Ladies and Gentlemen. 'NEXT day they moved us further on among the mountains, and by evening master was quite worn out; for rain had begun to fall, and the ground was heavy. He told me then to speak to the brigands, and demand that he should be sent to ask our friends in Naples for money before his strength was exhausted. He furnished me with a few words of this sort, and I managed to boggle out the rest; for, of course, he daren't pretend to speak better than I did. Then there was a great talking and fighting, and something muttered about soldiers, and, finally, the surly man got up and said that the servant might set out this night; but if he did not return quickly with all the money demanded, 15,000l., his master should be shot like a fox. And then they settled the place to which the money was to be brought till they came to fetch it away; some lonely hut at the top of a hill, as far as I could gather. 'After that my master had barely time to say a word to me before they hurried him off between two of the band. But the word he did say was very comforting; it sounded like something King David said about Jerusalem in the Psalms : 666 Keep a good heart, Richard; for may God forget me if I forget you for one instant till you are free." And these weren't light words, for my master was never one to use that name carelessly; and the two nights we had lain on the ground together he had never missed praying softly for help and safety. I took shame when I heard him; for it seemed to me, till then, that saying one's prayers was a thing one couldn't do except on one's bedroom carpet, quite comfortable, and I had never thought of doing it out in the cold on the hill-side. 'It gave me a turn, I can tell you, when my master passed round the cliff and was out of sight, every minute nearer friends and safety, while I was left alone among a band of savages. You see I knew my danger pretty well, having heard a deal about these mountain-robbers both in Italy and Sicily and Greece, though I never thought to be really in their clutches. There was the risk of their getting angry, if the ransom didn't come in good time, and mutilating or even killing me, and sending my body for the inspection of my friends; but that I did not think would befall me, since they believed me a Milor, who would be ransomed by Government if not by private friends. Then, again, if troops were sent out to try and recover me by force, there was a tolerably tidy chance of being shot by them as a brigand if it came to an encounter; for I can tell you, when you have wandered about in rain and sun for a few days, without the chance of washing your face even, or combing your hair, your best friends would soon look frightened of you. I knew that, for I had a bit of a lookingglass in my pocket when I left that morning, where I once got sight of myself; and as I didn't care to look again I gave it to the most goodnatured fellow in the band, who went by the name of Raffaelle. He was by way of being rather a fine gentleman, and wore a feather in his hat-an ostrich-feather, like ladies in England wear, only draggled and spoilt; and as to his clothes, it must have been a soft-hearted ragman that would have given him sixpence for the lot. However, it is well to ! Ladies and Gentlemen. have a friend at court; and Raffaelle took my part several times, and did the snatching for me when food was brought into the camp. For though it was a rule that all eatables (and few enough there were) should be divided fairly, when they got hold of any, every one was so hungry and savage that it was more like a lot of wild beasts growling over their prey than human creatures taking a meal. 'There was another rumour of soldiers that evening, so we changed our quarters; but whether we went north, south, east, or west, I couldn't tell, being always bad at knowing a country, leaving all that to my master, who seemed to be acquainted with the bearings of any spot we happened to be in. 'We had visitors in the camp that evening, two girls, who brought us milk and bread, which was a rare treat, as we generally got nothing but meat; one of them Raffaelle introduced to me as his wife. She had a pretty little girl, with quite yellow hair, clinging to her skirt, with its finger in its mouth-just as I have seen our Bessie do a thousand times: that rather upset me, but I wasn't going to show it; instead of that, knowing the manners of the country, I took the woman's hand and kissed it, and then I lifted the little one and kissed it, too, on both cheeks. I searched all my pockets to find something to give the child, for Bessie's sake, but I had been stripped of everything except my book of dried flowers, which they threw back to me, so it was of no use. Raffaelle was pleased, however, at the notice I took of his child, and at my saying several times "Molto bella," which means in Italian, you know, "very pretty." 'And now I began to lose count of time. I think I got a little touch of fever, with exposure and bad food; anyway, I was heavy and drowsy, and fell asleep whenever we halted. At first the roughest of the lot kicked me up, and swore at me; but Raffaelle interfered and seemed to warn them, that if they did not take care, I might die and slip through their fingers. So then, amidst a deal of grumbling, I always got first help of any goat's milk they had, and the biggest piece of coarse bread; for I refused to touch the meat. 'I remember when I was a lad at home thinking that brigands, and Red Indians, and such-like, must lead a grand life, roaming about the mountains all day, and just dropping down on any prey they fancied for their dinners. Bill Adams, and Jim Walters, and I, had quite a longing to be one of them: but I know better now; and anything more miserable than the lives this wretched band of robbers led you can't imagine. Hunted about like wild beasts by the soldiery, drenche with rain and dew, their best lodging a dirty cave, I had rather be the hardest-worked poor man in Dearminster, than the captain of the ban here. 'But I'm making this such a long story you will be tired of reading it; so I must try and finish it. 'My touch of fever went off in a while; but being weak I took a melancholy turn next, and fancied my master being safe he might have gone back to England, and left me to my fate: it seemed such an age since I lost sight of him, and yet the days went on with no sign of money or help. 'Raffaelle himself comforted me about this; for in my weakness 1 had confided to him that I feared my friends had forgotten me. Ladies and Gentlemen. "Have no fear!" he said; "a great lord like you can never be forgotten your Queen will send us money to loose you." And then I told him he had made a mistake, and had not got the real Milor at all, he being the one that went back to Naples the day they captured us. Raffaelle listened attentively, aad then repeated all this to the rest of the band, who muttered a good deal over it. It seems they had known all our movements from the first day we had come among the mountains, and they meant to have captured the three of us, only their plans were not ready before Sir Charles started for Naples; so he managed to get out of the scrape. 