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Great Writing - Home > Extended > Marple and the Chartists - Chapter 4
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Extended Work
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| Marple and the Chartists - Chapter 4 | |
| By jean.day | ||||||||||
| 08 January 2007 | ||||||||||
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Last one that was posted before. Marple August, 1842 The next day was Sunday, and the routine seemed much as always. I went to Sunday School, followed by church. I noticed that Mrs. Isherwood was in church, but didn’t make any move to speak to her. Afterwards I was waylaid by Beth. “I wonder how Johnny is. Have you heard anything?” “No, why should I? Do you think something is wrong?” “No, not really, but he sent me a message yesterday, which I didn’t really understand. I hope he is all right.” “You will no doubt hear from him soon,” I said and rushed off home to help with the dinner. Later that day, Mamma called to me. “Eliza, you won’t believe it, but I think Mrs. Isherwood from the Hall would like you to go to work for her half days from September. Mrs. Fell apparently recommended you, when she said she wanted a young reliable girl from this parish to help her. I said I thought you would be willing. How do you feel about it?” “Oh, I would love to do it. What sorts of things would I have to do?” “Well you will have to wait for Mrs. Isherwood to tell you that. The idea is that if you agree, you are to go to the Hall next Saturday at nine, and she will explain your duties to you.” “Will I be paid?” “Yes, the wages are threpence for each morning’s work, to be increased after three months if you are found suitable. If your work continues to please, she will offer you permanent work at a much higher wage when you leave school.” “How do you feel about it, Mamma?” “I can’t believe that we could be so lucky. Up til now, she has hired no local girls as servants at the Hall. You must work hard for her and not let us down.” “I promise Mamma. I will work hard. I do think she is a lovely lady when I see her at church with her baby. And she does a lot of good things for the town, too.” “Yes, we are very lucky to have such a good provider in our gentry here.” I was excited to share my good news with my schoolmates, but I found a mixture of surprise and jealousy amongst them, everyone wanting to know why me of all people had been picked. Later that week, on Beth’s half day off work, she came home as usual but she seemed very low. When she had a moment alone with me she explained. “I heard from one of his friends that Johnny might have been arrested. He didn’t come home. He apparently set out to do some work in relation to his Chartist activities on Saturday, and as a result of some misunderstanding, he was taken in and I don’t even know where he is being held.” She was near to tears. “Oh, no. How dreadful. How could they do that to him?” Beth seemed surprised at the tone of my concern. “Do you know anything about this?” she asked sharply. “No, of course not, but he is such a lovely man, your Johnny. I don’t want him to be arrested. What will they do with him?” “I really don’t know. His friend who told me about it said he would keep me informed, but I am so very worried about him. He only meant for good to come of his activities. He often told me that he had a mission to change the way our country worked. And now I don’t even know where he is,” and she started to cry in earnest. I comforted her as best I could, but I also decided that the first thing I would find out when I went to the Hall on Saturday was how this had come about. On Saturday, as I started for Marple Hall, I called in briefly on my sister on the way by. “I will see if my friend Mrs. Isherwood can find out anything about Johnny for you,” I said. “Why should she?” “She has influential friends I would think.” “How do you know so much about her? Have you already met her except for at church?” “Well, not really, but we did have words on one occasion in the past.” “Well if she can find out anything, which I doubt, I will be pleased. I am so worried about him.” Nine sharp was the official time for my appointment. It took me 25 minutes to walk from our house to the Hall. It had taken less on the previous occasion but then I had been running. This time I was dressed in my best, and didn’t want to arrive sweaty and out of breath. The Cook, who said she was called Mrs. Isabella Hood, ushered me in the back door, and said she would tell Mrs. Isherwood that I had arrived. I stood awkwardly and wondered how the other servants were going to take my arrival. The Cook, who looked about 30 to me, had a thick Yorkshire accent and hadn’t seemed all that friendly. Mrs. Isherwood came to the kitchen to meet me, and smiling held out her hand. “Eliza, I am very pleased to see you are prompt. You, of course, have met, Mrs. Hood. She comes from Knaresborough and has been with me for many years. I will introduce you to the other servants later. First I would like you to come with me into the morning room and I will outline your duties and the terms of your employment for you.” I was relieved at such a friendly welcome and followed Mrs. Isherwood to a room near the