diff options
Diffstat (limited to '30711.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 30711.txt | 9458 |
1 files changed, 9458 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/30711.txt b/30711.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0208d04 --- /dev/null +++ b/30711.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9458 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of +Scotland, Volume 2, by Alexander Leighton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 2 + Historical, Traditional, and Imaginative + +Author: Alexander Leighton + +Release Date: December 19, 2009 [EBook #30711] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILSON'S TALES *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, Anne Storer and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + Wilson's + Tales of the Borders + AND OF SCOTLAND. + + HISTORICAL, TRADITIONARY, & IMAGINATIVE. + + WITH A GLOSSARY. + + REVISED BY + ALEXANDER LEIGHTON, + _One of the Original Editors and Contributors._ + + VOL. II. + + LONDON: + WALTER SCOTT, 14 PATERNOSTER SQUARE, + AND NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. + 1884. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + A WIFE OR THE WUDDY, (_John Mackay Wilson_), 1 + LORD DURIE AND CHRISTIE'S WILL, (_Alexander Leighton_), 33 + RECOLLECTIONS OF BURNS, (_Hugh Miller_), 65 + THE PROFESSOR'S TALES (_Professor Thomas Gillespie_)-- + THE CONVIVIALISTS, 122 + PHILIPS GREY, 144 + DONALD GORM, (_Alexander Campbell_), 155 + THE SURGEON'S TALES, (_Alexander Leighton_)-- + THE CURED INGRATE, 188 + THE ADOPTED SON, (_John Mackay Wilson_), 220 + THE FORTUNES OF WILLIAM WIGHTON, (_John Howell_), 247 + MY BLACK COAT; OR, THE BREAKING + OF THE BRIDE'S CHINA, (_John Mackay Wilson_), 276 + + + + + WILSON'S + TALES OF THE BORDERS + AND OF SCOTLAND. + +THE WIFE OR THE WUDDY. + + "There was a criminal in a cart + Agoing to be hanged-- + Reprieve to him was granted; + The crowd and cart did stand, + To see if he would marry a wife, + Or, otherwise, choose to die! + 'Oh, why should I torment my life?' + The victim did reply; + 'The bargain's bad in every part-- + But a wife's the worst!--drive on the cart.'" + + +Honest Sir John Falstaff talketh of "minions of the moon;" and, truth +to tell, two or three hundred years ago, nowhere was such an order of +knighthood more prevalent than upon the Borders. Not only did the +Scottish and English Borderers make their forays across the Tweed +and the ideal line, but rival chieftains, though of the same nation, +considered themselves at liberty to make inroads upon the property +of each other. The laws of _meum_ and _tuum_ they were unable to +comprehend. Theirs was the strong man's world, and with them _might_ was +_right_. But to proceed with our story. About the beginning of the +seventeenth century, one of the boldest knights upon the Borders was +William Scott, the young laird of Harden. His favourite residence was +Oakwood Tower, a place of great strength, situated on the banks of the +Ettrick. The motto of his family was "_Reparabit cornua Phoebe_," which +being interpreted by his countrymen, in their vernacular idiom, ran +thus--"We'll hae moonlight again." Now, the young laird was one who +considered it his chief honour to give effect to both the spirit and +the letter of his family motto. Permitting us again to refer to honest +Falstaff, it implied that they were "gentlemen of the night;" and he was +not one who would loll upon his pillow when his "avocation" called him +to the foray. + +It was drawing towards midnight, in the month of October, when the +leaves in the forest had become brown and yellow, and with a hard sound +rustled upon each other, that young Scott called together his retainers, +and addressing them, said--"Look ye, friends, is it not a crying sin and +a national shame to see things going aglee as they are doing? There +seems hardly such a thing as manhood left upon the Borders. A bit +scratch with a pen upon parchment is becoming of more effect than a +stroke with the sword. A bairn now stands as good a chance to hold and +to have, as an armed man that has a hand to take and to defend. Such a +state o' things was only made for those who are ower lazy to ride by +night, and ower cowardly to fight. Never shall it be said that I, +William Scott of Harden, was one who either submitted or conformed to +it. Give me the good, old, manly law, that 'they shall keep who can,' +and wi' my honest sword will I maintain my right against every enemy. +Now, there is our natural and lawful adversary, auld Sir Gideon Murray +o' Elibank, carries his head as high as though he were first cousin to a +king, or the sole lord o' Ettrick Forest. More than once has he slighted +me in a way which it wasna for a Scott to bear; and weel do I ken that +he has the will, and wants but the power, to harry us o' house and ha'. +But, by my troth, he shall pay a dear reckoning for a' the insults he +has offered to the Scotts o' Harden. Now, every Murray among them has a +weel-stocked mailing, and their kine are weel-favoured; to-night the +moon is laughing cannily through the clouds:--therefore, what say ye, +neighbours--will ye ride wi' me to Elibank? and, before morning, every +man o' them shall have a toom byre." + +"Hurra!" shouted they, "for the young laird! He is a true Scott from +head to heel! Ride on, and we will follow ye! Hurra!--the moon glents +ower the hills to guide us to the spoils o' Elibank! To-night we shall +bring langsyne back again." + +There were twenty of them, stout and bold men, mounted upon light +and active horses--some armed with firelocks, and others with Jeddart +staves; while, in addition to such weapons, every man had a good sword +by his side. At their head was the fearless young laird; and, at a brisk +pace, they set off towards Elibank. Mothers and maidens ran to their +cottage doors, and looked after them with foreboding hearts when they +rode along; for it was a saying amongst them, that "when young Willie +Scott o' Harden set his foot in the stirrup at night, there were to be +swords drawn before morning." They knew, also, the feud between him and +the house of Elibank, and as well did they know that the Murrays were a +resolute and a sturdy race. + +Morn had not dawned when they arrived at the scene where their booty +lay. Not a Murray was abroad; and to the extreme they carried the threat +of the young laird into execution, of making "toom byres." By scores and +by hundreds, they collected together, into one immense herd, horned +cattle and sheep, and they drove them before them through the forest +towards Oakwood Tower. The laird, in order to repel any rescue that +might be attempted, brought up the rear, and, in the joy of his heart, +he sang, and, at times, cried aloud, "There will be dry breakfasts in +Elibank before the sun gets oot, but a merry meal at Oakwood afore he +gangs doun. An entire bullock shall be roasted, and wives and bairns +shall eat o' it." + +"I humbly beg your pardon, Maister William," said an old retainer, named +Simon Scott, and who traced a distant relationship to the family; "I +respectfully ask your pardon; but I have been in your faither's family +for forty years, and never was backward in the hoor o' danger, or in a +ploy like this; but ye will just alloo me to observe, sir, that wilfu' +waste maks wofu' want, and I see nae occasion whatever for roasting a +bullock. It would be as bad as oor neebors on the ither side o' the +Tweed, wha are roast, roastin', or bakin' in the oven, every day o' the +week, and makin' a stane weight o' meat no gang sae far as twa or three +pounds wad hae dune. Therefore, sir, if ye will tak my advice, if we are +to hae a feast, there will be nae roastin' in the way. There was a fine +sharp frost the other nicht, and I observed the rime lying upon the +kail; so that baith greens and savoys will be as tender as a weel-boiled +three-month-auld chicken; and I say, therefore, let the beef be boiled, +and let them hae ladlefu's o' kail, and ye will find, sir, that instead +o' a hail bullock, even if ye intend to feast auld and young, male and +female, upon the lands o' Oakwood, a quarter o' a bullock will be amply +sufficient, and the rest can be sauted doun for winter's provisions. Ye +ken, sir, that the Murrays winna let us lichtly slip for this nicht's +wark; and it is aye safest, as the saying is, to lay by for a sair fit." + +"Well argued, good Simon," said the young laird; "but your economy +is ill-timed. After a night's work such as this there is surely +some licence for gilravishing. I say it--and who dare contradict +me?--to-night there is not one belonging to the house of Harden, be +they old or young, who shall not eat of roast meat, and drink of +the best." + +"Weel, sir," replied Simon, "wi' reverence be it spoken, but I would beg +to say that ye are wrang. Folk that ance get a liking for dainties tak +ill wi' plainer fare again; and, moreover, sir, in a' my experience, I +never kenned dainty bits and hardihood to go hand in hand; but, on the +contrary, luxuries mak men effeminate, and discontented into the +bargain." + +The altercation between the old retainer and his young master ran +farther; but it was suddenly interrupted by the deep-mouthed baying of a +sleuth-hound; and its threatening howls were followed by a loud cry, as +if from fifty voices, of--"To-night for Sir Gideon and the house of +Elibank!" + +But here we pause to say that Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank was a man +whose name was a sound of terror to all who were his enemies. As a foe, +he was fierce, resolute, unforgiving. He had never been known to turn +his back upon a foe, or forgive an injury. He knew the meaning of +justice in its severest sense, but not of compassion; he was a stranger +to the attribute of mercy, and the life of the man who had injured him, +he regarded as little as the life of the worm which he might tread +beneath his heel upon his path. He was a man of middle age; and had +three daughters, none of whom were what the world calls beautiful; but, +on the contrary, they were what even the dependents upon his estates +described as "very ordinary-looking young women." + +Such was Sir Gideon Murray of Elibank; and, although the young laird +of Harden conceived that he had come upon him as "a thief in the +night"--and some of my readers, from the transaction recorded, may be +somewhat apt to take the scriptural quotation in a literal sense--yet I +would say, as old Satchel sings of the Borderers of those days, they +were men-- + + "Somewhat unruly, and very ill to tame. + I would have none think that I call them thieves; + For, if I did, it would be arrant lies." + +But, stealthily as the young master of Harden had made his preparations +for the foray, old Sir Gideon had got timely notice of it; and hence it +was, that not a Murray seemed astir when they took the cattle from the +byres, and drove them towards Oakwood. But, through the moonlight, there +were eyes beheld every step they took--their every movement was watched +and traced; and amongst those who watched was the stern old knight, with +fifty followers at his back. + +"Quiet! quiet!" he again and again, in deep murmurs, uttered to his +dependents, throwing back his hand, and speaking in a deep and earnest +whisper, that awed even the slow but ferocious sleuth-hound that +accompanied them, and caused it to crouch back to his feet. In a yet +deeper whisper, he added, encouragingly--"Patience, my merry men!--bide +your time!--ye shall hae work before long go by." + +When, therefore, the young laird and his followers began to disperse in +the thickest of the forest, as they drove the cattle before them, Sir +Gideon suddenly exclaimed--"Now for the onset!" And, at the sound of his +voice, the sleuth-hound howled loud and savagely. + +"We are followed!--Halt! halt!--to arms! to arms!" cried the heir of +Harden. + +Three or four were left in charge of the now somewhat scattered herd of +cattle, and to drive them to a distance; while the rest of the party +spurred back their horses as rapidly as the tangled pass in the forest +would permit, to the spot from whence the voice of their young leader +proceeded. They arrived speedily, but they arrived too late. In a +moment, and with no signal save the baying of the hound, old Sir Gideon +and his armed company had burst upon young Scott and Old Simon, and ere +the former could cry for assistance, they had surrounded them. + +"Willie Scott! ye rash laddie!" cried Sir Gideon--"yield quietly, or +a thief's death shall ye die; and in the very forest through which +ye have this night driven my cattle, the corbies and you shall become +acquaint--or, at least, if ye see not them, they shall see you and feel +you too." + +"Brag on, ye auld greybeard," exclaimed the youth; "but while a Scott o' +Harden has a finger to wag, no power on earth shall make his tongue say +'I am conquered!' So come on!--do your best--do your worst--here is the +hand and the sword to meet ye!--and were ye ten to one, ye shall find +that Willie Scott isna the lad to turn his back, though ten full-grown +Murrays stand before his face." + +"By my sooth, then, callant," cried the old knight, "and it was small +mercy, after what ye hae done, that I intended to show ye; and after +what ye hae said, it shall be less that I will grant ye. Sae come on +lads, and now to humble the Hardens." + +"Arm! every Scott to arms!" again shouted the young laird; "and now, +Sir Gideon, if ye will measure weapons, and leave your _weel-faured_ +daughters as a legacy to the world, be it sae. But there are lads among +your clan o' whom they would hae been glad, and who, belike in _pity_, +might hae offered them their hands, but who will this night mak a bride +o' the green sward! Sae come on, Sir Gideon, and on you and yours be the +consequence!" + +"Before sunrise," returned Sir Gideon, "and the winsome laird o' Harden +shall boast less vauntingly, and rue that he had broke his jeers upon an +auld man. Touch me, sir, but not my bairns." + +The conflict began, and on each side the strife was bloody and +desperate. Bold men grasped each other by the throat, and they held +their swords to each other's breasts, scowling one upon another with +the ferocity of contending tigers, ere each gave the deadly plunge +which was to hurl both into eternity. The report of fire-arms, the +clash of swords, the clang of shields, with the neighing of maddened +horses, the lowing of affrighted cattle, the howl of the sleuth-hounds, +and the angry voices of fierce men, mingled wildly together, and, in +one fearful and discordant echo, rang through the forest. This wild +sound was followed by the low melancholy groans of the dying. But, as +I have already stated, the Scotts, and the cattle which they drove before +them, were scattered, and ere those who were in advance could arrive to +the rescue of their friends in the rear, the latter were slain, wounded, +or overpowered. They also fought against fearful odds. The young laird +himself had his sword broken in his grasp, and his horse was struck +dead beneath him. He was instantly surrounded and made prisoner by the +Murrays; and, at the same time, old Simon fell into their hands. + +The few remaining retainers of the house of Harden gave way when they +found their leader a captive, and they fled, leaving the cattle behind +them. Sir Gideon Murray, therefore, recovered all that had been taken +from him; and though he had captured but two prisoners, the one was the +chief, and the other his principal adviser and second in command. The +old knight, therefore, commanded that they should be bound with cords +together, and in such rueful plight led to his castle at Elibank. It was +noon before they reached it, and Lady Murray came forth to welcome her +husband, and congratulate him upon his success. But when she beheld the +heir of Harden a captive, and thought of how little mercy was to be +expected from Sir Gideon when once aroused, she remembered that she was +a mother, and that one of her children might one day be situated as +their prisoner then was. + +The young laird, with his aged kinsman and dependent, were thrust into +a dark room; and he who locked them up informed them that the next day +their bodies would be hung up on the nearest tree. + +"My life and lang fasting!" exclaimed Simon, "ye surely wouldna be +speaking o' sic a thing as hanging to an auld man like me. If we were +to be shot or beheaded--though I would like neither the ane nor the +ither--it wouldna be a thing in particular to be complained o'; but to +be hanged like a dog is so disgracefu' and unchristian-like, that I +would rather die ten times in a day, than feel a hempen cravat about my +neck ance. And, moreover, I must say that hanging is not treating my +dear young maister and kinsman as he ocht to be treated. His birth, his +rank, and the memory o' his ancestors and mine, demand mair respect; and +therefore, I say, gae tell your maister, that, if he is determined that +we are to die--though I have no ambition to cut my breath before my +time--that I think, as a gentleman, it is his duty to see that we die +the death o' gentlemen. + +"Silence, Simon," cried the young laird; "let Murray hang us in his +bedchamber if he will. No matter what manner o' death we die, provided +only that we die like men. Let him hang us if he dare, and the disgrace +be his that is coward enough so to make an end of his enemy. + +"O sir," said Simon, "but that is poor comfort to a man that has to +leave a small family behind him. + +"Simon! are you afraid to die?" cried the captive laird, in a tone of +rebuke. + +"No, your honour," said Simon--"that is, I am no more afraid to die than +other men are, or ought to be--but only ye'll observe, sir, that I have +no ambition--not, as I may say, to draw my last breath upon a wuddy, but +to have it very unnaturally stopped. Begging your pardon, but you are a +young man, while I have a wife and family that would be left to mourn +for me!--and O sir! the wife and the bits o' bairns press unco sairly +upon a man's heart, when death tries to come in the way between him and +them. In exploits like that in which we were last night engaged, and +also in battles abroad, I have faced danger in every shape a hundred +times--yet, sir, to be shot in a moment, as it were, or to be run +through the body, and to die honourably on the field, is a very +different thing from deliberately walking up a ladder to the branch o' +a tree, from which we are never to come doun in life again. And mair +than that, if we had been o' Johnny Faa's gang, they couldna hae treated +us mair disrespectfully than to condemn us to the death that they have +decreed for us." + +"Providing ye die bravely, Simon," said the young laird, "it is little +matter what manner o' death ye die; and as for your wife and weans, fear +not; my faither's house will provide for them. For, though I fall now, +there will be other heirs left to the estate o' Harden." + +While the prisoners thus conversed in the place of their confinement, +Lady Murray spoke unto her husband, saying--"And what, Sir Gideon, if +it be a fair question, may ye intend to do wi' the braw young laird o' +Harden, now that he is in your power?" + +He drew her gently by the arm towards the window, and pointing towards +a tree which grew at the distance of a few yards, he said--"Do ye see +yonder branch o' the elm tree that is waving in the wind? To-morrow, +young Scott and his kinsman shall swing there together, or hereafter say +that I am no Murray." + +"O guidman!" said she, "it is because I was terrified that ye would be +doing the like o' that, that caused me to ask the question. Now, I must +say, Sir Gideon, whatever ye may think, that ye are not only acting +cruelly, but foolishly." + +"I care naething about the cruelty," cried he; "what mercy did ever a +Scott among them show to me or to mine? Lady Murray, the ball is at my +foot, and I will kick it, though I deprive Scott o' Harden o' a head. +And what mean ye, dame, by saying I act foolishly?" + +"Only this, guidman," said she--"that ye hae three daughters to marry, +whom the world doesna consider to be ower weel-faured, and it isna every +day that ye hae a husband for ane o' them in your hand." + +"Sooth!" cried he, "and for once in your life ye are right, +guidwife--there is mair wisdom in that remark than I would hae +gien ye credit for. To-morrow, the birkie o' Harden shall have his +choice--either upon the instant to marry our daughter, Meikle-mouthed +Meg, or strap for it." + +"Weel, Sir Gideon," added she, "to make him marry Meg will be mair +purpose-like than to cut off the head and the hope of an auld house, in +the very flower o' his youth; and there is nae doubt as to the choice he +will mak, for there is an unco difference between them." + +"Dinna be ower sure," continued the knight; "there is nae saying what +his choice may be. There is both pluck and a spirit o' contradiction in +the callant, and I wouldna be in the least surprised if he preferred the +wuddy. I ken, had I been in his place, what my choice would hae been." + +"I daresay, Sir Gideon," replied the old lady, who was jocose at the +idea of seeing one of her daughters wed, "I daresay I could guess what +that choice would hae been." + +"And what, in your wisdom," said he sharply, "do ye think it would hae +been--the wife or the wuddy?" + +"O Gideon! Gideon!" said she, good-humouredly, and shaking her head, +"weel do ye ken that your choice would hae been a wife." + +"There ye are wrang," cried he; "I would rather die a death that was +before me, than marry a wife I had never seen. But go ye and prepare Meg +for becoming a bride the morn, and I shall see what the intended +bridegroom says to the proposal." + +In obedience to his commands, she went to an apartment in which their +eldest daughter Agnes, but commonly called "Meikle-mouthed Meg," then +sat, twirling a distaff. The old dame sat down by her daughter's side, +and, after a few observations respecting the weather, and the quality of +the lint she was then torturing into threads, she said--"Weel, I'm just +thinking, Meggie, that ye mak me an auld woman. Ye would be +six-and-twenty past at last Lammas." + +"So I believe, mother!" said Meggie; and a sigh, or a very deep and +long-drawn breath, followed her words. + +"Dear me!" continued the old lady, "young men maun be growing very +scarce. I wanted four months and five days o' being nineteen when I +married your faither, and I had refused at least six offers before I +took him!" + +"Ay, mother," replied the maiden; "but ye had a weel-faured face--there +lay the difference! Heigho!" + +"Heigho!" responded her mother, as in pleasant raillery--"what is the +lassie heighoing at? Certes, if ye get a guidman before ye be six and +twenty, ye may think yoursel' a very fortunate woman." + +"Yes," added the maiden; "but I see sma' prospect o' that. I doubt ye +will see the Ettrick running through the 'dowie dells o' Yarrow,' before +ye hear tell o' an offer being made to me." + +"Hoot, hoot!--dinna say sae, bairn," added her mother; "there is nae +saying what may betide ye yet. Ye think ye winna be married before ye +are six and twenty; but, truly, my dear, there has mony a mair unlikely +ship come to land. Now, what wad ye think o' the young laird o' Harden?" + +"Mother! mother!" said Agnes, "wherefore do ye mock me? I never saw ye +do that before. My faither has ta'en William Scott a prisoner; and, from +what I hae heard, he will hang him in the morning. Ye ken what a man my +faither is--when he says a thing he will do it; and how can you jest +about the young man, when his very existence is reduced to a matter o' +minutes and moments. Though, rather than my faither should tak his life, +if I could save him, he should take mine." + +"Weel said, my bairn," replied the old woman; "but dinna ye be put about +concerning what will never come to pass. I doubtna that, before morning, +ye will find young Scott o' Harden at your feet, and begging o' you to +save his life, by giving him your hand and troth, and becoming his wife: +and then, ye ken, your faither couldna, for shame, hang or do ony harm +to his ain son-in-law." + +"O mother! mother!" replied Agnes, "it will never be in my power to save +him; for what ye hae said he will never think o'; and even if I were his +wife, I question if my faither would pardon him, though I should beg it +upon my knees." + +"Oh, your faither's no sae ill as that, Meggie, my doo," said the old +lady. "Mark my words--if Willie Scott consent to marry you, ye will +henceforth find him and your faither hand and glove." + +While this conversation between Lady Murray and her daughter took place, +Sir Gideon entered the room where his prisoners were confined, and, +addressing the young laird, said--"Now, ye rank marauder, though death +is the very least that ye deserve or can expect from my hands, yet I +will gie ye a chance for your life, and ye shall choose between a wife +and the wuddy. To-morrow morning, ye shall either marry my daughter Meg, +or swing from the branch o' the nearest tree, and the bauldest Scott +upon the Borders shanna tak ye down, until ye drop away, bone by bone, +a fleshless skeleton." + +"Good save us! most honourable and good Sir Gideon!" suddenly +interrupted Simon, in a tone which bespoke his horror; "but ye certainly +dinna intend to make an anatomy o' me too; or surely, when my honoured +maister marries Miss Murray (as I hope and trust he will), ye will +alloo me to dance at their wedding, instead o' dancing in the air, and +keeping time to the music o' the soughing wind. And, O maister! for +my sake, for your ain sake, and especially out o' regard to my sma' +and helpless family, consent to marry the lassie, though she isna +extraordinar' weel-faured; for I am sure that, rather than die a dog's +death, swinging from a tree, I would marry twenty wives, though they +were a' as auld as the hills, as ugly as a starless midnicht, and had +tongues like trumpets." + +"Peace, Simon!" cried the young laird, impatiently; "if ye hae turned +coward, keep the sound o' yer fears within yer ain teeth. And ye, Sir +Gideon," added he, turning towards the old knight, "in your amazing +mercy and generosity, would spare my life, upon condition that I should +marry your _bonny_ daughter Meg! Look ye, sir--I am Scott o' Harden, and +ye are Murray o' Elibank; there is no love lost between us; chance has +placed my life in your hands--take it, for I wouldna marry your daughter +though ye should gie me life, and a' the lands o' Elibank into the +bargain. I fear as little to meet death as I do to tell you to your +teeth that, had ye fallen into my hands, I would have hung ye wi' as +little ceremony as I would bring a whip across the back o' a disobedient +hound. Therefore, ye are welcome to do the same by me. Ye have taken +what ye thought to be a sure mode o' getting a husband for ane o' your +_winsome_ daughters; but, in the present instance, it has proved a wrong +one, auld man. Do your worst, and there will be Scotts enow left to +revenge the death o' the laird o' Harden." + +"There, then, is my thumb, young braggart," exclaimed Sir Gideon, "that +I winna hinder ye in your choice; for to-morrow ye shall be exalted as +Haman was; and let those revenge your death who dare." + +"Maister!--dear maister!" cried Simon, wringing his hands, "will ye +sacrifice me also, and break the hearts o' my puir wife and family! +O sir, accept o' Sir Gideon's proposal, and marry his dochter." + +"Silence! ye milk-livered slave!" cried the young laird. "Do ye pretend +to bear the name o' Scott, and yet tremble like an ash leaf at the +thought o' death!" + +"Ye will excuse me, sir," retorted Simon, "but I tremble at no such +thing; only, as I have already remarked, I have no particular ambition +for being honoured wi' the exaltation o' the halter; and, moreover, I +see no cause why a man should die unnecessarily, or where death can be +avoided. Sir Gideon," added he, "humble prisoner as I at this moment +am, and in your power, I leave it to you if ever ye saw ony thing in my +conduct in the field o' battle (and ye have seen me there) that could +justify ony ane in calling me either milk-livered or a coward? But, sir, +I consider it would be altogether unjustifiable to deprive ane o' life, +which is always precious, merely because my maister is stubborn, and +winna marry your daughter. But, oh, sir, I am not a very auld man yet, +and if ye will set me at liberty, though I am now a married man, in the +event o' my ever becoming a widower, I gie ye my solemn promise that I +will marry ony o' your dochters that ye please!" + +"Audacious idiot!" exclaimed the old knight, raising his hand and +striking poor Simon to the ground. + +"Sir Gideon Murray!" cried the young laird fiercely, "are ye such a base +knave as to strike a fettered prisoner! Shame fa' ye, man! where is the +pride o' the Murrays now?" + +Sir Gideon evidently felt the rebuke, and, withdrawing from the +apartment, said, as he departed--"Remember that when the sun-dial shall +to-morrow note the hour of twelve, so surely shall ye be brought +forth--and a wife shall be your lot, or the wuddy your doom." + +"Leave me!" cried the youth impatiently, "and the gallows be it--my +choice is made. Till my last hour trouble me not again." + +"Sir! sir!" cried Simon, "I beg, I pray that ye will alter your +determination. There is surely naething so awful in the idea o' +marriage, even though your wife should have a face not particularly +weel-favoured. Ye dinna ken, sir, but that the young woman's looks are +her worst fault; and, indeed, I hae heard her spoken o' as a lassie o' +great sense and discretion, and as having an excellent temper; and, oh, +sir, if ye kenned as weel what it is to be married as I do, ye would +think that a good temper was a recommendation far before beauty." + +"Hold thy fool's tongue, Simon," cried the laird; "would ye disgrace the +family wi' which ye make it your boast to be connected, when in the +power and presence o' its enemies? Do as ye see me do--die and defy +them." + +It was drawing towards midnight, when the prison-door was opened, and +the sentinel who stood watch over it admitted a female dressed as a +domestic. + +"What want ye, or whom seek ye, maiden?" inquired the laird. + +"I come," answered she mildly, "to speak wi' the laird o' Harden, and to +ask if he has any dying commands that a poor lassie could fulfil for +him." + +"Dying commands!" responded Simon; "oh, are those no awful words!--and +can ye still be foolhardy enough to say ye winna marry?" + +"Who sent ye, maiden?--or who are ye?" continued the laird. + +"A despised lassie, sir," answered she, "and an attendant upon Sir +Gideon's lady, in whom ye hae a true and steadfast friend; though I +doubt that, as ye hae refused poor Meg, her intercession will avail ye +little." + +"And wherefore has Lady Murray sent you here?" he continued. + +"Just, sir, because she is a mother, and has a mother's heart; and, as +ye hae a mother and sisters who will now be mourning for ye at Oakwood, +she thought that, belike, ye would hae something to say that ye would +wish to hae communicated to them; and, if it be sae, I am come to offer +to be your messenger." + +"Maiden!" said he, with emotion, "speak not of my poor mother, or you +will unman me, and I would wish to die as becomes my father's son." + +"That's right, hinny," whispered Simon; "speak to him about his mother +again--talk about her sorrow, poor lady, and her tears, and distraction, +and mourning--and I hae little doubt but that we shall get him to marry +Meg, or do onything else, and I shall get back to my family after a'." + +"What is it that ye whisper, Simon, in the maiden's ear?" inquired the +laird, sternly. + +"Oh, naething, sir--naething, I assure ye," answered Simon, falteringly; +"I was only saying that, if ye sent her ower to Oakwood wi' a message to +your poor, honoured, wretched mother, that she would inquire for my poor +widow, Janet, and my bits o' bairns, and that she would tell them that +nothing troubled me upon my death-bed--no, no, not my death-bed, but--I +declare I am ashamed to think o't!--I was saying that I was simply +telling her to inform my wife and bairns, that nothing distracted me in +the hour o' death but the thought o' being parted from them." + +Without noticing the evasive reply of his dependent and fellow-prisoner, +the laird, addressing the intruder, said--"Ye speak as a kind and +considerate lassie. I would like to send a scrape o' a pen to my poor +mother, and, if ye will be its bearer, she will reward ye." + +"And, belike," she replied, "ye would like to hear if the good lady has +an answer back, or to learn how she bore the tidings o' your unhappy +fate." + +"Before you could return," said he, "the time appointed by my adversary +for my execution will be past, and I shall feel for my mother's sorrows +with the sympathy of a disembodied spirit." + +"But," added she, "if you would like to hear from your poor mother, or, +belike, to see her--for there may be family matters that ye would wish +to have arranged--I think, through the influence of my lady, Sir Gideon +could be prevailed upon to grant ye a respite for three or four days; +and, as he isna a man that keeps his passion long, perhaps by that time +he may be disposed to save your life upon terms that would be more +acceptable." + +"No, maiden," he replied; "he is my enemy; and from him I wish no +terms--no clemency. Let him fulfil his purpose--I will die; but my death +shall be revenged; and tell my mother that it was my latest injunction +that she should command every follower of our house to avenge her son's +death, while there is a Murray left in all Scotland to repent the deed +o' the knight o' Elibank." + +"Oh, sweet young ma'am, or mistress!" cried Simon; "bear the lady no +such message; but rather, as ye hae said, try if it be possible to get +your own good lady to persuade Sir Gideon to spare our lives for a few +days; and, as ye say, the edge o' the auld knight's revenge may be +blunted by that time, or, perhaps, my worthy young maister may be +brought to see things in a clearer light, and, perhaps, to marry Miss +Margaret, by which means our lives may be spared. For it is certainly +the height o' madness in him to sacrifice my life and his own, rather +than marry her before he has seen her." + +"Simon," interrupted the laird, "the maiden has spoken kindly; let her +endeavour to procure a respite--a reprieve for you. In your death my +enemy can have no gratification; but for me--leave me to myself." + +"O sir," replied Simon, "ye wrong me--ye mistake my meaning a'thegither. +If you are to die, I will die also; but do ye no think it would be as +valorous, and mair rational, at least to see and hear the young leddy +before ye determine to die rather than to marry her?" + +"And hae ye," said the maiden, addressing the laird, "preferred the +gallows to poor Meg without even seeing her?" + +"If I haena seen her I hae heard o' her," said he; "and by all accounts +her countenance isna ane that ony man would desire to see accompanying +him through the world like a shadow at his oxter." + +"Belike," said the maiden, "she has been represented to you worse than +she looks like--if ye saw her, ye might change your opinion; and, +perhaps, after a', that she isna bonny is a' that any one can say +against her." + +"Wheesht, lassie!" said he; "I winna be forced to onything. A Scott may +be led, but he winna drive. I have nae wish to see the face o' your +young mistress, for I winna hae her. But you speak as one that has a +feeling heart, and before I trust ye wi' my last letter to my poor +mother, I should like to have a glance at your face, and by your +countenance I shall judge whether or not it will be safe to trust ye." + +"I doubt, sir," replied she, throwing back the hood that covered her +head, "ye will see as little in my features as ye expect to find in my +young mistress's to recommend me; but, sir, you ought to remember that +jewels are often encrusted in coarser metals, and ye will often find a +delicious kernel within an unsightly shell." + +"Ye speak sweetly, and as sensibly as sweet," said he, raising the +flickering lamp, which burned before them upon a small table, and gazing +upon her countenance; "and I will now tell ye, lassie, that if your +features be not beautiful, there is honesty and kindliness written upon +every line o' them; and though ye are a dependent in the house o' my +enemy, I will trust ye. Try if I can obtain writing materials to address +a few lines to my mother, and I will confide in you to deliver them." + +"Ye may confide in me," rejoined she, "and the writing materials which +ye desire I hae brought wi' me. Write, and not only shall your letter be +faithfully delivered, but, as ye hae confided in me, I will venture to +say that your life shall be spared until ye receive her answer; for I +may say that what I request, Lady Murray will try to see performed. And +if I can find any means in my power by which ye can escape, it shall not +be lang that ye will remain a prisoner." + +"Thank ye!--doubly thank ye!" cried Simon; "ye are a good and a kind +creature; and though my maister refuses to marry your mistress, yet, had +I been single, I would hae married you. But, oh, when ye go wi' the +letter to his mother, my honoured lady, will ye just go away down to a +bit white house which lies by the river side, about a mile and a half +aboon Selkirk, and there ye will find my poor wife and bairns--or +rather, I should say, my unhappy widow and my orphans--and tell +them--oh, tell my wife--that I never kenned how dear she was to me till +now; but that, if she marries again, my ghost will haunt her night and +day; and tell also the bairns that, above everything, I charge them to +be good to their mother." + +The young laird sat down, and, writing a letter to his mother, intrusted +it to the hands of the stranger girl. He raised her hand to his lips as +she withdrew, and a tear trickled down his cheeks as he thanked her. + +It was early on the following morning that Meikle-mouthed Meg, as +she was called, requested an interview with her father, which being +granted, after respectfully rendering obeisance before him, she +said--"So, faither, I understand that it is your pleasure that I shall +this day become the wife o' young Scott o' Harden. I think, sir, that +it is due to the daughter o' a Murray o' Elibank, that she should be +courted before she gies her hand. The young man has never seen me; he +kens naething concerning me; an' never will yer dochter disgrace ye by +gieing her hand to a man who only accepted it to save his neck from a +hempen cord. Faither, if it be your command that I am to marry him, I +will an' must marry him; but, before I just make a venture upon him for +better for worse, an' for life, I wad like to hae some sma' acquaintance +wi' him, to see what sort o' a lad he is, and what kind o' temper he +has; and therefore, faither, I humbly crave that ye will put off the +death or the marriage for a week at least, that I may hae an opportunity +o' judging for mysel' how far it would be prudent or becoming in me to +consent to be his wife." + +"Gie me your hand, Meg," cried the old knight; "I didna think ye had as +muckle spirit and gumption in ye as to say what ye hae said. But your +request is useless; for he has already, point blank, refused to hae ye; +an' there is naething left for him, but, before sunset, to strike his +heels against the bark o' the auld elm tree." + +"Say not that, faither," said she--"let me at least hae four days to +become acquainted wi' him; and if in that time he doesna mak a request +to you to marry me without ony dowry, then will I say that I look even +waur than I get the name o' doing." + +"He shall have four days, Meg," cried the old knight; "for your sake he +will have them; but if, at the end o' four days, he shall refuse to take +ye, he shall hang before this window, and his poor half-crazed companion +shall bear him company." + +With this assurance Agnes, or, as she was called, Meg left her father, +and bethought her of how she might save the prisoners and secure a +husband. + +The mother of the laird sat in the midst of her daughters, mourning for +him, and looking from the window of the tower, as though, in every form +that appeared in the distance, she expected to see him, or at least to +gather tidings regarding him, when information was brought to her that +he was the prisoner of Murray of Elibank. + +"Then," cried she, and wept, "the days o' my winsome Willie are +numbered, and his death is determined on; for often has Sir Gideon +declared he would gie a' the lands o' Elibank for his head. My Willie is +my only son, my first-born, and my heart's hope and treasure; and, oh, +if I lose him now, if I shall never again hear his kindly voice say +'_mother_!' nor stroke down his yellow hair--wi' him that has made me +sonless I shall hae a day o' lang and fearfu' reckoning; cauld shall be +the hearth-stane in the house o' many a Murray, and loud their +lamentation." + +Her daughters wept with her for their brother's fate; but they wist not +how to comfort her; and, while they sat mingling their tears together, +it was announced to them that a humble maiden, bearing a message from +the captive laird, desired to speak with her. + +"Show her in!--take me to her!" cried the mother, impatiently. "Where is +she?--what does she say?--or what does my Willie say?" And the maiden +who has been mentioned as having visited the laird in his prison, was +ushered into her presence. + +"Come to me, lassie--come and tell me a'," cried the old lady; "what +message does Willie Scott send to his heart-broken mother?" + +"He has sent you this bit packet, ma'am," replied the bearer; "and I +shall be right glad to take back to him whatever answer ye may hae to +send." + +"And wha are ye, young woman?" inquired the lady, "that speaks sae +kindly to a mother, an' takes an interest in the fate o' my Willie?" + +"A despised lassie," was the reply; "but ane that would risk her ain +life to save either yours or his." + +"Bless you for the words!" replied Lady Scott, as she broke the seal of +her son's letter, and read:-- + +"My mother, my honoured mother,--Fate has delivered me into the power of +Murray of Elibank, the enemy of our house. He has doomed me to death, +and I die to-morrow; but sit not down to mourn for me, and uselessly +to wring the hands and tear the hair; but rouse every Scott upon the +Borders to rise up and be my avenger. If ye bewail the loss o' a son, +let them spare o' the Murrays neither son nor daughter. Rouse ye, and +let a mother's vengeance nerve your arm! Poor Simon o' Yarrow-foot is +to be my companion in death, and he whines to meet his fate with the +weakness of a woman, and yearns a perpetual yearning for his wife and +bairns. On that account I forgie him the want o' heart and determination +which he manifests; but see ye to them, and take care that they be +provided for. As for me, I shall meet my doom wi' disdain for my enemy +in my eyes and on my tongue. Even in death he shall feel that I despise +him; and a proof o' this I have given him already; for he has offered to +save my life, providing I would marry his daughter, Meikle-mouthed Meg. +But I have scorned his proposal."---- + +"Ye were right, Willie! ye were right, lad!" exclaimed his mother, while +the letter shook in her hand; but, suddenly bursting into tears, she +continued--"No, no! my bairn was wrong--very wrong. Life is precious, +and at all times desirable; and, for his poor mother's sake, he ought to +have married the lassie, whate'er she may be like." And, turning to the +bearer of the letter, she inquired--"And what like may the leddy be, the +marrying o' whom would save my Willie's life?" + +"Ye have nae doubt heard, my leddy," replied the stranger, "that she +isna what the world considers to be a likely lass--though, take her as +she is, and ye might find a hantle worse wives than poor Meg would make; +and, as to her features, I may say that she looks much the same as I do; +and if she doesna appear better, she at least doesna look ony waur." + +"Then, if she be as ye say, and look as ye say," continued the lady, "my +poor headstrong Willie ought to marry her. But, oh! weel do I ken that +in everything he is just his father ower again, and ye might as weel +think o' moving the Eildon hills as force him to onything." + +She perused the concluding part o' her son's letter, in which he spoke +enthusiastically of the kindness shown him by the fair messenger, and of +the promise she had made to liberate him if possible. "And if she does," +he added, "whatever be her parentage, on the day that I should be free, +she should be my wife, though I have preferred death to the hand o' Sir +Gideon's _comely_ daughter." + +"Lassie," said the lady, weeping as she spoke, "my poor Willie talks a +deal o' the kindness ye have shown him in the hour o' his distress, and +for that kindness his mother's heart thanks ye. But do you not think +that it is possible that I could accompany ye to Elibank? and, if ye can +devise no means for him to escape, perhaps, if ye could get me admitted +into his presence, when he saw his poor distressed mother upon her knees +before him, his heart would saften, and he would marry Sir Gideon's +daughter, ill-featured though she may be." + +"My leddy," answered the stranger maiden, "it is little that I can +promise, and less that I can do; but if ye desire to see yer son, I +think I could answer for accomplishing yer request; an' though nae guid +micht come oot o't, I could also say that I wad see ye safe back again." + +Within an hour, Lady Scott, disguised as a peasant, and carrying a +basket on her arm, set out for Elibank, accompanied by the fair +stranger. + +Leaving them upon their melancholy journey, we shall return to the +young laird. From the windows of his prison-house, he beheld the sun +rise which was to be the last on which he was to look. He heard the +sentinels, who kept watch over him, relieve each other; he heard them +pacing to and fro before the grated door, and as the sun rose towards +the south, proclaiming the approach of noon, the agitation of Simon +increased. He sat in a corner of the prison, and strove to pray; and, as +the footsteps of the sentinels quickened, he groaned in the bitterness +of his spirit. At length the loud booming of the gong announced that the +dial-plate upon the turret marked the hour of twelve. Simon clasped his +hands together. "Maister! maister!" he cried, "our hour is come, an' one +word from yer lips could save us baith, an' ye winna speak it. The very +holding oot o' yer hand could do it, but ye are stubborn even unto +death." + +"Simon," said the laird, "I hae left it as an injunction upon my mother, +that yer wife an' weans be provided for--she will fulfil my request. +Therefore, be ye content. Die like a man, an' dinna disgrace both +yourself an' me." + +"O sir! I winna disgrace, or in any manner dishonour ye," said +Simon--"only I do not see the smallest necessity for us to die, and +especially when both our lives could be saved by yer doing yerself a +good turn." + +While he spoke, the sound of the sentinels' footsteps, pacing to and +fro, ceased. The prison-door was opened; Simon fell upon his knees--the +laird looked towards the intruder proudly. + +"Your lives are spared for another day," said a voice, "that the laird +o' Harden may have time to reflect upon the proposal that has been made +to him. But let him not hope that he will find mercy upon other terms; +or that, refusing them for another day, his life will be prolonged." + +The door was again closed, and the bolts were drawn. The spirit of Sir +Gideon was too proud and impatient to spare the lives of his prisoners +for four days, as he had promised to his daughter to do, and he now +resolved that they should die upon the following day. + +The sun had again set, and the dim lamp shed around its fitful and +shadowy lights from the table of the prison-room, when the maiden, who +had carried the letter to the laird's mother, again entered. + +"This is kind, very kind, gentle maiden," said he; "would that I could +reward ye! An' hoo fares it with my puir mother?--what answer does she +send?" + +"An' oh, ma'am, or mistress!" cried Simon, "hoo fares it wi' my dear +wife an' bairns? I hope ye told them all that I desired ye to say. Hoo +did she bear the news o' being made a widow? An' what did she say to my +injunction that she was never to marry again?" + +"Ye talk wildly, man," said the maiden, addressing Simon; "it wasna in +my power to carry yer commands to yer wife; but, I trust, it will be +longer than ye expect before she will be a widow, or hae it in her power +to marry again." + +"O ye angel! ye perfect picture!" cried Simon, "what is that which I +hear ye say? Do ye really mean to tell me that I stand a chance o' being +saved, an' that I shall see my wife an' bairns again?" + +"Even so," said she; "but whether ye do or do not, rests with yer +master." + +"Speak not o' that, sweet maiden," said the laird; "but tell me, what +says my mother? How does she bear the fate o' her son; an' hoo does she +promise to avenge my death?" + +"She is as one whose heart-strings are torn asunder," was the reply, +"and who refuses to be comforted; but she wad rather hae another dochter +than lose an only son; an' her prayer is, that ye will live and mak her +happy, by marrying the maiden ye despise." + +"What!" he cried, "has even my mother so far forgot herself as to desire +me to marry the dochter o' oor enemy, whom no other man could be found +to take! It shall never be. I wad obey her in onything but that." + +"But," said the maiden, "I still think ye are wrong to reject and +despise puir Meg before that ye hae seen her. She may baith be better +an' look better than ye are aware o'. There are as guid as Scott o' +Harden who hae said, that were it in their power they wad mak her their +wife; an' ye should remember, sir, that it will be as pleasant for you +to hear the blithe laverock singing ower yer head, as for another person +to hear the wind soughing and the long grass rustling ower yer grave. Ye +hae another day to live, an' see her, an' speak to her, before ye decide +rashly. Yours is a cruel doom, but Sir Gideon is a wrathfu' man; an' +even for his ain flesh an' bluid he has but sma' compassion when his +anger is provoked. Death, too, is an awfu' thing to think aboot; an', +therefore, for yer ain sake, an' for the sake o' yer puir distressed +mother an' sisters, dinna come to a rash determination." + +"Sweet lass," replied he, "I respect the sympathy which ye evince; but +never shall Sir Gideon Murray say that, in order to save my life, he +terrified me into a marriage wi' his daughter. An' when my puir mother's +grief has subsided, she will think differently o' my decision." + +"Weel, sir," said the maiden, "since ye will not listen to my +advice--an' I own that I hae nae richt to offer it--I will send ane to +ye whose persuasion will hae mair avail." + +"Whom will ye send?" inquired the laird; "it isna possible that ye can +hae been playing me false?" + +"No," she replied, "that isna possible; an' from her that I will send to +you, you will see whether or not I hae kept my word, guid and truly, to +fulfil yer message." + +So saying, she withdrew, leaving him much wondering at her words, and +yet more at the interest which she took in his fate. But she had not +long withdrawn when the prison-door was again opened, and Lady Scott +rushed into the arms of her son. + +"My mother!" cried he, starting back in astonishment--"my mother!--hoo +is this?" + +"Oh, joy an' gladness, an' every blessing be upon my honoured lady! +for noo I may stand some chance o' walkin' back upon my ain feet to +see my family. Oh! yer leddyship," Simon added, "join yer prayers to my +prayers, an' try if ye can persuade my maister to marry Sir Gideon's +dochter, an' thereby save baith his life an' mine." + +But she fell upon the neck of her son, and seemed not to hear the words +which Simon addressed to her. + +"O my son! my son!" she cried; "since there is no other way by which yer +life can be ransomed, yield to the demand o' the fierce Murray. Marry +his daughter an' live--save yer wretched mother's life; for yer death, +Willie, wad be mine also." + +"Mother!" answered he, vehemently, "I will never accept life upon such +terms. I am in Murray's hands, but the day may come--yea, see ye that it +does come--when he shall fall into the hands o' the Scotts o' Harden; +an' see ye that ye do to him as he shall have done to me. But, tell +me, mother, hoo are ye here? Wherefore did ye venture, or hoo got ye +permission to see me? Ken ye not that if he found ye in his power, upon +your life also he wad fix a ransom?" + +"The kind lassie," she replied, "that brought the letter from ye, at my +request conducted me here, and contrived to get me permission to see +ye; an' she says that my visit shall not come to the knowledge o' Sir +Gideon. But, O Willie! as ye love an' respect the mother that bore ye, +an' that nursed ye nicht an' day at her bosom, dinna throw awa yer life +when it is in yer power to save it, but marry Miss Murray, an' ye may +live, an' so may I, to see many happy days; for, from a' that I hae +heard, though not weel-favoured, she is a young lady o' an excellent +disposition!" + +"Oh! that's richt, my leddy," interrupted Simon; "urge him to marry her, +for it would be a dreadfu' thing for him an' I to be gibbeted, as a pair +o' perpetual spectacles for the Murrays to mak a jest o'. Ye ken if he +does marry, an' if he finds he doesna like her, he can leave her; or +he needna live wi' her; or, perhaps, she may soon die; an' ye will +certainly agree that marriage, ony way ye tak it, is to be desired, a +thousand times ower, before a violent death. Therefore, urge him again, +yer leddyship, for he may listen to what ye say, though he despises my +words, an' will not hearken to my advice." + +"Simon," said the laird, "never shall a Murray hae it in his power to +boast that he struck terror into the breast o' a Scott o' Harden. My +determination is fixed as fate. I shall welcome my doom, an' meet it as +a man. Come, dear mother," he added, "weep not, nor cause me to appear +in the presence o' my enemies with a blanched cheek. Hasten to avenge my +death, an' think that in yer revenge yer son lives again. Come, though I +die, there will be moonlight again." + +She hung upon his breast and wept, but he turned away his head and +refused to listen to her entreaties. The young maiden again entered the +prison, and said-- + +"Ye must part noo, for in a few minutes Sir Gideon will be astir, an' +should he find yer leddyship here, or discover that I hae brought ye, I +wad hae sma' power to gie ye protection." + +"Fareweel, dear mother!--fareweel!" exclaimed the youth, grasping her +hand. + +"O Willie! Willie!" she cried, "did I bear ye to see ye come to an end +like this! Bairn! bairn! live--for yer mother's sake, live!" + +"Fareweel, mother!--fareweel!" he again cried, and the sentinel +conducted her from the apartment. + +It again drew towards noon. The loud gong again sounded, and Simon +sank upon his knees in despair, as the voice of the warder was heard +crying--"It is the hour! prepare the prisoners for execution!" + +Again the prison-door was opened, and Sir Gideon, with wrath upon his +brow, stood before them. + +"Weel, youngster," said he, addressing the laird, "yer hour is come. +What is yer choice--a wife or the wuddy?" + +"Lead me to execution, ye auld knave," answered the laird, scornfully; +"an' ken, that wi' the hemp around my neck, in contempt o' you an' +yours, I will spit upon the ground where ye tread." + +"Here, guards!" cried Sir Gideon; "lead forth William Scott o' Harden to +execution. Strap him upon the nearest tree, an' there let him hang until +the bauldest Scott upon the Borders dare to cut him down. As for you," +added he, addressing Simon, "I seek not your life; depart, ye are free; +but beware hoo ye again fall into the hands o' Gideon Murray." + +"No, sir!" exclaimed Simon, "though I am free to acknowledge that I hae +nae ambition to die before it is the wise will an' purpose o' nature, +yet I winna, I canna leave my dear young maister; an' if he be to +suffer, I will share his fate. Only, Sir Gideon, there is ae thing I hae +to say, an' that is, that he is young, an' he is proud an' stubborn, +like yersel', an' though he will not, o' his ain free will an' accord, +nor in obedience to yer commandments, marry yer dochter--is it not +possible to compel him, whether he be willing or no, an' so save his +life, as it were, in spite o' him?" + +"Away with both!" cried the knight, striking his ironed heel upon the +ground, and leaving the apartment. + +"Then, if it is to be, it must be," said Simon, folding his arms in +resignation, "an' there is no help for it! But, oh, maister! maister! +ye hae acted foolishly." + +They were led from the prison-house, and through the court-yard, towards +a tall elm-tree, round which all the retainers of Sir Gideon were +assembled to witness the execution; and the old knight took his place +upon an elevated seat in the midst of them. + +The executioners were preparing to perform their office, when Agnes, or +Muckle-mouthed Meg, as she was called, came forth, with a deep veil +thrown over her face, and sinking on her knee before the old knight, +said, imploringly--"A boon, dear faither--yer dochter begs a simple +boon." + +"Ye tak an ill season to ask it, Meg," said the knight, angrily; "but +what may it be?" + +She whispered to him earnestly for a few minutes, during which his +countenance exhibited indignation and surprise; and when she had +finished speaking, she again knelt before him and embraced his knees. + +"Rise, Meg, rise!" said he, impatiently, "for yer sake, an' at yer +request, he shall hae another chance to live." And, approaching the +prisoner, he added--"William Scott, ye hae chosen death in preference to +the hand o' my dochter. Will ye noo prefer to die rather than marry the +lassie that ran wi' the letter to yer mother, an' without my consent +brought her to see ye?" + +"Had another asked me the question," said the laird, "though I ken not +who she is, yet she has a kind heart, and I should hae said 'No,' an' +offered her my hand, heart, an' fortune; but to you, Sir Gideon, I only +say--do yer worst." + +"Then, Willie, my ain Willie!" cried his mother, who at that moment +rushed forward, "another does request ye to marry her, an' that is yer +ain mother!" + +"An'," said Agnes, stepping forward, and throwing aside the veil that +covered her face, "puir Meg, ower whom ye gied a preference to the +gallows, also requests ye!" + +"What!" exclaimed the young laird, grasping her hand, "is the kind +lassie that has striven, night and day, to save me--the very Meg that I +hae been treating wi' disdain?" + +"In troth am I," she replied, "an' do ye prefer the wuddy still?" + +"No," answered he; and, turning to Sir Gideon, he added--"Sir, I am now +willing that the ceremony end in matrimony." + +"Be it so," said the old knight, and the spectators burst into a shout. + +The day that began with preparations for death ended in a joyful bridal. +The honour of knighthood was afterwards conferred upon the laird; and +Meg bore unto him many sons and daughters, and was, as the reader will +be ready to believe, one of the best wives in Scotland; while Simon +declared that he never saw a better-looking woman in Ettrick Forest, +his own wife and daughters not excepted. + + + + +LORD DURIE AND CHRISTIE'S WILL. + + +Who can journey, now-a-days, along the high parts of Selkirkshire, and +hear the mire-snipe whistle in the morass, proclaiming itself, in the +silence around, the unmolested occupant of the waste, or descend into +the green valley, and see the lazy shepherd lying folded up in his +plaid, while his flocks graze in peace around him and in the distance, +and not think of the bold spirits that, in the times of Border warfare, +sounded the war-horn till it rang in reverberating echoes from hill to +hill? The land of the Armstrongs knows no longer their kindred. The +hills, ravines, mosses, and muirs, that, only a few centuries ago, +were animated by the boldest spirits that ever sounded a war-cry, and +defended to the death by men whose swords were their only charters of +right, have passed into other hands, and the names of the warlike +holders serve now only to give a grim charm to a Border ballad. An +extraordinary lesson may be read on the banks of the Liddel and the +Esk--there is a strange eloquence in the silence of these quiet dales. +Stand for a while among the graves of the chief of Gilnockie and his +fifty followers, in the lonely churchyard of Carlenrig--cast a +contemplative eye on the roofless tower of that brave riever, then +glance at the gorgeous policies of Bowhill, and resist, if you can, the +deep sigh that rises as a tribute to the memories of men who, having, +by their sleepless spirits, kept a kingdom in commotion, died on the +gallows, and left no generation to claim their lands from those who, +with less bravery and no better sense of right, had the subtle policy +to rise on their ruins. Poorly, indeed, now sound the names of Johnny +Armstrong, Sim of Whittram, Sim of the Cathill, Kinmont Willie, or +Christie's Will, besides those of Dukes of Buccleuch and Roxburgh, +Scott of Harden, and Elliot of Stobbs and Wells; and yet, without +wishing to take away the _merit_ or the _extent_ of their ancestors' +own "reif and felonie," how much do they owe to their succession to the +ill-got gear of those hardy Borderers whose names and scarcely credible +achievements are all that have escaped the rapacity that, not satisfied +with their lands, took also their lives! For smaller depredations, the +old laws of the Border--and it would not be fair to exclude those of the +present day, not confined to that locality--awarded a halter; for thefts +of a larger kind, they gave a title. Old Wat of Buccleuch deserved the +honour of "the neck garter" just as much as poor Johnny Armstrong; yet +all he got was a reproof and a dukedom. + + "Then up and spake the noble king-- + And an angry man, I trow, was he-- + 'It ill becomes ye, bauld Bucclew, + To talk o' reif or felonie; + For, if every man had his ain cow, + A right puir clan yer name would be.'" + +There is a change now. The bones of the bold Armstrongs lie in +Carlenrig, and the descendants of their brother-rievers who got their +lands sit in high places, and speak words of legislative command. But +these things will be as they have ever been. We cannot change the world, +far less remake it; but we can resuscitate a part of its moral wonders; +and, while the property of Christie's Will, the last of the bold +Armstrongs, is now possessed by another family, under a written title, +we will do well to commit to record a part of his fame. + +It is well known that the chief of the family of Armstrongs had his +residence[A] at Mangerton in Liddesdale. There is scarcely now any +trace of his tower, though time has not exerted so cruel a hand against +his brother Johnny Armstrong's residence, which lies in the Hollows near +Langholme. We know no tumult of the emotions of what may be called +antiquarian sentiment, so engrossing and curious as that produced by +the headless skeleton of "auld Gilnockie's Tower," as it is seen in the +grey gloaming, with a breeze brattling through its dry ribs, and a stray +owl sitting on the top, and sending his eldritch screigh through the +deserted hollows. The mind becomes busy on the instant with the former +scenes of festivity, when "their stolen gear," "baith nolt and sheep," +and "flesh, and bread, and ale," as Maitland says, were eaten and drunk +with the _kitchen_ of a Cheviot hunger, and the sweetness of stolen +things; and when the wild spirit of the daring outlaws, with Johnny +at their head, made the old tower of the Armstrongs ring with their +wassail shouts. This Border turret came--after the execution of Johnny +Armstrong, and when the clan had become what was called a broken +clan--into the possession of William Armstrong, who figured in the times +of Charles I. He was called Christie's Will, though from what reason +does not now seem very clear; neither is it at all evident why, after +the execution of his forbear, Johnny, and his fifty followers, at +Carlenrig, the Tower of Gilnockie was not forfeited to the crown, and +taken from the rebellious clan altogether; but, to be sure it was in +those days more easy to take a man's life than his property, insomuch as +the former needed no guard, while the other would have required a small +standing army to keep it and the new proprietor together. Certain, +however, it is, that Christie's Will did get possession of the Tower of +Gilnockie, where, according to the practice of the family, he lived "on +Scottish ground and English kye;" and, when the latter could not easily +be had, on the poorer land of his neighbours of Scotland. + + [A] In a MS. we have seen, as old as the end of the 15th + century, "the Laird of Mangerton" is placed at the head of the + Liddesdale chiefs--Harden, Buccleuch, and others coming after him + in respectful order. + +This descendant of the Armstrongs was not unlike Johnny; and, indeed, it +has been observed that throughout the whole branches of the family there +was an extraordinary union of boldness and humour--two qualities which +have more connection than may, at first view, be apparent. Law-breakers, +among themselves, are seldom serious; a lightness of heart and a turn +for wit being necessary for the sustenance of their outlawed spirits, as +well as for a quaint justification--resorted to by all the tribe--of +their calling, against the laws of the land. In the possession of these +qualities, Will was not behind the most illustrious of his race; but he, +perhaps, excelled them all in the art of "_conveying_"--a polite term +then used for that change of ownership which the affected laws of the +time denominated _theft_. This art was not confined to cattle or +plenishing, though + + "They left not spindell, spoone, nor speit, + Bed, boster, blanket, sark, nor sheet: + John of the Park ryps kist and ark-- + To all sic wark he is sae meet."