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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/12315-0.txt b/12315-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4dfa589 --- /dev/null +++ b/12315-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3079 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12315 *** + +SHANTY + +THE + +BLACKSMITH; + +A TALE OF OTHER TIMES + +BY MRS. SHERWOOD. + + +1852. + + + +SHANTY + +THE + +BLACKSMITH. + + * * * * * + +It was during the last century, and before the spirit of revolution had +effected any change in the manners of our forefathers, that the events +took place, which are about to be recorded in this little volume. + +At that period there existed in the wild border country, which lies +between England and Scotland, an ancient castle, of which only one +tower, a few chambers in the main building, certain offices enclosed in +high buttressed walls, and sundry out-houses hanging as it were on +those walls, yet remained. This castle had once been encircled by a moat +which had been suffered to dry itself up, though still the little stream +which used to fill it when the dams were in repair, murmured and +meandered at the bottom of the hollow, and fed the roots of many a water +plant and many a tree whose nature delights in dank and swampy soils. +The verdure, however, which encircled this ancient edifice, added +greatly to the beauty, when seen over the extent of waste and wild in +which it stood. There can be no doubt but that the ancient possessors of +this castle, which, from the single remaining barrier, and the name of +the family, was called Dymock's tower, had been no other than strong and +dangerous free-booters, living on the plunder of the neighbouring +kingdom of Scotland. Every one knows that a vast extent of land, waste +or at best but rudely cultivated, had once belonged to the Lords of +Dymock; but within a few years this family had fallen from affluence, +and were at length so much reduced, that the present possessor could +hardly support himself in any thing like the state in which he deemed it +necessary for his father's son to live. Mr. Dymock was nearly thirty +years of age, at the time our history commences; he had been brought up +by an indolent father, and an aunt in whom no great trusts had been +vested, until he entered his teens, at which time he was sent to +Edinburgh to attend the classes in the college; and there, being a quick +and clever young man, though without any foundation of early discipline, +or good teaching, and without much plain judgment or common sense, he +distinguished himself as a sort of genius. + +One of the most common defects in the minds of those who are not early +subjected to regular discipline is, that they have no perseverance; they +begin one thing, and another thing, but never carry anything on to any +purpose, and this was exactly the case with Mr. Dymock. Whilst he was in +Edinburgh he had thought that he would become an author; some +injudicious persons told him that he might succeed in that way, and he +began several poems, and two plays, and he wrote parts of several +treatises on Mathematics, and Physics, and Natural History; the very +titles of these works sound clever, but they were never finished. Dymock +was nearly thirty when his father died; and when he came to reside in +the tower, his mind turned altogether to a new object, and that was +cultivating the ground, and the wild commons and wastes all around him: +and if he had set to work in a rational way he might have done +something, but before he began the work he must needs invent a plough, +which was to do wonderful things, and, accordingly, he set to work, not +only to invent this plough, but to make it himself, or rather to put it +together himself, with the help of a carpenter and blacksmith in the +neighbourhood. But before we introduce the old blacksmith, who is a very +principal person in our story, we must describe the way in which Mr. +Dymock lived in his tower. + +His aunt, Mrs. Margaret Dymock, was his housekeeper, and so careful had +she always been, for she had kept house for her brother, the late laird, +that the neighbours said she had half-starved herself, in order to keep +up some little show of old hospitality. In truth, the poor lady was +marvellously thin, and as sallow and gaunt as she was thin. Some old +lady who had stood for her at the font, in the reign of Charles the +Second, had, at her death, left her all her clothes, and these had been +sent to Dymock's tower in several large chests. Mrs. Margaret was +accordingly provided for, for life, with the addition of a little +homespun linen, and stockings of her own knitting; but, as she held it +a mighty piece of extravagance to alter a handsome dress, she wore her +godmother's clothes in the fashion in which she found them, and prided +herself not a little in having silks for every season of the year. Large +hoops were worn in those days, and long ruffles, and sacks short and +long, and stomachers, and hoods, and sundry other conceits, now never +thought of; but Mrs. Margaret thought that all these things had a +genteel appearance, and showed that those who bought them and those who +inherited them had not come of nothing. + +Mrs. Margaret, however, never put any of these fine things on, till she +had performed her household duties, looked into every hole and corner in +the offices, overlooked the stores, visited the larder, scullery and +hen-yard, weighed what her three maids had spun the day before, skimmed +the milk with her own hands, gathered up the candle ends, and cut the +cabbage for the brose; all which being done, and the servants' dinner +seen to, and it must be confessed, it was seldom that they had a very +sumptuous regale, she dressed herself as a lady should be dressed, and +sate down to her darning, which was her principal work, in the oval +window in the chief room in the castle. Darning, we say, was her +principal work, because there was scarcely an article in the house which +she did not darn occasionally, from the floor-cloth to her own best +laces, and, as money was seldom forthcoming for renewing any of the +finer articles in the house capable of being darned, no one can say what +would have been the consequence, if Mrs. Margaret had been divested of +this darning propensity. + +How the old lady subsisted herself is hardly known, for it often +happened that the dinner she contrived for her nephew, was barely +sufficient for him, and although on these occasions she always managed +to seem to be eating, yet had Mr. Dymock had his eyes about him, he +could not but have seen that she must often have risen from the table, +after having known little more than the odour of the viands. Nothing, +however, which has been said of Mrs. Margaret Dymock goes against that +which might be said with truth, that there was a fund of kindness in the +heart of the venerable spinster, though it was sometimes choked up and +counteracted by her desire to make a greater appearance than the family +means would allow. + +Besides the three maids in the kitchen, there were a man and a boy +without doors, two or three lean cows, a flock of sheep which were half +starved on the moor, a great dog, and sundry pigs and fowls living at +large about the tower; and, to crown our description, it must be added, +that all the domestic arrangements which were beyond the sphere of Mrs. +Margaret were as ill managed as those within her sphere were capitally +well conducted; however, as Mr. Dymock said to her one day when she +ventured to expostulate with him on this subject, "Only have a little +patience, my good aunt, when I have completed what I am now about, for +instance my plough, you will see how I will arrange every thing. I +cannot suffer these petty attentions and petty reforms to occupy me just +now; what I intend to do will be done in a large way; I mean not only to +repair but to restore the castle, to throw the whole of my lands to the +north into a sheep-walk, to plant the higher points, and to convert the +south lands into arable. But my first object is the plough, and that +must be attended to, before everything else; the wood-work is all +complete, but a little alteration must be made in the coulter, and after +all, I apprehend I must do it myself, as old Shanty is as stupid as his +own hammer." + +Mrs. Margaret hinted that every man had not the ingenuity of her +nephew; adding, however, that old Shanty was as worthy and God-fearing a +man as any on the moor. + +"I do not deny it," replied Mr. Dymock, "but what has worth and +God-fearing to do with my plough. I have been trying in vain to make him +understand what I want done, and am come to the resolution of going +myself, taking off my coat, and working with him; I should make a better +blacksmith in a week, than he has in forty years." + +Mrs. Margaret lifted up her hands and eyes, and then fetching a deep +sigh, "That I should have lived to hear that," she exclaimed; "the last +representative of the house of Dymock proposing to work at a +blacksmith's forge!" + +"And why not? Mrs. Margaret," replied the nephew, "does a gentleman +lower himself when he works merely for recreation, and not for sordid +pelf; you have heard of Peter the Great?" + +"Bless me, nephew," replied the spinster, bridling, "where do you think +my ears have been all my life, if I never heard of Peter the Great!" + +"You know then, that he worked with his own hands at a blacksmith's +forge," returned the nephew. + +"I know no such thing," said Mrs. Margaret, "and if the Romans say so, I +account it only another of their many lies; and I wonder they are not +ashamed to invent tales so derogotary to the honour of him they call +their head!" + +"Pshaw!" said the laird; "I am not speaking of the Pope, but of the Czar +of all the Russias!" + +"Well! well! Dymock;" returned Mrs. Margaret, "I only wish that I could +persuade you from committing this derogation. However, if you must needs +work with Shanty, let me beg you to put on one of your old shirts; for +the sparks will be sure to fly, and there will be no end of darning the +small burns." + +"Be assured aunt," said Mr. Dymock, "that I shall do nothing by halves; +if I work with Shanty, I shall put on a leathern apron, and tuck up +my sleeves." + +"All this does not suit my notions," replied Mrs. Margaret: but her +nephew had risen to leave her, and there was an end to the argument. + +As Mr. Dymock had told his aunt; so he did: he went to Shanty's forge, +he dressed himself like the old master himself, and set fairly to work, +to learn the mysteries of the trade; mysteries which, however, as far as +Shanty knew them, were not very deep. + +[Illustration: He went to Shantys Forge _See Page 14_] + +There has not often been a more ill-arranged and unsettled mind than +that of Mr. Dymock; his delight was in anything new, and for a few days +he would pursue this novelty with such eagerness, that during the time +he seemed to forget every thing else. It was a delicate job, and yet one +requiring strength which was needed for the plough. Shanty had told +the laird at once, that it was beyond his own skill or strength, seeing +that he was old and feeble, "and as to your doing it, sir," he said, +"who cannot yet shape a horse-shoe! you must serve longer than a week, +before you get that much knowledge of the craft; there is no royal way +to learning, and even for the making of a horse-shoe a 'prenticeship +must be served, and I mistake me very much if you don't tire before +seven days service are over, let alone as many years." + +But, Mr. Dymock had as yet served only two days, when one evening a +young man, a dark, athletic, bold-looking youth, entered the +blacksmith's shed. It was an evening in autumn, and the shed was far +from any house; Dymock's tower was the nearest, and the sun was already +so low that the old keep with its many mouldering walls, and +out-buildings, was seen from the shed, standing in high relief against +the golden sky. As the young man entered, looking boldly about him, +Shanty asked him what he wanted. + +"I want a horse-shoe," he replied. + +"A horse-shoe!" returned the blacksmith, "and where's your horse?" + +"I has no other horse than Adam's mare," he replied; "I rides no other, +but I want a horse-shoe." + +"You are a pretty fellow," returned Shanty "to want a horse-shoe, and to +have never a horse to wear him." + +"Did you never hear of no other use for a horse-shoe, besides protecting +a horse's hoof?" replied the youth. + +"I have," returned the blacksmith, "I have heard fools say, that neither +witch nor warlock can cross a threshold that has a horse-shoe nailed +over it. But mind I tell you, it must be a cast shoe." + +"Well" said the young man, "suppose that I am plagued with one of them +witches; and suppose that I should have bethought me of the horse-shoe, +what would you think of me then? What may that be which you are now +shaping; why may it not serve my turn as well as another? so let me have +it, and you shall have its worth down on the nail." + +"Did not I tell you," said Shanty, sullenly, "that it must be a cast +shoe that must keep off a witch; every fool allows that." + +"Well," said the young man, looking about him, "have you never a cast +shoe?" + +"No," replied Shanty, "I have none here fit for your turn." + +"I am not particular," returned the young man, "about the shoe being an +old one; there is as much virtue, to my thinking, in a new one; so let +me have that you are about." + +"You shall have none of my handiworks, I tell you," said Shanty, +decidedly, "for none of your heathenish fancies and follies. The time +was when I lent myself to these sort of follies, but, thank my God, I +have learned to cast away, aye, and to condemn such degrading thoughts +as these. Believe me, young man, that if God is on your side, neither +witch nor warlock, or worse than either, could ever hurt you." + +"Well," said the young man, "if you will not make me one, will you let +me make one for myself?" + +"Are you a smith?" said Mr. Dymock, before Shanty could reply. + +"Am I a smith?" answered the young man; "I promise you, I should think +little of myself if I was not as much above him, (pointing to Shanty, +who was hammering at his horse-shoe, with his back towards him,) as the +sun is brighter than the stars." + +Shanty took no notice of this piece of insolence; but Mr. Dymock having +asked the stranger a few more questions, proceeded to show him the job +he wanted done to his plough, and from one thing to another, the young +man undertook to accomplish it in a few hours, if the master of the shed +would permit. Shanty did by no means seem pleased, and yet could not +refuse to oblige Mr. Dymock; he, however, remarked, that