'We pleaded guilty to all the charges that were laid against us, only that Henrietta denied having given money to Colonel Dare, or having either helped in the working or presentation of Monmouth's luckless banner; whereupon she was silenced with a shower of foul language, that made us ready to sink into the earth with horror. When, however, at length we heard our sentence, the first thought that struck me was, that it was not such a very terrible one, after all. An order was given that our fathers or guardians were to be called upon immediately for the sum of ten thousand pounds apiece, in fine, for the "high crime and misdemeanour" of which we confessed ourselves guilty. This sum, over and above the seven thousand pounds which was the ransom for the rest of Madame St. Aubert's pupils, was the punishment which our additional piece of treason had brought down upon our heads. But "ten thousand pounds" were simply so many words to me, nothing more. I had not the smallest idea of what such a sum really meant. In fact, the idea of a hundred pounds would, in those days, have seemed to me quite as tremendous. I thought my father was a very rich man, and that, though he would doubtless be somewhat indignant at the demand, it was a matter of course that he would be able to pay the ransom. But Bessie knew the value of money better than I did.
'I heard a smothered cry beside me as Judge Jeffreys pronounced the sentence; and when, with scarcely a moment's pause, he signed to the jailer to remove us, she lingered for a moment, moved a few steps after us, hesitated again, and the next instant, while Henrietta and I stood motionless with horror and dismay, and even the jailer stared in speechless surprise, she had sprung back again to the bar. "My lord—my lord," she faltered in trembling, eager tones, "Hear me one moment, just one moment, I pray you, for the love of God. I can never pay such a sum of money. I have not a penny in the world; and there is nobody to pay it for me. Oh my lord, do have mercy. My uncle, Sir Geoffrey Davenant——"
'The Lord Chief-Justice must have been rather astonished at her sudden audacity, or he would hardly have allowed her to go on so long without interruption; but at this point he broke in with a rude, derisive roar of laughter. "Oh ho! so Sir Geoffrey is your uncle, is he? My very humble service to you, mistress. There, jailer, off with her! off with her! we have no time for such foolery as this."
'The jailer moved towards her, whispering, "Are ye mad, mistress?" and tried to lead her from the bar. But her spirit was up now; indignation and despair had made her forget all fear for the moment. With a glance that was almost fierce, she wrenched her arm from his grasp, and continued passionately:
'"You will not save me? You will not have pity on me? Then, at least, let me say this: if I must not plead for myself, at least let me plead for that poor child. I dragged her into this trouble, I persuaded her to give money; and for Henrietta Sidney, who——"
'"Take her away, jailer," thundered Jeffreys, with a curse and frown that made my heart stand still—"unless she wants to pay the ransom that her uncle paid this morning on Tower Hill." Then I saw Bessie turn white as death; and covering her face with her hood, she passively allowed the jailer to lead her away.
'The instant we had passed the threshold, I burst into a passion of tears. As for Bessie, she walked a few steps mechanically, and then, without a word or a sign, sank in a fainting fit on to the ground.
'As we re-entered the prison, the jailer carrying Bessie, still unconscious, in his arms, we were met by the governor. "Poor maid! poor maid!" he muttered pitifully, when he had heard the state of the case. "But, mercy on us, what a lack of discretion some people have! That she should have been so crazed as to dare to bandy words with the Lord Chief-Justice! Marry, what could she expect? She was in luck to escape so easily. Ah! these are fearful days, indeed." And he passed on, with an expressive shake of the head, pausing a moment to say in something of his old peevish manner: "I've ordered them to find you a chamber to yourselves. 'Tis sorely inconvenient, ay, well-nigh impossible to manage it; but there—well—my wife has been urging me so strongly——"
'He finished the sentence with a grunt as he walked away. This piece of news was certainly a drop of comfort in our cup of misfortune. It was such a relief to find ourselves at last alone. Though our room was dismal and comfortless enough, to be sure, still it was luxurious compared to the horrible place we had left two hours ago. Yes—only two hours ago, after all; but the very longest two hours that I ever remember in the whole course of my life. Ah! may you never know what it is to pass two such hours as those were!
'The turnkey left us, promising to send his wife with some strong waters, which he said would "bring the young mistress back to life again in a twinkling." He had laid Bessie gently down on the one straw mattress which the little room contained; and Henrietta knelt by her side, doing everything that she could think of to bring her to herself. I stood by, meanwhile, awe-stricken and bewildered, for I had never seen any one in a swoon before; and as the moments passed on, and she did not move or breathe, I began to fancy that she was dead, and that Henrietta was trying to hide it from me. At length, when the turnkey's wife came in with the "strong waters," and rubbed her temples, and poured a spoonful down her throat, Bessie did begin to show some signs of life. A tinge of colour came back to her cheeks, and she half-opened her eyes. But they had a strange, vacant look; and when I sprang towards her with an exclamation of joy, she gave an odd, frightened stare, as if she did not know me, and then broke out into a wild fit of laughter.