[B] + + [B] See Maitland's curious satire on the Border robberies.--ED. + +It extended to abduction, and this was far seldomer exercised on damsels +than on men, who would be well ransomed, especially of those classes, +duke, earl, or baron, any of whom Johnny offered (for his life) to +bring, "within a certain day, to his Majesty James V., either quick +or dead." This latter part of their art was the highest to which the +Borderers aspired; and there never was a riever among them all that +excelled in it so much as Christie's Will. "To steal a stirk, or wear a +score o' sheep _hamewards_," he used to say, "was naething; but to steal +a _lord_ was the highest flicht o' a man's genius, and ought never to be +lippened to a hand less than an Armstrong's;" and, certainly, if the +success with which he executed one scheme of that high kind will +guarantee Will's boasted abilities, he did not transcend the truth in +limiting lord-stealing to the Armstrongs. + +Will married a distant relation of the true Border breed, named Margaret +Elliot--a lass whose ideas of hussyskep were so peculiar, that she +thought Gilnockie and its laird were going to ruin when she saw in the +kail-pot a "heugh bane" of their _own_ cattle, a symptom of waste, +extravagance, and laziness, on the part of her husband, that boded less +good than the offer made by "the Laird's Jock," (Johnny Armstrong's +henchman,) to give "Dick o' the Cow" a piece of his own ox, which he +came to ask reparation for, and, not having got it, tied with St. Mary's +knot (hamstringed) thirty good horses. To this good housewife, in fact, +might be traced, if antiquaries would renounce for it less important +investigations, the old saying, that stolen joys (qu. queys?) are +sweetest, undoubtedly a Border aphorism, and now received into the +society of legitimate moral sayings. When lazy and not inclined for +"felonie," Will would not subscribe to the truth of the dictum, and +often got for grace to the dinner he had not taken from the English, and +yet relished, the wish of the good dame, that, for his want of spirit, +it might choke him. That effect, however, was more likely to be produced +by the beef got in the regular Border way; for the laws were beginning +now to be more vigorously executed, and many a riever was astonished and +offended by the proceedings of the Justice-Ayr at Jedburgh, where they +were actually going the length of _hanging_ for the crime of _conveying_ +cattle from one property to another. + +It was in vain that Will told his wife these proceedings of the Jedburgh +court; she knew very well that many of the Armstrongs, and the famous +Johnny among the rest, had been strung up, by the command of their king, +for rebellion against his authority; but it was out of all question, +beyond the reach of common sense, and, indeed, utterly barbarous and +unjust to hang a man, as Gilderoy's lover said, "for gear," a thing that +never yet was known to be stationary, but, even from the times of the +Old Testament, given to taking to itself wings and flying away. It was, +besides, against the oldest constitution of things, the old possessors +being the _Tories_, who acted upon the comely principle already alluded +to, that right was might--the new lairds, again, being the Whigs, who +wished to take from the Tories (the freebooters) the good old law of +nature and possession, and regulate property by the mere conceits of +men's brains. To some such purpose did Margaret argue against Will's +allusions to the doings at Jedburgh; but, secretly, Will cared no more +for the threat of a rope, than he did for the empty bravado of a +neighbour whom he had eased of a score of cattle. He merely brought +in the doings of the Justice-Ayr at Jedburgh, to screen his fits of +laziness; those states of the mind common to rievers, thieves, writers, +and poets, and generally all people who live upon their wits, which +at times incapacitate them for using sword or pen for their honest +livelihood. But all Margaret's arguments and Will's courage were on one +occasion overturned, by the riever's apprehension for stealing a cow, +belonging to a farmer at Stobbs, of the name of Grant. He was carried +to Jedburgh jail, and indicted to stand his trial before the Lord +Justice-General at the next circuit. There was a determination, on the +part of the crown authorities, to make an example of the most inveterate +riever of the time, and Will stood a very fair chance of being hanged. + +The apprehension of Will Armstrong made a great noise throughout all +Liddesdale, producing, to the class of victims, joy, and to the class +of spoilers, great dismay; but none wondered more at the impertinence +and presumption of the government authorities in attempting thus to +dislocate the old Tory principle of "might makes right," than Margaret +Elliot; who, as she sat in her turret of Gilnockie, alternately wept and +cursed for the fate of her "winsome Will," and, no doubt, there was in +the projected condemnation and execution of a man six feet five inches +high, with a face like an Adonis, shoulders like a Milo, the speed of +Mercury, the boldness of a lion, and more than the generosity of that +noble animal, for the crime of stealing a stirk, something that was very +apt to rouse, even in those who loved him not so well as did Margaret, +feelings of sympathy for his fate, and indignation against his +oppressors. There was no keeping, as the artists say, in the picture, no +proper causality in a stolen cow, for the production of such an effect +as a hanged Phaon or strangled Hercules; and though we have used some +classic names to grace our idea, the very same thought, at least as good +a one, though perhaps not so gaudily clothed, occupied the mind of +Margaret Elliot. She sobbed and cried bitterly, till the Gilnockie +ravens and owls, kindred spirits, were terrified from the riever's +tower. + +"What is this o't?" she exclaimed, in the midst of her tears. "Shall +Christie's Will, the bravest man o' the Borders, be hanged because a +cow, that kenned nae better, followed him frae Stobbs to the Hollows; +and shall it be said that Margaret Elliot was the death o' her braw +riever? I had meat enough in Gilnockie larder that day I scorned him wi' +his laziness, and forced him to do the deed that has brought him to +Jedburgh jail. But I'll awa to the warden, James Stewart o' Traquair, +and see if it be the king's high will that a man's life should be ta'en +for a cow's." + +Making good her resolution, Margaret threw her plaid about her +shoulders, and hied her away to Traquair House, the same that still +stands on the margin of the Tweed, and raises its high white walls, +perforated by numerous Flemish-shaped windows, among the dark woods of +Traquair. When she came to the front of the house, and saw the two stone +figures stationed at the old gate, she paused and wondered at the +weakness and effeminacy of the Lord High Steward in endeavouring to +defend his castle by fearful representations of animals. + +"My faith," muttered she to herself, as she approached to request +entrance, "the warden was right in no makin' choice o' the figure o' a +_quey_ to defend his castle." And she could scarcely resist a chuckle in +the midst of her tears, at her reference to the cause of her visit. + +"Is my Lord Steward at hame?" said she to the servant who answered her +call. + +"Yes," answered the man; "who is it that wishes to see him?" + +"The mistress o' Gilnockie," rejoined Margaret, "has come to seek a guid +word for Christie's Will, who now lies in Jedburgh jail for stealing a +tether, and I fear may hang for't." + +The servant heard this extraordinary message as servants who presume to +judge of the sense of their messages ever do, with critical attention, +and, after serious consideration, declared that he could not deliver +such a message to his lord. + +"I dinna want ye to deliver my message, man," said Margaret. "I merely +wished to be polite to ye, and show ye a little attention. God be +thankit, the mistress o' Gilnockie can deliver her ain errand." + +And, pushing the waiting man aside by a sudden jerk of her brawnie arm, +she proceeded calmly forward to a door, which she intended to open; but +the servant was at her heels, and, laying hold of her plaid, was in the +act of hauling her back, when the Warden himself came out, and asked the +cause of the affray. + +"Is the house yours, my Lord, or this man's?" said Margaret. "Take +my advice, my Lord," (whispering in his ear,) "turn him aff--he's a +traitor; would you believe it, my Lord, that, though placed there for +the purpose o' lettin' folk into yer Lordship, he actually--ay, as sure +as death--tried to keep me oot! Can ye deny it, sir? Look i' my face, +and deny it if ye daur!" + +The man smiled, and his Lordship laughed; and Margaret wondered at the +easy good-nature of a Lord in forgiving such a heinous offence on the +part of a servitor. + +"If ye're as kind to me as ye are to that rebel," continued Margaret, as +she followed his Lordship into his sitting chamber, "Christie's Will +winna hang yet." + +"What mean you, good woman?" said the Warden. "What is it that you +want?" + +"As if your Lordship didna ken," answered Margaret, with a knowing look. +"Is it likely that a Liddesdale woman frae the Hollows, should ca' upon +the great Warden for aught short o' the life and safety o' the man wha's +in Jedburgh jail?" (Another Scotch wink.) + +"I am still at a loss, good woman," said the Warden. + +"At a loss!" rejoined Margaret. "What! doesna a' the Forest,[C] and +Teviotdale and Tweeddale to boot, ken that Christie's Will is in +Jedburgh jail?" + + [C] Selkirkshire. + +"I know, I know, good dame," replied the Warden, "that that brave riever +is in prison; but I thought his crime was the stealing of a cow, and not +a tether, as I heard you say to my servant." + +"Weel, weel--the cow may have been at the end o' the tether," replied +Margaret. + +"She is a wise woman who concealeth the _extremity_ of her husband's +crime," replied Lord Traquair, with a smile, "But what wouldst thou have +me to do?" + +"Just to save Christie's Will frae the gallows, my Lord," answered +Margaret. And, going up close to his Lordship, and whispering in his +ear--"And sometimes a Lord needs a lift as weel as ither folk. If +there's nae buck on Traquair when your Lordship has company at the +castle, you hae only to gie Christie's Will a nod, and there will be +nae want o' venison here for a month. There's no a stouthriever in a' +Liddesdale, be he baron or bondsman, knight or knave, but Christie's +Will will bring to you at your Lordship's bidding, and a week's biding; +and if there's ony want o' a braw leddie," (speaking low,) "to keep the +bonny house o' Traquair in order, an' she canna be got for a carlin +keeper, a wink to Christie's Will will bring her here, unscathed by sun +or wind, in suner time than a priest could tie the knot, or a lawyer +loose it. Is sic a man a meet burden for a fir wuddy, my Lord?" + +"By my faith, your husband hath good properties about him," replied +Traquair. "There is not one in these parts that knoweth not Christie's +Will; but I fear it is to that fame he oweth his danger. He is the last +of the old Armstrongs; and there is a saying hereaway, that + + 'Comes Liddesdale's peace + When Armstrongs cease;' + +and since, good dame, it would ill become the King's Warden to let slip +the noose that is to catch peace and order for our march territories, +yet Will is too noble a fellow for hanging. Go thy ways. I'll see +him--I'll see him." + +"Hech na, my Lord," answered Margaret; "I'll no budge frae this house +till ye say ye'll save him this ance. I'll be caution and surety for +him mysel', that he'll never again dine in Gilnockie on another man's +surloins. His clan has been lang a broken ane; but I am now the head +o't, and it has aye been the practice in our country to make the head +answer for the rest o' the body." + +"Well, that is the practice of the hangman at Jedburgh," replied +Traquair, laughing. "But go thy ways. Will shall not hang yet. He hath +a job to do for me. There's a 'lurdon'[D] of the north he must steal for +me. I'll take thy bond." + + [D] It has been attempted to derive this word from "Lord," + (paper lord); but we have no faith in the etymology; it was, however, + often applied to the wigged and gowned judges, as being, in their + appearance, more like women than men--for "lurdon," though applied + to a male, is generally used for a lazy woman.--ED. + +"Gie me your hand then, my Lord," said the determined dame; "and the +richest lurdon o' the land he'll bring to your Lordship, as surely as +he ever took a Cumberland cow--whilk, as your Lordship kens, is nae +rieving." + +Traquair gave the good dame his hand, and she departed, wondering, as +she went, what the Lord Warden was to do with a stolen lurdon. A young +damsel might have been a fair prize for the handsome baron; but an "auld +wife," as she muttered to herself, was the most extraordinary object of +rieving she had ever heard of, amidst all the varieties of a Borderer's +prey. Next day Traquair mounted his horse, and-- + + "Traquair has riden up Chaplehope, + An' sae has he doun by the Grey-Mare's-Tail; + He never stinted the light gallop, + Until he speered for Christie's Will." + +Having arrived at Jedburgh, he repaired direct to the jail, where +Margaret had been before him, to inform her husband that the great Lord +Warden was to visit him, and get him released; but upon the condition of +stealing away a lurdon in the north--a performance, the singularity of +which was much greater than the apparent difficulty, unless, indeed, as +Will said, she was a bedridden lurdon, in which case, it would be no +easy matter to get her conveyed, as horses were the only carriers of +stolen goods in those days. But the wonder why Traquair should wish to +steal away an old woman had perplexed the wits of Will and his wife to +such an extent, that they had recourse to the most extraordinary +hypotheses; supposing at one time that she was some coy heiress of +seventy summers, who had determined to be carried off after the form of +young damsels in the times of chivalry; at another, that she was the +parent of some lord, who could only be brought to concede something to +the Warden by the force of the impledgment of his mother; and, again, +that she was the duenna of an heiress, who could only be got through the +confinement of the old hag. Be who she might, however, Christie's Will +declared, upon the faith of the long shablas of Johnny Armstrong, that +he would carry her off through fire and water, as sure as ever Kinmont +Willie was carried away by old Wat of Buccleuch from the Castle of +Carlisle. + + "Oh, was it war-wolf in the wood, + Or was it mermaid in the sea, + Or was it maid or lurdon auld, + He'd carry an' bring her bodilie." + +Such was the heroic determination to which Christie's Will had come, +when the jailor came and whispered in his ear, that the Lord Warden was +in the passage on the way to see him. Starting to his feet, the riever +was prepared to meet the baron, of whom he generally stood in so much +awe in his old tower of Gilnockie, but who came to him now on a visit +of peace. + +"Thou'lt hang, Will, this time," said the Warden, with an affectation of +gruffness, as he stepped forward. "It is not in the power of man to save +ye!" + +"Begging yer Lordship's pardon," replied Will, "I believe it, however, +to be in the power o' a woman. The auld lurdon will be in Gilnockie +tower at yer Lordship's ain time." + +"And who is the 'auld lurdon?'" replied the Warden, trying to repress a +laugh, which forced its way in spite of his efforts. + +"Margaret couldna tell me that," said Will; "but many a speculation we +had on the question yer Lordship has now put to me. 'Wha can she be?' +said Peggy; and 'Wha can she be?' replied I; but it's for yer Lordship +to say wha she _is_, and for me to steal the auld limmer awa, as sure as +ever I _conveyed_ an auld milker frae the land o' the Nevills. I'm nae +sooner free than she's a prisoner." + +The familiarity with which Will spoke of the female personage thus +destined to durance vile, produced another laugh on the part of the +Warden, not altogether consistent, as Will thought, with the serious +nature of the subject in hand. + +"Where is she, my Lord?" continued Will; "in what fortress?--wha is her +keeper?--whar will I tak her, and how long retain her a prisoner?" + +"I fear, Will, she is beyond the power o' mortal," said his Lordship, in +a serious voice; "but on condition of thy making a fair trial, I will +make intercession for thy life, and take the chance of thy success. Much +hangeth by the enterprise--ay, even all my barony of Coberston dependeth +upon that 'lurdon' being retained three months in a quiet corner of +Graeme's Tower. Thou knowest the place?" + +"Ay, weel, weel," replied Will, who began to see the great importance of +the enterprise, while his curiosity to know who the object was had +considerably increased. "That tower has its 'redcap sly.' E'en Lord +Soulis' Hermitage is no better guarded. Ance there, and awa wi' care, +as we say o' Gilnockie as a rendezvous for _strayed_ steers. But who is +she, my Lord?" + +"Thou hast thyself said she is a woman," replied the Warden, smiling, +"and I correct thee not. Hast thou ever heard, Will, of fifteen old +women--'lurdons,' as the good people call them--that reside in a large +house in the Parliament close of Edinburgh?" + +"Brawly, brawly," answered Will, with a particular leer of fun and +intelligence; "and weel may I ken the limmers--real lurdons, wi' lang +gowns and curches. Ken them! Wha that has a character to lose, or a +property to keep against the claims o' auld parchment, doesna ken thae +fifteen auld runts? They keep the hail country side in a steer wi' their +scandal. Nae man's character is safe in their keeping; and they're sae +fu' o' mischief that they hae even blawn into the king's lug that my +tower o' Gilnockie was escheat to the king by the death o' my ancestor, +who was hanged at Carlenrig. They say a' the mischief that has come on +the Borders sin' the guid auld times, has its beginning in that coterie +o' weazened gimmers. Dootless, they're at the root o' the danger o' yer +bonny barony o' Coberston. By the rood! I wish I had a dash at their big +curches." + +"Ay, Will," responded Traquair; "but they're securely lodged in their +strong Parliament House, and the difficulty is how to get at them." + +"But I fancy ane o' the lurdons will satisfy yer Lordship," said Will, +"or do ye want them a' lodged in Graeme's Tower? They would mak a bonny +nest o' screighing hoolets, if we had them safely under the care o' +the sly redcap o' that auld keep: they wad hatch something else than +scandal, and leasin-makin, and reports o' the instability o' Border +rights, the auld jauds." + +"I will be content with one of them," rejoined the Warden. + +"Ha! ha! I see, I see," replied Will. "Ane o' the limmers has been +sapping and undermining Coberston wi' her hellish scandal. What's the +lurdon's name, my Lord?" + +"Gibson of Durie," rejoined Traquair. + +"Ah! a weel-kenned scandalous runt that," replied Will. "She's the +auldest o' the hail fifteen, if I'm no cheated--Leddie President o' the +coterie. She spak sair against me when the King's advocate claimed for +his Majesty my auld turret o' Gilnockie. I owe that quean an auld score. +How lang do you want her lodged in Graeme's Tower?" + +"Three months would maybe change her tongue," replied the Warden; +"but the enterprise seems desperate, Will." + +"Desperate! my Lord," replied the other--"that word's no kenned on the +Borders. Is it the doing o't, or the dool for the doing o't, that has +the desperation in't?" + +"The consequences to you would be great, Will," said Traquair. "You are +confined here for stealing a cow, and would be hanged for it if I did +not save ye. Our laws are equal and humane. For stealing a cow one may +be hanged; but there's no such law against stealing a paper-lord." + +"That shows the guid sense o' our lawgivers," replied Will, with a leer +on his face. "The legislator has wisely weighed the merits o' the twa +craturs; yet, were it no for your case, my Lord, I could wish the law +reversed. I wad be in nae hurry stealing ane o' thae cummers, at least +for my ain use; and, as for Peggy, she would rather see a cow at +Gilnockie ony day." + +"Weel, Will," said his Lordship, "I do not ask thee to steal for me old +Leddie Gibson. I dare not. You understand me; but I am to save your +life; and I tell thee that, if that big-wigged personage be not, within +ten days, safely lodged in Graeme's Tower, my lands of Coberston will +find a new proprietor, and your benefactor will be made a lordly +beggar." + +"Fear not, my Lord," replied Will. "I'm nae suner out than she's in. +She'll no say a word against Coberston for the next three months, I +warrant ye. But, by my faith, it's as teuch a job as boilin' auld Soulis +in the cauldron at the Skelfhill; and I hae nae black spae-book like +Thomas to help my spell. Yet, after a', my Lord, what spell is like the +wit o' man, when he has courage to act up to 't!" + +The Warden acknowledged the truth of Will's heroic sentiment; and, +having satisfied himself that the bold riever would perform his promise, +he departed, and in two days afterwards the prisoner was liberated, and +on his way to his residence at the Hollows. It was apparent, from Will's +part of the dialogue, that he had some knowledge of the object the Lord +Warden had in view in carrying off a Lord of Session from the middle of +the capital; yet it is doubtful if he troubled himself with more than +the fact of its being the wish of his benefactor that the learned judge +should be for a time confined in Graeme's Tower; and, conforming to a +private hint of his Lordship before he departed from the jail, he kept +up in his wife Margaret's mind the delusion that it was truly "an auld +lurdon" whom he was to steal, as a condition for getting out of prison. +On the morning after his arrival at Gilnockie, Will held a consultation +with two tried friends, whose assistance he required in this most +extraordinary of all the rieving expeditions he had ever yet been +engaged in; and the result of their long sederunt was, that, within two +hours after, the three were mounted on as many prancing Galloways, and +with a fourth led by a bridle, and carrying their provisions, a large +cloak, and some other articles. They took the least frequented road to +the metropolis of Scotland. Having arrived there, they put up their +horses at a small hostelry in the Grassmarket; and, next day, Will, +leaving his friends at the inn, repaired to that seat of the law and +learning of Scotland, where the "hail fifteen" sat in grim array, +munching, with their toothless jaws, the thousand scraps of Latin +law-maxims (borrowed from the Roman and feudal systems) which then +ruled the principles of judicial proceedings in Scotland. + +Planting himself in one of the litigants' benches--a line of seats in +front of the semicircle where the fifteen Lords sat--the Liddesdale +riever took a careful survey of all the wonders of that old laboratory +of law. The first objects that attracted his attention, were, of course, +the imposing semicircular line of judges, no fewer than fifteen (almost +sufficient for a small standing army for puny Scotland in those days), +who, wigged and robed, sat and nodded and grinned, and munched their +chops in each other's faces, with a most extraordinary regularity of +mummery, which yielded great amusement to the stalworth riever of the +Borders. Their appearance in the long gowns, with sleeves down to the +hands, wigs whose lappets fell on their breasts, displaying many a line +of crucified curl, and white cambric cravats falling from below their +gaucy double-chins on their bosoms, suggested at once the appellation of +lurdons, often applied to them in those days, and now vivid in the fancy +of the staring Borderer, whose wild and lawless life was so strangely +contrasted with that of the drowsy, effeminate-looking individuals who +sat before him. He understood very little of their movements, which had +all the regularity and ceremony of a raree-show. One individual (the +macer) cried out, at intervals, with a cracked voice, some words he +could not understand; but the moment the sound had rung through the +raftered hall, another species of wigged and robed individuals +(advocates) came forward, and spoke a strange mixture of English and +Latin, which Will could not follow; and, when they had finished, the +whole fifteen looked at each other, and then began, one after another, +but often two or three at a time, to speak, and nod, and shake their +wigs, as if they had been set agoing by some winding-up process on the +part of the advocates. Not one word of all this did Will understand; +and, indeed, he cared nothing for such mummery, but ever and anon fixed +his keen eye on the face of the middle senator, with an expression that +certainly never could have conveyed the intelligence that that rough +country-looking individual meditated such a thing as an abduction of the +huge incorporation of law that sat there in so much state and solidity. + +"Ha! ha! my old lass," said Will to himself; "ye little ken that the +Laird o' Gilnockie, whom ye tried to deprive of his birthright, sits +afore ye; and will a' the lear 'neath that big wig tell ye that that +same Laird o' Gilnockie sits here contriving a plan to run awa wi' ye? +Faith, an' it's a bauld project; but the baulder the bonnier, as we say +in Liddesdale. I only wish I could tak her wig and gown wi' her--for, if +the lurdon were seen looking out o' Graeme's Tower, wi' that lang lappet +head-gear, there would be nae need o' watch or ward to keep her there." + +Will had scarcely finished his monologue, when he heard the macer cry +out, "Maxwell against Lord Traquair;" then came forward the advocates, +and shook their wigs over the bar, and at length old Durie, the +President, said, in words that did not escape Will's vigilant ear-- + +"This case, I believe, involves the right to the large barony of +Coberston. Seven of my brethren, you are aware, have given their +opinions in favour of the defendant, Lord Traquair, and seven have +declared for the pursuer, Maxwell. My casting vote must, therefore, +decide the case, and I have been very anxious to bring my mind to a +conclusion on the subject, with as little delay as possible; but there +are difficulties which I have not yet been able to surmount." + +"Ay, and there's a new ane here, sittin' afore ye," muttered Will, +"maybe the warst o' them a'." + +"I still require some new lights," continued the judge. "I have already, +as the case proceeded, partially announced an opinion against Lord +Traquair; but I wish confirmation before I pronounce a judgment that is +to have the effect of turning one out of possession of a large barony. +I am sorry that my learned friends at the bar have not been able to +relieve me of my scruples." + +"Stupid fules," muttered Will; "but I'll relieve ye, my Lord Durie. +It'll ne'er be said that a Lord o' Session stood in need o' relief, and +a Border riever in the court, wha has a hundred times made the doubtin' +stirk tak ae road (maybe Gilnockie-ways) in preference to anither." + +The Traquair case being the last called that day, the court broke up, +and the judges, followed still by the eye of Christie's Will, retired +into the robing-room to take off their wigs and gowns. The Borderer now +inquired, in a very simple manner, at a macer, at what door the judges +came out of the court, as he was a countryman, and was curious to see +their Lordships dressed in their usual every-day clothes. The request +was complied with; and Will, as a stupid gazing man from the Highlands, +who wished to get an inane curiosity gratified by what had nothing +curious in it, was placed in a convenient place to see the Solomons pass +forth on their way to their respective dwellings. They soon came; and +Will's lynx eye caught, in a moment, the face of the President, whom, +to his great satisfaction, he now found to be a thin, spare, portable +individual, and very far from the unwieldy personage which his judge's +dress made him appear to be when sitting on the bench--a reversing of +the riever's thoughts, in reference to the spareness and fatness of his +object of seizure, that brought a twinkle to his eye in spite of the +serious task in which he was engaged. Forth went the President with +great dignity, and Christie's Will behind him, dogging him with the +keen scent of a sleuth-hound. To his house in the Canongate he slowly +bent his steps, ruminating as he went, in all likelihood, upon the +difficulties of the Traquair case, from which his followers were so +anxious to relieve him. Will saw him ascend the steps and enter, and +his next object was to ascertain at what time he took his walk, and to +what quarter of the suburbs he generally resorted; but on this point he +could not get much satisfaction, the good judge being in his motions +somewhat irregular, though (as Will learned) seldom a day passed without +his having recourse to the country in some direction or other. Will, +therefore, set a watch upon the house. Another of his friends held the +horses at the foot of Leith Wynd, while he himself paced between the +watchman and the top of the passage, so that he might have both ends of +the line always in his eye. A concerted whistle was to regulate their +movements. + +The first day passed without a single glimpse being had of the grave +senator, who was probably occupied in the consultation of legal +authorities, little conscious of the care that was taken about his +precious person by so important an individual as the far-famed +Christie's Will of Gilnockie. On the second day, about three of the +afternoon, and two hours after he had left the Parliament House, a +whistle from Will's friend indicated that the grave judge was on the +steps of his stair. Will recognised him in an instant, and, despatching +his friend to him who held the horses at the foot of the Wynd, with +instructions to keep behind him at a distance, he began to follow his +victim slowly, and soon saw with delight that he was wending his +senatorial steps down towards Leith. The unconscious judge seemed +drowned in study: his eyes were fixed on the ground; his hands placed +behind his back; and, ever and anon, he twirled a gold-headed cane that +hung suspended by a silken string from one of his fingers. Will was +certain that he was meditating the fall of Coberston, and the ruin of +his benefactor, Traquair; and, as the thought rose in his mind, the fire +of his eye burned brighter, and his resolution mounted higher and +higher, till he could even have seized his prey in Leith lane, and +carried him off amidst the cries of the populace. But his opportunity +was coming quicker than he supposed. To enable him to get deeper and +deeper into his brown study, Durie was clearly bent upon avoiding the +common road where passengers put to flight his ideas; and, turning to +the right, went up a narrow lane, and continued to saunter on till he +came to that place commonly known by the name of the Figgate Whins. In +that sequestered place, where scarcely an individual was seen to pass in +an hour, the deep thinking of the cogitative senator might trench the +soil of the law of prescription, turn up the principle which regulated +tailzies under the second part of the act 1617, and bury Traquair's +right to Coberston. No sound but the flutter of a bird, or the moan of +the breaking waves of the Frith of Forth, could there interfere with his +train of thought. Away he sauntered, ever turning his gold-headed cane, +and driving his head farther and farther into the deep hole where, like +the ancient philosopher, he expected to find truth. Sometimes he struck +his foot against a stone, and started and looked up, as if awakened from +a dream; but he was too intent on his study to take the pains to make a +complete turn of his wise head, to see if there was any one behind him. +During all this time, a regular course of signals was in progress among +Will and his friends who were coming up behind him, the horses being +kept far back, in case the sound of their hoofs might reach the ear of +the day-dreamer. He had now reached the most retired and lonely part of +the common, where, at that time, there stood a small clump of trees at +a little distance from the whin-road that gave the place its singular +name. His study still continued, for his head was still bent, and he +looked neither to the right nor to the left. In a single instant, he was +muffled up in a large cloak, a hood thrown over his face, and his hands +firmly bound by a cord. The operation was that of a moment--finished +before the prisoner's astonishment had left him power to open his mouth. +A whistle brought up the horses; he was placed on one of them with the +same rapidity; a cord was passed round his loins and bound to the +saddle; and, in a few minutes, the party was in rapid motion to get to +the back part of the city.[E] + + [E] This famous abduction was reported by Lord Fountainhall. + Every circumstance is literally true.--ED. + +During all this extraordinary operation, not a single word passed +between the three rievers, to whom the proceeding was, in a great +degree, perfectly familiar. Through the folds of the hood of the +cloak in which the President's head was much more snugly lodged than +it ever was in his senatorial wig, he contrived to send forth some +muffled sounds, indicating, not unnaturally, a wish to know what was +the meaning and object of so extraordinary a manoeuvre. At that time, +be it understood, the belief in the power of witches was general, and +Durie himself had been accessary to the condemnation of many a wise +woman who was committed to the flames; but though he had, to a great +extent, emancipated his strong mind from the thraldom of the prevailing +prejudice, the mode in which he was now seized--in broad day, in the +midst of a legal study, without seeing a single individual (his head +being covered first), and without hearing the sound of man's +voice--would have been sufficient to bring him back to the general +belief, and force the conviction that he was now in the hands of the +agents of the Devil. It is, indeed, a fact (afterwards ascertained), +that the learned judge did actually conceive that he was now in the +power of those he had helped to persecute; and his fears--bringing up +before him the burning tar-barrels, the paid prickers, the roaring +crowds, and the expiring victim--completed the delusion, and bound +up his energies, till he was speechless and motionless. There was, +therefore, no cause of apprehension from the terror-struck prisoner +himself; and, as the party scoured along, they told every inquiring +passenger on the way (for they were obliged, in some places, to ask the +road) that they were carrying an auld lurdon to Dumfries, to be burnt +for exercising the power of her art on the innocent inhabitants of that +district. It was, therefore, no uncommon thing for Durie to hear himself +saluted by all the appellations generally applied to the poor persecuted +class to which he was supposed to belong. + +"Ay, awa wi' the auld limmer," cried one, "and see that the barrels are +fresh frae Norraway, and weel-lined wi' the bleezing tar." + +"Be sure and prick her weel," cried another; "the foul witch may be +fireproof. If she winna burn, boil her like Meg Davy at Smithfield, or +Shirra Melville on the hill o' Garvock." + +These cries coming on the ear of the astonished judge, did not +altogether agree with his preconceived notions of being committed to the +power of the Evil One; but they tended still farther to confuse him, and +he even fancied at times that the vengeance of the populace, which thus +rung in his ears, was in the act of being realized, and that he was +actually to suffer the punishment he had so often awarded to others. +Some expressions wrung from him by his fear, and overheard by the quick +ear of Will, gave the latter a clue to the workings of his mind, and he +did not fail to see how he might take advantage of it. As night began to +fall, they had got far on their way towards Moffat, and, consequently, +far out of danger of a pursuit and a rescue. Durie's horse was pricked +forward at a speed not inconsistent with his power of keeping the +saddle. They stopped at no baiting place, but kept pushing forward, +while the silence was still maintained, or, if it ever was broken, it +was to introduce, by interlocutory snatches of conversation, some +reference to the doom which awaited the unhappy judge. The darkness in +which he was muffled, the speed of his journey, the sounds and menaces +that had met his ear, all co-operating with the original sensations +produced by his mysterious seizure, continued to keep alive the terrors +he at first felt, to over-turn all the ordinary ideas and feelings of +the living world, and to sink him deeper and deeper in the confusion +that had overtaken his mind in the midst of his legal reverie at the +Figgate Whins. + +The cavalcade kept its course all next day, and, towards the evening, +they approached Graeme's Tower, a dark, melancholy-looking erection, +situated on Dryfe Water, not very distant from the village of Moffat. In +a deep cell of this old castle the President of the Court of Session was +safely lodged, with no more light than was supplied by a small grating, +and with a small supply of meat, only sufficient to allay at first the +pangs of hunger. Will having thus executed his commission, sat down and +wrote on a scrap of paper these expressive words--"The brock's in the +pock!" and sent it with one of his friends to Traquair House. The moment +the Earl read the scrawl, he knew that Will had performed his promise, +and took a hearty laugh at the extraordinary scheme he had resorted to +for gaining his plea. It was not yet, however, his time to commence +his proceedings; but, in a short while after the imprisonment of the +President, he set off for Edinburgh, which town he found in a state of +wonder and ferment at the mysterious disappearance of the illustrious +Durie. Every individual he met had something to say on the subject; but +the prevailing opinion was, that the unhappy President had ventured +upon that part of the sands near Leith where the incoming tide usually +encloses, with great rapidity, large sand-banks, and often overwhelms +helpless strangers who are unacquainted with the manner in which the +tide there flows. Numbers of people had exerted themselves in searching +all the surrounding parts, and some had traversed the whole coast from +Musselburgh to Cramond, in the expectation of finding the body upon the +sea-shore. But all was in vain: no President was found; and a month of +vain search and expectation having passed, the original opinion settled +down into a conviction that he had been drowned. His wife, Lady Durie, +after the first emotions of intense grief, went, with her whole family, +into mourning; and young and old lamented the fate of one of the most +learned judges and best men that ever sat on the judgment-seat of +Scotland. + +There was nothing now to prevent Traquair from reaping the fruits of his +enterprise. He pressed hard for a judgment in his case; and pled that +the fourteen judges having been equally divided, he was entitled to a +decision in his favour as _defender_. This plea was not at that time +sustained; but a new president having been appointed, who was favourable +to his side of the question, the case was again to be brought before the +court, and the Earl expected to carry his point, and reap all the +benefit of Will's courage and ingenuity. + +Meantime, the dead-alive President was closely confined in the old tower +of Graeme, and had never recovered from the feelings of superstition +which held the sovereign power of his mind at the time of his +confinement. He never saw the face of man, his food being handed into +him by an unseen hand, through a small hole at the foot of the door. The +small grating was not situated so as to yield him any prospect; and the +only sounds that greeted his ears were the calls of the shepherds who +tended their sheep in the neighbouring moor. Sometimes he heard men's +voices calling out "Batty!" and anon a female crying "Maudge!" The +former was the name of a shepherd's dog, and the latter was the name +of the cat belonging to an old woman who occupied a small cottage +adjoining to the tower. Both the names sounded strangely and ominously +in the ears of the President, and sorely did he tax his wits as to what +they implied. Every day he heard them, and every time he heard them he +meditated more and more as to the species of beings they denominated. +Still remaining in the belief that he was in the hands of evil powers, +he imagined that these strange names, Batty and Maudge, were the earthly +titles of the two demons that held the important authority of watching +and tormenting the President of the Court of Session. He had heard these +often, and suffered so much from their cruel tyranny, that he became +nervous when the ominous sounds struck on his ear, and often (as he +himself subsequently admitted) he adjured heaven, in his prayers, to +take away Maudge and Batty, and torment him no longer by their infernal +agency. "Relieve me, relieve me, from these conjunct and confident +spirits, cruel Maudge and inexorable Batty," (he prayed,) "and any +other punishment due to my crimes I will willingly bear." Exorcisms +in abundance he applied to them, and used many fanciful tricks of +demon-expelling agency to free him from their tyranny; but all to no +purpose. The names still struck his ear in the silence of his cell, +and kept alive the superstitious terror with which he was enslaved. + +Traquair, meanwhile, pushed hard for a decision, and, at last, after a +period of about three months, the famous cause was brought before the +court, and the successor of the dead-alive President having given his +vote for the defender, the wily Warden carried his point, and secured to +him and his heirs, in time coming, the fine barony in dispute, which, +for aught we know to the contrary, is in the family to this day. + +It now remained for the actors in this strange drama to let free the +unhappy Durie, and relieve him from the power of his enemies. The +Warden accordingly despatched a messenger to Christie's Will, with the +laconic and emphatic demand--"Let the brock out o' the pock"--a return +of Will's own humorous message, which he well understood. Will and his +associates accordingly went about the important deliverance in a manner +worthy of the dexterity by which the imprisonment had been effected. +Having opened the door of his cell, they muffled him up in the same +black cloak in which he was enveloped at the Figgate Whins, and leading +him to the door, placed him on the back of a swift steed, while they +mounted others, with a view to accompany him. Setting off at a swift +pace, they made a circuit of the tower in which he had been confined, +and continuing the same circuitous route round and round the castle for +a period of two or three hours, they stopped at the very door of his +cell from which they had started. They then set him down upon the +ground, and again mounting their horses, took to their heels, and never +halted till they arrived at Gilnockie. + +On being left alone, Durie proceeded to undo the cords by which the +cloak was fastened about his head; and, for the first time after three +months, breathed the fresh air and saw the light of heaven. He had +ridden, according to his own calculation, about twenty miles; and, +looking round him, he saw alongside of him the tower of Graeme, an old +castle he had seen many years before, and recollected as being famous +in antiquarian reminiscence. The place he had been confined in must +have been some castle twenty miles distant from Graeme's Tower--a +circumstance that would lead him, he thought, to discover the place +of his confinement, though he was free to confess that he was utterly +ignorant of the direction in which he had travelled. Thankful for his +deliverance, he fell on his knees, and poured out a long prayer of +gratitude for being thus freed from his enemies, Batty and Maudge. The +distance he had travelled must have taken him far away from the regions +of their influence--the most grateful of all the thoughts that now rose +in his wondering mind. No more would these hated names strike his ear +with terror and dismay, and no more would he feel the tyranny of their +demoniac sway. As these thoughts were passing through his mind a sound +struck his ear. + +"Hey, Batty, lad!--far yaud, far yaud!" cried a voice by his side. + +"God have mercy on me! here again," ejaculated the president. + +"Maudge, ye jaud!" cried another voice, from the door of a poor woman's +cottage. + +The terrified president lifted his eyes, and saw a goodly shepherd, with +a long staff in his hand, crying to his dog, Batty, to drive his sheep +to a distance; and, a little beyond, a poor woman sat at her door, +looking for her black cat, that sat on the roof of the cottage, and +would not come down for all the energies of her squeaking voice. + +"What could all this mean?" now ejaculated Durie. "Have I not been for +three months tortured with these sounds, which I attributed to evil +spirits? I have ridden from them twenty miles, and here they are again, +in the form of fair honest denominations of living animals. I am in +greater perplexity than ever. While I thought them evil spirits, I +feared them as such; but now, God help me, they have taken on the forms +of a dog and cat, and this shepherd and this old woman are kindred +devils, under whose command they are. What shall I do, whither run to +avoid them, since twenty miles have been to them as a flight in the +air?" + +"It's a braw morning, sir," said the shepherd. "How far hae ye come this +past night?--for I ken nae habitation near whar ye may hae rested." + +"It's seldom we see strangers hereawa," said the old woman, "at this +early hour--will ye come in, sir, and rest ye?" + +Durie looked first at the one and then at the other, bewildered and +speechless. The fair face of nature before him, with the forms of God's +creatures, and the sounds of human voices in his ears, were as nothing +to recollections and sensations which he could not shake from his mind. +He had, for certain, heard these dreadful sounds for three months; he +had ridden twenty miles, and now he heard them again, mixed up with the +delusive accompaniments of the enticing speeches of a man and a woman. +He would fly, but felt himself unable; and, standing under the influence +of the charm of his own terrors, he continued to look, first at the +shepherd and then at the old woman, in wonder and dismay. The people +knew as little what to think of him as he did in regard to them. He +looked wild and haggard, his eyes rolled about in his head, his voice +was mute; and the cloak, which he had partially unloosed from his head, +hung in strange guise down his back, and flapped in the wind. The old +castle had its "red cap," a fact known to both the shepherd and the old +woman, who had latterly heard strange sounds coming from it. Might not +Durie be the spirit in another form? The question was reasonable, and +was well answered by the wildly-staring president, who was still under +the spell of his terrors. + +"Avaunt ye!--avaunt! in the name o' the haly rude o' St. Andrews!" cried +the woman, now roused to a state of terror. + +The same words were repeated by the simple-minded shepherd, and poor +Durie's fears were, if possible, increased; for it seemed that they +were now performing some new incantation, whereby he would be again +reduced to their power; but he was now in the open air, and why not +take advantage of the opportunity of escaping from their thraldom? The +moment the idea started in his mind, he threw from him the accursed cloak, +and flew away over the moor as fast as his decayed limbs, inspired by +terror, would carry him. As he ran, he heard the old woman clapping her +hands, and crying "Shoo, shoo!" as if she had been exorcising a winged +demon. After running till he was fairly out of the sights and sounds +that had produced in him so much terror, he sat down, and took a +retrospect of what had occurred to him during the preceding three +months; but he could come to no conclusion that could reconcile all the +strange things he had experienced with any supposition based on natural +powers. It was certain, however, that he was still upon the earth, and +it was probable he was now beyond the power of his evil genius. His best +plan, therefore, under all the circumstances, was to seek home, and +Lady Durie and his loving family, who would doubtless be in a terrible +condition on account of his long absence; and even this idea, pleasant +as it was, was qualified by the fear that he might, for aught he knew, +have been away, like the laird of Comrie, for many, perhaps a hundred +years, and neither Lady Durie, nor friend or acquaintance, would be +alive to greet him on his return. Of all this, however, he must now +take his chance; and, rising and journeying forward, he came to a +house, where he asked for some refreshment by way of charity; for he +had nothing in the world to pay for what he required. He was fortunate +in getting some relief from the kind woman to whom he had applied, and +proceeded to speak to her on various topics with great sense and +propriety, as became the ex-President of the Court of Session; but when, +to satisfy his scruples, he asked her the day of the month, then the +month of the year, and then the year of the Lord, the good woman was +satisfied he was mad; and, with a look of pity, recommended him to +proceed on his way, and get home as fast as he could. + +So on the president went, begging his way from hamlet to hamlet, getting +alms from one and news from another, but never gratified with the year +of the Lord in which he lived; for, when he put that question, he was +uniformly pitied, and allowed to proceed on his way for a madman. He +heard, however, several times that President Durie had been drowned in +the Frith of Forth, and that a new President of the Court of Session had +been appointed in his place. Whether his wife was married again or not, +he could not learn, and was obliged to wrestle with this and other fears +as he still continued his way to the metropolis. At last Edinburgh came +in view, and glad was he to see again the cat's head of old St. +Arthur's, and the diadem of St. Giles rearing their heights in the +distance. Nearer and nearer he approached the place of his home, +happiness, and dignity; but, as he came nearer still, he began to feel +all the effects of his supposed demise. Several of his old acquaintances +stared wildly at him as they passed, and, though he beckoned to them to +stand and speak, they hurried on, and seemed either not to recognise +him, or to be terrified at him. At last he met Lord F----, the judge who +had sat for many years next to him on the bench; and, running up to him, +he held out his hand in kindly salutation, grinning, with his long thin +jaws and pallid cheeks, a greeting which he scarcely understood himself. +By this time it was about the gloaming, and such was the extraordinary +effect produced by his sudden appearance and changed cadaverous look, +that his old brother of the bench got alarmed, and fairly took to his +heels, as if he had seen a spectre. Undaunted, however, he pushed on, +and by the time he reached the Canongate it was almost dark. He went +direct to his own house, and peeping through the window, saw Lady Durie +sitting by the fire dressed in weeds, and several of his children +around, arrayed in the same style. The sight brought the tears of joy +to his eyes, and, forgetting entirely the effect his appearance would +produce, he threw open the door, and rushed into the room. A loud scream +from the throats of the lady and the children rang through the whole +house, and brought up the servants, who screamed in their turn, and some +of them fainted, while others ran away; and no one had any idea that the +emaciated haggard being before them was other than the grim ghost of +Lord President Durie, come from the other world to terrify the good +people of this. The confusion, however, soon ceased; for Durie began to +speak softly to them, and, taking his dear lady in his arms, pressed her +to his bosom in a way that satisfied her that he was no ghost, but her +own lord, who, by some mischance, had been spirited away by some bad +angels. The children gradually recovered their confidence, and in a +short time joy took the place of fear, and all the neighbourhood was +filled with the news that Lord Durie had come alive again, and was in +the living body in his own house. Shortly after the good lord sat down +by the fire and got his supper, and, by the quantity he ate, satisfied +his lady and family still more that he carried a good body, with as +fair a capability of reception as he ever exhibited after a walk at the +Figgate Whins. He told them all he had undergone since first he was +carried away, not forgetting the two spirits, Batty and Maudge, that had +tormented him so cruelly during the period of his enchantment. The lady +and family stared with open mouths as they heard the dreadful recital; +but a goodly potation of warm spiced wine drove off the vapours produced +by the dismal story, and, by-and-by, Lord Durie and his wife retired to +bed--the one weary and exhausted with his trials, and the other with her +terrors and her joys. + + + + +RECOLLECTIONS OF BURNS.[F] + +CHAPTER I. + + "Wear we not graven on our hearts + The name of Robert Burns!"--_American Poet._ + + +The degrees shorten as we proceed from the higher to the lower +latitudes--the years seem to shorten in a much greater ratio as we pass +onward through life. We are almost disposed to question whether the +brief period of storms and foul weather that floats over us with such +dream-like rapidity, and the transient season of flowers and sunshine +that seems almost too short for enjoyment, be at all identical with the +long summers and still longer winters of our boyhood, when day after day +and week after week stretched away in dim perspective, till lost in the +obscurity of an almost inconceivable distance. Young as I was, I had +already passed the period of life when we wonder how it is that the +years should be described as short and fleeting; and it seemed as if +I had stood but yesterday beside the death-bed of the unfortunate +Ferguson, though the flowers of four summers and the snows of four +winters had now been shed over his grave. + + [F] Our author, Hugh Miller, never communicated to the Editor + his authority for these "Recollections." Probably it was of the same + kind as that possessed by Lucian, Lord Lyttleton, and Walter Savage + Lander; but whether so or not, we must at least be well satisfied that + the parts of the conversation sustained by the principal interlocutor + are true to the genius and character of Burns, and that, however + searching the thoughts or beautiful the sentiments, they do not + transcend what might have been expected from the Bard himself.--ED. + +My prospects in life had begun to brighten. I served in the capacity of +mate in a large West India trader, the master of which, an elderly man +of considerable wealth, was on the eve of quitting the sea; and the +owners had already determined that I should succeed him in the charge. +But fate had ordered it otherwise. Our seas were infested at this +period by American privateers--prime sailors, and strongly armed; and, +when homeward bound from Jamaica with a valuable cargo, we were attacked +and captured when within a day's sailing of Ireland, by one of the most +formidable of the class. Vain as resistance might have been deemed--for +the force of the American was altogether overpowering--and though our +master, poor old man! and three of the crew, had fallen by the first +broadside, we had yet stood stiffly by our guns, and were only +overmastered when, after falling foul of the enemy, we were boarded by +a party of thrice our strength and number. The Americans, irritated by +our resistance, proved on this occasion no generous enemies; we were +stripped and heavily ironed, and, two days after, were set ashore on the +wild coast of Connaught, without a single change of dress, or a sixpence +to bear us by the way. + +I was sitting, on the following night, beside the turf fire of a +hospitable Irish peasant, when a seafaring man, whom I had sailed +with about two years before, entered the cabin. The meeting was equally +unexpected on either side. My acquaintance was the master of a smuggling +lugger then on the coast; and on acquainting him with the details of my +disaster, and the state of destitution to which it had reduced me, he +kindly proposed that I should accompany him on his voyage to the west +coast of Scotland, for which he was then on the eve of sailing. "You +will run some little risk," he said, "as the companion of a man who has +now been thrice outlawed for firing on his Majesty's flag; but I know +your proud heart will prefer the danger of bad company at its worst, to +the alternative of begging your way home." He judged rightly. Before +daybreak we had lost sight of land, and in four days more we could +discern the precipitous shores of Carrick stretching in a dark line +along the horizon, and the hills of the interior rising thin and blue +behind, like a volume of clouds. A considerable part of our cargo, +which consisted mostly of tea and spirits, was consigned to an Ayr +trader, who had several agents in the remote parish of Kirkoswald, which +at this period afforded more facilities for carrying on the contraband +trade than any other on the western coast of Scotland; and, in a rocky +bay of the parish, we proposed unlading on the following night. It was +necessary, however, that the several agents, who were yet ignorant of +our arrival, should be prepared to meet with us; and, on volunteering my +service for the purpose, I was landed near the ruins of the ancient +castle of Turnberry, once the seat of Robert the Bruce. + +I had accomplished my object; it was evening, and a party of +countrymen were sauntering among the cliffs, waiting for nightfall and +the appearance of the lugger. There are splendid caverns on the coast of +Kirkoswald; and, to while away the time, I had descended to the shore by +a broken and precipitous path, with a view of exploring what are termed +the Caves of Colzean, by far the finest in this part of Scotland. The +evening was of great beauty; the sea spread out from the cliffs to the +far horizon, like the sea of gold and crystal described by the prophet; +and its warm orange hues so harmonized with those of the sky, that, +passing over the dimly-defined line of demarcation, the whole upper and +nether expanse seemed but one glorious firmament, with the dark Ailsa, +like a thunder-cloud, sleeping in the midst. The sun was hastening to +his setting, and threw his strong red light on the wall of rock which, +loftier and more imposing than the walls of even the mighty Babylon, +stretched onward along the beach, headland after headland, till the last +sank abruptly in the far distance, and only the wide ocean stretched +beyond. I passed along the insulated piles of cliff that rise thick +along the basis of the precipices--now in sunshine, now in shadow--till +I reached the opening of one of the largest caves. The roof rose more +than fifty feet over my head--a broad stream of light, that seemed +redder and more fiery from the surrounding gloom, slanted inwards, and, +as I paused in the opening, my shadow, lengthened and dark, fell athwart +the floor--a slim and narrow bar of black--till lost in the gloom of the +inner recess. There was a wild and uncommon beauty in the scene that +powerfully affected the imagination; and I stood admiring it in that +delicious dreamy mood in which one can forget all but the present +enjoyment, when I was roused to a recollection of the business of the +evening by the sound of a footfall echoing from within. It seemed +approaching by a sort of cross passage in the rock, and, in a moment +after, a young man, one of the country people whom I had left among the +cliffs above, stood before me. He wore a broad Lowland bonnet, and his +plain homely suit of coarse russet seemed to bespeak him a peasant of +perhaps the poorest class; but, as he emerged from the gloom, and the +red light fell full on his countenance, I saw an indescribable something +in the expression that in an instant awakened my curiosity. He was +rather above the middle size, of a frame the most muscular and compact I +have almost ever seen, and there was a blended mixture of elasticity and +firmness in his tread, that to one accustomed, as I had been, to +estimate the physical capabilities of men, gave evidence of a union of +immense personal strength with great activity. My first idea regarding +the stranger--and I know not how it should have struck me--was that of a +very powerful frame, animated by a double portion of vitality. The red +light shone full on his face, and gave a ruddy tinge to the complexion, +which I afterwards found it wanted--for he was naturally of a darker hue +than common; but there was no mistaking the expression of the large +flashing eyes, the features that seemed so thoroughly cast in the mould +of thought, and of the broad, full, perpendicular forehead. Such, at +least, was the impression on my mind, that I addressed him with more of +the courtesy which my earlier pursuits had rendered familiar to me, than +of the bluntness of my adopted profession. "This sweet evening," I said, +"is by far too fine for our lugger; I question whether, in these calms, +we need expect her before midnight; but, 'tis well, since wait we must, +that 'tis in a place where the hours may pass so agreeably." The +stranger, good-humouredly, acquiesced in the remark, and we sat down +together on the dry, water-worn pebbles, mixed with fragments of broken +shells and minute pieces of wreck, that strewed the opening of the cave. + +"Was there ever a lovelier evening!" he exclaimed; "the waters above the +firmament seem all of a piece with the waters below. And never surely +was there a scene of wilder beauty. Only look inwards, and see how the +stream of red light seems bounded by the extreme darkness, like a river +by its banks, and how the reflection of the ripple goes waving in golden +curls along the roof!" + +"I have been admiring the scene for the last half hour," I said; +"Shakspeare speaks of a music that cannot be heard, and I have not yet +seen a place where one might better learn to comment on the passage." + +Both the thought and the phrase seemed new to him. + +"A music that cannot be heard!" he repeated; and then, after a momentary +pause, "you allude to the fact," he continued, "that sweet music, and +forms such as these, of silent beauty and grandeur, awaken in the mind +emotions of nearly the same class. There is something truly exquisite in +the concert of to-night." + +I muttered a simple assent. + +"See," he continued, "how finely these insulated piles of rock, +that rise in so many combinations of form along the beach, break and +diversify the red light, and how the glossy leaves of the ivy glisten +in the hollows of the precipices above! And then, how the sea spreads +away to the far horizon, a glorious pavement of crimson and gold!--and +how the dark Ailsa rises in the midst, like the little cloud seen by +the prophet! The mind seems to enlarge, the heart to expand, in the +contemplation of so much of beauty and grandeur. The soul asserts its +due supremacy. And, oh! 