The Uncommon Life of Mr. Adam Archer, Contralto

THE ONSLAUGHT

THE ONSLAUGHT“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”

William Shakespeare

The meal would surely be very entertaining. Mr. Stansfield and his wife had just come back from London after a very long and tiring journey and Mrs. Stansfield had gone straight up to her room for a short rest. Mr. Stansfield instead went to discuss with his tenants the work to do before autumn. Luce and Drake were excited by their parents homecoming, waited for special gifts and some latest news from London. As usual, at dinner there would be a serving of cold meat, maybe roast beef or even game - because getting back from London was always considered a special occasion –with artichokes, green beans and boiled potatoes (finally adopted as edible food). There would also be some wine and a pudding to end the meal.

Helena, allowed to eat at the table because of her role, would hang on Mrs. Stansfield’s every word, especially when she started talking about operas and theatrical plays in London for the next season. Her lifelong dream was to go one day to London, even if she knew that this would never happen. But even so, she had to refrain from trying to get information even in a casual way. Often, while aswering, Mrs. Stansfield would be interrupted by her husband getting into deep explanations about his business but still, Helena would persist in a very subtle way to get the answers she wanted to hear. London was the Mecca of her heart, of her singing and art.

Mr. and Mrs Stansfield were tired so their conversation did not last long. They gave their gifts to everybody (Helena got a little nightcap), ate and swiftly retired to their rooms. This was exactly what Helena was waiting for, and from that moment on considered herself free. Luce and Drake did not need much care anymore so, once having wished them goodnight, she was able to retire too. Her room faced north and was opposite the family side. Luckily enough, even if the room was small, it had a little window, a rarity even for rich people in the 18th century considering the costs and taxes just for having one. It was situated in the middle floor under other rooms that had been empty for years and were just used as a storage place for old furniture. For a while they had also been considered a good place for ironing but lately were just forgotten and nobody had ever cared anymore to clean them up or even give a look around.

When Drake and Luce were small they used to come up with Helena and play hide and seek but now she was the only one who still remembered the place. The rooms had little secret passages leading from one to another and nobody had ever explored them properly, except Helena. She used to go there from time to time, with a little piece of candle stolen in the kitchen, to read a book grabbed from the library. She was not really allowed to do this but once everybody was in bed, nobody cared about her anymore. So, that night would be one of those perfect nights for reading. The moon was high in the sky and would bring extra light to her reading. Shakespeare was always her first choice and in her mind, was closely linked to London. Choosing to read a Shakespearian play was something that always reminded her of her father and consequently lead her to Purcell whose music she had listened and studied over and over when her family still existed. These memories soon brought along a wave of sadness.

Unfortunately she never really got the opportunity of singing or playing at Stansfield house. The only moment she felt still connected to music, happened when maestro Mountpellier, an old gentleman who used to come and teach music to Drake and Luce, would ask her to copy some parts of his compositions giving her some money in return. As soon as Helena was free she would do the job in her neat writing and within a few years, thanks to this extra income, was able to save some money which she carefully hid in one of the empty rooms. Nobody knew anything about it. Lately, as the rooms were truly isolated, she even started to practice her singing again, and by doing this nurtured her untold wish that some day she would be singing in London. She had also secretly inquired into any books she could find descriptions of London, so now she knew almost everything about it. She was aware it was a dangerous town and, having also studied some maps found in the Stansfield library, she knew exactly where the most important streets and theatres were situated.

Map of London before the Great Fire

By Wenceslaus Hollar

But this evening was dedicated to herself, and to a book chosen from all the forgotten ones resting on a bookshelf in the sitting room. More than the book itself, it was the idea of being able to do something for her own pleasure. This evening was dedicated to "The Rover or The Banished Cavaliers" a play in two acts by Aphra Behn, a female writer Mrs. Stansfield had once mentioned after a summer holiday in Bath. Helena had never forgotten it and now, last to leave after dinner, she quickly grabbed the book and retired. These bits of stolen freedom were the only indipendent acts she could allow herself to do. For everybody she was nothing more than "a governess”, qualified for this position only because she had skills that could be exploited and squeezed out of her as if she had been a lemon. Never had she been praised or appreciated even only once for them. A cook, a clock, a chair or a governess were there just because they were needed, framed into a pattern that would remain identical until the end of their lifes. A feeling of total loneliness gradually seeped into Helena but never really depressed her. There was too much to do and too much to be careful about and, as years went by, the idea that one day everything would make sense, like an elaborate puzzle becoming easy when near to its end, helped her stabilize her mind.

