in my time,’ said the hangman. ‘Up then! She’s no small weight,
brother; none of these here fine gals are. Up again! Now we have her.’
Having by this time hoisted the young lady into his arms, he staggered
off with his burden.
‘Look ye, pretty bird,’ said Hugh, drawing Dolly towards him. ‘Remember
what I told you--a kiss for every cry. Scream, if you love me, darling.
Scream once, mistress. Pretty mistress, only once, if you love me.’
Thrusting his face away with all her force, and holding down her head,
Dolly submitted to be carried out of the chaise, and borne after Miss
Haredale into a miserable cottage, where Hugh, after hugging her to his
breast, set her gently down upon the floor.
Poor Dolly! Do what she would, she only looked the better for it, and
tempted them the more. When her eyes flashed angrily, and her ripe lips
slightly parted, to give her rapid breathing vent, who could resist it?
When she wept and sobbed as though her heart would break, and bemoaned
her miseries in the sweetest voice that ever fell upon a listener’s ear,
who could be insensible to the little winning pettishness which now
and then displayed itself, even in the sincerity and earnestness of her
grief? When, forgetful for a moment of herself, as she was now, she fell
on her knees beside her friend, and bent over her, and laid her cheek
to hers, and put her arms about her, what mortal eyes could have avoided
wandering to the delicate bodice, the streaming hair, the neglected
dress, the perfect abandonment and unconsciousness of the blooming
little beauty? Who could look on and see her lavish caresses and
endearments, and not desire to be in Emma Haredale’s place; to be either
her or Dolly; either the hugging or the hugged? Not Hugh. Not Dennis.
‘I tell you what it is, young women,’ said Mr Dennis, ‘I an’t much of a
lady’s man myself, nor am I a party in the present business further than
lending a willing hand to my friends: but if I see much more of this
here sort of thing, I shall become a principal instead of a accessory. I
tell you candid.’
‘Why have you brought us here?’ said Emma. ‘Are we to be murdered?’
‘Murdered!’ cried Dennis, sitting down upon a stool, and regarding her
with great favour. ‘Why, my dear, who’d murder sich chickabiddies as
you? If you was to ask me, now, whether you was brought here to be
married, there might be something in it.’
And here he exchanged a grin with Hugh, who removed his eyes from Dolly
for the purpose.
‘No, no,’ said Dennis, ‘there’ll be no murdering, my pets. Nothing of
that sort. Quite the contrairy.’
‘You are an older man than your companion, sir,’ said Emma, trembling.
‘Have you no pity for us? Do you not consider that we are women?’
‘I do indeed, my dear,’ retorted Dennis. ‘It would be very hard not to,
with two such specimens afore my eyes. Ha ha! Oh yes, I consider that.
We all consider that, miss.’
He shook his head waggishly, leered at Hugh again, and laughed very
much, as if he had said a noble thing, and rather thought he was coming
out.
‘There’ll be no murdering, my dear. Not a bit on it. I tell you what
though, brother,’ said Dennis, cocking his hat for the convenience
of scratching his head, and looking gravely at Hugh, ‘it’s worthy of
notice, as a proof of the amazing equalness and dignity of our law, that
it don’t make no distinction between men and women. I’ve heerd the judge
say, sometimes, to a highwayman or housebreaker as had tied the ladies
neck and heels--you’ll excuse me making mention of it, my darlings--and
put ‘em in a cellar, that he showed no consideration to women. Now, I
say that there judge didn’t know his business, brother; and that if
I had been that there highwayman or housebreaker, I should have made
answer: “What are you a talking of, my lord? I showed the women as much
consideration as the law does, and what more would you have me do?” If
you was to count up in the newspapers the number of females as have
been worked off in this here city alone, in the last ten year,’ said Mr
Dennis thoughtfully, ‘you’d be surprised at the total--quite amazed, you
would. There’s a dignified and equal thing; a beautiful thing! But we’ve
no security for its lasting. Now that they’ve begun to favour these here
Papists, I shouldn’t wonder if they went and altered even THAT, one of
these days. Upon my soul, I shouldn’t.’
The subject, perhaps from being of too exclusive and professional a
nature, failed to interest Hugh as much as his friend had anticipated.
But he had no time to pursue it, for at this crisis Mr Tappertit entered
precipitately; at sight of whom Dolly uttered a scream of joy, and
fairly threw herself into his arms.
‘I knew it, I was sure of it!’ cried Dolly. ‘My dear father’s at the
door. Thank God, thank God! Bless you, Sim. Heaven bless you for this!’
Simon Tappertit, who had at first implicitly believed that the
locksmith’s daughter, unable any longer to suppress her secret passion
for himself, was about to give it full vent in its intensity, and to
declare that she was his for ever, looked extremely foolish when she
said these words;--the more so, as they were received by Hugh and Dennis
with a loud laugh, which made her draw back, and regard him with a fixed
and earnest look.
‘Miss Haredale,’ said Sim, after a very awkward silence, ‘I hope
you’re as comfortable as circumstances will permit of. Dolly Varden,
my darling--my own, my lovely one--I hope YOU’RE pretty comfortable
likewise.’
Poor little Dolly! She saw how it was; hid her face in her hands; and
sobbed more bitterly than ever.
