Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 254: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

se _¥ @ 0. Ee + - 4 252 fancy, I can see through a deal board as well as here and there one. “T can tell you one thing, however, that we all hada merry time of it while he was here, and we all looked for- ward with great sorrow to the time when we should have to part. As for money, he throw guineas about as if they were halfpence, and ate and drank of the best of every- thing that was to be had. ‘Of course, we were al] invited to have a share, and there used to be quite a fight to see who should be put in the cell with him—and you know, mates, that’s a duty we all shirk if we possible can. ‘‘ Tt wag quite the reverse with him, he was such a jolly companion. He used to tell us the rummiest tales of what he’d done in his time, and I thought at times I should have laughed till I died. He was enough to make the very walls laugh. ‘Well, the night before he was scragged we had the jolliest jollification, barring this here, as has ever been had in the prison, and he no more cared for to-morrow than we did—nor half so much, indeed.” ‘* And was he tucked up ?”’ © Ah! yes,” exclaimed the narrator, wiping away & tear, which the hot gin and water had doubtless helped to produce; “‘I bid him farewell, and away he went. It was a real pity he should come to grief, that it was!’ ‘¢ And you never found out his name P”’ ‘Never from that day to this, nor anything about him. But he had got some rich relations, and I have no doubt was descended from some noble family or other.” “¢ And did he die gamer” * Aga cock! and he made such an elegant bow when he stood up in the cart that all the people cried ‘Shame!’ and if they hadn’t been very quick, he would have been rescued.” ‘Ah! there’s been some game coves in this place in my time,” said another of the turnkeys. ‘‘ Fill my glass, if you please. Thank you. Now, the gamest that ever I heard of—and it strikes me he’!) beat Hell-and-Fury— was Jerry Abershaw.”’ “Oh! yes!” responded several. Jeremiah; he was an out-and-outer, with no gammon “Ho certainly were,” observed Bob Bains, reflectively. “ He certainly were.” “To be sure he was! If Hell-and-Fury was brought in a carriage and four, he never did what Jerry did.” What was that ?’’ asked Jack. ‘Why, he was such a desperate chap that they did not put him in the condemned hold here, but locked him up mm a cell with a set of fettera on.” “Oh! indeed.” © Well, when the morning for the execution came, what do you think he did P”’ ‘* Escaped Pr” ‘Oh! dear, no; we took good care of that.” ** What was it, then ?” “Why, when he was brought out to have his irons ‘*T remember q9 struck off, before being put into the cart and driven to| him Tyburn—you won't believe it” ** What ?” ‘He actually broke away; and though he had no end of ironwork about his wrists, folded his arms across his breast—so! ”’ The turnkey placed his arms in the position be de- scribed. * Well, then, you must Know, he had got all the fetters on that go round the waist and ankles. Jie actunally— mind you, I saw it myself—danced a sailor’s hornpipe al! ronnd the yard!’’* » * Wonderful!” ejaculated Jack. ‘And that’s not the most wonderful part either, for, not only did he make every step quite perfect in spite of the weight of the iron, but he made the fetters clank together and keep time hike music.” ** Impossible.” “Oh! it’s quite truc, I can assure you, sin’tit Bill? You saw it as well as me.” *€ Certainly,” replied the man appealed to, whe was the third turnkey. ‘*Certainly. As you say, I sawit; and it’s quite true; we were all quite astonished at it, the governor, the sheriffe, the hangman, and chaplain, and everybody, and none of us attempted to stop him till he md * A fact. Ee pee a SE. AS SNe cocoa Na, BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE. had finished. But, as you have been telling tales among you, I have thought of one myself which ia quite as rummy, if not more rummier than any we have heard yet.’ * Tiet’s have it, then, if it ain’t a long ’un.” Oh! it ain’t a long ’un.” “Very well, then, fire away, for it will be our turn off directly.” Eee, CHAPTER CLXXYV. IN WHICH THE STORY OF THE QUAKER HIGIIWAYMAN I8 BROUGHT TO A TERMINATION, THIS was true. The guard was changed every two hours, and, as the last speaker had remaried, their two hours were nearly up, 80 that the tale, if they were to hear it at all, must be a short one, so as to be ended before three other men entered to take their places. The turnkey began as follows :— “Tf you won't interrupt me,” he said, “ by asking questions and making remarks, I shall very soon get to the end.” ‘We won't interrupt you, then. about r”’ “Some of you must have heard about it, I am sure. It’s the quaker highwayman.” * Aminadab Gilchrist ?”* **That’s the man.” “Ah! that was a rum start. The idea of a quaker, dressed in broad cloth, being a highwayman.” “Ah! well. Order—order. Fill up the glasses, and let us hear the tale straightforward.” This proposal was immediately acceded to, and for a minute or so nothing was heard but the clinking of glasses. Then the table was knocked until order was restored. ** Well, mates, it’s a matter of twelve or fourteen years since the events took place I am going to relate. Ah! they were the good old times. People then wasn’t so blessed particular as they is now. ‘Never mind that, though. You must know that a highwayman then was rather a remarkable character, and ye was thought a good deal of by both great and small. ‘‘There was a good many tobymen on the road at the time I am speaking of, but there was none so celebrated as Captain Blackford. * But you mustn’t think, ag you perhaps might, that he called himself Captain because he had got a gang of men under him. He merely,ina manner of speaking, assumed the name. ‘Whenever he was met with, he was alone. He had no comrades, and never robbed in company with others. ‘¢ Hoe was a very remarkable chap, I can tell you; and, talk about daring, he was the daringest that ever lived. Ho’d stand still to be shot at, and never move a muscle, and, somehow or other, the bullets did not seem to hurt What's the tale “*He used to ride a magnificent horse—a real beauty. It would have fetched any money if it had been put up for sale. Well, this Captain Blackford and his mare used to do some astonishing things, and if ever any one was either going from or coming to London and carrying a booty worth having, Captain Blackford was sure to atop them. He never let one escape. ‘He must have had some means of learning all this, of course, but, whatever it was, it was never found out ‘Rewards were offered for him, and all manner of dodges tried, but they were all of no avail. Ie was too old a bird to be caught by chaff, and they soon got tired of laying traps for him. ‘Well, things went on, and he could be heard of almost every night, sometimes on the north road, sometimes on the western, and sometimes on the Dover road. “One of the rummiest things about him was that ue nevar injured anyone. He carried pistols, but he was nvver known to fire them. There was something terribly persuasive abou ‘ithe tones of his voice, when he com- manded them tostop and hand over their cash, [ suppose, for he never failed to get what he asked for. © Ags I told you, he was fired at many and many a time, and he used to stand to let them, and took no notice, until at last the people began to get more frightened than are) teed DOO