Authors: George W. M. Reynolds,James Malcolm Rymer
These
persons, infuriated by drink, were capable of anything, and to them,
accordingly, the more sober parties gladly surrendered the disagreeable job of
rendering the supposed vampyre perfectly innoxious, by driving a hedge-stake
through his body—a proceeding which, it was currently believed, inflicted so
much physical injury to the frame, as to render his resuscitation out of the
question.
The
cries of alarm from below, joined now to the shouts of those mad rioters,
produced a scene of dreadful confusion.
We
cannot, for we revolt at the office, describe particularly the dreadful outrage
which was committed upon the corpse; suffice it that two or three, maddened by
drink, and incited by the others, plunged the hedge-stake through the body, and
there left it, a sickening and horrible spectacle to any one who might cast his
eyes upon it.
With
such violence had the frightful and inhuman deed been committed, that the
bottom of the coffin was perforated by the stake so that the corpse was
actually nailed to its last earthly tenement.
Some
asserted, that at that moment an audible groan came from the dead man, and that
this arose from the extinguishment of that remnant of life which remained in
him, on account of his being a vampyre, and which would have been brought into
full existence, if the body had been placed in the rays of the moon, when at
its full, according to the popular superstition upon that subject.
Others,
again, were quite ready to swear that at the moment the stake was used there
was a visible convulsion of all the limbs, and that the countenance, before so
placid and so calm, became immediately distorted, as if with agony.
But
we have done with these horrible surmises; the dreadful deed has been
committed, and wild, ungovernable superstition has had, for a time, its sway
over the ignorant and debased.
THE MOB'S ARRIVAL AT SIR FRANCIS VARNEY'S.—THE ATTEMPT TO
GAIN ADMISSION.
The
soldiery had been sent for from their principal station near the churchyard,
and had advanced with some degree of reluctance to quell what they considered
as nothing better nor worse than a drunken brawl at a public-house, which they
really considered they ought not to be called to interfere with.
When,
however, the party reached the spot, and heard what a confusion there was, and
saw in what numbers the rioters were assembling, it became evident to them that
the case was of a more serious complexion than they had at first imagined, and
consequently they felt that their professional dignity was not so much
compromised with their interference with the lawless proceedings.
Some
of the constabulary of the town were there, and to them the soldiers promised
they would hand what prisoners they took, at the same time that they made a
distinct condition that they were not to be troubled with their custody, nor in
any way further annoyed in the business beyond taking care that they did not
absolutely escape, after being once secured.
This
was all that the civil authorities of the town required, and, in fact, they
hoped that, after making prisoners of a few of the ringleaders of the riotous
proceedings, the rest would disperse, and prevent the necessity of capturing
them.
Be it
known, however, that both military and civil authorities were completely
ignorant of the dreadful outrage against all common decency, which had been
committed within the public-house.
The
door was well guarded, and the question now was how the rioters were to be made
to come down stairs, and be captured; and this was likely to remain a question,
so long as no means were adopted to make them descend. So that, after a time,
it was agreed that a couple of troopers should march up stairs with a
constable, to enable him to secure any one who seemed a principal in the riot.
But
this only had the effect of driving those who were in the second-floor, and saw
the approach of the two soldiers, whom they thought were backed by the whole of
their comrades, up a narrow staircase, to a third-floor, rather consisting of
lofts than of actual rooms; but still, for the time, it was a refuge; and owing
to the extreme narrowness of the approach to it, which consisted of nearly a
perpendicular staircase, with any degree of tact or method, it might have been
admirably defended.
In
the hurry and scramble, all the lights were left behind; and when the two
soldiers and constables entered the room where the corpse had lain, they
became, for the first time, aware of what a horrible purpose had been carried
out by the infuriated mob.
The
sight was one of perfect horror, and hardened to scenes which might strike
other people as being somewhat of the terrific as these soldiers might be
supposed to be by their very profession, they actually sickened at the sight
which the mutilated corpse presented, and turned aside with horror.
These
feelings soon gave way to anger and animosity against the crowd who could be
guilty of such an atrocious outrage; and, for the first time, a strong and
interested vengeance against the mob pervaded the breasts of those who were
brought to act against it.
One
of the soldiers ran down stairs to the door, and reported the scene which was
to be seen above. A determination was instantly come to, to capture as many as
possible of those who had been concerned in so diabolical an outrage, and
leaving a guard of five men at the door, the remainder of the party ascended
the staircase, determined upon storming the last refuge of the rioters, and
dragging them to justice.
The
report, however, of these proceedings that were taking place at the inn, spread
quickly over the whole town; and soon as large a mob of the disorderly and the
idle as the place could at all afford was assembled outside the inn.
This
mob appeared, for a time, inertly to watch the proceedings. It seemed rather a
hazardous thing to interfere with the soldiers, whose carbines look formidable
and troublesome weapons.
With
true mob courage, therefore, they left the minority of their comrades, who were
within the house, to their fate; and after a whispered conference from one to
the other, they suddenly turned in a body, and began to make for the outskirts
of the town.
They
then separated, as if by common consent, and straggled out into the open
country by twos and threes, consolidating again into a mass when they had got
some distance off, and clear of any exertions that could be made by the soldiery
to stay them.
The
cry then rose of "Down with Sir Francis Varney—slay him—burn his
house—death to all vampyres!" and, at a rapid pace, they proceeded in the
direction of his mansion.