if the coulter +was destroyed, it was no odds to him. The young stranger, however, soon +made it appear that he was no mean hand at the work of a blacksmith; he +had not only strength, but skill and ingenuity, and in a short time had +so deeply engaged the attention of Dymock by his suggestions of +improvements to this same plough, that the young laird saw none but him, +and allowed the evening to close in, and the darkness of night to cover +the heath, whilst still engaged in talking to the stranger, and +hearkening to his ingenious comments on the machinery of the plough. + +In the meantime, although the sun had set in golden glory, dark and +dense clouds had covered the heavens, the wind had risen and whistled +dismally over the moor, and a shower of mingled rain and sleet blew into +the shed, one side of which was open to the air. It was in the midst of +this shower, that a tall gaunt female, covered with a ragged cloak, and +having one child slung on her back, and another much older in her hand, +presented herself at the door of the shed, and speaking in a broad +northern dialect, asked permission to shelter herself and her bairns, +for a little space in the corner of the hut. Neither Dymock nor the +young man paid her any regard, or seemed to see her, but Shanty made her +welcome, and pointing to a bench which was within the glow of the fire +of the forge, though out of harm's way of sparks or strokes, the woman +came in, and having with the expertness of long use, slung the child +from her back into her arms, she sate down, laying the little one across +her knee, whilst the eldest of the two children dropped on the bare +earth with which the shed was floored, and began nibbling a huge crust +which the mother put into his hand. + +In the meantime, work went on as before the woman had come in, nor was a +word spoken, till Shanty, looking up from the horse-shoe which he was +hammering, remarked in his own mind, that he wondered that the little +one stretched on the woman's knee, was not awakened and frightened by +the noise of the forge; but there the creature lies, he thought, as if +it had neither sense or hearing. When this strange thought suggested +itself, the old man dropped his hammer, and fixing his eye on the +infant, he seemed to ask himself these questions,--What, if the child +should be dead? would a living child, drop as that did from the back of +the woman on her lap, like a lump of clay, nor move, nor utter a moan, +when thrown across its mother's lap? Urged then by anxiety, he left his +anvil, approached the woman, and stood awhile gazing at the child, +though unable for some minutes to satisfy himself, or to put away the +horrible fear that he might perchance be looking at a body without life. +Mr. Dymock was acting the part of bellows-blower, in order to assist +some work which the young stranger was carrying on in the fire. The lad +who generally performed this service for Shanty, had got permission for +a few hours, to visit his mother over the Border, Mr. Dymock having told +him in all kindness that he would blow for him if needs must. But the +fitful light--the alternate glow and comparative darkness which +accompanied and kept time with the motion of the bellows, made it almost +impossible for the old man to satisfy himself concerning his horrible +imagination. He saw that the infant who lay so still on the woman's lap, +was as much as two years of age; that, like the woman, it had dark hair, +and that its complexion was olive; and thus he was put out in his first +notion, that the child might perchance be a stolen one. But the bellows +had filled and exhausted themselves many times before his mind was set +at rest with regard to his first fearful thought; at length, however, +the child moved its arm, and uttered a low moan, though without rousing +itself from its sleep; on which Shanty, being satisfied, turned back to +his block and his horse-shoe, and another half-hour or more passed, +during which the tempest subsided, the clouds broke and began to +disappear, and the stars to come forth one by one, pointing out the +direction of the heavens to the experienced eye of the night-walking +traveller. The woman observing this, arose, and taking the sleeping babe +in her arms whilst the other child clung to her cloak, she thanked the +blacksmith for the convenience of the shelter which he had given her; +when he, with the courtesy of one who, though poor and lowly, had been +admitted to high conference with his Redeemer, invited her to stay +longer--all night if she pleased,--regretting only that he had nothing +to offer her but a bed of straw, and a sup of sowens for the +little ones. + +"For which," she replied, "I thank you; what can any one give more than +what he has. But time is precious to me, this night I must be over the +Border; mind me, however, I shall remember you, and mayhap may call +again." So saying, she passed out of the shed, almost as much +disregarded by Dymock in her going out, as she had been in coming in. + +And now, for another hour, the strokes of the hammers of old Shanty and +the young stranger might have been heard far over the moor in the +stillness of the night, for the wind had entirely died away, and the +fitful glare of the forge, still shone as a beacon over the heath. At +length, however, the job which the stranger had undertaken was finished, +and Dymock, having given him a silver piece, the only one in his pocket, +the young man took his leave, saying as he went out, and whilst he +tossed the silver in his hand,--"Well, if I have not got what I came +for, I have got that which is as good, and in return for your civility, +old gentleman," he added, addressing Shanty, "I give you a piece of +advice; nail the horse-shoe, which you would not spare to me, over your +own door, for I tell you, that you are in no small danger of being +over-reached by the very warlock, who has haunted my steps for many +a day." + +So saying, he went gaily, and with quick step, out of the shed, and his +figure soon disappeared in a ravine or hollow of the moor. + +In the mean time, Dymock and Shanty stood at the door. The former being +full of excitement, respecting the wonderful sagacity of the singular +stranger, and the other being impatient to see the master off, as he +wanted to shut up his shed, and to retire to the little chamber within, +which served him for sleeping apartment, kitchen, and store-room, not to +say study, for our worthy Shanty never slept without studying the Holy +Word of God. + +But whilst these two were standing, as we said, at the door, suddenly, a +low moan reached their ears, as coming from their left, where the roof +of the shed being lengthened out, afforded shelter for any carts, or +even, on occasion, waggons, which might be brought there, for such +repairs as Shanty could give them. At that time, there was only one +single cart in the shed, and the cry seemed to come from the direction +of this cart. Dymock and Shanty were both startled at the cry, and +stood in silence for a minute or more, to ascertain if it were repeated. +Another low moan presently ensued, and then a full outcry, as of a +terrified child. Dymock and Shanty looked at each other, and Shanty +said, "It is the beggar woman. She is still skulking about, I will be +bound; hark!" he added, "listen! she will be stilling the child, she's +got under the cart." But the child continued to screech, and there was +neither threat nor blandishment used to still the cries. + +Dymock seemed to be so thoroughly astounded, that he could not stir, but +Shanty going in, presently returned with a lighted lanthorn, and an iron +crow-bar in his hand; "and now," he said, "Mr. Dymock, we shall see to +this noise," and they both turned into the out-building, expecting to +have to encounter the tall beggar, and with her perhaps, a gang of +vagrants. They, however, saw only the infant of two years' old, who had +lain like a thing dead on the woman's lap, though not dead, as Shanty +had feared, but stupified with hollands, the very breath of the baby +smelling of the spirit when Dymock lifted it out of the cart and brought +it into the interior shed. Shanty did not return, till he had +investigated every hole and corner of his domain, with the crow-bar in +one hand, and the lanthorn in the other. + +The baby had ceased to cry, when brought into the shed, and feeling +itself in the arms of a fellow-creature, had yielded to the influence of +the liquor, and had fallen again into a dead sleep, dropping back on the +bosom of Mr. Dymock. + +"They are all off," said Shanty, as he entered the house, "and have left +us this present. We have had need, as that young rogue said, of the +horse-shoe over our door. We have been over-reached for once; that +little one is stolen goods, be sure, Mr. Dymock,--some great man's +child for aught we know,--the wicked woman will not call again very +soon, as she promised, and what are we to do with the child? Had my poor +wife been living, it might have done, but she is better off! What can I +do with it?" + +"I must take it up to the Tower," said Mr. Dymock, "and see if my aunt +Margaret will take to it, and if she will not, why, then there are +charity schools, and poor-houses to be had recourse to; yet I don't fear +her kind heart." + +"Nor I neither, Mr. Dymock," said Shanty, and the old man drew near to +the child, and holding up his lanthorn to the sleeping baby, he said, +"What like is it? Gipsy, or Jew? one or the other; those features, if +they were washed, might not disgrace Sarah or Rachel." + +"The mouth and the form of the face are Grecian," said Dymock, "but the +bust is oriental." + +Shanty looked hard at his patron, as trying to understand what he meant +by _oriental_ and _Grecian;_ and then repeated his question, "Gipsy or +Jew, Mr. Dymock? for I am sure the little creature is not of our +northern breed." + +"We shall see by and bye," said Dymock, "the question is, what is to be +done now? I am afraid that aunt Margaret will look prim and stately if I +carry the little one up to the Tower; however, I see not what else to +do. Who is afraid? But put your fire out, Shanty, and come with us. You +shall carry the bantling, and I will take the lanthorn. Mayhap, aunt +Margaret may think this arrangement the more genteel of the two. So +let it be." + +And it was so; old Shanty turned into child-keeper, and the Laird into +lanthorn-carrier, and the party directed their steps towards the Tower, +and much talk had they by the way. + +Now, as we have said before, there was a fund of kindness in the heart +of Mrs. Margaret Dymock, which kindness is often more consistent than +some people suppose, with attention to economy, especially when that +economy is needful; and moreover, she had lately lost a favourite cat, +which had been, as she said, quite a daughter to her. Therefore the +place of pet happened to be vacant just at that time, which was much in +favour of the forlorn child's interests. Dymock had taken Shanty with +him into the parlour, in which Mrs. Margaret sat at her darning; and he +had suggested to the old man, that he might just as well tell the story +himself for his aunt's information, and account for the presence of the +infant; and, in his own words, Mrs. Margaret took all very well, and +even did not hint that if her nephew had been in his own parlour, +instead of being in a place where vagrants were sheltered, he would at +all events have been out of this scrape. But the little one had awoke, +and had begun to weep, and the old lady's heart was touched, so she +called one of the maids, and told her to feed the babe and put it to +sleep; after which, having ordered that Shanty should be regaled with +the bladebone of a shoulder of mutton, she withdrew to her room to think +what was next to be done. + +The result of Mrs. Margaret's thoughts were, that come what might, the +child must be taken care of for a few days, and must be washed and +clothed; and, as the worthy lady had ever had the habit of laying by, in +certain chests and boxes piled on each other in her large bed-room, all +the old garments of the family not judged fitting for the wear of +cottagers, she had nothing more to do than, by the removal of +half-a-dozen trunks, to get at a deal box, which contained the frocks, +and robes, and other garments which her nephew had discarded when he put +on jacket and trousers. From these she selected one of the smallest +suits, and they might have been seen airing at the kitchen fire by six +o'clock that morning. Hot water and soap were next put in requisition, +and as soon as the baby awoke, she was submitted to such an operation by +the kitchen fire, as it would appear she had not experienced for a long +time. The little creature was terribly frightened when soused in the +water, and screeched in a pitiful manner; the tears running from her +eyes, and the whole of her small person being in a violent tremor. The +maids, however, made a thorough job of it, and scoured the foundling +from head to foot. At length Mrs. Margaret, who sat by, directing the +storm, with a sheet across her lap and towels in her hand, pronounced +the ablution as being complete, and the babe was lifted from the tub, +held a moment to drip, and then set on the lap of the lady, and now the +babe seemed to find instant relief. The little creature was no sooner +placed on Mrs. Margaret's knee, than, by some strange and unknown +association, she seemed to think that she had found an old +friend,--some faintly remembered nurse or mother,--whom she had met +again in Mrs. Dymock, and quivering with delight, she sprang on her feet +on the lady's lap, and grasped her neck in her arms, pressing her little +ruby lips upon her cheek; and on one of the maids approaching again with +some of her clothes, she strained her arms more closely round Mrs. +Margaret, and perfectly danced on her lap with terror lest she should be +taken away from her. + +"Lord help the innocent babe!" said the old lady, "what is come to her?" +and Mrs. Margaret's eyes were full of tears; but the good lady then +soothed and carressed the babe, and instructed her to sit down on her +knees, whilst she directed the servant to assist in dressing her. But +no, no, it would not do; no one was to touch her but Mrs. Margaret; and +the old lady, drawing herself up, at length said,--"Well, Janet, we must +give way, I suppose; it seems that I am to be the favourite; there is +something in my physiognomy which has taken the child's fancy; come, +hand me the clothes, I must try my skill in dressing this capricious +little dame." Mrs. Margaret was evidently pleased by the poor orphan's +preference, and whilst she was dressing the infant, there was time to +discover that the little child