The Monk: A Romance
accustomed to sacrifice the interests of others to her own, and her
wish to send Claude to Strasbourg blinded her to the danger of the
undertaking. Accordingly, it was resolved that He should set out
without delay. The Baroness wrote her letter to her Husband, and I sent
a few lines to my Banker, apprising him that I should not be at
Strasbourg till the next day. Claude took our letters, and left the
Cottage.
The Lady declared herself much fatigued by her journey: Besides having
come from some distance, the Drivers had contrived to lose their way in
the Forest. She now addressed herself to Marguerite, desiring to be
shown to her chamber, and permitted to take half an hour’s repose. One
of the Waiting-women was immediately summoned; She appeared with a
light, and the Baroness followed her up stairs. The cloth was spreading
in the chamber where I was, and Marguerite soon gave me to understand
that I was in her way. Her hints were too broad to be easily mistaken;
I therefore desired one of the young Men to conduct me to the chamber
where I was to sleep, and where I could remain till supper was ready.
“Which chamber is it, Mother?” said Robert.
“The One with green hangings,” She replied; “I have just been at the
trouble of getting it ready, and have put fresh sheets upon the Bed; If
the Gentleman chooses to lollop and lounge upon it, He may make it
again himself for me.”
“You are out of humour, Mother, but that is no novelty. Have the
goodness to follow me, Monsieur.”
He opened the door, and advanced towards a narrow staircase.
“You have got no light!” said Marguerite; “Is it your own neck or the
Gentleman’s that you have a mind to break?”
She crossed by me, and put a candle into Robert’s hand, having received
which, He began to ascend the staircase. Jacques was employed in laying
the cloth, and his back was turned towards me.
Marguerite seized the moment, when we were unobserved. She caught my
hand, and pressed it strongly.
“Look at the Sheets!” said She as She passed me, and immediately
resumed her former occupation.
Startled by the abruptness of her action, I remained as if petrified.
Robert’s voice, desiring me to follow him, recalled me to myself. I
ascended the staircase. My conductor ushered me into a chamber, where
an excellent wood-fire was blazing upon the hearth. He placed the light
upon the Table, enquired whether I had any further commands, and on my
replying in the negative, He left me to myself. You may be certain that
the moment when I found myself alone was that on which I complied with
Marguerite’s injunction. I took the candle, hastily approached the Bed,
and turned down the Coverture. What was my astonishment, my horror, at
finding the sheets crimsoned with blood!
At that moment a thousand confused ideas passed before my imagination.
The Robbers who infested the Wood, Marguerite’s exclamation respecting
her Children, the arms and appearance of the two young Men, and the
various Anecdotes which I had heard related, respecting the secret
correspondence which frequently exists between Banditti and
Postillions, all these circumstances flashed upon my mind, and inspired
me with doubt and apprehension. I ruminated on the most probable means
of ascertaining the truth of my conjectures. Suddenly I was aware of
Someone below pacing hastily backwards and forwards. Every thing now
appeared to me an object of suspicion. With precaution I drew near the
window, which, as the room had been long shut up, was left open in
spite of the cold. I ventured to look out. The beams of the Moon
permitted me to distinguish a Man, whom I had no difficulty to
recognize for my Host. I watched his movements.
He walked swiftly, then stopped, and seemed to listen: He stamped upon
the ground, and beat his stomach with his arms as if to guard himself
from the inclemency of the season. At the least noise, if a voice was
heard in the lower part of the House, if a Bat flitted past him, or the
wind rattled amidst the leafless boughs, He started, and looked round
with anxiety.
“Plague take him!” said He at length with impatience; “What can He be
about!”
He spoke in a low voice; but as He was just below my window, I had no
difficulty to distinguish his words.
I now heard the steps of one approaching. Baptiste went towards the
sound; He joined a man, whom his low stature and the Horn suspended
from his neck, declared to be no other than my faithful Claude, whom I
had supposed to be already on his way to Strasbourg. Expecting their
discourse to throw some light upon my situation, I hastened to put
myself in a condition to hear it with safety. For this purpose I
extinguished the candle, which stood upon a table near the Bed: The
flame of the fire was not strong enough to betray me, and I immediately
resumed my place at the window.
The objects of my curiosity had stationed themselves directly under it.
I suppose that during my momentary absence the Wood-man had been
blaming Claude for tardiness, since when I returned to the window, the
latter was endeavouring to excuse his fault.
“However,” added He, “my diligence at present shall make up for my past
delay.”
“On that condition,” answered Baptiste, “I shall readily forgive you.
But in truth as you share equally with us in our prizes, your own
interest will make you use all possible diligence. ’Twould be a shame
to let such a noble booty escape us! You say, that this Spaniard is
rich?”
“His Servant boasted at the Inn, that the effects in his Chaise were
worth above two thousand Pistoles.”
Oh! how I cursed Stephano’s imprudent vanity!
“And I have been told,” continued the Postillion, “that this Baroness
carries about her a casket of jewels of immense value.”
