CHAPTER CXV.

THOMAS RAINFORD.

The arrest of Tom Rain and Old Death took place at about twenty minutes

to six on the evening in question; and by ten o’clock that night the

news were circulated throughout every quarter of the metropolis.

The incidents involved in the double arrestation were well adapted

to produce as much excitement as the extraordinary adventures of Sir

Christopher Blunt and Dr. Lascelles ten weeks previously.

In the first place, a man who had been publicly executed at Horsemonger

Lane, was now discovered to be alive, having been doubtless

resuscitated in some extraordinary way; although the more credulous and

wonder-loving portion of the community were firmly convinced that Tom

Rain had never been hanged at all, but that the body of some prisoner

recently deceased at the time was ushered through the dreadful ordeal

instead of the formidable highwayman.

In the second place, this said Thomas Rainford was said to be the

mysterious personage who, usurping the attributes of justice, had

kidnapped Dr. Lascelles and Sir Christopher Blunt, and had somehow

or another disposed of the real murderers of Sir Henry Courtenay,

after having devised the necessary means to prove and make public the

innocence of Mr. Torrens.

In the third place, a notorious fence, named Benjamin Bones, who had

defied the police and the laws for many, many years, had at last

fatally entangled himself with justice, by committing a diabolical

murder upon the person of Thomas Rainford’s wife.

And, in the fourth place, it had been discovered that there were

situate two houses in the very heart of London having a subterraneous

passage connecting them, and this subterranean communicating with

several dark and gloomy dungeons, decently furnished, and in which

half-a-dozen prisoners had recently been confined. One of these

prisoners was now known to be Benjamin Bones; but what had become of

the other five?

Such were the circumstances which took the whole town by storm,

and produced a tremendous sensation from one end of London to the

other--the intelligence reaching even Lady Hatfield, retired and

secluded as was her mode of living.

Shortly after ten o’clock on that eventful evening, a private carriage

drove up to the house in Red Lion Street; and Mr. de Medina, Esther,

and Lord Ellingham alighted. Jacob Smith leapt down from the box;

and in a few moments the entire party entered the dwelling, thus

disappearing from the gaze of the assembled crowd.

The Jew, his daughter, and the young nobleman were immediately

conducted by one of Rainford’s dependants into the apartment where

the unhappy husband of the murdered Tamar was pacing up and down,

Dykes sitting in a corner watching his movements. The prisoner was

no longer disguised: during the interval which had elapsed since his

arrest, he had, by the officer’s express desire, washed off the black

dye from his face and hands; and he now wore his natural aspect in one

sense--though, in another, his expressive countenance was altered by

the despair that filled his soul.

“Oh! Thomas--what terrible afflictions have occurred!” exclaimed Lord

Ellingham, as he flew into his half-brother’s arms.

“You will not reproach me, Arthur-----Oh! do not augment my grief!”

cried Rainford: and he wept bitter tears.

“No one will reproach you, excellent young man,” said Mr. de

Medina, taking the hand of his bereaved son-in-law. “But----Oh! my

daughter--my daughter, Tamar! Great God! thou hast chosen to afflict me

deeply--deeply!”

In the meantime, Esther de Medina had thrown herself into a chair,

giving way to the wildest paroxysms of grief--the Earl of Ellingham

having vainly accosted her with the hope of importing some slight

consolation. But, alas! he himself was a prey to the most poignant

anguish: and, even had he been more calm, how was it possible to

comfort Esther de Medina for the loss--the cruel assassination--of that

sister whom she loved so tenderly and so well?

“Thomas,” at length said the Earl, approaching his half-brother,

“has Jacob Smith told us the dreadful tale correctly?--and is

it--he--Benjamin Bones--who has done this? My God! I have scarcely been

able to comprehend all the terrible particulars!”

“It is true--it is too true--I know that it is!” exclaimed Mr. de

Medina, shaking his head in despair. “Yes--Tamar is no more; but--at

least--let me behold her remains!”

Rainford turned an appealing glance towards Dykes, as much as to

say, “You surely will allow me to proceed unwatched and unguarded along

with these mourners to the chamber where the corpse lies?”

But Dykes, who understood the meaning of that glance, said in a

respectful though firm tone, “I dare not trust you out of my sight!”

“I will be answerable for him, officer!” cried the Earl of Ellingham.