was a perfect beauty in her way; the form +of her face being oval, the features exquisite, the eyes soft, yet +sparkling, and the lips delicately formed. The hair, of raven black, was +clustered and curling, and the head set on the shoulders in a way worthy +of the daughters of kings; but the servants pointed out on the arm of +the infant, a peculiar mark which was not natural, but which had +evidently been burnt therein. One said it was a fan, and another a +feather; but Mrs. Margaret augured vast things from it, pronouncing that +the child surely belonged to some great person, and that no one could +say what might be the consequence of kindness shown to such a child. + +As soon as Mr. Dymock came down into the breakfast-room, Mrs. Margaret +came swimming in with the child in her arms, exclaiming, "A pretty piece +of work you have done for me, nephew! I am under a fine servitude now;" +and she primmed up her mouth, but her eye laughed,--"little Miss here, +chooses to be waited on by me, and me only; and here I am, with nothing +to do but to attend on my lady." + +"Little Miss," said Mr. Dymock, "what little Miss? who have you got +there?" + +"Neither more nor less," replied Mrs. Margaret, "than your foundling." + +"Impossible!" said Mr. Dymock: "Why, what have you done to her?" + +"Merely washed, combed, and dressed her," said Mrs. Margaret; "give me +credit, nephew, and tell me what I have brought out by my diligence." + +"You have brought out a brilliant from an unfinished stone," exclaimed +Mr. Dymock; "that is a beautiful child; I shall have extreme delight in +making as much of that fine mind, as you have done with that beautiful +exterior." + +"Then you do not think of putting her in a foundling hospital or a +workhouse, nephew, as you proposed last night?" said Mrs. Margaret, +with a smile. + +"It would be a folly," replied the nephew, "to degrade such a creature +as that;" and he attempted to kiss the baby; but, swift as thought, she +had turned her face away, and was clinging to Mrs. Margaret. + +The old lady primmed up again with much complacency, "Did I not tell +you, nephew, how it was," she said, "nothing will do but Aunt Margaret. +Well, I suppose I must give her my poor pussy's corner in my bed. But +now her back is turned to you, Dymock, observe the singular mark on her +shoulder, and tell me what it is?" + +Mr. Dymock saw this mark with amazement:--He saw that it was no natural +mark; and at length, though not till after he had examined it many +times, he made it out, or fancied he had done so, to be a branch of a +palm tree. From the first he had made up his mind that this was a Jewish +child; and, following the idea of the palm-tree, and tracing the word in +a Hebrew lexicon,--for he was a Hebrew scholar, though not a deep +one,--he found that Tamar was the Hebrew for a palm tree. "And Tamar it +shall be," he said; "this maid of Judah, this daughter of Zion shall be +called Tamar;" and he carried his point, although Mrs. Margaret made +many objections, saying it was not a Christian name, and therefore not +proper for a child who was to be brought up as a Christian. However, as +Mr. Dymock had given up his whim of learning the business of a smith +since the adventure which has been so fully related, and had forgotten +the proposed experiment of turning up the whole moor round the Tower +with his new-fangled plough,--that plough having ceased to be an object +of desire to him as soon as it was completed,--she thought it best to +give way to this whim of giving the child so strange a name, and +actually stood herself at the font, as principal sponsor for +little Tamar. + +Thus, the orphan was provided with a happy home; nor, as Mrs. Margaret +said, did she ever miss the child's little bite and sup. After a few +days, the babe would condescend to leave Mrs. Margaret, when required to +go to the servants. She would even, when directed so to do, steal across +the floor, and accept a seat on Mr. Dymock's knee, and gradually she got +very fond of him. Nor was her affection unrequited; he had formed a +theory about her,--and it was not a selfish theory, for he never +expected to gain anything by her,--but he believed that she was of noble +but unfortunate Jewish parentage, and he built this theory on the +singular grace and beauty of her person. At all events, he never doubted +but that she was a Jewess; and he talked of it, and thought of it, till +he was entirely convinced that it was so, and had convinced his aunt +also, and established the persuasion in the minds of most persons +about him. + +If Mr. Dymock was not a genius, he had all the weaknesses commonly +attributed to genius, and, in consequence, was as useless a being as +ever cumbered the ground; yet, he was generally loved, and no one loved +him more than Tamar did, after she had got over her first baby fear of +him. But Mrs. Margaret, who had no pretensions to genius, was the real +benefactor of this child, and as far as the lady was concerned in +bringing her up, performed the part of a truly affectionate mother. Her +first effort was made to bring the will of the child, which was a lofty +one, under subjection to her own; and the next, to give her habits of +industry and self-denial. She told her that whatever she might hear +respecting her supposed parentage, she was merely a child without +pretentions, and protected from motives of love, and of love only; that +her protectors were poor, and ever likely to remain so, and that what +God required of her, was that when able, she should assist them as they +had assisted her in helpless infancy. As to religion, Mrs. Margaret +taught her what she herself knew and believed; but her views were dark +and incomplete, she saw not half as much of the great mystery of +salvation, as had been revealed to Shanty in his hut; yet, the desire of +doing right in the sight of God, had been imparted to her, and this +desire was a fixed principle, and did not appear to be affected by her +want of knowledge. As to forms, Mrs. Margaret had her own, and she was +very attentive to them, but she had very small opportunity of public +worship, as there was no church within some miles of the Tower. In the +meantime, whilst the old lady went plodding on in her own quiet way, +teaching the little girl all she knew herself, Mr. Dymock was planning +great things by way of instruction for Tamar. He was to teach her to +read her native language, as he called the Hebrew, and to give her +various accomplishments, for he had dipped into innumerable branches, +not only of the sciences, but of the arts; and as he happened to have +met with a mind in Tamar which was as rapid as his own, though far more +plodding and persevering, the style of teaching which he gave her, +produced far richer fruit than could possibly have been expected. But as +Rome was not built in a day, neither must it be supposed that good Mrs. +Margaret had not many a laborious, if not weary hour before her part of +the care necessary to the well-rearing of the child, was so complete +that the worthy woman might sit down and expect a small return; for, as +she was wont to say, the child could not be made, for years after she +could hold a needle, to understand that the threads should not be pulled +as tight in darning as in hem stitch, and this, she would say, was +unaccountable, considering how docile the child was in other matters; +and, what was worst of all, was this,--that the little girl, who was as +wild and fleet, when set at liberty, as a gazelle of the mountains, +added not unseldom to the necessity of darning, until Mrs. Margaret +bethought herself of a homespun dress in which Tamar was permitted to +run and career during all hours of recreation in the morning, provided +she would sit quietly with the old lady in an afternoon, dressed like a +pretty miss, in the venerable silks and muslins which were cut down for +her use when no longer capable of being worn by Mrs. Margaret. By this +arrangement Tamar gained health during one part of the day, and a due +and proper behaviour at another; and, as her attachment to Mrs. Margaret +continued to grow with her growth, many and sweet to memory in +after-life were the hours she spent in childhood, seated on a stool at +the lady's feet, whilst she received lessons of needlework, and heard +the many tales which the old lady had to relate. Mrs. Margaret having +led a life without adventures, had made up their deficiency by being a +most graphic recorder of the histories of others; Scheherazade herself +was not a more amusing story-teller; and if the Arabian Princess had +recourse to genii, talismans, and monsters, to adorn her narratives, +neither was Mrs. Dymock without her marvellous apparatus; for she had +her ghosts, her good people, her dwarfs, and dreadful visions of second +sight, wherewith to embellish her histories. There was a piety too, a +reference in all she said to the pleasure and will of a reconciled God, +which added great charms to her narratives, and rendered them peculiarly +interesting to the little girl. Whilst Tamar was under her seventh year, +she never rambled beyond the moat alone; but being seven years old, and +without fear, she extended her excursions, and not unseldom ran as far +as Shanty's shed. + +The old man had always taken credit to him self for the part he had had +in the prosperity of the little girl, and Mrs. Margaret did not fail to +tell her how she had first come to the Tower in Shanty's arms; on these +occasions the child used to say,--"then I must love him, must not I +ma'am?" And being told she must, she did so, that is, she encouraged the +feeling; and on a Sunday when he was washed and had his best coat on, +she used to climb upon his knees, for she always asked leave to visit +him on that day if he did not come up to the Tower, as he often did, to +ask for her, and being on his knees she used to repeat to him what she +had been learning during the week. + +He was very much pleased, when she first read a chapter in the Bible, +and then it was that he first opened out to her some of his ideas on +religion; which were much clearer and brighter than either Mrs. +Margaret's or her nephew's. How this poor and solitary old man had +obtained these notions does not appear; he could not have told the +process himself, though, as he afterwards told Tamar, all the rest he +knew, had seemed to come to him, through the clearing and manifestation +of one passage of Scripture, and this passage was COL. iii. 11. "But +Christ is all." + +"This passage," said the old man, "stuck by me for many days. I was made +to turn it about and about, in my own mind, and to hammer it every way, +till at length, I was made to receive it, in its fulness. Christ I +became persuaded, is not all to one sort of men, and not all to another +sort, nor all at one time of a man's life, and not all at another; nor +all in one circumstance of need, and not all in another; nor all to the +saints and not all to the sinner; nor all in the hour of joy, and not +all in the hour of retribution; being ready and able to supply one want, +and unwilling to supply another. For," as he would add, "does a man want +righteousness? there it is laid for him in Christ; does he want merit? +there is the treasure full and brimming over; does he want rest and +peace? they are also provided for him; does he want faith? there also is +faith prepared for him; but the times and the seasons, these are not +given to him to know; and, if confusion and every evil work now prevail, +Christ being all, he will bring order out of confusion, when the fulness +of the time shall come. + +"And so," continued the old man, "when it was given me to see and +accept this one passage first, in its completeness, all other parts of +Scripture seemed to fall at once into their places; and the prophecies; +the beautiful prophecies of future peace and joy to the earth, of the +destruction of death and of hell, all opened out to me, as being hidden +and shut up in Christ,--for Christ is all; and as I desired the +treasure, so I was drawn more and more towards Him who keeps the +treasure, and all this," he would add, "was done for me, through no +deserts or deservings of my own; for till this light was vouchsafed me, +I was as other unregenerate men, living only to myself, and for myself; +and more than this," he would say, "were it the Divine will to withdraw +the light, I should turn again to be dead and hard, as iron on the cold +anvil." In this way, Shanty often used to talk to Mrs. Margaret, and +after a while to Tamar; but the old lady for many years remained +incapable of entering so entirely as he could wish, into his views of +the sufficiency of the Redeemer. She could not give up entirely her +notions of the need of some works, not as evidences of the salvation of +an individual, but as means of ensuring that salvation, and accordingly +she never met with Shanty for many years, without hinting at this +discrepancy in their opinions, which hints seldom failed of bringing +forward an argument. + +When Tamar was about nine years old, Mr. Dymock gave her a dog. Of this +creature she was very fond, and always accustomed it to accompany her in +her excursions around the Tower. There was on the moor, not many hundred +paces from the Tower, a heap of blocks of granite, some of which bore +evidence of having been cut with a chisel; but these were almost +entirely grown over with saxifrages and other wild plants. + +The country people seldom resorted to this place, because they +accounted it uncanny, and Mrs. Margaret had several wild tales to tell +about it, which greatly interested Tamar. She said, that in the times of +papal power, there had been a monastery there, and in that place a +covenanter had been murdered; hence, it had been pulled down to the +ground, and all the unholy timbers and symbols of idolatry burnt; "and +still," she added, "to this day, uncanny objects are seen in that place, +and wailings as of souls in woe have also been heard coming from thence; +and I myself have heard them. Nay, so short a time ago as the night or +two before you, Tamar, were brought a baby to this house, a light was +seen there, and unearthly voices heard as coming from thence." + +Of course after this, it could not be thought that Tamar should approach +this place quite alone, though she often desired to do so; had not Mrs. +Margaret told her these stories, she probably might never have had this +desire, but there is a principle in human nature, which hankers after +the thing forbidden; hence, as St. Paul says, "By the law is the +knowledge of sin." We are not defending human nature, which is +indefensible, but merely stating facts. Tamar had much desire to visit +this mysterious place; and so it happened one day, when