And now she was in her secret corner, lucky enough to have a small window from which she could watch the rising moon of a warm summer evening. The dog had followed her from the kitchen and now was scratching his ears and settling down near her. Everything was silent and peaceful and Helena was slowly turning the pages of her book by the little candle. The dog had fallen asleep and was gently snoring.

Nothing seemed to be able to interfere with this moment of bliss and magic when suddenly the dog opened his eyes and started to growl quietly. Helena stopped reading, quickly blew the candle out and listened attentively, while keeping the dog quiet. For a few minutes nothing seemed to happen and she was just about to light the candle again when she suddenly heard light and brisk steps coming from the garden. It seemed as if some people had started walking around the house. The dog was sitting up and smelling the air carefully. Helena prayed he would not bark because to be caught in this situation could mean a big question mark over her future at Stansfield’s house. The dog seemed to understand and stayed quiet.

Then, all in a second, the end of the world: shouts, screams, fire torches thrown at the house; windows and doors smashed down as if everything had gone to war. At a distance, Mrs. Stansfield was screaming out loud the names of Luce, Drake and her husband, immediately followed by ferocious voices enjoining silence. She heard gunshots and some servants, mostly those who slept near the kitchen, screaming with terror. The southern part of the house, opposite to her's, was put under attack. Then, suddenly, everybody was ordered to come out without resisting.

From her small window, Helena could hardly understand what was happening. She heard Mr. Stansfield cursing loud, then a gunshot followed and he screamed. She also recognised the voices of two of the guards probably caught by surprise and now yelling ferociously to somebody. Hiding in the cloackroom and frozen by terror, Helena clung helplessly to the dog, feeling totally unable to think or act in any way. The house seemed invaded by dozens of persons ransacking the whole place, looking for precious items and shouting informations from one room to another when something valuable was found. Shouts of joy and jubilation went on for a while when Luce and Drake were found hiding under their beds. They were dragged out along with Mrs. Stansfield, pushed on a cart that gallopped off into the night.

The servants were grouped together in front of the house, roughly searched over to find if they had something valuable on them and quickly put to death. Men were slaughtered or left in agony to die on the grass while women, the young ones, were passed over from one man to another and r***d, before undergoing death. All the barrels of beer were rolled out from the cellar and the food supplies plundered. From that moment on nobody cared anymore about the house and any eventual fugitives. The party went on for hours until the men, fully satisfied by all the food and blood, gave the last attack on the house. Some torches were thrown into the rooms to try and set fire. But it was almost dawn and somebody shouted a command. The horses neighed and they all galloped away.

Helena had remained motionless and crouched in the cupboard for hours. No more sounds and moans were heard anymore and a fresh wind was now blowing in the quiet of a new day. The world, the trees, the birds were all standing still in front of this m******e and the thin and diaphanous air of the morning showed no recollection of the ferocity of the night before. She moved one leg, then the other and still hanging to the dog slowly got up. Unable to think, she got down the stairs in perfect silence. The kitchen was a battlefield and the old cook Elda was lying face up on the floor, probably dead more from a heart attack than by the hand of one of the criminals. Helena gently touched her cheek, closed her eyes and silently prayed for her soul.

In the meantime, the dog had run out and Helena followed him as if only half of her mind was aware of the situation, while the other was wondering why she was still alive and what would happen next. Outside, the atrocity was complete: bodies were casually flung around and between them she recognized Mr. Stansfield. Somebody had stolen his boots and his feet looked pale and fragile in the daylight. Helena said goodbye to him and promised she would look for the children and his wife, some day. Now, she was only able to throw up.

Vomiting cleared her head and in a few seconds she felt perfecly composed.

From “Four Stages of Cruelty”

engraving. n.3 “Cruelty in Perfection”

William Hogarth (1697-1764)

CHAPTER III