back of the house. She sat at the table and I stood awkwardly next to it. “Mrs. Isherwood, I know it is very rude of me to ask you a favour before I have begun to work for you, but my sister is very worried about her gentleman friend, Johnny. You know who I mean. The one who was here the other night. He hasn’t been heard of since. Is it possible for you to ask someone and find out about where he might be?” “Oh, Eliza, I don’t need to ask anyone. I know. The next day after the riot Constable Jenkins came to see me. He wanted the exact details of what had happened. I had to give him Johnny’s name.” “But you promised me that you wouldn’t tell of my involvement.” “I didn’t mention you by name; I only said a little girl.” “But they left. They didn’t do any harm.” “Well, they didn’t do any harm here, but later that night they went to Stockport and did enormous damage. Windows broken, intimidation of anyone who was around. They broke into the workhouse at Shaw Heath in Stockport. People were badly hurt. The group were all arrested, and I’m afraid your sister’s friend Johnny is now in jail in Stockport.” “Oh, no! How can I tell her that? What will happen to him now?” “Well, if his involvement wasn’t too serious, he probably will come before the magistrates and get off with a warning and a fine. If he was one of those who was known to do damage or harm anyone, then he probably will be sent to prison in Chester, to await trial at the Assizes there. But I did get the impression from the Constable that he was considered one of the leaders so that is not a good sign.” “Can you find out which of those is going to happen?” “I will try. After all, I do have an interest in the case. I will let you know what I discover when you come to start work the first Monday of September. Now for your duties. I think I will start you out with dusting and polishing silver. I presume you have experience of both of those jobs.” “We don’t have any silver at home, but I have done lots of dusting. And I am sure I can learn how to do silver. All my teachers say I am quick at learning.” “Well, I will introduce you to our parlour maid, also called Eliza. She’s Eliza Gerrard and has been with us for ten years, since she was little older than you. Today she can demonstrate how the silver should be done. And when you are dusting, you must be very careful. Many of the vases and such are priceless antiques, irreplaceable.” She rang a bell to call the maid. “I will be very careful. And do I get paid each week or each month or at the end of the year?” Mrs. Isherwood laughed at my gaucheness. “The usual is an annual salary, with the first few months paid in advance so that the employee has some pocket money for expenses. We will provide you with a uniform. You are very small, but I think perhaps not much smaller than our kitchen maid. Can you sew?” “Oh yes.” “Well, you can wear one of hers for today, and then take it home, wash it, and make it fit you for when you start. I will make sure there are more ready for you in your actual size, by the first week of September.” “Ah, here is Eliza. Eliza this is another Eliza who will be working here mornings from September until she finishes school and then will come on to the staff full time. You will need to train her in our ways of dusting and polishing silverware. She has no experience with silver whatsoever.” “Yes, Ma’am. I will do that.” “And stop in the laundry room and pick up one of Ann Metcalfe’s’ uniforms. Eliza can wear it today no matter how odd she looks in it, and then we will do better for her by the time she starts.” “Yes, Ma’am.” So that is how the day progressed. I looked very lost in the uniform, but not letting it get me down, I tightened the belt and rolled up the sleeves. I thought that Eliza was somewhat friendlier than the Cook had been, which I was relieved about. “How are we going to go on with us both with the same name?” she asked laughing. “I will be Old Eliza as I am 21 and you can be Young Eliza. How old are you anyway?” “I’m nearly twelve.” “I am surprised that Mrs. Isherwood has taken on someone else. Have you some reason for being considered special? I noticed that she treated you very tenderly as if you were a relative or something?” “No, of course not. We just have something in common.” “And might I ask what that is?” “I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” As they were going into the Judge’s bedroom, where they would start with the dusting she said, “I will tell you all about the ghosts, if you want to know. This is the bedroom used by Judge John Bradshaw - you know, the one who signed the death certificate for King Charles I.” “Are there lots of real ghosts, then?” “Well, I am not sure that you can call ghosts real, but lots of have seen them. I think I have seen the crying lady ghost, but since we are working in here, I will tell you about this room’s ghost, none other than Charles I. His headless body is seen stomping down the corridors on dark and gloomy nights.” “Look here at this poem John Bradshawe scratched on the window. It says My brother Henry shall heir the land “Henry was his oldest brother, and he was a commander in the army that Cromwell set up. But John, who calls himself Jack, was the one who signed the death