The Old English Baron: a Gothic Story Read online

a moderate refreshment, he kneeled down, and prayed with thegreatest fervency. He resigned himself to the disposal of Heaven: "Iam nothing," said he, "I desire to be nothing but what thou, O Lord,pleasest to make me. If it is thy will that I should return to my formerobscurity, be it obeyed with cheerfulness; and, if thou art pleased toexalt me, I will look up to thee, as the only fountain of honour anddignity." While he prayed, he felt an enlargement of heart beyond whathe had ever experienced before; all idle fears were dispersed, and hisheart glowed with divine love and affiance;--he seemed raised above theworld and all its pursuits. He continued wrapt up in mental devotion,till a knocking at the door obliged him to rise, and let in his twofriends, who came without shoes, and on tiptoe, to visit him.

  "Save you, my son!" said the friar; "you look cheerful and happy."

  "I am so, father," said Edmund; "I have resigned myself to the disposalof Heaven, and I find my heart strengthened above what I can express."

  "Heaven be praised!" said Oswald: "I believe you are designed for greatthings, my son."

  "What! do you too encourage my ambition?" says Edmund; "strangeconcurrence of circumstances!--Sit down, my friends; and do you, mygood Joseph, tell me the particulars you promised last night." They drewtheir chairs round the fire, and Joseph began as follows:--

  "You have heard of the untimely death of the late Lord Lovel, my nobleand worthy master; perhaps you may have also heard that, from that time,this apartment was haunted. What passed the other day, when my Lordquestioned you both on this head, brought all the circumstances freshinto my mind. You then said, there were suspicions that he came notfairly to his end. I trust you both, and will speak what I know of it.There was a person suspected of this murder; and whom do you think itwas?"

  "You must speak out," said Oswald.

  "Why then," said Joseph, "it was the present Lord Lovel."

  "You speak my thoughts," said Oswald; "but proceed to the proofs."

  "I will," said Joseph.

  "From the time that my lord's death was reported, there were strangewhisperings and consultations between the new lord and some of theservants; there was a deal of private business carried on in thisapartment. Soon after, they gave out that my poor lady was distracted;but she threw out strong expressions that savoured nothing of madness.She said, that the ghost of her departed lord had appeared to her, andrevealed the circumstances of this murder. None of the servants, butone, were permitted to see her. At this very time, Sir Walter, the newlord, had the cruelty to offer love to her; he urged her to marry him;and one of her women overheard her say, she would sooner die than giveher hand to the man who caused the death of her Lord; Soon afterthis, we were told my Lady was dead. The Lord Lovel made a public andsumptuous funeral for her."

  "That is true," said Oswald; "for I was a novice, and assisted at it."

  "Well," says Joseph, "now comes my part of the story. As I was cominghome from the burial, I overtook Roger our ploughman. Said he, Whatthink you of this burying?--'What should I think,' said I, 'but that wehave lost the best Master and Lady that we shall ever know?' 'God, Heknows,' quoth Roger, 'whether they be living or dead; but if ever Isaw my Lady in my life, I saw her alive the night they say she died.' Itried to convince him that he was mistaken; but he offered to take hisoath, that the very night they said she died, he saw her come out at thegarden gate into the fields; that she often stopped, like a person inpain, and then went forward again until he lost sight of her. Now it iscertain that her time was out, and she expected to lie down every day;and they did not pretend that she died in child-bed. I thought uponwhat I heard, but nothing I said. Roger told the same story to anotherservant; so he was called to an account, the story was hushed up, andthe foolish fellow said, he was verily persuaded it was her ghost thathe saw. Now you must take notice that, from this time, they began totalk about, that this apartment was troubled; and not only this, butat last the new Lord could not sleep in quiet in his own room; and thisinduced him to sell the castle to his brother-in-law, and get out ofthis country as fast as possible. He took most of the servants away withhim, and Roger among the rest. As for me, they thought I knew nothing,and so they left me behind; but I was neither blind nor deaf, though Icould hear, and see, and say nothing."