‘You meet in me, Miss V.,’ said Simon, laying his hand upon his breast,
‘not a ‘prentice, not a workman, not a slave, not the wictim of your
father’s tyrannical behaviour, but the leader of a great people, the
captain of a noble band, in which these gentlemen are, as I may say,
corporals and serjeants. You behold in me, not a private individual, but
a public character; not a mender of locks, but a healer of the wounds of
his unhappy country. Dolly V., sweet Dolly V., for how many years have
I looked forward to this present meeting! For how many years has it been
my intention to exalt and ennoble you! I redeem it. Behold in me, your
husband. Yes, beautiful Dolly--charmer--enslaver--S. Tappertit is all
your own!’
As he said these words he advanced towards her. Dolly retreated till she
could go no farther, and then sank down upon the floor. Thinking it very
possible that this might be maiden modesty, Simon essayed to raise her;
on which Dolly, goaded to desperation, wound her hands in his hair, and
crying out amidst her tears that he was a dreadful little wretch, and
always had been, shook, and pulled, and beat him, until he was fain to
call for help, most lustily. Hugh had never admired her half so much as
at that moment.
‘She’s in an excited state to-night,’ said Simon, as he smoothed his
rumpled feathers, ‘and don’t know when she’s well off. Let her be by
herself till to-morrow, and that’ll bring her down a little. Carry her
into the next house!’
Hugh had her in his arms directly. It might be that Mr Tappertit’s heart
was really softened by her distress, or it might be that he felt it in
some degree indecorous that his intended bride should be struggling in
the grasp of another man. He commanded him, on second thoughts, to put
her down again, and looked moodily on as she flew to Miss Haredale’s
side, and clinging to her dress, hid her flushed face in its folds.
‘They shall remain here together till to-morrow,’ said Simon, who had
now quite recovered his dignity--‘till to-morrow. Come away!’
‘Ay!’ cried Hugh. ‘Come away, captain. Ha ha ha!’
‘What are you laughing at?’ demanded Simon sternly.
‘Nothing, captain, nothing,’ Hugh rejoined; and as he spoke, and clapped
his hand upon the shoulder of the little man, he laughed again, for some
unknown reason, with tenfold violence.
Mr Tappertit surveyed him from head to foot with lofty scorn (this only
made him laugh the more), and turning to the prisoners, said:
‘You’ll take notice, ladies, that this place is well watched on every
side, and that the least noise is certain to be attended with unpleasant
consequences. You’ll hear--both of you--more of our intentions
to-morrow. In the mean time, don’t show yourselves at the window, or
appeal to any of the people you may see pass it; for if you do, it’ll
be known directly that you come from a Catholic house, and all the
exertions our men can make, may not be able to save your lives.’
With this last caution, which was true enough, he turned to the door,
followed by Hugh and Dennis. They paused for a moment, going out, to
look at them clasped in each other’s arms, and then left the cottage;
fastening the door, and setting a good watch upon it, and indeed all
round the house.
‘I say,’ growled Dennis, as they walked away in company, ‘that’s a
dainty pair. Muster Gashford’s one is as handsome as the other, eh?’
‘Hush!’ said Hugh, hastily. ‘Don’t you mention names. It’s a bad habit.’
‘I wouldn’t like to be HIM, then (as you don’t like names), when he
breaks it out to her; that’s all,’ said Dennis. ‘She’s one of them fine,
black-eyed, proud gals, as I wouldn’t trust at such times with a knife
too near ‘em. I’ve seen some of that sort, afore now. I recollect one
that was worked off, many year ago--and there was a gentleman in that
case too--that says to me, with her lip a trembling, but her hand as
steady as ever I see one: “Dennis, I’m near my end, but if I had a
dagger in these fingers, and he was within my reach, I’d strike him dead
afore me;”--ah, she did--and she’d have done it too!’
Strike who dead?’ demanded Hugh.
‘How should I know, brother?’ answered Dennis. ‘SHE never said; not
she.’
Hugh looked, for a moment, as though he would have made some further
inquiry into this incoherent recollection; but Simon Tappertit, who had
been meditating deeply, gave his thoughts a new direction.
‘Hugh!’ said Sim. ‘You have done well to-day. You shall be rewarded.
So have you, Dennis.--There’s no young woman YOU want to carry off, is
there?’
‘N--no,’ returned that gentleman, stroking his grizzly beard, which was
some two inches long. ‘None in partickler, I think.’
‘Very good,’ said Sim; ‘then we’ll find some other way of making it up
to you. As to you, old boy’--he turned to Hugh--‘you shall have Miggs
(her that I promised you, you know) within three days. Mind. I pass my
word for it.’
Hugh thanked him heartily; and as he did so, his laughing fit returned
with such violence that he was obliged to hold his side with one hand,
and to lean with the other on the shoulder of his small captain, without
whose support he would certainly have rolled upon the ground.
Chapter 60
The three worthies turned their faces towards The Boot, with the
intention of passing the night in that place of rendezvous, and of
seeking the repose they so much needed in the shelter of their old
den; for now that the mischief and destruction they had purposed were
achieved, and their prisoners were safely bestowed for the night, they
began to be conscious of exhaustion, and to feel the wasting effects of
the madness which had led to such deplorable results.
Notwithstanding the lassitude and fatigue which oppressed him now, in
common with his two companions, and indeed with all who had taken an
active share in that night’s work, Hugh’s boisterous merriment broke out
afresh whenever he looked at Simon Tappertit, and vented itself--much to
that gentleman’s indignation--in such shouts of laughter as bade fair to