'tis surely well that we can escape from those +little cares of life which fetter down our thoughts, our hopes, our +wishes, to the wants and the enjoyments of our animal existence; and +that, amid the grand and the sublime of nature, we may learn from the +spirit within us that we are better than the beasts that perish!" + +I looked up to the animated countenance and flashing eyes of my +companion, and wondered what sort of a peasant it was I had met with. +"Wild and beautiful as the scene is," I said, "you will find, even among +those who arrogate to themselves the praise of wisdom and learning, men +who regard such scenes as mere errors of nature. Burnet would have told +you that a Dutch landscape, without hill, rock, or valley, must be the +perfection of beauty, seeing that Paradise itself could have furnished +nothing better." + +"I hold Milton as higher authority on the subject," said my companion, +"than all the philosophers who ever wrote. Beauty, in a tame unvaried +flat, where a man would know his country only by the milestones! A very +Dutch Paradise, truly!" + +"But would not some of your companions above," I asked, "deem the scene +as much an error of nature as Burnet himself? They could pass over these +stubborn rocks neither plough nor harrow." + +"True," he replied; "there is a species of small wisdom in the world +that often constitutes the extremest of its folly; a wisdom that would +change the entire nature of _good_, had it but the power, by vainly +endeavouring to render that good universal. It would convert the entire +earth into one vast corn field, and then find that it had ruined the +species by its improvement." + +"We of Scotland can hardly be ruined in that way for an age to come," I +said. "But I am not sure that I understand you. Alter the very nature of +good in the attempt to render it universal! How?" + +"I daresay you have seen a graduated scale," said my companion, +"exhibiting the various powers of the different musical instruments, and +observed how some of limited scope cross only a few of the divisions, +and how others stretch nearly from side to side. 'Tis but a poor truism, +perhaps, to say that similar differences in scope and power obtain +among men--that there are minds who could not join in the concert of +to-night--who could see neither beauty nor grandeur amid these wild +cliffs and caverns, or in that glorious expanse of sea and sky; and +that, on the other hand, there are minds so finely modulated--minds that +sweep so broadly across the scale of nature, that there is no object, +however minute, no breath of feeling, however faint, but that it awakens +their sweet vibrations--the snow-flake falling in the stream, the daisy +of the field, the conies of the rock, the hysop of the wall. Now, the +vast and various frame of nature is adapted not to the lesser, but to +the larger mind. It spreads on and around us in all its rich and +magnificent variety, and finds the full portraiture of its Proteus-like +beauty in the mirror of genius alone. Evident, however, as this may +seem, we find a sort of levelling principle in the inferior order +of minds, and which, in fact, constitutes one of their grand +characteristics--a principle that would fain abridge the scale to their +own narrow capabilities--that would cut down the vastness of nature to +suit the littleness of their own conceptions and desires, and convert it +into one tame, uniform, _mediocre good_, which would be _good_ but to +themselves alone, and ultimately not even that." + +"I think I can now understand you," I said; "you describe a sort of +swinish wisdom that would convert the world into one vast sty. For my +own part, I have travelled far enough to know the value of a blue hill, +and would not willingly lose so much as one of these landmarks of our +mother land, by which kindly hearts in distant countries love to +remember it." + +"I daresay we are getting fanciful," rejoined my companion; "but +certainly, in man's schemes of improvement, both physical and moral, +there is commonly a littleness and want of adaptation to the general +good that almost always defeats his aims. He sees and understands but a +minute portion--it is always some partial good he would introduce; and +thus he but destroys the just proportions of a nicely-regulated system +of things by exaggerating one of the parts. I passed of late through +a richly-cultivated district of country, in which the agricultural +improver had done his utmost. Never were there finer fields, more +convenient steadings, crops of richer promise, a better regulated system +of production. Corn and cattle had mightily improved; but what had man, +the lord of the soil, become? Is not the body better than food, and life +than raiment? If that decline for which all other things exist, it +surely matters little that all these other things prosper. And here, +though the corn, the cattle, the fields, the steadings had improved, man +had sunk. There were but two classes in the district: a few cold-hearted +speculators, who united what is worst in the character of the landed +proprietor and the merchant--these were your gentleman farmers; and +a class of degraded helots, little superior to the cattle they +tended--these were your farm servants. And for two such extreme +classes--necessary result of such a state of things--had this +unfortunate, though highly-eulogized district, parted with a moral, +intelligent, high-minded peasantry--the true boast and true riches of +their country." + +"I have, I think, observed something like what you describe," I said. + +"I give," he replied, "but one instance of a thousand. But mark how the +sun's lower disk has just reached the line of the horizon, and how the +long level rule of light stretches to the very innermost recess of the +cave! It darkens as the orb sinks. And see how the gauze-like shadows +creep on from the sea, film after film!--and now they have reached the +ivy that mantles round the castle of The Bruce. Are you acquainted with +Barbour?" + +"Well," I said; "a spirited, fine old fellow, who loved his country and +did much for it. I could once repeat all his chosen passages. Do you +remember how he describes King Robert's rencounter with the English +knight?" + +My companion sat up erect, and, clenching his fist, began repeating the +passage, with a power and animation that seemed to double its inherent +energy and force. + +"Glorious old Barbour!" ejaculated he, when he had finished the +description; "many a heart has beat all the higher when the bale-fires +were blazing, through the tutorage of thy noble verses! Blind Harry, +too--what has not his country owed to him!" + +"Ah, they have long since been banished from our popular literature," I +said; "and yet Blind Harry's 'Wallace,' as Hailes tells us, was at one +time the very Bible of the Scotch. But love of country seems to be +getting old-fashioned among us, and we have become philosophic enough to +set up for citizens of the world." + +"All cold pretence," rejoined my companion; "an effect of that small +wisdom we have just been decrying. Cosmopolitism, as we are accustomed +to define it, can be no virtue of the present age, nor yet of the next, +nor perhaps for centuries to come. Even when it shall have attained to +its best, and when it may be most safely indulged in, it is according +to the nature of man, that, instead of running counter to the love of +country, it should exist as but a wider diffusion of the feeling, and +form, as it were, a wider circle round it. It is absurdity itself to +oppose the love of our country to that of our race." + +"Do I rightly understand you?" I said. "You look forward to a time when +the patriot may safely expand into the citizen of the world; but, in the +present age, he would do well, you think, to confine his energies within +the inner circle of country." + +"Decidedly," he rejoined; "man should love his species at all times, +but it is ill with him if, in times like the present, he loves not his +country more. The spirit of war and aggression is yet abroad--there are +laws to be established, rights to be defended, invaders to be repulsed, +tyrants to be deposed. And who but the patriot is equal to these things? +We are not yet done with the Bruces, the Wallaces, the Tells, the +Washingtons--yes, the Washingtons, whether they fight for or against +us--we are not yet done with them. The cosmopolite is but a puny +abortion--a birth ere the natural time, that at once endangers the life +and betrays the weakness of the country that bears him. Would that he +were sleeping in his elements till his proper time! But we are getting +ashamed of our country, of our language, our manners, our music, our +literature; nor shall we have enough of the old spirit left us to assert +our liberties or fight our battles. Oh, for some Barbour or Blind Harry +of the present day, to make us, once more, proud of our country!" + +I quoted the famous saying of Fletcher of Salton--"Allow me to make the +songs of a country, and I will allow you to make its laws." + +"But here," I said, "is our lugger stealing round Turnberry Head. We +shall soon part, perhaps for ever, and I would fain know with whom I +have spent an hour so agreeably, and have some name to remember him by. +My own name is Matthew Lindsay; I am a native of Irvine." + +"And I," said the young man, rising and cordially grasping the proffered +hand, "am a native of Ayr; my name is Robert Burns." + + +CHAPTER II. + + If friendless, low, we meet together, + Then, sir, your hand--my friend and brother! + _Dedication to G. Hamilton._ + + +A light breeze had risen as the sun sunk, and our lugger, with all her +sails set, came sweeping along the shore. She had nearly gained the +little bay in front of the cave, and the countrymen from above, to the +number of perhaps twenty, had descended to the beach, when, all of a +sudden, after a shrill whistle, and a brief half minute of commotion +among the crew, she wore round and stood out to sea. I turned to the +south, and saw a square-rigged vessel shooting out from behind one +of the rocky headlands, and then bearing down in a long tack on +the smuggler. "The sharks are upon us," said one of the countrymen, +whose eyes had turned in the same direction--"we shall have no sport +to-night." We stood lining the beach in anxious curiosity; the breeze +freshened as the evening fell; and the lugger, as she lessened to our +sight, went leaning against the foam in a long bright furrow, that, +catching the last light of evening, shone like the milky way amid the +blue. Occasionally we could see the flash, and hear the booming of a gun +from the other vessel; but the night fell thick and dark; the waves too +began to lash against the rocks, drowning every feebler sound in a +continuous roaring; and every trace of both the chase and the chaser +disappeared. The party broke up, and I was left standing alone on the +beach, a little nearer home, but in every other respect in quite the +same circumstances as when landed by my American friends on the wild +coast of Connaught. "Another of Fortune's freaks!" I ejaculated; "but +'tis well she can no longer surprise me." + +A man stepped out in the darkness as I spoke, from beside one of the +rocks; it was the peasant Burns, my acquaintance of the earlier part of +the evening. + +"I have waited, Mr. Lindsay," he said, "to see whether some of the +country folks here, who have homes of their own to invite you to, might +not have brought you along with them. But I am afraid you must just be +content to pass the night with me. I can give you a share of my bed +and my supper, though both, I am aware, need many apologies." I made a +suitable acknowledgment, and we ascended the cliff together. "I live, +when at home with my parents," said my companion, "in the inland parish +of Tarbolton; but, for the last two months, I have attended school here, +and lodge with an old widow woman in the village. To-morrow, as harvest +is fast approaching, I return to my father." + +"And I," I replied, "shall have the pleasure of accompanying you in at +least the early part of your journey, on my way to Irvine, where my +mother still lives." + +We reached the village, and entered a little cottage, that presented its +gable to the street, and its side to one of the narrower lanes. + +"I must introduce you to my landlady," said my companion, "an excellent, +kind-hearted old woman, with a fund of honest Scotch pride and shrewd +good sense in her composition, and with the mother as strong in her +heart as ever, though she lost the last of her children more than +twenty years ago." + +We found the good woman sitting beside a small but very cheerful fire. +The hearth was newly swept, and the floor newly sanded; and, directly +fronting her, there was an empty chair, which seemed to have been drawn +to its place in the expectation of some one to fill it. + +"You are going to leave me, Robert, my bairn," said the woman, "an' I +kenna how I sall ever get on without you; I have almost forgotten, sin +you came to live with me, that I have neither children nor husband." On +seeing me, she stopped short. + +"An acquaintance," said my companion, "whom I have made bold to bring +with me for the night; but you must not put yourself to any trouble, +mother; he is, I daresay, as much accustomed to plain fare as myself. +Only, however, we must get an additional pint of _yill_ from the +_clachan;_ you know this is my last evening with you, and was to be +a merry one at any rate." The woman looked me full in the face. + +"Matthew Lindsay!" she exclaimed--"can you have forgotten your poor old +aunt Margaret!" I grasped her hand. + +"Dearest aunt, this is surely most unexpected! How could I have so much +as dreamed you were within a hundred miles of me?" Mutual congratulation +ensued. + +"This," she said, turning to my companion, "is the nephew I have so +often told you about, and so often wished to bring you acquainted with. +He is, like yourself, a great reader and a great thinker, and there is +no need that your proud, kindly heart should be jealous of him; for he +has been ever quite as poor, and maybe the poorer of the two." After +still more of greeting and congratulation, the young man rose. + +"The night is dark, mother," he said, "and the road to the clachan a +rough one; besides you and your kinsman will have much to say to one +another. I shall just slip out to the clachan for you; and you shall +both tell me on my return whether I am not a prime judge of ale." + +"The kindest heart, Matthew, that ever lived," said my relative, as he +left the house; "ever since he came to Kirkoswald, he has been both son +and daughter to me, and I shall feel twice a widow when he goes away." + +"I am mistaken, aunt," I said, "if he be not the strongest minded man I +ever saw. Be assured he stands high among the aristocracy of nature, +whatever may be thought of him in Kirkoswald. There is a robustness of +intellect, joined to an overmastering force of character, about him, +which I have never yet seen equalled, though I have been intimate with +at least one very superior mind, and with hundreds of the class who pass +for men of talent. I have been thinking ever since I met with him, of +the William Tells and William Wallaces of history--men who, in those +times of trouble which unfix the foundations of society, step out from +their obscurity to rule the destiny of nations." + +"I was ill about a month ago," said my relative--"so very ill that I +thought I was to have done with the world altogether; and Robert was +both nurse and physician to me--he kindled my fire, too, every morning, +and sat up beside me sometimes for the greater part of the night. What +wonder I should love him as my own child? Had your cousin Henry been +spared to me, he would now have been much about Robert's age." + +The conversation passed to other matters, and in about half an hour, my +new friend entered the room; when we sat down to a homely, but cheerful +repast. + +"I have been engaged in argument, for the last twenty minutes, with +our parish schoolmaster," he said--"a shrewd, sensible man, and a +prime scholar, but one of the most determined Calvinists I ever knew. +Now, there is something, Mr. Lindsay, in abstract Calvinism, that +dissatisfies and distresses me; and yet, I must confess, there is so +much of good in the working of the system, that I would ill like to see +it supplanted by any other. I am convinced, for instance, there is +nothing so efficient in teaching the bulk of a people to think as a +Calvinistic church." + +"Ah, Robert," said my aunt, "it does meikle mair nor that. Look round +ye, my bairn, an' see if there be a kirk in which puir sinful creatures +have mair comfort in their sufferings or mair hope in their deaths." + +"Dear mother," said my companion, "I like well enough to dispute with +the schoolmaster, but I must have no dispute with you. I know the heart +is everything in these matters, and yours is much wiser than mine." + +"There is something in abstract Calvinism," he continued, "that +distresses me. In almost all our researches we arrive at an ultimate +barrier, which interposes its wall of darkness between us and the last +grand truth, in the series which we had trusted was to prove a +master-key to the whole. We dwell in a sort of Goshen--there is light +in our immediate neighbourhood, and a more than Egyptian darkness all +around; and as every Hebrew must have known that the hedge of cloud +which he saw resting on the landscape, was a boundary not to things +themselves, but merely to his view of things--for beyond there were +cities, and plains, and oceans, and continents--so we in like manner +must know that the barriers of which I speak exist only in relation to +the faculties which we employ, not to the objects on which we employ +them. And yet, notwithstanding this consciousness that we are +necessarily and irremediably the bound prisoners of ignorance, and that +all the great truths lie outside our prison, we can almost be content +that, in most cases, it should be so--not, however, with regard to +those great unattainable truths which lie in the track of Calvinism. +They seem too important to be wanted, and yet want them we must--and we +beat our very heads against the cruel barrier which separates us from +them." + +"I am afraid I hardly understand you," I said;--"do assist me by some +instance of illustration." + +"You are acquainted," he replied, "with the Scripture doctrine of +Predestination, and, in thinking over it, in connection with the +destinies of man, it must have struck you that, however much it may +interfere with our fixed notions of the goodness of Deity, it is +thoroughly in accordance with the actual condition of our race. As far +as we can know of ourselves and the things around us, there seems, +through the will of Deity--for to what else can we refer it?--a fixed, +invariable connection between what we term cause and effect. Nor do we +demand of any class of mere effects, in the inanimate or irrational +world, that they should regulate themselves otherwise than the causes +which produce them have determined. The roe and the tiger pursue, +unquestioned, the instincts of their several natures; the cork rises, +and the stone sinks; and no one thinks of calling either to account for +movements so opposite. But it is not so with the family of man; and yet +our minds, our bodies, our circumstances, are but combinations of +effects, over the causes of which we have no control. We did not +choose a country for ourselves, nor yet a condition in life--nor did we +determine our modicum of intellect, or our amount of passion--we did +not impart its gravity to the weightier part of our nature, or give +expansion to the lighter--nor are our instincts of our own planting. +How, then, being thus as much the creatures of necessity as the denizens +of the wild and forest--as thoroughly under the agency of fixed, +unalterable causes, as the dead matter around us--why are we yet the +subjects of a retributive system, and accountable for all our actions?" + +"You quarrel with Calvinism," I said; "and seem one of the most +thorough-going necessitarians I ever knew." + +"Not so," he replied; "though my judgment cannot disprove these +conclusions, my heart cannot acquiesce in them--though I see that I am +as certainly the subject of laws that exist and operate independent of +my will, as the dead matter around me, I feel, with a certainty quite as +great, that I am a free, accountable creature. It is according to the +scope of my entire reason that I should deem myself bound--it is +according to the constitution of my whole nature that I should feel +myself free. And in this consists the great, the fearful problem--a +problem which both reason and revelation propound; but the truths which +can alone solve it, seem to lie beyond the horizon of darkness--and we +vex ourselves in vain. 'Tis a sort of moral asymptotes; but its lines, +instead of approaching through all space without meeting, seem receding +through all space, and yet meet." + +"Robert, my bairn," said my aunt, "I fear you are wasting your strength +on these mysteries to your ain hurt. Did ye no see, in the last storm, +when ye staid out among the caves till cock-crow, that the bigger and +stronger the wave, the mair was it broken against the rocks?--it's just +thus wi' the pride o' man's understanding, when he measures it against +the dark things o' God. An' yet it's sae ordered, that the same +wonderful truths which perplex and cast down the proud reason, should +delight and comfort the humble heart. I am a lone, puir woman, Robert. +Bairns an' husband have gone down to the grave, one by one; an' now, for +twenty weary years, I have been childless an' a widow. But trow ye that +the puir lone woman wanted a guard, an' a comforter, an' a provider, +through a' the lang mirk nichts, an' a' the cauld scarce winters o' +these twenty years? No, my bairn--I kent that Himsel' was wi' me. I kent +it by the provision He made, an' the care He took, an' the joy He gave. +An' how, think you, did He comfort me maist? Just by the blessed +assurance that a' my trials an' a' my sorrows were nae hasty chance +matters, but dispensations for my guid, an' the guid o' those He took to +Himsel', that, in the perfect love and wisdom o' His nature, He had +ordained frae the beginning." + +"Ah, mother," said my friend, after a pause, "you understand the +doctrine far better than I do! There are, I find, no contradictions in +the Calvinism of the heart." + + +CHAPTER III. + + "Ayr, gurgling, kissed his pebbled shore, + O'erhung with wild woods thick'ning green; + The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar + Twined, amorous, round the raptured scene; + + The flowers sprang wanton to be prest, + The birds sang love on every spray-- + Till, too, too soon, the glowing west + Proclaimed the speed of winged day." + _To Mary in Heaven_. + + +We were early on the road together; the day, though somewhat gloomy, was +mild and pleasant, and we walked slowly onward, neither of us in the +least disposed to hasten our parting by hastening our journey. We had +discussed fifty different topics, and were prepared to enter on fifty +more, when we reached the ancient burgh of Ayr, where our roads +separated. + +"I have taken an immense liking to you, Mr. Lindsay," said my +companion, as he seated himself on the parapet of the old bridge, +"and have just bethought me of a scheme through which I may enjoy your +company for at least one night more. The Ayr is a lovely river, and you +tell me you have never explored it. We shall explore it together this +evening for about ten miles, when we shall find ourselves at the +farm-house of Lochlea. You may depend on a hearty welcome from my +father, whom, by the way, I wish much to introduce to you, as a man +worth your knowing; and, as I have set my heart on the scheme, you +are surely too good-natured to disappoint me." Little risk of that, I +thought; I had, in fact, become thoroughly enamoured of the warm-hearted +benevolence and fascinating conversation of my companion, and acquiesced +with the best good-will in the world. + +We had threaded the course of the river for several miles. It runs +through a wild pastoral valley, roughened by thickets of copse-wood, and +bounded on either hand by a line of swelling, moory hills, with here and +there a few irregular patches of corn, and here and there some little +nest-like cottage peeping out from among the wood. The clouds, which +during the morning had obscured the entire face of the heavens, were +breaking up their array, and the sun was looking down, in twenty +different places, through the openings, checkering the landscape with a +fantastic, though lovely carpeting of light and shadow. Before us there +rose a thick wood, on a jutting promontory, that looked blue and dark in +the shade, as if it wore mourning; while the sunlit stream beyond shone +through the trunks and branches, like a river of fire. At length the +clouds seemed to have melted in the blue--for there was not a breath of +wind to speed them away--and the sun, now hastening to the west, shone +in unbroken effulgence over the wide extent of the dell, lighting up +stream and wood, and field and cottage, in one continuous blaze of +glory. We had walked on in silence for the last half hour; but I could +sometimes hear my companion muttering as he went; and when, in passing +through a thicket of hawthorn and honeysuckle, we started from its perch +a linnet that had been filling the air with its melody, I could hear him +exclaim, in a subdued tone of voice, "Bonny, bonny birdie! why hasten +frae me?--I wadna skaith a feather o' yer wing." He turned round to me, +and I could see that his eyes were swimming in moisture. + +"Can he be other," he said, "than a good and benevolent God, who gives +us moments like these to enjoy? Oh, my friend, without these sabbaths of +the soul, that come to refresh and invigorate it, it would dry up within +us! How exquisite," he continued, "how entire the sympathy which exists +between all that is good and fair in external nature, and all of good +and fair that dwells in our own! And, oh, how the heart expands and +lightens! The world is as a grave to it--a closely-covered grave--and +it shrinks, and deadens, and contracts all its holier and more joyous +feelings under the cold, earth-like pressure. But, amid the grand and +lovely of nature--amid these forms and colours of richest beauty--there +is a disinterment, a resurrection of sentiment; the pressure of our +earthly part seems removed, and those _senses of the mind_, if I may +so speak, which serve to connect our spirits with the invisible world +around us, recover their proper tone, and perform their proper office." + +"_Senses of the mind_," I said, repeating the phrase; "the idea is new +to me; but I think I catch your meaning." + +"Yes; there are--there must be such," he continued, with growing +enthusiasm; "man is essentially a religious creature--a looker beyond +the grave, from the very constitution of his mind; and the sceptic who +denies it is untrue not merely to the Being who has made and who +preserves him, but to the entire scope and bent of his own nature +besides. Wherever man is--whether he be a wanderer of the wild forest +or still wilder desert, a dweller in some lone isle of the sea, or +the tutored and full-minded denizen of some blessed land like our +own--wherever man is, there is religion--hopes that look forward and +upward--the belief in an unending existence, and a land of separate +souls." + +I was carried away by the enthusiasm of my companion, and felt, for the +time, as if my mind had become the mirror of his. There seems to obtain +among men a species of moral gravitation, analogous, in its principles, +to that which regulates and controls the movements of the planetary +system. The larger and more ponderous any body, the greater its +attractive force, and the more overpowering its influence over the +lesser bodies which surround it. The earth we inhabit carries the moon +along with it in its course, and is itself subject to the immensely more +powerful influence of the sun. And it is thus with character. It is a +law of our nature, as certainly as of the system we inhabit, that the +inferior should yield to the superior, and the lesser owe its guidance +to the greater. I had hitherto wandered on through life almost +unconscious of the existence of this law, or, if occasionally rendered +half aware of it, it was only through a feeling that some secret +influence was operating favourably in my behalf on the common minds +around me. I now felt, however, for the first time, that I had come in +contact with a mind immeasurably more powerful than my own; my thoughts +seemed to cast themselves into the very mould--my sentiments to modulate +themselves by the very tone of his. And yet he was but a russet-clad +peasant--my junior by at least eight years--who was returning from +school to assist his father, an humble tacksman, in the labours of +the approaching harvest. But the law of circumstance, so arbitrary in +ruling the destinies of common men, exerts but a feeble control over +the children of genius. The prophet went forth commissioned by Heaven to +anoint a king over Israel, and the choice fell on a shepherd boy who was +tending his father's flocks in the field. + +We had reached a lovely bend of the stream. There was a semicircular +inflection in the steep bank, which waved over us, from base to summit, +with hawthorn and hazle; and while one half looked blue and dark in the +shade, the other was lighted up with gorgeous and fiery splendour by the +sun, now fast sinking in the west. The effect seemed magical. A little +grassy platform that stretched between the hanging wood and the stream, +was whitened over with clothes, that looked like snow-wreathes in the +hollow; and a young and beautiful girl watched beside them. + +"Mary Campbell!" exclaimed my companion, and in a moment he was at her +side, and had grasped both her hands in his. "How fortunate, how very +fortunate I am!" he said; "I could not have so much as hoped to have +seen you to-night, and yet here you are! This, Mr. Lindsay, is a loved +friend of mine, whom I have known and valued for years; ever, indeed, +since we herded our sheep together under the cover of one plaid. Dearest +Mary, I have had sad forebodings regarding you for the whole last month +I was in Kirkoswald, and yet, after all my foolish fears, here you are, +ruddier and bonnier than ever." + +She was, in truth, a beautiful, sylph-like young woman--one whom I would +have looked at with complacency in any circumstances; for who that +admires the fair and the lovely in nature--whether it be the wide-spread +beauty of sky and earth, or beauty in its minuter modifications, as we +see it in the flowers that spring up at our feet, or the butterfly that +flutters over them--who, I say, that admires the fair and lovely in +nature, can be indifferent to the fairest and loveliest of all her +productions? As the mistress, however, of by far the strongest-minded +man I ever knew, there was more of scrutiny in my glance than usual, and +I felt a deeper interest in her than mere beauty could have awakened. +She was, perhaps, rather below than above the middle size; but formed in +such admirable proportion, that it seemed out of place to think of size +in reference to her at all. Who, in looking at the _Venus de Medicis_, +asks whether she be tall or short? The bust and neck were so exquisitely +moulded, that they reminded me of Burke's fanciful remark, viz., that +our ideas of beauty originate in our love of the sex, and that we +deem every object beautiful which is described by soft-waving lines, +resembling those of the female neck and bosom. Her feet and arms, which +were both bare, had a statue-like symmetry and marble-like whiteness; +but it was on her expressive and lovely countenance, now lighted up by +the glow of joyous feeling, that nature seemed to have exhausted her +utmost skill. There was a fascinating mixture in the expression of +superior intelligence and child-like simplicity; a soft, modest light +dwelt in the blue eye; and in the entire contour and general form of the +features, there was a nearer approach to that union of the straight and +the rounded, which is found in its perfection in only the Grecian face, +than is at all common in our northern latitudes, among the descendants +of either the Celt or the Saxon. I felt, however, as I gazed, that when +lovers meet, the presence of a third person, however much the friend of +either, must always be less than agreeable. + +"Mr. Burns," I said, "there is a beautiful eminence a few hundred yards +to the right, from which I am desirous to overlook the windings of the +stream. Do permit me to leave you for a short half hour, when I shall +return; or, lest I weary you by my stay, 'twere better, perhaps, you +should join me there." My companion greeted the proposal with a +good-humoured smile of intelligence; and, plunging into the wood, I +left him with his Mary. The sun had just set as he joined me. + +"Have you ever been in love, Mr. Lindsay?" he said. + +"No, never seriously," I replied. "I am, perhaps, not naturally of the +coolest temperament imaginable; but the same fortune that has improved +my mind in some little degree, and given me high notions of the sex, has +hitherto thrown me among only its less superior specimens. I am now in +my eight-and-twentieth year, and I have not yet met with a woman whom I +could love." + +"Then you are yet a stranger," he rejoined, "to the greatest happiness +of which our nature is capable. I have enjoyed more heartfelt pleasure +in the company of the young woman I have just left, than from every +other source that has been opened to me from my childhood till now. +Love, my friend, is the fulfilling of the whole law." + +"Mary Campbell, did you not call her?" I said. "She is, I think, the +loveliest creature I have ever seen; and I am much mistaken in the +expression of her beauty, if her mind be not as lovely as her person." + +"It is, it is," he exclaimed--"the intelligence of an angel with the +simplicity of a child. Oh, the delight of being thoroughly trusted, +thoroughly beloved by one of the loveliest, best, purest-minded of all +God's good creatures! To feel that heart beating against my own, and to +know that it beats for me only! Never have I passed an evening with my +Mary without returning to the world a better, gentler, wiser man. Love, +my friend, is the fulfilling of the whole law. What are we without +it?--poor, vile, selfish animals; our very virtues themselves, so +exclusively virtues on our own behalf as to be well nigh as hateful as +our vices. Nothing so opens and improves the heart, nothing so widens +the grasp of the affections, nothing half so effectually brings us out +of our crust of self, as a happy, well-regulated love for a pure-minded, +affectionate-hearted woman!" + +"There is another kind of love, of which we sailors see somewhat," I +said, "which is not so easily associated with good." + +"Love!" he replied--"no, Mr. Lindsay, that is not the name. Kind +associates with kind in all nature; and love--humanizing, +heart-softening love--cannot be the companion of whatever is low, mean, +worthless, degrading--the associate of ruthless dishonour, cunning, +treachery, and violent death. Even independent of its amount of evil +as a crime, or the evils still greater than itself which necessarily +accompany it, there is nothing that so petrifies the feeling as illicit +connection." + +"Do you seriously think so?" I asked. + +"Yes, and I see clearly how it should be so. Neither sex is complete of +itself--each was made for the other, that, like the two halves of a +hinge, they may become an entire whole when united. Only think of the +scriptural phrase, _one flesh_--it is of itself a system of philosophy. +Refinement and tenderness are of the woman, strength and dignity of +the man. Only observe the effects of a thorough separation, whether +originating in accident or caprice. You will find the stronger sex lost +in the rudenesses of partial barbarism; the gentler wrapt up in some +pitiful round of trivial and unmeaning occupation--dry-nursing puppies, +or making pincushions for posterity. But how much more pitiful are the +effects when they meet amiss--when the humanizing friend and companion +of the man is converted into the light degraded toy of an idle hour; +the object of a sordid appetite that lives but for a moment, and then +expires in loathing and disgust! The better feelings are iced over at +their source, chilled by the freezing and deadening contact--where +there is nothing to inspire confidence or solicit esteem; and, if these +pass not through the first, the inner circle--that circle within which +the social affections are formed, and from whence they emanate--how can +they possibly flow through the circles which lie beyond? But here, Mr. +Lindsay, is the farm of Lochlea, and yonder brown cottage, beside the +three elms, is the dwelling of my parents." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + "From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs, + That makes her lov'd at home, revered abroad." + _Cotter's Saturday Night._ + + +There was a wide and cheerful circle this evening round the hospitable +hearth of Lochlea. The father of my friend, a patriarchal-looking old +man, with a countenance the most expressive I have almost ever seen, +sat beside the wall on a large oaken settle, which also served to +accommodate a young man, an occasional visitor of the family, dressed +in rather shabby black, whom I at once set down as a probationer of +divinity. I had my own seat beside him. The brother of my friend (a lad +cast in nearly the same mould of form and feature, except, perhaps, that +his frame, though muscular and strongly set, seemed in the main less +formidably robust, and his countenance, though expressive, less +decidedly intellectual) sat at my side. My friend had drawn in his +seat beside his mother, a well-formed, comely brunette, of about +thirty-eight, whom I might almost have mistaken for his elder sister; +and two or three younger members of the family were grouped behind +her. The fire blazed cheerily within the wide and open chimney; and, +throwing its strong light on the faces and limbs of the circle, sent +our shadows flickering across the rafters and the wall behind. The +conversation was animated and rational, and every one contributed his +share. But I was chiefly interested in the remarks of the old man, +for whom I already felt a growing veneration, and in those of his +wonderfully-gifted son. + +"Unquestionably, Mr. Burns," said the man in black, addressing the +farmer, "politeness is but a very shadow, as the poet hath it, if the +heart be wanting. I saw, to-night, in a strictly polite family, so +marked a presumption of the lack of that natural affection of which +politeness is but the portraiture and semblance, that truly I have been +grieved in my heart ever since." + +"Ah, Mr. Murdoch," said the farmer, "there is ever more hypocrisy in +the world than in the church, and that, too, among the class of fine +gentlemen and fine ladies who deny it most. But the instance"-- + +"You know the family, my worthy friend," continued Mr. Murdoch--"it is a +very pretty one, as we say vernacularly, being numerous, and the sons +highly genteel young men; the daughters not less so. A neighbour of the +same very polite character, coming on a visit when I was among them, +asked the father, in the course of a conversation to which I was privy, +how he meant to dispose of his sons; when the father replied that he had +not yet determined. The visitor said, that were he in his place, seeing +they were all well-educated young men, he would send them abroad; to +which the father objected the indubitable fact, that many young men lost +their health in foreign countries, and very many their lives. 'True,' +did the visitor rejoin; 'but, as you have a number of sons, it will be +strange if some one of them does not live and make a fortune.' Now, +Mr. Burns, what will you, who know the feelings of paternity, and the +incalculable, and assuredly I may say, invaluable value of human souls, +think when I add, that the father commended the hint, as showing the +wisdom of a shrewd man of the world!" + +"Even the chief priests," said the old man, "pronounced it unlawful to +cast into the treasury the thirty pieces of silver, seeing it was the +price of blood; but the gentility of the present day is less scrupulous. +There is a laxity of principle among us, Mr. Murdoch, that, if God +restore us not, must end in the ruin of our country. I say laxity of +principle; for there have ever been evil manners among us, and waifs +in no inconsiderable number, broken loose from the decencies of +society--more, perhaps, in my early days than there are now. But +our principles at least were sound; and not only was there thus a +restorative and conservative spirit among us, but, what was of not less +importance, there was a broad gulf, like that in the parable, between +the two grand classes, the good and the evil--a gulf which, when it +secured the better class from contamination, interposed no barrier +to the reformation and return of even the most vile and profligate, +if repentant. But this gulf has disappeared, and we are standing +unconcernedly over it, on a hollow and dangerous marsh of neutral +ground, which, in the end, if God open not our eyes, must assuredly +give way under our feet." + +"To what, father," inquired my friend, who sat listening with the +deepest and most respectful attention, "do you attribute the change?" + +"Undoubtedly," replied the old man, "there have been many causes at +work; and, though not impossible, it would certainly be no easy task to +trace them all to their several effects, and give to each its due place +and importance. But there is a deadly evil among us, though you will +hear of it from neither press nor pulpit, which I am disposed to rank +first in the number--the affectation of gentility. It has a threefold +influence among us: it confounds the grand eternal distinctions of +right and wrong, by erecting into a standard of conduct and opinion that +heterogeneous and artificial whole which constitutes the manners and +morals of the upper classes; it severs those ties of affection and +good-will which should bind the middle to the lower orders, by disposing +the one to regard whatever is below them with a true contemptuous +indifference, and by provoking a bitter and indignant, though natural +jealousy in the other for being so regarded; and, finally, by leading +those who most entertain it into habits of expense, torturing their +means, if I may so speak, on the rack of false opinion--disposing +them to think, in their blindness, that to be genteel is a first +consideration, and to be honest merely a secondary one--it has the +effect of so hardening their hearts, that, like those Carthaginians of +whom we have been lately reading in the volume Mr. Murdoch lent us, +they offer up their very children, souls and bodies, to the unreal, +phantom-like necessities of their circumstances." + +"Have I not heard you remark, father," said Gilbert "that the change you +describe has been very marked among the ministers of our church?" + +"Too marked and too striking," replied the old man; "and in affecting +the respectability and usefulness of so important a class, it has educed +a cause of deterioration, distinctly from itself, and hardly less +formidable. There is an old proverb of our country--'Better the head of +the commonality than the tail of the gentry.' I have heard you quote it, +Robert, oftener than once, and admire its homely wisdom. Now, it bears +directly on what I have to remark--the ministers of our church have +moved but one step during the last sixty years; but that step has been +an all-important one--it has been from the best place in relation to the +people, to the worst in relation to the aristocracy." + +"Undoubtedly, worthy Mr. Burns," said Mr. Murdoch, "there is great +truth, according to mine own experience, in that which you affirm. I +may state, I trust, without over-boasting or conceit, my respected +friend, that my learning is not inferior to that of our neighbour the +clergyman--it is not inferior in Latin, nor in Greek, nor yet in French +literature, Mr. Burns, and probable it is he would not much court a +competition, and yet, when I last waited at the manse regarding a +necessary and essential certificate, Mr. Burns, he did not so much as +ask me to sit down." + +"Ah!" said Gilbert, who seemed the wit of the family, "he is a highly +respectable man, Mr. Murdoch--he has a fine house, fine furniture, fine +carpets--all that constitutes respectability, you know; and his family +is on visiting terms with that of the laird. But his credit is not so +respectable, I hear." + +"Gilbert," said the old man, with much seriousness, "it is ill with a +people when they can speak lightly of their clergymen. There is still +much of sterling worth and serious piety in the Church of Scotland; and +if the influence of its ministers be unfortunately less than it was +once, we must not cast the blame too exclusively on themselves. Other +causes have been in operation. The church, eighty years ago, was the +sole guide of opinion, and the only source of thought among us. There +was, indeed, but one way in which a man could learn to think. His mind +became the subject of some serious impression:--he applied to his Bible, +and, in the contemplation of the most important of all concerns, his +newly awakened faculties received their first exercise. All of +intelligence, all of moral good in him, all that rendered him worthy of +the name of man, he owed to the ennobling influence of his church; and +is it wonder that that influence should be all-powerful from this +circumstance alone? But a thorough change has taken place;--new sources +of intelligence have been opened up; we have our newspapers, and our +magazines, and our volumes of miscellaneous reading; and it is now +possible enough for the most cultivated mind in a parish to be the +least moral and the least religious; and hence necessarily a diminished +influence in the church, independent of the character of its ministers." + +I have dwelt too long, perhaps, on the conversation of the elder +Burns; but I feel much pleasure in thus developing, as it were, my +recollections of one whom his powerful-minded son has described--and +this after an acquaintance with our Henry Mackenzies, Adam Smiths, and +Dugald Stewarts--as the man most thoroughly acquainted with the world he +ever knew. Never, at least, have I met with any one who exerted a more +wholesome influence, through the force of moral character, on those +around him. We sat down to a plain and homely supper. The slave question +had, about this time, begun to draw the attention of a few of the more +excellent and intelligent among the people, and the elder Burns seemed +deeply interested in it. + +"This is but homely fare, Mr. Lindsay," he said, pointing to the simple +viands before us, "and the apologists of slavery among us would tell you +how inferior we are to the poor negroes, who fare so much better. But +surely 'man liveth not by bread alone!' Our fathers who died for Christ +on the hillside and the scaffold were noble men, and never, never shall +slavery produce such, and yet they toiled as hard, and fared as meanly +as we their children." + +I could feel, in the cottage of such a peasant, and seated beside such +men as his two sons, the full force of the remark. And yet I have heard +the miserable sophism of unprincipled power against which it was +directed--a sophism so insulting to the dignity of honest poverty--a +thousand times repeated. + +Supper over, the family circle widened round the hearth; and the old +man, taking down a large clasped Bible, seated himself beside the iron +lamp which now lighted the apartment. There was deep silence among us as +he turned over the leaves. Never shall I forget his appearance. He was +tall and thin, and though his frame was still vigorous, considerably +bent. His features were high and massy--the complexion still retained +much of the freshness of youth, and the eye all its intelligence; but +the locks were waxing thin and grey round his high, thoughtful forehead, +and the upper part of the head, which was elevated to an unusual height, +was bald. There was an expression of the deepest seriousness on the +countenance, which the strong umbery shadows of the apartment served to +heighten; and when, laying his hand on the page, he half turned his face +to the circle, and said, "_Let us worship God_," I was impressed by a +feeling of awe and reverence to which I had, alas! been a stranger for +years. I was affected too, almost to tears, as I joined in the psalm; +for a thousand half-forgotten associations came rushing upon me; and my +heart seemed to swell and expand as, kneeling beside him when he prayed, +I listened to his solemn and fervent petition, that God might make +manifest his great power and goodness in the salvation of man. Nor was +the poor solitary wanderer of the deep forgotten. + +On rising from our devotions, the old man grasped me by the hand. "I +am happy," he said, "that we should have met, Mr. Lindsay. I feel an +interest in you, and must take the friend and the old man's privilege +of giving you an advice. The sailor, of all men, stands most in need +of religion. His life is one of continued vicissitude--of unexpected +success, or unlooked-for misfortune; he is ever passing from danger to +safety, and from safety to danger; his dependence is on the ever-varying +winds, his abode on the unstable waters. And the mind takes a peculiar +tone from what is peculiar in the circumstances. With nothing stable in +the real world around it on which it may rest, it forms a resting-place +for itself in some wild code of belief. It peoples the elements with +strange occult powers of good and evil, and does them homage--addressing +its prayers to the genius of the winds, and the spirits of the waters. +And thus it begets a religion for itself;--for what else is the +professional superstition of the sailor? Substitute, my friend, for +this--(shall I call it unavoidable superstition?)--this natural religion +of the sea, the religion of the Bible. Since you must be a believer in +the supernatural, let your belief be true; let your trust be on Him who +faileth not--your anchor within the vail; and all shall be well, be your +destiny for this world what it may." + +We parted for the night, and I saw him no more. + +Next morning, Robert accompanied me for several miles on my way. I saw, +for the last half hour, that he had something to communicate, and yet +knew not how to set about it; and so I made a full stop. + +"You have something to tell me, Mr. Burns," I said: "need I assure you I +am one you are in no danger from trusting." He blushed deeply, and I saw +him, for the first time, hesitate and falter in his address. + +"Forgive me," he at length said--"believe me, Mr. Lindsay, I would be +the last in the world to hurt the feelings of a friend--a--a--but you +have been left among us penniless, and I have a very little money which +I have no use for--none in the least;--will you not favour me by +accepting it as a loan?" + +I felt the full and generous delicacy of the proposal, and, with +moistened eyes and a swelling heart, availed myself of his kindness. The +sum he tendered did not much exceed a guinea; but the yearly earnings of +the peasant Burns fell, at this period of his life, rather below eight +pounds. + + +CHAPTER V. + + "Corbies an' clergy are a shot right kittle."--_Brigs of Ayr_. + + +The years passed, and I was again a dweller on the sea; but the +ill-fortune which had hitherto tracked me like a bloodhound, seemed at +length as if tired in the pursuit, and I was now the master of a West +India trader, and had begun to lay the foundation of that competency +which has secured to my declining years the quiet and comfort which, for +the latter part of my life, it has been my happiness to enjoy. My vessel +had arrived at Liverpool in the latter part of the year 1784, and I had +taken coach for Irvine, to visit my mother, whom I had not seen for +several years. There was a change of passengers at every stage; but I +saw little in any of them to interest me, till within about a score of +miles of my destination, when I met with an old respectable townsman, a +friend of my father's. There was but another passenger in the coach, a +north country gentleman from the West Indies. I had many questions to +ask my townsman, and many to answer--and the time passed lightly away. + +"Can you tell me aught of the Burnses of Lochlea?" I inquired, after +learning that my mother and other relatives were well. "I met with the +young man Robert about five years ago, and have often since asked myself +what special end providence could have in view in making such a man." + +"I was acquainted with old William Burns," said my companion, "when he +was gardener at Denholm, an' got intimate wi' his son Robert when he +lived wi' us at Irvine, a twalmonth syne. The faither died shortly ago, +sairly straitened in his means, I'm feared, and no very square wi' the +laird--an' ill wad he hae liked that, for an honester man never +breathed. Robert, puir chield, is no very easy either." + +"In his circumstances?" I said. + +"Ay, an' waur:--he got entangled wi' the kirk on an unlucky sculduddery +business, an' has been writing bitter, wicked ballads on a' the guid +ministers in the country ever syne. I'm vexed it's on them he suld hae +fallen; an' yet they hae been to blame too." + +"Robert Burns so entangled, so occupied!" I exclaimed; "you grieve and +astonish me." + +"We are puir creatures, Matthew," said the old man; "strength an' +weakness are often next door neighbours in the best o' us; nay, what is +our vera strength taen on the ae side, may be our vera weakness taen on +the ither. Never was there a stancher, firmer fallow than Robert Burns; +an' now that he has taen a wrang step, puir chield, that vera stanchness +seems just a weak want o' ability to yield. He has planted his foot +where it lighted by mishanter, and a' the guid an' ill in Scotland wadna +budge him frae the spot." + +"Dear me! that so powerful a mind should be so frivolously engaged! +Making ballads, you say?--with what success?" + +"Ah, Matthew lad, when the strong man puts out his strength," said my +companion, "there's naething frivolous in the matter, be his object what +it may. Robert's ballads are far, far aboon the best things ever seen in +Scotland afore; we auld folk dinna ken whether maist to blame or praise +them, but they keep the young people laughing frae the ae nuik o' the +shire till the ither." + +"But how," I inquired, "have the better clergy rendered themselves +obnoxious to Burns? The laws he has violated, if I rightly understand +you, are indeed severe, and somewhat questionable in their tendencies; +and even good men often press them too far." + +"And in the case of Robert," said the old man, "our clergy have been +strict to the very letter. They're guid men an' faithfu' ministers; but +ane o' them, at least, an' he a leader, has a harsh, ill temper, an' +mistakes sometimes the corruption o' the auld man in him for the proper +zeal o' the new ane. Nor is there ony o' the ithers wha kent what they +had to deal wi' when Robert cam afore them. They saw but a proud, +thrawart ploughman, that stood uncow'ring under the glunsh o' a hail +session; and so they opened on him the artillery o' the kirk, to bear +down his pride. Wha could hae told them that they were but frushing +their straw an' rotten wood against the iron scales o' Leviathan? An' +now that they hae dune their maist, the record o' Robert's mishanter is +lying in whity-brown ink yonder in a page o' the session-buik, while the +ballads hae sunk deep deep intil the very mind o' the country, and may +live there for hunders and hunders o' years." + +"You seem to contrast, in this business," I said, "our better with what +you must deem our inferior clergy. You mean, do you not, the higher and +lower parties in our church? How are they getting on now?" + +"Never worse," replied the old man; "an', oh, it's surely ill when the +ministers o' peace become the very leaders o' contention! But let the +blame rest in the right place. Peace is surely a blessing frae +Heaven--no a guid wark demanded frae man; an' when it grows our duty +to be in war, it's an ill thing to be in peace. Our Evangelicals are +stan'in', puir folk, whar their faithers stood; an' if they maun either +fight or be beaten frae their post, why, it's just their duty to fight. +But the Moderates are rinnin' mad a'thegither amang us: signing our auld +Confession, just that they may get intil the kirk to preach against it; +paring the New Testament doun to the vera standard o' heathen Plawto; +and sinking ae doctrine after anither, till they leave ahint naething +but deism that might scunner an infidel. Deed, Matthew, if there comena +a change among them, an' that sune, they'll swamp the puir kirk a' +thegither. The cauld morality that never made ony ane mair moral, taks +nae hand o' the people; an' patronage, as meikle's they roose it, winna +keep up either kirk or manse o' itsel. Sorry I am, sin' Robert has +entered on the quarrel at a', it suld hae been on the wrang side." + +"One of my chief objections," I said, "to the religion of the Moderate +party is, that it is of no use." + +"A gey serious ane," rejoined the old man; "but maybe there's a waur +still. I'm unco vexed for Robert, baith on his worthy faither's account +and his ain. He's a fearsome fellow when ance angered, but an honest, +warm-hearted chield for a' that; an' there's mair sense in yon big head +o' his, than in ony ither twa in the country." + +"Can you tell me aught," said the north country gentleman, addressing my +companion, "of Mr. R----, the chapel minister in K----? I was once one +of his pupils in the far north; but I have heard nothing of him since he +left Cromarty." + +"Why," rejoined the old man, "he's just the man that, mair nor a' the +rest, has borne the brunt o' Robert's fearsome waggery. Did ye ken him +in Cromarty, say ye?" + +"He was parish schoolmaster there," said the gentleman, "for twelve +years; and for six of these I attended his school. I cannot help +respecting him; but no one ever loved him. Never surely was there a man +at once so unequivocally honest and so thoroughly unamiable." + +"You must have found him a rigid disciplinarian," I said. + +"He was the most so," he replied, "from the days of Dionysius, at least, +that ever taught a school. I remember there was a poor fisher boy among +us named Skinner, who, as is customary in Scottish schools, as you must +know, blew the horn for gathering the scholars, and kept the catalogue +and the key; and who, in return, was educated by the master, and +received some little gratuity from the scholars besides. On one +occasion, the key dropped out of his pocket; and, when school-time came, +the irascible dominie had to burst open the door with his foot. He raged +at the boy with a fury so insane, and beat him so unmercifully, that the +other boys, gathering heart in the extremity of the case, had to rise +_en masse_ and tear him out of his hands. But the curious part of the +story is yet to come: Skinner has been a fisherman for the last twelve +years; but never has he been seen disengaged, for a moment, from that +time to this, without mechanically thrusting his hand into the key +pocket." + +Our companion furnished us with two or three other anecdotes of Mr. +R----. He told us of a lady who was so overcome by sudden terror on +unexpectedly seeing him, many years after she had quitted his school, in +one of the pulpits of the south, that she fainted away; and of another +of his scholars, named M'Glashan, a robust, daring fellow of six feet, +who, when returning to Cromarty from some of the colonies, solaced +himself by the way with thoughts of the hearty drubbing with which he +was to clear off all his old scores with the dominie. + +"Ere his return, however," continued the gentleman, "Mr. R---- +had quitted the parish; and, had it chanced otherwise, it is +questionable whether M'Glashan, with all his strength and courage, would +have gained anything in an encounter with one of the boldest and most +powerful men in the country." + +Such were some of the chance glimpses which I gained, at this time, of +by far the most powerful of the opponents of Burns. He was a good, +conscientious man; but unfortunate in a harsh, violent temper, and in +sometimes mistaking, as my old townsman remarked, the dictates of that +temper for those of duty. + + +CHAPTER VI. + + "It's hardly in a body's pow'r + To keep at times frae being sour, + To see how things are shar'd-- + How best o' chiels are whiles in want, + While coofs on countless thousands rant, + And kenna how to wair't."--_Epistle to Davie._ + + +I visited my friend, a few days after my arrival in Irvine, at the +farm-house of Mossgiel, to which, on the death of his father, he had +removed, with his brother Gilbert and his mother. I could not help +observing that his manners were considerably changed: my welcome seemed +less kind and hearty than I could have anticipated from the warm-hearted +peasant of five years ago, and there was a stern and almost supercilious +elevation in his bearing, which at first pained and offended me. I had +met with him as he was returning from the fields after the labours of +the day; the dusk of twilight had fallen; and, though I had calculated +on passing the evening with him at the farm-house of Mossgiel, so +displeased was I, that, after our first greeting, I had more than half +changed my mind. The recollection of his former kindness to me, however, +suspended the feeling, and I resolved on throwing myself on his +hospitality for the night, however cold the welcome. + +"I have come all the way from Irvine to see you, Mr. Burns," I said. +"For the last five years, I have thought more of my mother and you than +of any other two persons in the country. May I not calculate, as of old, +on my supper and a bed?" + +There was an instantaneous change in his expression. + +"Pardon me, my friend," he said, grasping my hand; "I have, unwittingly, +been doing you wrong; one may surely be the master of an Indiaman and +in possession of a heart too honest to be spoiled by prosperity!" + +The remark served to explain the haughty coldness of his manner which +had so displeased me, and which was but the unwillingly assumed armour +of a defensive pride. + +"There, brother," he said, throwing down some plough irons which he +carried, "send _wee Davoc_ with these to the smithy, and bid him tell +Rankin I won't be there to-night. The moon is rising, Mr. Lindsay--shall +we not have a stroll together through the coppice?" + +"That of all things," I replied; and, parting from Gilbert, we struck +into the wood. + +The evening, considering the lateness of the season, for winter had set +in, was mild and pleasant. The moon at full was rising over the Cumnock +hills, and casting its faint light on the trees that rose around us, in +their winding-sheets of brown and yellow, like so many spectres, or +that, in the more exposed glares and openings of the wood, stretched +their long naked arms to the sky. A light breeze went rustling through +the withered grass; and I could see the faint twinkling of the falling +leaves, as they came showering down on every side of us. + +"We meet in the midst of death and desolation," said my companion--"we +parted when all around us was fresh and beautiful. My father was with me +then, and--and Mary Campbell--and now"---- + +"Mary! your Mary!" I exclaimed--"the young--the beautiful--alas! is she +also gone?" + +"She has left me," he said--"left me. Mary is in her grave!" + +I felt my heart swell, as the image of that loveliest of creatures came +rising to my view in all her beauty, as I had seen her by the river +side; and I knew not what to reply. + +"Yes," continued my friend, "she's in her grave;--we parted for a few +days, to re-unite, as we hoped, for ever; and, ere these few days had +passed, she was in her grave. But I was unworthy of her--unworthy even +then; and now---- But she is in her grave!" + +I grasped his hand. "It is difficult," I said, "to _bid_ the heart +submit to these dispensations, and, oh, how utterly impossible to bring +it to _listen_! But life--_your_ life, my friend--must not be passed in +useless sorrow. I am convinced, and often have I thought of it since our +last meeting, that yours is no vulgar destiny--though I know not to what +it tends." + +"Downwards!" he exclaimed--"it tends downwards;--I see, I feel it;--the +anchor of my affection is gone, and I drift shoreward on the rocks." + +"'Twere ruin," I exclaimed, "to think so!" + +"Not half an hour ere my father died," he continued, "he expressed a +wish to rise and sit once more in his chair; and we indulged him. But, +alas! the same feeling of uneasiness which had prompted the wish, +remained with him still, and he sought to return again to his bed. 