Fortescue

“ Fortescue's mount, Birdseye, a light built black mare, with a shifty eye and a propensity to make free with her hind feet. More than once Colonel Fortescue had reminded Mrs. Fortescue that it was somewhat beneath the dignity of a Commanding Officer's wife to ride a kicking horse. But Mrs. Fortescue had a sneaking affection for Birdseye and much preferred her to Pretty Maid, the brown mare Anita rode, and who was considered as demure as Anita, and Anita was very demure, and very, very pretty. ”

“ I had no fear of Griscelli breaking in at the front door; but the house was not burglar-proof, and, as it happened, the weak point in our defence was one of the windows of Mr. Fortescue’s bedroom. It looked into the orchard, and, by climbing a tree which grew hard by, an active man could easily reach it, even without a ladder. The danger was all the greater, as, when the weather was mild, Mr. Fortescue always slept with the window open. ”

“ Are you not grateful, señor Fortescue?”
“No; why should I be grateful for a death more terrible than hanging. Kill us at once, and have done with it. You are a disgrace to the noble profession of arms, general, and the time will come—”
“Another word, and I will throw you to the hounds without further parley,” broke in Griscelli, savagely.
“Better keep quiet; there is nothing to be gained by roiling him,” whispered Carmen. ”

“ Nevertheless not once only, but thrice more, the British and the Americans with them hurled themselves desperately against the French stronghold, only to be beaten back time after time, until the inner abatis was hung with wisps of scarlet, like poppies that grow through a hedge of thorn, some swaying with the contortions that told of living agony, some limp and still in the merciful stillness of death. The fight had endured for five hours, when some officer of more intelligence than his fellows formed two columns and made a fifth attack upon the extreme right of the French position. ”

“ Fortescue's voice made me give a guilty start, and glance at Bessie in alarm. The door was ajar of a little ante-room which opened into the schoolroom ("Madame's own closet," we used to call it) , and Madame St. Aubert was there now. We could hear her voice, though we could not catch the words; but Mrs. Fortescue's was not pitched in so low a key.
'"The Duke of Monmouth!" we heard her exclaim, "will set foot, do you say, on English ground in two days? Then God save him, poor youth, and help him to his own rightful kingdom. But what a fearful struggle..." ”

“ Let courage be our watchword. Hasta mañana!”
“Pray take a seat, Señor Fortescue, and we will have a talk about old times in Spain. Allow me to offer you a cigar—I beg your pardon, I was forgetting that my fellows had tied you up. Captain Guzman (to one of the loungers) , will you kindly loose Mr. Fortescue? Gracias! Now you can take a cigar, and here is a chair for you.”
I was by no means sure that this sudden display of urbanity boded me good, but being a prisoner, and at Griscelli’s mercy, I thought it as well to humor him, so accepted the cigar and seated myself by his side. ”

“ Fortescue's last hurried whisper, "Take care of them, Henrietta. I trust to you." And when the door had closed on Mrs. Fortescue, and we were actually in the conveyance provided by Master Noakes and his friend the notary, still that strange sense of being in a dream could not be shaken off. I gazed out at the well-known streets as we drove through the town, and tried to realize that we were indeed being carried to a prison; and then I looked at Bessie's tearful face opposite, and wondered at myself for feeling so apathetic. ”

“ Having been ordered to prosecute the siege, Fortescue commenced operations. But the new sheriff was little more successful than his predecessor. Moreover, the Mount, which was connected with the main land by an isthmus, dry at low water, but at other times overflowed, gained the reputation of being impregnable; and the king, who ascribed the want of success to the want of loyal zeal, and described Cornwall as "the back door of [Pg 359] rebellion," instructed Fortescue to hold a parley with Oxford in order to ascertain the earl's desires and expectations. ”

“ Fortescue's commands were not to be lightly treated. We stood in far more awe of her than of Madame St. Aubert herself; and I had not the least doubt that, if the dinner-bell rang before her orders were obeyed, I should be condemned to solitary banishment in the schoolroom while the other girls were enjoying their walk in the cool of the evening.
'"Poor child! How woeful she looks!" cried Bessie Davenant compassionately. "Never mind, Frances, I'll come and help you. There is time before dinner, if we run in at once, trusting to good luck not to meet Mrs. Fortescue by the way;" ”

