Part 71 (2/2)
”When you please, sir,” replied the young man, sternly.
”And I will answer for the propriety of the course I have pursued,” said Sir Ralph; ”but here comes Nicholas with Mother Demdike.”
”Demdike taken! I am glad of it,” cried Mother Chattox, slightly raising herself as she spoke. ”Kill her, or she will 'scape you.”
When Nicholas came up with the old hag, both Sir Ralph a.s.sheton and Roger Nowell put several questions to her, but she refused to answer their interrogations; and, horrified by her blasphemies and imprecations, they caused her to be removed to a short distance, while a consultation was held as to the course to be pursued.
”We have made half a dozen of these miscreants prisoners,” said Roger Nowell, ”and the whole of them had better be taken to Whalley, where they can be safely confined in the old dungeons of the Abbey, and after their examination on the morrow can be removed to Lancaster Castle.”
”Be it so,” replied Sir Ralph; ”but must yon unfortunate lady,” he added, pointing to Mistress Nutter, ”be taken with them?”
”a.s.suredly,” replied Nowell. ”We can make no distinction among such offenders; or, if there are any degrees in guilt, hers is of the highest cla.s.s.”
”You had better take leave of your daughter,” said Sir Ralph to Mistress Nutter.
”I thank you for the hint,” replied the lady. ”Farewell, dear Alizon,” she added, straining her to her bosom. ”We must part for some time. Once more before I quit this world, in which I have played so wicked a part, I would fain look upon you-fain bless you, if I have the power-but this must be at the last, when my trials are wellnigh over, and when all is about to close upon me!”
”Oh! must it be thus?” exclaimed Alizon, in a voice half suffocated by emotion.
”It must,” replied her mother. ”Do not attempt to shake my resolution, my sweet child-do not weep for me. Amidst all the terrors that surround me, I am happier now than I have been for years. I shall strive to work out my redemption by prayers.”
”And you will succeed!” cried Alizon.
”Not so!” shrieked Mother Demdike; ”the Fiend will have his own. She is bound to him by a compact which nought can annul.”
”I should like to see the instrument,” said Potts. ”I might give a legal opinion upon it. Perhaps it might be avoided; and in any case its production in court would have an admirable effect. I think I see the counsel examining it, and hear the judges calling for it to be placed before them. His infernal Majesty's signature must be a curiosity in its way. Our gracious and sagacious monarch would delight in it.”
”Peace!” exclaimed Nicholas; ”and take care,” he cried, ”that no further interruptions are offered by that infernal hag. Have you done, madam?” he added to Mistress Nutter, who still remained with her daughter folded in her arms.
”Not yet,” replied the lady. ”Oh! what happiness I have thrown away! What anguish-what remorse brought upon myself by the evil life I have led! As I gaze on this fair face, and think it might long, long have brightened my dark and desolate life with its suns.h.i.+ne-as I think upon all this, my fort.i.tude wellnigh deserts me, and I have need of support from on high to carry me through my trial. But I fear it will be denied me. Nicholas a.s.sheton, you have the deed of the gift of Rough Lee in your possession. Henceforth Alizon is mistress of the mansion and domains.”
”Provided always they are not forfeited to the crown, which I apprehend will be the case,” suggested Potts.
”I will take care she is put in possession of them,” said Nicholas.
”As to you, Richard,” continued Mistress Nutter, ”the time may come when your devotion to my daughter may be rewarded and I could not bestow a greater boon upon you than by giving you her hand. It may be well I should give my consent now, and, if no other obstacle should arise to the union, may she be yours, and happiness I am sure will attend you!”
Overpowered by conflicting emotions, Alizon hid her face in her mother's bosom, and Richard, who was almost equally overcome, was about to reply, when Mother Demdike broke upon them.
”They will never be united!” she screamed. ”Never! I have said it, and my words will come true. Think'st thou a witch like thee can bless an union, Alice Nutter? Thy blessings are curses, thy wishes disappointments and despair. Thriftless love shall be Alizon's, and the grave shall be her bridal bed. The witch's daughter shall share the witch's fate.”
These boding words produced a terrible effect upon the hearers.
”Heed her not, my sweet child-she speaks falsely,” said Mistress Nutter, endeavouring to re-a.s.sure her daughter; but the tone in which the words were uttered showed that she herself was greatly alarmed.
”I have cursed them both, and I will curse them again,” yelled Mother Demdike.
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