certificate for the King. Certainly that was something the world wondered at.”My brother Frank shall be at his command While I poor Jack shall do that Which the world will wonder at. “Was Charles I really so awful that he had to be killed?” “Well, John must have thought so. Charles’ father, who was James I of England, he called Stinking Jimmy or something like that, but in quite an affectionate way. James’ eldest son, whom John thought would have made a good King when his turn came, died early. So Charles, who was a pleasure seeker and had not a whit of good sense about him, became King in his stead. He apparently didn’t pay any attention to Parliament, spent all the tax money on himself and the country was left to ruin.” “I thought Cromwell was at the back of it all. That’s what we learned at school.” “Well, of course Cromwell was important. He was the one who started off the whole idea of putting the King on trial. But when the King was found guilty, he wasn’t the first to sign the death warrant. His signature comes 3rd or 4th on the list.” “Why couldn’t they have just exiled him or something rather than do that awful thing of beheading him?” “Watch where you are dusting there. Those things are very valuable.” “Sorry. I guess I was listening to your story rather than paying attention to what I was doing.” “Well, the answer to your question is that John Bradshawe (he spelled the name with an extra e but most since him have spelled it without) didn’t trust that he could be contained. He thought that he would go off in exile to Europe and then persuade the other European heads of State to support him and start another war to get his kingdom back.” “Well there was a war anyway, wasn’t there? The Civil War.” “It was Charles I who started the Civil War and there were actually two of them. He proclaimed war on the Parliament. It went against the Magna Carta and all that this country was supposed to stand for.” “So there were lots of battles, and in the end, it was the Parliament supporters who won. Why were they also called the Roundheads?” “Well they were mainly Puritans, and they dressed very plainly and without embellishment. The men shaved a bald patch on their heads, I think. Although, John Bradshawe. for instance. did not lead the life of a proper Puritan. He enjoyed the pleasures of life as well as anybody.” “Was Oliver Cromwell a Puritan?” “Yes, I think he was. Anyway, he was the figure head of the revolt. He was the person who set up the armies in opposition to the King, and those armies in the end defeated Charles in Scotland.” “So Charles was then captured and put in prison?” “Yes, apparently, the story goes that Charles thought that he could give in, and then become King of the Scots, as it all happened in Scotland, but nobody was having that. He was taken to the Tower to await his trial.” “That must have been hard for him.” “He apparently didn’t even want to speak in his own defense. He felt that they had no right to question him. He felt he, as King, had a divine right to do what he wanted.” “So nobody heard his point of view then?” “After the trial was over, and the judgement of death by beheading had been passed down, he then wanted to talk, but John Bradshawe wouldn’t let him.” “Why not? That seems really unkind.” “Well it says in the Magna Carta, which was the rule book they were following the whole time, that if a judgement has been passed, that is the end of it. Nothing more should be said. So he refused to let Charles say anything.” “Oh, look at this writing on the bed,” I said as I dusted the headboard. “He that is unmerciful, mercy shall miss; but he shall have mercy that merciful is. “But he wasn’t very merciful was he, with the King, I mean?” “Here’s another one: Love God, not gold. Sleep not until U consider how U have spent the time; if well, thank God, if not, repent.” “As interesting as these things are, I think you had best concentrate on dusting and leave the history for another time, young Eliza. We have loads more work to do yet this day.” So reluctantly, I spent the rest of the morning dusting the heavy furniture and delicate china, wishing with each piece to hear its history but knowing that to ask would not be met with approval just now. Lunch was at one p.m. with the other servants in the kitchen, all sitting around a big table. I was introduced to the others. “This here is Matilda Edwards,” said Isabelle, the cook, “She’s Mrs. Isherwood’s private maid. You’ve met Eliza of course, but the other housemaid is Ann Metcalfe. Joseph Chun is our main Farm Manger, and he comes from Shropshire, which he is forever telling us is miles better than we have got here in Cheshire,” she said with a good natured glance at the elderly man. “And little Fredrick Williamson is the next to you in age being 16. He is our errand boy. For those who don’t know, this young lass drowning in her uniform is Eliza Hyde, protégée of our mistress, who will be coming on mornings in September. So be kind to her or you will hear more from the Mistress.” Then all smiled or nodded but got on with their very necessary task of getting as much food into their mouths as quickly as humanly possible. The food was good and plentiful. I was in wonder that these servants got better food than