'It +is not by quitting the bed or the chair,' he said, 'that I need seek for +ease: it is by quitting the body.' I am oppressed, Mr. Lindsay, by a +somewhat similar feeling of uneasiness, and, at times, would fain cast +the blame on the circumstances in which I am placed. But I may be as +far mistaken as my poor father. I would fain live at peace with all +mankind--nay, more, I would fain love and do good to them all; but the +villain and the oppressor come to set their feet on my very neck, and +crush me into the mire--and must I not resist? And when, in some +luckless hour, I yield to my passions--to those fearful passions that +must one day overwhelm me--when I yield, and my whole mind is darkened +by remorse, and I groan under the discipline of conscience, then comes +the odious, abominable hypocrite--the devourer of widows' houses and +the substance of the orphan--and demands that my repentance be as +public as his own hollow, detestable prayers. And can I do other than +resist and expose him? My heart tells me it was formed to bestow--why +else does every misery that I cannot relieve render me wretched? It +tells me, too, it was formed not to receive--why else does the proffered +assistance of even a friend fill my whole soul with indignation? But ill +do my circumstances agree with my feelings. I feel as if I were totally +misplaced in some frolic of nature, and wander onwards in gloom and +unhappiness, seeking for my proper sphere. But, alas! these efforts of +uneasy misery are but the blind gropings of Homer's Cyclops round the +walls of his cave." + +I again began to experience, as on a former occasion, the o'ermastering +power of a mind larger beyond comparison than my own; but I felt it my +duty to resist the influence. "Yes, you are misplaced, my friend," I +said--"perhaps more decidedly so than any other man I ever knew; but is +not this characteristic, in some measure, of the whole species? We are +all misplaced; and it seems a part of the scheme of deity, that we +should work ourselves up to our proper sphere. In what other respect +does man so differ from the inferior animals as in those aspirations +which lead him through all the progressions of improvement, from the +lowest to the highest level of his nature?" + +"That may be philosophy, my friend," he replied, "but a heart ill at +ease finds little of comfort in it. You knew my father: need I say he +was one of the excellent of the earth--a man who held directly from +God Almighty the patent of his honours? I saw that father sink +broken-hearted into the grave, the victim of legalized oppression--yes, +saw him overborne in the long contest which his high spirit and his +indomitable love of the right had incited him to maintain--overborne by +a mean, despicable scoundrel, one of the creeping things of the earth. +Heaven knows I did my utmost to assist in the struggle. In my fifteenth +year, Mr. Lindsay, when a thin, loose-jointed boy, I did the work of a +man, and strained my unknit and overtoiled sinews as if life and death +depended on the issue, till oft, in the middle of the night, I have had +to fling myself from my bed to avoid instant suffocation--an effect of +exertion so prolonged and so premature. Nor has the man exerted himself +less heartily than the boy--in the roughest, severest labours of the +field, I have never yet met a competitor. But my labours have been all +in vain--I have seen the evil bewailed by Solomon--the righteous man +falling down before the wicked." I could answer only with a sigh. "You +are in the right," he continued, after a pause, and in a more subdued +tone: "man is certainly misplaced--the present scene of things is below +the dignity of both his moral and intellectual nature. Look round +you--(we had reached the summit of a grassy eminence which rose over +the wood, and commanded a pretty extensive view of the surrounding +country)--see yonder scattered cottages, that, in the faint light, rise +dim and black amid the stubble fields--my heart warms as I look on them, +for I know how much of honest worth, and sound, generous feeling +shelters under these roof-trees. But why so much of moral excellence +united to a mere machinery for ministering to the ease and luxury of a +few of, perhaps, the least worthy of our species--creatures so spoiled +by prosperity that the claim of a common nature has no force to move +them, and who seem as miserably misplaced as the myriads whom they +oppress?" + + "If I'm designed yon lordling's slave-- + By nature's law designed-- + Why was an independent wish + E'er planted in my mind? + + If not, why am I subject to + His cruelty and scorn? + Or why has man the will and power + To make his fellow mourn?" + +"I would hardly know what to say in return, my friend," I rejoined, "did +not you, yourself, furnish me with the reply. You are groping on in +darkness, and it may be unhappiness, for your proper sphere; but it +is in obedience to a great though occult law of our nature--a law, +general as it affects the species, in its course of onward +progression--particular, and infinitely more irresistible, as it +operates on every truly superior intellect. There are men born to wield +the destinies of nations--nay, more, to stamp the impression of their +thoughts and feelings on the mind of the whole civilized world. And by +what means do we often find them roused to accomplish their appointed +work? At times hounded on by sorrow and suffering, and thus in the +design of providence, that there may be less of sorrow and suffering in +the world ever after--at times roused by cruel and maddening oppression, +that the oppressor may perish in his guilt, and a whole country enjoy +the blessings of freedom. If Wallace had not suffered from tyranny, +Scotland would not have been free." + +"But how apply the remark?" said my companion. + +"Robert Burns," I replied, again grasping his hand, "yours, I am +convinced, is no vulgar destiny. Your griefs, your sufferings, your +errors even, the oppressions you have seen and felt, the thoughts which +have arisen in your mind, the feelings and sentiments of which it has +been the subject, are, I am convinced, of infinitely more importance in +their relation to your country than to yourself. You are, wisely and +benevolently, placed far below your level, that thousands and ten +thousands of your countrymen may be the better enabled to attain to +theirs. Assert the dignity of manhood and of genius, and there will be +less of wrong and oppression in the world ever after." + +I spent the remainder of the evening in the farm-house of Mossgiel, and +took the coach next morning for Liverpool. + + +CHAPTER VII. + + "His is that language of the heart + In which the answering heart would speak-- + Thought, word, that bids the warm tear start, + Or the smile light up the cheek; + And his that music to whose tone + The common pulse of man keeps time, + In cot or castle's mirth or moan, + In cold or sunny clime."--_American poet._ + + +The love of literature, when once thoroughly awakened in a reflective +mind, can never after cease to influence it. It first assimilates our +intellectual part to those fine intellects which live in the world of +books, and then renders our connection with them indispensable, by +laying hold of that social principle of our nature which ever leads us +to the society of our fellows as our proper sphere of enjoyment. My +early habits, by heightening my tone of thought and feeling, had tended +considerably to narrow my circle of companionship. My profession, too, +had led me to be much alone; and now that I had been several years the +master of an Indiaman, I was quite as fond of reading, and felt as deep +an interest in whatever took place in the literary world, as when a +student at St. Andrew's. There was much in the literature of the period +to gratify my pride as a Scotchman. The despotism, both political and +religious, which had overlaid the energies of our country for more than +a century, had long been removed, and the national mind had swelled and +expanded under a better system of things, till its influence had become +co-extensive with civilized man. Hume had produced his inimitable +history, and Adam Smith his wonderful work, which was to revolutionise +and new-model the economy of all the governments of the earth. And +there, in my little library, were the histories of Henry and Robertson, +the philosophy of Kaimes and Reid, the novels of Smollett and Mackenzie, +and the poetry of Beattie and Home. But, if there was no lack of +Scottish intellect in the literature of the time, there was a decided +lack of Scottish manners; and I knew too much of my humble countrymen +not to regret it. True, I had before me the writings of Ramsay and my +unfortunate friend Ferguson; but there was a radical meanness in the +first that lowered the tone of his colouring far beneath the freshness +of truth, and the second, whom I had seen perish--too soon, alas! for +literature and his country--had given us but a few specimens of his +power when his hand was arrested for ever. + +My vessel, after a profitable, though somewhat tedious voyage, had again +arrived in Liverpool. It was late in December, 1786, and I was passing +the long evening in my cabin, engaged with a whole sheaf of pamphlets +and magazines which had been sent me from the shore. _The Lounger_ was, +at this time, in course of publication. I had ever been an admirer of +the quiet elegance and exquisite tenderness of Mackenzie; and, though I +might not be quite disposed to think, with Johnson, that "the chief +glory of every people arises from its authors," I certainly felt all +the prouder of my country, from the circumstance that so accomplished +a writer was one of my countrymen. I had read this evening some of the +more recent numbers, half disposed to regret, however, amid all the +pleasure they afforded me, that the Addison of Scotland had not done for +the manners of his country what his illustrious prototype had done for +those of England, when my eye fell on the ninety-seventh number. I read +the introductory sentences, and admired their truth and elegance. I had +felt, in the contemplation of supereminent genius, the pleasure which +the writer describes, and my thoughts reverted to my two friends--the +dead and the living. "In the view of highly superior talents, as in +that of great and stupendous objects," says the essayist, "there is a +sublimity which fills the soul with wonder and delight--which expands +it, as it were, beyond its usual bounds, and which, investing our nature +with extraordinary powers and extraordinary honours, interests our +curiosity and flatters our pride." + +I read on with increasing interest. It was evident, from the tone of the +introduction, that some new luminary had arisen in the literary horizon, +and I felt somewhat like a schoolboy when, at his first play, he waits +for the drawing up of the curtain. And the curtain at length rose. "The +person," continues the essayist, "to whom I allude"--and he alludes to +him as a genius of no ordinary class--"is Robert Burns, an Ayrshire +ploughman." The effect on my nerves seemed electrical; I clapped my +hands, and sprung from my seat: "Was I not certain of it! Did I not +foresee it!" I exclaimed. "My noble-minded friend, Robert Burns!" I ran +hastily over the warm-hearted and generous critique, so unlike the cold, +timid, equivocal notices with which the professional critic has greeted, +on their first appearance, so many works destined to immortality. It was +Mackenzie, the discriminating, the classical, the elegant, who assured +me that the productions of this "heaven-taught ploughman were fraught +with the high-toned feeling and the power and energy of expression +characteristic of the mind and voice of the poet"--with the solemn, the +tender, the sublime; that they contained images of pastoral beauty which +no other writer had ever surpassed, and strains of wild humour which +only the higher masters of the lyre had ever equalled; and that the +genius displayed in them seemed not less admirable in tracing the +manners than in painting the passions, or in drawing the scenery of +nature. I flung down the essay, ascended to the deck in three huge +strides, leaped ashore, and reached my bookseller's as he was shutting +up for the night. + +"Can you furnish me with a copy of Burns' Poems," I said, "either for +love or money?" + +"I have but one copy left," replied the man, "and here it is." + +I flung down a guinea. "The change," I said, "I shall get when I am less +in a hurry." + +'Twas late that evening ere I remembered that 'tis customary to spend at +least part of the night in bed. I read on and on with a still increasing +astonishment and delight, laughing and crying by turns. I was quite in a +new world; all was fresh and unsoiled--the thoughts, the descriptions, +the images--as if the volume I read was the first that had ever been +written; and yet all was easy and natural, and appealed, with a truth +and force irresistible, to the recollections I cherished most fondly. +Nature and Scotland met me at every turn. I had admired the polished +compositions of Pope, and Gray, and Collins, though I could not +sometimes help feeling that, with all the exquisite art they displayed, +there was a little additional art wanting still. In most cases the +scaffolding seemed incorporated with the structure which it had served +to rear; and, though certainly no scaffolding could be raised on surer +principles, I could have wished that the ingenuity which had been tasked +to erect it, had been exerted a little further in taking it down. But +the work before me was evidently the production of a greater artist; not +a fragment of the scaffolding remained--not so much as a mark to show +how it had been constructed. The whole seemed to have risen like an +exhalation, and, in this respect, reminded me of the structures of +Shakspeare alone. I read the inimitable "Twa Dogs." Here, I said, is the +full and perfect realization of what Swift and Dryden were hardy enough +to attempt, but lacked genius to accomplish. Here are dogs--_bona fide_ +dogs--endowed indeed with more than human sense and observation, but +true to character, as the most honest and attached of quadrupeds, in +every line. And then those exquisite touches which the poor man, inured +to a life of toil and poverty, can alone rightly understand! and those +deeply-based remarks on character, which only the philosopher can justly +appreciate! This is the true catholic poetry, which addresses itself not +to any little circle, walled in from the rest of the species by some +peculiarity of thought, prejudice, or condition, but to the whole human +family. I read on:--"The Holy Fair," "Hallow E'en," "The Vision," the +"Address to the Deil," engaged me by turns; and then the strange, +uproarious, unequalled "Death and Dr. Hornbook." This, I said, is +something new in the literature of the world. Shakspeare possessed above +all men the power of instant and yet natural transition, from the +lightly gay to the deeply pathetic--from the wild to the humorous; but +the opposite states of feeling which he induces, however close the +neighbourhood, are ever distinct and separate; the oil and the water, +though contained in the same vessel, remain apart. Here, however, for +the first time, they mix and incorporate, and yet each retains its whole +nature and full effect. I need hardly remind the reader that the feat +has been repeated, and even with more completeness, in the wonderful, +"Tam o' Shanter." I read on. "The Cotter's Saturday Night" filled my +whole soul--my heart throbbed and my eyes moistened; and never before +did I feel half so proud of my country, or know half so well on what +score it was I did best in feeling proud. I had perused the entire +volume from beginning to end, ere I remembered I had not taken supper, +and that it was more than time to go to bed. + +But it is no part of my plan to furnish a critique on the poems of my +friend. I merely strive to recall the thoughts and feelings which my +first perusal of them awakened, and thus only as a piece of mental +history. Several months elapsed from this evening ere I could hold them +out from me sufficiently at arms' length, as it were, to judge of their +more striking characteristics. At times the amazing amount of thought, +feeling, and imagery which they contained--their wonderful continuity of +idea, without gap or interstice--seemed to me most to distinguish them. +At times they reminded me, compared with the writings of smoother poets, +of a collection of medals which, unlike the thin polished coin of the +kingdom, retained all the significant and pictorial roughness of the +original die. But when, after the lapse of weeks, months, years, I found +them rising up in my heart on every occasion, as naturally as if they +had been the original language of all my feelings and emotions--when I +felt that, instead of remaining outside my mind, as it were, like the +writings of other poets, they had so amalgamated themselves with my +passions, my sentiments, my ideas, that they seemed to have become +portions of my very self--I was led to a final conclusion regarding +them. Their grand distinguishing characteristic is their unswerving and +perfect truth. The poetry of Shakspeare is the mirror of life--that of +Burns the expressive and richly modulated voice of human nature. + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + "Burns was a poor man from his birth, and an exciseman from + necessity; but--I _will say_ it!--the sterling of his honest + worth, poverty could not debase; and his independent British + spirit oppression might bend, but could not subdue."--_Letter + to Mr. Graham_. + + +I have been listening for the last half hour to the wild music of an +Eolian harp. How exquisitely the tones rise and fall!--now sad, now +solemn--now near, now distant. The nerves thrill, the heart softens, the +imagination awakes as we listen. What if that delightful instrument be +animated by a living soul, and these finely-modulated tones be but the +expression of its feelings! What if these dying, melancholy cadences, +which so melt and sink into the heart, be--what we may so naturally +interpret them--the melodious sinkings of a deep-seated and hopeless +unhappiness! Nay, the fancy is too wild for even a dream. But are there +none of those fine analogies, which run through the whole of nature and +the whole of art, to sublime it into truth? Yes, _there have_ been such +living harps among us; beings, the tones of whose sentiments, the melody +of whose emotions, the cadences of whose sorrows, remain to thrill, and +delight, and humanize our souls. They seem born for others, not for +themselves. Alas, for the hapless companion of my early youth! Alas, for +him, the pride of his country, the friend of my maturer manhood!--But my +narrative lags in its progress. + +My vessel lay in the Clyde for several weeks during the summer of 1794, +and I found time to indulge myself in a brief tour along the western +coasts of the kingdom, from Glasgow to the Borders. I entered Dumfries +in a calm, lovely evening, and passed along one of the principal +streets. The shadows of the houses on the western side were stretched +half-way across the pavement, while, on the side opposite, the bright +sunshine seemed sleeping on the jutting irregular fronts, and high +antique gables. There seemed a world of well-dressed company this +evening in town; and I learned, on inquiry, that all the aristocracy of +the adjacent country, for twenty miles round, had come in to attend a +county ball. They went fluttering along the sunny side of the street, +gay as butterflies--group succeeding group. On the opposite side, in the +shade, a solitary individual was passing slowly along the pavement. I +knew him at a glance. It was the first poet, perhaps the greatest man, +of his age and country. But why so solitary? It had been told me that he +ranked among his friends and associates many of the highest names in the +kingdom, and yet to-night not one of the hundreds who fluttered past +appeared inclined to recognise him. He seemed too--but perhaps fancy +misled me--as if care-worn and dejected; pained, perhaps, that not one +among so many of the _great_ should have humility enough to notice a +poor exciseman. I stole up to him unobserved, and tapped him on the +shoulder; there was a decided fierceness in his manner as he turned +abruptly round, but, as he recognised me, his expressive countenance +lighted up in a moment, and I shall never forget the heartiness with +which he grasped my hand. + +We quitted the streets together for the neighbouring fields, and, after +the natural interchange of mutual congratulations--"How is it," I +inquired, "that you do not seem to have a single acquaintance among all +the gay and great of the country?" + +"I lie under quarantine," he replied; "tainted by the plague of +liberalism. There is not one of the hundreds we passed to-night whom I +could not once reckon among my intimates." + +The intelligence stunned and irritated me. "How infinitely absurd!" I +said. "Do they dream of sinking you into a common man?" + +"Even so," he rejoined. "Do they not all know I have been a gauger for +the last five years!" + +The fact had both grieved and incensed me long before. I knew, too, that +Pye enjoyed his salary as poet laureate of the time, and Dibdin, the +song writer, his pension of two hundred a-year, and I blushed for my +country. + +"Yes," he continued--the ill-assumed coolness of his manner giving way +before his highly excited feelings--"they have assigned me my place +among the mean and the degraded, as their best patronage; and only +yesterday, after an official threat of instant dismission, I was told +it was my business to act, not to think. God help me! what have I done +to provoke such bitter insult? I have ever discharged my miserable +duty--discharged it, Mr. Lindsay, however repugnant to my feelings, +as an honest man; and though there awaited me no promotion, I was +silent. The wives or sisters of those whom they advanced over me had +bastards to some of the ---- family, and so their influence was +necessarily greater than mine. But now they crush me into the very dust. +I take an interest in the struggles of the slave for his freedom; I +express my opinions as if I myself were a free man; and they threaten +to starve me and my children if I dare so much as speak or think." + +I expressed my indignant sympathy in a few broken sentences; and he went +on with kindling animation:-- + +"Yes, they would fain crush me into the very dust! They cannot forgive +me, that, being born a man, I should walk erect according to my nature. +Mean-spirited and despicable themselves, they can tolerate only the +mean-spirited and the despicable; and were I not so entirely in their +power, Mr. Lindsay, I could regard them with the proper contempt. But +the wretches can starve me and my children--and they _know_ it; nor does +it mend the matter that I _know_ in turn, what pitiful, miserable, +little creatures they are. What care I for the butterflies of +to-night?--they passed me without the honour of their notice; and I, in +turn, suffered them to pass without the honour of mine; and I am more +than quits. Do I not know that they and I are going on to the fulfilment +of our several destinies?--they to sleep, in the obscurity of their +native insignificance, with the pismires and grasshoppers of all the +past, and I to be whatever the millions of my unborn countrymen shall +yet decide. Pitiful little insects of an hour! what is their notice to +me! But I bear a heart, Mr. Lindsay, that can feel the pain of treatment +so unworthy; and I must confess it moves me. One cannot always live upon +the future, divorced from the sympathies of the present. One cannot +always solace one's self under the grinding despotism that would +fetter one's very thoughts, with the conviction, however assured, that +posterity will do justice both to the oppressor and the oppressed. I am +sick at heart; and were it not for the poor little things that depend so +entirely on my exertions, I could as cheerfully lay me down in the grave +as I ever did in bed after the fatigues of a long day's labour. Heaven +help me! I am miserably unfitted to struggle with even the natural evils +of existence--how much more so when these are multiplied and exaggerated +by the proud, capricious inhumanity of man!" + +"There is a miserable lack of right principle and right feeling," I +said, "among our upper classes in the present day; but, alas for poor +human nature! it has ever been so, and, I am afraid, ever will. And +there is quite as much of it in savage as in civilized life. I have seen +the exclusive aristocratic spirit, with its one-sided injustice, as +rampant in a wild isle of the Pacific as I ever saw it among ourselves." + +"'Tis slight comfort," said my friend, with a melancholy smile, "to be +assured, when one's heart bleeds from the cruelty or injustice of our +fellows, that man is naturally cruel and unjust, and not less so as a +savage than when better taught. I knew you, Mr. Lindsay, when you were +younger and less fortunate; but you have now reached that middle term of +life when man naturally takes up the Tory and lays down the Whig; nor +has there been aught in your improving circumstances to retard the +change; and so you rest in the conclusion that, if the weak among us +suffer from the tyranny of the strong, 'tis because human nature is so +constituted, and the case therefore cannot be helped." + +"Pardon me, Mr. Burns," I said, "I am not quite so finished a Tory as +that amounts to." + +"I am not one of those fanciful declaimers," he continued, "who set out +on the assumption that man is free-born. I am too well assured of the +contrary. Man is not free-born. The earlier period of his existence, +whether as a puny child or the miserable denizen of an uninformed and +barbarous state, is one of vassalage and subserviency. He is not born +free, he is not born rational, he is not born virtuous; he is born to +_become_ all these. And woe to the sophist who, with arguments drawn +from the unconfirmed constitution of his childhood, would strive to +render his imperfect, because immature, state of pupilage a permanent +one! We are yet far below the level of which our nature is capable, and +possess in consequence but a small portion of the liberty which it is +the destiny of our species to enjoy. And 'tis time our masters should be +taught so. You will deem me a wild Jacobin, Mr. Lindsay; but persecution +has the effect of making a man extreme in these matters. Do help me to +curse the scoundrels!--my business to act, not to think!" + +We were silent for several minutes. + +"I have not yet thanked you, Mr. Burns," I at length said, "for the most +exquisite pleasure I ever enjoyed. You have been my companion for the +last eight years." + +His countenance brightened. + +"Ah, here I am boring you with my miseries and my ill-nature," he +replied; "but you must come along with me and see the bairns and Jean; +and some of the best songs I ever wrote. It will go hard if we hold not +care at the staff's end for at least one evening. You have not yet seen +my stone punch-bowl, nor my Tam o'Shanter, nor a hundred other fine +things beside. And yet, vile wretch that I am, I am sometimes so +unconscionable as to be unhappy with them all. But come along." + +We spent this evening together with as much of happiness as it has ever +been my lot to enjoy. Never was there a fonder father than Burns, a more +attached husband, or a warmer friend. There was an exuberance of love +in his large heart, that encircled in its flow, relatives, friends, +associates, his country, the world; and, in his kinder moods, the +sympathetic influence which he exerted over the hearts of others seemed +magical. I laughed and cried this evening by turns; I was conscious of +a wider and warmer expansion of feeling than I had ever experienced +before; my very imagination seemed invigorated by breathing, as it were, +in the same atmosphere with his. We parted early next morning--and when +I again visited Dumfries, I went and wept over his grave. Forty years +have now passed since his death, and in that time many poets have arisen +to achieve a rapid and brilliant celebrity; but they seem the meteors of +a lower sky; the flush passes hastily from the expanse, and we see but +one great light looking steadily upon us from above. It is Burns who is +exclusively the poet of his country. Other writers inscribe their names +on the plaster which covers for the time the outside structure of +society; his is engraved, like that of the Egyptian architect, on the +ever-during granite within. The fame of the others rises and falls with +the uncertain undulations of the mode on which they have reared it; +his remains fixed and permanent, as the human nature on which it is +based. Or, to borrow the figures Johnson employs in illustrating the +unfluctuating celebrity of a scarcely greater poet--"The sand heaped by +one flood is scattered by another, but the rock always continues in its +place. The stream of time, which is continually washing the dissoluble +fabrics of other poets, passes, without injury, by the adamant of +Shakspeare." + + + + +THE PROFESSOR'S TALES. + +THE CONVIVIALISTS. + + +We must introduce our readers, with an apology for our abruptness, into +a party of about half-a-dozen young gallants, who had evidently been +making deep and frequent libations at the shrine of Bacchus. The loud +bursts of hearty laughter which rang round the room like so many triple +bobmajors, the leering eyes, the familiar diminutives with which the +various parties addressed each other, and the frequent locking of hands +together in a grasp the force of which was meant to express an ardour of +social friendship which words were too weak to convey--all showed that +the symposiasts had cleared the fences which prudence or selfishness set +up in the sober intercourse of life, and were now, with loosened reins, +spurring away over the free wild fields of fancy and fun. An immense +quantity of walnut-shells--which the mercurial compotators had been +amusing themselves by throwing at each other--lay scattered about the +table and on the floor; two or three shivered wine glasses had been +shoved into the centre of the table, the fragments glittering upon a +pile of glorious Woodvilles, all speckled over, like Jacob's sheep; each +man had one of the weeds stuck rakishly in the corner of his mouth, and +was knocking off the ashes upon his deviled biscuits; and, to the right +of the president's chair, a long straggling regiment of empty bottles +gave dumb but eloquent proof of the bibulous capabilities of the +company. Each man was talking vehemently to his neighbour, and every one +for himself; in order, as a wag among them said, to get through the +work quickly, and jump at once to a conclusion. They were, as Sheridan +has it, "arguing in platoons." There was one exception, however, to the +boisterous mirth of the convivialists, in the person of Frank Elliot, in +celebration of whose obtaining his medical degree the feast had been +given. He was leaning back in his chair, gazing, with a slight curl +of contempt on his lip, at the rude glee of his associates. He had +distinguished himself so highly among his fellow-students, that one of +the professors had, in the ceremony of the morning, singled him out, +before all his contemporaries, with the highest eulogiums, and had +predicted, in the most flattering manner, his certain celebrity in his +profession. Perhaps the natural vanity which these public honours had +created, the bright prospect which lay before him, and his being less +excited than his companions--caused him to turn, with disgust, from the +silly ribaldry and weak witticisms which circled round his table. Amid +the uproar his silence was for some time unheeded; but at length Harry +Whitaker, his old college chum, now lieutenant in his Majesty's navy, +and with a considerable portion of broad sailor's humour and slang, +observed it, and slapping him roundly on the back, cried, "Hilloa, +Frank! what are you dodging about?--quizzing the rig of your convoy, +because they have too much light duck set to walk steadily through the +water?" + +"Frank! why, isn't he asleep all this time? I haven't heard his voice +this half hour," exclaimed another. + + "'Parce meum, quisquis tanges cava marmora somnum + Rumpere; sive bibas, sive lavere, tace,'" + +said Elliot beseechingly. + +"Come, come," said Harry, "none of your heathenish lingo over the +mahogany. Boys! I move that Frank be made to swallow a tumbler of port +for using bad language, and to make him fit company for the rest of us +honest fellows." + +"_Fiat experimentum in corpore vili_," squeaked a first year medical +student, shoving the lighted end of his cigar, by mistake, into his +mouth when he had delivered his sentence, and then springing up and +sputtering out a mighty oath and a quantity of hot tobacco ashes. + +"Ashes to ashes," cried Harry, filling up a tumbler to the brim; "we'll +let you off this time, as you're a fire-eater; but rally round, lads, +and see this land shark swallow his grog." + +"Nay, but, my friends"----began Frank, seeing, with horror, +that the party had gathered round him, and that Harry held the glass +inexorably in his mouth. + +"Get a gag rigged," shouted the young sailor; "we'll find a way into his +grog shop." + +"Upon my word, Whitaker," said Frank, with a ludicrous intonation of +voice, between real anger and distress, "this is too hard on one who has +filled fairly from the first--to punish him without an inquiry into the +justice of the case." + +"Jeddart justice--hang first, and judge after!" roared a student from +the sylvan banks of the Jed. + +"No freeman can, under any pretence," hiccupped a young advocate, who +was unable to rise from his chair, "be condemned, except by the legal +decision of his peers, or by the law of the land. So sayeth the Magna +Charta--King John--(_hic_)--right of all free-born Englishmen--including +thereby all inhabitants of Great Britain, incorporated at the +Union--_hic_--and Ireland." + +Whitaker set the tumbler down in despair, finding that his companions, +like the generality of raw students, were so completely wedded to their +pedantry, that the fine, if insisted on, would have to go all round. + +"Let's have a song, Rhimeson," cried Frank, very glad to escape from +his threatened bumper, and still fearful that it might be insisted upon, +"a song extempore, as becomes a poet in his cups, and in thine own vein; +for what says Spenser?-- + + 'For Bacchus' fruit is friend to Phoebus wise; + And when, with wine, the brain begins to sweat, + The numbers flow as fast as spring doth rise.'" + +"By Jove, boys! you shall have it," cried Rhimeson, filling his glass +with unsteady hand, and muttering, from the same prince of poets-- + + "'Who can counsell a thirstie soule, + With patience to forbeare the offred bowle?'" + +"That is the pure well of English undefiled, old fellows, and so here +goes--'The Lass we Love!' + + TUNE--'_Duncan Davison._' + + "Come, fill your glass, my trusty friend, + And fill it sparkling to the brim-- + A flowing bumper, bright and strong-- + And push the bottle back again; + For what is man without his drink? + An oyster prison'd in his shell; + A rushlight in the vaults of death; + A rattlesnake without his tail. + + CHORUS. + + This world, we know, is full of cares, + And sorrow darkens every day; + But wine and love shall be the stars + To light us on our weary way. + + Beyond yon hills there lives a lass, + Her name I dare not even speak; + The wine that sparkles in my glass + Was ne'er so rosy as her cheek. + Her neck is clearer than the spring + That streams the water lilies on; + So, here's to her I long have loved-- + The fairest flower in Albion. + + Let knaves and fools this world divide, + As they have done since Adam's time; + Let misers by their hoards abide, + And poets weave their rotten rhyme; + But ye, who, in an hour like this, + Feel every pulse to rapture move, + Fill high! each lip the goblet kiss-- + The pledge shall be--'The Lass we Love!'" + +After a good deal of roaritorious applause, the young gentlemen began to +act upon the hint contained in the song, and each to give, as a toast, +the lady of his heart. When it came to Elliot's turn, he declared he was +unable to fulfil the conditions of the toast, as there was not a woman +in the world for whom he had the slightest predilection. + +"Why, thou personified snowball! thou human icicle!" cried Whitaker. + +"Say an avalanche," interrupted Frank; "for, when once my heart is +shaken, it will be as irresistible in its course as one of these +'thunderbolts of snow.'" + +"Still, it's nothing but cold snow, for all that," cried Harry. + +"Who talks of Frank Elliot and love in the same breath?" cried Rhimeson; +"why, his heart is like a rock, and love, like a torpid serpent, +enclosed in it." + +"True," replied Frank; "but, you know, these same serpents sting as hard +as ever when once they get into the open air; besides, love, as the +shepherd in Virgil discovered, is an inhabitant of the rocks." + +"Confound the fellow! he's a walking apothegm--as consequential as a +syllogism!" muttered Harry; "but come now, Frank, let us have the +inexpressive she, without backing and filling any longer." + +"Upon my word, Harry, it is out of my power; but, in a few weeks, I hope +to"----said Elliot. + +"Hope, Frank, hope, my good fellow, is a courtier very pleasant and +agreeable in his conversation, but very much given to forget his +promises. But I'll tell you, Frank, since you won't give a toast, I +will, because I know it will punish you--so, gentlemen"---- + +The toast was only suited for the meridian of the place in which it +was given, and we will, therefore, be excused from repeating it. But +Whitaker had judged rightly that he had punished his friend, who, +from the strictness of his education, and a certain delicacy in his +opinions respecting women, could never tolerate the desecration of these +opinions by the libertine ribaldry which forms so great a part of the +conversation of many men after the first bottle. Frank's brow darkened, +his keen eye turned with a glance of indignation to Harry; and he was +prevented only by the circumstance of being in his own house, from +instantly kicking him out of the room. + +"Look at Frank now, gentles," continued the young sailor, when the mirth +had subsided; "his face is as long as a ropewalk, while every one of +yours is as broad as the main hatchway. He has a reverence for women as +great as I have for my own tight, clean, sprightly craft; but because a +fellow kicks one of my loose spars, or puts it to a base use, I'm not to +quarrel with him, as if he had called my vessel a collier, eh? Frank, my +good fellow, you're too sober; you're thinking too much of yourself; +you're looking at the world with convex glasses; and thus the world +seems little--you yourself only great; but, recollect, everybody looks +through a convex glass; and that's vanity, Frank:--there, now! the +murder's out." + +"Nay, Harry," cried Rhimeson, good-naturedly; for he saw Elliot's nether +lip grow white with suppressed passion; "don't push Frank too hard, for +charity's sake." + +"Charity, to be sure!" interrupted Harry; "but consider what I must have +suffered if I had not got that dead weight pitched overboard. I was +labouring in the trough, man, and would have foundered with that spite +in my hold. Charity begins at home." + +"'Tis a pity that the charity of many persons ends there too," said +Frank drily. + +"Frank's wit is like the King of Prussia's regiment of death," said the +young seaman--"it gives no quarter. But come now, my lads, rig me out a +female craft fit for that snow-blooded youngster to go captain of in the +voyage of matrimony; do it shipshape, and bear a hand. I would try it +myself; but the room looks, to my eyes, as it were filled with dancing +logarithms; and then he's so cold, slow, misty-hearted"---- + +"That if," cried Rhimeson, interrupting him, "he addresses a lady as +cold, slow, and misty-hearted as himself, they may go on courting the +whole course of their natural lives, like the assymptotes of a +hyperbola, which approach nearer and nearer, _ad infinitum_, without +the possibility of ever meeting." + +"Ha, ha, ha!--ay," shouted Harry; "and if he addresses one of a sanguine +temperament, there will be a pretty considerable traffic of quarrels +carried on between them, typified and illustrated very well by the +constant commerce of heat which is maintained between the poles and the +equator, by the agency of opposite currents in the atmosphere. By Jove! +Frank, matrimony presents the fire of two batteries at you; one rakes +you fore and aft, and the other strikes between wind and water." + +"And pray, Harry, what sort of a consort will you sail with yourself?" +inquired Rhimeson. This was, perhaps, a question, of all others, that +the young sailor would have wished to avoid answering at that time. He +was the accepted lover of the sister of his friend Elliot--and, at the +moment he was running Frank down, to be, as he himself might have said, +brought up standing, was sufficiently disagreeable. + +"Come, come, Harry," cried the young poet, seeing the sailor hesitate; +"let's have her from skysail-mast fid to keel--from starboard to +larboard stunsails--from the tip of the flying, jib-boom to the +taffrail." + +"They're all fireships, Rhimeson!" replied Harry, with forced +gaiety--for he was indignant at Elliot's keen and suspicious +glance--"and, if I do come near them, it shall always be to windward, +for the Christian purpose of blowing them out of the water." + +"A libertine," said Frank, significantly, "reviles women just in the +same way that licentious priests lay the blame of the disrespect with +which parsons are treated on the irreligion of the laity." + +"I don't understand either your wit or your manner, Frank," replied +Harry, giving a lurch in his chair; "but this I know, that I don't care +a handful of shakings for either of them; and I say still, that women +are all fireships--keep to windward of them--pretty things to try your +young gunners at; but, if you close with them, you're gone, that's all." + +"I'll tell you what you're very like, just now, Harry," said Frank--who +had been pouring down glass after glass of wine, as if to quench his +anger--"you're just like a turkey cock after his head has been cut off, +which will keep stalking on in the same gait for several yards before he +drops." + +"Elliot! do you mean to insult me?" cried Whitaker, springing furiously +from his seat. + +"I leave that to the decision of your own incomparable judgment, sir," +replied Elliot, bowing, with a sneer just visible on his features. + +"If I thought so, Frank, I would----but it's impossible; you +are my oldest friend." And the young sailor sat down with a moody brow. + +"What would you, sir?" said Elliot, in a tone of calm contempt; "bear +it meekly, I presume? Nay, do not look big, and clench your hands, sir, +unless, like Bob Acres, you feel your valour oozing out at your palms, +and are striving to retain it!" + +"I'll tell you what, Elliot," cried the young sailor, again springing to +his feet, and seizing a decanter of wine by the neck, "I don't know what +prevents me from driving this at your head." + +"It would be quite in keeping with the rest of your gentlemanly conduct, +sir," replied Frank, still keeping his seat, and looking at Harry with +the most cool and provoking derision; "but I'll tell you why you +don't--you dare not!" + +"But that you are Harriet Elliot's brother"----began Harry, +furiously. + +"Scoundrel!" thundered Elliot, rising suddenly, and making a stride +towards the young sailor, while the veins of his brow protruded like +lines of cordage; "utter that name again, before me, with these +blasphemous lips"---- + +Elliot had scarce, however, let fall the opprobrious epithet, ere the +decanter flew, with furious force, from Whitaker's hand, and, narrowly +missing Frank's head, was shivered on the wall beyond. + +In a moment the young sailor was in the nervous grasp of Frank, who, +apparently without the slightest exertion of his vast strength, lifted +up the comparatively slight form of Whitaker, and laid him on his back +on the floor. + +"Be grateful, sir," said he, pressing the prostrate youth firmly down +with one hand; "be grateful to the laws of hospitality, which, though +you may think it a slight matter to violate, prevent me from striking +you in my own house, or pitching you out of the window. Rise, sir, and +begone." + +Harry rose slowly; and it was almost fearful to see the change which +passion had wrought in a few moments on his features. The red flush of +drunken rage was entirely gone, and the livid cheek, the pale quivering +lip, and collected eye, which had usurped its place, showed that the +degradation he had just undergone had completely sobered him, and given +his passion a new but more malignant character. He stood for a brief +period in moody silence, whilst the rest of the young men closed round +him and Frank, with the intention of reconciling them. At length he +moved away towards the door, pushing his friends rudely aside; but +turning, before he left the room, he said, in a voice trembling with +suppressed emotion-- + +"I hope to meet Mr. Elliot where his mere brute strength will be laid +aside for more honourable and equitable weapons." + +"I shall be happy, at any place or time, to show my sense of Mr. +Whitaker's late courtesy," replied Frank, bowing slightly, and then +drawing up his magnificent figure to its utmost height. + +"Let it be _now_, then, sir," said the young sailor, stepping back into +the centre of the room, and pointing to a brace of sharps, which, among +foils and masks, hung on one of the walls. + +"Oh, no, no!--for God's sake, not now!" burst from every one except +Frank. + +"It can neither be now nor here, sir," replied he, firmly, motioning +Whitaker haughtily to the door. + +"Gentlemen," said Harry, turning round to his friends with a loud laugh +of derision, "you see that vanity is stronger than valour. Pompey's +troops were beaten at the battle of Pharsalia, only because they were +afraid of their pretty faces. Upon my soul, I believe Mr. Elliot's +handsome features stand in the way of his gallantry." + +"Begone, trifler!" cried Frank, relapsing into fury. + +"Coward!" shouted the young sailor at the top of his voice. + +"Ha!" exclaimed Elliot, starting, as if an adder had stung him; then, +with a convulsive effort controlling his rage, he took down the swords, +threw one of them upon the table, and putting his arm into Rhimeson's, +beckoned the young sailor to follow him, and left the apartment. As it +was in vain that the remainder of the young men attempted to restrain +Whitaker, they agreed to accompany him in a body, in order, if possible, +to prevent mischief; all but the young advocate whom we have before +mentioned, who, having too great a respect for the law to patronise +other methods of redressing grievances, ran off to secure the assistance +of the city authorities. + +The moon, which had been wading among thick masses of clouds, emerged +into the clear blue sky, and scattered her silver showers of light on +the rocks and green sides of Arthur's Seat, as the young men reached a +secluded part in the valley at its foot. + +"Gracious Heaven!" exclaimed the young poet to Frank, as they turned to +wait for Whitaker and his companions, "how horrible it is to desecrate +a scene and hour like this by violence--perhaps, Elliot, by _murder_!" +Frank did not reply; his thoughts were at that time with his aged mother +and his now unprotected sister; and he bitterly reflected that to +whoever of them, in the approaching contest, wounds or death might fall, +poor Harriet would have equally to suffer. But the young sailor, still +boiling with rage, at that moment approached, and throwing his cloak on +a rock, cried, "Now, sir!" and placed himself in attitude. + +Their swords crossed, and, for a brief space, nothing was heard but the +hard breathing of the spectators and the clashing of the steel, as the +well-practised combatants parried each other's thrusts. Elliot was, +incomparably, the cooler of the two, and he threw away many chances in +which his adversary placed himself open to a palpable hit, his aim being +to disarm his antagonist without wounding him. An unforeseen accident +prevented this. Whitaker, pressing furiously forward, struck his foot +against a stone, and falling, received Elliot's sword in his body, the +hilt, striking with a deep, quick, sullen sound against his breast. The +young sailor fell with a sharp aspiration of anguish; and his victorious +adversary, horrified by the sight, and rendered silent by the sudden +revulsion of his feelings, stood, for some time, gazing at his sword, +from the point of which the blood drops trickled slowly, and fell on the +dewy sward. "'Tis the blood of my dearest, oldest friend--of my brother; +and shed by my hand!" he muttered at length, flinging away the guilty +blade. His only answer was the groans of his victim, and the shrill +whistle of the weapon as it flew through the air. + +"Harry, my friend, my brother!" cried the young man, in a tone of +unutterable anguish, kneeling down on the grass, and pressing the +already cold clammy hand of his late foe. + +"Your voice is pleasant to me, Frank, even in death," muttered the young +sailor, in a thick obstructed voice. "I have done you wrong--forgive me +while I can hear you; and tell Harriet--oh!" + +"I do, I do forgive you; but, oh! how shall I forgive myself? Speak to +me, Harry!" And Elliot, frantic at the sight of the bloody motionless +heap before him, repeated the name of his friend till his voice rose +into a scream of agony that curdled the very blood of his friends, and +re-echoed among the rocks above, like the voices of tortured demons. +Affairs were in this situation when the young advocate came running +breathless up to them, and saw, at a glance, that he was too late. "Fly, +for Heaven's sake! fly, Elliot; here is money; you may need it," he +cried; "the officers will be here instantly, and your existence may be +the forfeit of this unhappy chance. Fly! every moment lost is a stab at +your life!" + +"Be it so," replied the wretched young man, rising and gazing with +folded arms down upon his victim; "what have I to do with life?--_he_ +has ceased to live. I will not leave him." + +His friends joined in urging Elliot to instant flight; but he only +pointed to the body, and said, in the low tones of calm despair: "Do you +think I can leave him now, and thus? Let those fly who are in love with +life; I shall remain and meet my fate." + +"Frank Elliot!" muttered the wounded man, reviving from the fainting fit +into which he had fallen; "come near to me, for I am very weak, and +swear to grant the request I have to make, as you would have my last +moments free from the bitterest agony." + +Elliot flung himself on the ground by the side of his friend, and, in a +voice broken by anguish, swore to attend to his words. "Then leave this +spot immediately," said the young sailor, speaking slowly and with +extreme difficulty; "and should this be my last request--as I feel it +must be--get out of the country till the present unhappy affair is +forgotten; and moreover, mark, Frank--and, my friends, attend to my +words:--I entreat, I _command_ you to lay the entire blame of this +quarrel and its consequences on me. One of you will write to my poor +father, and say it was my last request that he should consider Elliot +innocent, and that I give my dying curse to any one who shall attempt to +revenge my death. Ah! that was a pang! How dim your faces look in the +moonlight! Your hand, dearest Frank, once more; and now away! Keep this, +I charge you, from my Harriet--_my_ Harriet! O God!" And, with a +shudder, that shook visibly his whole frame, the unfortunate youth +relapsed into insensibility. There was a brief pause, during which +the feelings of the spectators may be better imagined than described, +though, assuredly, admiration of the generous anxiety of the young +sailor to do justice to his friend was the prevailing sentiment of +their minds. At length the stifled sound of voices, and the dimly seen +forms of two or three men stealing towards them, within the shadow of +the mountain, roused them from their reverie; and Rhimeson, who had +not till now spoken, entreated Elliot to obey the dying request of his +friend, and fly before the police reached them. "I have not before urged +you to this," he said, "lest you should think it was from a selfish +motive; for, as your second, I am equally implicated with you in this +unhappy affair; but _now_," continued he, with melancholy emphasis, +"there is nothing to be gained and everything to be hazarded by +remaining." + +The generous argument of the poet at length overcame Elliot's +resolution; he bent down quickly and kissed the cold lips of his friend, +then waving a silent adieu to the others, he quitted the melancholy +scene. The police--for it proved to be they--were within a hundred +yards of the spot when the young men left the rest of the group, and, +instantly emerging from the shadow which had till now partially +concealed them, the leader of the party directed one of his attendants +to remain with the body, and set off, with two or three others, in +pursuit of the fugitives. + +"Follow me," cried Rhimeson, when he saw this movement of the pursuers; +and springing as he spoke towards the entrance of a narrow defile which +lay entirely in the shadow of the mountain. A deep convulsive sob burst +from the pent-up bosom of Elliot ere he replied: "Leave me to my fate, +my friend; I cannot fly; the weight of his blood crushes me!" + +"This is childish, unjust," said Rhimeson, with strong emotion; "but +once more, Frank, will you control this weakness and follow me, or will +you slight the last wish of one friend, and sacrifice another, by +remaining? for without you I will not stir. Now, choose." + +"Lead on," said Elliot, rousing himself with a convulsive effort; and, +striking into the gloom, the two young men sped forward with a step as +fleet as that of the hunted deer. + +Their pursuers having seen them stand, had slackened their pace, or it +is probable the fugitives would have been captured before Rhimeson had +prevailed on his friend to fly; but now, separating so as to intercept +them if they deviated from the direct path, the policemen raised a loud +shout and instantly gave chase. But the young poet, in his solitary +rambles amid the noble scenery of Arthur's Seat and the adjoining +valleys, had become intimately acquainted with every path which led +through their romantic recesses; and he now sped along the broken +footway which skirted the mountain-side with as much confidence as if +he had trod on a level sward in the light of noonday. Elliot, having +his mind diverted by the necessity of looking to his immediate +preservation--for the path, strewed with fragments of rock, led along +what might well be termed a precipice, of two or three hundred feet in +height--roused up all his energies, and followed his friend with a speed +which speedily left their pursuers far behind. Thus they held on for +about a quarter of an hour, gradually and obliquely ascending the +mountain side, until the voices of the policemen, calling to each other +far down in the valley, proved that they had escaped the immediate +danger which had threatened them. Still, however, Rhimeson kept on, +though he relaxed his pace in order to hold some communication with his +companion. + +"We have distanced the bloodhounds for the nonce, Frank," he said; +"these ale-swilling rascals cannot set a stout heart to a stey brae; but +whither shall we go now? Edinburgh, perhaps Scotland, is too hot to hold +us, and the point is how to get out of it. What do you advise?" + +"I am utterly careless about it, Rhimeson; do as you think best," +replied Elliot, in a tone of deep despondency. + +"Cheer up, cheer up! my dear Frank," said the young poet, feigning a +confidence of hope which his heart belied. "Whitaker may still recover; +he is too gallant a fellow to be lost to us in a drunken brawl; and even +if the worst should happen, it must still keep you from despair to +reflect that you were forced into this rencontre, and that it was +an unhappy accident, resulting from his own violence and not your +intention, which deprived him of his life." Elliot stopped suddenly, and +gazing down from the height which they had now reached into the valley, +seemed to be searching for the spot where the fatal accident had taken +place, as if to assist him in the train of thought which his friend's +words had aroused. The dark group of human beings were seen dimly in the +moonlight, moving with a slow pace along the hollow of the gorge towards +the city, bearing along with them the body of the young sailor. + +"Dear, dear Frank," said Rhimeson, deeply commiserating the anguish +which developed itself in the clasped uplifted hands and shuddering +frame of his unhappy friend, "bear up against this cruel accident like +a man--he may still recover." Elliot moved away from the ridge which +overlooked the valley, muttering, as if unconsciously-- + + "'Action is momentary-- + The motion of a muscle this way or that; + Suffering is long, obscure, and infinite!'[G] + +How profound and awful is that sentiment!" + + [G] Wordsworth. + +The sound of a piece of rock dislodged from the mountain side, and +thundering and crashing down the steep, awakened Rhimeson from his +contemplation of Elliot's grief; and, springing again to the brink of +the almost precipitous descent, he saw that one of their pursuers had +crept up by the inequalities of the rock, and was within a few yards of +the summit. + +"Dog!" cried the young man, heaving off a fragment of rock, and in the +act of dashing it down upon the unprotected head of the policeman, +"offer to stir, and I will scatter your brains upon the cliffs!" + +A shrill cry of terror burst from the poor fellow's lips as he gazed +upwards at the frightful attitude of his enemy, and expected every +moment to see the dreadful engine hurled at his head. The cry was +answered by the shouts of his companions, who, by different paths, had +arrived within a short distance of the fugitives. + +"Retire miscreant! or I will send your mangled carcass down to the foot +without your help," shouted Rhimeson, swinging the huge stone up to the +extent of his arms. His answer was a pistol shot, which, whistling past +his cheek, struck the uplifted fragment of rock with such force as to +send a stunning feeling up to his very shoulders. The stone fell from +his benumbed grasp, and, striking the edge of the cliff, bounded +innocuous over the head of the policeman, who, springing upwards, was +within a few feet of Rhimeson before he had fully recovered himself. +"Away!" he cried, taking again the path up the mountain, and closely +followed by Elliot, who, during the few moments in which the foregoing +scene was being enacted, had remained almost motionless--"Away! give +them a flying shot at least," continued he, feeling all the romance of +his nature aroused by the circumstances in which he was placed. The +policeman, however, who had only fired in self-defence, refrained from +using his other pistol, now that the danger was past; but grasping it +firmly in his hand, he followed the steps of the young men with a +speed stimulated by the desire of revenge, and a kind of professional +eagerness to capture so daring an offender. But, in spite of his +exertions, the superior agility of the fugitives gradually widened the +distance between them; and at length, as they emerged from the rocky +ground upon the smooth short grass, where a footfall could not be +heard, the moon became again obscured by dark clouds, and Rhimeson, +whispering his companion to observe his motions, turned short off the +path they had been following, and struck eastward among the green hills +towards the sea. They could hear the curse of the policeman, and the +click of his pistol lock, as if he had intended to send a leaden +messenger into the darkness in search of them. But the expected report +did not follow; and, favoured by the continued obscurity of the night, +they were, in a short time, descending the hill behind Duddingstone, +which lies at the opposite extremity of the King's Park. Still +continuing their route eastward, they walked forward at a rapid pace, +consulting on their future movements. The sound of wheels rapidly +approaching, interrupted their conversation. It was the south mail. + +In a short time they were flying through the country towards Newcastle, +at the rate of ten miles an hour, including stoppages. Elliot was at the +river side, searching for a vessel to convey them to some part of the +continent, and Rhimeson was dozing over a newspaper in the Turk's Head +in that town, when a policeman entered, and, mistaking him for Elliot, +took him into custody. How their route had been discovered, Rhimeson +knew not; but he was possessed of sufficient presence of mind to +personate his friend, and offer to accompany the police officer +instantly back to Edinburgh, leaving a letter and a considerable sum of +money for Elliot. In a few minutes, the generous fellow leaped into the +post-chaise, with a heart as light as many a bridegroom when flying on +the wings of love and behind the tails of four broken-winded hacks to +some wilderness, where "transport and security entwine"--the anticipated +scene of a delicious honeymoon. Elliot, while in search of a vessel, had +fallen in with a young man whom he had known as a medical student at +Edinburgh, and who was now about to go as surgeon of a Greenland vessel, +in order to earn, during the summer, the necessary sum for defraying his +college expenses. He accompanied Elliot to his inn, and heard, during +the way, the story of his misfortunes. It is unnecessary to describe +Frank's surprise and grief at the capture of his friend, Rhimeson. At +first, he determined instantly to return and relieve him from durance. +But, influenced by the entreaties contained in Rhimeson's note, and by +the arguments of the young Northumbrian, he at length changed this +resolution, and determined on accepting the situation of surgeon in the +whaling vessel for which his present companion had been about to depart. +Frank presented the Northumbrian with a sum more than equal to the +expected profits of the voyage, and received his thanks in tones wherein +the natural roughness of his accent was increased to a fearful degree by +the strength of his emotion. All things being arranged, Frank shook his +acquaintance by the hand, and remarked that it would be well for him to +keep out of the way for a while. So bidding the man of harsh aspirations +adieu, he made his way to the coach, and, in twenty-four hours, was +embarked in the _Labrador_, with a stiff westerly breeze ready to carry +him away from all that he loved and dreaded. + +Let the reader imagine that six months have passed over--and let him +imagine, also, if he can, the anguish which the mother and sister of +Elliot suffered on account of his mysterious disappearance. It was now +September. The broad harvest moon was shining full upon the bosom of +Teviot, and glittering upon the rustling leaves of the woods that +overhang her banks, and pouring a flood of more golden light upon the +already golden grain that waved--ripe for the sickle--along the margin +of the lovely stream, the stars, few in number, but most brilliant, had +taken their places in the sky; the owl was whooping from the ivied +tower; the corn-craik was calling drowsily; now and then the distant +baying of a watch-dog startled the silence, otherwise undisturbed, save +by the plaintive murmuring of the stream, which, as it flowed past, +uttered such querulous sounds, that, as some one has happily expressed +it, "one was almost tempted to ask what ailed it." A traveller was +moving slowly up the side of the river, and ever and anon stopping, as +if to muse over some particular object. It was Elliot. He had returned +from Greenland, and, in disguise, had come to the place of his birth--to +the dwelling of his mother and his sister; he had heard that his mother +was ill--that anxiety, on his account, had reduced her almost to the +grave--and that she was now but slowly recovering. He had been able to +acquire no information respecting Whitaker; and the weight of his +friend's blood lay yet heavy on his soul, for he considered himself as +his murderer. It was with feelings of the most miserable anxiety that he +approached the place of his birth. The stately beeches that lined the +avenue which led to his mother's door were in sight; they stooped and +raised their stately branches, with all the gorgeous drapery of leaves, +as if they welcomed him back; the very river seemed to utter, in accents +familiar to him, that he was now near the hall of his fathers. Oh! how +is the home of our youth enshrined in our most sacred affections! by +what multitudinous fibres is it entwined with our heart-strings!