she had her dog +with her, and the sun was shining, and all about her bright and gay, +that she climbed up the little green knoll, and pushing her way through +many brambles, furze bushes, and dwarf shrubs, she found herself in the +centre of the huge heaps of stones and rubbish, of which she had +hitherto seen only the summits, from the windows of the Tower. + +But being arrived there, she came to a stand, to look about her, when +her dog, to whom Dymock had given the poetical name of Sappho, began to +prick up her ears, and snuff as if she scented something more than +ordinary, and the next minute, she dashed forward, made her way through +certain bushes, and disappeared. Tamar called aloud; a hollow echo +re-sounded her voice, but no dog appeared;--again she called,--again she +heard the echo, and again she was silent; but she was by no means a +timid child; she had been too much accustomed to be alone,--too much +used to explore old corners, of which there were multitudes about the +Tower, occupied only by owls and bats. She therefore went forward to the +place where Sappho had disappeared, and forcing aside the shrubs, she +saw before her a low, arched door-way, which, had she understood +architecture, she would have known, from the carvings about the posts +and lintel, to have been Norman. + +She was surprised, indeed, but thinking only of her dog, she called +again, and was perfectly amazed at the long, hollow, and deep sound, of +the reverberation. She stood still again, holding the bushes aside, and +was aware of a rush of damp vapour, blowing in her face. + +Sappho, she called again, and the next minute heard an impatient bark, +or yelp, from the animal, and another sound, low, deep and muttering, +which she could not comprehend. + +She was now getting much alarmed and dropping the boughs, took to +flight, and she had scarcely cleared the rubbish, when Sappho came +scouring after her, jumping upon her as if glad to see her again. She +patted her head, saying "My poor Sappho, what have you seen in that dark +place? I wish you had a tongue to tell me." + +Tamar immediately returned to the Tower, and hastened to tell her +adventure to Mrs. Margaret. + +"Oh!" said the old lady, "is it so? that reminds me of what I heard my +father say, many and many is the year gone by, that there was an old +tradition of a secret passage underground from the Monastery to the +Tower; but he never knew where the passage came into the Tower. But be +it which way it might, it must needs have passed under the moat." + +"How strange!" said Tamar; "but when that passage was made, it could not +have been secret; many people must have known it, and I wonder, then, +how it could have been so entirely forgotten." + +"Who shall say how things were done in those days," said Mrs. Margaret; +"those times long past, when things uncanny had more power than they +have now? But it is not good to talk of such things," added the lady; +"and now, Tamar, let that which you have seen to-day never again be +mentioned by you; for, as sure as the master should hear of it, he would +be for looking into the cavern, and, Heaven knows what he might stir up, +if he were to disturb such things as might be found there. I only wish +that that the mischief may not be already done!" + +But no mischief did occur, at least for a long time, from this +mysterious quarter. Tamar did not again visit the place; and in a short +time thought no more of the matter. + +The happy days of childhood were passing away with Tamar, and sorrow was +coming on her patrons, from a quarter which poor Mrs. Margaret had long +darkly anticipated; but whilst these heavy clouds were hanging over the +house of Dymock, a few, though not very important events intervened. + +Mr. Dymock, by fits and snatches, had given such lessons to Tamar as had +enabled her to proceed, by her own exertions, in several branches of +knowledge quite out of the sphere of Mrs. Margaret. + +Amongst these was the history of the Jews, carried on in connection +between the New and Old Testament, and afterwards in Christian times, +and to these he added certain crude views of prophecy; for he was +resolved that Tamar was a Jewess, and he had talked himself into the +belief that she was of some distinguished family. + +It is no difficult matter to impress young persons with ideas of their +own importance; and none are more liable to receive such impressions, +than those who, like Tamar, are in the dark respecting their origin. + +The point on which Mr. Dymock failed in his interpretations of prophecy, +is not unfrequently mistaken, even in this more enlightened age. He +never considered or understood, that all prophecy is delivered in +figurative language; every prophecy in the Old Testament having first a +literal and incomplete fulfilment, the complete and spiritual fulfilment +being future. He did not see that the Jews, according to the flesh, were +types of the Spiritual Israel; that David was the emblem of the +Saviour; and that the universal kingdom promised to the seed of David, +was no other than the kingdom of Christ, into which all the children of +God will be gathered together as into one fold under one Shepherd. Not +seeing this, he anticipated a period of earthly triumph for the Jews, +such as an ambitious, worldly man might anticipate with delight; and he +so filled the mind of his young pupil with these notions of the +superiority of her race, that it is a miracle that he did not utterly +ruin her. As it was, she counted herself greatly superior to all about +her, and was much hurt and offended when old Shanty represented the +simple truth to her, telling her, that even were she the lineal +descendant of Solomon himself, she could have no other privilege than +that of the lowest Gentile who has obtained a new birth-right in the +Saviour of mankind; "for," said he, "under the Gospel dispensation +there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek,--the same Lord +over all, is rich unto all that call upon him," Rom. x. 12. + +It did not, however, suit Tamar to adopt these truths at the present +time; and as Shanty could not succeed with her, he took the liberty of +speaking to Mr. Dymock on the subject. + +"Why do you fill the young girl's mind, Dymock," said he, "with such +fancies as you do? But, leaving her alone, let us speak of the Jews in +general. They that wish them well should not fill them up with notions +of a birth-right which they have forfeited, and thus confirm them in the +very same pride which led them to crucify the Lord of Glory. What is a +Jew more than another man? for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; +neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a +Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the +spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." +Rom. ii. 28, 29. + +Mr. Dymock would not listen to honest Shanty on this subject, much as he +respected him; and, indeed, the poor Laird was at this time deeply +oppressed with other matters. + +He had, in his various speculations, so entirely neglected his own +affairs for some years past, that poverty, nay actual penury, was +staring in his face. He had formerly mortgaged, by little and little, +most of his lands, and nothing now remained to make money of, but the +Castle itself and a few acres around it, with the exception only of a +cottage and a small field, hitherto occupied by a labourer, which lay in +a kind of hollow on the side of the knoll, where the entrance of the +secret cavern was. This cottage was as remote from Dymock's Tower in one +way, as Shanty's shed was in another; although the three dwellings +formed together a sort of equilateral triangle. Mr. Dymock long +suspected that this labourer had done his share to waste his substance; +and once or twice it had occurred to him, that if he left the Castle he +might retire to the cottage. But yet, to part with the Castle, could he +find a purchaser, would, he feared, be death to Mrs. Margaret, and how +would Tamar bear it?--this glorious Maid of Judah, as he was wont to +call her,--this palm tree of Zion, this daughter of David,--the very +fine person, and very superior air of Tamar having confirmed him in the +impression of her noble birth. It was whilst these heavy thoughts +respecting what must be done in the management of his affairs dwelt on +his mind, that the same man who had finished the unfortunate plough +appeared again in Shanty's shed. + +The old man recognized him immediately, although fourteen years had much +changed his appearance, and he at once charged him with having had some +concern with the woman who left the child. + +The well-acted astonishment of the vagrant, for such he was, silenced +Shanty, though it did not convince him that he was mistaken in his +conjecture. However, the old man, changing his mode of attack, and +regretting that he had put the stranger on his guard by giving him so +home a thrust, pretended to be convinced, and entered into easy +conversation with him; amongst other things asking him if perchance he +knew of any one who wanted to purchase an estate? + +"Aye!" said the vagrant, to whom as we small have the pleasure of +introducing him again, we think it may be well to give the name of +Harefoot,--"Aye! old gentleman, and might one ask where this estate of +yours may be?" + +"It is of no consequence," replied Shanty, "I answer no questions, as +not being empowered so to do. At all events, however, the estate is not +far from hence, and it is a magnificent place, I promise you, More's the +pity, that those who have owned it for some hundreds of years, should be +compelled to part with it." + +Other matters were then introduced, and Shanty endeavoured to wind about +Harefoot, but with little success; for, deep as he thought himself, he +had one deeper to deal with. In truth, poor Shanty was but a babe in +cunning, and the vagrant departed, without having dropped a single hint +which could be taken hold of respecting Tamar. In the meantime troubles +were pressing upon poor Dymock, the interest of moneys lent on the +motgage was not forthcoming, and the Laird having no better friend (and +as to a sincerer he needed none,) than poor Shanty, used from day to day +to go down to the shed, to open his heart to the old man. + +Shanty had long advised his patron to tell his situation to Mrs. +Margaret, and to advertise the sale of the castle, but Dymock's pride +had not yet so far submitted itself, as to enable him to make so public +a confession of the downfall of the family, as an advertisement +would do. + +"I cannot open my heart to my aunt, Shanty," he said, "she, poor +creature, has devoted her whole life to keeping up the dignity of the +house; how, then, will she bear to see the whole labour of her life +annihilated?" + +"The sooner she knows of what is coming the better," returned Shanty, +"if she is not prepared, the blow when it comes, will go nigh utterly to +overpower her," and the old man proposed to go himself, to open the +matter to her. + +"You shall, Shanty, you shall," said the Laird, "but wait a little, wait +a little, we may hear of a purchaser for the castle, and when such a one +is found, then you shall speak to my aunt." + +"But first," said Shanty, "let me prepare your adopted one, let me open +the matter to her; she is of an age, in which she ought to think and act +no longer as a child; it is now fourteen years since I carried her up in +my arms to Dymock's Tower, and though the young girl is too much filled +up with pride, yet I fear not but that she is a jewel, which will shine +brighter, when rubbed under the wheel of adversity; allowing what I +hope, that there is a jewel under that crust of pride." + +"Pride!" repeated Dymock, flying off into the region of romance, "and if +a daughter of Zion, a shoot from the Cedar of Lebanon, is not to carry +her head high, who is to do so? the fate of her race may indeed follow +her, and she may be brought down, to sit in the dust, but still even in +the dust, she may yet boast her glorious origin." + +Shanty raised his hands and eyes, "Lord help you! Dymock," he said, "but +you are clean demented. I verily believe, that the child is nothing +mere than the offspring of a begging gipsy, and that if her mother had +been hanged, she would only have met with her deserts." + +Discussions of this kind were constantly taking place between Shanty and +Dymock, and it was in the very midst of one these arguments, that the +rare appearance of a hired chaise,--a job and pair, as Shanty called it, +appeared coming over the moor, directly to the shed, and so quick was +the approach, that the Laird and the blacksmith had by no means finished +their conjectures respecting this phenomenon, before the equipage came +to a stand, in the front of the hut. + +As the carriage stopped, a spare, sallow, severe looking old gentlemen, +put his head out of the window, and calling to the post boy, in a sharp, +querulous tone, asked if he were quite sure that he was right? + +"Not sure that this is old Shanty's hut; Shanty of Dymock's Moor," +replied the post-boy, in a broad Northern accent; "ask me if I don't +know my own mother's son, though she never had but one bairn." + +Dymock and Shanty no sooner heard the voice of the boy, than they both +recognized him, and stepping forward, they went up to the carriage and +offered to assist the old gentleman to alight; he received their +civilities with very little courtesy. However, he got out of the +carriage, and giving himself a shake, and a sort of twist, which caused +the lappets of his coat to expand, like the fan-tail of a pigeon, he +asked, if the place was Dymock's Moor, and if the old man he saw before +him, was one called Shanty of the Moor? The blacksmith declared himself +to be that same person, "and this gentlemen," he added, pointing to +Dymock, whose every day dress, by the bye, did not savor much of the +Laird, "This gentleman is Dymock himself." + +"Ah, is it so," said the stranger, "my business then is with him, show +me where I can converse with him." + +"I have no parlour to offer you," said Shanty; "to my shed, however, +such as it is, I make you welcome." + +No gracious notice was taken by the stranger of the offer, but without +preamble or ceremony, he told his errand to Mr. Dymock. "I hear," he +said, "that you wish to sell your Tower, and the lands which surround +it; if after looking at it, and finding that it suits me, you will agree +to let me have it, I will pay you down in moneys, to the just and due +amount of the value thereof, but first I must see it." + +"It stands there, Sir," said Shanty, seeing that Mr. Dymock's heart was +too full to permit him to speak; "it stands there, Sir, and is as noble +an object as my eye ever