'Raffaelle told me the captain should make no alteration in his demands: if I was not the real Milor I was his brother, and doubtless very rich, too, judging by the splendid rings I wore and the thick chain to my watch, though my coat was old and shabby. About this time the captain got a letter from my master, which made him very angry, as it said that only a portion of the money was in waiting at the appointed place. Some other despatches of an even less pleasant nature seemed to accompany it; and I very soon guessed that my fate was being decided, though I did not know that the next five minutes was the turning-point, it being under discussion whether I should be dragged into the inmost recesses of the country with them, a wretched fever-stricken captive, or be set free immediately, and the instalment of my ransom be secured. Thanks to the country becoming too hot to hold the rascals, this latter course was decided on. It seems a move was inevitable, since the soldiery were being sent out in extra strong force, and the risk of receiving money from without was becoming so great that the half loaf was reckoned better than no bread. 'I was not told of the happiness awaiting me; in fact, I was a good deal alarmed at the conduct of the band, since at a given word from the captain one snatched from me my old hat, another tore my coat off my back, while a third deprived me of a stick he had long coveted. "They are stripping me for execution," I thought to myself; and I began to make up my mind to die like an Englishman. He Just then I saw Raffaelle smiling, and that cheered me. stepped forward and made me understand that he would take me part of the way to Naples. 'I could hardly believe it; but when he alone, of all the band, accompanied me down the mountain-path I began to feel happier. 'But now came a new fear, that I might not reach my friends alive; for I was tottering with weakness, bareheaded and barefooted, under a burning sun. Even savages, however, have kind impulses sometimes; and Raffaelle presented me with a very good silk handkerchief wherewith to make a turban; and when we reached the shed of the dirty old peasant, who was to take me the next stage of my journey, he compelled him to produce a pair of old boots, which were just better than nothing. On parting, Raffaelle kissed me for the men always kiss in this country-and gave me a gold Napoleon as a mark of friendship. You shall see it when we get home; for I never spent it, but Ladies and Gentlemen. had a hole bored in it, and wear it on my watch-chain to remind me of my adventures with the brigands. 'I slept that night in the shepherd's hut, and felt as if I were in a palace. Next morning he took me on by slow stages-for we were neither of us good travellers-to a curious little village high among the mountains, from whence, to my great joy, I saw Vesuvius smoking not so far off. It looked like a promise of home. I fell on my knees at sight of it and thanked God for bringing me safe out of my troubles. The poor shepherd stared when I pointed to the smoke and tried to explain my feelings to him: I am sure he thought I was some sort of heathen, and was worshipping the mountain. Indeed the people are taught to think foreigners, and particularly the English, are all Pagans, and equal to any wickedness; which makes the poor children in the country run away from you, for fear of your eye falling on them and harming them. 'We slept again that night in a hut; and next day a lad was my guide. Wherever we stopped some one brought us food; a dirty scrap of paper, passed from guide to guide, seemed to ensure that: so, though I tasted nothing which I should not have thrown to the dogs in former days, I was not starved. 'At last, on the evening of the fourth day, the boy said something about "money ;" and there in a house, in another curious little village on a hill-top, was a messenger from Naples with the money for my ransom, and a letter for me from my master. 'How I snatched it! but I had to put it down half-a-dozen times, my eyes were so weak the words danced before me. But a good meal of the decent food brought by the messenger revived me, and then I could see better. ""Dear Richard," it said, "you will, I fear, have begun to lose heart; and yet, I think, you will have kept your faith in me. I have been working day and night to secure your liberty at any price, though at times I have had to submit to do as others thought best. Now, at last, I believe you are free: they will not let me go to meet you; and, perhaps, it is wisest to remain in Naples, where I trust to see you very shortly after receiving this." 'There was a carriage waiting for me in the village; and next morning, after dressing myself in the clean clothes which had been brought for me, I set out for Naples. I met my master driving to meet me some miles out of the city; and then, first, I felt I was really free. 'So ends my account of life among the brigands; and if any of the lads in Dearminster think they would like to try it for themselves, I shall be surprised. 'After all, I cost my master a thousand pounds; but that was a small sum compared to what they demanded, and what they would probably have stood out for had not they felt their position unsafe, if they lingered about in hopes of further instalments. 'It is a strange sort of government, I think, where such wretches are allowed to be the terror of the country. 'I must now tell you that my master presented me with a handsome watch and chain, as a token of gratitude, he said, for remaining in captivity in his stead, and thereby most probably saving his life; For the Children.—Ascension-tide. for, as he declared pretty truly, half the exposure I endured would have killed him with his poor health. The watch has got an inscription on it, and Raffaelle's "Napoleon" hangs on the chain. 'Mother will be pleased to hear, too, that Sir Charles gave me a fifty-pound note; and, indeed, I have been made a deal of by a good many gentlemen in the town. I hope to see you all in the summer, when I shall bring you each a present.' It was lucky for Richard that he was a steady, quiet young fellow, not easily upset by notice, or he might really at this time have had his head turned. Ralph Trevor's servant' became at once the hero of Naples, and princes and potentates were all eager to say a word of approval to him. 'I have a good master, sir,' he would answer to such. But to a fellow-servant he said one day, jokingly,— 'It is the only time in my life I ever tried to be taken for a gentleman; and I don't care if it never comes again.' |