“ On the eve of the battle of Edgehill, Fortescue, who was acting as major in Lord Wharton's regiment of horse, is said to have entered into negotiations with Prince Rupert, and to have promised to desert the army with which he had been against his will compelled to serve on the first opportunity (May, Hist. of the Parliament, Oxford ed., 1854, p. 256) .
On the next day, when Prince Rupert charged the left wing of the parliamentary army, Fortescue with his troop drew off from the rest of Lord Wharton's regiment and rode over to the royal horse. ”

“ I whispered to Carmen.
“By all means. One moment, señores; I beg your pardon—now, Fortescue!”
And with that we placed our horses across the road, whipped out our pistols and pointed them at the troopers’ heads, to their owners’ unutterable surprise.
“We are sorry to inconvenience you, señores,” said my companion, politely; “but we are going to release this slave, and we have need of your horses. Unbuckle your swords, throw them on the ground, and dismount. No hesitation, or you are dead men! Shall we treat them as they proposed to treat the slave, Señor Fortescue? Blow out their brains? ”

“ Bertie Fortescue was twenty-three, he weighed twelve stone, was rather fatter than he should have been, and wore an eyeglass. His father was good to him, his mother spoiled him, he had not been to a public school, and had never had a thrashing in his life. He believed in himself, in clothes and money, and imagined he was born to rule men. He was trying, it was for the first time, in the steamship Pilgrim of 6000 tons register, owners Fortescue and Son of Liverpool, bound from New Orleans to Cape Town with a cargo of mules and horses for the British Government. ”

“ They put on more speed; so did we. Then came loud shouts of “Halte!” These producing no effect, several pistol shots were fired.
“Dios mio!” said Carmen; “they will rouse the camp, and the road will be barred. Look here, Fortescue; about two miles farther on is an open glade which we have to cross, and which the fellows must also cross if they either meet or intercept us. The trail to the left leads to the llanos. It runs between high banks, and is so narrow that one resolute man may stop a dozen. If any of the gauchos get there before us we are lost. Your horse is the fleetest. ”

“ I could speak more freely to him than to any of the others, and as we rode on I remarked how carelessly the camp was guarded. There were no proper outposts, and instead of being kept out of sight in the quebrado, the men were allowed to come and go as they liked. Nothing would be easier than for a treacherous soldier to desert and give information to the enemy which might not only ruin the expedition but bring destruction on the army.
“No, no, Fortescue, I cannot agree to that. There are no traitors among us,” said my companion, warmly. ”

“ Yes, killing prisoners in cold blood is a brutal practice! I am obliged to be severe sometimes, much to my regret. But there is only one way of dealing with a rebellion—you must stamp it out; civil war is not as other wars. Why not join us, Señor Fortescue? I will give you a command.”
“That is quite out of the question, General Griscelli; I am not a mere soldier of fortune. ”

“ After Guiseppe Griscelli’s attempt on his life, I prevailed on Mr. Fortescue never to go outside the park gates unaccompanied; when he went to town, or to Amsterdam, Ramon always went with him, and both were armed. ”

“ I wonder whether there are any jaguars hereabout—”
“Oh, if the garrison be weak and the sentries sleep it is quite possible we may take the place by a rush. But, on the other hand, it is equally possible that Griscelli may have got wind of our intention, and—”
“There it is again! Something more than a wild animal this time, Fortescue,” exclaims Carmen, springing to his feet. ”

“ Fortescue for an indefinite period, yet left him at liberty to dismiss me at a moment’s notice; and if he went on living, I might have to stay at Kingscote till I was old and gray. All the same, the position was a good one. I had four hundred a year (the price at which I had modestly appraised my services) , free quarters, a pleasant life, and lots of hunting—all I could wish for, in fact; and what can a man have more? ”

“ Goring in the extreme advanced sap paid extra wages from his own pocket to any who would work with him, and remained there while two-and-twenty men were shot down round him, until at last he was compelled to retire by a bullet in the ankle. Meanwhile fresh volunteers kept pouring in—Herbert, son of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Sir Faithful Fortescue of the King's cavalry in Ireland, Sir Charles Slingsby, with many more, and lastly Captain George Monk of Potheridge in Devon, one day to be the first colonel of the Coldstream Guards, and even now distinguished by peculiar bravery. ”