fell upon. The Tower," continued the old man, +"at this minute, lies directly under the only dark cloud now in the +heavens; nevertheless, a slanting ray from the westering sun now falls +on its highest turret; look on, Sir, and say wherever have you seen a +grander object?" + +The old gentleman uttered an impatient pish, and said, "Old man, your +travels must needs have lain in small compass, if you think much of yon +heap of stones and rubbish." The Laird's choler was rising, and he would +infallibly have told the stranger to have walked himself off, if Shanty +had not pulled him by the sleeve, and, stepping before the stranger, +said something in a soothing way, which should enhance the dignity of +the Tower and encourage the pretended purchaser. + +"I must see it, I must see it," returned the old gentleman, "not as now +mixed up with the clouds, but I must examine it, see its capabilities, +and know precisely what it is worth, and how it can be secured to me and +my heirs for ever." + +It was warm work which poor Shanty now had to do; between the irritated +seller and the testy buyer, he had never been in a hotter place before +his own forge, and there was wind enough stirring in all reason, without +help of bellows, for the Laird puffed and groaned and uttered half +sentences, and wished himself dead, on one side of the old blacksmith, +whilst the stranger went on as calmly, coolly, and deliberately, with +his bargain, on the other side, as if he were dealing with creatures +utterly without feeling. Shanty turned first to one, and then to +another; nodding and winking to Dymock to keep quiet on one side, whilst +he continued to vaunt the merits of the purchase on the other. + +At length, on a somewhat more than usually testy remark of the stranger +reaching the ears of the Laird, he burst by Shanty and had already +uttered these words, "Let me hear no more of this, I am a gentleman, and +abominate the paltry consideration of pounds, shillings, and pence;" +when Shanty forcibly seizing his arm, turned him fairly round, +whispering, "Go, and for the sake of common sense, hold your tongue, +leave the matter to me, let me bargain for you; go and tell Mrs. +Margaret that we are coming, and make what tale you will to her, to +explain our unceremonious visit; you had better have told her +all before." + +The Laird informed Shanty that there was no need of going up to the +Tower to inform his aunt, as she and Tamar were gone that day over the +border to visit a friend; but added he, "I take your offer, Shanty, make +the bargain for me if you can, and I shall not appear till I am wanted +to sign and seal," and away marched the Laird nor was he forthcoming +again for some hours. + +After he was gone, Shanty begged leave to have a few minutes given him +for washing his hands and face and making himself decent, and then +walked up with the testy old gentlemen to the castle. Little as Shanty +knew of the great and grand world, yet his heart misgave him, lest the +ruinous state of the castle, (although the Tower itself stood in its +ancient and undilapidated strength,) should so entirely disgust the +stranger that he should at once renounce all ideas of the purchase; he +was therefore much pleased when the old gentleman, having gone grumbling +and muttering into every room and every outhouse, crying, it is naught! +it is naught! as buyers generally do, bade Shanty tell the Laird that he +was going to the nearest town, that he should be there till the business +was settled, that he would give the fair valuation for the estate, and +that the payment should be prompt. + +Shanty was, indeed astonished; he was all amazement, nor did he recover +himself, till he saw the old gentleman walk away, and get into his +carriage which was waiting on the other side of the moat, it not being +particularly convenient, on account of the total deficiency of anything +like a bridge or passable road? to bring a carriage larger than a +wheel-barrow up to the castle. + +Dymock returned to the shed, when he, from some place of observation on +the moor, saw that the carriage had reached the high road, and there, +having been told all that had passed, the poor gentleman (who, by the +bye, was not half pleased with the idea of the honours of Dymock falling +into the hands of such a purchaser,) informed Shanty that he must +prepare to go with him the next day to Hexham, where the stranger had +appointed to meet him. + +"I go with you!" exclaimed Shanty, "was ever so strange a conceit." + +"I shall be fleeced, shorn, ruined," implied Mr. Dymock, "if I go to +make a bargain, without a grain of common sense in my company." + +"True," returned Shanty, "your worship is right; but how are we to go? I +have plenty of horse-shoes by me, but neither you, nor I Laird, I fear +could find any four legs to wear them." + +"We must e'en walk then," said Dymock, "nay, I would gladly carry you on +my back, rather than descend to the meanness of driving a bargain with a +testy old fellow like that; by the bye, Shanty, what does he +call himself?" + +"Salmon," replied Shanty, "and I mistake if he has not a touch of the +foreigner on his tongue." + +"You will accompany me, then Shanty," said the Laird. + +"I will," he replied, "if this evening you will open the business out to +Mrs. Margaret." + +"It cannot be Shanty," replied Dymock chuckling, "for she does not +expect to be back over the border till to-morrow, and when to-morrow is +over and we know what we are about, then you shall tell her all." + +"Dymock," said Shanty, "you are hard upon me, when you have a morsel to +swallow that is too tough for you, you put it into my mouth; but," added +the old man kindly, "there is not much that I would refuse to do for +your father's son." + +The sun had not yet risen over the moor, when Dymock and Shanty, both +arrayed in their best, set off for Hexham, where they found the crabbed +old gentlemen, still in the humour of making the purchase, though he +abused the place in language at once rude and petulant; his offer, +however, was, as Shanty compelled Dymock to see, a very fair one, though +the more sensible and wary blacksmith could not persuade his friend to +beware of trusting anything to the honour of Mr. Salmon. + +Dymock's estate had been deeply mortgaged, the sale was made subject to +the mortgages, and the purchaser was bound to pay the mortgagee the +mortgage moneys, after which there was small surplus coming to poor +Dymock. This small surplus was, however, paid down on the signing of the +papers; still, however, there was an additional payment to take place +soon after possession. + +This payment was, it was supposed, to be for fixtures and other +articles, which were to be left on the premises, and it was not to be +asked till Mr. Salmon had been resident a few weeks. The amount was +between five and six hundred pounds, and was in fact all that Dymock +would have to depend upon besides his cottage, his field, a right of +shooting on the moor, and fishing in a lake which belonged to the +estate, and about twenty pounds a year which appertained to Mrs. +Margaret, from which it was supposed she had made some savings. + +Shanty had succeeded in forcing the Laird to listen to the dictates of +prudence, and to act with sufficient caution, till it came to what he +called the dirty part of the work, to wit, the valuation of small +articles, and then was the blood of the Dymocks all up; nor would he +hear of requiring a bond for the payment of this last sum, such a +document, in fact, as should bind the purchaser down to payment without +dispute. He contented himself only with such a note from the old man as +ought he asserted to be quite sufficient, and it was utterly useless for +Shanty to expostulate. The Laird had got on his high horse and was +prancing and capering beyond all the controul of his honest friend, +whilst Mr. Salmon, no doubt, laughed in his sleeve, and only lamented +that he had not known Dymock better from the first, for in that case he +would have used his cunning to have obtained a better bargain of the +castle and lands. It was not one nor two visits to Hexham which +completed these arrangements; however Mr. Dymock, after the first +visit, no longer refused to permit Shanty to open out every thing to his +aunt, and to prepare her to descend into a cottage, on an income of +forty or fifty pounds a year. + +Mrs. Margaret bore the information better than Shanty had expected; she +had long anticipated some such blow, and her piety enabled her to bear +it with cheerfulness. "I now," she said, "know the worst, and I see not +wherefore, though I am a Dymock, I should not be happy in a cottage, I +am only sorry for Tamar; poor Tamar! what will become of her?" + +"Oh mother! dear mother!" said Tamar weeping, "why are you sorry for me, +cannot I go with you? surely you would not part from me;" and she fell +weeping on Mrs. Margaret's bosom. + +"Never before! oh, never before," cried Mrs. Margaret, "did I feel my +poverty as I do now." + +"Mother dear! oh mother dear! had I thousands of pounds, I would devote +them all to you, and to my dear protector." + +"God helping you, or God working in you Tamar," said Shanty, rubbing his +rough hand across his eyes, "but never boast of what you will do, dear +child; boasting does not suit the condition of humanity." + +"Oh! that I could now find my father," she replied, "and if I could find +him a rich man, what a comfort it would be; what would I give now," she +added, "to find a rich father!" + +Mrs. Margaret kissed her child, and wept with her, calling her a dear, +affectionate, grateful creature; but Shanty made no remark respecting +Tamar's gratitude; he had it in his mind to speak to her when alone, and +he very soon found the opportunity he wished. + +It was on the next Sunday that he met Tamar walking on the moor, and it +was then that he thus addressed her, "I was sorry damsel," he said, "to +hear you speak as you did to Mrs. Margaret the other day, making a +profession of what you would do for her if you were rich, and yet never +offering her that which you have to give her." + +"What have I to give her?" asked Tamar. + +"Much," replied the old man; "much, very much. You have strength, and +activity, and affection to give her. With forty pounds a-year, a house, +and a little field, which is all your adopted parents will have, can +they, think you, keep a servant? Will not the very closest care be +necessary, and should not one who is young, and faithful, and attached, +rejoice to serve her benefactors at such time as this, and to render +their fall as easy as possible; and where, I ask you, Tamar, should they +find such service as you can render them?" + +They were walking side by side, the old man and the beautiful girl, +among the heather of the moor; and he was looking up kindly and +animatedly to her,--for he was a remarkably short, thick-set man,--but +she was looking down on the ground, whilst a bitter struggle was passing +in her mind. She had been filled up by her guardian with wild fancies of +her own greatness, which was hereafter to be made manifest; and it would +have been too strong for unaided nature, to bring herself to submit to +such drudgeries as duty seemed now to require of her; her bright-brown +cheek was flushed with the inward contest, and her bosom seemed to be +almost swelled to suffocation. But the assistance required was not +withheld in the hour of need, and Shanty was soon made aware of the +change of feelings which was suddenly imparted to the orphan by the +change of the expression of her countenance; the tears had already +filled her eyes, when she turned to her old friend, and thanked him for +his reproof, expressing her conviction, that his advice was that of a +true Christian, and begging him always to tell her, in like manner, +when he saw that she was going wrong. A more general discussion on the +subject of true religion then followed, and Shanty assured Tamar, that +all high notions of self, whether of birth, talents, or riches, were +unpleasing in the sight of God, and utterly inconsistent with that view +of salvation by Christ, which is independent of all human merit. Such +was the nature of the lessons given by the old man to Tamar. His +language was, however, broad, and full of north-country phrases, so much +so, as to have rendered them inexplicable to one who had not been +accustomed to the Border dialect. From that day, however, through the +divine mercy, the heart of Tamar was given to the duties which she saw +before her, and all her activity was presently put into requisition; for +Mr. Salmon had given notice, that he should take possession of Dymock's +Tower as soon as it could be got ready for him, and he also sent persons +to make the preparations which he required. These preparations were of +a most singular nature; his object appeared neither to be the +beautifying of the old place, or even the rendering it more comfortable, +for he neither sent new furniture, nor ordered the restoration of any of +the dilapidated chambers or courts. But he ordered the moat to be +repaired, so that it could be filled and kept full, and he directed that +a light draw-bridge should also be erected. The walls of the inner +courts were also to be put to rights, and new gates added. There was a +great laugh in the country respecting this unknown humourist; and some +said he was preparing for a siege, and others going to set up for a +modern Rob Roy, and Castle-Dymock was to be his head-quarters. + +The greater part of the furniture, and all the fixtures, were to be paid +for by the money for which the Laird had Mr. Salmon's memorandum; and +they who knew their condition, said that the things had been brought to +a good market, as little of the furniture would have been worth the +carriage across the moor. Nothing at present, therefore, remained for +the aunt and the nephew to do, but to remove to the cottage as soon as +it should be ready to receive them. + +This humble habitation was situated in a small nook or vale of the moor +called Heatherdale. A little fresh-water spring ran through it, coming +in at the higher end of the valley, and going out through a natural +cleft in a block of granite at the other end. There were many tall trees +scattered on the banks within the dell; and the place was so sheltered, +that many a plant would flourish in the garden on the south side of the +house, which could hardly be kept alive in any other situation in +the country. + +The cottage was an old, black, timbered and thatched edifice, and had +four rooms of considerable dimensions, two above and two below, with a +porch in the front, overgrown with briony and another hardy creeper. As +soon as this tenement was vacated, and the Laird's intention