--it is +part of our being--its influences remain with us for ever, though years +spent in foreign lands divide us from "our early home that cradled life +and love." Elliot was framed to feel keenly these sacred influences--and +often, even after brief absences from home, he had experienced them in +deep intensity; but now the throb of exultation was kept down by the +crushing weight of remorse, and the gush of tenderness checked by bitter +fears. He entered the avenue which led up to the house. Yonder were the +windows of his mother's chamber--there was a light in it. He would have +given worlds to have seen before him the interior. As he quickened his +pace, he heard the sound of voices in the avenue. He turned aside out of +the principal walk; and, standing under the branches of a venerable +beech, which swept down almost to the ground, and fully concealed him, +he waited the approach of the speakers, in hopes of hearing some +intelligence respecting his family. Through the screen of the leaves he +presently saw that it was a pair of lovers, for their arms were locked +around each other, and their cheeks were pressed together as they came +down the avenue--treading as slowly as though they were attempting to +show how much of rest there might be in motion. + +"To-morrow, then, my sweet Harriet," said the young man, "I leave you; +and though it is torture to me to be away from your side, yet I have +resolved never again to see you until I have made the most perfect +search for your brother; until I can win a dearer embrace than any I +have yet received, by placing him before you." + +"Would to heaven it may be so!" replied the young lady; "but my +mother--how will I be able to support her when you are gone, dearest +Henry? She is kept up only by the happy strains of hope which your +very voice creates. How shall I, myself unsupported, ever keep her from +despondency? Oh! she will sink--she will die! Remain with us, Henry; and +let us trust to providence to restore my brother to us--if he be yet +alive!" + +"Ask it not, my beloved Harriet, I beseech you," said the young man, +"lest I be unable to deny you. If your brother, as is likely, has sought +some foreign land, and remains in ignorance of my recovery from the +wounds I received from him, how shall I answer to myself--how shall I +even dare to ask for this fair hand--how shall I ever hope to rest upon +your bosom in peace--if I do not use every possible means to discover +him? O my dear Elliot--friend of my youth--if thou couldest translate +the language of my heart, as it beats at this moment--if thou couldest +hear my sacred resolve!"-- + +"Whitaker, my friend! Harriet, my beloved sister!" cried Elliot, +bursting out from beneath the overspreading beech, and snatching his +sister in his arms--"I am here--I see all--I understand the whole of the +events--how much too graciously brought about for me, Father of mercies! +I acknowledge. Let us now go to my mother." + +It is in scenes such as this that we find how weak words are to describe +the feelings of the actors--the rapid transition of events--the passions +that chase one another over the minds and hearts of those concerned, +like waves in a tempest. Nor is it necessary. The reader who can feel +and comprehend such situations as those in which the actors in our +little tale are placed, are able to draw, from their own hearts and +imaginations, much fitter and more rapidly sketched portraitures of the +passions which are awakened, the feelings that develop themselves in +such situations and with such persons, than can be painted in words. + +The harvest moon was gone, and another young moon was in the skies, when +Whitaker, and the same young lady of whom we before spoke, trode down +the avenue, locked in each other's arms, and with cheek pressed to +cheek. They talked of a thousand things most interesting to persons +in their situation--for they were to be married on the morrow--but, +perhaps, not so interesting to our readers, many of whom may have +performed in the same scenes. + +Elliot's mother was recovered; and he himself was happy, or, at least, +he put on all the trappings of happiness; for, in a huge deer-skin +Esquimaux dress, which he had brought from Greenland, he danced at his +sister's wedding until the great bear had set in the sea, and the autumn +sun began to peer through the shutters of the drawing-room of his +ancient hall. + + + + +PHILIPS GREY. + + "Death takes a thousand shapes: + Borne on the wings of sullen slow disease, + Or hovering o'er the field of bloody fight, + In calm, in tempest, in the dead of night, + Or in the lightning of the summer moon; + In all how terrible!" + + +Among the many scenes of savage sublimity which the lowlands of Scotland +display, there is none more impressive in its solitary grandeur, than +that in the neighbourhood of Loch Skene, on the borders of Moffatdale. +At a considerable elevation above the sea, and surrounded by the +loftiest mountains in the south of Scotland, the loch has collected +its dark mass of waters, astonishing the lovers of nature by its great +height above the valley which he has just ascended, and, by its still +and terrible beauty, overpowering his mind with sentiments of melancholy +and awe. Down the cliffs which girdle in the shores of the loch, and +seem to support the lofty piles of mountains above them, a hundred +mountain torrents leap from rock to rock, flashing and roaring, until +they reach the dark reservoir beneath. A canopy of grey mist almost +continually shrouds from the sight the summits of the hills, leaving the +imagination to guess at those immense heights which seem to pierce the +very clouds of heaven. Occasionally, however, this veil is withdrawn, +and then you may see the sovereign brow of Palmoodie encircled with his +diadem of snow, and the green summits of many less lofty hills arranged +round him, like courtiers uncovered before their monarch. Amid this +scene, consecrated to solitude and the most sombre melancholy, no sound +comes upon the mountain breeze, save the wail of the plover, or the +whir of the heathcock's wing, or, haply, the sullen plunge of a trout +leaping up in the loch. + +At times, indeed, the solitary wanderer may be startled by the scream of +the grey eagle, as dropping with the rapidity of light from his solitary +cliff, he shoots past, enraged that his retreat is polluted by the +presence of man, and then darts aloft into the loftiest chambers of +the sky; or, dallying with the piercing sunbeams, is lost amid their +glory.[H] At the eastern extremity of the loch, the superfluous waters +are discharged by a stream of no great size, but which, after heavy +showers, pours along its deep and turbid torrent with frightful +impetuosity. + + [H] Round about the shores of Loch Skene the Ettrick Shepherd + herded the flocks of his master, and fed his boyish fancies with the + romance and beauty which breathes from every feature of the scene. One + day, when we were at Loch Skene on a fishing excursion with him, he + pointed up to the black crag overhanging the water, and said--"You see + the edge o' that cliff; I ance as near dropped frae it intil eternity as + I dinna care to think o'. I was herdin' aboot here, and lang and lang I + thocht o' speelin' up to the eyry, frae which I could hear the young + eagles screamin' as plain as my ain bonny Mary Gray (his youngest + daughter) when she's no pleased wi' the colley; but the fear o' the auld + anes aye keepit me frae the attempt. At last, ae day, when I was at the + head o' the cliff, and the auld eagle away frae the nest, I took heart + o' grace, and clambered down (for there was nae gettin' up). Weel, sir, + I was at the maist kittle bit o' the craig, wi' my foot on a bit ledge + just wide enough to bear me, and sair bothered wi' my plaid and stick, + when, guid saf's! I heard the boom o' the auld eagle's wings come whaff, + whaffing through the air, and in a moment o' time she brought me sic a + whang wi' her wing, as she rushed enraged by, and then turning short + again and fetching me anither, I thought I was gane for ever; but + providence gave me presence o' mind to regain my former resting-place, + and there flinging off my plaid, I keepit aye nobbing the bird wi' my + stick till I was out o' danger. It was a fearsome time!" It would have + been dreadful had the pleasure which "Kilmeny," "Queen Hynde," and the + hundred other beautiful creations which the glorious old bard has given + us, been all thus destroyed "at one fell swoop." + +After running along the mountain for about half a mile, it suddenly +precipitates itself over the edge of a rocky ridge which traverses its +course, and, falling sheer down a height of three hundred feet, leaps +and bounds over some smaller precipices, until, at length, far down in +Moffatdale, it entirely changes its character, and pursues a calm and +peaceful course through a fine pastoral country. Standing on the brow +of a mountain which overlooks the fall, the eye takes in at once the +whole of the course which we have described; and, to a poetical mind, +which recognises in mountain scenery the cradle of liberty and the +favourite dwelling-place of imagination, the character of the stream +seems a type of the human mind: stormy, bounding, and impetuous, when +wrapped up in the glorious feelings which belong to romantic countries; +peaceful, dull, and monotonous, amid the less interesting lowlands. Yet, +after indulging in such a fancy for a time, another reflection arises, +which, if it be less pleasing and poetical, is, perhaps, more +useful--that the impetuous course of the mountain torrent, though +gratifying to the lover of nature, is unaccompanied with any other +benefit to man, while the stream that pursues its unpretending path +through the plains, bestows fertility on a thousand fields. Such +thoughts as these, however, only arise in the mind when it has become +somewhat familiar with the surrounding scenes. The roar of the cataract, +the savage appearance of the dark rocks that border the falling waters, +and that painful feeling which the sweeping and inevitable course of the +stream produces, at first paralyze the mind, and, for some time after it +has recovered its tone, occupy it to the exclusion of every other +sentiment. + +And now, gentle reader, let us walk toward the simple stone seat, which +some shepherd boy has erected under yon silvery-stemmed birch tree, +where the sound of the waterfall comes only in a pleasant monotone, and +where the most romantic part of old Scotland is spread beneath our feet. +There you see the eternal foam of the torrent, without being distracted +with its roar; and you can trace the course of the stream till it +terminates in yon clear and pellucid pool at the foot of the hill, +which seems too pure for aught but-- + + "A mirror and a bath for beauty's youngest daughters;" + +yet, beautiful in its purity as it seems, it is indeed the scene of the +following true and terrible tale:-- + +Philips Grey was one of the most active young shepherds in the parish of +Traquair. For two or three years he had carried off the medal given at +the St. Ronan's border games to him who made the best high leap; and, +at the last meeting of the games, he had been first at the running +hop-step-and-jump; had beat all competitors in running; and, though but +slightly formed, had gained the second prize for throwing the hammer--a +favourite old Scottish exercise, but almost unknown in England. Athletic +sports were, indeed, his favourite pursuit, and he cultivated them with +an ardour which very few of our readers will be able to imagine. But +among the shepherds, and, indeed, all inhabitants of pastoral districts, +he who excels in these sports possesses a superiority over his +contemporaries, which cannot but be gratifying in the highest degree to +its possessor. His name is known far and wide; his friendship is courted +by the men; and his hand, either as a partner in a country dance, or in +a longer "minuet of the heart," marriage, is coquetted for by the +maidens: he, in fact, possesses all the power which superiority of +intellect bestows in more populous and polished societies. But it is by +no means the case, as is often said, that ardour in the pursuit of +violent sports is connected with ignorance or mediocrity of intellect. +On the contrary, by far the greater number of victors at games of +agility and strength, will be found to possess a degree of mental +energy, which is, in fact, the power that impels them to corporeal +excitement, and is often the secret of their success over more muscular +antagonists. Philips Grey, in particular, was a striking instance of +this fact. Notwithstanding his passion for athletic sports, he had found +time, while on the hillside tending his flock, or in the long winter +nights, to make himself well acquainted with the Latin classics. This +is by no means uncommon among the Scottish peasantry. Smith, and Black, +and Murray, are not singular instances of self-taught scholars; for +there is scarce a valley in Scotland in which you will not hear of one +or more young men of this stamp. Philips also played exquisitely on the +violin, and had that true taste for the simple Scottish melody which +can, perhaps, be nowhere cultivated so well as among the mountains and +streams which have frequently inspired them. Many a time, when you ask +the name of the author of some sweet ballad which the country girl is +breathing amongst these hills, the tear will start into her eye as she +answers--"Poor Philips Grey, that met a dreadful death at the Grey +Mare's Tail." With these admirable qualities, Philips unfortunately +possessed a mood of mind which is often an attendant on genius--he was +subject to attacks of the deepest melancholy. Gay, cheerful, humorous, +active, and violent in his sports as he was, there were periods when the +darkest gloom overshadowed his mind, and when his friends even trembled +for his reason. It is said that he frequently stated his belief that he +should die a dreadful death. Alas! that this strange presentiment should +have indeed been prophetic! It is not surprising that Philips Grey, with +his accomplishments, should have won the heart of a maiden somewhat +above his own degree, and even gained the consent of her father to his +early marriage. The old man dwelt in Moffatdale; and the night before +Philips' wedding-day, he and his younger brother walked over to his +intended father-in-law's house, in order to be nearer the church. That +night the young shepherd was in his gayest humour; his bonny bride was +by his side, and looking more beautiful than ever; he sang his finest +songs, played his favourite tunes, and completely bewitched his +companions. All on a sudden, while he was relating some extraordinary +feat of strength which had been performed by one of his acquaintances, +he stopped in the middle of the story, and exchanged the animation with +which he was speaking for silence and a look of the deepest despair. His +friends were horror-struck; but as he insisted that nothing was the +matter with him, and as his younger brother said that he had not been in +bed for two nights, the old man dismissed the family, saying--"Gang awa +to bed, Philips, my man, and get a sound sleep; or if you do lie wauken +a wee bittie, it's nae great matter: odd! it's the last nicht my bonny +Marion 'll keep ye lying wauken for her sake. Will't no, my bonnie doo?" + +"Deed, faither, I dinna ken," quoth Marion, simply, yet archly; and the +party separated. + +Philips, however, walked down the burn side, in order to try if the cool +air would dissipate his unaccountable anxiety. But, in spite of his +efforts, a presentiment of some fatal event gathered strength in his +mind, and he involuntarily found himself revolving the occurrences of +his past life. Here he found little to condemn, for he had never +received an unkind word from his father, who was now in the grave; and +his mother was wearing out a green and comfortable old age beneath his +own roof. He had brought up his younger brothers, and they were now in +a fair way to succeed in life. He could not help feeling satisfied at +this, yet why peculiarly at this time he knew not. Then came the thought +of his lovely Marion, and the very agony which at once rushed on his +heart had well nigh choked him. Immediately, however, the fear which had +hung about him seemed to vanish; for, strange and mysterious as it was, +it was not sufficiently powerful to withstand the force of that other +horrible imagination. So he returned to the house, and was surprised to +find himself considering how his little property should be distributed +after his death. When he reached the door, he stopped for a moment, +overcome with this pertinacity in the supernatural influence which +seemed exercised over him; and at length, with gloomy resolution, +entered the house. His brother was asleep, and a candle was burning on +the table. He sank down into a chair, and went on with his little +calculations respecting his will. At length, having decided upon all +these things, and having fixed upon the churchyard of St. Mary's for his +burial place, he arose from his chair, took up the candle and crossed +the room towards his brother, intending to convey his wishes to him. + +The boy lay on the front side of one of those beds with sliding doors, +so common in Scotland; and beyond him there was room for Philips to lie +down. Something bright seemed gleaming in the dark recess of the bed. He +advanced the candle, and beheld--oh, sight of horror!--a plate upon what +bore the shape of a coffin, bearing the words--"Philips Grey, aged 23." +For a moment he gazed steadily upon it, and was about to stretch out his +hand towards it, when the lid slowly rose, and he beheld a mutilated and +bloody corpse, the features of which were utterly undistinguishable, but +which, by some unearthly impulse, he instantly knew to be his own. Still +he kept a calm and unmoved gaze at it, though the big drops of sweat +stood on his brow with the agony of his feelings; and, while he was thus +contemplating the dreadful revelation, it gradually faded away, and at +length totally vanished. The power which had upheld him seemed to depart +along with the phantom; his sight failed him, and he fell on the floor. + +Presently he recovered, and found himself in bed, with his brother by +his side chafing his temples. He explained everything that had occurred, +seemed calm and collected, shook his head when his brother attempted to +explain away the vision, and finally sank into a tranquil sleep. + +Whether the horrible resemblance of his own coffin and mutilated corpse +was in reality revealed to him by the agency of some supernatural power, +or whether it was (as sceptics will say) the natural effect of his +hypochondriac state of mind, producing an optical deception, we will not +take upon us to determine; certain, however, it is, that with a calm +voice and collected manner he described to his brother James, a scene +the dreadful reality of which was soon to be displayed. + +In the morning Philips awoke, cheerful and calm, the memory of last +night's occurrences seeming but a dreadful dream. On the grass before +the door he met his beloved Marion, who, on that blessed Sabbath, was to +become his wife. The sight of her perfect loveliness, arrayed in a white +dress, emblem of purity and innocence, filled his heart with rapture; +and as he clasped her in his arms, every sombre feeling vanished away. +It is not our intention to describe the simplicity of the marriage +ceremony, or the happiness which filled Philips Grey's heart during that +Sabbath morning, while sitting in the church by the side of his lovely +bride. + +They returned home, and, in the afternoon, the young couple, together +with James Grey and the bride's-maid, walked out among the glades of +Craigieburn wood, a spot rendered classic by the immortal Burns. +Philips had gathered some of the wild flowers that sprang among their +feet--the pale primrose, the fair anemone, and the drooping blue bells +of Scotland--and wove them into a garland. As he was placing them on +Marion's brow, and shading back the long flaxen tresses that hung across +her cheek, he said, gaily--"There wants but a broad water lily to place +in the centre of thy forehead, my sweet Marion; for where should the +fairest flower of the valley be, but on the brow of its queen? Come with +me, Jamie, and in half an hour we will bring the fairest that floats on +Loch Skene." So, kissing the cheek of his bride, Philips and his +brother set off up the hill with the speed of the mountain deer. They +arrived at the foot of the waterfall, panting, and excited with their +exertions. By climbing up the rocks close to the stream, the distance to +the loch is considerably shortened; and Philips, who had often clambered +to the top of the Bitch Craig, a high cliff on the Manor Water, proposed +to his brother that they should "speel the height." The other, a supple +agile lad, instantly consented. "Gie me your plaid then, Jamie, my +man--it will maybe fash ye," said Philips; "and gang ye first, and keep +weel to the hill side." Accordingly the boy gave his brother the plaid +and began the ascent. While Philips was knotting his brother's plaid +round his body above his own, a fox peeped out of his hole half way up +the cliff, and thinking flight advisable, dropped down the precipice. +Laughing till the very echoes rang, Philips followed his brother. +Confident in his agility, he ascended with a firm step till he was +within a few yards of the summit. James was now on the top of the +precipice, and looking down on his brother, and not knowing the cause of +his mirth, exclaimed--"Daursay, callant, ye're fey."[I] In a moment the +memory of his last night's vision rushed on Philips Grey's mind, his +eyes became dim, his limbs powerless, he dropped off the very edge of +the giddy precipice, and his form was lost in the black gulf below. For +a few minutes, James felt a sickness of heart which rendered him almost +insensible, and sank down on the grass lest he should fall over the +cliff. At length, gathering strength from very terror, he advanced to +the edge of the cataract and gazed downwards. There, about two-thirds +down the fall, he could perceive the remains of his brother, mangled and +mutilated; the body being firmly wedged between two projecting points of +rock, whereon the descending water streamed, while the bleeding head +hung dangling, and almost separated from the body--and, turned upwards, +discovered to the horrified boy the starting eye-balls of his brother, +already fixed in death, and the teeth clenched in the bitter agony which +had tortured his passing spirit. + + [I] "Fey," a Scottish word, expressive of that unaccountable + and violent mirth which is supposed frequently to portend sudden + death.--ED. + +It is scarcely necessary to detail the consequences of this cruel +accident. Assistance was procured, and the mangled body conveyed to +the house of Marion's father, whence, a few short hours ago, the young +shepherd had issued in vigour and happiness. When the widowed bride saw +James Grey return to them with horror painted on his features, she +seemed instantly to divine the full extent of her misfortune; she sank +down on the grass, with the unfinished garland of her dead lover in her +hand, and in this state was carried home. For two days she passed from +one fit to another; but on the night of the second day she sank into a +deep sleep. That night, James Grey was watching the corpse of his +brother; the coffin was placed on the very bed where they had slept +two nights ago. The plate gleamed from the shadowy recess, and the +words--"Philips Grey, aged 23," were distinctly visible. While James was +reflecting on the prophetic vision of his brother, a figure, arrayed in +white garments, entered the room and moved towards the dead body. It was +poor Marion. + +She slowly lifted the lid of the coffin, and gazed long and intently on +the features of her dead husband. Then, turning round to James, she +uttered a short shrill shriek, and fell backwards on the corpse. She +hovered between life and death for a few days, and at length expired. +She now lies by the side of her lover, in the solitary burial ground of +St. Mary's. + +Such is the event which combines, with others not less dark and +terrible, to throw a wild interest around those gloomy rocks. Many a +time you will hear the story from the inhabitants of those hills; and, +until fretted away by the wind and rain, the plaid and the bonnet of the +unfortunate Philips Grey hung upon the splintered precipice to attest +the truth of the tale. + + + + +DONALD GORM. + + +In a remote corner of Assynt, one of the most remote and savage +districts in the Highlands of Scotland, there is a certain wild and +romantic glen, called Eddernahulish. In the picturesqueness of this +glen, however, neither wood nor rock has any share; and, although it may +be difficult to conceive of any place possessing that character without +these ordinary adjuncts, it is, nevertheless, true, that Eddernahulish, +with neither tree nor precipice, is yet strikingly picturesque. The wide +sweep of the heath-clad hills whose gradual descents form the spacious +glen, and the broad and brawling stream careering through its centre, +give the place an air of solitude and of quiet repose that, +notwithstanding its monotony, is exceedingly impressive. + +On gaining any of the many points of elevation that command a view of +this desolate strath, you may descry, towards its western extremity, a +small, rude, but massive stone bridge, grey with age; for it was erected +in the time of that laird of Assynt who rendered himself for ever +infamous by betraying the Duke of Montrose, who had sought and obtained +the promise of his protection, to his enemies. + +Close by this bridge stands a little highland cottage, of, however, a +considerably better order than the common run of such domiciles in this +quarter of the world; and bespeaking a condition, as to circumstances, +on the part of its occupants, which is by no means general in the +Highlands. + +"Well what of this cottage?" says the impatient reader. + +"What of it?" say we, with the proud consciousness of having something +worth hearing to tell of it. "Why, was it not the birthplace of Donald +Gorm?" + +"And, pray, who or what was Donald Gorm?" + +"We were just going to tell you when you interrupted us; and we will now +proceed to the fulfilment of that intention." + +Donald Gorm was a rough, rattling, outspoken, hot-headed, and +warm-hearted highlander, of about two-and-thirty years of age. Bold as a +lion, and strong as a rhinoceros, with great bodily activity, he feared +nobody; and having all the irascibility of his race, would fight with +anybody at a moment's notice. Possessing naturally a great flow of +animal spirits and much ready wit, Donald was the life and soul of every +merry-making in which he bore a part. In the dance, his joyous whoop and +haloo might be heard a mile off; and the hilarious crack of his finger +and thumb, nearly a third of that distance. Donald, in short, was one of +those choice spirits that are always ready for anything, and who, by the +force of their individual energies, can keep a whole country-side in a +stir. As to his occupations, Donald's were various--sometimes farming, +(assisting his father, with whom he lived,) sometimes herring fishing, +and sometimes taking a turn at harvest work in the Lowlands--by which +industry he had scraped a few pounds together; and, being unmarried, +with no one to care for but himself, he was thus comparatively +independent--a circumstance which kept Donald's head at its highest +elevation, and his voice, when he spoke, at the top of its bent. + +The tenor of our story requires that we should now advert to another +member of Donald's family. This is a brother of the latter's, who bore +the euphonious and high-flavoured patronymic of Duncan Dhu M'Tavish +Gorm, or, simply, Duncan Gorm, as he was, for shortness, called, +although certainly baptized by the formidable list of names just given. + +This Duncan Gorm was a man of totally different character from his +brother Donald. He was of a quiet and peaceable disposition and +demeanour--steady, sober, and conscientious; qualities which were +thought to adapt him well for the line of life in which he was +placed. This was as a domestic servant in the family of an extensive +highland proprietor, of the name of Grant. In this capacity Duncan +had, about a year or so previous to the precise period when our story +commences--which, by the way, we beg the reader to observe, is now some +ninety years past--gone to the continent, as a personal attendant on the +elder son of his master, whose physicians had recommended his going +abroad for the benefit of his health. + +It was, then, about a year after the departure of Duncan and his master, +that Donald's father received a letter from his son, intimating the +death of his young master, which had taken place at Madrid, and, what +was much more surprising intelligence, that the writer had determined on +settling in the city just named, as keeper of a tavern or wine-house, in +which calling he said he had no doubt he would do well. And he was not +mistaken; in about six months after, his family received another letter +from him, informing them that he was succeeding beyond his most sanguine +expectations--and hereby hangs our tale. + +On Donald these letters of his brother's made a very strong impression; +and, finally, had the effect of inducing him to adopt a very strange and +very bold resolution. This was neither more nor less than to join his +brother in Madrid--a resolution from which it was found impossible to +dissuade him, especially after the receipt of Duncan's second letter, +giving intimation of his success. + +With most confused and utterly inadequate notions, therefore, of either +the nature, or distance, or position of the country to which he was +going, Donald made preparations for his journey. But they were merely +such preparations as he would have made for a descent on the Lowlands, +at harvest time. He put up some night-caps, stockings, and shirts in a +bundle, with a quantity of bread and cheese, and a small flask of his +native mountain dew. This bundle he proposed to suspend, in the usual +way, over his shoulder on the end of a huge oak stick, which he had +carefully selected for the purpose. And it was thus prepared--with, +however, an extra supply of his earnings in his pocket, of which he +had a vague notion he would stand in need--that Donald contemplated +commencing his journey to Madrid from the heart of the Highlands of +Scotland. In one important particular, however, did Donald's outfit on +this occasion, differ from that adopted on ordinary occasions. On the +present, he equipped himself in the full costume of his country--kilt, +plaid, bonnet and feather, sword, dirk, and pistols; and thus arrayed, +his appearance was altogether very striking, as he was both a stout and +exceedingly handsome man. + +Before starting on his extraordinary expedition, Donald had learned +which was the fittest seaport whereat to embark on his progress to +Spain; and it was nearly all he had learned, or indeed cared to inquire +about, as to the place of his destination. For this port, then, he +finally set out; but over his proceedings, for somewhere about three +weeks after this, there is a veil which our want of knowledge of facts +and circumstances will not enable us to withdraw. Of all subsequent to +this, however, we are amply informed; and shall now proceed to give the +reader the full benefit of that information. + +Heaven knows how Donald had fought his way to Madrid, or what particular +route he had taken to attain this consummation; but certain it is, that, +about the end of the three weeks mentioned, the identical Donald Gorm +of whom we speak, kilted and hosed as he left Eddernahulish, with a huge +stick over his shoulder bearing a bundle suspended on its farthest +extremity, was seen, early in the afternoon, approaching the gate of +Alcala, one of the principal and most splendid entrances into the +Spanish capital. Donald was staring about him, and at everything he saw, +with a look of the greatest wonder and amazement; and strange were the +impressions that the peculiar dresses of those he met, and the odd +appearance of the buildings within his view, made upon his +unsophisticated mind and bewildered sensorium. + +He, in truth, felt very much as if he had by some accident got into the +moon, or some other planet than that of which he was a born inhabitant, +and as if the beings around him were human only in form and feature. The +perplexity and confusion of his ideas were, indeed, great--so great that +he found it impossible to reduce them to such order as to give them one +single distinct impression. There were, however, two points in Donald's +character, which remained wholly unaffected by the novelty of his +position. These were his courage and bold bearing. Not all Spain, nor +all that was in Spain, could have deprived Donald of these for a moment. +He was amazed, but not in the least awed. He was, in truth, looking +rather fiercer than usual, at this particular juncture, in consequence +of a certain feeling of irritation, caused by what he deemed the +impertinent curiosity of the passers-by, who, no less struck with his +strange appearance than he with theirs, were gazing and tittering at him +from all sides--treatment this, at which Donald thought fit to take +mortal offence. Having arrived, however, at the gate of Alcala, Donald +thought it full time to make some inquiries as to where his relative +resided. Feeling impressed with the propriety of this step, he made +up to a group of idle, equivocal-looking fellows, who, wrapped up in +long buttoned dilapidated cloaks, were lounging about the gate; and, +plunging boldly into the middle of them, he delivered himself thus, in +his best English:-- + +"I say, freens, did you'll know, any of you, where my broder stops?" + +The men, as might be expected, first stared at the speaker, and then +burst out a-laughing in his face. They, of course, could not comprehend +a word of what he said; a circumstance on the possibility of which +it had never struck Donald to calculate, and to which he did not +now advert. Great, therefore, was his wrath, at this, apparently, +contemptuous treatment by the Spaniards. His highland blood mounted to +his face, and with the same rapidity rose his highland choler. Donald, +in truth, already contemplated doing battle in defence of his insulted +consequence, and at once hung out his flag of defiance. + +"You tam scarecrow-lookin rascals!" he sputtered out, in great fury, +at the same time shaking his huge clenched brown fist in the faces +of the whole group, their numbers not in the least checking his +impetuosity--"You cowartly, starvation-like togs! I've a goot mind to +make smashed potatoes o' the whole boilin o' ye. Tam your Spanish noses +and whiskers!" + +The fierce and determined air of Donald had the effect of instantly +restoring the gravity of the Spaniards, who, totally at a loss to +comprehend what class of the human species he represented, looked at him +with a mingled expression of astonishment and respect. At length, one of +their number discharged a volley of his native language at Donald; but +it was, apparently, of civil and good-natured import, for it was +delivered in a mild tone, and accompanied by a conciliatory smile. On +Donald, the language was, of course, utterly lost--he did not comprehend +a word of it; but not so the indications of a friendly disposition to +which we have alluded; these he at once appreciated, and they had the +effect of allaying his wrath a little, and inducing him to make another +attempt at a little civil colloquy. + +"Well," said Donald, now somewhat more calmly, "I was shust ask you a +ceevil question, an' you laugh in my face, which is not ceevil. In my +country we don't do that to anybody, far less a stranger. Noo, may pe, +you'll not know my broder, and there's no harm in that--none at all; but +you should shust have say so at once, an' there would be no more apout +it. Can none of you speak Gaelic?" + +To this inquiry, which was understood to be such, there was a general +shaking of heads amongst the Spaniards. + +"Oich, oich, it must be a tam strange country where there's no Gaelic. +But, never mind--you cannot help your misfortunes. I say, lads, will ye +teuk a tram. Hooch, hurra! prof, prof! Let's get a dram." And Donald +flung up one of his legs hilariously, while he gave utterance to these +uncouth expletives, which he did in short joyous shouts. "Where will we +go, lads? Did you'll know any decen' public-house, where we'll can +depend on a goot tram?" + +To this invitation, and to the string of queries by which it was +accompanied, Donald got in reply only a repetition of that shake of the +head which intimated non-comprehension. But it was an instance of the +latter that surprised him more than all the others. + +"Well, to be surely," he said, "if a man'll not understand the offer of +a tram, he'll understand nothing, and it's no use saying more. Put maybe +you'll understand the sign, if not the word." And, saying this, he +raised his closed hand to his lips and threw back his head, as if taking +off a _caulker_ of his own mountain dew; pointing, at the same time, to +a house which seemed to him to have the appearance of one of public +entertainment. To Donald's great satisfaction, he found that he had now +made himself perfectly intelligible; a fact which he recognised in the +smiles and nods of his auditory, and, still more unequivocally, in the +general movement which they made after him to the "public-house," to +which he immediately directed his steps. + +At the head, then, of this troop of tatterdemallions, and walking with +as stately a step as a drum-major, Donald may be said to have made his +entrance into Madrid; and rather an odd first appearance of that worthy +there, it certainly was. On entering the tavern or inn which he had +destined for the scene of his hospitalities, he strode in much in +the same style that he would have entered a public-house in +Lochaber--namely, slapping the first person he met on the shoulder, and +shouting some merry greeting or other appropriate to the occasion. This +precisely Donald did in the present instance, to the great amazement and +alarm of a very pretty Spanish girl, who was performing the duty of +ushering in customers, inclusive of that of subsequently supplying +their wants. On feeling the enormous paw of Donald on her shoulder, +and looking at the strange attire in which he was arrayed, the girl +uttered a scream of terror, and fled into the interior of the house. +Unaccustomed to have his rude but hearty greetings received in this way, +or to find them producing an effect so contrary to that which, in his +honest warm-heartedness, he intended them to produce, Donald was rather +taken aback by the alarm expressed by the girl; but soon recovering his +presence of mind-- + +"Oich, oich!" he said, laughing, and turning to his ragged crew behind +him, "ta lassie's frightened for Shon Heelanman. Puir thing! It's weel +seen she's no peen procht up in Lochaber, or maype's no been lang in the +way o' keepin a public. It's-- + + "'Haut awa, bite awa, + Haut awa frae me, Tonal; + What care I for a' your wealth, + An' a' that ye can gie, Tonal?'" + +And, chanting this stanza of a well-known Scottish ditty, at the top of +his voice, Donald bounced into the first open door he could find, still +followed by his tail. These having taken their seats around a table +which stood in the centre of the apartment, he next commenced a series +of thundering raps on the board with the hilt of his dirk, accompanied +by stentorian shouts of, "Hoy, lassie! House, here! Hoy, hoy, hoy!" a +summons which was eventually answered by the landlord in person, the +girl's report of Donald's appearance and salutation to herself having +deterred any other of the household from obeying the call of so wild and +noisy a customer. + +"Well, honest man," said Donald, on the entrance of his host, "will you +pe bringing us two half mutchkins of your pest whisky. Here's some +honest lads I want to treat to a tram." + +The landlord, as might be expected, stared at this strange guest, in +utter unconsciousness of the purport of his demand. Recollecting +himself, however, after a moment, his professional politeness returned, +and he began bowing and simpering his inability to comprehend what had +been addressed to him. + +"What for you'll boo, boo, and scrape, scrape there, you tam ass!" +exclaimed Donald, furiously. "Co and pring us the whisky. Two half +mutchkins, I say." + +Again the polite landlord of the Golden Eagle, which was the name of the +inn, bowed his non-comprehension of what was said to him. + +"Cot's mercy! can you'll not spoke English, either?" shouted Donald, +despairingly, on his second rebuff, and at the same time striking the +table impatiently with his clenched fist. "Can you'll spoke Gaelic, +then?" he added; and, without waiting for a reply, he repeated his +demand in that language. The experiment was unsuccessful. Mine host of +the Golden Eagle understood neither Gaelic nor English. Finding this, +Donald had once more recourse to the dumb show of raising his hand to +his mouth, as if in the act of drinking; and once more he found the sign +perfectly intelligible. On its being made, the landlord instantly +retired, and in a minute after returned with a couple of bottles in +hand, and two very large-sized glasses, which he placed on the table. +Eyeing the bottles contemptuously:--"It's no porter; it's whisky I'll +order," exclaimed Donald, angrily, conceiving that it was the former +beverage that had been brought him. "Porter's drink for hocs, and not +for human podies." Finding it wholly impossible, however, to make this +sentiment understood, Donald was compelled to content himself with the +liquor which had been brought him. Under this conviction, he seized one +of the bottles, filled up a glass to the brim, muttering the while "that +it was tam white, strange-looking porter," started to his feet, and, +holding the glass extended in his hand, shouted the health of his ragged +company, in Gaelic, and bolted the contents. But the effect of this +proceeding was curious. The moment the liquor, which was some of the +common wine of Spain, was over Donald's throat, he stared wildly, as +if he had just done some desperate deed--swallowed an adder by mistake, +or committed some such awkward oversight. This expression of horror +was followed by the most violent sputterings and hideous grimaces, +accompanied by a prodigious assemblage of curses of all sorts, in Gaelic +and English, and sometimes of an equal proportion of both. + +"Oich, oich! poisoned, by Cot!--vinekar, horrid vinekar! Lanlort, I +say, what cursed stuffs is this you kive us?" And again Donald sputtered +with an energy and perseverance that nothing but a sense of the utmost +disgust and loathing could have inspired. Both the landlord and Donald's +own guests, at once comprehending his feelings regarding the wine, +hastened, by every act and sign they could think of, to assure him that +he was wrong in entertaining so unfavourable an opinion of its character +and qualities. Mine host, filling up a glass, raised it to his mouth, +and, sipping a little of the liquor, smacked his lips, in token of high +relish of its excellences. He then handed the glass round the company, +all of whom tasted and approved, after the same expressive fashion; and +thus, without a word being said, a collective opinion, hollow against +Donald, was obtained. + +"Well, well, trink the apominations, and be curst to you!" said Donald, +who perfectly understood that judgment had gone against him, "and much +goot may't do you! but mysel would sooner trink the dirty bog water of +Sleevrechkin. Oich, oich! the dirts! But I say, lanlort, maype you'll +have got some prandies in the house? I can make shift wi' that when +there's no whisky to be cot." + +Fortunately for Donald, mine host of the Golden Eagle at once understood +the word brandy, and, understanding it, lost no time in placing a +measure of that liquor before him; and as little time did Donald lose +in swallowing an immense bumper of the inspiring alcohol. + +"Ay," said Donald, with a look of great satisfaction, on performing +this feat, "that's something like a human Christian's trink. No your +tam vinekar, as would colic a horse." Saying this, he filled up and +discussed another modicum of the brandy; his followers, in the meantime, +having done the same duty by the two bottles of wine, which were +subsequently replaced by another two, by the order of their hospitable +entertainer. On Donald, however, his libations were now beginning to +produce, in a very marked manner, their usual effects. He was first +getting into a state of high excitation; thumping the table violently +with his fist, and sputtering out furious discharges of Gaelic and +English, mingled in one strange and unintelligible mess of words, and +seemingly oblivious of the fact that not a syllable of what he said +could be comprehended by his auditory. This, then, was a circumstance +which did not hinder him from entertaining his friends with a graphic +description of Eddernahulish, and a very animated account of a +particular deer-chase in which he had once been engaged. In short, in +the inspiration of the hour, Donald seemed to have entirely forgotten +every circumstance connected with his present position. He appeared to +have forgotten that he was in a foreign land; forgotten the purpose that +brought him there; forgotten his brother; forgotten those associated +with him were Spaniards, not Atholemen; in truth, forgotten everything +he should have recollected. In this happy state of obfuscation, Donald +continued to roar, to drink, and to talk away precisely as he was wont +to do in Rory M'Fadyen's "public" in Kilnichrochokan. From being +oratorical, Donald became musical, and insisted on having a song from +some of his friends; but failing to make his request intelligible, he +volunteered one himself, and immediately struck up, in a strong nasal +twang, and with a voice that made the whole house ring:-- + + "Ta Heelan hills are high, high, high, + An' ta Heelan miles are long; + But, then, my freens, rememper you, + Ta Heelan whisky's strong, strong, strong! + Ta Heelan whisky's strong, + + "And who shall care for ta length o' ta mile, + Or who shall care for ta hill, + If he shall have, 'fore he teukit ta way, + In him's cheek one Heelan shill? + In him's cheek one Heelan shill? + + "An' maype he'll pe teukit twa; + I'll no say is no pe tree; + And what although it should pe four? + Is no pussiness you or me, me, me-- + Is no pussiness you or me." + +Suiting the action to, at least, the spirit of the song, Donald tossed +off another bumper of the alcohol, which had the rather odd effect of +recalling him to some sense of his situation, instead of destroying, as +might have been expected, any little glimmering of light on that subject +which he might have previously possessed. On discussing the last glass +of brandy-- + +"Now, lads," said Donald, "I must pe going. It's gettin late, and I must +find oot my brother Tuncan Gorm, as decen' a lad as between this and +Eddernahulish." Having said this, and paid his reckoning, Donald began +shaking hands with his friends, one after the other, previous to leaving +them; but his friends had no intention whatever of parting with him in +this way. Donald had incautiously exposed his wealth when settling with +the landlord; and of his wealth, as well as his wine, they determined on +having a share. The ruffians, in short, having communicated with each +other, by nods and winks, resolved to dog him; and, when fitting place +and opportunity should present themselves, to rob and murder him. +Fortunately for Donald, however, they had not exchanged intelligence so +cautiously as to escape his notice altogether. He had seen and taken +note of two or three equivocal acts and motions of his friends; but had +had sufficient prudence, not only to avoid all remark on them, but to +seem as if he had not observed them. Donald, indeed, could not well +conceive what these secret signals meant; but he felt convinced that +they meant "no goot;" and he therefore determined on keeping a sharp +look-out, not only while he was in the presence of his boon companions, +but after he should have left them; for he had a vague notion that they +might possibly follow him for some evil purpose. + +Under this latter impression--which had occurred to him only at the +close of their orgie, no suspicion unfavourable to the characters of his +guests having before struck him--Donald, on parting from the latter at +the door of the inn in which they had been regaling, might have been +heard muttering to himself, after he had got to some little distance:-- + +"Tam rogues, after all, I pelieve." + +Having thus distinctly expressed his sentiments regarding his late +companions, Donald pursued his way, although he was very far from +knowing what that way should be. Street after street he traversed, +making frequent vain inquiries for his "broder, Tuncan Gorm," until +midnight, when he suddenly found himself in a large, open space, +intersected by alleys formed by magnificent trees, and adorned by +playing fountains of great beauty and elegance. Donald had got into the +Prado, or public promenade of Madrid; but of the Prado Donald knew +nothing; and much, therefore, did he marvel at what sort of a place he +had got into. The fountains, in particular, perplexed and amazed him; +and it was while contemplating one of these, with a sort of bewildered +curiosity, that he saw a human figure glide from one side to the other +of the avenue in which the object of his contemplation was situated, +and at the distance of about twenty yards. Donald was startled by the +apparition; and, recollecting his former associates, clapped his right +hand instinctively on the hilt of his broadsword, and his left on the +butt of a pistol--one of those stuck in his belt--and in this attitude +awaited the re-appearance of the skulker; but he did not make himself +again visible. Donald, however, felt convinced that there was danger at +hand, and he determined to keep himself prepared to encounter it. + +"Some o' ta vinekar-drinking rascals," muttered Donald. "It was no +honest man's drink; nor no goot can come o' a country where they swallow +such apominable liquors." + +Thus reasoned Donald with himself, as he stood vigilantly scanning +the localities around him, to prevent a sudden surprise. While thus +engaged, four different persons, all at once, and as if they had acted +by concert, started each from behind a tree, and approached Donald from +four different points, with the purpose, evidently, of distracting his +attention. At once perceiving their intention, and not doubting that +their purposes were hostile, the intrepid Celt, to prevent himself +being surrounded, hastily retreated to a wall which formed part of the +structure of the fountain on which he had been gazing, and, placing his +back against it, awaited, with his drawn sword in one hand and a pistol +in the other, the approach of his enemies, as he had no doubt they were. + +"Well, my friends," said Donald, as they drew near him, and discovered +to him four tall fellows, swathed up to the eyes in their cloaks, and +each with a drawn sword in his hand, "what you'll want with me?" No +answer having been returned to this query, and the fellows continuing to +press on, although now more cautiously, as they had perceived that their +intended victim was armed, and stood on the defensive: "Py Shoseph!" +said Donald, "you had petter keep your distance, lads, or my name's no +Tonal Gorm if I don't gif some of you a dish of crowdy." + +And, as good as his word, he almost instantly after fired at the +foremost of his assailants, and brought him down. This feat performed, +instead of waiting for the attack of the other three, he instantly +rushed on them sword in hand, and, by the impetuosity of his attack, and +fury of his blows, rendered all their skill of fence useless. With his +huge weapon and powerful arm, both of which he plied with a rapidity and +force which there was no resisting, he broke through their guards as +easily as he would have beat down so many osier wands, and wounded +severely at every blow. It was in vain that Donald's assailants kept +retiring before him, in the hope of getting him at a disadvantage--of +finding an opportunity of having a cut or a thrust at him. No time +was allowed them for any such exploit. Donald kept pressing on, and +showering his tremendous blows on them so thickly, that not an instant +was left them for aggression in turn. They were, besides, rapidly losing +relish for the contest, from the ugly blows they were getting, without a +possibility of returning them. Finding, at length, that the contest was +a perfectly hopeless one, Donald's assailants fairly took to their +heels, and ran for it; but there was one of their number who did not +run far--a few yards, when he fell down and expired. His hurts had been +mortal. + +"Oich, oich, lad!" said Donald, peering into the face of the dead man, +"you'll no pe shust that very weel, I'm thinkin. The heelan claymore 'll +not acree with your Spanish stomach. But it's goot medicine for rogues, +for all that." Having thus apostrophized the slain man, Donald sheathed +his weapon, muttering as he did so: "Ta cowartly togs can fight no +more's a turkey hens." + +And, cocking his bonnet proudly, he commenced the task of finding his +way back to the city; a task which, after a good many unnecessary, but, +from his ignorance of the localities, unavoidable deviations, he at +length accomplished. + +Donald's most anxious desire now was to find a "public" in which to +quarter for the night; but, the hour being late, this was no easy +matter. Every door was shut, and the streets lonely and deserted. At +length, however, our hero stumbled on what appeared to him to be +something of the kind he wanted, although he could have wished it to +have been on a fully smaller and humbler scale. This was a large hotel, +in which every window was blazing with light, and the rooms were filled +with mirthful music. Donald's first impression was that it was a penny +wedding upon a great scale. It was, in truth, a masquerade; and as the +brandy which he had drunk in the earlier part of the evening was still +in his head, he proposed to himself taking a very active part in the +proceedings. On entering the hotel, however, which he did boldly, he was +rather surprised at the splendours of various kinds which greeted his +eyes--marble stairs, gorgeous lamps, gilt cornices, &c., &c., and sundry +other indications of grandeur which he had never seen equalled even in +Tain or Dingwall, to say nothing of his native parish of Macharuarich, +and he had been in his time in every public-house of any repute in all +of them. These circumstances did not disabuse Donald of his original +idea of its being a penny-wedding. He only thought that they conducted +these things in greater style in Spain than in Scotland, and with this +solution of the difficulty, suggested by the said splendours, Donald +mounted the broad marble staircase, and stalked into the midst of a +large apartment filled with dancers. The variety and elegance of the +dresses of these last again staggered Donald's belief in the nature of +the merry-making, and made him doubt whether he had conjectured aright. +These doubts, however, did not for an instant shake his determination to +have a share in the fun. It was a joyous dancing party, and that was +quite enough for him. In the meantime he contented himself with staring +at the strange but splendid figures by whom he was surrounded, and who +were, in various corners of the apartment, gliding through the "mazy +dance." But if Donald's surprise was great at the costumes which he was +now so intently marking, those who displayed them were no less surprised +at that which he exhibited. Donald's strange, but striking attire, in +truth, had attracted all eyes; and much did those who beheld it wonder +in all the earth to what country it belonged. But simple wonder and +admiration were not the only sensations which Donald's garb produced +on the masquers. His kilt had other effects. It drove half the ladies +screaming out of the apartment, to its wearer's great surprise and no +small displeasure. The guise which Donald wore, however, and which all +believed to have been donned for the occasion, was, on the whole, much +approved of, and the wearer, in more than one instance, complimented for +his taste in having selected so novel and striking a garb. But even his +warmest applauders objected to the scantiness of the kilt, and hinted +that, for decorum's sake, this part of his dress should have been +carried down to his heels. This improvement on his kilt was suggested, +in the most polite terms, to Donald himself, by a Spanish gentleman, who +spoke a little English, and who had ascertained that our hero was a +native of Great Britain, and whom he believed to be a man of note. To +this suggestion Donald made no other reply than by a look of the utmost +indignation and contempt. The Spanish gentleman, whose name was Don +Sebastanio, seeing that his remark had given offence, hastened to +apologise for the liberty he had taken--assuring Donald that he meant +nothing disrespectful or insulting. This apology was just made in time, +as the irritable Celt had begun to entertain the idea of challenging +the Spaniard to mortal combat. As it was, however, his good nature +at once gave way to the pacific overture that was made him. Seizing +the apologist by the hand, with a gripe that produced some dismal +contortions of countenance on the part of him on whom it was inflicted-- + +"Is no harm done at all, my friend. You'll not know no petter, having +never peen, I dare say, in our country, or seen a heelanman pefore." + +The Spaniard declared he never had had either of these happinesses, and +concluded by inviting Donald to an adjoining apartment to have some +refreshment--an invitation which Donald at once obeyed. + +"Now, my good sir," said his companion, on their entering a sort of +refectory where were a variety of tables spread with abundance of the +good things of this life and of Madrid, "what shall you prefer?" + +"Herself's not fery hungry, but a little thirsty," said Donald, flinging +himself down on a seat in a free-and-easy way, with his legs astride, so +as to allow free suspension to his huge goat-skin purse, and doffing his +bonnet, and wiping the perspiration from his forehead--"Herself's no +fery hungry, but a little thirsty; and she'll teukit, if you please, a +fery small drop of whisky and water." + +The Spaniard was nonplussed. He had never even heard of whisky in his +life, and was therefore greatly at a loss to understand what sort of +liquor his friend meant. Donald, perceiving his difficulty, and guessing +that it was of the same nature with the one which he had already +experienced, hastily transmuted his demand for whisky into one for +brandy, which was immediately supplied him, when Donald, pouring into +a rummer a quantity equal to at least six glasses, filled up with +water, and drank the whole off, to the inexpressible amazement of his +companion, who, however, although he looked unutterable things at the +enormous draught, was much too polite to say anything. + +Thus primed a second time, Donald, seeing his new friend engaged with +some ladies who had unexpectedly joined him, returned alone to the +dancing apartment, which he entered with a whoop of encouragement to the +performers that startled every one present, and for an instant arrested +the motions of the dancers, who could not comprehend the meaning of his +uncouth cries. Regardless of this effect of his interference in the +proceedings of the evening, Donald, with a countenance beaming with +hilarity, and eyes sparkling with wild and reckless glee, took up a +conspicuous position in the room, and from thence commenced edifying the +dancers by a series of short abrupt shouts or yells, accompanied by a +vigorous clapping of his hands, at once to intimate his satisfaction +with the performances, and to encourage the performers themselves to +further exertions. Getting gradually, however, too much into the spirit +of the thing to be content with being merely an onlooker, Donald all at +once capered into the middle of the floor, snapping his fingers and +thumbs, and calling out to the musicians to strike up "Caber Feigh;" +and, without waiting to hear whether his call was obeyed, he commenced a +vigorous exhibition of the highland fling, to the great amazement of the +bystanders, who, instantly abandoning their own pursuits, crowded around +him to witness this to them most extraordinary performance. Thus +occupied, and thus situated--the centre of a "glittering ring"--Donald +continued to execute with unabated energy the various strongly-marked +movements of his national dance, amidst the loud applauses of the +surrounding spectators. On concluding-- + +"Oich, oich!" exclaimed Donald, out of breath with his exertion, and +looking laughingly round on the circle of bystanders. "Did ever I think +to dance ta heelan fling in Madrid! Och, no, no! Never, by Shoseph! But, +I dare say, it'll pe the first time that it was ever danced here." + +From this moment Donald became a universal favourite in the room, and +the established lion of the night. Where-ever he went he was surrounded +with an admiring group, and was overloaded with civilities of all kinds, +including frequent offers of refreshment; so that he speedily found +himself in most excellent quarters. There was, however, one drawback in +his happiness. He could get no share in the dancing excepting what he +chose to perform solus, as there was nothing in that way to be seen in +the room in the shape of a reel, nor was there a single tune played of +which he could make either head or tail--nothing but "your foreign +trash, with neither spunk nor music in them." Determined, however, +since his highland fling had been so much approved of, to give a +specimen of the highland reel, if he could possibly make it out, Donald, +as a first step, looked around him for a partner; and seeing a very +handsome girl seated in one of the corners of the apartment, and +apparently disengaged, he made up to her, and, making one of his best bows, +solicited the honour of her joining him in a reel. Without understanding +the language in which she was addressed, but guessing that it conveyed +an invitation to the floor, the young lady at once arose and curtsied an +acquiescence, when Donald, taking her gallantly by the hand, led her up +to the front of the orchestra, in order that he might bespeak the +appropriate music for the particular species of dance he contemplated. +On approaching sufficiently near to the musicians-- + +"Fittlers," he shouted, at the top of his voice, "I say, can you'll kive +us 'Rothiemurchus' Rant,' or the 'Trucken Wives of Fochabers?'" + +Then turning to his partner, and flinging his arms about her neck in an +ecstasy of Highland excitation, capering at the same time hilariously in +anticipation of the coming strain-- + +"Them's the tunes, my lass, for putting mettle in your heels." + +A scream from the lady with whom Donald was using these unwarrantable +personal liberties, and a violent attempt on her part to escape +from them, suddenly arrested Donald's hilarity, and excited his +utmost surprise. In the next instant he was surrounded by at least +half-a-dozen angry cavaliers, amongst whom there was a brandishing of +swords and much violent denunciation, all directed against Donald, and +excited by his unmannerly rudeness to a lady. It was some seconds before +Donald could comprehend the meaning of all this wrath, or believe that +he was at once the cause and the object of it. But on this becoming +plain-- + +"Well, shentlemen," he said, "I did not mean anything wrong. No offence +at all to the girl. It was just the fashion of my country; and I'm sorry +for it." + +To this apology of Donald's, of which, of course, not a word was +understood, the only reply was a more fierce flourishing of brands, and +a greater volubility and vehemence of abuse; the effect of which was at +once to arouse Donald's choler, and to urge him headlong on extremities. + +"Well, well," he said, "if you'll not have satisfaction any other way +than py the sword, py the sword you shall have it." + +And instantly drawing, he stood ready to encounter at once the whole +host of his enemies. What might have been the result of so unequal a +contest, had it taken place, we cannot tell--and this simply because +no encounter did take place. At the moment that Donald was awaiting +the onset of the foe--a proceeding, by the way, which they were now +marvellously slow in adopting, notwithstanding the fury with which +they had opened the assault, a party of the king's guard, with fixed +bayonets, rushed into the apartment, and bore Donald forcibly out into +the street, where they left him, with angry signs that if he attempted +to return, he would meet with still worse treatment. Donald had prudence +enough to perceive that any attempt to resent the insult that had been +offered him--seeing that it was perpetrated by a dozen men armed with +musket and bayonet--would be madness, and therefore contented himself +with muttering in Gaelic some expressions of high indignation and +contempt. Having delivered himself to this effect, he proudly adjusted +his plaid, and stalked majestically away. + +It was now so far advanced in the morning that Donald abandoned all idea +of seeking for a bed, and resolved on prosecuting an assiduous search +for his brother. This he accordingly commenced, and numerous were the +calls at shops, and frequent the inquiries he made for Tuncan Gorm; but +unavailing were they all. No one understood a word of what he addressed +to them; and thus, of course, no one could give him the information he +desired. It was in vain, too, that Donald carefully scanned every sign +that he passed, to see that it did not bear the anxiously looked for +name. On none of them did it appear. They were all, as Donald himself +said, Fouros, and Beuros, and Lebranos, and Dranos, and other outlandish +and unchristian-like names. Not a heeland or lowland shopkeeper amongst +them. No such a decent and civilized name to be met with as Gorm, or +Brolachan, or M'Fadyen, or Macharuarich, or M'Cuallisky. + +Tired and disappointed, Donald, after