“ Whereupon Master Noakes laughed, and Mrs. Fortescue gave a quick, uneasy glance towards me, as if somewhat anxious to hear what more I might be going to communicate. But Master Noakes asked no more of me just then. After putting one or two questions to some of the other girls, he turned to Mrs. Fortescue, saying:
'"Then, madam, as I notified to you just now, I am commanded to arrest yourself and all these ladies in the King's name. A guard will be placed in the house, and no member of the household will leave it until the King's pleasure be further known." ”

“ FORTESCUE, Sir ANTHONY (b. 1535?) , conspirator, third and youngest son of Sir Adrian Fortescue [q. v.] , was educated at Winchester. Unlike his elder brother Sir John, chancellor of the exchequer [q. v.] , Sir Anthony adhered to the Roman catholic church. During the reign of Queen Mary he married Katharine Pole, granddaughter of Margaret, countess of Salisbury, and received the appointment of comptroller of the household of his wife's uncle, Cardinal Pole. After the accession of Elizabeth, Sir Anthony and his brothers-in-law Arthur and Edward Pole plotted against the new sovereign. ”

“ Señor Fortescue was a prisoner on parole when the general saw him. I believe Griscelli obtained his parole and took him to the quebrada for no other purpose than to compromise him with the patriots. And that I, who have killed more than a hundred Spaniards with my own hand, should be suspected of deserting to the enemy is too monstrous for belief.”
“Of course, it is an absurd mistake. Appearances are certainly rather against us—at any rate, against me; but a word of explanation will put the matter right. Let us go to the camp at once and have it out.” ”

“ The commissioners of parliament appointed to raise a force for the suppression of the Irish rebellion selected Fortescue in June 1642 for the command of the third troop of horse to serve under Lord Wharton, lord-general of Ireland. In addition to this body of cavalry, Fortescue also raised for service in Ireland a company of infantry, which was attached to the Earl of Peterborough's regiment, and was compelled to serve with the parliamentary army in England during the civil war (List of the Field Officers chosen for the Irish Expedition, &c., pp. 18, 28) . ”

“ Fortescue affected to be deeply interested in the subject. He asked question after question, and Ashbrook replied with oration after oration, for he was never tired of discussing upon farming matters, and was an oracle in his own particular way.
He little thought, however, where his companion’s thoughts were wandering all the while.
“A man must have his head screwed on in the right way to be a successful farmer,” observed Fortescue, thinking thereby to please his companion. ”

“ He held his office during the remainder of the reign of Henry VI., to whom he steadily adhered; and having faithfully served that unfortunate monarch in all his troubles, he was attainted of treason in the first parliament of Edward IV. When Henry subsequently fled into Scotland, he is supposed to have appointed Fortescue, who appears to have accompanied him in his flight, chancellor of England. In 1463 Fortescue accompanied Queen Margaret and her court in their exile on the Continent, and returned with them afterwards to England. ”

“ In fact, he will give himself no rest at all until he has seen you."
"Do you know why?"
"I haven't the least idea. Perhaps you know, Mr. Fortescue."
"How should I know?"
"Did you not send the Earl a letter when you were here last? I remember writing an answer at his dictation. Now, whatever that letter of yours contained, I should imagine would be the reason of his wishing to see you now."
At this moment Sir Lawrence Taylor entered, and Mr. Milroy introduced Mr. Fortescue to him.
"The earl wishes to see you at once, Mr. Fortescue. It was quite against my judgment that he should see any one. ”

“ Fortescue made me keen to know more; but as the cryptographic narrative did not begin at the beginning, he proposed that I should write this, as also any other missing parts, to his dictation.
“Who knows that you may not make a book of it?” he said.
“Do you think I am intelligent enough?” I asked, resentfully; for his uncomplimentary references to my mental capacity were still rankling in my mind.
“I should hope so. Everybody writes in these days. Don’t worry yourself on that score, my dear Mr. Bacon. Even though you may write a book, nobody will accuse you of being exceptionally intelligent.” ”