of +inhabiting it known, the ancient tenants of the family all manifested +their affection by using their several crafts in repairing the cottage, +and setting the house to rights,--one mended the thatch, another +repaired the wood-work, a third white-washed the walls, another mended +the paling, and old Shanty did any little job in his way which might +be required. + +The labours of love never hang long on hand, and though the old tenant +had gone out only at Lady-day, the hawthorn had scarcely blossomed when +the affectionate people pronounced the work complete. + +Poor Dymock had become very restless when he saw the changes which were +going on at the Tower; but when there was no longer an excuse to be +found for delaying the removal, he gave way altogether, or rather, we +should say, made a cut and run, and went off to botanize the lakes in +Westmoreland, with a knapsack on his back, and a guinea in his pocket. + +Before he went, however, he had opened his heart to his daughter Tamar, +saying, "I now take leave, dear child, of the life of a gentleman; +henceforward I must content myself with the corner of a kitchen ingle; +and this, truly, is a berth," he added, "too good for a cumberer of the +ground, such as I am." He said this as he passed through the gate of the +court, giving his adopted one time only to snatch his hand and kiss it, +and he was gone beyond her hearing before she could relieve her heart +with a burst of tears. After a while, however, she dried them up, and +began to busy her mind in thinking what she could do to render the +cottage comfortable for her beloved guardian; and having at length +formed her plan, she ran to Mrs. Margaret, and asked her permission to +take the arrangement of their new house. + +"Let me," said she, "see all the things put in their places; you and I, +dear aunt Margaret, will have to ourselves a kitchen as neat as a +palace, and we will make a study of the inner room for Mr. Dymock." + +"What!" said the old lady, "and give up our parlour?" + +"Dear mother," replied the young girl carelessly, "if there is to be no +maid but poor Tamar, why should not the kitchen be the happiest place, +for her own dear mother? You shall have your chair in the corner, +between the window and the fire-place, and your little work-table by it, +and then you can direct me without moving from your needle. Oh! dear, +aunt Margaret," she added, "I am beginning to think that we shall be +happier in the cottage, than we have been in the Castle; we shall have +fewer cares, and shall have a pleasure in putting our small means to +the best. Do not the scatterings of the flock, aunt Margaret, make us as +warm hose as the prime of the fleece?" + +"That may be doubted child," replied the old lady with a smile, "but go +young creature, take your way; I believe ere yet you have done, that +you, with your sunny smile, will cheat me into contentment before +I know what I am about; but mind, my lovely one," she added, "I +will tell you how it is. I have been led to see how God in his +displeasure,--displeasure, I say, on account of the pride of ancestry +and station, which I have hitherto persisted in cherishing,--how God, I +repeat, in his displeasure has remembered mercy, and, in taking away +that which is worthless, has left me that which is most precious, even +you my bright one." + +The old lady then kissed Tamar, and gave her the permission she +required, to arrange the cottage according to her own fancy. When the +day of removal actually arrived, being the day after the Laird had +walked himself off, the neighbours, with Shanty at their head, came +to assist. + +Tamar had determined upon having the room within the kitchen, for her +beloved father by adoption; a village artist having understood her pious +wish, had stained the walls of light grey, and painted the frame of the +casement window of the same colour. Tamar had prepared a curtain of some +light drapery for the window; a well-darned carpet covered the floor, +the Laird's bookcases occupied one entire end of the room opposite the +window, the wonted table of the old study at the Tower was placed in the +centre of the floor, and was covered with its usual cloth, a somewhat +tarnished baize, with a border worked in crewels by Mrs. Margaret in +days gone by. In the centre of this table the inkstand was placed, and +on the opposite wall, a venerable time-piece, asserted, with what truth +we presume not to say, to be nearly as old as the clock sent by Haroun +Al Raschid to the emperor Charlemagne. A few high-backed chairs, certain +strange chimney ornaments, and other little matters dear to the Laird, +finished the furniture of this room, and Tamar perfectly laughed with +joy, when, having seen all done, she became aware that this small +apartment was in fact more comfortable than the cold, wide, many-drafted +study in the Tower. + +Those who were with her caught the merry infection and laughed too, and +Shanty said, "But dear one, whilst you thus rejoice in your own +contrivances, have you not a word of praise to give to Him, who has +spread such glories as no human skill could create, beyond yon little +window?" The old man then opened the casement, and showed the sweet and +peaceful scene which there presented itself; for the cottage was +enclosed in a small dell, the green sides of which seemed to shut out +all the world, enclosing within their narrow limits, a running brook, +and hives of bees, and many fragrant flowers. + +Tamar was equally successful, and equally well pleased with her +arrangements in other parts of the cottage; the kitchen opened on one +side to a little flower garden, on the other to the small yard, where +Mrs. Margaret intended to keep her poultry, and the whole domain was +encompassed by the small green field, which made up the extent of the +dell, and was the only bit of land left to the representative of the +house of Dymock. But Mrs. Margaret had reckoned that the land would keep +a little favourite cow, and with this object Tamar had taken great pains +to learn to milk. + +When all was ready, Mrs. Margaret with many tears took leave of Dymock's +Tower; she had not seen the process of preparation in the cottage, and +was therefore perfectly astonished when she entered the house. Tamar +received her with tears of tenderness, and the worthy lady having +examined all the arrangements, blessed her adopted one, and confessed +that they had all in that place that man really required. Neither did +she or Tamar find that they had more to do than was agreeable; if they +had no servants to wait upon them, they had no servants to disarrange +their house. They had engaged an old cottager on the moor to give them +an hour's work every evening, and for this they paid him with a stoup of +milk, or some other small product of their dairy; money they had not to +spare, and this he knew,--nor did he require any; he would have given +his aid to the fallen family for nothing, had it been asked of him. + +In wild and thinly peopled countries, there is more of neighbourly +affection,--more of private kindness and sympathy than in crowded +cities. Man is a finite creature; he cannot take into his heart many +objects at once, and such, indeed, is the narrowness of his +comprehension, that he cannot even conceive how the love of an infinite +being can be generally exercised through creation. It is from this +incapacity that religious people, at least too many of them, labour so +sedulously as they do to instil the notion of the particularity of the +work of salvation, making it almost to appear, that the Almighty Father +brings beings into existence, merely to make them miserable,--but we are +wandering from our story. + +Aunt Margaret and Tamar had been at the cottage a fortnight before +Dymock returned; Tamar saw him first coming down the glen, looking +wearied, dispirited and shabby. + +She ran out to meet her adopted father, and sprang into his arms; his +eyes were filled with tears, and her bright smiles caused those eyes +to overflow. + +She took his hand, she brought him in, she set him a chair, and Mrs. +Margaret kissing him, said "Come Dymock brighten up, and thank your God +for a happy home." + +Dymock sighed, Tamar took his heavy knapsack from him, and placed before +him bread and butter, and cheese, and a stoup of excellent beer. + +"Eat, dear father," she said, "and then you shall go to bed, (for it was +late in the evening,) and to-morrow you will see what a sweet place this +is;" but poor Dymock could not rally that night. Tamar had always slept +with Mrs. Margaret, and the best room of the two above stairs had been +prepared for Dymock, Mrs. Margaret having found a place under the +rafters for her innumerable boxes. + +The poor Laird slept well, and when he awoke the sun was shining into +his room, and aunt Margaret had arranged his clean clothes at the foot +of his bed; he arose in better spirits, and dressing himself, he went +down; he found Tamar in the kitchen, and she, without speaking, took his +hand and led him to his study. + +The poor gentleman could not bear this: he saw the sacrifice his aunt +had made for him, and the exertions also which Tamar must have made to +produce this result, and he fairly wept; but this burst of agitation +being over, he embraced his adopted child, and expressed his earnest +hope that henceforward he might be enabled to live more closely with +his God. + +But the mind of Dymock was not a well balanced one; he could not live +without a scheme, and he had scarcely been two days in the cottage, when +he re-aimed at the ideas which he had formerly indulged of becoming an +author, and of obtaining both fame and money by his writings. Mrs. +Margaret was fretted when she was made aware of this plan, and sent +Tamar to Shanty, to ask him to talk him out of the fancy, and to +persuade him to adopt some employment, if it were only digging in his +garden, which might bring in something; but Shanty sent Tamar back to +Mrs. Margaret to tell her that she ought to be thankful that there was +anything found which would keep the Laird easy and quiet, and out of the +way of spending the little which he had left. Poor Dymock, therefore, +was not disturbed in his attempts at authorship, and there he used to +sit in his study with slip-shod feet, an embroidered dressing gown, +which Mrs. Margaret had quilted from an old curtain, and a sort of +turban twisted about his head, paying no manner of attention to hours or +seasons. As Mrs. Margaret only allowed him certain inches of candle, he +could not sit up all night as geniuses ought to be permitted to do; but +then he would arise with the lark and set to work, before any of the +labourers on the moor were in motion. In vain did Mrs. Margaret complain +and expostulate; she even in her trouble sent Tamar again to Shanty to +request him to plead with the Laird, and beg him to allow himself to +enjoy his regular rest; but in this case when she required Shanty's aid, +she had reckoned without her host. + +"Go back to Mrs. Margaret, damsel," he said, "go and tell the lady that +as long as she can keep the Laird from work by candle light, so long no +harm is done, and if instead of murmuring at this early rising, fair +child, you will take example by him, and leave your bed at the same time +that your hear him go down, you will do well. He that lies in bed gives +a daily opportunity to his servants, if he has any to serve him, to do +mischief before he is up, and she that rises with the sun and goes +straight forward, like an arrow in its course, in the path of her +duties, shall find fewer thorns and more roses in that path, than those +who indulge in ease. Through divine mercy," continued the old man, "our +own exertions are not needed for the assurance of our salvation, but +sloth and carelessness tend to penury and misery, in this present life; +and there is no sloth more ruinous to health and property than that of +wasting the precious morning hours in bed." + +Tamar was not deaf to the pleadings of Shanty; she began immediately to +rise with the first crowing of the cock, and thus obtained so much time +for her business, that she could then afford herself some for reading. +Mrs. Margaret took also to rise early, so that instead of breakfasting +as formerly at eight o'clock, the family took that meal at seven; but +the Laird often managed to have such bright and valuable thoughts just +at breakfast time, that for the sake of posterity, as he was wont to +say, he could by no means endanger the loss of them by suffering such a +common place interruption as that of breakfast, such an every day and +vulgar concern. On these occasions Tamar always took in his coffee and +toast, and set it before him, and she generally had the pleasure of +finding that he took what she brought him, though he seldom appeared to +be aware either of her entrance or her exit, Mrs. Margaret invariably +exclaiming when Tamar reported her reception in the study, "Lord help +him! see what it is to be a genius!" + +In the meantime, the moat around Dymock's Tower was repaired and filled +up, or was fast filling up; the draw-bridge was in its place, and the +gates and walls restored; and as the neighbours said, the Tower wanted +nothing but men and provisions to enable it to stand a siege. At length, +all being pronounced ready, though no interior repairing had taken +place, the new possessor arrived, bringing with him two servants, an old +man and an old woman, and many heavy packages, which were stowed in a +cart, and lifted out by himself and his man-servant, whom he called +Jacob. This being done, he and his people were heard of no more, or +rather seen no more, being such close housekeepers, that they admitted +no one over the moat, though the man Jacob, rode to the nearest market +every week on the horse which had dragged the baggage, to bring what was +required, which, it was said, was not much more than was necessary to +keep the bodies and souls of three people together. + +Numerous and strange were the speculations made by all people on the +moor upon these new tenants of Dymock's Tower, and Shanty's shed was a +principal scene of these speculations. Various were the reproaches which +were cast on the strangers, and no name was too bad for them. + +"Our old Laird," one remarked, "was worth ten thousand such. As long as +he had a crust, he would divide it with any one that wanted it. Mark but +his behaviour to the poor orphan, who is now become the finest girl, +notwithstanding her dark skin, in all the country round." + +Then followed speculations on the parentage of Tamar, and old Shanty +asserted that he believed her to be nothing more or less than the +daughter of the gipsy hag who had laid her at his door. Some said she +was much to good