“Do you know me? I----”

“I know who you are, my lord,” answered Dykes; “but I cannot oblige

you.”

“Is not grief such as that which you now contemplate,” said the

nobleman, indicating the weeping father and sister of the deceased

lady,--“is not such grief as this too solemn for the intrusion of a

stranger?”

“Since your lordship forces me to speak plain,” returned Dykes, “Mr.

Rainford is my prisoner on two charges----”

“On two charges!” ejaculated the Earl: then, remembering all that his

brother had passed through, he said mournfully, “But, just heavens!

_one_ is enough!”

“As your lordship observes,” began Dykes, “one is----”

At that moment another private carriage rattled up to the door of

the house, and a lady, alighting with feverish impatience, was

instantaneously admitted into the dwelling. In less than a minute she

was ushered by Jacob Smith into the room where the mourning party were

assembled.

“Lady Hatfield!” cried Tom Rain, the moment she raised her veil: and,

as if her presence were another blow on such an occasion, he staggered

and would have, fallen had not the Earl of Ellingham caught him in his

arms.

“Pardon this intrusion,” said Georgiana, advancing into the middle of

the apartment; “and believe me when I assure you that nothing save the

hope of being in some degree able to lighten the afflictions which

pour upon you all--nothing,” she added emphatically, “but such a hope

as this would have induced me to break upon your privacy. The dreadful

rumours current in the metropolis reached me ere now--and I flew

hither, only--alas! to hear them confirmed. But--Mr. Rainford----”

She stopped short--trembled--and seemed for an instant overcome by

feelings of an unutterable nature. The bitterness--the intensity of

grief which oppressed the others, was in some degree absorbed for the

moment by the profound interest which the presence of Lady Hatfield

excited, her words having given promise of hopes the nature whereof

defied all conjecture.

But suspense on the part of her listeners was not destined to last long.

“Mr. Rainford,” she resumed, exercising a powerful control over her

emotions, “you have sustained an affliction so great that it is almost

impossible to impart consolation to you. Yet--even in the midst of such

woe as this which has overtaken you--it may at least be a satisfaction

to learn that the judgment of a criminal tribunal no longer hangs over

you--that the past is indeed the past, and cannot be revived----”

“Georgiana!” cried the Earl of Ellingham, surveying her in profound

astonishment; “what mean you?”

“I mean that Thomas Rainford is pardoned!” exclaimed Lady Hatfield: “I

mean,” she continued, the wildest astonishment having sealed the lips

of all who heard her,--“I mean that the sentence passed upon him months

ago is dissolved--annihilated;--and here is the royal decree--bearing

the Sovereign’s seal--and countersigned by the Secretary of the Home

Department! ’Tis a full pardon for Thomas Rainford!”

Thus speaking, she handed Lord Ellingham a paper: but it fell from his

hands--for his half-brother had sunk senseless upon the floor.

Water was speedily procured and all the usual means adopted to restore

him. It was, however, some time ere he gave signs of life; and then,

beckoning Georgiana towards him, he said in a faint tone, “May the

great God above us bless you--for you are an angel!”

It was undoubtedly an immense alleviation of the general sorrow to

learn that Rainford had received a full pardon for all those offences

which had drawn down on his head the sentence of death pronounced at

the Old Bailey; and the Earl of Ellingham, having now hastily glanced

over the paper which decreed this act of royal mercy, submitted it to

the examination of Mr. Dykes.

“Well, my lord,” said that officer, “I see and hear plain enough that

one of the charges on which I held Mr. Rainford prisoner, is knocked

on the head; and I’m glad of it--’specially as ’tis the most serious

of the two. But I must still keep him in custody, he being the man who

kidnapped Sir Christopher Blunt and Dr. Lascelles----”

“Wait--one moment!” exclaimed Rainford, a sudden thought flashing to

his mind and restoring him to the wonted energies of his character.

While all present watched his movements with breathless interest, he

hastened to a writing desk standing on a table in a recess; and thence

he took a pocket-book, which he opened, and the contents of which he

scanned rapidly as he turned over the various papers one after the

other.

“Here it is!” he cried triumphantly at last; and, drawing forth a slip

of paper, he handed it to Lord Ellingham, who mechanically read it

aloud:--

“We acknowledge a sense of deep obligation to the bearer

of this memorandum, the said bearer having rendered us

special service; and we hold ourselves bound to grant him

any boon which he may demand at our hands, so that it be not

inconsistent with our royal honour, nor prejudicial to the

interests of the State.

