Project Gutenberg's Martin Hyde, The Duke's Messenger, by John Masefield

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Title: Martin Hyde, The Duke's Messenger

Author: John Masefield

Posting Date: August 24, 2008 [EBook #1274]
Release Date: April, 1998

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN HYDE, THE DUKE'S MESSENGER ***

Produced by Aaron Cannon

MARTIN HYDE

THE DUKE'S MESSENGER

by John Masefield

CONTENTS

I. I LEAVE HOME
II. I LEAVE HOME AGAIN
III. I LEAVE HOME A THIRD TIME
IV. I LEAVE HOME FOR THE LAST TIME
V. I GO TO SEA
VI. THE SEA! THE SEA!
VII. LAND RATS AND WATER RATS
VIII. I MEET MY FRIEND
IX. I SEE MORE OF MY FRIEND
X. SOUNDS IN THE NIGHT
XI. AURELIA
XII. BRAVE CAPTAIN BARLOW
XIII. IT BREEZES UP
XIV. A DRINK OF SHERBET
XV. THE ROAD TO LYME
XVI. THE LANDING
XVII. A VOICE AT DAWN
XVIII. I SPEAK WITH AURELIA
XIX. I MEET THE CLUB MEN
XX. THE SQUIRE'S HOUSE
XXI. MY FRIEND AURELIA AND HER UNCLE
XXII. THE PRIEST'S HOLE
XXIII. FREE
XXIV THE END

MARTIN HYDE

THE DUKE'S MESSENGER

by

John Masefield

CHAPTER I. I LEAVE HOME

I was born at Oulton, in Suffolk, in the year 1672. I know not the
day of my birth, but it was in March, a day or two after the Dutch war
began. I know this, because my father, who was the clergyman at Oulton,
once told me that in the night of my birth a horseman called upon him,
at the rectory, to ask the way to Lowestoft. He was riding from London
with letters for the Admiral, he said; but had missed his way somewhere
beyond Beccles. He was mud from head to foot (it had been a wet March)
but he would not stay to dry himself. He reined in at the door, just as
I was born, as though he were some ghost, bringing my life in his saddle
bags. Then he shook up his horse, through the mud, towards Lowestoft, so
that the splashing of the horse's hoofs must have been the first sound
heard by me. The Admiral was gone when he reached Lowestoft, poor man,
so all his trouble was wasted. War wastes more energy, I suppose, than
an