Part 48 (2/2)
”Would you hear a Spanish lady, How she woo'd an Englishay and rich as may be, Deck'd with jewels had she on”
Elizabethan Ballad
It was the first of October The ht and still; the skies were dappled ray autu after those fearful summer months of battle and of storeance slid over the bar, and passed the sleeping sand- hills and dropped her anchor off Appledore, with her flag floating half-h; for the corpse of Salvation Yeo was on board
A boat pulled off from the shi+p, and away to the western end of the strand; and Cary and Brih, and led him slowly up the hill toward his home
The crowd clustered round his, and sobs of pity from kind-hearted women; for all in Appledore and Bideford kneell by this tiood friends,” said Ao quietly hoazing-stock Think not of ood folks, nor talk of me; but corave the body of a better man than I”
And, as he spoke, another boat caland, the body of Salvation Yeo
The people took Ah, to tell Mrs Leigh that her son was co When the coffin was landed and lifted, Amyas and his friends took their places behind it as chief mourners, and the crew followed in order, while the crowd fell in behind theathered every moment; till ere they were halfway to Northaht number full five hundred souls
They had sent over by a fishi+ng-skiff the day before to bid the sexton dig the grave; and when they ca at the gate
Mrs Leigh stayed quietly at hoh her heart yearned for her son, yet she ell content (as she not content?) that he should do honor to his ancient and faithful servant; so she sat down in the bay-ith Ayacanora by her side; and when the tolling of the bell ceased, she opened her Prayer-book, and began to read the Burial- service
”Ayacanora,” she said, ”they are burying old Master Yeo, who loved you, and sought you over the wide, orld, and saved you from the teeth of the crocodile Are you not sorry for hiay to-day?”
Ayacanora blushed, and hung down her head; she was thinking of nothing, poor child, but A said; the parson drew back: but the people lingered and crowded round to look at the coffin, while A by his command, at the west end of the church, near by the foot of the tall gray ept tohich watches for a beacon far and wide over land and sea Perhaps the old ht like to look at the sea, and see the shi+ps cohts, roar through the belfry far above his head Why not? It was but a fancy: and yet Amyas felt that he too should like to be buried in such a place; so Yeo ered; and looked first at the grave and then at the blind giant who stood over it, as if they felt, by instinct, that so ht, and waved his hand majestically, as one about to speak; while the eyes of all in; and twice the words were choked upon his lips; and then,-- ”Good people all, and sea whom I was bred, and to whom I come home blind this day, to dith you till death--Here lieth the flower and pattern of all bold mariners; the truest of friends, and the eable of purpose, crafty of council, and swift of execution; in triumph most sober, in failure (as God knows I have found full many a day) of endurance beyond mortal man Who first of all Britons helped to humble the pride of the Spaniard at Rio de la Hacha and Nombre, and first of all sailed upon those South Seas, which shall be hereafter, by God's grace, as free to English keels as is the bay outside Who having afterwards been purged froe afflictions and torments unspeakable, suffered at the hands of the Popish enemy, learned therefroht else; and having acquitted hie of the Spaniard, and a faithful soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ, is now exalted to his reward, as Elijah was of old, in a chariot of fire unto heaven: letting fall, I trust and pray, upon you who are left behind the mantle of his valor and his Godliness, that so these shores may never be without brave and pious mariners, ill count their lives as worthless in the cause of their Country, their Bible, and their Queen A for his companions' hands he walked slowly froe street, and up the lane to Burrough gates; while the crowd , shut up alone with all his strength, valor, and fame, in the dark prison-house of his mysterious doom
He seeates, opened the lock with his own hands, and went boldly forward along the gravel path, while Cary and Bri; for they expected some violent burst of eood fellows' tender hearts were fluttering like a girl's Up to the door he went, as if he had seen it; felt for the entrance, stood therein, and called quietly, ”Mother!”