wandering up and down the streets +for several hours, bethought him of adjourning to a tavern to have +something to eat, and probably something to drink also. Seeing such a +house as he wanted, he entered, and desired the landlord to furnish him +with some dinner. In a few seconds two dishes were placed before him; +but what these dishes were, Donald could not at all make out. They +resembled nothing in the edible way he had ever seen before, and the +flavour was most alarming. Nevertheless, being pretty sharp-set, he +resolved to try them, and for this purpose drew one of the dishes +towards him, when, having peered as curiously and cautiously into it for +a few seconds as if he feared it would leap up in his face and bite him, +and curling his nose the while into strong disapprobation of its odour, +he lifted several spoonfuls of the black greasy mess on his plate. At +this point Donald found his courage failing him; but, as his host stood +behind his chair and was witness to all his proceedings, he did not like +either to express the excessive disgust he was beginning to feel, nor to +refuse tasting of what was set before him. Mustering all his remaining +courage, therefore, he plunged his spoon with desperate violence into +the nauseous mess, which seemed to Donald to be some villanous compound +of garlic, rancid oil, and dough; and raising it to his lips, shut his +eyes, and boldly thrust it into his mouth. Donald's resolution, however, +could carry him no farther. To swallow it he found utterly impossible, +now that the horrors of both taste and smell were full upon him. In this +predicament, Donald had no other way for it but to give back what he had +taken; and this course he instantly followed, adding a large interest, +and exclaiming-- + +"My Cot! what sort of a country is this? Your drinks is poison, and your +meats is poison, and everything is apominations apout you. Oich, oich! I +wish to Cot I was back to Eddernahulish again; for I'll pe either +poisoned or murdered amongst you if I remain much longer here. That's +peyond all doubt." + +And having thus expressed himself, Donald started to his feet, and was +about to leave the house without any farther ceremony, when the landlord +adroitly planted himself between him and the door, and demanded the +reckoning. Donald did not know precisely what was asked of him, but +he guessed that it was a demand for payment, and this demand he was +determined to resist, on the ground that what he could not eat he ought +not to be called on to pay for. Full of this resolution, and having no +doubt that he was right in his conjecture as to the landlord's purpose +in preventing his exit-- + +"Pay for ta apominations!" said Donald, wrathfully. "Pay for ta poison! +It's myself will see you at Jericho first. Not a farthing, not one tam +farthing, will I pay you for ta trash. So stand out of the way, my +friend, pefore worse comes of it." + +Saying this, Donald advanced to the door, and seizing its guardian by +the breast, laid him gently on his back on the floor, and stepping over +his prostrate body, walked deliberately out of the house, without +further interruption, mine host not thinking it advisable to excite +further the choler of so dangerous a customer, and one who had just +given him so satisfactory a specimen of his personal prowess. Another +day had now nearly passed away, and Donald was still as far, to all +appearance, from finding the object of his search as ever he had +been. He was, moreover, now both hungry and thirsty; but these were +evils which he soon after succeeded in obviating for the time, by +a more successful foray than the last. Going into another house of +entertainment, he contrived to make a demand for bread and cheese +intelligible--articles which he had specially condescended on, that +there might be "no mistake;" and with these and a pretty capacious +measure of brandy, he managed to effect a very tolerable passover. +Before leaving this house, Donald made once more the already oft +but vainly-repeated inquiry, whether he knew (he was addressing his +landlord) where one Duncan Gorm stopped. It did not now surprise Donald +to find that his inquiry was not understood; but it did both surprise +and delight him when his host, who had abruptly left the room for an +instant, returned with a person who spoke very tolerable English. This +man was a muleteer, and had resided for some years in London, in the +service of the Spanish ambassador. His name--a most convenient one for +Donald to pronounce--was Mendoza Ambrosius. On being introduced to this +personage, Donald expressed the utmost delight at finding in him one +who spoke a Christian language, as he called it; and, in the joy of +his heart with his good fortune, ordered in a jorum of brandy for the +entertainment of himself and Mr. Ambrosius. The liquor being brought, +and several horns of it discussed, Donald and his new friend got as +thick as "ben' leather." And on this happy understanding being +established, the former began to detail, at all the length it would +admit of, the purpose of his visit to Madrid, and the occurrences that +had befallen him since his arrival; prefacing these particulars with a +sketch of his history, and some account of the place of his nativity; +and concluding the whole by asking his companion if he could in any way +assist him to find his brother, Duncan Gorm. + +The muleteer replied, in the best English he could command, that he did +not know the particular person inquired after, but that he knew the +residences of two or three natives of Britain, some of whom, he thought +it probable, might be acquainted with his brother; and that he would +have much pleasure in conducting him to these persons, for the purpose +of ascertaining this. Donald thanked his friend for his civility; and, +in a short time thereafter, the brandy having been finished in the +interim, the two set out together on their expedition of inquiry. It was +a clear, moonlight night; but, although it was so, and the hour what +would be considered in this country early, the streets were nearly +deserted, and as lonely and quiet as if Madrid were a city of the dead. +This stillness had the effect of making the smallest sound audible even +at a great distance, and to this stillness it was owing that Donald and +his friend suddenly heard, soon after they had set out, the clashing of +swords, intermingled with occasional shouts, at a remote part of the +street they were traversing. + +"What's tat?" exclaimed Donald, stopping abruptly, and cocking his ears +at the well-known sound of clashing steel. His companion, accustomed to +such occurrences, replied, with an air of indifference, that it was +merely some street brawl. + +"It'll pe these tam vinekar drinkers again," said Donald, with a lively +recollection of the assault that had been made upon himself; "maybe some +poor shentleman's in distress. Let us go and see, my tear sir." To this +proposal, the muleteer, with a proper sense of the folly of throwing +himself in the way of mischief unnecessarily, would at first by no means +accede; but, on being urged by Donald, agreed to move on a little with +him towards the scene of conflict. This proceeding soon brought them +near enough to the combatants to perceive that Donald's random +conjecture had not been far wrong, by discovering to them one person, +who, with his back to the wall, was bravely defending himself against +no fewer than four assailants, all being armed with swords. + +"Did not I tell you so!" exclaimed Donald, in great excitation, on +seeing how matters stood. "Noo, Maister Tozy Brozy, shoulder to +shoulder, my tear, and we'll assist this poor shentleman." Saying this, +Donald drew his claymore, and rushed headlong on to the rescue, calling +on Tozy Brozy to follow him; but Tozy Brozy's feelings and impulses +carried him in a totally different direction. Fearing that his friend's +interference in the squabble might have the effect of directing some of +the blows his way, he fairly took to his heels, leaving Donald to do by +himself what to himself seemed needful in the case. In the meantime, too +much engrossed by the duty before him to mind much whether his friend +followed him or not, Donald struck boldly in, in aid of the "shentleman +in distress," exclaiming, as he did so-- + +"Fair play, my tears! Fair play's a shewel everywhere, and I suppose +here too." And, saying this, with one thundering blow that fairly split +the skull of the unfortunate wight on whom it fell in twain, Donald +lessened the number of the combatants by one. The person to whose aid he +had thus so unexpectedly and opportunely come, seeing what an effectual +ally he had got, gave a shout of triumphant joy, and, although much +exhausted by the violence and length of his exertions in defending +himself, instantly became the assailant in his turn. Inspired with new +life and vigour, he pressed on his enemies with a fury that compelled +them to give way; and, being splendidly seconded by Donald, whose +tremendous blows were falling with powerful effect on those against whom +they were directed, the result was, in a few seconds, the flight of the +enemy; who, in rapid succession, one after the other, took to their +heels, although not without carrying along with them several authentic +certificates of the efficiency of Donald's claymore. + +On the retreat of the bravos--for such they were--the person whom Donald +had so efficiently served in his hour of need, flew towards him, and, +taking him in his arms, poured out a torrent of thanks for the prompt +and gallant aid he had afforded him. But, as these thanks were expressed +in Spanish, they were lost on him to whom they were addressed. Not so, +however, the indications of gratitude evinced in the acts by which they +were accompanied. These Donald perfectly understood, and replied to them +as if their sense had been conveyed to him in a language which he +comprehended. + +"No thanks at all, my tear sir. A Heelantman will always assist a freend +where a few plows will do him goot. You would shust do the same to me, +I'm sure. But," added Donald, as he sheathed his most serviceable +weapon, "this is the tam place for fechtin' I have ever seen. I thocht +our own Heelants pad enough, but this is ten times worse, py Shoseph! I +have no peen more than four-and-twenty hours in Ma-a-treed, and I'll +have peen in tree fecht already." + +More of this speech was understood by the person to whom it was +addressed, than might have been expected under all these circumstances. +This person was a Spanish gentleman of rank and great wealth, of the +name of Don Antonio Nunnez, whose acquirements included a very competent +knowledge of the English language, which, although he spoke it but +indifferently, he understood very well. Yet it certainly did require +all his knowledge of it, to recognise it in the shape in which Donald +presented it to him. This, however, to a certain extent, he did, and, in +English, now repeated his sense of the important obligation Donald had +conferred on him. But it was not to words alone that the grateful and +generous Spaniard meant to confine his acknowledgments of the service +that had been rendered him. Having ascertained that Donald was a perfect +stranger in the city, he insisted on his going home with him, and +remaining with him during his stay in Madrid, and further requesting +that he would seek at his hands, and no other's, any service or +obligation, of whatever nature it might be, of which he should stand +in need during his stay. + +To these generous proffers, Donald replied, that the greatest service +that could be done him was to inform him where he could find his +brother, Duncan Gorm. Don Antonio first expressed surprise to learn that +Donald had a brother in Madrid, and then his sorrow that he did not +know, nor had ever heard of such a person. + +"He'll keep a public," said Donald. + +"What is that, my friend?" inquired Don Antonio. + +"Sell a shill, to be sure--I'll thocht everybody know that," said +Donald, a good deal surprised at the other's ignorance. + +"Shill? shill?" repeated the Spaniard--"and pray, my friend, what is a +shill?" + +"Cot pless me! don't you'll know what a shill is?" rejoined Donald, with +increased amazement. "If you'll come with me to Eddernahulish, I'll show +you what a shill is, and help you to drink it too." + +"Well, well, my friend," said Don Antonio. "I'll get an explanation of +what a 'shill' is from you afterwards; but, in the meantime, you'll come +with me, if you please, as I am anxious to introduce you to some friends +at home!" + +Saying this, he took Donald's arm, in order to act as his conductor, +and, after leading him through two or three streets, brought him to the +door of a very large and handsome house. Don Antonio having knocked at +this door, it was immediately opened by a servant in splendid livery, +who, on recognising his master--for such was Donald's friend--instantly +stepped aside, and respectfully admitted the pair. In the vestibule, or +passage, which was exceedingly magnificent, were a number of other +serving men in rich liveries, who drew themselves up on either side, in +order to allow their master and his friend to pass; and much did they +marvel at the strange garb in which that friend appeared. Don Antonio +now conducted Donald up the broad marbled staircase, splendidly +illuminated with a variety of elegant lamps, in which the vestibule +terminated; and, on reaching the top of the first flight, ushered him +into a large and gorgeously-furnished apartment, in which were two +ladies dressed in deep mourning. To these ladies, one of whom was the +mother, the other the sister of Don Antonio, the latter introduced his +amazed and awe-stricken companion, as a person to whom he was indebted +for his life. He then explained to his relations what had occurred, and +did not fail to give Donald's promptitude and courage a due share of his +laudations. With a gratitude not less earnest than his own had been, the +mother and sister of Don Antonio took Donald by the hand; the one +taking the right, and the other the left, and, looking in his face, +with an expression of the utmost kindness, thanked him for the great +obligation he had conferred on them. These thanks were expressed in +Spanish; but, on Don Antonio's mentioning that Donald was a native of +Britain, and that he did not, as he rather thought, understand the +Spanish language, his sister, a beautiful girl of one or two-and-twenty, +repeated them, in somewhat minced, but perfectly intelligible English. +Great as Donald's perturbation was at finding himself so suddenly and +unexpectedly placed in a situation so much at variance with anything +he had been accustomed to, it did not prevent him marking, in a very +special manner, the dark sparkling eyes and rich sable tresses of Donna +Nunnez, the name of Don Antonio's sister. Nor, we must add, did the +former look with utter indifference on the manly form, so advantageously +set off as it was by his native dress, of Donald Gorm. But of this anon. +In a short time after, a supper, corresponding in elegance and splendour +to all the other elegances and splendours of this lordly mansion, was +served up; and, on its conclusion, Donald was conducted, by Don Antonio +himself, to a sleeping apartment, furnished with the same magnificence +that prevailed throughout the whole house. Having ushered him into his +apartment, Donald's host bade him a kind good-night, and left him to his +repose. + +What Donald's feelings were on finding himself thus so superbly +quartered, now that he had time to think on the subject, and could do so +unrestrained by the presence of any one, we do not precisely know; but, +if one might have judged by the under-breath exclamations in which he +indulged, and by the looks of amazement and inquiry which he cast around +him, from time to time, on the splendours by which he was surrounded, +especially on the gorgeous bed, with its gilt canopy and curtains of +crimson silk, which was destined for his night's resting-place, these +feelings would appear to have been, after all, fully more perplexing +than pleasing. It was, in truth, just too much of a good thing; and +Donald felt it to be so. But still the whole had a smack of good fortune +about it that was very far from being disagreeable, and that certainly +had the effect of reconciling Donald to the little discordance between +former habits and present circumstances, which his position for the time +excited. + +While at breakfast on the following morning with Don Antonio and his +mother and sister, the first asked Donald if he had any particular ties +in his own country that would imperatively demand his return home; and +on Donald's replying that there were none, Don Antonio immediately +inquired whether he would accept a commission in the King of Spain's +body-guards:--"Because," said he, "if you will, I have, I believe, +influence enough to procure it for you." + +Donald said he had no objection in the world to try it for a year or +two, at any rate--only he would like to consult his "broder Tuncan" +first. + +"True, true," said Don Antonio; "I promised to assist you in finding out +your relative--and I shall do so." + +As good as his word in this particular, and a great deal better in many +others in which Donald was interested, Don Antonio instantly set an +inquiry on foot, which, in less than two hours, brought the brothers +together. The sequel of our story, although containing the very essence +of Donald's good fortune, is soon told. His brother, highly approving of +his accepting the commission offered to him, Don Antonio lost no time in +procuring him that appointment; and in less than three weeks from his +arrival in Madrid, Donald Gorm figured as a captain in the King of +Spain's body-guards, in which service he ultimately attained the rank +of colonel, together with a title of honour, which enabled him to ask, +without fear of giving offence, and to obtain, the hand of Donna Nunnez, +with a dowry second to that of no fair damsel in Spain. Donald never +again returned to Eddernahulish, but continued in the country of his +adoption till his death; and in that country some of his descendants +to this hour bear amongst the proudest names of which it can boast. + + + + +THE SURGEON'S TALES. + +THE CURED INGRATE. + + +Every person who has studied, even in the most cursory manner, the +checkered page of human life, must have observed that there are in +continual operation through mankind some great secret moral agents, +the powers of which are exerted within the heart, and beyond the reach +of the consciousness or observation of the individual himself who is +subject to their influence. There is a steadfastness of virtue in some +high-minded men, which enables them to resist the insidious temptations +of the bad demon; there is also a stern stability of vice often found +in the unfortunate outlaw, which disregards, for a time, the voice of +conscience, and spurns the whispered wooing of the good principle, +"charm it never so wisely;" yet the real confessions of the hearts of +those individuals would show traces enough of the agency of the unseen +power to prove their want of title to an exception from the general rule +which includes all the sons of Adam. We find, also, that extraordinary +moral effects are often produced, in a dark and mysterious manner, from +physical causes: every medical man has the power of recording, if he has +had the faculty of observing, changes in the minds, principles, and +feelings of patients who have come through the fiery ordeal of a +terrible disease, altogether unaccountable on any rules of philosophy +yet discovered. + +Not many years ago, a well-dressed young woman called one evening +upon me, and stated that her lady, whose name, she said, would be +communicated by herself, had been ill for some days, and wished me to +visit her privately. I asked her when she required my attendance; and +got for answer, that she, the messenger, would conduct me to the +residence of the patient, if it was convenient for me to go at that +time. I was disengaged, and agreed to accompany the young woman as soon +as I had given directions to my assistant regarding the preparation of +some medicines which required the application of chemical rules. To be +ingenuous, I was a little curious to know the secret of this private +call; for that there was a secret about it was plain, from the words, +and especially the manner, of the young woman, who spoke mysteriously, +and did not seem to wish any questions put to her on the subject of her +mission. The night was dark, but the considerate messenger had provided +a lantern; and, to anticipate my scruples, she said that the distance we +had to go would not render it necessary for me to take my carriage--a +five-minutes' walk being sufficient to take us to our destination. + +Resigning myself to the guidance of my conductress, I requested her +to lead the way, and we proceeded along two neighbouring streets +of considerable length, and then turned up to ---- Square--a +place where the rich and fashionable part of the inhabitants of the town +have their residences. At the mouth of a coach entry, which ran along +the gable of a large house, and apparently led to the back offices +connected with the residence, the young woman stopped, and whispered to +me to take care of my feet, as she was to use the liberty of leading me +along a meuse lane to a back entrance, through which I was to be +conducted into the chamber of the sick lady. I obeyed her directions; +and, keeping close behind her, was led along the lane, and through +several turns and windings which I feared I might not again be able to +trace without a guide, until we came to a back door, when the young +woman--begging my pardon for her forwardness--took hold of my hand, +and led me along a dark passage, then up a stair, then along another +passage, which was lighted by some wax tapers placed in recesses in the +wall; at the end of which, she softly opened a door, and ushered me into +a very large bedroom, the magnificence of which was only partly revealed +to me by a small lamp filled with aromatic oil, whose fragrance filled +the apartment. The young woman walked quickly forward to a bed, hung +with light green silk damask curtains fringed with yellow, and +luxuriously ornamented with a superfluity of gilding; and, drawing aside +the curtains, she whispered a few words into the ear of some one lying +there, apparently in distress; then hurried out of the room, leaving me +standing on the floor, without introduction or explanation. + +The novelty of my position deprived me for a moment of my +self-possession, and I stood stationary in the middle of the room, +deliberating upon whether I should call back my conductress, and ask +from her some explanation, or proceed forward to the couch, where, +no doubt, my services were required; but my hesitation was soon +resolved, by the extraordinary appearance of an Indian-coloured female +countenance, much emaciated, and lighted up with two bright orbs, +occupying the interstice between the curtains, and beckoning on me, +apparently with a painful effort, forward. I obeyed, and, throwing open +the large folds of damask, had as full a view of my extraordinary +patient as the light that emanated from the perfumed lamp, and shone +feebly on her dark countenance, would permit. She beckoned to me to take +a chair, which stood by the side of the bed; and, having complied with +her mute request, I begged to know what was the complaint under which +she laboured, that I might endeavour to yield her such relief as was in +the power of our professional art. I thus limited my question to the +nature of her disease, in the expectation that she herself would clear +up the mystery which hung around the manner in which I was called, and +introduced to so extraordinary a scene as that which was now before me. +Her great weakness seemed to require some composure, and a collecting of +her scattered and reduced energies, before she could answer my simple +question. I now observed more perfectly than I had yet done the +character and style of the room into which I had been introduced--its +furniture, ornaments, and luxuries; and, above all, the extraordinary, +foreign-looking invalid who seemed to be the mistress of so much +grandeur. Though a bedroom, the apartment seemed to have had lavished +upon its fitting-up as much money as is often expended on a lord's +drawing-room--the bed itself, the wardrobes, pier-glasses, toilets, +and dressing-cases, being of the most elaborate workmanship and costly +character--the pictures numerous, and magnificently framed; while on all +sides were to be seen foreign ornaments, chiefly Chinese and Indian, of +brilliant appearance, and devoted to purposes and uses of refined luxury +of which I could form no adequate conception. On a small table, near the +bed, there was a multiplicity of boxes, vials, trinkets, and bijouterie +of all kinds; and fragrant mixtures, intended to perfume the apartment, +were exposed in various quarters, and even scattered exuberantly on +spread covers of satin, with a view to their yielding their sweets +more freely, and filling all the corners of the room. In full contrast +with all this array of grandeur and luxury, lay the strange-looking +individual already mentioned, on the gorgeous bed. She was apparently +an East Indian; and, though possessed of comely features, she was even +darker than the fair Hindoos we often see in this country. The sickness +under which she laboured, and which appeared to be very severe, had +rendered her thin and cadaverous-looking--making the balls of her +brilliant eyes assume the appearance of being protruded, and imparting +to all her features a sharp, prominent aspect, the very reverse of the +natural Indian type; yet, true to her sex and the manners of her +country, she was splendidly decorated, even in this state of dishabille +and distress; the coverlet being of rich Indian manufacture, and +resplendent with the dyes of the East--her gown and cap decorated with +costly needlework--her fingers covered with a profusion of rings, while +a cambric handkerchief, richly embroidered, in her right hand, had +partly enveloped in its folds a large golden vinegarette, set profusely +with glittering gems. + +The rapid survey which enabled me to gather this general estimate of +what was presented to me, was nearly completed before the invalid had +collected strength enough to answer my question; and she was just +beginning to speak--having as yet pronounced only a few inarticulate +syllables--when she was interrupted by the entrance of the same young +woman who had acted as my conductress, and who now exhibited a manner +the very opposite of the soft, quiet, slipping nature of her former +carriage. The suddenness, and even impetuosity of her entry, was +inconsistent with the character of nurse to a lady in so distressed a +condition as that of her apparent mistress; but her subsequent conduct +was much more incomprehensible and extraordinary; for, without speaking +and without stopping, she rushed forward, and, taking me by the arm, +hurried me away through the door by which I had entered, along the +lighted passage, down the stair, and never stopped until she landed me +on the threshold of the back-door by which I entered the house. At this +time I heard the bell of, as I thought, the fore or street door of the +house ringing violently; and my conductress, without saying a word, ran +away as fast as the darkness would permit, leaving me, perplexed and +confounded at what I had seen and heard, to find my way home in the best +way I could. + +In my professional capacity I had not been accustomed to any mysterious +or secret practice of our art, which, being exercised ostensibly and in +reality for the benefit of mankind, requires no cloak to cover its +operations; and, though I was curious to know the secret of such +incomprehensible proceedings, I felt no admiration of, or relish +for adventures so unsuited to the life and manners of a sober, +practical man. One thing, however, was clear, and seemed sufficient +to reconcile my practical, every-day notions of life with this mysterious +negotiation, and even to solve the doubt I entertained whether I should +again trust myself as a party to the devices of secrecy--and that was, +that the individual I had been thus called to see professionally was in +such a condition of body as required urgently the administrations of a +medical practitioner. On the following day, I resolved upon making some +inquiries, with a view to ascertain who and what the individual was that +occupied the house to which I had been introduced, and which, upon a +survey in daylight, I could have no difficulty in tracing; but I +happened to be too much occupied to be able to put my purpose into +execution; and was thus obliged to remain, during the day, in a state +of suspense and ignorance of the secret involved in my previous night's +professional adventure. In the evening, however, and about the same hour +at which the messenger called for me on the previous occasion, the +same individual waited on me, with an apology for the apparently +unceremonious treatment I had received, and which, she said, would be +explained to my satisfaction; and a renewed request that I would again +accompany her to the same house, and on the same errand. I told the +messenger that I bore no great love to these secret adventures, but that +I would consent, on this occasion, to make a sacrifice of my principles +and feelings to the hope of being able to be of some use, in a +professional way, to the distressed lady I had seen on the previous +occasion, whose situation, so far as I could judge from appearances, was +not far removed from the extremity of danger. I again, accordingly, +committed myself to the guidance of the young woman; and, after a +repetition of the windings and evolutions of the previous visit, soon +found myself again seated in the chair that stood by the gorgeous bed of +the strange invalid. Everything seemed to be in the same situation as +before: the lamp gave out its weak light, the perfumes exhaled their +sweets, and the distressed lady exhibited the same strange contrast +between her reduced sickly condition and the superb finery of her +dishabille. + +I had not been long seated, when she struggled to inform me, in a very +weak voice, that she was much beholden to me for my attention, and +grieved for the unceremonious treatment I had received on my last +visit. I replied, that I laid my account with much greater personal +inconvenience, in the pursuit of my profession, than any to which she +had subjected or could subject me--all such considerations being, in my +apprehension, of small importance in comparison with the good we had +often the power of administering to individuals in distress; and begged +to know the nature of the complaint under which she too evidently +laboured, that I might endeavour to ameliorate her sufferings, and +restore her to that health without which the riches she apparently was +mistress of, could be of small avail in rendering her happy. She +appeared grateful for the sentiments I expressed; and proceeded to tell +me, still with the same struggling difficulty of utterance, arising from +her extreme weakness, that she was the wife of Colonel P----, the +proprietor of the mansion into which I had been thus secretly +introduced, for reasons she would explain in the course of her +narrative. She had been married to her husband, she proceeded, in the +East Indies, of which country she was a native; and, having succeeded +to a large fortune on the death of her father, had given it all freely +without bond, contract, or settlement, to her husband, whom she loved, +honoured, and worshipped, beyond all earthly beings, and with an ardour +which had never abated from the first moment she had become his wife. +Nor was the affection limited to one side of the house; for she was +more than satisfied that her lord and master--grateful, no doubt, for +the rank, honour, riches, and independence to which she had raised +him--loved her with an affection at least equal to her own. But all +these advantages (and she sighed deeply as she proceeded) were of little +consequence to the production of happiness, if the greatest of all +blessings, health, were denied to the possessor; and that too she had +enjoyed, uninterruptedly, until about a month previously, when she was +seized with an illness, the nature of which she could not comprehend; +and which, notwithstanding all the anxious efforts of her husband, had +continued unabated to that hour. + +She paused, and seemed much exhausted by the struggle she made to let +me thus far into her history. The concluding part of her statement, +combined with the still unexplained secrecy of my call, surprised me, +and defied my powers of penetration. This lady had been dangerously ill +for a month, during all which time no medical man had been called to +her aid; and even now, when her body was attenuated, and her strength +exhausted to the uttermost, professional assistance had been introduced +into the house by stealth, as if it were against the laws to ameliorate +human sufferings by curing diseases. This apparent anomaly in human +conduct struck me so forcibly that I could not refrain from asking the +patient, even before she recovered strength enough to answer me, what +was her or her husband's reason for not calling assistance; and why that +assistance was at last requested under the cloud of secrecy and +apprehension. + +"That I intended to explain to you," she said, after a pause. "When I +felt myself ill (and my complaint commenced by excruciating pains in my +stomach, accompanied with vomiting), I told my husband that I feared it +would be necessary to call a doctor; but, ah, sir! the very thought +of the necessity of medical aid to the object of so much love and +tenderness, put him almost frantic. He confessed that it was a weakness; +but declared his inability to conquer it. Yet, alas! his unremitting +kindness has not diminished my disease. Though I have taken everything +his solicitude has suggested and offered to me, my pains still continue, +my appetite is entirely gone, and the weakness of my body has approached +that of the helpless infant. Three days ago I thought I would have +breathed my last; and parting thoughts of my native country, and the +dear friends I left there to follow the fortunes of a dearer stranger, +passed through my mind with the feeling of a long and everlasting +farewell. My husband wept over me, and prayed for my recovery; but he +could not think me so ill as to make the call of the doctor imperative; +and I did not press a subject which I saw was painful to him. No, sir, +I would rather have died than have produced in him the slightest +uneasiness; and my object in calling you in the secret manner you have +witnessed, was simply to avoid causing to him the pain of thinking that +my illness was so great as to render your services absolutely +necessary." + +The communication I now heard, which was spoken in broken sentences +and after considerable pauses, in place of clearing up my difficulty, +increased it, and added to my surprise. Some light was, no doubt, thrown +on the cause which produced the secret manner of my visitation; but +every other circumstance attending the unfortunate lady's case was +merged in deeper gloom and mystery. The circumstance of a husband who +loved his wife refusing to call professional assistance, appeared to be +not less extraordinary than the reason assigned for it--even with all +the allowances, justified by a very prevailing prejudice, in some weak +minds, against the extremity of calling a doctor. I had heard something +of Colonel P----; that he was considered to be immensely rich, and known +to be a deep gambler, but I never understood that he was a victim of +weak or imaginary fears, and I was therefore inclined to doubt the truth +of the reason assigned by the unsuspecting invalid, for the scrupulous +delicacy of her husband's affection and solicitude. I pondered for a +moment, and soon perceived that the nature of her complaint, and the +kind of restoratives or medicines she might have been receiving, would, +in all likelihood, yield me more information on the subject of my +difficulty than I could procure from her broken sentences, which, at the +best, only expressed the sentiments of a mind clouded with the prejudice +of a devoted love and unbounded credulity. I proceeded, therefore, to +ascertain the nature of her complaint; and soon discovered that the seat +of it was, as she had said, in the region of the stomach, which not only +produced to her great pain internally, but felt sore on the application +of external pressure on the _praecordia_. Other symptoms of a disease in +this principal organ were present: such as fits of painful vomiting +after attempting to eat, her great emaciation, anxiety of countenance, +thirst, restlessness, and debility; and, in ordinary circumstances, I +would have been inclined to conclude that she laboured under some +species of what we denominate _gastritis_, or inflammation of the +stomach, though I could not account for such a disease not having been +resolved and ended in much shorter time than the period which embraced +her sufferings. + +I next proceeded to ascertain what she had been taking in the form of +medicaments; and discovered that her husband, proceeding on the idea +that her stomach laboured under weakness and required some tonic +medicine, had administered to her, on several occasions, what we term +_limatura ferri_ (iron filings)--a remedy for cases of dyspepsia and bad +stomachs, but not suited to the inflammatory disorders of the kind under +which she was suffering. I asked her if she had any of the medicine +lying by her, and she replied, with simplicity, that her husband +generally took charge of it himself; but that he had that evening laid +a small paper, containing a portion of it, on the top of a side-table, +until he administered to her the dose she was in the habit of receiving, +and had gone away without laying it past, according to his custom. I +took up the paper, examined it, and found, according to the rapid +investigation I bestowed on it, without the aid of any tests, that it +possessed all the appearances of the genuine medicine. I, however, took +the precaution of emptying a small portion of it into another paper, and +slipping it into my pocket unobserved by the patient. I then told her +that I thought she should discontinue the use of the powder, which was +entirely unsuited to her ailment. + +"That is a cruel advice, sir," she cried, in a tone of great excitement. +"How can I discontinue a medicine offered to me by the hands of a +husband, without being able to give any reason for rejecting his +kindness? I tremble to think of repaying all the attentions of that dear +man with ingratitude, and wounding his sensibility by rejecting this +testimony of his solicitude and affection. I cannot--I feel I cannot. +The grief I would thereby produce to him would be reflected, by +sympathy, on this weak frame, which is unable to struggle much longer +with the pains of flesh alone, far less with the additional anguish of a +wounded mind, grieved to death at causing sorrow to the man I so dearly +love. Do not, oh! do not, sir, make me an ingrate." + +I was struck with the devotion of this gentle being, who actually +trembled at the idea of producing uneasiness to the man whom she had +raised to affluence, and who yet would not allow her the benefit of a +doctor in her distress; but, while I was pleased with this exhibition of +a feature in the female character I had never before seen so strongly +developed, though I had read and heard much of the fidelity and +affection of the women of the east, I was much chagrined at the idea +that so fair and beautiful a virtue would probably prevent me from doing +anything effectual for a creature who, independently of her distance +from her country, had so many other claims on my sympathy. I told her +that I feared I could be of little service to her if she could not +resolve upon discontinuing her husband's medicine; and tried to impress +upon her the necessity of conforming to my advice, if she wished to make +herself well--the best mode, assuredly, of making her husband happy; +but she replied that she expected I would have been able to give her +something to restore her to health independently of what she got from +her husband--a result she wished above all things, as she sighed for the +opportunity of delighting him, by attributing to his medicines and care +her restoration and happiness. I replied that that was impossible--a +statement that stung her with disappointment and pain. + +"Then I will take my beloved's medicines, and die!" she cried, with a +low struggling voice--resigning herself to the power of her weakness. + +This extraordinary resolution of a female devotee put me in mind of the +immolating custom of her countrywomen, called the _suttee_. It was a +complete _ultima ratio_, and put all my remedial plans at fault in an +instant. Her extreme weakness, or her devoted resolution, prevented her +from speaking, and I sat by her bedside totally at a loss what to do, +whether to persevere in my attempt to get her to renounce her husband's +medicine and to conform to my prescriptions, or to leave her to the fate +she seemed to court. I put several more questions to her, but received +no other answer than a wave of the hand--a plain token of her wish that +I should leave her to the tender mercies of her husband. I had now no +alternative; and, rising, I bowed to her, and took my leave. I had some +difficulty in finding my way out of the house; but, after several +ineffectual turns through wrong passages, I reached the door through +which I had entered, and returned home. + +The extraordinary scene I had witnessed engaged my attention during the +evening, but all my efforts at clearing up the mystery that enveloped +the proceedings of these individuals were met by difficulties which for +a time seemed insuperable. I sat cogitating and recogitating various +theories and probabilities, and had several times examined the iron +powder, which, for better observation, I had scattered on a sheet of +white paper that lay on my table. My intention was to test it, and I +waited the incoming of my assistant to aid me in my experiment. As I +looked at it at intervals between my trains of thought, I was struck +with a kind of glittering appearance it exhibited, and which was more +observable when it caught my eye obliquely and collaterally, during the +partial suspension of my perception by my cogitations. Roused by this +circumstance, I proceeded instantly to a more minute investigation; and +having, by means of a magnet, removed all the particles of iron, what +was my surprise to find a residuum of triturated glass--one of the most +searching and insidious poisons known in toxicology. Good God! what were +my thoughts and feelings when the first flash of this discovery flared +upon my mind--solving, in an instant, by the intensity of its painful +light, all my doubts, and realizing all my suspicions. Every +circumstance of this mysterious affair stood now revealed in clear +relief--a dark scheme of murder, more revolting in its features than +any recorded in the malefactor's journal, was illumined and exposed by a +light which exhibited not only the workings of the design itself, but +the reason which led to its perpetration. This man had married the +confiding and devoted foreigner for the sake of her immense wealth, +which raised him in an instant from mediocrity to magnificence; and, +having attained the object of his ambition, he had resolved--with a view +to the concealment of the means whereby he effected his purpose, and +regardless of the sacred obligation of gratitude he owed to her who had +left her country, her relations, and friends, to trust herself to his +protection and love--to immolate the faithful, kind-hearted, and +affectionate creature, by a cruel and protracted murder. In her own +country the cowardly wretch could not have braved the vengeance of her +countrymen; but, in a distant land, where few might be expected to stand +up for the rights of the injured foreigner, he had thought he might +execute his scheme with secrecy and success. But now it was discovered! +By one of those extraordinary detached traces of the finger of the +Almighty, exposed to the convicting power of divine intellect, it was +discovered! + +The great excitement produced in my mind by this miraculous discovery +prevented me for some time from calmly deliberating on the steps I ought +to pursue, with the view of saving the poor foreigner from the designs +of her murderer. The picture of the devoted being lying, like a queen, +in the midst of the wealth she had brought to her husband, and trembling +at the very thought of rejecting his poison, for fear of giving him the +slightest pain--yet on the very point of being sacrificed; her wealth, +love, confidence, and gentleness, repaid by death, and her body +consigned, unlamented by friends--who might never hear of her fate--to +foreign dust, rose continually on my imagination, and interested my +feelings to a degree incompatible with the exercise of a calm judgment. +In proportion as my emotion subsided, the difficulty of my situation +appeared to increase. I was, apparently, the only person who knew +anything of this extraordinary purpose, and I saw the imprudence of +taking upon myself the total responsibility of a report to the public +authorities in a case where the chances of conviction would be +diminished to nothing by the determination of the victim to save her +destroyer, whom she never would believe guilty, and by the want of +evidence of a direct nature that the powder I had tested was truly +destined for her reception; while, in the event of an impeachment and +acquittal of the culprit, I would be exposed to his vengeance, and his +poor wife would be for ever subjected to his tyranny and oppression. On +the other hand, I was at a loss to know how I could again get access to +the sick victim, whom I had left without being requested to repeat my +visit; and, even if that could be accomplished, I had many doubts +whether she would pay the slightest attention or regard to my statement, +that her husband, whom she seemed to prefer to her own divine Brama, +designed to poison her. Yet it was clear that the poor victim behoved to +be saved, in some way, from the dreadful fate which impended over her; +and the necessity of some steps being taken with rapidity and efficacy, +behoved to resolve scruples and doubts which otherwise might have been +considered worthy of longer time and consideration. + +Next day I found I had made little progress in coming to a resolution +what step to pursue, yet every hour and minute that passed reproached me +with cruelty, and my imagination brought continually before my eyes the +poor victim swallowing the stated periodical quota of her death-drug. I +could have no rest or peace of mind till something was done, at least to +the extent of putting her on her guard against the schemes of her cruel +destroyer; and, after all my cogitations, resolutions, and schemes, I +found myself compelled to rest satisfied with seeing her, laying before +her the true nature of her danger, and leaving to the operation of the +instinctive principle of self-preservation the working out of her +ultimate safety. At the same hour of the evening at which my former +visit was made, I repaired to the back entrance of the large mansion, +and, upon rapping at the door, was fortunate enough to be answered by +the young woman who acted formerly as my guide. She led me, at my +request, instantly to the sickroom of her lady, who, having immediately +before been seized with an attack of vomiting, was lying in a state of +exhaustion approaching to the inanity of death. I spoke to her, and she +languidly opened her eyes. I saw no prospect of being able to impress +upon her comatose mind the awful truth I had come to communicate; yet I +had no alternative but to make the attempt; and I accordingly proceeded, +with as few words as possible, and in a tone of voice suited to the +lethargic state of her mind and senses, to inform her that the medicines +she was getting from the hands of her husband were fraught with deadly +poison, which was alone the cause of all her sufferings and agonies, and +would soon be the means of a painful death. These words I spoke slowly +and impressively, and watched the effect of them with anxiety and +solicitude. A convulsive shudder passed over her, and shook her +violently. She opened her eyes, which I saw fill with tears, and fixed +a steady look on my countenance. + +"_It is impossible_," she said, with a low, guttural tone, but with much +emphasis; "and if it _were_ possible, I would still take his medicine, +and die, rather than outlive the consciousness of love and fidelity." + +These words she accompanied with a wave of her hand, as if she wished +me to depart. I could not get her to utter another syllable. I had +discharged a painful duty; and, casting a look upon her, which I verily +believed would be the last I would have it in my power to bestow on this +personification of fidelity and gentleness, I took my departure. + +I felt myself placed in a very painful position for two or three days +after this interview, arising from a conviction that I had not done +enough for the salvation of this poor victim, and yet without being able +to fix upon any other means of rendering her any assistance, unless I +put into execution a resolution that floated in my mind, to admonish her +husband, by an anonymous communication, and threaten to divulge the +secret of his guilt, unless he instantly desisted from his nefarious +purpose--a plan that did not receive the entire sanction of my honour, +however much it enlisted the approbation of my feelings. Some further +time passed, and added, with its passing minutes, to my mental +disquietude. One evening, when I was sitting meditating painfully on +this sombre subject, a lackey, superbly dressed, was introduced to me by +my servant, and stated that he had been commanded by his master Colonel +P----, to request my attendance at his house without delay. I started +at the mention of the name, and the nature of the message; and the +man stared at me, as I exhibited the irresolution of doubt and the +perturbation of surprise, in place of returning him a direct answer. +Recovering myself, I replied, that I would attend upon the instant; +and, indeed, I felt a greater anxiety to fly to that house on which my +thoughts were painfully fixed, than I ever did to visit the most valued +friend I ever attended in distress. As I hurried along, I took little +time to think of the object of my call; but I suspected, either that +Colonel P---- had got some notice of my having secretly visited, +in my professional capacity, his wife, and being therefore privy to +his design--a state of opposing circumstances, which he was now to +endeavour in some way to counteract--or that, finding, from the +extremity to which his wife was reduced, that he was necessitated to +call a doctor, as a kind of cloak or cover to his cruel act, he had thus +made a virtue of necessity, when, alas! it would be too late for my +rendering the unfortunate creature any service. "He shall not, however, +escape," muttered I, vehemently, through my teeth, as I proceeded. "He +little knows that he is now calling to his assistance the man that shall +hang him." + +I soon arrived at the house, and rung the front door bell. The same +powdered lackey who had preceded me, opened the door. I was led up two +pair of stairs, and found myself in the same lobby with which I had +already become somewhat familiar. I proceeded forward, thinking I was +destined for the sick chamber of the lady; but the servant opened a door +immediately next to that of her room, and ushered me into an apartment +furnished in an elegant style, but much inferior to that occupied by his +wife. In a bed lay a man of a genteel, yet sinister cast of countenance, +with a large aquiline nose, and piercing black eyes. He appeared very +pale and feverish, and threw upon me that anxious eye which we often +find in patients who are under the first access of a serious disease; +as if nature, while she kept her secret from the understanding, +communicated it to the feelings, whose eloquence, expressed through the +senses, we can often read with great facility. I knew, in an instant, +that he was committed, by a relentless hand, to suffering, in all +likelihood, in the form of a fever. He told me he was Colonel P----, and +that, having been very suddenly taken ill, he had become alarmed for +himself, and sent for me to administer to him my professional services. +I looked at him intently; but he construed my stare into the eagerness +of professional investigation. At that instant, a piercing scream rang +through the house, and made my ears tingle. I asked him who had uttered +that scream, which must have come from some creature in the very +extremity of agony, and made an indication as if I would hasten to +administer relief to the victim. In an instant, I was close and firm in +the trembling clutch of the sick man, who, with a wild and confused +look, begged me not to sacrifice him to any attention to the cause +of this disturbance, which was produced by a servant in the house +habitually given, through fits of hysterics, to the utterance of these +screams. I put on an appearance of being satisfied with this statement; +but I fixed my eye relentlessly on him, as he still shook, from the +combined effects of his incipient disease, and his fear of my +investigating the cause of the scream. I proceeded to examine into the +nature of his complaint. The symptoms described by him, and detected by +my observation, satisfied me that he had been seized with an attack +of virulent typhus; and from the intensity of some of the +indications--particularly his languor and small pulse, his loss of +muscular strength, violent pains in the head, the inflammation of his +eyes, the strong throbbing of his temporal arteries, his laborious +respiration, parched tongue, and hot breath--I was convinced he had +before him the long sands of a rough and rapid race with death. At the +close of my investigation he looked anxiously and wistfully in my face, +and asked me what I conceived to be the nature of his complaint. I told +him at once, and with greater openness and readiness than I usually +practise, that I was very much afraid he was committed for a severe +course of virulent typhus. He felt the full force of an announcement +which, to those who have had any experience of this king of fevers, +cannot fail to carry terror in every syllable; and falling back on his +pillow, turned up his eye to heaven. At this moment, a succession of +screams, or rather yells, sounded through the house; but as I now saw +that I had a chance of saving the innocent sufferer, I pretended not to +regard the dreadful sounds, and purposely averted my eyes to escape the +inquiring, nervous look of the sick man. I gave him some directions, +promised to send some medicines, and took my leave. + +As I shut the door, the waiting-maid, whom I had seen before, was +standing in the door of her mistress's apartment, and beckoned me in, +with a look of terror and secrecy. I was as anxious to visit her gentle +mistress as she was to call me. On entering, which I did slowly and +silently, to escape the ear of her husband, I found the unfortunate +creature in the most intense state of agony. The ground glass she had +swallowed, and a great part of which, doubtless, adhered to the stomach, +was too clearly the cause of her screams; but, to my surprise, I +discovered, from her broken ejaculations, that the grief of her +husband's illness had been able, in its strength, to fight its way to +her heart, through all her bodily agonies produced by his poison. My +questions regarding her own condition were answered by hysterical +sobs, mixed with ejaculations of pity, and requests to know how he +was, and what was the nature of the complaint by which he had been +attacked--hinting, in dubious terms, that she had been the cause of his +illness, by entailing upon him the necessity of attending her, and +wounding his sensitive heart by her distress. My former communications +to her concerning the poison, and my caution against her acceptance of +it from the hands of her intended murderer, had produced no effect upon +a mind predetermined to believe nothing against the man she loved and +trusted beyond all mortals. She had received it again from him after my +communication; the effects of it were now exhibited in her tortured, +burning viscera; and yet, in the very midst of her agonies, her faith, +confidence, and love stood unshaken; a noble yet melancholy emblem of +the most elevated, yet often least valued and most abused virtues of her +sex. I endeavoured to answer her fevered inquiries about her husband, by +telling her that he stood in great _need of her attendance_; and that, +if she would agree to follow my precepts, and put herself entirely under +my advice and direction, she might, in a very short time, be enabled to +perform her duty of a faithful wife and a kind nurse to her distressed +partner. The first perception she caught of the meaning of my +communication, lighted up her eye, even in the midst of her wringing +pains; and, starting up, she cried, that she would be the most abject +slave to my will, and obey me in all things, if I could assure her of +the blessing of being able to act as nurse and comforter to her husband. +Now I saw my opportunity. On the instant I called up and despatched the +waiting-maid to my home, with directions to my assistant, to send me +instantly an oleaginous mixture, and some powerful emetics, which +I described in a _recipe_. I waited the return of the messenger, +administered the medicines, and watched for a time their operation and +effects. Notwithstanding the continued attacks that had been made on her +system by the doses of an active poison, I was satisfied that, if my +energies were not, in some unforeseen way, thwarted and opposed, I would +be able to bring this deserving wife and pattern of her sex from the +brink of the grave that had been dug for her by the hand of her husband. +After leaving with the waiting-maid some directions, I proceeded home, +for the purpose of preparing the necessary medicines for my other +patient. + +I now commenced a series of regular visits to my two patients--the +illness of the husband affording me the most ample scope for saving his +wife. As he gradually descended into the unavoidable depths of his +inexorable disease, she, by the elastic force of youth and a good +constitution, operating in unison with my medicines, which were +administered with the greatest regularity, gradually threw off the +lurking poison, and advanced to a state of comparative safety and +strength. I was much pleased to observe the salutary effects of my +professional interference in behalf of my interesting patient; but could +scarcely credit my own perceptions, as I had exhibited to me the most +undoubted proofs, that the desire to minister to the wants and comforts +of her sick husband, engrossed so completely every other feeling that +might have been supposed consequent upon a restoration to health, that +she seemed to disregard all other considerations. Her questions about +the period when she might be able to attend him were unremitting; and +every hour she was essaying to walk, though her efforts often ended in +weak falls, or sinkings on the ground, when some one was required to +assist her in getting up and returning to bed. She entreated me to allow +her to be _carried_ to his bedside; where, she said, they might mix +their tears and console each other; and all my arguments against the +impropriety of such an obvious mode of increasing her husband's illness, +and augmenting those sufferings she was so solicitous to ameliorate, +were scarcely sufficient to prevent her from putting her design into +execution. + +The husband's disease, which often runs a course of two months, +though the crisis occurs generally between the third and fourth week, +progressed steadily and relentlessly, mocking, as the fevers of that +type generally do, all the boasted art of our profession. His pulse rose +to the alarming height of 120; he exhibited the oppression at the chest, +increased thirst, blackfurred tongue, and inarticulate, muttering +speech, which are considered to be unfavourable indications; and there +was, besides, a clear tendency to delirium--a common, yet critical +symptom--leaving, even after the patient has recovered, and often for +years, its marks in the weakened intellect. One evening I was standing +by his bedside, studying his symptoms; witnessing the excess of his +sufferings, and listening to the bursts of incoherent speech which, from +time to time, came from him, as if expelled from his sick spirit by some +internal power. He spoke often of his wife, whom he called by the name +of Espras; and, in the midst of his broken ejaculations, gushes of +intense feeling came on him, filling his yellow sunken eyes with rheumy +tears, and producing heavy sobs, which, repressed by his loaded chest, +assumed sounds unlike anything I ever heard, and beyond my power of +description. I could not well understand these indications of the +working of his spirit; but I fancied that, when he felt his own agonies, +became conscious of what it is to suffer a certain extremity of pain, +and learned, for the first time in his life, the sad experience of an +inexorable disease, which presented to him the prospect of a lingering +death, his mind recurred to the situation of his wife, who, as he +thought, was, or might be, enduring tortures produced by his hand, +transcending even his sufferings. There seemed to be less of conscience +in his mental operations, than a new-born sorrow or sympathy, wrung out +of a heart naturally obdurate, by the anguish of a personal experience +of the pain he himself had produced in another, who had the strongest +claims on his protection and love. His mind, though volatile and +wandering, and not far from verging on delirium, was not yet deranged; +and I was about to put a question to him concerning his wife, whom he +had not directly mentioned to me, when the door opened, and the still +pale and emaciated figure of Mrs. P----, dressed in a white morning +gown, entered the apartment, struggling with her weakness to get +forward, and clutching, in her breathless efforts, at whatever presented +itself to her nerveless arms, to support her, and aid her in her +progress to the sick-bed of her husband. The bed being in the middle of +a large room, she was necessitated to trust partly to the weak powers of +her limbs, which having failed her, she, in an attempt to spring forward +and reach it before sinking, came short of her aim, and fell with a +crash on the floor, uttering, as she stumbled, a scream of sorrow, +wrung from her by the sight of her husband lying extended on a bed of +sickness. The noise started the invalid, who turned his eyes wildly in +the direction of the disturbance; and I rushed forwards to raise in +my arms the exhausted victim. I had scarcely got her placed on her +feet, when she again struggled to reach the bed; and having, by my +assistance, got far enough forward, she threw herself on the body of +the fever-ridden patient, ejaculating, as she seized him in her arms, +and bedewed his pale face with tears-- + +"Frederick! my honoured husband, whom I am bound to cherish and nurse +as becomes the fondest of wives, why is it that I have been deprived +of this luxury of the grief-stricken heart--to watch your looks, and +anticipate your wants? Thanks to the blessed powers of your faith and of +mine, I have you now in my arms, and no mortal shall come between me and +my love! Night and day I will watch and tend you, till the assiduities +of my affection weary out the effects of your cruel disease brought on +you--O God!