“May be so, but I had rather She had stayed away. The Spaniard was a
secure prey. The Boys and myself could easily have mastered him and his
Servant, and then the two thousand Pistoles would have been shared
between us four. Now we must let in the Band for a share, and perhaps
the whole Covey may escape us. Should our Friends have betaken
themselves to their different posts before you reach the Cavern, all
will be lost. The Lady’s Attendants are too numerous for us to
overpower them: Unless our Associates arrive in time, we must needs let
these Travellers set out tomorrow without damage or hurt.”
“’Tis plaguy unlucky that my Comrades who drove the Coach should be
those unacquainted with our Confederacy! But never fear, Friend
Baptiste. An hour will bring me to the Cavern; It is now but ten
o’clock, and by twelve you may expect the arrival of the Band. By the
bye, take care of your Wife: You know how strong is her repugnance to
our mode of life, and She may find means to give information to the
Lady’s Servants of our design.”
“Oh! I am secure of her silence; She is too much afraid of me, and fond
of her children, to dare to betray my secret. Besides, Jacques and
Robert keep a strict eye over her, and She is not permitted to set a
foot out of the Cottage. The Servants are safely lodged in the Barn; I
shall endeavour to keep all quiet till the arrival of our Friends. Were
I assured of your finding them, the Strangers should be dispatched this
instant; But as it is possible for you to miss the Banditti, I am
fearful of being summoned to produce them by their Domestics in the
Morning.”
“And suppose either of the Travellers should discover your design?”
“Then we must poignard those in our power, and take our chance about
mastering the rest. However, to avoid running such a risque, hasten to
the Cavern: The Banditti never leave it before eleven, and if you use
diligence, you may reach it in time to stop them.”
“Tell Robert that I have taken his Horse: My own has broken his bridle,
and escaped into the Wood. What is the watch-word?”
“The reward of Courage.”
“’Tis sufficient. I hasten to the Cavern.”
“And I to rejoin my Guests, lest my absence should create suspicion.
Farewell, and be diligent.”
These worthy Associates now separated: The One bent his course towards
the Stable, while the Other returned to the House.
You may judge, what must have been my feelings during this
conversation, of which I lost not a single syllable. I dared not trust
myself to my reflections, nor did any means present itself to escape
the dangers which threatened me. Resistance, I knew to be vain; I was
unarmed, and a single Man against Three: However, I resolved at least
to sell my life as dearly as I could. Dreading lest Baptiste should
perceive my absence, and suspect me to have overheard the message with
which Claude was dispatched, I hastily relighted my candle and quitted
the chamber. On descending, I found the Table spread for six Persons.
The Baroness sat by the fireside: Marguerite was employed in dressing a
sallad, and her Step-sons were whispering together at the further end
of the room. Baptiste having the round of the Garden to make, ere He
could reach the Cottage door, was not yet arrived. I seated myself
quietly opposite to the Baroness.
A glance upon Marguerite told her that her hint had not been thrown
away upon me. How different did She now appear to me! What before
seemed gloom and sullenness, I now found to be disgust at her
Associates, and compassion for my danger. I looked up to her as to my
only resource; Yet knowing her to be watched by her Husband with a
suspicious eye, I could place but little reliance on the exertions of
her good-will.
In spite of all my endeavours to conceal it, my agitation was but too
visibly expressed upon my countenance. I was pale, and both my words
and actions were disordered and embarrassed. The young Men observed
this, and enquired the cause. I attributed it to excess of fatigue, and
the violent effect produced on me by the severity of the season.
Whether they believed me or not, I will not pretend to say: They at
least ceased to embarrass me with their questions. I strove to divert
my attention from the perils which surrounded me, by conversing on
different subjects with the Baroness. I talked of Germany, declaring my
intention of visiting it immediately: God knows, that I little thought
at that moment of ever seeing it! She replied to me with great ease and
politeness, professed that the pleasure of making my acquaintance amply
compensated for the delay in her journey, and gave me a pressing
invitation to make some stay at the Castle of Lindenberg. As She spoke
thus, the Youths exchanged a malicious smile, which declared that She
would be fortunate if She ever reached that Castle herself. This action
did not escape me; But I concealed the emotion which it excited in my
breast. I continued to converse with the Lady; But my discourse was so
frequently incoherent, that as She has since informed me, She began to
doubt whether I was in my right senses. The fact was, that while my
conversation turned upon one subject, my thoughts were entirely
occupied by another. I meditated upon the means of quitting the
Cottage, finding my way to the Barn, and giving the Domestics
information of our Host’s designs. I was soon convinced, how
impracticable was the attempt. Jacques and Robert watched my every
movement with an attentive eye, and I was obliged to abandon the idea.
All my hopes now rested upon Claude’s not finding the Banditti: In that
case, according to what I had overheard, we should be permitted to
depart unhurt.
I shuddered involuntarily as Baptiste entered the room. He made many
apologies for his long absence, but “He had been detained by affairs
impossible to be delayed.” He then entreated permission for his family
to sup at the same table with us, without which, respect would not
authorize his taking such a liberty. Oh! how in my heart I cursed the
Hypocrite! How I loathed his presence, who was on the point of