to be the child of a gipsy; and then Shanty asserted, +that the grace of God could counteract not only the nature of a child of +a vagrant of the worst description, but even that of such vagrant +himself; the Spirit of God being quick and powerful, and sharper than a +two-edged sword. + +Shanty was a sort of oracle amongst his simple neighbours, and what he +said was not often disputed to his face; nevertheless, there was not an +individual on the moor who knew Tamar, who did not believe her to be a +princess in disguise or something very wonderful; and, at the bottom of +her heart, poor Tamar still indulged this same belief, though she did +not now, as formerly express it. + +It was in the month of June, very soon after, Mr. Salmon had arrived at +the Tower, and before Dymock, who was a woful procrastinator, had gone +to demand the last payment, that Tamar, who was extraordinarily light +and active, had undertaken to walk to the next village to procure some +necessaries; she had three miles to go over the moor, nor could she go +till after dinner. Her way lay by Shanty's shed; and Mrs. Margaret +admonished her, if anything detained her, to call on Shanty, and ask him +to walk over the remainder of the moor with her on her return. + +When she came down from preparing herself for this walk, all gay and +blooming with youth and health, and having a basket on her arm, she met +Dymock in the little garden. + +"Whither away? beautiful Maid of Judah," said the genius. "My +bright-eyed Tamar," he added, "I have been thinking of a poem, and if I +can but express my ideas, it will be the means of lifting up my family +again from the destitution into which it has fallen. My subject is the +restoration of Jerusalem in the latter days, and the lifting up of the +daughters of Zion from the dust. The captives of Israel now are hewers +of wood and carriers of water; but the time will come when the hands +that now wear the manacles of servitude shall be comely with rows +of jewels." + +"If no daughter of Judah," replied Tamar, "wears heavier manacles than I +do, dear father, they may bear them with light hearts;" and, as she +passed quickly by her adopted father, she snatched his hand and kissed +it, and soon she disappeared beyond the boundary of the glen. + +Tamar reached the village in so short a time, and did her errands so +quickly, that having some hours of light before her, she thought she +would try another way of return, over a small bridge, which in fact +spanned the very water-course which ran through her glen; but being +arrived at this bridge, to her surprise she found it broken down. It +was only a single plank, and the wood had rotted and given way. The +brook was too wide and deep in that place to permit her to cross it, and +the consequence was, that she must needs go round more than a mile; and, +what added to her embarrassment, the evening, which had been fine, was +beginning to cloud over, the darkness of the sky hastening the approach +of the dusk. She had now farther to walk than she had when in the +village; and, added to the threatenings of the clouds, there were +frequent flashings of pale lightning, and remote murmurings of thunder. +But Tamar was not easily alarmed; she had been brought up independently, +and already had she recovered the direct path from the village to +Shanty's shed, when suddenly a tall figure of a female arose, as it +were, out of the broom and gorse, and stepped in the direction in which +she was going, walking by her side for a few paces without speaking +a word. + +The figure was that of a gipsy, and the garments, as Tamar glanced +fearfully at them as they floated in a line with her steps, bespoke a +variety of wretchedness scarcely consistent with the proud and elastic +march of her who wore them. + +Whilst Tamar felt a vague sense of terror stealing over her, the woman +spoke, addressing her without ceremony, saying, "So you have been driven +to come this way at last; have you been so daintily reared that you +cannot wade a burn which has scarcely depth enough to cover the pebbles +in its channel. Look you," she added, raising her arm, and pointing her +finger,--"see you yon rising ground to the left of those fir trees on +the edge of the moor,--from the summit of that height the sea is +visible, and I must, ere many hours, be upon those waters, in such a +bark as you delicately-bred dames would not confide in on a summer's +day on Ulswater Mere." + +Whilst the woman spoke, Tamar looked to her and then from her, but not a +word did she utter. + +"Do you mind me?" said the gipsy; "I have known you long, aye very long. +You were very small when I brought you to this place. I did well for you +then. Are you grateful?" + +Tamar now did turn and look at her, and looked eagerly, and carefully, +and intently on her dark and weather-beaten countenance. + +"Ah!" said the gipsy, whilst a smile of scorn distorted her lip,--"so +you will demean yourself now to look upon me; and you would like to know +what I could tell you?" + +"Indeed, indeed, I would!" exclaimed Tamar, all flushed and trembling. +"Oh, in pity, in mercy tell me who I am and who are my parents?--if +they still live; if I have any chance or--hope of seeing them?" + +"One is no more," replied the gipsy. "She from whom I took you lies in +the earth on Norwood Common. I stretched the corpse myself,--it was a +bonny corpse." + +Tamar fetched a deep, a very deep sigh. "Does my father live?" she +asked. + +"Your father!" repeated the gipsy, with a malignant laugh,--"your +father!" + +Tamar became more and more agitated; but excessive feeling made her +appear almost insensible. With great effort she repeated,--"Does my +father live?" + +"He does," replied the woman, with a malignant smile, "and shall I tell +you where and how?--shut up, confined in a strong-hold, caught like a +vile animal in a trap. Do you understand me, Tamar? I think they call +you Tamar." + +"What!" said the poor girl, gasping for breath, "is my father a +convicted felon?" + +"I used no such words," replied the gipsy; "but I told you that he lies +shut up; and he is watched and guarded, too, I tell you." + +"Then he has forfeited his liberty," said Tamar; "he has committed some +dreadful crime. Tell me, Oh! tell me, what is it?" + +The gipsy laughed, and her laugh was a frightful one. + +"What!" she said, "are you disappointed?--is the blight come over you? +has the black fog shut out all the bright visions which the foolish +Laird created in your fancy? Go, child!" she said, "go and tell him what +I have told you, and see whether he will continue to cherish and flatter +the offspring of our vagrant race." + +"He will," replied Tamar; "but tell me, only tell me, what is that mark +burnt upon my shoulder?" + +"Your father branded you," she answered, "as we do all our children, +lest in our many wanderings we should lose sight of our own, and not +know them again; but come," she added, "the night draws on, darkness is +stealing over the welkin; you are for the shed; there is your pole-star; +see you the fitful glare of the forge?--I am for another direction; +fare-you-well." + +"Stay, stay," said Tamar, seizing her arm, "Oh, tell me more! tell me +more! My father, if I have a living father, I owe him a duty,--where is +he? Tell me where he is, for the love of heaven tell me?" + +The woman shook her off,--"Go, fool," she said, "you know enough; or +stay," she added, in her turn seizing Tamar's arm,--"if you like it +better, leave those Dymocks and come with me, and you shall be one with +us, and live with us, and eat with us and drink with us." + +"No! no!" said Tamar, with a piercing shriek, disengaging herself from +the gipsy, and running with the swiftness of a hare, towards the +friendly hovel. + +Old Shanty was alone, when, all pale and trembling, Tamar entered the +shed, and sunk, half fainting, on the very bench on which the gipsy had +sate on the eventful night in which she had brought her to the hovel +fourteen years before. + +Shanty was terrified, for he had a paternal feeling for Tamar; he ceased +immediately from his hammering, and sitting himself by her on the bench, +he rested not until she had told him every thing which had happened; and +when she had done so,--"Tamar," he said, "I am not surprised; I never +thought you any thing else than the child of a vagrant, nor had you ever +any ground for thinking otherwise. There are many imaginations," added +the pious old man, "which attend our nature, which must be destroyed +before we can enter into that perfect union with the Son, which will +render us one with the Father, and will insure our happiness when God +shall be all in all, and when all that is foretold in prophecy +respecting this present earth shall be completed. Sin," continued the +old man, "is neither more nor less than the non-conformity of the will +of the creature with that of the Creator; and when the will of every +child of Adam is brought into unison with the divine pleasure, then, as +far our race is concerned, there will be an end of sin; and, in +particular cases, Tamar, as regarding individuals in the present and +past days, each one is happy, not as far as he indulges the imaginations +suggested by his own depraved nature, but as far as he is content to be +what his God would have him to be, as indicated by the circumstances and +arrangements of things about him." + +It was marvellous (or rather would have been so to a stranger,) to hear +this poor old dusky blacksmith, speaking and reasoning as he did; but +who shall limit or set bounds to the power of the Lord the Spirit in +enlightening the mind, independently as it were, of human ministry, or +at least of any other ministry than that which teaches and promulgates +the mere letter of Scripture? + +Tamar's mind was at that time fully prepared to receive all that Shanty +said to her, and, insensibly to themselves, they were presently led +almost to forget the information given by the gipsy, (which in fact left +Tamar just as it had found her,) whilst new thoughts were opening to +them; and the young girl was brought to see, that in her late anxiety to +render the kind friends who had adopted her, comfortable as to outward +circumstances, she had failed in using her filial influence to draw +their attention to thoughts of religion. + +Shanty put on his coat, and walked with her over the rest of the moor, +nor did he leave Heatherdale (where Mrs. Margaret insisted that he +should sup,) until he had opened out to the Laird and his aunt the whole +history of Tamar's rencounter with the gipsy. It was curious to observe +the effect of this story on the minds of the two auditors. Mrs. Margaret +embraced Tamar with tears, saying, "Methinks I am rejoiced that there is +no one likely to claim my precious one from me;" whilst the Laird +exclaimed, "I am not in the least convinced. The gipsy has no doubt some +scheme of her own in view. She is afraid of being found out, and +transported for child-stealing; but I wish I could see her, to tell her +that I no more believe my palm-tree to have sprung from the briers of +the Egyptian wilderness, than that I am not at this moment the Laird +of Dymock." + +"Lord help you, nephew!" said Mrs. Margaret, "if poor dear Tamar's +noble birth has not more substantial foundation than your lairdship, I +believe that she must be content as she is,--the adopted daughter of a +poor spinster, who has nothing to leave behind her but a few bales of +old clothes." + +"Contented, my mother," said Tamar, bursting into tears, "could I be +contented if taken from you?" + +Thus the affair of the gipsy passed off. The Laird, indeed, talked of +raising the country to catch the randy quean; but all these resolutions +were speedily forgotten, and no result ensued from this alarm, but that +which Almighty power produced from it in the mind of Tamar, by making +her more anxious to draw the minds of her patrons to religion. + +After this, for several weeks things went on much as usual on Dymock's +moor. The inhabitants of the Tower were so still and quiet, that unless +a thin curl of smoke had now and then been seen rising from the kitchen +chimney, all the occupants might have been supposed to have been in a +state of enchantment. Jacob, however, the dwarfish, deformed +serving-man, did cross the moat at intervals, and came back laden with +food; but he was so surly and short, that it was impossible to get a +word of information from him, respecting that which was going on within +the moat. Whilst Dymock scribbled, his aunt darned, Shanty hammered, and +Tamar formed the delight and comfort of all the three last mentioned +elders. But some settlement was necessarily to be made respecting Mr. +Salmon's last payment, which had run up, with certain fixtures and old +pictures, for which there was no room in the cottage, to nearly six +hundred pounds, and after much pressing and persuading on the part of +Mrs. Margaret, the Laird was at length worked up to the point of +putting on his very best clothes, and going one morning to the Tower. +He had boasted that he would not appear but as the Laird of Dymock in +Dymock castle; therefore, though the weather was warm, he assumed his +only remains of handsome apparel, viz, a cloak or mantle of blue cloth +and with a hat, which was none of the best shape, on his head, he walked +to the edge of the moat, and there stood awhile calling aloud. + +At length Jacob appeared on the other side, and knowing the Laird, he +turned the bridge, over which Dymock walked with sullen pride. + +"I would see your master, where is he?" said the Laird, as soon as he +got into the court. + +The eye of the dwarf directed that of Dymock to the window of a small +room in a higher part of the keep, and the Laird, without waiting +further permission, walked forward into the Tower. + +It gave him pain to see all the old and well remembered objects again; +but it also gave him pleasure to find everything in its place as he had +left it--even the very dust on the mouldings and cornices, which had +remained undisturbed through the reign of Mrs. Margaret, from the +absolute impossibility of reaching the lofty site of these depositions, +was still there. Not an article of new furniture was added, while the +old furniture looked more miserable and scanty, on account of some of +the best pieces having been taken out to fill the cottage. + +Dymock walked through the old circular hall, the ground-floor of the +Tower, and went up the stairs to the room where Mrs. Margaret used to +sit and darn in solitary state; there was the oriel window, which +hanging over the moat, commanded a glorious view on three sides. Dymock +walked up to this window, and stood in the oriel, endeavouring, if +possible, to understand what the feelings of his ancestors might have +been, when they could look from thence, and call all the lands their +own as far as the border, without counting many broader and fairer +fields, in the southern direction. + +Whilst waiting there in deep and melancholy mood, suddenly his eye fell +on the airy figure of Tamar standing on the opposite side of the moat, +and looking up to him; as soon as she caught his eye, she kissed her +hand and waved it to him, and well he could comprehend the sparkling +smile which accompanied this motion, though he was too far off to see +it. "And art thou not fair Maid of Judah," said the affectionate genius, +"worth to me all the broad lands of my fathers? Could they purchase for +me such love as thine? Art thou not the little ewe lamb of the poor +man?