--by your grief for me, your worthless Espras." + +And she buried her head in the bosom of the sick man, and sobbed +intensely. This scene, from the antithesis of its circumstances, +appeared to me the most striking I had ever beheld; and, though it was +my duty to prevent so exciting a cause of disturbance to the patient, I +felt I had no power to stop this burst of true affection. I watched +narrowly the eye of the patient; but it was too much clouded by the +effects of the fever, and too nervous and fugacious, to enable me to +distinguish between the effects of disease and the working of the +natural affections. But that his mind and feelings were working, and +were responding to this powerful moral impulse, was proved fearfully by +his rapid indistinct muttering and jabbering, mixed with deep sighs, and +the peculiar sound of the repressed sobs which I have already mentioned, +but cannot assimilate to any sound I ever heard. All my efforts to +remove the devoted wife by entreaty were vain; she still clung to him, +as if he had been on the eve of being taken from her by death. Her +sobbing continued unabated, and her tears fell on his cheek. These +intense expressions of love and sorrow awoke the sympathy which I +thought had previously been partially excited, for I now observed that +he turned away his head, while a stream of tears flowed down his face. +It was now, I found, necessary, for the sake of the patient, to remove +the excited lady; and I was obliged to apply a gentle force before I +could accomplish my purpose. She insisted, however, upon remaining in +the room, and beseeched me so piteously for this privilege, that I +consented to a couch being made up for her at a little distance from the +bed of her husband, whom it was her determination to tend and nurse, to +the exclusion of all others. I was not, indeed, ill pleased at this +resolution, for I anticipated, from her unexampled love and devotedness, +an effect on the heart of her husband which might cure its vices and +regenerate its affections. + +On the next occasion of my stated visit, I found my patient had at last +fallen into a state of absolute delirium. On a soft arm-chair, situated +by his bedside, sat his wife, the picture of despair, wringing her +hands, and indulging in the most extravagant demonstrations of grief +and affection. The wretched man exhibited the ordinary symptoms of that +unnatural excitement of the brain under which he laboured--relapsing +at times into silence, then uttering a multiplicity of confused +words--jabbering wildly--looking about him with that extraordinary +expression of the eye, as if every individual present was viewed as a +murderer--then starting up, and, with an overstrained and choking voice, +vociferating his frenzied thoughts, and then again relapsing into +silence. It is but little we can do for patients in this extreme +condition; but the faith his wife reposed in professional powers that +had already saved her, suggested supplications and entreaties which I +told her she had better direct to a higher Dispensator of hope and +relief. The tumultuous thoughts of the raving victim were still at +intervals rolling forth; and, all of a sudden, I was startled by a great +increase of the intensity and connectedness of his speech. He had struck +the chord that sounded most fearfully in his own ears. His attempt to +murder the creature who now sat and heard his wild confession, was +described by himself in intelligible, though broken sentences:-- + +"The fortune brought me by Espras," he vociferated, "is loaded by the +burden of herself--that glass is not well ground--you are not so ill, my +dear Espras, as to require a doctor--I cannot bear the thought of you +labouring under that necessity--who can cure you so well as your devoted +husband? Take this--fear not--why should love have suspicions? When she +is gone, I shall have a wife of whom I may not be ashamed--yet, is she +not a stranger in a foreign land? Has she not left her country, her +relations, her friends, her gods, for me, whom she has raised to +opulence? Cease, cease--I cannot stand these thoughts--there is a strife +in this heart between the powers of hell and heaven--when will it +terminate, and who shall rule my destiny?" + +These words, which he accompanied with wild gestures, were followed by +his usual indistinct muttering and jabbering. I directed my gaze upon +his wife. She sat in the chair, motionless, with her eyes fixed on the +ground as if she had been struck with death in that position, and been +stiffened into a rigidity which retained her in her place. The issues +of her tenderness and affection seemed to have been sent back upon the +heart, whose pulses they stopped. The killing pain of an ingratitude, +ingeniously heightened to the highest grade of that hell-king of all +human crimes, operating upon a mind rendered so sensitively susceptible +of its influences, paralyzed the whole moral constitution of the devoted +creature, and realized the poetical creation of despair. I felt inclined +to soften the sternness of her grief, by quickening her disbelief of the +raving thoughts of a fever-maniac; but I paused as I thought of the +probable necessity of her suspicion for her future safety from the +schemes of a murderer, whose evil desires might be resuscitated by the +return of health. I could do nothing more at that time for the dreadful +condition of the wretched husband, and less for the more dreadful state +of the miserable wife; and the personal pain I experienced in witnessing +this high-wrought scene of terror, forced me to depart, leaving the one +still raving in his madness, and the other bound in the stern grasp of +the most awful of all moral visitations. + +I expected that on my next visit I would find such a change on my +patient as would enable me to decide whether he would live or die; but +he was still delirious, with the crowded thoughts of the events of his +past life careering through his fevered brain, as if their restlessness +and agitation were produced by the burning fires that chased them from +their legitimate territory of the mind. There was, however, a change +in one quarter. His wife's confidence and affection had withstood and +triumphed over the attack of the previous day, and she was again +occupied in hanging over her raving husband, shedding on his unconscious +face the tear of pity, and supplying, by anticipation, every want that +could be supposed incident to his miserable condition. This new and +additional proof of the strength of this woman's steadfastness, in her +unparalleled fidelity and love, struck me even more forcibly than the +previous indications she had given of this extraordinary feature in her +character. But I was uncertain yet whether to construe her conduct as +salutary or dangerous to her own personal interests--a circumstance +depending on the further development of the sentiments of her husband. +On that same evening the change suspected took place: the delirium +abated, and consciousness, that had been driven forcibly from her +throne, hastened to assume the sceptre of her authority. The crisis was +past, and the patient began to be sensible of those attentions on the +part of his devoted wife, which had not only the merit of being +unremitting, but that of being sweetened by the tears of solicitude and +the blandness of love. I marked attentively the first impressions made +by her devotedness on the returning sense. I saw his look following her +eye, which was continually inflamed and bedewed by the effects of her +grief; and, after he had for a period of time fixed his half-conscious, +half-wondering gaze on her, he turned it suddenly away, but not before +he gave sufficient indications of sympathy and sorrow in a gush of +tears. These manifestations were afterwards often repeated; but I +thought I sometimes could perceive an abruptness in his manner, and a +painful impatience of the minute, refined, and ingenious attentions of a +highly-impassioned affection, which left me in doubt whether, after his +disease was removed, sufficient reliance could be placed on the +stability of his regeneration. + +In my subsequent visits I kept up my study of the operations of his mind +as well as the changes of his disease. His wife's attentions seemed +rather to increase with the improvement of his health and her increased +ability to discharge the duties of affection. He had improved so far as +to be in a condition to receive medicines for the recovery of the tone +of his stomach. I seized the opportunity of his wife leaving for a short +time his sick room, and, as I seated myself on her chair by the bedside, +I took from my pocket the powder of iron-filings and triturated glass he +had prepared for the poisoning of her who had latterly been contributing +all the energies of love to the saving of his life. + +"A chalybeate mixture," said I, while I fixed my eyes on his +countenance, "has been recommended for patients in your condition, for +improving the power of the stomach weakened by the continued nausea of +a protracted fever. Here is a powder composed of iron-filings, a good +chalybeate, which I found lying in your wife's apartment. I have none +better in my laboratory, and would recommend to you a full dose of it +before I depart." + +The electric effect of this statement was instantaneous and remarkable. +He seemed like one who had felt the sharp sting of a musket bullet sent +into his body by a hand unseen--uncertain of the nature of the wound, or +of the aim by which it is produced. A sudden suspicion relieved his +still fevered eye, which threw upon me the full blaze of staring wonder +and terror, while an accompanying uncertainty of my intention sealed his +mouth and added curiosity to his look. But I followed up my intention +resolutely and determinedly. + +"Here is on the table," continued I, "a mucilaginous vehicle for its +conveyance into the stomach. I shall prepare it instantly. To seize +quickly the handle of an auspicious occasion is the soul of our +art."--(Approaching the bed with the medicine in my hand.) + +"I cannot, I cannot take that medicine," he cried, wildly. "What means +this? Help me, Heaven, in this emergency! I cannot, I dare not take that +medicine." + +"Why?" said I, still eyeing him intently. "Is it because there is +ground glass in it? That cannot be; because I understand it was intended +for Espras, your loving, faithful wife; and who would administer so +dreadful a poison to a creature so gentle and interesting? She is, +besides, a foreigner in our land; and who would treat the poor +unprotected stranger with the dainty that has concealed in it a lurking +death? Is this the hospitality of Britain?" + +Every word was a thunderstroke to his heart. All uncertainty fled before +these flaming sarcasms, which carried, on the bolt of truth, the +keenness of his own poison. His pain became intense, and exhibited the +peculiarity of a mixture of extreme terror, directed towards me as one +that had the power of hanging him, and of intense sorrow for the injury +he had produced to the wife of his bosom, whose emaciated figure, +hanging over him in his distress, must have been deeply imprinted on +his soul. Yet it was plain that his sorrow overcame his fear; for I +saw his bosom heaving with an accumulation of hysterical emotions, which +convulsed his frame in the intense manner of the aerial ball that chokes +the female victim of excited nerves. The struggle lasted for several +minutes, and at last a burst of dissolving tenderness, removing all the +obstructions of prudence or terror, and stunning my ear with its loud +sound, afforded him a temporary relief. Tears gushed down his cheeks, +and groans of sorrow filled the room, and might have been heard in the +apartment of his wife, whose entry, I feared, might have interrupted the +extraordinary scene. Looking at me wistfully, he held out his hands, and +sobbed out, in a tone of despair-- + +"Are you my friend, or are you my enemy?" + +I answered him that I was the friend of his wife--one of the brightest +patterns of female fidelity I had ever seen; and if by declaring myself +his friend I would save her from the designs of the poisoner, and him +from the pains of the law and the fire of hell, I would instantly sign +the bond of amity. + +"You have knocked from my soul the bonds of terror," he cried out, still +sobbing; "and if I knew and were satisfied of one thing more, I would +resign myself to God and my own breaking heart. Did Espras--yet why +should I suspect one who rejects suspicion as others do the poison she +would swallow from my hand, though labelled by the apothecary?--did +Espras tell you what you have so darkly and fearfully hinted to me?" + +I replied to him that, in place of telling me, the faithful unsuspecting +creature had to that hour rejected and spurned the suspicion, as +unworthy of her pure, confiding spirit. + +"It is over!--it is over!" cried the changed man. "O God! How powerful +is virtue! How strong is the force of those qualities of the heart which +we men often treat as weak baubles to toy with, and throw away in our +fits of proud spleen--the softness, the gentleness, the fidelity and +devotedness of woman! How strangely, how wonderfully formed is the heart +of man, which, disdaining the terrors of the rope of the executioner, +breaks and succumbs at the touch of the thistle-down of a woman's love! +This creature, sir, gave me my fortune, made me what I am, left for me +her country and her friends, adhered to me through good and evil +report--and I prepared for her a cruel death! Dreadful contrast! Who +shall describe the shame, the sorrow, the humiliation, of the ingrate +whose crime has risen to the fearful altitude of this enormity; and who, +by the tenderness and love of his devoted victim, is forced to turn his +eye on the grim reward of death for love, riches, and life? Gentle, +beloved, injured Espras! that emaciated form, these trembling limbs, +these sunken eyes, and these weak and whispering sounds of pity and +affection have touched my heart with a power that never was vouchsafed +to the tongue of eloquence. Transcending the rod of Moses, they have +brought from the rock streams of blood; and every pulse is filled with +tenderness and pity. Wretched fool! I was ashamed of your nativity, +and of the colour you inherited from nature, and never estimated the +qualities of your heart; but when shall the red-and-white beauty of +England transcend my Espras in her fidelity and love, as she does in the +skin-deep tints of a beguiling, treacherous face? God! what a change has +come over this heart! Thanks, and prayers, and tears of blood, never can +express the gratitude it owes to the great Author of our being for this +miraculous return to virtue, effected by the simple means of a woman's +confidence and love." + +As he finished this impassioned speech, which I have repeated as +correctly as my memory enabled me to commit to my note-book, he turned +his eyes upwards, and remained for at least five minutes in silent +prayer. As he was about finishing his wife entered. Her appearance +called forth from his excited mind a burst of affection, and seizing her +in his arms, he wept over her like a child. He was met as fervently by +the gentle and affectionate creature, who, grateful to God for this +renewed expression of her husband's love, turned up her eyes to heaven, +and wept aloud. I never witnessed a scene like this. I left them to +their enjoyment, and returned home. + +I was subsequently a constant visitor at the house of Colonel P----; +and, about eighteen months after his recovery, I officiated as +accoucheur to his wife on the occasion of the birth of a son. Other +children followed afterwards, and bound closer the bonds of that +conjugal love which I had some hand in producing, and which I saw +increase daily through a long course of years. + + + + +THE ADOPTED SON. + +A TALE OF THE TIMES OF THE COVENANTERS. + + +"Oh, for the sword of Gideon, to rid the land of tyrants, to bring down +the pride of apostates, and to smite the ungodly with confusion!" +muttered John Brydone to himself, as he went into the fields in the +September of 1645, and beheld that the greater part of a crop of oats, +which had been cut down a few days before, was carried off. John was the +proprietor of about sixty acres on the south bank of the Ettrick, a +little above its junction with the Tweed. At the period we speak of, +the talented and ambitious Marquis of Montrose, who had long been an +apostate to the cause of the Covenant--and not only an apostate, but +its most powerful enemy--having, as he thought, completely crushed its +adherents in Scotland, in the pride of his heart led his followers +towards England, to support the tottering cause of Charles in the south, +and was now with his cavalry quartered at Selkirk, while his infantry +were encamped at Philiphaugh, on the opposite side of the river. + +Every reader has heard of Melrose Abbey--which is still venerated +in its decay, majestic in its ruins--and they have read, too, of the +abode of the northern wizard, who shed the halo of his genius over +the surrounding scenery. But many have heard of Melrose, of Scott, +and of Abbotsford, to whom the existence of Philiphaugh is unknown. +It, however, is one of those places where our forefathers laid the +foundation of our freedom with the bones of its enemies, and cemented it +with their own blood. If the stranger who visits Melrose and Abbotsford +pursue his journey a few miles farther, he may imagine that he is still +following the source of the Tweed, until he arrive at Selkirk, when he +finds that for some miles he has been upon the banks of the Ettrick, and +that the Tweed is lost among the wooded hills to the north. Immediately +below Selkirk, and where the forked river forms a sort of island, on the +opposite side of the stream, he will see a spacious haugh, surrounded by +wooded hills, and forming, if we may so speak, an amphitheatre bounded +by the Ettrick, between the Yarrow and the Tweed. Such is Philiphaugh; +where the arms of the Covenant triumphed, and where the sword of +Montrose was blunted for ever. + +Now, the sun had not yet risen, and a thick, dark mist covered the face +of the earth, when, as we have said, John Brydone went out into his +fields, and found that a quantity of his oats had been carried away. He +doubted not but they had been taken for the use of Montrose's cavalry; +and it was not for the loss of his substance that he grieved, and that +his spirit was wroth, but because it was taken to assist the enemies of +his country, and the persecutors of the truth; for than John Brydone, +humble as he was, there was not a more dauntless or a more determined +supporter of the Covenant in all Scotland. While he yet stood by the +side of his field, and, from the thickness of the morning, was unable to +discern objects at a few yards' distance, a party of horsemen rode up to +where he stood. "Countryman," said one who appeared to be their leader, +"can you inform us where the army of Montrose is encamped?" + +John, taking them to be a party of the Royalists, sullenly +replied--"There's mony ane asks the road they ken," and was proceeding +into the field. + +"Answer me!" demanded the horseman angrily, and raising a pistol in his +hand--"Sir David Lesly commands you." + +"Sir David Lesly!" cried John--"the champion of the truth!--the defender +of the good cause! If ye be Sir David Lesly, as I trow ye be, get yer +troops in readiness, and, before the mist vanish on the river, I will +deliver the host o' the Philistines into your hand." + +"See that ye play not the traitor," said Lesly, "or the nearest tree +shall be unto thee as the gallows was to Haman which he prepared for +Mordecai." + +"Do even so to me, and more also," replied John, "if ye find me false. +But think ye that I look as though I bore the mark of the beast upon my +forehead?" he continued, taking off his Lowland bonnet, and gazing +General Lesly full in the face. + +"I will trust you," said the General; and, as he spoke, the van of his +army appeared in sight. + +John having described the situation of the enemy to Sir David, acted as +their guide until they came to the Shaw Burn, when the General called a +halt. Each man having partaken of a hurried repast, by order of Sir +David, the word was given along the line that they should return thanks +for being conducted to the place where the enemy of the Kirk and his +army slept in imaginary security. The preachers at the head of the +different divisions of the army gave out a psalm, and the entire host of +the Covenanters, uncovering their heads, joined at the same moment in +thanksgiving and praise. John Brydone was not a man of tears, but, as he +joined in the psalm, they rolled down his cheeks, for his heart felt, +while his tongue uttered praise, that a day of deliverance for the +people of Scotland was at hand. The psalm being concluded, each preacher +offered up a short but earnest prayer; and each man, grasping his +weapon, was ready to lay down his life for his religion and his liberty. + +John Brydone, with his bonnet in hand, approaching Sir David, +said--"Now, sir, I that ken the ground, and the situation o' the enemy, +would advise ye, as a man who has seen some service mysel', to halve +your men; let the one party proceed by the river to attack them on the +one side, and the other go round the hills to cut off their retreat."[J] + + [J] + "But halve your men in equal parts, + Your purpose to fulfil; + Let ae half keep the water-side, + The rest gae round the hill." + _Battle of Philiphaugh--Border Ballad._ + +"Ye speak skilfully," said Sir David, and he gave orders as John Brydone +had advised. + +The Marquis of Montrose had been disappointed in reinforcements from his +sovereign. Of two parties which had been sent to assist him in his raid +into England, one had been routed in Yorkshire, and the other defeated +on Carlisle sands, and only a few individuals from both parties joined +him at Selkirk. A great part of his Highlanders had returned home to +enjoy their plunder; but his army was still formidable, and he imagined +that he had Scotland at his feet, and that he had nothing to fear from +anything the Covenanters could bring against him. He had been writing +despatches throughout the night; and he was sitting in the best house +in Selkirk, penning a letter to his sovereign, when he was startled +by the sounds of cannon and of musketry. He rushed to the street. The +inhabitants were hurrying from their houses--many of his cavalry were +mingling, half-dressed, with the crowd. "To horse!--to horse!" shouted +Montrose. His command was promptly obeyed; and, in a few minutes, at +the head of his cavalry, he rushed down the street leading to the river +towards Philiphaugh. The mist was breaking away, and he beheld his army +fleeing in every direction. The Covenanters had burst upon them as a +thunderbolt. A thousand of his best troops lay dead upon the field.[K] +He endeavoured to rally them, but in vain; and, cutting his way through +the Covenanters, he fled at his utmost speed, and halted not until he +had arrived within a short distance of where the delightful watering +town of Innerleithen now stands, when he sought a temporary +resting-place in the house of Lord Traquair. + + [K] Sir Walter Scott says that "the number of slain in the field did + not exceed three or four hundred." All the authorities I have seen state + the number at a thousand. He also accuses Lesly of abusing his victory + by slaughtering many of his prisoners in cold blood. Now, it is true that + a hundred of the Irish adventurers were shot; but this was in pursuance + of an act of both Parliaments, and not from any private revenge on the + part of General Lesly. + +John Brydone, having been furnished with a sword, had not been idle +during the engagement; but, as he had fought upon foot, and the greater +part of Lesly's army were cavalry, he had not joined in the pursuit; +and, when the battle was over, he conceived it to be as much his duty +to act the part of the Samaritan, as it had been to perform that of a +soldier. He was busied, therefore, on the field in administering, as he +could, to the wounded; and whether they were Cavalier or Covenanter, it +was all one to John; for he was not one who could trample on a fallen +foe, and in their hour of need he considered all men as brothers. He was +passing within about twenty yards of a tent upon the Haugh, which had a +superior appearance to the others--it was larger, and the cloth which +covered it was of a finer quality; when his attention was arrested by a +sound unlike all that belonged to a battle-field--the wailing and the +cries of an infant! He looked around, and near him lay the dead body of +a lady, and on her breast, locked in her cold arms, a child of a few +months old was struggling. He ran towards them--he perceived that +the lady was dead--he took the child in his arms--he held it to his +bosom--he kissed its cheek--"Puir thing!--puir thing!" said John; "the +innocent hae been left to perish amang the unrighteous." He was bearing +away the child, patting its cheek, and caressing it as he went, and +forgetting the soldier in the nurse, when he said unto himself--"Puir +innocent!--an' belike yer wrang-headed faither is fleeing for his life, +an' thinking aboot ye an' yer mother as he flees! Weel, ye may be +claimed some day, an' I maun do a' in my power to gie an account o' ye." +So John turned back towards the lifeless body of the child's mother; and +he perceived that she wore a costly ring upon her finger, and bracelets +on her arms; she also held a small parcel, resembling a book, in her +hands, as though she had fled with it, without being able to conceal it, +and almost at the door of her tent she had fallen with her child in her +arms, and her treasure in her hand. John stooped upon the ground, and +took the ring from her finger, and the bracelets from her arms; he took +also the packet from her hands, and in it he found other jewels, and a +purse of gold pieces. "These may find thee a faither, puir thing," said +he; "or if they do not, they may befriend thee when John Brydone +cannot." + +He carried home the child to his own house, and his wife having at that +time an infant daughter at her breast, she took the foundling from her +husband's arms, and became unto it as a mother, nursing it with her own +child. But John told not his wife of the purse, nor the ring, nor the +rich jewels. + +The child had been in their keeping for several weeks, but no one +appeared to claim him. "The bairn may hae been baptized," said John; +"but it wud be after the fashion o' the sons o' Belial; but he is a +brand plucked from the burning--he is my bairn noo, and I shall be unto +him as a faither--I'll tak upon me the vows--and, as though he were +flesh o' my ain flesh, I will fulfil them." So the child was baptized. +In consequence of his having been found on Philiphaugh, and of the +victory there gained, he was called Philip; and as John had adopted him +as his son, he bore also the name of Brydone. It is unnecessary for +us to follow the foundling through his years of boyhood. John had two +children--a son named Daniel, and Mary, who was nursed at his mother's +breast with the orphan Philip. As the boy grew up, he called his +protectors by the name of father and mother; but he knew they were not +such, for John had shown him the spot upon the Haugh where he had found +him wailing on the bosom of his dead mother. Frequently, too, when he +quarrelled with his playfellows, they would call him the "Philiphaugh +foundling," and "the Cavalier's brat;" and on such occasions Mary was +wont to take his part, and, weeping, say "he was her brother." As he +grew up, however, it grieved his protector to observe that he manifested +but little of the piety, and less of the sedateness of his own children. +"What is born i' the bane, isna easily rooted oot o' the flesh," said +John; and in secret he prayed and wept that his adopted son might be +brought to a knowledge of the truth. The days of the Commonwealth had +come, and John and his son Daniel rejoiced in the triumphs of the +Parliamentary armies, and the success of its fleets; but, while they +spoke, Philip would mutter between his teeth--"It is the triumph of +murderers!" He believed that but for the ascendancy of the Commonwealth, +he might have obtained some tidings of his family; and this led him to +hate a cause which the activity of his spirit might have tempted him to +embrace. + +Mary Brydone had always been dear to him; and, as he grew towards +manhood, he gazed on her beautiful features with delight; but it was not +the calm delight of a brother contemplating the fair face of a sister; +for Philip's heart glowed as he gazed, and the blush gathered on his +cheek. One summer evening they were returning from the fields together, +the sun was sinking in the west, the Ettrick murmured along by their +side, and the voice of the wood-dove was heard from the copse-wood which +covered the hills. + +"Why are you so sad, brother Philip?" said Mary; "would you hide +anything from your own sister?" + +"Do not call me _brother_, Mary," said he earnestly--"do not call me +_brother_!" + +"Who would call you brother, Philip, if I did not?" returned she +affectionately. + +"Let Daniel call me brother," said he, eagerly; "but not you--not you!" + +She burst into tears. "When did I offend you, Philip," she added, "that +I may not call you brother?" + +"Never, Mary!--never!" he exclaimed; "call me Philip--_your_ +Philip!--anything but brother!" He took her hand within his--he pressed +it to his bosom. "Mary," he added, "I have neither father, mother, +brother, nor kindred--I am alone in the world--let there be something +that I can call _mine_--something that will love me in return! Do you +understand me, Mary?" + +"You are cruel, Philip," said she, sobbing as she spoke; "you know I +love you--I have always loved you!" + +"Yes! as you love Daniel--as you love your father; but not as"---- + +"You love Mr. Duncan," he would have said; but his heart upbraided him +for the suspicion, and he was silent. It is here necessary to inform the +reader that Mr. Duncan was a preacher of the Covenant, and John Brydone +revered him much. He was much older than Mary, but his heart cleaved to +her, and he had asked her father's consent to become his son-in-law. +John, though a stern man, was not one who would force the inclination +of his daughter; but Mr. Duncan was, as he expressed it, "one of the +faithful in Israel," and his proposal was pleasing to him. Mary, +however, regarded the preacher with awe, but not with affection. + +Mary felt that she understood Philip--that she loved him, and not as a +brother. She hid her face upon his shoulder, and her hand returned the +pressure of his. They entered the house together, and her father +perceived that his daughter's face was troubled. The manner of both was +changed. He was a shrewd man as well as a stern man, and he also +suspected the cause. + +"Philip," said he calmly, "for twenty years hae I protected ye, an' +watched ower ye wi' a faither's care, an' I fear that, in return +for my care, ye hae brought sorrow into the bosom o' my family, an' +instilled disobedience into the flesh o' my ain flesh. But though +ye hae cleaved--as it maun hae been inherent in your bluid--into the +principles o' the sons o' this warld, yet, as I ne'er found ye guilty +o' a falsehood, an' as I believe ye incapable o' are, tell me truly, +why is your countenance an' that o' Mary changed--and why are ye baith +troubled to look me straight in the face? Answer me--hae ye taught her +to forget that she is your sister?" + +"Yes!" answered Philip; "and can it offend the man who saved me, who has +watched over me, and sheltered me from infancy till now, that I should +wish to be his son in more than in name?" + +"It does offend me, Philip," said the Covenanter; "even unto death it +offends me! I hae consented that my dochter shall gie her hand to a +guid an' a godly man, who will look after her weelfare baith here and +hereafter. And ye kenned this--she kenned it, and she didna refuse; but +ye hae come like the son o' darkness, an' sawn tares amang the wheat." + +"Father," said Philip, "if you will still allow me to call you by that +name--foundling though I am--unknown as I am--in what am I worse than +him to whom you would sacrifice your daughter's happiness?" + +"Sacrifice her happiness!" interrupted the old man; "hoo daur ye speak +o' happiness, wha kens nae meanin' for the word but the vain pleasures +o' this sinfu' warld! Think ye that, as a faither, an' as ane that has +my offspring to answer for, that I daur sacrifice the eternal happiness +o' my bairn, for the gratification o' a temporary feelin' which ye +encourage the day and may extinguish the morn? Na, sir; they wha wad ken +what true happiness is, maun first learn to crucify human passions. +Mary," added he, sternly, turning to his daughter, "repeat the fifth +commandment." + +She had been weeping before, and she now wept aloud. + +"Repeat it!" replied her father yet more sternly. + +"Honour thy father and thy mother," added she, sobbing as she spoke. + +"See, then, bairn," replied her father, "that ye remember that +commandment in yer heart, as weel as on yer tongue. Remember, too, that +o' a' the commands, it's the only ane to which a promise is attached; +and, noo, mark what I say, an', as ye wadna disobey me, see, at yer +peril, that ye ne'er permit this young man to speak to ye again, save +only as a brither." + +"Sir," said Philip, "we have grown up together like twin tendrils on the +same vine, and can ye wonder that our hearts have become entwined round +each other, or that they can tear asunder because ye command it! Or, +could I look on the face of an angel"---- + +"Out on ye, blasphemer!" interrupted the Covenanter--"wad ye apply +siccan epithets to a bairn o' mine? Once for all, hear me, Philip; there +are but twa ways o't, and ye can tak yer choice. It's the first time I +hae spoken to ye roughly, but it isna the first time my spirit has +mourned ower ye. I hae tried to lead ye in the right path; ye hae had +baith precept and example afore ye; but the leaven o' this warld--the +leaven o' the persecutors o' the Kirk and the Covenant--was in yer very +bluid; an' I believe, if opportunity had offered, ye wad hae drawn yer +sword in the unholy cause. A' that I could say, an' a' that I could do, +religion has ne'er had ony place in yer heart; but ye hae yearned aboot +yer faither, and ye hae mourned aboot yer mother--an' that was natural +aneugh--but oh! ye hae also desired to cling to the cauld formality o' +Episcopacy, as they nae doot did: an' should ye e'er discover that yer +parents hae been Papists, I believe that ye wad become ane too! An' +aften, when the conversation turned upon the apostate Montrose, or the +gallant Lesly, I hae seen ye manifest the spirit an' the very look o' a +persecutor. Were I to gie up my dochter to such a man, I should be worse +than the heathen wha sacrifice their offspring to the abomination o' +idols. Noo, Philip, as I hae tauld ye, there are but twa ways o't. +Either this very hour gie me your solemn promise that ye will think o' +Mary as to be yer wife nae mair, or, wi' the risin' o' to-morrow's sun, +leave this house for ever!" + +"Sir," said Philip bitterly, "your last command I can obey, though it +would be with a sad heart--though it would be in despair--your first I +cannot--I will not!" + +"You must--you _shall_!" replied the Covenanter. + +"Never," answered Philip. + +"Then," replied the old man, "leave the roof that has sheltered ye frae +yer cradle!" + +"I will!" said Philip, and the tears ran down his cheeks. He walked +towards Mary, and, with a faltering voice, said--"Farewell, +Mary!--Farewell! I did not expect this; but do not forget me--do +not give your hand to another--and we shall meet again!" + +"You shall not!" interrupted the inexorable old man. + +Mary implored her father, for her sake, and for the sake of her departed +mother, who had loved Philip as her own son, that he would not drive him +from the house, and Daniel, too, entreated; but their supplications were +vain. + +"Farewell, then!" said Philip; "and, though I depart in misery, let it +not be with thy curse, but let the blessing of him who has been to me a +father until now, go with me." + +"The blessin' o' Heaven be wi' ye and around ye, Philip!" groaned the +Covenanter, struggling to conceal a tear: "but, if ye will follow the +dictates o' yer rebellious heart and leave us, tak wi' ye yer property." + +"My property!" replied Philip. + +"Yer property," returned the old man. "Twenty years has it lain in that +drawer, an' during that time eyes hae not seen it, nor fingers touched +it. It will assist ye noo; an' when ye enter the warld, may throw some +light upon yer parentage." + +He went to a small drawer, and, unlocking it, took out the jewels, the +bracelet, the ring, and the purse of gold, and, placing them in Philip's +hands, exclaimed--"Fareweel!--fareweel!--but it maun be!" and he turned +away his head. + +"O Mary!" cried Philip, "keep--keep this in remembrance of me," as he +attempted to place the ring in her hand. + +"Awa, sir!" exclaimed the old man, vehemently, "wad ye bribe my bairn +into disobedience, by the ornaments o' folly an' iniquity! Awa, ye son +o' Belial, an' provoke me not to wrath!" + +Philip groaned, he dashed his hand upon his brow, and rushed from the +house. Mary wept long and bitterly, and Daniel walked to and fro across +the room, mourning for one whom he loved as a brother. The old man went +out into the fields to conceal the agony of his spirit; and, when he had +wandered for a while, he communed with himself, saying, "I hae dune +foolishly, an' an ungodly action hae I performed this nicht; I hae +driven oot a young man upon a wicked warld, wi' a' his sins an' his +follies on his head; an', if evil come upon him, or he plunge into the +paths o' wickedness, his bluid an' his guilt will be laid at my hands! +Puir Philip!" he added; "after a', he had a kind heart!" And the stern +old man drew the sleeve of his coat across his eyes. In this frame of +mind he returned to the house. "Has Philip not come back?" said he, as +he entered. His son shook his head sorrowfully, and Mary sobbed more +bitterly. + +"Rin ye awa doun to Melrose, Daniel," said he, "an' I'll awa up to +Selkirk, an' inquire for him, an' bring him back. Yer faither has +allowed passion to get the better o' him, an' to owercome baith the man +an' the Christian." + +"Run, Daniel, run!" cried Mary eagerly. And the old man and his son went +out in search of him. + +Their inquiries were fruitless. Days, weeks, and months rolled on, but +nothing more was heard of poor Philip. Mary refused to be comforted; and +the exhortations, the kindness, and the tenderness shown towards her by +the Rev. Mr. Duncan, if not hateful, were disagreeable. Dark thoughts, +too, had taken possession of her father's mind, and he frequently sank +into melancholy; for the thought haunted him that his adopted son, on +being driven from his house, had laid violent hands upon his own life; +and this idea embittered every day of his existence. + +More than ten years had passed since Philip had left the house of John +Brydone. The Commonwealth was at an end, and the second Charles had been +recalled; but exile had not taught him wisdom, nor the fate of his +father discretion. He madly attempted to be the lord and ruler of the +people's conscience, as well as King of Britain. He was a libertine with +some virtues--a bigot without religion. In the pride, or rather folly of +his heart, he attempted to force Prelacy upon the people of Scotland; +and he let his bloodhounds loose, to hunt the followers of the Covenant +from hill to hill, to murder them on their own hearths, and, with the +blood of his victims, to blot out the word _conscience_ from the +vocabulary of Scotchmen. The Covenanters sought their God in the desert +and on the mountains which He had reared; they worshipped him in the +temples which His own hands had framed; and there the persecutor sought +them, the destroyer found them, and the sword of the tyrant was bathed +in the blood of the worshipper! Even the family altar was profaned; and +to raise the voice of prayer and praise in the cottage to the King of +kings, was held to be as treason against him who professed to represent +Him on earth. At this period, too, Graham of Claverhouse--whom some have +painted as an angel, but whose actions were worthy of a fiend--at the +head of his troopers, who were called by the profane, _the ruling elders +of the kirk_, was carrying death and cold-blooded cruelty throughout the +land. + +Now, it was on a winter night in the year 1677, a party of troopers were +passing near the house of old John Brydone, and he was known to them not +only as being one who was a defender of the Covenant, but also as one +who harboured the preachers, and whose house was regarded as a +conventicle. + +"Let us rouse the old psalm-singing heretic who lives here from his +knees," said one of the troopers. + +"Ay, let us stir him up," said the sergeant who had the command of the +party; "he is an old offender, and I don't see we can make a better +night's work than drag him along, bag and baggage, to the captain. I +have heard as how it was he that betrayed our commander's kinsman, the +gallant Montrose." + +"Hark! hark!--softly! softly!" said another, "let us dismount--hear how +the nasal drawl of the conventicle moans through the air! My horse +pricks his ears at the sound already. We shall catch them in the act." + +Eight of the party dismounted, and, having given their horses in charge +to four of their comrades, who remained behind, walked on tiptoe to the +door of the cottage. They heard the words given and sung-- + + "When cruel men against us rose + To make of us their prey!" + +"Why, they are singing treason," said one of the troopers. "What more do +we need?" + +The sergeant placed his forefinger on his lips, and for about ten +minutes they continued to listen. The song of praise ceased, and a +person commenced to read a chapter. They heard him also expound to his +hearers as he read. + +"It is enough," said the sergeant; and, placing their shoulders against +the door, it was burst open. "You are our prisoners!" exclaimed the +troopers, each man grasping a sword in his right hand, and a pistol in +the left. + +"It is the will of Heaven!" said the Rev. Mr. Duncan; for it was he +who had been reading and expounding the Scriptures; "but, if ye stretch +forth your hands against a hair o' our heads, HE, without whom a sparrow +cannot fall to the ground, shall remember it against ye at the great day +o' reckoning, when the trooper will be stripped of his armour, and his +right hand shall be a witness against him!" + +The soldiers burst into a laugh of derision. "No more of your homily, +reverend oracle," said the sergeant; "I have an excellent recipe for +short sermons here; utter another word and you shall have it!" The +troopers laughed again, and the sergeant, as he spoke, held his pistol +in the face of the preacher. + +Besides the clergyman, there were in the room old John Brydone, his son +Daniel, and Mary. + +"Well, old greybeard," said the sergeant, addressing John, "you have +been reported as a dangerous and disaffected Presbyterian knave, as +we find you to be; you are also accused of being a harbourer and an +accomplice of the preachers of sedition; and, lo! we have found also +that your house is used as a conventicle. We have caught you in the act, +and we shall take every soul of you as evidence against yourselves. So +come along, old boy--I should only be doing my duty by blowing your +brains against the wall; but that is a ceremony which our commander may +wish to see performed in his own presence!" + +"Sir," said John, "I neither fear ye nor your armed men. Tak me to the +bloody Claverhouse, if you will, and at the day o' judgment it shall be +said--'_Let the murderers o' John Brydone stand forth!_'" + +"Let us despatch them at once," said one of the troopers. + +"Nay," said the sergeant; "bind them together, and drive them before us +to the captain: I don't know but he may wish to _do justice_ to them +with his own hand." + +"The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," groaned Mr. Duncan. + +Mary wrung her hands--"Oh, spare my father!" she cried. + +"Wheesht, Mary!" said the old man; "as soon wad a camel pass through the +eye o' a needle, as ye wad find compassion in the hands o' these men!" + +"Bind the girl and the preacher together," said the sergeant. + +"Nay, by your leave, sergeant," interrupted one of the troopers, "I +wouldn't be the man to lift a hand against a pretty girl like that, if +you would give me a regiment for it." + +"Ay, ay, Macdonald," replied the sergeant--"this comes of your serving +under that canting fellow, Lieutenant Mowbray--he has no love for the +service; and confound me if I don't believe he is half a Roundhead in +his heart. Tie the hands of the girl, I command you." + +"I will not!" returned Macdonald; "and hang me if any one else shall!" +And, with his sword in his hand, he placed himself between Mary and his +comrades. + +"If you do not bind her hands, I shall cause others to bind yours," said +the sergeant. + +"They may try that who dare!" returned the soldier, who was the most +powerful man of the party; "but what I've said I'll stand to." + +"You shall answer for this to-morrow," said the sergeant, sullenly, who +feared to provoke a quarrel with the trooper. + +"I will answer it," replied the other. + +John Brydone, his son Daniel, and the Rev. Mr. Duncan, were bound +together with strong cords, and driven from the house. They were +fastened, also, to the horses of the troopers. As they were dragged +along, the cries and the lamentations of Mary followed them; and the +troopers laughed at her wailing, or answered her cries with mockery, +till the sound of her grief became inaudible in the distance, when again +they imitated her cries, to harrow up the feelings of her father. + +Claverhouse, and a party of his troops, were then in the neighbourhood +of Traquair; and before that man, who knew not what mercy was, John +Brydone, and his son, and the preacher were brought. It was on the +afternoon of the day following that on which they had been made +prisoners, that Claverhouse ordered them to be brought forth. He was +sitting, with wine before him, in the midst of his officers; and amongst +them was Lieutenant Mowbray, whose name was alluded to by the sergeant. + +"Well, knaves!" began Claverhouse, "ye have been singing, praying, +preaching, and holding conventicles.--Do ye know how Grahame of +Claverhouse rewards such rebels?" + +As the prisoners entered, Lieutenant Mowbray turned away his head, and +placed his hand upon his brow. + +"Sir," said John, addressing Claverhouse, "I'm neither knave nor +rebel--I hae lifted up my voice to the God o' my faithers, according to +my conscience; and, unworthy as I am o' the least o' His benefits, for +threescore years and ten he has been my shepherd and deliverer, and, if +it be good in His sight, He will deliver me now. My trust is in Him, and +I fear neither the frown nor the sword o' the persecutor." + +"Have done, grey-headed babbler!" cried Claverhouse. + +Lieutenant Mowbray, who still sat with his face from the prisoners, +raised his handkerchief to his eyes. + +"Captain," said Mr. Duncan, "there's a day coming when ye shall stand +before the great Judge, as we now stand before you; and when the +remembrance o' this day, and the blood o' the righteous which ye hae +shed, shall be written with letters o' fire on yer ain conscience, and +recorded against ye; and ye shall call upon the rocks and mountains to +cover ye"---- + +"Silence!" exclaimed Claverhouse. "Away with them!" he added, waving his +hand to his troopers--"shoot them before sunrise!" + +Shortly after the prisoners had been conveyed from the presence of +Claverhouse, Lieutenant Mowbray withdrew; and having sent for the +soldier who had interfered on behalf of Mary--"Macdonald," he began, +"you were present yesterday when the prisoners, who are to die +to-morrow, were taken. Where did you find them?" + +"In the old man's house," replied the soldier; and he related all that +he had seen, and how he had interfered to save the daughter. The heart +of the officer was touched, and he walked across his room, as one whose +spirit was troubled. "You did well, Macdonald!" said he, at length--"you +did well!" He was again silent, and again he added--"And you found the +preacher in the old man's house--_you found_ HIM _there_!" There was an +anxious wildness in the tone of the lieutenant. + +"We found him there," replied the soldier. + +The officer was again silent--again he thoughtfully paced across the +floor of his apartment. At length, turning to the soldier, he added--"I +can trust you, Macdonald. When night has set in, take your horse and +ride to the house of the elder prisoner, and tell his daughter--the +maiden whom you saved--to have horses in readiness for her father, +her brother, and--and her--her _husband!_" said the lieutenant, +faltering as he spoke; and when he had pronounced the word _husband_, +he again paused, as though his heart were full. The soldier was +retiring--"Stay," added the officer, "tell her, her father, her brother, +and--the preacher, shall not die; before daybreak she shall see them +again; and give her this ring as a token that ye speak truly." + +He took a ring from his finger, and gave it into the hands of the +soldier. + +It was drawing towards midnight. The troops of Claverhouse were +quartered around the country, and his three prisoners, still bound +to each other, were confined in a small farm-house, from which the +inhabitants had been expelled. They could hear the heavy and measured +tread of the sentinel pacing backward and forward in front of the house; +the sound of his footsteps seemed to measure out the moments between +them and eternity. After they had sung a psalm and prayed together--"I +am auld," said John Brydone, "and I fear not to die, but rather glory to +lay down my life for the great cause; but, oh, Daniel! my heart yearns +that yer bluid also should be shed--had they only spared ye, to hae been +a protector to our puir Mary!--or had I no driven Philip frae the +house"---- + +"Mention not the name of the cast-away," said the minister. + +"Dinna mourn, faither," answered Daniel, "an arm mair powerful than that +of man will be her supporter and protector." + +"Amen!" responded Mr. Duncan. "She has aye been cauld to me, and has +turned the ear o' the deaf adder to the voice o' my affection; but even +noo, when my thochts should be elsewhere, the thocht o' her burns in my +heart like a coal." + +While they yet spoke, a soldier, wrapt up in a cloak, approached the +sentinel, and said-- + +"It is a cold night, brother." + +"Piercing," replied the other, striking his feet upon the ground. + +"You are welcome to a mouthful of my spirit-warmer," added the first, +taking a bottle from beneath his cloak. + +"Thank ye!" rejoined the sentinel; "but I don't know your voice. You +don't belong to our corps, I think." + +"No," answered the other; "but it matters not for that--brother soldiers +should give and take." + +The sentinel took the bottle and raised it to his lips; he drank, and +swore the liquor was excellent. + +"Drink again," said the other; "you are welcome; it is as good as a +double cloak around you." And the sentinel drank again. + +"Good night, comrade," said the trooper. "Good night," replied the +sentinel; and the stranger passed on. + +Within half an hour, the same soldier, still muffled up in his cloak, +returned. The sentinel had fallen against the door of the house, and was +fast asleep. The stranger proceeded to the window--he raised it--he +entered. "Fear nothing," he whispered to the prisoners, who were bound +to staples that had been driven into the opposite wall of the room. He +cut the cords with which their hands and their feet were fastened. + +"Heaven reward ye for the mercy o' yer heart, and the courage o' this +deed," said John. + +"Say nothing," whispered their deliverer, "but follow me." + +Each man crept from the window, and the stranger again closed it behind +them. "Follow me, and speak not," whispered he again; and, walking at +his utmost speed, he conducted them for several miles across the hills; +but still he spoke not. Old John marvelled at the manner of their +deliverer; and he marvelled yet more when he led them to Philiphaugh, +and to the very spot where, more than thirty years before, he had found +the child on the bosom of its dead mother; and there the stranger stood +still, and, turning round to those he had delivered--"Here we part," +said he; "hasten to your own house, but tarry not. You will find horses +in readiness, and flee into Westmoreland; inquire there for the person +to whom this letter is addressed; he will protect you." And he put a +sealed letter into the hands of the old man, and, at the same time, +placed a purse in the hands of Daniel, saying, "This will bear your +expenses by the way--Farewell!--farewell!" They would have detained him, +but he burst away, again exclaiming, as he ran--"Farewell!" + +"This is a marvellous deliverance," said John; "it is a mystery, an' +for him to leave us on this spot--on _this very spot_--where puir +Philip"---- And here the heart of the old man failed him. + +We need not describe the rage of Claverhouse, when he found, on the +following day, that the prisoners had escaped; and how he examined and +threatened the sentinels with death, and cast suspicious glances upon +Lieutenant Mowbray; but he feared to accuse him, or quarrel with him +openly. + +As John, with the preacher and his son, approached the house, Mary heard +their footsteps, rushed out to meet them, and fell weeping upon her +father's neck. "My bairn!" cried the old man; "we are restored to ye as +from the dead! Providence has dealt wi' us in mercy an' in mystery." + +His four farm-horses were in readiness for their flight; and Mary told +him how the same soldier who had saved her from sharing their fate, had +come to their house at midnight, and assured her that they should not +die, and to prepare for their flight; "and," added she, "in token that +he who had sent him would keep his promise towards you, he gave me this +ring, requesting me to wear it for your deliverer's sake." + +"It is Philip's ring!" cried the old man, striking his hand before his +eyes--"it is Philip's ring!" + +"_My_ Philip's!" exclaimed Mary; "oh, then, he lives!--he lives!" + +The preacher leaned his brow against the walls of the cottage and +groaned. + +"It is still a mystery," said the old man, yet pressing his hands before +his eyes in agony; "but it is--it maun be him. It was Philip that saved +us--that conducted us to the very spot where I found him! But, oh," he +added, "I wad rather I had died, than lived to ken that he has drawn his +sword in the ranks o' the oppressor, and to murder the followers after +the truth." + +"Oh, dinna think that o' him, father!" exclaimed Mary; "Philip wadna--he +couldna draw his sword but to defend the helpless!" + +Knowing that they had been pursued and sought after, they hastened their +flight to England, to seek the refuge to which their deliverer had +directed them. But as they drew near to the Borders, the Rev. Mr. Duncan +suddenly exclaimed--"Now, here we must part--part for ever! It is not +meet that I should follow ye farther. When the sheep are pursued by +the wolves, the shepherd should not flee from them. Farewell, dear +friends--and, oh! farewell to you, Mary! Had it been sinful to hae loved +you, I would hae been a guilty man this day--for, oh! beyond a' that is +under the sun, ye hae been dear to my heart, and your remembrance has +mingled wi' my very devotions. But I maun root it up, though, in so +doing, I tear my very heart-strings. Fareweel!--fareweel! Peace be wi' +you--and may ye be a' happier than will ever be the earthly lot o' +Andrew Duncan!" + +The tears fell upon Mary's cheeks; for, though she could not love, she +respected the preacher, and she esteemed him for his worth. Her father +and brother entreated him to accompany them. "No! no!" he answered; "I +see how this flight will end. Go--there is happiness in store for you; +but my portion is with the dispersed and the persecuted." And he turned +and left them. + +Lieutenant Mowbray was disgusted with the cold-blooded butchery of the +service in which he was engaged; and, a few days after the escape of +John Brydone and his son, he threw up his commission, and proceeded to +Dumfriesshire. It was a Sabbath evening, and near nightfall; he had +wandered into the fields alone, for his spirit was heavy. Sounds of rude +laughter broke upon his ear; and, mingled with the sound of mirth, was a +voice as if in earnest prayer. He hurried to a small wood from whence +the sounds proceeded, and there he beheld four troopers, with their +pistols in their hands, and before them was a man, who appeared to be +a preacher, bound to a tree. + +"Come, old Psalmody!" cried one of the troopers, raising his pistol, and +addressing their intended victim, who was engaged in prayer; "make +ready--we have other jobs on hand--and we gave you time to speak a +prayer, but not to preach." + +Mowbray rushed forward. He sprang between the troopers and their victim. +"Hold! ye murderers, hold!" he exclaimed. "Is it thus that ye disgrace +the name of soldiers by washing your hands in the blood of the +innocent?" + +They knew Mowbray, and they muttered, "You are no officer of ours now; +he is our prisoner, and our orders ere to shoot every conventicle knave +who falls into our hands." + +"Shame on him who would give such orders!" said Mowbray; "and shame on +those who would execute them! There," added he, "there is money! I will +ransom him." + +With an imprecation, they took the money that was offered them, and left +their prisoner to Mowbray. He approached the tree where they had bound +him--he started back--it was the Rev. Andrew Duncan! + +"Rash man!" exclaimed Mowbray, as he again stepped forward to unloose +the cords that bound him. "Why have ye again cast yourself into the +hands of the men who seek your blood? Do you hold your life so cheap, +that, in one week, ye would risk to sell it twice? Why did not ye, with +your father, your brother, and your _wife_, flee into England, where +protection was promised!" + +"My father!--my brother!--my wife!--mine!--mine!" repeated the preacher +wildly. "There are no such names for my tongue to utter!--none!--none to +drop their love as morning dew upon the solitary soul o' Andrew Duncan!" + +"Are they murdered?" exclaimed Mowbray, suddenly, in a voice of agony. + +"Murdered!" said the preacher, with increased bewilderment. "What do you +mean?--or wha' do you mean?" + +"Tell me," cried Mowbray, eagerly; "are not you the husband of Mary +Brydone?" + +"Me!--me!" cried the preacher. "No!--no!--I loved her as the laverock +loves the blue lift in spring, and her shadow cam between me and my ain +soul--but she wadna hearken unto my voice--she is nae wife o' mine!" + +"Thank Heaven!" exclaimed Mowbray; and he clasped his hands together. + +It is necessary, however, that we now accompany John Brydone and his +family in their flight into Westmoreland. The letter which their +deliverer had put into their hands was addressed to a Sir Frederic +Mowbray; and, when they arrived at the house of the old knight, the +heart of the aged Covenanter almost failed him for a moment; for it was +a proud-looking mansion, and those whom he saw around wore the dress of +the Cavaliers. + +"Who are ye?" inquired the servant who admitted them to the house. + +"Deliver this letter into the hands of your master," said the +Covenanter; "our business is with him." + +"It is the handwriting of Master Edward," said the servant, as he took +the letter into his hand; and, having conducted them to a room, he +delivered it to Sir Frederic. + +In a few minutes the old knight hurried into the room, where the +Covenanter, and his son and his daughter, stood. "Welcome, thrice +welcome!" he cried, grasping the hand of the old man; "here you shall +find a resting-place and a home, with no one to make you afraid." + +He ordered wine and food to be placed before them, and he sat down with +them. + +Now John marvelled at the kindness of his host, and his heart burned +within him; and, in the midst of all, he thought of the long-lost +Philip, and how he had driven him from his house--and his cheek glowed +and his heart throbbed with anxiety. His son marvelled also, and Mary's +bosom swelled with strange thoughts--tears gathered in her eyes, and she +raised the ring that had been the token of her father's deliverance to +her lips. + +"Oh, sir," said the Covenanter, "pardon the freedom o' a plain blunt +man, and o' ane whose bosom is burning wi' anxiety; but there is a +mystery, there is _something_ attending my deliverance, an' the +letter, and your kindness, that I canna see through--and I hope, and +I fear--and I canna--I _daurna_ comprehend how it is!--but, as it were, +the past--the lang bygane past, and the present, appear to hae met +thegither! It is makin' my head dizzy wi' wonder, for there seems in a' +this a something that concerns you, and that concerns me, and _one_ that +I mayna name." + +"Your perplexity," said Sir Frederic, "may be best relieved, by stating +to you, in a few words, one or two circumstances of my history. Having, +from family affliction, left this country, until within these four +years, I held a commission in the army of the Prince of Orange. I was +present at the battle of Seneff; it was my last engagement; and in the +regiment which I commanded, there was a young Scottish volunteer, to +whose bravery, during the battle, I owed my life. In admiration and +gratitude for his conduct, I sent for him after the victory, to present +him to the prince. He came. I questioned him respecting his birth and +his family. He was silent--he burst into tears. I urged him to speak. +He said, of his real name he knew nothing--of his family he knew +nothing--all that he knew was, that he had been the adopted son of a +good and a Christian man, who had found him on Philiphaugh, on the +lifeless bosom of his mother!" + +"Merciful Heaven! my puir, injured Philip!" exclaimed the aged +Covenanter, wringing his hands. + +"My brother!" cried Daniel eagerly. Mary wept. + +"Oh, sir!" continued Sir Frederic, "words cannot paint my feelings as he +spoke! I had been at the battle of Philiphaugh! and, not dreaming that a +conflict was at hand, my beloved wife, with our infant boy, my little +Edward, had joined me but the day before. At the first noise of Lesly's +onset, I rushed from our tent--I left my loved ones there! Our army was +stricken with confusion--I never beheld them again! I grasped the hand +of the youth--I gazed in his face as though my soul would have leaped +from my eyelids. 'Do not deceive me!' I cried; and he drew from his +bosom the ring and the bracelets of my Elizabeth!" + +Here the old knight paused and wept, and tears ran down the cheeks of +John Brydone, and the cheeks of his children. + +They had not been many days in Westmoreland, and they were seated around +the hospitable hearth of the good knight in peace, when two horsemen +arrived at the door. + +"It is our friend, Mr. Duncan, and a stranger!" said the Covenanter, as +he beheld them from the window. + +"They are welcome--for your sake, they are welcome," said Sir Frederic; +and while he yet spoke, the strangers entered. "My son, my son!" he +continued, and hurried forward to meet him. + +"Say also your _daughter_!" said Edward Mowbray, as he approached +towards Mary, and pressed her to his breast. + +"Philip!--my own Philip!" exclaimed Mary, and speech failed her. + +"My brother!" said Daniel. + +"He was dead, and is alive again--he was lost, and is found," exclaimed +John. "O, Philip, man! do ye forgi'e me?" + +The adopted son pressed the hand of his foster-father. + +"It is enough," replied the Covenanter. + +"Yes, he forgives you!" exclaimed Mr. Duncan; "and he has forgiven me. +When we were in prison and in bonds waiting for death, he risked his +life to deliver us, and he did deliver us; and a second time he has +rescued me from the sword of the destroyer, and from the power of the +men who thirsted for my blood. He is no enemy o' the Covenant--he is the +defender o' the persecuted; and the blessing o' Andrew Duncan is all he +can bequeath, for a life twice saved, upon his deliverer, and Mary +Brydone." + +Need we say that Mary bestowed her hand upon Edward Mowbray? but, in the +fondness of her heart, she still called him "her Philip!" + + + + +THE FORTUNES OF WILLIAM WIGHTON. + + +My departure from Edinburgh was sudden and mysterious; and it was high +time that I was away, for I was but a reckless boy at the best. My uncle +was both sore vexed and weary of me, for I was never out of one mishap +until I was into another; but one illumination night in the city put +them all into the rear--I had, by it, got far ahead of all my former +exploits. Very early next morning, I got notice from a friend that the +bailies were very desirous of an interview with me; and, to do me more +honour, I was to be escorted into their presence. I had no inclination +for such honour, particularly at this time. I saw that our discourse +could not be equally agreeable to both parties; besides they, I +knew, would put questions to me I could not well answer to their +satisfaction--though, after all, there was more of devilry than +roguery in anything I had been engaged in. + +I was not long in making up my mind; for I saw Archibald Campbell and +two of the town-guard at the head of the close as I stepped out at the +stair-foot. I had no doubt that I was the person they wished to honour +with their accompaniment to the civic authorities. I was out at the +bottom of the close like thought. I believe they never got sight of me. +I kept in hiding all day--neither my uncle nor any of my friends knew +where I was to be found. After it was dark, I ventured into town; but no +farther than the Low Calton, where dwelt an old servant of my father's, +who had been my nurse after the death of my mother. She was a widow, and +lived in one of the ground flats, where she kept a small retail shop. +Poor creature! she loved me as if I had been her own child, and wept +when I told her the dilemma I was in. She promised to conceal me until +the storm blew over, and to make my peace once more with my uncle, if I +would promise to be a good boy in future. She made ready for me a +comfortable supper, and a bed in her small back room. Weary sitting +alone, I went to rest, and soon fell into a sound sleep. I had lain +thus, I know not how long, when I was roused by a loud noise, as if some +person or persons had fallen on the floor above; and voices in angry +altercation struck my ear. + +The weather being cold, my nurse had put on a fire in the grate, which +still burned bright, and gave the room a cheerful appearance. I looked +up--the angry voices continued, and there was a continued beating upon +the floor at intervals, and, apparently, a great struggling, as if two +people were engaged in wrestling. I attempted to fall asleep again, but +in vain. For half an hour there had been little intermission of the +noise. The ceiling of the room was composed only of the flooring of the +story above; so that the thumping and scuffling were most annoying, +reminding one of the sound of a drum overhead. I rose in anger from my +bed, and, seizing the poker, beat up upon the ceiling pretty smartly. +The sound ceased for a short space, and I crept into bed again. I was +just on the point of falling asleep when the beating and struggling were +renewed, and with them my anger. I rose from bed in great fury, resolved +at least to make those who annoyed me rise from the floor. I looked +round for something sharp, to prick them through the joinings of the +flooring-deals. By bad luck, I found upon the mantel-piece an old worn +knife, with a thin and sharp point. I mounted upon the table, and thus +reached the ceiling with my hand. The irritating noise seemed to +increase. I placed the point in one of the joints, and gave a push +up--it would not enter. I exerted my strength, when--I shall never +forget that moment--it ran up to the hilt!