In a moment his mother was on his boso inwardly, with tearless eyes, he standing firreat arms clasped around her
”Mother!” he said at last, ”I am come home, you see, because I needs must come Will you take me in, and look after this useless carcase? I shall not be so very troublesome, mother,--shall I?” and he looked down, and smiled upon her, and kissed her brow
She answered not a word, but passed her arently round his waist, and led him in
”Take care of your head, dear child, the doors are low” And they went in together
”Will! Jack!” called Aood fellows had walked briskly off
”I'lad we are away,” said Cary; ”I should have el of a woman How her face worked and how she kept it in!”
”Ah, well!” said Jack, ”there goes a brave servant of the queen's cut off before his as a quarter done Heigho! I must home now, and see my old father, and then--”
”And then hoain! We have pulled in the sa your prize- I must see after you, old Jack ashore, or we shall have you treating half the town in taverns for a week to come”
”Oh, Mr Cary!” said Jack, scandalized
”Come hoive you the rectory”
”Oh, Mr Cary!” said Jack
So the tent off to Clovelly together that very day
And Aone out for a few age, and set them down to eat and drink; and Amyas sat in the old bay- here he had sat when he was a little tiny boy, and read ”King Arthur,” and ”Fox's Martyrs,” and ”The Cruelties of the Spaniards” He put out his hand and felt for them; there they lay side by side, just as they had lain twenty years before The as open; and a cool air brought in as of old the scents of the four-season roses, and roseilliflowers And there was a dish of apples on the table: he knew it by their sather when he was a boy He put out his hand, and took them, and felt them over, and played with theered them, the whole of his past life rose up before hie drea man; and he saw all the places which he had ever seen, and heard all the words which had ever been spoken to him--till he came to that fairy island on the Meta; and he heard the roar of the cataract oncein the sunlight far above the spray, and stept aed boulders, and leaped down to the gravel beach beside the pool: and then again rose frorown rocks the beautiful vision of Ayacanora--Where was she? He had not thought of her till no he had wronged her! Let be; he had been punished, and the account was squared Perhaps she did not care for hireat blind ox like him, who must be fed and tended like a baby for the rest of his lazy life? Tut! How long his ain with his apples, and thought about nothing but theo
At last one of theers, and fell on the floor He stooped and felt for it: but he could not find it Vexatious! He turned hastily to search in another direction, and struck his head sharply against the table
Was it the pain, or the little disappointht home to him in that ludicrous commonplace way, and for that very reason all the ? or was it the sudden revulsion of overstrained nerves, produced by that slight shock? Or had he become indeed a child once more? I know not; but so it was, that he sta himself, burst into a violent flood of tears
A quick rustle passed him; the apple was replaced in his hand, and Ayacanora's voice sobbed out: ”There! there it is! Do not weep! Oh, do not weep! I cannot bear it! I will get you all you want! Only let me fetch and carry for you, tend you, feed you, lead you, like your slave, your dog! Say that Ion her knees at his feet, she seized both his hands, and covered them with kisses
”Yes!” she cried, ”I will be your slave! I must be! You cannot help it! You cannot escape froo to sea! You cannot turn your back upon wretched me I have you safe now! Safe!” and she clutched his hands triumphantly ”Ah! and what a wretch I am, to rejoice in that! to taunt hiirl--a wild Indian savage, you know: but--but--” and she burst into tears
A great spash; he sat quite silent for a minute, and then said solemnly: ”And is this still possible? Then God have mercy upon ly: but before she could speak again, he had bent down, and lifting her as the lion lifts the lamb, pressed her to his bosom, and covered her face with kisses
The door opened There was the rustle of a gown; Ayacanora sprang fro, half- defiant, as if to say, ”He is mine now; no one dare part him from me!”
”Who is it?” asked A forth fruits meet for repentance, mother,” said he, with a smile
He heard her approach Then a kiss and a sob passed between the women; and he felt Ayacanora sink once more upon his bosoh, low, dreahest heaven, ”fear not to take her to your heart again; for it is your mother who has laid her there”
”It is true, after all,” said Aether, man cannot put asunder”
Fro returned to her; and day by day, year after year, her voice rose up within that happy hohest heaven, bearing with it the peaceful thoughts of the blind giant back to the Paradises of the West, in the wake of the heroes who from that tiland, to the heaven-prospered cry of Westward-Ho!