we had a home even for our special holiday fare. After lunch and until my time was up for the day, I was set to polish silver. I was given the tableware first off, and shown how to put the polish on, then take it off, then buff the implement until it shone enough to see one’s face in. It was hard work and boring, as I was left on my own, rather than having the chatty company of the morning. But I was sitting while I was doing it, and there was a pleasant fire in the kitchen where I was working, so I didn’t feel too hard done by. When six o’clock came, Mrs. Isherwood again came into the kitchen and came up to me. “And how have you found the work? Do you think you can cope?” “It was fine, thank you Ma’am. I hope I did it all to your expectations.” “I am sure I will hear about it if not, and so far I have only heard good things,” said Mrs. Isherwood. “So you will take your uniform home, and make it to your own measurements, and then in early September when you come I will expect you here to start at eight in the morning. Does that suit?” “Yes, of course, I will do that. And thank you ma’am. I have learnt a lot today - not just about dusting and polishing but about history, about John Bradshawe and the ghosts.” “Oh, no doubt you will learn a great deal of history, at least one point of view of history while you are working here. Remember that what you hear will be the official Bradshaw line - since this is a Bradshaw house. There are others who will see history somewhat differently.” “Oh, yes, I understand. I will keep an open mind at what I am told,” said Eliza, very seriously, and Mrs. Isherwood couldn’t help smiling. “And when I next see you, hopefully I will have something specific to tell you about our friend Johnny,” said Mary Ellen Isherwood. “You will have to keep your sister happy in the meantime by saying that I will do my best.” “I do thank you Mrs. Isherwood, and good night.” “Good night, Eliza and have a good week.” So I skipped on home, taking somewhat longer going as I was tired, and had a lot to think about. Mainly I had to think of what I was going to tell my sister. It took me 40 minutes of up-hill walking before I reached the precincts of the church. I knocked on the Vicarage door. This time it was one of the other maids who answered, Ann Cobb, who was a good 10 years older than Beth. “Please may I speak to my sister,” I asked. “She is busy, or she is supposed to be, but I will check,” she said, leaving me standing outside. But it was only minutes later when Beth appeared. “What have you found out? Do you know where he is?” “Well, it isn’t good news, Beth. But I don’t know exactly how bad it is. It seems that Johnny is in jail in Stockport.” “In jail? But why? What did he do?” “I only know that Mrs. Isherwood said he had been involved in some bad things that happened in Stockport last week. She said they thought he was a ringleader and that she didn’t know what would happen next, but she would try to find out.” “But did she know what he did? He had lots of plans and ideas for changing the world, and he is somewhat hotheaded, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone. I just know he wouldn’t.” “She doesn’t know what he did - or what they thought he might have done. She just knows that the Constable was around asking her about him.” “How should she know anything about him?” “She says he was one of those who turned up at the Hall last week and tried to break in.” “What? But nothing was said about it in the village. What happened?” “Well, I don’t know, but I think Mrs. Isherwood recognised some of the boys and told them to go home and behave, and they got embarrassed and off they went.” “I still don’t know how she would have known Johnny enough to recognise him. It’s not like he goes to church or anything.” “I don’t know either. You’ll have to ask her. Anyway, she promised she would see if she could find out more about him to tell me when I start work. Now I want to go home. I am exhausted and famished. I have not worked so hard in my life.” Beth laughed, “Welcome to the real world of grown ups. If you thought today was difficult, you had better buck up your ideas, because I have a feeling that it probably will be the easiest day of work you will ever have.” My parents were very eager to hear about my day’s activities too - and I told them all I had learned about Judge John Bradshawe and his part in the death of Charles I. “I didn’t find out much, and there is so much more to learn. He must have been a holy man because carved on painted panels on either side of the fireplace he has this verse from Proverbs. I didn’t have to memorise it because I already knew it. “Though thou be in years counted as ancient as Satan, in wisdom as wise as Solomon, in power as mighty as Alexander, in wealth as rich as Croesus, and in Beauty as Flora: yet if thou be careless of religion and of thy God, thou art a wretch, most vile and miserable. “And on the other side: “My son hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother, they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. Long life and peace shall they add unto thee. Remember true wisdom is the principal thing, and a good conscience the best estate.”
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