--a heavy groan followed; I +drew it back covered with blood! I stood upon the table stupified with +horror, gazing upon the ensanguined blade; two or three heavy drops of +blood fell upon my face and went into my eyes. I leaped from the table, +and placed the knife where I had found it. The noise ceased; but heavy +drops of blood continued to fall and coagulate upon the floor at my +feet. I felt stupified with fear and anguish--my eyes were riveted upon +the blood which--drop, drop, drop--fell upon the floor. I had stood thus +for some time before the danger I was in occurred to me. I started, +hastily put on my clothes, and, opening the window, leapt out, fled by +the back of the houses, past the Methodist chapel, up the back stairs +into Shakspeare square, and along Princes' street; nor did I slacken my +pace until I was a considerable way out of town. + +I was now miserable. The night was dark as a dungeon; but not half so +dark as my own thoughts. I had deprived a fellow-creature of life! In +vain did I say to myself that it was done with no evil intention on my +part. I had been too rash in using the knife; and my conscience was +against me. I was at this very time, also, in hiding for my rashness +and folly in other respects. I trembled at the first appearance of +day, lest I should be apprehended as a murderer. Dawn found me in the +neighbourhood of Bathgate. Cold and weary as I was, I dared not approach +a house or the public road, but lay concealed in a wood all day, under +sensations of the utmost horror. Towards evening, I cautiously emerged +from my hiding-place. Compelled by hunger, I entered a lonely house +at a distance from the public road, and, for payment, obtained some +refreshment, and got my benumbed limbs warmed. During my stay, I avoided +all unnecessary conversation. I trembled lest they would speak of the +murder in Edinburgh; for, had they done so, my agitation must have +betrayed me. After being refreshed, I left the hospitable people, and +pursued, under cover of the night, my route to Glasgow, which I reached +a short time after daybreak. Avoiding the public streets, I entered the +first change-house I found open at this early hour, where I obtained a +warm breakfast and a bed, of both which I stood greatly in need. I soon +fell asleep, in spite of the agitation of my mind; but my dreams were +far more horrifying than my waking thoughts, dreadful as they were. I +awoke early in the afternoon, feverish and unrefreshed. + +After some time spent in summoning up resolution, I requested my +landlady to procure for me a sight of any of the Edinburgh newspapers +of the day before. She brought one to me. My agitation was so great +that I dared not trust myself to take it out of her hand, lest she had +perceived the tremor I was in; but requested her to lay it down, while +I appeared to be busy adjusting my dress--carefully, all the time, +keeping my back to her. I had two objects in view: I wished to see the +shipping-list, as it was my aim to leave the country for America by the +first opportunity; and, secondly, to see what account the public had got +of my untoward adventure. I felt conscious that all the city was in +commotion about it, and the authorities despatched for my apprehension; +for I had no doubt that my nurse would at once declare her innocence, +and tell who had done the deed. With an anxiety I want words to express, +I grasped the paper as soon as the landlady retired, and hurried over +its columns until I reached the last. During the interval, I believe I +scarcely breathed; I looked it over once more with care; I felt as if a +load had been lifted from my breast--there was not in the whole paper a +single word of a death by violence or accident. I thought it strange, +but rejoiced. I felt that I was not in such imminent danger of being +apprehended; but my mind was still racked almost to distraction. + +I remained in my lodging for several days, very ill, both from a severe +cold I had caught and distress of mind. I had seen every paper during +the time. Still there was nothing in them applicable to my case. I was +bewildered, and knew not what to think. Had the occurrences of that +fearful night, I thought, been only a delusion--some horrid dream or +nightmare? Alas! the large drops of blood that still stained my shirt, +which, in my confusion, I had not changed, drove from my mind the +consoling hope; they were damning evidence of a terrible reality. My +mind reverted back to its former agony, which became so aggravated by +the silence of the public prints that I was rendered desperate. The +silence gave a mystery to the whole occurrence, more unendurable than if +I had found it narrated in the most aggravated language, and my person +described, with a reward for my apprehension. + +As soon as my sickness had a little abated, and I was able to go out, I +went in the evening, a little before ten o'clock, to the neighbourhood +of where the coach from Edinburgh stopped. I walked about until its +arrival, shunning observation as much as possible. At length it came. No +one descended from it whom I recollected ever to have seen. Rendered +desperate, I followed two travellers into a public-house which they +entered, along with the guard. For some time, I sat an attentive +listener to their conversation. It was on indifferent subjects; and I +watched an opportunity to join in their talk. Speaking with an air of +indifference, I turned the conversation to the subject I had so much at +heart--the local news of the city. They gave me what little they had; +but not one word of it concerned my situation. I inquired at the guard +if he would, next morning, be so kind as take a letter to Edinburgh, for +Widow Neil, in the Low Calton. + +"With pleasure," he said--"I know her well, as I live close by her shop; +but, poor woman, she has been very unwell for these two or three days +past. There has been some strange talk of a young lad who vanished from +her house, no one can tell how; she is likely to get into trouble from +the circumstance, for it is surmised he has been murdered in her house, +and his body carried off, as there was a quantity of blood upon the +floor. No one suspects her of it; but still it is considered strange +that she should have heard no noise, and can give no account of the +affair." + +This statement of the guard surprised me exceedingly. Why was the affair +mentioned in so partial and unsatisfactory a manner? Why was I, a +murderer, suspected of being myself murdered? Why did not this lead to +an investigation, which must have exposed the whole horrid mystery of +the death of the individual up stairs? I could not understand it. My +mind became the more perplexed, the more I thought of it. Yet, so +far, I had no reason to complain. Nothing had been said in any respect +implicating me. Perhaps I had killed nobody; perhaps I had only wounded +some one who did not know whence the stab came; or perhaps the person +killed or wounded was an outlaw, and no discovery could be made of his +situation. All these thoughts rushed through my mind as I sat beside the +men. I at last left them, being afraid to put further questions. + +I went to my lodgings and considered what I should do. I conceived it +safest to write no letters to my friends, or say anything further on the +subject. I meditated upon the propriety of going to America, and had +nearly made up my mind to that step. Every day, the mysterious affair +became more and more disagreeable and painful to me. I gave up making +further inquiries, and even carefully avoided, for a time, associating +with any person or reading any newspaper. I gradually became easier, as +time, which brought no explanation to me, passed over; but the thought +still lay at the bottom of my heart, that I was a murderer. + +I went one day to a merchant's counting-house, to take my passage for +America. The man looked at me attentively. I shook with fear, but he +soon relieved me by asking--"Why I intended to leave so good a country +for so bad a one?" I replied, that I could get no employment here. My +appearance had pleased him. He offered me a situation in his office. I +accepted it. I continued in Glasgow, happy and respected, for several +years, and, to all likelihood, was to have settled there for life. I was +on the point of marriage with a young woman, as I thought, every way +worthy of the love I had for her. Her parents were satisfied; the day of +our nuptials was fixed--the house was taken and furnished wherein we +were to reside, and everything prepared. In the delirium of love, I +thought myself the happiest of men, and even forgot the affair of the +murder. + +It was on the Monday preceding our union--which was to take place +in her father's house on the Friday evening--that business of the utmost +importance called me to the town of Ayr. I took a hasty farewell of my +bride, and set off, resolved to be back upon the Thursday at farthest. +Early in the forenoon of Tuesday, I got everything arranged to my +satisfaction; but was too late for the first coach. To amuse myself +in the best manner I could, until the coach should set off again, I +wandered down to the harbour; and, while there, it was my misfortune to +meet an old acquaintance, Alexander Cameron, the son of a barber in the +Luckenbooths. Glad to see each other, we shook hands most cordially; +and, after chatting about "auld langsyne" until we were weary wandering +upon the pier, I proposed to adjourn to my inn. To this proposal he at +once acceded, on condition that I should go on board of his vessel +afterwards, when he would return the visit in the evening. To this I had +no objection to make. The time passed on until the dusk. We left the +inn; but, instead of proceeding to the harbour, we struck off into the +country for some time, and then made the coast at a small bay, where I +could just discern, through the twilight, a small lugger-rigged vessel +at anchor. I felt rather uneasy, and began to hesitate; when my friend, +turning round, said-- + +"That is my vessel, and as fine a crew mans her as ever walked a +deck;--we will be on board in a minute." + +I wished, yet knew not how, to refuse. He made a loud call; a boat with +two men pushed from under a point, and we were rowing towards the vessel +ere I could summon resolution to refuse. I remained on board not above +an hour. I was treated in the most kindly manner. When I was coming +away, Cameron said-- + +"I have requested this visit from the confidence I feel in your honour. +I ask you not, to promise not to deceive me--I am sure you will not. My +time is very uncertain upon this coast, and I have papers of the utmost +importance, which I wish to leave in safe hands. We are too late to +arrange them to-night; but be so kind as promise to be at the same spot +where we embarked to-morrow morning, at what hour you please, and I will +deliver them to you. Should it ever be in my power to serve you, I will +not flinch from the duty of gratitude, cost what it may." + +There was a something so sincere and earnest in his manner, that I could +not refuse. I said, that as I left Ayr on the morrow, I would make it an +early hour--say, six o'clock; which pleased him. We shook hands and +parted, when I was put on shore, and returned to my inn, where I +ruminated upon what the charge could be I was going to receive from my +old friend in so unexpected a manner. + +I was up betimes, and at the spot by the appointed hour. The boat was in +waiting; but Cameron was not with her. I was disappointed, and told one +of the men so; he replied that the captain expected me on board to +breakfast. With a reluctance much stronger than I had felt the preceding +night, I consented to go on board. I found him in the cabin, and the +breakfast ready for me. We sat down, and began to converse about the +papers. Scarce was the second cup filled out, when a voice called down +the companion, "Captain, the cutter!" Cameron leaped from the table, and +ran on deck. I heard a loud noise of cordage and bustle; but could not +conceive what it was, until the motion of the vessel too plainly told +that she was under way. I rose in haste to get upon deck; but the cover +was secured. I knocked and called; but no one paid any attention to my +efforts. I stood thus knocking, and calling at the stretch of my voice, +for half an hour, in vain. I returned to my seat, and sat down, overcome +with anger and chagrin. Here was I again placed in a disagreeable +dilemma--evidently going far out to sea, when I ought to be on my way to +Glasgow to my wedding. In the middle of my ravings, I heard first one +shot, then another; but still the ripple of the water and the noise +overhead continued. I was now convinced that I was on board of a +smuggling lugger, and that Cameron was either sole proprietor or +captain. I wished with all my heart that the cutter might overtake and +capture us, that I might be set ashore; but all my wishes were vain--we +still held on our way at a furious rate. As I heard no more shots, I +knew that we had left the cutter at a greater distance. Again, +therefore, I strove to gain a hearing, but in vain: I then strove to +force the hatch, but it resisted all my efforts. I yielded myself at +length to my fate; for the way of the vessel was not in the least +abated. + +Towards night, I could find, by the pitching of the vessel and the +increased noise above, that the wind had increased fearfully, and that +it blew a storm. It was with difficulty that I could keep my seat, so +much did she pitch. During the whole night and following day, I was so +sick that I thought I would have died. I had no light; there was no +human creature to give me a mouthful of water; and I could not help +myself even to rise from the floor of the cabin, on which I had sunk. +The agony of my mind was extreme: the day following was to have been +that of my marriage; I was at sea, and knew not where I was. I blamed +myself for my easy, complying temper; my misery increased; and, could I +have stood on my feet, I know not what I might have done in my desperate +situation. Thus I spent a second night; and the day which I had thought +was to shine on my happiness, dawned on my misery. + +Towards the afternoon, the motion of the vessel ceased, and I heard the +anchor drop. Immediately the hatch was opened, and Cameron came to me. I +rose in anger, so great that I could not give it utterance. Had I not +been so weak from sickness, I would have flown and strangled him. He +made a thousand apologies for what had happened. I saw that his concern +was real; my anger subsided into melancholy, and my first utterance was +employed to inquire where we were. + +"I am sorry to say," replied he, "that I cannot but feel really grieved +to inform you that we are at present a few leagues off Flushing." + +"Good God!" I exclaimed, as I buried my face in my hands, while I +actually wept for shame--"I am utterly undone! What will my beloved +Eliza say? How shall I ever appear again before her and her friends? +Even now, perhaps, she is dressing to be my wife, or weeping in the arms +of her bridesmaid. The thought will drive me mad. For Godsake, Cameron, +get under way, and land me again either at Greenock or where you first +took me up, or I am utterly undone. Do this, and I will forget all I +have suffered and am suffering." + +"I would, upon my soul," he said, "were it in my power, though I should +die in a jail; but, while this gale lasts, it were folly to attempt it. +Besides, I am not sole proprietor of the lugger--I am only captain. My +crew are sharers in the cargo. I would not get their consent. The +thought of the evil I was unintentionally doing you, gave me more +concern than the fear of capture. Had the storm not come on, I would +have risked all to have landed you somewhere in Scotland; but it was so +severe, and blowing from the land, that there was no use to attempt it. +I hope, however, the weather will now moderate, and the wind shift, when +I will run you back, or procure you a passage in the first craft that +leaves for Scotland." + +I made no answer to him, I was so absorbed in my own reflections. I +walked the deck like one distracted, praying for a change in the +weather. For another three days it blew, with less or more violence, +from the same point--during which time I scarcely ever ate or drank, and +never went to bed. On the forenoon of Monday, the wind shifted. I went +immediately ashore in the boat, and found a brig getting under way for +Leith. I stepped on board, and took farewell of Captain Cameron, whom I +never saw again, and wish I had never seen him in my life. + +After a tedious passage of nine days, during which we had baffling winds +and calms, we reached Leith Roads about seven in the evening. It was low +water, and the brig could not enter the harbour for several hours. I was +put ashore in the boat, and hastened up to the Black Bull Inn, in order +to secure a seat in the mail for Glasgow, which was to start in a few +minutes. As I came up Leith Walk, my feelings became of a mixed nature. +I thought of Widow Niel and the murder, as I looked over at the Calton; +then my mind reverted to my bride. I got into the coach, and was soon +on the way to Glasgow. I laid myself back in a corner, and kept a +stubborn silence. I could not endure to enter into conversation with my +fellow-travellers: I scarce heard them speak--my mind was so distracted +by what had befallen me, and what might be the result. + +Pale, weary, and exhausted, I reached my lodgings between three and four +o'clock of the morning of the seventeenth day from that in which I had +left it in joy and hope. After I had knocked, and was answered, my +landlady almost fainted at the sight of me. She had believed me dead; +and my appearance was not calculated to do away the impression, I looked +so ghastly from anxiety and the want of sleep. Her joy was extreme when +she found her mistake. I undressed and threw myself on my bed, where I +soon fell into a sound sleep, the first I had enjoyed since my +involuntary voyage. + +I did not awake until about eight o'clock, when I arose and dressed. I +did not haste to Eliza, as my heart urged me, lest my sudden appearance +should have been fatal to her. I wrote her a note, informing her I was +in health, and would call and explain all after breakfast. I sent off my +card, and immediately waited upon my employers. They were more surprised +than pleased at my return. Another had been placed in my situation, and +they did not choose to pay him off when I might think proper to return +after my unaccountable absence. My soul fired at the base insinuation; +my voice rose, as I demanded to know if they doubted my veracity. With +an expression of countenance that spoke daggers, one of them said--"We +doubt, at least, your prudence in going on board an unknown vessel; but +let us proceed to business--we have found all your books correct to a +farthing, and here is an order for your salary up to your leaving. Good +morning!" + +I received it indignantly; and, bowing stiffly, left them. I was not +much cast down at this turn my affairs had taken so unexpectedly. I had +no doubt of finding a warm reception from Eliza, hurried to her parent's +house, and rung the bell for admittance. Judge my astonishment when her +brother opened the door, with a look as if we had never met, and +inquired what I wanted. The blood mounted to my face--I essayed to +speak; but my tongue refused its office; I felt bewildered, and stood +more like a statue than a man. In the most insulting manner, he +said--"There is no one here who wishes any intercourse with you." And he +shut the door upon me. + +Of everything that befell me for a length of time, from this moment, I +am utterly unconscious; when I again awoke to consciousness, I was in +bed at my lodgings, with my kind landlady seated at my bedside. I was so +weak and reduced I could scarce turn myself; the agitation I had +undergone, and the cruel receptions I had met on my return, had been too +much for my mind to bear; a brain fever had been the consequence, and my +life had been despaired of for several days. I would have questioned +my landlady; but she urged silence upon me, and refused to answer my +inquiries. I soon after learned all. I had been utterly neglected by +those to whom I might have looked for aid or consolation; but the +bitterest thought of all was, that Eliza should cast me off without +inquiry or explanation. I could not bring my mind to believe she did +so of her own accord. She must, I thought, be either cruelly deceived +or under restraint; for she and her friends could not but know the +situation I was in. I vainly strove to call my wounded pride to my aid, +and drive her from my thoughts; but the more I strove, the firmer hold +she took of me. As soon as I could hold my pen, I wrote to her in the +most moving terms; and, after stating the whole truth and what I had +suffered, begged an interview, were it to be our last--for my life or +death, I said, appeared to depend upon her answer. In the afternoon I +received one: it was my own letter, which had been opened, and enclosed +in an envelope. The writing was in her own hand. Cruel woman! all it +contained was, that she had read, and now returned my letter as of her +own accord, and by the approbation of her friends; for she was firmly +resolved to have no communication with one who had used her so cruelly, +and exposed her to the ridicule of her friends and acquaintances. This +unjust answer had quite an opposite effect from what I could have +conceived a few hours before; pity and contempt for the fickle creature +took the place of love; my mind became once more tranquil; I recovered +rapidly, and soon began to walk about and enjoy the sweets of summer. I +met my fickle fair by accident more than once in my walks, and found I +could pass her as if we had never met. Her brother I had often a mind +to have horsewhipped; but the thought that I would only give greater +publicity to my unfortunate adventure, and be looked upon as the guilty +aggressor, prevented me from gratifying my wish. + +Glasgow had now become hateful to me, otherwise I would have commenced +manufacturer upon my own account, as was my intention had I married +Eliza. In as short a period as convenient, I sold off the furniture of +the house I had taken, at little or no loss, and found that I still was +master of a considerable sum. Having made a present to my landlady for +her care of me, I bade a long adieu to Glasgow, and proceeded by the +coach to Leeds, where I procured a situation in a house with which our +Glasgow house had had many transactions. + +As I fear I am getting prolix, I shall hurry over the next few years I +remained in Leeds. I became a partner of the house; our transactions +were very extensive, more particularly in the United States of America, +where we were deeply engaged in the cotton trade. It was judged +necessary that one of the firm should be on the spot, to extend the +business as much as possible. The others being married men, I at once +volunteered to take this department upon myself, and made arrangements +accordingly. I proceeded towards Liverpool by easy stages on horseback, +as the coaches at that period were not so regular as they are at +present. + +On the second day after my leaving Leeds, the afternoon became extremely +wet towards evening; so that I resolved to remain all night in the first +respectable inn I came to. I dismounted, and found it completely filled +with travellers, who had arrived a short time before. It was with +considerable difficulty I prevailed upon the hostess to allow me to +remain. She had not a spare bed; all had been already engaged; the +weather continued still wet and boisterous, and I resolved to proceed no +farther that night, whether I could obtain a bed or not. I, at length, +arranged with her that I should pass the night by the fireside, seated +in an arm-chair. Matters were thus all set to rights, and supper over, +when a loud knocking was heard at the door. An additional stranger +entered the kitchen where I sat, drenched with rain and benumbed with +cold; and, after many difficulties upon the side of the hostess, the +same arrangements were made for him. + +As our situations were so similar, we soon became very intimate. I felt +much interest in him. He was of a frank and lively turn in conversation, +and exceedingly well informed on every subject we started. A shrewd +eccentricity in the style and matter of his remarks, forced the +conviction upon his hearers, that he was a man of no mean capacity; +there was also a restless inquietude in his manner, which gave him the +appearance of having a slight shade of insanity. At one time his bright +black eye was lighted up with joy and hilarity, as he chanted a few +lines of some convivial song. In a few minutes, a change came over him, +and furtive, timid glances stole from under his long dark eyelashes. +Then would follow a glance so fierce, that it required a firm mind to +endure it unmoved. These looks became more frequent as his libations +continued; for he had consumed a great quantity of liquor, and seemed to +me to be in that frame of mind when one strives in vain to forget his +identity. + +The other inmates of the house had long retired, and all was hushed save +the voice of my companion. I felt no inclination to sleep; the various +scenes of my life were floating over my mind, as I gazed into the bright +fire that glowed before me, while the storm raged without. My companion +had at length sunk into a troubled slumber; his head resting upon his +hand, which was supported by the table, and his intelligent face half +turned from me. While I sat thus, my attention was roused by a low, +indistinct murmuring from the sleeper: he was evidently dreaming--for, +although there were a few disjointed words here and there pronounced, he +still slept soundly. + +Gradually his articulation became more distinct and his countenance +animated; but his eyes were closed. I became much interested; for this +was the first instance of a dreamer talking in his sleep I had ever +witnessed. I watched him. A gleam of joy and pleasure played around +his well-formed mouth, while the few inarticulate sounds he uttered +resembled distant shouts of youthful glee. Gradually the tones became +connected sentences; care and anxiety, at times, came over his +countenance; in heart-touching language, he bade farewell to his parent +and the beloved scenes of his youth; large drops of moisture stole from +under his closed eyelids. The transitions of his mind were so quick, +that it required my utmost attention to follow them; but I never heard +such true eloquence as came from this dreamer. I had seen most of the +performers of our modern stage, and appreciated their talents; but what +I at this time witnessed, in the actings of genuine nature, surpassed +all their efforts. + +Gradually the shades of innocence departed from his countenance; his +language became adulterated by slang phrases, and his features assumed +a fiendish cast that made me shudder. He showed that he was familiar +with the worst of company; care and anxiety gradually crept over his +countenance; he had, it seemed, commenced a system of fraud upon his +employers and been detected; grief and despair threw over him their +frightful shadows; pale and dejected, he pleaded for mercy, for the sake +of his father, in the most abject terms. He now spoke with energy and +connection--it was to his companions in jail; but hope had fled, and a +shameful death seemed to him inevitable. + +His trial came on. He proceeded to court--his lips appeared pale and +parched--a convulsive quiver agitated the lower muscles of his face and +neck--he seemed to breathe with difficulty--his head sank lower upon +the hand that supported it--he had been condemned--he was now in his +solitary cell--his murmurs breathed repentance and devotion--his +sufferings appeared to be so intense that large drops of perspiration +stood upon his forehead--he was engaged with the clergyman, preparing +for death. Remembering what I had suffered in my own dreams, I resolved +to awake him, and, to do so, gave the arm that lay upon the table a +gentle shake. A shudder passed over his frame, and he sank upon the +floor. + +All that I have narrated had occurred in a space of time remarkably +short. I rose to lift him to his seat, and make an apology for the +surprise I had given him; but he was quite unconscious. The noise of his +fall had alarmed the landlady, who, with several of the guests, entered +as I was stooping with him in my arms, attempting to raise him. I was so +much shocked when I found the state he was in, that I let him drop, and +recoiled back in horror, exclaiming, "Good God! have I killed him! Send +for a surgeon." The idea that I had endeavoured to awake him in an +improper time came with strong conviction upon me, and forced the words +out of my mouth. + +They raised him up and placed him on his seat. I could not offer the +smallest assistance. Every effort was used to restore him in vain, and a +surgeon sent for, but life had fled. During all this time I had remained +in a stupor of mind; suspicion fell upon me that I had murdered him; I +had been alone with him, and seen stooping over the body when they +entered; and my exclamation at the time, and my confusion, were all +construed as sure tokens of my guilt. I was strictly guarded until a +coroner's inquest could be held upon the body. + +I told the whole circumstances as they had occurred; but my narrative +made not the smallest impression. I was not believed--an incredulous +smile, or a dubious shake of the head, was all that I obtained from my +auditors. I then kept silence, and refused to enter into any further +explanation, conscious that my innocence would be made manifest at the +inquest, which must meet as soon as the necessary steps could be taken. +I was already tried and condemned by those around me--every circumstance +was turned against me, and the most prominent was that I was Scotch. +Many remarks were made, all to the prejudice of my country, but aimed +at me. My heart burned to retort their unjust abuse; but I was too +indignant to trust myself to utter the thoughts that swelled my heart +almost to bursting. + +The surgeon had come, and was busy examining the body of the unfortunate +individual, when a new traveller arrived. He appeared to be about sixty +years of age, of a pleasing countenance, which was, however, shaded by +anxiety and grief. Sick and weary of those around me, I had ceased to +regard them, but I raised my eyes as the new comer entered; and was +at once struck by a strong resemblance, as I thought, between him +and the deceased. The stranger appeared to take no interest in what +was going on, but urged the landlady to make haste and procure him +some refreshment, while his horse was being fed. He was in the utmost +hurry to depart, as important business required his immediate attendance +in London. The loquacious landlady forced him to listen to a most +exaggerated account of the horrid murder which the Scotchman had +committed in her house. The story was so much distorted by her +inventions, that I could not have recognised the event, if the time and +place, and her often pointing to me and the bed on which the body was +laid, had not identified it. I could perceive a faint shudder come over +his frame, as she finished her romance. The surgeon came from his +examination of the body. He was a man well advanced in years, of an +intelligent and benevolent cast of countenance. She inquired with what +instrument the murder had been perpetrated. + +"My good lady," said the surgeon, "I can find no marks of violence upon +the body, and I cannot say whether the individual met his death by +violence or the visitation of God." + +"Oh, sir," cried the hostess, "I am certain he was murdered; for I saw +them struggling on the floor as I entered the room; and he said himself +that he had murdered him." + +"Peace, good woman," said the surgeon, who turned to me, and requested +to know the particulars from myself; "for I am persuaded," he continued, +"that no outward violence has been sustained by the deceased." + +I once more began to narrate to him the whole circumstance. As I +proceeded with the dream, the stranger suddenly became riveted in his +attention; his eyes were fixed upon me; the muscles of his face were +strangely agitated, as if he was restraining some strong emotion; wonder +and anxiety were strongly expressed by turns, until I mentioned one of +the names I had heard in the dream. Uttering a heart-rending groan, or +rather scream, he rose from his seat and staggered to the bed, where he +fell upon the inanimate body, and sobbed audibly as he kissed the cold +forehead, and parted the long brown hair that covered it. + +"Oh, Charles," he cried, "my son, my dear lost son! have I found you +thus, who was once the stay and hope of my heart!" + +There was not a dry eye in the room after this burst of agonized nature. +He rose from the bed and approached me. Looking mildly in my face, he +said-- + +"Stranger, be so good as to continue your account of this sad accident; +for both our sakes, I hope you are innocent of any violence upon my +son." + +Overcome by his manner, in kindness to him I suggested that it would be +better were only the surgeon and himself present at the recital. Several +of those present protested loudly against my proposal, saying I would +make my escape if I was not guarded. My anger now rose--I could restrain +myself no longer--I cast an indignant glance around, and, in a voice at +its utmost pitch, dared any one present to say I had used violence +against the unfortunate young man. All remained silent. In a calmer +manner, I declared I had no wish to depart, urgent as my business was, +until the inquest was over; and, if they doubted my word, they were +welcome to keep strict watch at the door and windows. + +The old man perceived the kindness of my motive for withdrawing with +him, and his looks spoke his gratitude as we retired. + +I once more stated every circumstance as it had occurred, from the time +of his son's arrival until he fell from the chair. As I repeated the +words I could make out in the early part of the dream, his father wept +like a child, and said--"Would to God he had never left me!" When I came +to the London part, he groaned aloud and wrung his hands. I was inclined +more than once to stop; but he motioned me to proceed, while tears +choked his utterance. When I had made an end, he clasped his hands, and, +raising his face to heaven, said--"I thank Thee, Father of mercies! Thy +will be done. He was the last of five of Thy gifts. I am now childless, +and have nothing more worth living for but to obey Thy will. I thank +Thee that in his last moments it can be said of him as it was of thy +apostle--'Behold, he prayeth!'" + +For some time we remained silent, reverencing the old man's grief. The +surgeon first broke silence:--"Stranger," he said, "I have not a doubt +of your innocence of any intention to injure the person of the deceased, +but your humane intention to awaken him was certainly the immediate +cause of his death; for, had you tried to rouse him from sleep, either +sooner or later in his dream, all might have been well. The gentle shake +you gave his arm, in all likelihood, was felt as the fatal fall of the +platform or push of the executioner, which caused, from fright, a sudden +collapse of the heart, that put a final stop to the circulation and +caused immediate death. We regret it; but cannot say there was any bad +intention on your part." + +I thanked the surgeon for the justice he had done me in his remarks; and +then addressing the bereaved father, I begged his forgiveness for my +unfortunate interference with his son; I only did so to put a period to +his dream, as his sufferings appeared to me to be of the most acute +description. + +He stretched out his hand, and grasping mine, which he held for some +time, while he strove to overcome his emotions, he at length said-- + +"Young man, from my heart I acquit you of every evil intention, and +believe you from evidence that cannot be called in question. What you +have told coincides with facts I already possess. For some time back the +conduct of Charles gave me serious cause of uneasiness; but I knew not +half the extent of his excesses, although his requests for money were +incessant. I supplied them as far as was in my power; for he accompanied +them with dutiful acknowledgments and plausible reasons. Until of late +I had fulfilled his every wish; but I found I could no longer comply +with prudence. Alas! you have let me at length understand that the +gaming-table was the gulf that swallowed up all. I had for some time +resolved to go personally and reason with him upon the folly of his +extravagances; but, unfortunately, delayed it from day to day and week +to week. I felt it to be my duty as a parent; but my heart shrunk from +it. Fatal delay! Oh, that I had done as my duty urged me!" (Here his +feelings overpowered him for a few minutes.) "Had I only gone even a few +days before I received that fatal letter that at once roused me from my +guilty supineness," (here he drew a letter from his pocket and gave it +me,) "he might have been saved! Read it." + +I complied. It was as follows:-- + + "WORTHY FRIEND,--I scarce know how to communicate the + information; but, I fear, no one here will do so in so gentle + a manner. Your son Charles, I am grieved to say, has not been + acting as I could have wished for this some time back. One of + the partners called here this morning to inquire after him, + as he had absconded from their service on account of some + irregularity that had been discovered in his cash entries, and + made me afraid, by his manner, that there might be something + worse. Do, for your own and his sake, come to town as quickly + as possible. In the meantime, I shall do all in my power to + avert any evil that may threaten.--Adieu! + + "JOHN WALKER." + + + +"I was on my way," he proceeded, "to save my poor Charles from shame, +had even the workhouse been my only refuge at the close of my days. +Alas! as he told in his dream, I fear he had forfeited his life by that +fatal act, forgery, for which there is no pardon with man. If so, the +present dispensation is one of mercy, for which I bless His name, who in +all things doeth right." + +My heart ached for the pious old man. We left the room, he leaning upon +my arm. The surgeon and parent both pronounced me innocent of the young +man's death. Those who still remained in the house, more particularly +the hostess, appeared disappointed, and did not scruple to hint their +doubts. Until the coroner's inquest sat, which was in the afternoon, +the father of the stranger never left my side, but seemed to take a +melancholy pleasure in conversing about his son. The jury, after a +patient investigation, returned their verdict, "Died by the visitation +of God." + +I immediately bade farewell to the surgeon and the parent of the young +man, and proceeded for Liverpool, musing upon my strange destiny. It +appeared to me that I was haunted by some fatality, which plunged me +constantly into misfortune. I rejoiced that I was on the point of +leaving Britain, and hoped that in America I should be freed from my +bad fortune. + +When I arrived in Liverpool I found the packet on the eve of sailing; +and, with all expedition, I made everything ready and went on board. We +were to sail with the morning tide. There were a good many passengers; +but all of them appeared to be every-day personages--all less or more +studious about their own comforts. After an agreeable voyage of five +weeks, we arrived safe, and all in good health, in Charleston. In a few +months I completed our arrangement satisfactorily, and began to make +preparations for my return to England again. A circumstance, however, +occurred, which overturned all my plans for a time, and gave a new turn +to my thoughts. Was it possible that, after the way in which I had been +cast off before by one of the bewitching sex, I could ever do more than +look upon them again with indifference? I did not hate or shun their +company, but a feeling pretty much akin to contempt, often stole over me +as I recollected my old injury. I could feel the sensation at times give +way for a few hours in the company of some females, and again return +with redoubled force upon the slightest occasion, such as a single word +or look. I was prejudiced, and resolved not again to submit to the power +of the sex. But vain are the resolves of man. This continued struggle, I +really believe, was the reason of my again falling more violently in +love than ever, and that, too, against my own will. When I strove to +discover faults, I only found perfections. + +I had boarded in the house of a widow lady who had three daughters, none +of them exceeding twelve years of age. A governess, one of the sweetest +creatures that I had ever seen, or shall ever see again, had the charge +of them. On the second evening after my arrival, I retired to my +apartment, overcome by heat and fatigue. I lay listlessly thinking of +Auld Reekie, the mysterious murder, and all the strange occurrences of +my past life. My attention was awakened by a voice the sweetest I had +ever heard. I listened in rapture. It was only a few notes, as the +singer was trying the pitch of her voice, and soon ceased. I was +wondering which of the family it could be who sang so well, when I heard +one of the daughters say, "Do, governess, sing me one song, and I will +be a good girl all to-morrow. Pray do!" I became all attention--again +the voice fell upon my ear. It was low and plaintive--the air was +familiar to me--my whole soul became entranced--the tear-drop swam in +my eyes--it was one of Scotland's sweetest ditties--"The Broom o' the +Cowdenknowes." No one who has not heard, unexpected, in a foreign land +the songs he loved in his youth, can appreciate the thrill of pleasing +ecstasy that carries the mind, as it were, out of the body, when the +ears catch the well-known sounds. + +Next day I was all anxiety to see the individual who had so fascinated +me the evening before. I found her all that my imagination had pictured +her. A new feeling possessed me. In vain I called pride to my aid--I +could not drive her from my thoughts. Sleeping or waking, her voice and +form were ever present. I left the town for a time to free myself from +these unwelcome feelings, pleasing as they were. I felt angry at myself +for harbouring them; but all my endeavours were vain--go where I would, +I was with my Mary on the Cowdenknowes. + +I know not how it was. I had loved with more ardour in my first passion, +and been more the victim of impulse; a dreamy sensation occupied my +mind, and my whole existence seemed concentrated in her alone; now, my +mind felt cool and collected--I weighed every fault and excellence; +still I was hurried on, and felt like one placed in a boat in the +current of a river, pulling hard to get out of the stream in vain. I at +length laid down my oars, and yielded to the impulse. In short, I made +up my mind to win the esteem and love of Mary; nor did I strive in vain. +My humble attentions were kindly received, and dear to my heart is the +remembrance of the timid glances I first detected in her full black +eyes. For some weeks I sought an opportunity to declare my love. She +evidently shunned being alone with me; and I often could discern, when I +came upon her by surprise, that she had been weeping. Some secret sorrow +evidently oppressed her mind, and, at times, I have seen her beautiful +face suffused with scarlet and her eyes become wet with tears, when +my pompous landlady spoke of the ladies of Europe and "the _true_ +white-blooded females of America." I dreamed not at this time of the +cause; but the truth dawned upon me afterwards. + +It was on a delightful evening, after one of the most sultry days in +this climate, I had wandered into the garden to enjoy the evening +breeze, with which nothing in these northern climes will bear +comparison; the fire-flies sported in myriads around, and gave animation +to the scene; the fragrance of plants and the melody of birds filled the +senses to repletion. I wanted only the presence of Mary to be completely +happy. I heard a low warbling at a short distance, from a bower covered +with clustering vines. It was Mary's voice! I stood overpowered with +pleasure--she sung again one of our Scottish tunes. + +As the last faint cadence died away, I entered the arbour; the noise +of my approach made her start from her seat; she was hurrying away in +confusion, when I gently seized her hand, and requested her to remain, +if it were only for a few moments, as I had something to impart of the +utmost importance to us both. She stood; her face was averted from my +gaze; I felt her hand tremble in mine. Now that the opportunity I so +much desired had been obtained, my resolution began to fail me. We had +stood thus for sometime. + +"Sir, I must not stay here longer," she said. "Good evening!" + +"Mary," said I, "I love you. May I hope to gain your regard by any +length of service? Allow me to hope, and I shall be content." + +"I must not listen to this language," she replied. "Do not hope. There +is a barrier between us that cannot be removed. I cannot be yours. I am +unworthy of your regard. Alas! I am a child of misfortune." + +"Then," said I, "my hopes of happiness are fled for ever. So young, so +beautiful, with a soul so elevated as I know yours to be, you can have +done nothing to render you unworthy of me. For heaven's sake, tell me +what that fatal barrier is. Is it love?" + +"I thank you," she replied. "You do me but justice. A thought has never +dwelt upon my mind for which I have cause to blush; but Nature has +placed a gulf between you and me, you will not pass." She paused, and +the tears swam in her eyes. + +"For mercy's sake, proceed!" I said. + +"_There is black blood in these veins_," she cried, in agony. + +A load was at once removed from my mind. I raised her hand to my +lips:--"Mary, my love, this is no bar. I come from a country where the +aristocracy of blood is unknown, where nothing degrades man in the eyes +of his fellow-man but vice." + +Why more? Mary consented to be mine, and we were shortly after wed. I +was blessed in the possession of one of the most gentle of beings. + +We had been married about six or seven weeks, when business called me +from Charleston to one of the northern States. I resolved to take Mary +with me, as I was to go by sea; and our arrangements were completed. The +vessel was to sail on the following day. I was seated with her, enjoying +the cool of the evening, when a stranger called and requested to see me +on business of importance. I immediately went to him, and was struck +with the coarseness of his manners, and his vulgar importance. I bowed, +and asked his business. + +"You have a woman in this house," said he, "called Mary De Lyle, I +guess." + +"I do not understand the purport of your question," said I. "What do you +mean?" + +"My meaning is pretty clear," said he. "Mary De Lyle is in this house, +and she is my property. If you offer to carry her out of the State, I +will have her sent to jail, and you fined. That is right ahead, I +guess." + +"Wretch," said I, in a voice hoarse with rage, "get out of my house, or +I will crush you to death. Begone!" + +I believe I would have done him some fearful injury, had he not +precipitately made his escape. In a frame of mind I want words to +express, I hurried to Mary, and sank upon a seat, with my face buried in +my hands. She, poor thing, came trembling to my side, and implored me to +tell her what was the matter. I could only answer by my groans. At +length, I looked imploringly in her face:-- + +"Mary, is it possible that you are a slave?" said I. + +She uttered a piercing shriek, and sank inanimate at my feet. I lifted +her upon the sofa; but it was long before she gave symptoms of returning +life. + +As soon as I could leave her, I went to a friend to ask his advice and +assistance. Through him, I learned that what I feared was but too true. +By the usages and laws of the State, she was still a slave, and liable +to be hurried from me and sold to the highest bidder, or doomed to any +drudgery her master might put her to, and even flogged at will. There +was only one remedy that could be applied; and the specific was dollars. +My friend was so kind as to negotiate with the ruffian. One thousand was +demanded, and cheerfully paid. I carried the manumission home to my +sorrowing Mary. From her I learned, as she lay in bed--her beautiful +face buried in the clothes, and her voice choked by sobs--that the +wretch who had called on me was her own father, whose avarice could not +let slip this opportunity of extorting money. With an inconsistency +often found in man, he had given Mary one of the best of educations, +and for long treated her as a favoured child, during the life of her +mother, who was one of his slaves, a woman of colour, and with some +accomplishments, which she had acquired in a genteel family. At her +death, Mary had gone as governess to my landlady; but, until the day of +her father's claim, she had never dreamed of being a slave. I allowed +the vessel to sail without me, wound up my affairs, and bade adieu for +ever to the slave States. 'Tis now twenty years since I purchased a +wife, after I had won her love, and I bless the day she was made mine; +for I have had uninterrupted happiness in her and her offspring. The +slave is now the happy wife and mother of five lovely children, who +rejoice in their mother. After remaining some years in Leeds, I returned +to Edinburgh. Widow Neil was dead; but one day I discovered, by mere +chance, that the murder I committed in her house was on a _sheep_. + + + + +MY BLACK COAT; + +OR, + +THE BREAKING OF THE BRIDE'S CHINA. + + +Gentle reader, the simple circumstances I am about to relate to you, +hang upon what is termed--a bad omen. There are few amongst the +uneducated who have not a degree of faith in omens; and even amongst the +better educated and well informed there are many who, while they profess +to disbelieve them, and, indeed, do disbelieve them, yet feel them in +their hours of solitude. I have known individuals who, in the hour of +danger, would have braved the cannon's mouth, or defied death to his +teeth, who, nevertheless, would have buried their heads in the +bedclothes at the howling of a dog at midnight, or spent a sleepless +night from hearing the tick, tick, of the spider, or the untiring song +of the kitchen-fire musician--the jolly little cricket. The age of +omens, however, is drawing to a close; for truth in its progress is +trampling delusion of every kind under its feet; yet, after all, though +a belief in omens is a superstition, it is one that carries with it a +portion of the poetry of our nature. But to proceed with our story. + +Several years ago I was on my way from B---- to Edinburgh; and +being as familiar with every cottage, tree, shrub, and whin-bush on the +Dunbar and Lauder roads as with the face of an acquaintance, I made +choice of the less-frequented path by Longformacus. I always took a +secret pleasure in contemplating the dreariness of wild spreading +desolation; and, next to looking on the sea when its waves dance to the +music of a hurricane, I loved to gaze on the heath-covered wilderness, +where the blue horizon only girded its purple bosom. It was no season +to look upon the heath in the beauty of barrenness, yet I purposely +diverged from the main road. About an hour, therefore, after I had +descended from the region on the Lammermoors, and entered the Lothians, +I became sensible I was pursuing a path which was not forwarding my +footsteps to Edinburgh. It was December; the sun had just gone down; I +was not very partial to travelling in darkness, neither did I wish to +trust to chance for finding a comfortable resting-place for the night. +Perceiving a farm-steading and water-mill about a quarter of a mile from +the road, I resolved to turn towards them, and make inquiry respecting +the right path, or, at least, to request to be directed to the nearest +inn. + +The "town," as the three or four houses and mill were called, was +all bustle and confusion. The female inhabitants were cleaning and +scouring, and running to and fro. I quickly learned that all this note +of preparation arose from the "maister" being to be married within three +days. Seeing me a stranger, he came from his house towards me. He was a +tall, stout, good-looking, jolly-faced farmer and miller. His manner of +accosting me partook more of kindness than civility; and his inquiries +were not free from the familiar, prying curiosity which prevails in +every corner of our island, and, I must say, in the north in particular. + +"Where do you come fra, na--if it be a fair question?" inquired he. + +"From B----," was the brief and merely civil reply. + +"An' hae ye come frae there the day?" he continued. + +"Yes," was the answer. + +"Ay, man, an' ye come frae B----, do ye?" added he; "then, nae doot, +ye'll ken a person they ca' Mr. ----?" + +"Did he come originally from Dunse?" returned I, mentioning also the +occupation of the person referred to. + +"The vera same," rejoined the miller; "are ye acquainted wi' him, sir?" + +"I ought to be," replied I; "the person you speak of is merely my +father." + +"Your faither!" exclaimed he, opening his mouth and eyes to their +full width, and standing for a moment the picture of surprise--"Gude +gracious! ye dinna say sae!--is he really your faither? Losh, man, do +you no ken, then, that I'm your cousin! Ye've heard o' your cousin, +Willie Stewart." + +"Fifty times," replied I. + +"Weel, I'm the vera man," said he--"Gie's your hand; for, 'odsake, man, +I'm as glad as glad can be. This is real extraordinar'. I've often heard +o' you--it will be you that writes the buiks--faith ye'll be able to mak +something o' this. But come awa' into the house--ye dinna stir a mile +far'er for a week, at ony rate." + +So saying, and still grasping my hand, he led me to the farm-house. On +crossing the threshold-- + +"Here, lassie," he cried, in a voice that made roof and rafters ring, +"bring ben the speerits, and get on the kettle--here's a cousin that I +ne'er saw in my life afore." + +A few minutes served mutually to confirm and explain our +newly-discovered relationship. + +"Man," said he, as we were filling a second glass, "ye've just come in +the very nick o' time; an' I'll tell ye how. Ye see I'm gaun to be +married the day after the morn; an' no haein' a friend o' ony kin-kind +in this quarter, I had to ask an acquaintance to be the best man. Now, +this was vexin' me mair than ye can think, particularly, ye see, because +the sweetheart has aye been hinting to me that it wadna be lucky for me +no to hae a bluid relation for a best man. For that matter, indeed, +luck here, luck there, I no care the toss up o' a ha'penny about omens +mysel'; but now that ye've fortunately come, I'm a great deal easier, +an' it will be ae craik out o' the way, for it will please her; an' ye +may guess, between you an' me, that she's worth the pleasin', or I wadna +had her; so I'll just step ower an' tell the ither lad that I hae a +cousin come to be my best man, an' he'll think naething o't." + +On the morning of the third day, the bride and her friends arrived. She +was the only child of a Lammermoor farmer, and was in truth a real +mountain flower--a heath blossom; for the rude health that laughed upon +her cheeks approached nearer the hue of the heather-bell, than the rose +and vermillion of which poets speak. She was comely withal, possessing +an appearance of considerable strength, and was rather above the middle +size--in short, she was the very belle ideal of a miller's wife! + +But to go on. Twelve couples accompanied the happy miller and his bride +to the manse, independent of the married, middle-aged, and grey-haired +visitors, who followed behind and by our side. We were thus proceeding +onward to the house of the minister, whose blessing was to make a couple +happy, and the arm of the blooming bride was through mine, when I heard +a voice, or rather let me say a sound, like the croak of a raven, +exclaim-- + +"Mercy on us! saw ye e'er the like o' that!--the best man, I'll declare, +has a black coat on!" + +"An' that's no lucky!" replied another. + +"Lucky!" responded the raven voice--"just perfectly awfu'! I wadna it +had happened at the weddin' o' a bairn o' mine for the king's +dominions." + +I observed the bride steal a glance at my shoulder; I felt, or thought I +felt, as if she shrunk from my arm; and when I spoke to her, her speech +faltered. I found that my cousin, in avoiding one omen, had stumbled +upon another, in my black coat. I was wroth with the rural prophetess, +and turned round to behold her. Her little grey eyes, twinkling through +spectacles, were wink, winking upon my ill-fated coat. She was a crooked +(forgive me for saying an ugly), little, old woman; she was "bearded +like a pard," and walked with a crooked stick mounted with silver. (On +the very spot[L] where she then was, the last witch in Scotland was +burned.) I turned from the grinning sibyl with disgust. + + [L] The last person burned for witchcraft in Scotland was at + Spot--the scene of our present story. + +On the previous day, and during part of the night, the rain had fallen +heavily, and the Broxburn was swollen to the magnitude of a little +river. The manse lay on the opposite side of the burn, which was +generally crossed by the aid of stepping-stones, but on the day in +question the tops of the stones were barely visible. On crossing the +burn the foot of the bride slipped, and the bridegroom, in his eagerness +to assist her, slipped also--knee-deep in the water. The raven voice was +again heard--it was another omen. + +The kitchen was the only room in the manse large enough to contain the +spectators assembled to witness the ceremony, which passed over smoothly +enough, save that, when the clergyman was about to join the hands of the +parties, I drew off the glove of the bride a second or two before the +bridesmaid performed a similar operation on the hand of the bridegroom. +I heard the whisper of the crooked old woman, and saw that the eyes of +the other women were upon me. I felt that I had committed another omen, +and almost resolved to renounce wearing "blacks" for the future. The +ceremony, however, was concluded; we returned from the manse, and +everything was forgotten, save mirth and music, till the hour arrived +for tea. + +The bride's mother had boasted of her "daughter's double set o' real +china" during the afternoon; and the female part of the company +evidently felt anxious to examine the costly crockery. A young woman was +entering with a tray and the tea equipage--another, similarly laden, +followed behind her. The "sneck" of the door caught the handle of the +tray, and down went china, waiting-maid, and all! The fall startled her +companion--their feet became entangled--both embraced the floor, and the +china from both trays lay scattered around them in a thousand shapes and +sizes! This was an omen with a vengeance! I could not avoid stealing a +look at the sleeve of my black coat. The bearded old woman seemed +inspired. She declared the luck of the house was broken! Of the double +set of real china not a cup was left--not an odd saucer. The bridegroom +bore the misfortune as a man; and, gently drawing the head of his young +partner towards him, said-- + +"Never mind them, hinny--let them gang--we'll get mair." + +The bride, poor thing, shed a tear; but the miller threw his arm round +her neck, stole a kiss, and she blushed and smiled. + +It was evident, however, that every one of the company regarded this as +a real omen. The mill-loft was prepared for the joyous dance; but scarce +had the fantastic toes (some of them were not light ones) begun to move +through the mazy rounds, when the loft-floor broke down beneath the +bounding feet of the happy-hearted miller; for, unfortunately, he +considered not that his goodly body was heavier than his spirits. It was +omen upon omen--the work of breaking had begun--the "luck" of the young +couple was departed. + +Three days after the wedding, one of the miller's carts was got in +readiness to carry home the bride's mother. On crossing the unlucky +burn, to which we have already alluded, the horse stumbled, fell, and +broke its knee, and had to be taken back, and another put in its place. + +"Mair breakings!" exclaimed the now almost heart-broken old woman. "Oh, +dear sake! how will a' this end for my puir bairn!" + +I remained with my new-found relatives about a week; and while there +the miller sent his boy for payment of an account of thirty pounds, he +having to make up money to pay a corn-factor at the Haddington market on +the following day. In the evening the boy returned. + +"Weel, callant," inquired the miller, "hae ye gotten the siller?" + +"No," replied the youth. + +"Mercy me!" exclaimed my cousin, hastily, "hae ye no gotten the siller? +Wha did ye see, or what did they say?" + +"I saw the wife," returned the boy; "an' she said--'Siller! laddie, +what's brought ye here for siller?--I daresay your maister's daft! Do ye +no ken we're broken! I'm sure a'body kens that we broke yesterday!'" + +"The mischief break them!" exclaimed the miller, rising and walking +hurriedly across the room--"this is breaking in earnest." + +I may not here particularize the breakings that followed. One misfortune +succeeded another, till the miller broke also. All that he had was put +under the hammer, and he wandered forth with his young wife a broken +man. + +Some years afterwards, I met with him in a different part of the +country. He had the management of extensive flour mills. He was again +doing well, and had money in his master's hands. At last there seemed to +be an end of the breakings. We were sitting together when a third person +entered, with a rueful countenance. + +"Willie," said he, with the tone of a speaking sepulchre, "hae ye heard +the news?" + +"What news, now?" inquired the miller, seriously. + +"The maister's broken!" rejoined the other. + +"An' my fifty pounds?" responded my cousin, in a voice of horror. + +"Are broken wi' him," returned the stranger. "Oh, gude gracious!" cried +the young wife, wringing her hands, "I'm sure I wish I were out o' this +world!--will ever thir breakings be done!--what tempted my mother to buy +me the cheena?" + +"Or me to wear a black coat at your wedding," thought I. + +A few weeks afterwards a letter arrived, announcing that death had +suddenly broken the thread of life of her aged father, and her mother +requested them to come and take charge of the farm which was now theirs. +They went. The old man had made money on the hills. They got the better +of the broken china and of my black coat. Fortune broke in upon them. My +cousin declared that omens were nonsense, and his wife added that she +"really thought there was naething in them. But it was lang an' mony a +day," she added, "or I could get your black coat and my mother's cheena +out o' my mind." + +They began to prosper and they prosper still. + + +END OF VOLUME II. + + +_Tubbs, Brook, & Chrystal, Printers, Manchester._ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of +Scotland, Volume 2, by Alexander Leighton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILSON'S TALES *** + +***** This file should be named 30711.txt or 30711.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/7/1/30711/ + +Produced by David Clarke, Anne Storer and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |