"Nor dead neither. Parliament says this here--says Parliament, "Ifany man, woman, or child, does anything which goes again a certainnumber of our acts"--how many hanging laws may there be at thispresent time, Muster Gashford? Fifty?"
"I don"t exactly know how many," replied Gashford, leaning back inhis chair and yawning; "a great number though."
"Well, say fifty. Parliament says, "If any man, woman, or child,does anything again any one of them fifty acts, that man, woman, orchild, shall be worked off by Dennis." George the Third steps inwhen they number very strong at the end of a sessions, and says,"These are too many for Dennis. I"ll have half for myself andDennis shall have half for himself;" and sometimes he throws me inone over that I don"t expect, as he did three year ago, when I gotMary Jones, a young woman of nineteen who come up to Tyburn with ainfant at her breast, and was worked off for taking a piece ofcloth off the counter of a shop in Ludgate Hill, and putting itdown again when the shopman see her; and who had never done anyharm before, and only tried to do that, in consequence of herhusband having been pressed three weeks previous, and she beingleft to beg, with two young children--as was proved upon the trial.
Ha ha!--Well! That being the law and the practice of England, isthe glory of England, an"t it, Muster Gashford?"
"Certainly," said the secretary.
"And in times to come," pursued the hangman, "if our grandsonsshould think of their grandfathers" times, and find these thingsaltered, they"ll say, "Those were days indeed, and we"ve been goingdown hill ever since." Won"t they, Muster Gashford?"
"I have no doubt they will," said the secretary.
"Well then, look here," said the hangman. "If these Papists getsinto power, and begins to boil and roast instead of hang, whatbecomes of my work! If they touch my work that"s a part of so manylaws, what becomes of the laws in general, what becomes of thereligion, what becomes of the country!--Did you ever go to church,Muster Gashford?"
"Ever!" repeated the secretary with some indignation; "of course."
"Well," said the ruffian, "I"ve been once--twice, counting the timeI was christened--and when I heard the Parliament prayed for, andthought how many new hanging laws they made every sessions, Iconsidered that I was prayed for. Now mind, Muster Gashford," saidthe fellow, taking up his stick and shaking it with a ferociousair, "I mustn"t have my Protestant work touched, nor this hereProtestant state of things altered in no degree, if I can help it;I mustn"t have no Papists interfering with me, unless they come tobe worked off in course of law; I mustn"t have no biling, noroasting, no frying--nothing but hanging. My lord may well callme an earnest fellow. In support of the great Protestant principle of having plenty of that, I"ll," and here he beat his club upon theground, "burn, fight, kill--do anything you bid me, so that it"sbold and devilish--though the end of it was, that I got hungmyself.--There, Muster Gashford!"
He appropriately followed up this frequent prostitution of a nobleword to the vilest purposes, by pouring out in a kind of ecstasy atleast a score of most tremendous oaths; then wiped his heated faceupon his neckerchief, and cried, "No Popery! I"m a religious man,by G--!"
Gashford had leant back in his chair, regarding him with eyes sosunken, and so shadowed by his heavy brows, that for aught thehangman saw of them, he might have been stone blind. He remainedsmiling in silence for a short time longer, and then said, slowlyand distinctly:
"You are indeed an earnest fellow, Dennis--a most valuable fellow-thestaunchest man I know of in our ranks. But you must calmyourself; you must be peaceful, lawful, mild as any lamb. I amsure you will be though."
"Ay, ay, we shall see, Muster Gashford, we shall see. You won"t have to complain of me," returned the other, shaking his head.
"I am sure I shall not," said the secretary in the same mild tone,and with the same emphasis. "We shall have, we think, about nextmonth, or May, when this Papist relief bill comes before the house,to convene our whole body for the first time. My lord has thoughtsof our walking in procession through the streets--just as aninnocent display of strength--and accompanying our petition down tothe door of the House of Commons."
"The sooner the better," said Dennis, with another oath.
"We shall have to draw up in divisions, our numbers being so large;and, I believe I may venture to say," resumed Gashford, affectingnot to hear the interruption, "though I have no direct instructionsto that effect--that Lord George has thought of you as an excellentleader for one of these parties. I have no doubt you would be anadmirable one."
"Try me," said the fellow, with an ugly wink.
"You would be cool, I know," pursued the secretary, still smiling,and still managing his eyes so that he could watch him closely, and really not be seen in turn, "obedient to orders, and perfectlytemperate. You would lead your party into no danger, I am certain."
"I"d lead them, Muster Gashford,"--the hangman was beginning in areckless way, when Gashford started forward, laid his finger on hislips, and feigned to write, just as the door was opened by JohnGrueby.
"Oh!" said John, looking in; "here"s another Protestant."
"Some other room, John," cried Gashford in his blandest voice. "Iam engaged just now."
But John had brought this new visitor to the door, and he walked inunbidden, as the words were uttered; giving to view the form andfeatures, rough attire, and reckless air, of Hugh.