“Given this 3rd of March, in the year 1827.

“GEORGE REX.” (L.S.)

“You are saved, Thomas--you are saved, in all respects!” exclaimed

Mr. de Medina, pressing with affectionate warmth the hand of his

son-in-law, while tears trickled down the old man’s venerable

countenance.

“All this is so truly astonishing,” cried the Earl of Ellingham, “that

I am bewildered. How you, my excellent friend--my sister,” he added,

turning towards Lady Hatfield, “obtained the royal pardon for Thomas

Rainford, I well know--indeed, I have all along known.”

“You!” ejaculated Georgiana, in profound astonishment.

“Yes--I overheard your interview with the King in the Blue Velvet

Closet at Carlton House,” continued the Earl; “and now I comprehend all

the greatness and generosity of your conduct! Oh! and you must pardon

me too, for having become a listener on that occasion, and for having

ever since entertained suspicions most injurious to your honour.”

“The remainder of the tale can then be told by myself,” said Tom Rain,

hastily: “for it was I--I, the Blackamoor--the negro--who saved your

ladyship from insult and outrage, also at Carlton House. But--” he

continued, glancing in a significant manner towards Dykes,--“all these

explanations shall be for another and more convenient opportunity.

In the meantime, Arthur,” he added, “it is for you to repair at once

to the Home Secretary, and obtain from him all we require to ensure

my complete freedom, by virtue of that acknowledgment bearing the

sign-manual of the King.”

The Earl of Ellingham instantaneously undertook this commission,

although at so late an hour; but he fortunately happened to be aware

that the Secretary for the Home Department had a reception that

evening, and was therefore certain to be at home.

Dykes, who had been led on from one source of astonishment to

another, and who perceived that Thomas Rainford not only possessed

powerful friends, but likewise the patronage and favour of the King

himself,--the worthy Mr. Dykes, we say, now volunteered to withdraw

into another room, merely requesting his prisoner to pledge his honour

not to leave the house until the order of the Secretary of State should

fully and completely release him from custody. The promise was given

forthwith; and Dykes repaired to the apartment where Old Death was

still remaining in the custody of Bingham and the other constables.

Immediately after the officer had retired, Georgiana rose to take her

departure. This was the first time that she had ever seen the Medinas;

but she accosted them with the affability of a well-bred lady, and

proffered them her deepest and sincerest sympathy on account of the

dreadful loss which they had sustained. They received these proofs of

friendship in a manner which denoted the gratitude of their hearts; and

Georgiana, on taking leave, shook them cordially by the hand.

Then, extending her hand likewise to him whose mere name had hitherto

been sufficient to send a cold shudder through her entire form,--yes,

extending her hand to him also, in the true spirit of Christian

forgiveness,--but without raising her eyes to his countenance, she

said, “Mr. Rainford, may you yet know many years of happiness!”

He pressed her hand with grateful fervour--and a tear dropped upon it:

but he could not utter a word. His heart was too full to allow him to

express his thanks--his admiration of the noble conduct of that woman

whom, in a moment of delirium, as it were, he had outraged and ruined!

Ah! bitter--bitter were thy reminiscences as thus thou didst stand

before thy generous benefactress, Tom Rain!

Mr. de Medina--perceiving that his son-in-law was overcome by emotions

which were not altogether intelligible to him--offered his arm to

escort Lady Hatfield to her carriage; and Georgiana drove home with a

heart rejoicing at the good she had done--for Lord Ellingham’s sake!

The Jew returned to the apartment where he had left Esther and

Rainford; and there they all three mingled their grief together, for

the loss of the lovely and much-loved Tamar.

But over this scene we shall draw a veil: sorrow such as they

experienced cannot be adequately described. Neither shall we do more

than allude to the violence of the grief and the poignancy of the

anguish which were felt when they repaired to the chamber to which the

remains of the murdered Tamar had been conveyed. The reader does not

require to be informed that this was a ceremony of the most painful

description.

While, therefore, Mr. de Medina, Esther, and Rainford, are mingling

their tears and lamentations,--while, too, the Earl of Ellingham is

absent on his mission to the Home Secretary, armed with the document

which bore the autograph and seal of George the Fourth,--we shall

request our reader to accompany us to the apartment where Old Death

remains in the custody of Bingham and the subordinate officials.