  "This is a dark story," said Oswald.

  "It is so," said Edmund; "but why should Joseph seem to think itconcerns me in particular?"

  "Ah, dear Sir," said Joseph, "I must tell you, though I never uttered itto mortal man before; the striking resemblance this young man bears tomy dear Lord, the strange dislike his reputed father took to him, hisgentle manners, his generous heart, his noble qualities so uncommon inthose of his birth and breeding, the sound of his voice--you may smileat the strength of my fancy, but I cannot put it out of my mind but thathe is my own master's son."

  At these words Edmund changed colour and trembled; he clapped his handupon his breast, and looked up to Heaven in silence; his dream recurredto his memory, and struck upon his heart. He related it to his attentiveauditors.

  "The ways of Providence are wonderful," said Oswald. "If this be so,Heaven in its own time will make it appear."

  Here a silence of several minutes ensued; when, suddenly, they wereawakened from their reverie by a violent noise in the rooms underneaththem. It seemed like the clashing of arms, and something seemed to falldown with violence.

  They started, and Edmund rose up with a look full of resolution andintrepidity.

  "I am called!" said he; "I obey the call!"

  He took up a lamp, and went to the door that he had opened the nightbefore. Oswald followed with his rosary in his hand, and Joseph lastwith trembling steps. The door opened with ease, and they descended thestairs in profound silence.

  The lower rooms answered exactly to those above; there were two parloursand a large closet. They saw nothing remarkable in these rooms, excepttwo pictures, that were turned with their faces to the wall. Joseph tookthe courage to turn them. "These," said he, "are the portraits of mylord and lady. Father, look at this face; do you know who is like it?"

  "I should think," said Oswald, "it was done for Edmund!"

  "I am," said Edmund, "struck with the resemblance myself; but let us goon; I feel myself inspired with unusual courage. Let us open the closetdoor."

  Oswald stopped him short.

  "Take heed," said he, "lest the wind of the door put out the lamp. Iwill open this door."

  He attempted it without success; Joseph did the same, but to no purpose;Edmund gave the lamp to Joseph; he approached the door, tried the key,and it gave way to his hand in a moment.

  "This adventure belongs," said he, "to me only; that is plain--bring thelamp forward."

  Oswald repeated the paternoster, in which they all joined, and thenentered the closet.

  The first thing that presented itself to their view, was a complete suitof armour, that seemed to have fallen down on an heap.

  "Behold!" said Edmund; "this made the noise we heard above." They tookit up, and examined it piece by piece; the inside of the breast platewas stained with blood.

  "See here!" said Edmund; "what think you of this?"

  "'Tis my Lord's armour," said Joseph; "I know it well--here has beenbloody work in this closet!"

  Going forward, he stumbled over something; it was a ring with the armsof Lovel engraved upon it.

  "This is my Lord's ring," said Joseph; "I have seen him wear it; I giveit to you, sir, as the right owner; and most religiously do I believeyou his son."

  "Heaven only knows that," said Edmund; "and, if it permits, I will knowwho was my father before I am a day older."

  While he was speaking, he shifted his ground, and perceived that theboards rose up on the other side of the closet; upon farther examinationthey found that the whole floor was loose, and a table that stood overthem concealed the circumstance from a casual observer.

  "I perceive," said Oswald, "that some great discovery is at hand."

  "God defend us!" said Edmund, "but I verily believe th
at the person thatowned this armour lies buried under us."

  Upon this, a dismal hollow groan was heard, as if from underneath. Asolemn silence ensued, and marks of fear were visible upon all three;the groan was thrice heard; Oswald made signs for them to kneel, and heprayed audibly, that Heaven would direct them how to act; he also prayedfor the soul of the departed, that it might rest in peace. After this,he arose; but Edmund continued kneeling--he vowed solemnly to devotehimself to the discovery of this secret, and the avenging the death ofthe person there buried. He then rose up. "It would be