The Knight of the Golden Melice: A Historical Romance

by John Turvill Adams

To every accusation Sir Christopher opposed a steady denial. "That falsely suspected as I am," he said, "of other crimes and misdemeanors, I should also be deemed an usurper of a title that does not belong to me, surprises me not. But grant me time to send home (as the English in the colonies affectionately call England to this day,) and I will prove my knighthood honorably won upon a stricken field, by irrefragable testimony. I will not deny that I have the honor of an acquaintance with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, but I am in no sense his agent, nor in any wise hold communication with him, save as a friend. For the note-book found at my lodgings, and deemed conclusive proof that I am a Catholic, I aver that the memorandum therein contained refers not to myself but to one whom it concerns not you that I should name; and it furnishes no evidence against me, except what arises out of the fact that I acknowledge one who is of Rome to be my friend."

"Whatever my private thoughts," said Winthrop, "it were useless to express them, seeing that thy fate hangs not entirely upon me. With no unnecessary severity," he continued, in a kinder tone than he had hitherto adopted during the conversation, "will I treat one, whom, before these unhappy suspicions were raised, I was beginning to love as a brother; and, if thou wilt pledge me thine honor neither to attempt escape, nor by word or deed to practise aught against the Commonwealth, thou shalt have liberty of the precincts of the settlement until the Council shall take further orders."

"I accept thine offer," answered Sir Christopher, "and plight thee my knightly troth to observe the conditions. And in this, my adversity, it is a consolation to know that the noblest spirit who is to sit in judgment on me, believes me not wholly lost to the duties and sensibilities of a gentleman."

The Governor, without reply, summoned Lieutenant Venn, who was in waiting; and, after communicating to him the conclusion to which he had come, requested him to escort the Knight to his lodging.

A few days passed, during which Sir Christopher was seemingly in the full enjoyment of freedom, though closely watched. He attempted to speak with the Lady Geraldine, but was refused permission; and upon her being told of his desire, she sent him word that she had no wish to see him. No objection, however, was interposed to his intercourse with Arundel, who, with his lovely mistress, did all in their power to console the Knight and the unhappy lady in their misfortunes. The relation which the latter stood to the colony affected not the young people, except to excite their sympathies for those whom they considered unjustly suspected and prosecuted.

It might be supposed that in these circumstances Sir Christopher would betray some anxiety or gloom. Far from it. The command over his emotions which nature and discipline had given him, concealed his trouble of mind. He seemed to think but little of himself, and to be principally occupied with the approaching nuptials of Arundel and Eveline, who, immediately thereafter, were to sail for England in the ship commanded by the jolly Captain Sparhawk. The ceremony, in order to give it the greater dignity, was to be performed by Winthrop himself, the right to tie the mystical knot being, among these planters of new customs in a new world, confined to the civil magistrate. Strongly, at first, did the young lady object, and it needed all the eloquence of her lover, and all her affection for him, to prevail upon her to dispense with the priestly blessing. However, there was no alternative, if they meant to be married before their departure; and the circumstances of their situation and mutual inclination were persuasive arguments. Voyages, too, were not then as safe as now; and to the romantic girl contemplating the dangers of the sea, there was something sweet and even fascinating in the thought, that if she perished, she should die in the arms of her husband. This last consideration, above all, prevailed to overcome her scruples, and the uncanonical marriage was accordingly determined upon.

At length the day arrived for the hearing of Sir Christopher, and, attended by Arundel, he presented himself before the Council. It is unnecessary to enter into details. The result is all that need be stated. The accusations contained in the letters, though denied by the Knight, (who vehemently protested against the liberties taken with those addressed to himself, on which latter was founded the charge of being in correspondence with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the most dreaded enemy of the colony,) obtained credence with his judges. Winthrop blushed when reproached with the violation of the letters; but the rough Dudley justified and commended the act, as fidelity to public interests. There was a settled conviction in the minds of all of the Assistants, that the Lady Geraldine was other than she seemed; and the conclusion they had arrived at concerning her were not of a nature to operate favorably for the Knight. The memorandum in the note-book was also considered weighty evidence. It was recollected, that long before suspicions were conceived concerning Sir Christopher, and when he stood highest in the favor of the principal inhabitants, he had, in speaking of his travels in foreign parts, mentioned that he was at the very place where, and at the time when the scapula was assumed; and his ascribing the reference to another, was regarded as only an awkward attempt at deception. It was thought plainly to betray him as a member of a religious order among the Roman Catholics. Winthrop himself was of that opinion, and that, without more, was sufficient to support an unfavorable decision. The idea of having covert Papists lurking in their midst was not to be tolerated, and, by whatever means, they were to be got rid of. Allusion was made to his embassy to the Taranteens, and services rendered on that and other occasions, but they were deemed insufficient to neutralize his guilt; yet, in consideration of those services, they forbore to inflict any severe punishment. The sentence of the Council was, that both the Knight and lady should be sent back to England in the next ship, and forbidden to return.

"All England shall ring with the report of your injustice," cried Sir Christopher, when the decision was announced. "Ye do yourselves more wrong than me, and the time will come when ye shall hang your heads with shame for the deed. Ye have power, it is true, to extrude me from this new world, but my presence will be a bane to you in the old. I go with solemn protest against your violence."

"Enough," said Winthrop, rising with dignity, "of threats which we notice not, because we are above them. The men who are founding an empire, whose future extent and power human sagacity cannot limit, and who, for the sake of present liberty of thought and action, and of prospective blessings for their descendants, have renounced and count as naught the vanities of this world, fear no arm of flesh. Their shield is the Lord of Hosts. This Council is dissolved."

CHAPTER XXXVI.