We
will leave this mob, however, for the present, and turn our attention to those
who are at the inn, and are certainly in a position of some jeopardy. Their
numbers were not great, and they were unarmed; certainly, their best chance
would have been to have surrendered at discretion; but that was a measure
which, if the sober ones had felt inclined to, those who were infuriated and
half maddened with drink would not have acceded to on any account.
A
furious resistance was, therefore, fairly to be expected; and what means the
soldiery were likely to use for the purpose of storming this last retreat was a
matter of rather anxious conjecture.
In
the case of a regular enemy, there would not, perhaps, have been much
difficulty; but here the capture of certain persons, and not their destruction,
was the object; and how that was to be accomplished by fair means, certainly
was a question which nobody felt very competent to solve.
Determination,
however, will do wonders; and although the rioters numbered over forty,
notwithstanding all their desertions, and not above seventeen or eighteen
soldiers marched into the inn, we shall perceive that they succeeded in
accomplishing their object without any manoeuvring at all.
The
space in which the rioters were confined was low, narrow, and inconvenient, as
well as dark, for the lights on the staircase cast up that height but very
insufficient rays.
Weapons
of defence they found but very few, and yet there were some which, to do them
but common credit, they used as effectually as possible.
These
attics, or lofts, were used as lumber-rooms, and had been so for years, so that
there was a collection of old boxes, broken pieces of furniture, and other
matters, which will, in defiance of everything and everybody, collect in a
house.
These
were formidable means of defence, if not of offence, down a very narrow
staircase, had they been used with judgment.
Some
of the rioters, who were only just drunk enough to be fool-hardy, collected a
few of these articles at the top of the staircase, and swore they would smash
anybody who should attempt to come up to them, a threat easier uttered than
executed.
And
besides, after all, if their position had been ever so impregnable, they must
come down eventually, or be starved out.
But
the soldiers were not at liberty to adopt so slow a process of overcoming their
enemy, and up the second-floor staircase they went, with a determination of
making short work of the business.
They
paused a moment, by word of command, on the landing, and then, after this
slight pause, the word was given to advance.
Now
when men will advance, in spite of anything and everything, it is no easy
matter to stop them, and he who was foremost among the military would as soon
thought of hesitating to ascend the narrow staircase before him, when ordered
so to do, as paying the national debt. On he went, and down came a great chest,
which, falling against his feet, knocked him down as he attempted to scramble
over it.
"Fire,"
said the officer; and it appeared that he had made some arrangements as to how
the order was to be obeyed, for the second man fired his carbine, and then
scrambled over his prostrate comrade; after which he stooped, and the third
fired his carbine likewise, and then hurried forward in the same manner.
At
the first sound of the fire arms the rioters were taken completely by surprise;
they had not had the least notion of affairs getting to such a length. The
smell of the powder, the loud report, and the sensation of positive danger that
accompanied these phenomena, alarmed them most terrifically; so that, in point
of fact, with the exception of the empty chest that was thrown down in the way
of the first soldier, no further idea of defence seemed in any way to find a
place in the hearts of the besieged.
They
scrambled one over the other in their eagerness to get as far as possible from immediate
danger, which, of course, they conceived existed in the most imminent degree
the nearest to the door.
Such
was the state of terror into which they were thrown, that each one at the
moment believed himself shot, and the soldiers had overcome all the real
difficulties in getting possession of what might thus be called the citadel of
the inn, before those men who had been so valorous a short time since recovered
from the tremendous fright into which they had been thrown.
We
need hardly say that the carbines were loaded, but with blank cartridges, for
there was neither a disposition nor a necessity for taking the lives of these
misguided people.
If
was the suddenness and the steadiness of the attack that had done all the
mischief to their cause; and now, ere they recovered from the surprise of
having their position so completely taken by storm, they were handed down
stairs, one by one, from soldier to soldier, and into the custody of the civil
authorities.
In
order to secure the safe keeping of large a body of prisoners, the constables,
who were in a great minority, placed handcuffs upon some of the most capable of
resistance; so what with those who were thus secured, and those who were
terrified into submission, there was not a man of all the lot who had taken
refuge in the attics of the public-house but was a prisoner.
At
the sound of fire-arms, the women who were outside the inn had, of course,
raised a most prodigious clamour.
They
believed directly that every bullet must have done some most serious mischief
to the townspeople, and it was only upon one of the soldiers, a
non-commissioned officer, who was below, assuring them of the innoxious nature
of the proceeding which restored anything like equanimity.
"Silence!"
he cried: "what are you howling about? Do you fancy that we've nothing
better to do than to shoot a parcel of fellows that are not worth the bullets
that would be lodged in their confounded carcases?"
"But
we heard the gun," said a woman.
"Of
course you did; it's the powder that makes the noise, not the bullet. You'll
see them all brought out safe wind and limb."
This
assurance satisfied the women to a certain extent, and such had been their fear
that they should have had to look upon the spectacle of death, or of grievous
wounds, that they were comparatively quite satisfied when they saw husbands,
fathers, and brothers, only in the custody of the town officers.
And
very sheepish some of the fellows looked, when they were handed down and
handcuffed, and the more especially when they had been routed only by a few
blank cartridges—that sixpenny worth of powder had defeated them.
They
were marched off to the town gaol, guarded by the military, who now probably
fancied that their night's work was over, and that the most turbulent and
troublesome spirits in the town had been secured.
Such,
however, was not the case, for no sooner had comparative order been restored,
than common observation pointed to a dull red glare in the southern sky.
In a
few more minutes there came in stragglers from the open country, shouting
"Fire! fire!" with all their might.