--but none shall ever have thee from me my daughter, but one +entirely worthy of thee?" + +Scarcely had Dymock returned the courtesy of Tamar, before Jacob, who +had run to the top of the Tower before him, came to tell him that his +master was ready to see him, and Dymock, who needed no guide, soon found +himself at the head of several more rounds of stairs, which got narrower +as they ascended,--and in front of a narrow door well studded with knobs +of iron. Within this door was a room, which in time past had been used +for security, either for prisoners, treasures, or other +purposes,--tradition said not what,--but it still had every requisite of +strength, the narrow windows being provided with stauncheons of iron, +and the walls covered with strong wainscotting, in one side of which +were sliding pannels opening into a closet. The secret of these pannels +was known only to Dymock, and he, when he sold the castle, had revealed +it to Mr. Salmon, vaunting the great service of which this secret +closet, had been, in keeping plate and other valuables, though he +acknowledged, poor man, that he had never made any great use of this +mysterious conservatory. + +It seems that Mr. Salmon had appropriated this same room to his especial +use; his bed, which in the French taste was covered with a tent-like +tester, occupied one nook, and the curtains, as well as the floor-cloth, +were of very rich, but tarnished and threadbare materials. Several +ponderous tomes in vellum emblazoned with gold, were placed on a ledge +of the wall near the bed; a square table, a trunk strongly clamped with +brass, and an old fashioned easy chair, completed the furniture. + +And now for the first time Dymock saw Mr. Salmon in his deshabille. The +old gentleman had laid aside his coat, probably that it might be spared +unnecessary wear and tear; he wore a claret coloured waistcoat with +large flaps, on which were apparent certain tarnished remains of +embroidery; his lower extremities, as far as the knees, were encased in +a texture the colour of which had once been pepper and salt, and from +the knee downwards he wore a pair of home-manufactured, grey worsted +stockings, which proved that his housekeeper was by no means inferior to +Mrs. Margaret in her darning talents, though we must do the Laird's aunt +the justice to assert, that she never darned stockings with more than +three different colours. + +His slippers, both sole and upper part, had evidently at one time formed +a covering of a floor, though what the original pattern and colours had +been, could not now be made out. With all this quaintness of attire, the +old man had the general appearance of neatness and cleanliness, and had +it not been for the expression of his countenance, would have been far +from ill-looking. + +He received Dymock with a sort of quiet civility, not unlike that which +a cat assumes when she is aware of a mouse, and yet does not perceive +that the moment is come to pounce upon it. Dymock drew near to the +table, and accosted Mr. Salmon with his usual courteous, yet careless +manner, and having apologized for coming at all on such an errand, +wishing that there was no such thing as money in the world, he presented +the inconclusive and inefficient memorandum, which the old gentleman had +given him, "trusting, as he said, that it would be no inconvenience for +him to pay what he conceived would be a mere trifle to him." + +Mr. Salmon had, it seems, forgotten to ask Dymock to sit down; indeed, +there was no chair in the room but that occupied by his own person; +however, he took his own note from the Laird's hands, and having +examined it, he said, "But Mr. Dymock, there are conditions,--the +memorandum is conditional, and I understand thereby, that I undertake to +pay such and such moneys for such and such articles." + +"Well Sir, and have you not these articles in possession?" asked +Dymock; have I removed a single item, which I told you on the honour of +a gentleman should be yours on such and such conditions, and did you not +tell me that you would pay me a certain sum, on entering into possession +of these articles?" + +"What I did say, Sir," replied the old man, "is one thing; or rather +what you choose to assert that I did say, and what is written here is +another thing." + +"Sir!" replied Dymock, "Sir! do you give me the lie?--direct or +indirect, I will not bear it; I, a son of the house of Dymock, to be +thus bearded in my own Tower, to be told that what I choose to assert +may not be true; that I am, in fact, a deceiver,--a sharper,--one that +would prevaricate for sordid pelf!" What more the worthy man added, our +history does not say, but that he added much cannot be disputed, and +that he poured forth in high and honourable indignation, many +sentiments which would have done credit both to the gentleman and the +Christian. + +[Illustration: See Page 123] + +In the meantime the old man had drawn a huge bunch of keys from his +pocket, and had deliberately opened the trunk before mentioned, at the +top of which were sundry yellow canvass bags of specie; he next fitted a +pair of spectacles on his nose, and then raising the cover of the table, +he drew out a drawer containing a pair of scales, and began to weigh his +guineas, as if to make a show of that of which he had none,--honesty; +and the Laird having spent his indignation, was become quiet, and stood +looking on, in a somewhat indolent and slouching attitude, making no +question but that his honourable reasonings had prevailed, and that Mr. +Salmon was about, without further hesitation, to pay him the five +hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and sixpence, which were +his just due. + +Whilst Salmon went on with this process of weighing, which he did with +perfect _sang-froid_, he began to mutter, "Five hundred and ninety-four +pounds, ten shillings, and six-pence; too much, too much by half, for +worm-eaten bed-steads and chairs, darned curtains and faded portraits; +but Mr. Dymock, to show you that I am a man of honour, I will pay you at +this moment four hundred pounds in the King's gold, and the remainder, +that is, the one hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and +six-pence, shall be put to arbitration; we will go over each item, you +and I, and a friend of each, and we will examine every article together, +and if it is decided that the things are worth the moneys, well and +good, it shall be so, and I will forthwith pay down the residue, though +not compelled so to do by bond or signature." + +Again the hot blood of the Dymocks rose to the brow of the Laird; by an +amazing effort of prudence and presence of mind, however, he caught up +Salmon's note from the table, a motion which made the old man start, +look up, and turn yellow, and then whisking round on his heel, with an +expression of sovereign contempt, the Laird turned out of the room, +exclaiming, "I scorn to address another word to thee, old deceiver; I +shake the dust of thy floor from my foot; I shall send those to talk +with thee, whose business it is to deal with deceivers;" and thus he +quitted the chamber, drawing the door after him with a force which made +every chamber in the Tower reverberate. + +In descending the spiral stairs, he came to a narrow window, which +overlooked the moat, and from thence he saw Tamar lingering on the other +side thereof. He stood a moment and she called to him; her words were +these,--"Have you sped?" in reply to which, protruding his head through +the narrow aperture, he said: "No! the man's a low and despicable +deceiver," adding other terms which were by no means measured by the +rules of prudence or even courtesy; these words were not, however, lost +on Tamar, and by what she then heard, she was induced to take a measure +which had she deliberated longer thereon, she might not have +ventured upon. + +Dymock having spent his breath and his indignation through the window, +to the disturbance of sundry bats and daws, which resided in the roof of +the Tower, was become so calm that he made the rest of his descent in +his usually tranquil and sluggish style, and even before he had crossed +the court towards the draw-bridge, he had made up his mind to get Shanty +to settle this knotty business, feeling that the old blacksmith would +have been the proper person to have done it from the first. + +Jacob, the ugly, ill-conditioned serving-man, was waiting to turn the +light bridge, and had Dymock looked upon him, he would have seen that +there was triumph on the features of this deformed animal, for Jacob was +in all his master's secrets; he knew that he meant to cheat the Laird, +and he being Salmon's foster brother, already counted upon his master's +riches as his own. Salmon's constitution was failing rapidly, and Jacob, +therefore, soon hoped to gather in his golden harvest. + +Jacob too, hated every creature about him, and his hatred being +inherited from his parents, was likely to be coeval with his life. The +cause of this hatred will be seen in the sequel; but Jacob had no sooner +turned the bridge and fixed it against the opposite bank, than Tamar +springing from behind a cluster of bushes, jumped lightly on the boards, +and the next moment she was with Dymock and Jacob on the inner side of +the moat, under the tower. + +Jacob had started back, as if he had seen a spectre, at the appearance +of the blooming, sparkling Tamar, who came forward without hat or other +head dress, her raven tresses floating in the breeze. + +"Why are you here, my daughter?" said Dymock. + +"Do not restrain me, dear father," she answered, "you have not sped you +say, only permit me to try my skill;" and then turning suddenly to +Jacob, she drew herself up, as Dymock would have said, like a daughter +of kings, and added, "show me to your master, I have business with him; +go and tell him that I am here, and that I would see him." + +"And who are you?" asked Jacob, not insolently as was his wont, but as +if under the impression of some kind of awe; "who shall I say you are?" + +Dymock was about to answer; but Tamar placed her hand playfully on his +lips, and took no other notice of the question of the serving man, but +by repeating her command. + +"What are you doing,--what do you propose to do, Tamar?" said the Laird. +Tamar was fully aware that she had power to cause her patron at any +time, to yield to her caprices; and she now used this power, as women +know so well how to effect these things--not by reason--or persuasion, +but by those playful manoeuvrings, which used in an evil cause have +wrought the ruin of many a more steadfast character than Dymock. + +"I have a thought dear father," she said, "a wish, a fancy, a mere whim, +and you shall not oppose me: only remain where you are; keep guard upon +the bridge, I shall not be absent long, only tell me how it has happened +that your errand here has failed, and you," she added, addressing Jacob, +"go to your master and tell him I am here." + +"Why do you stand?" she added, stamping her little foot with +impatience; "why do you not obey me?" and her dark eyes flashed and +sparkled, "go and tell your master that I wish to see him." + +"And who must I tell him that you are?" he asked. + +"My name has been mentioned in your presence," she replied, "and if you +did not hear it the fault is your own; it will not be told again." + +"Are you the daughter of this gentleman?" asked Jacob. + +"You have heard what he called me," she answered, "go and deliver my +message." + +Whilst Jacob was gone, for go he did, at the young girl's bidding, +Dymock told Tamar all that had taken place in Mr. Salmon's room, and +Tamar confessed her wish to be permitted to speak to the old gentleman +herself. Dymock was glad that any one should undertake this business, +provided he could be relieved from it, and he promised Tamar that he +would stand by the bridge and watch for her till her return. + +"Then I will myself go up to the Tower and demand admission:" so saying, +she ran from Dymock, coursed rapidly through the various courts, and +swift as the wind ascended the stairs, meeting no one in her way. She +found the door of Salmon's chamber ajar, and pushing it open, she +entered, and stood before Salmon, Jacob, and Rebecca (the old woman +before mentioned as having come with Mr. Salmon to the Tower;) these +three were all deep in consultation, Mr. Salmon being still seated where +the Laird had left him. + +As Tamar burst upon them in all the light of youth; of beauty, and of +conscious rectitude in the cause for which she came, the three remained +fixed as statues, Jacob and Rebecca in shrinking attitudes, their eyes +set fearfully upon her, their faces gathering paleness as they gazed; +whilst Salmon flushed to the brow, his eyes distended and his mouth +half open. + +The young girl advanced near to the centre of the room and casting a +glance around her, in which might be read an expression of contempt +quite free from fear, she said, "I am come by authority to receive the +just dues of the late possessor of this place, and I require the sum to +be told into my hand, and this I require in the name of Him who rules on +high, and who will assuredly take cognizance of any act of fraud used +towards a good and honourable man." + +"And who? and who?" said Salmon, his teeth actually chattering "who are +you? and whence come you?" + +"I come from the Laird of Dymock," she answered, "and in his name I +demand his rights!" + +"You, you," said Salmon, "you are his daughter?" + +"That remains to be told," replied Tamar, "what or who I am, is nothing +to you, nor to you, nor you," she added, looking at Jacob and Rebecca, +her eye being arrested for a minute on each, by the singular expression +which passed over their countenances. "Give me the Laird's dues and you +shall hear no more from me," she said, "never again will I come to +trouble your dulness; but, if you deny it to me, you shall never rest +from me;--no, no, I will haunt you day and night," and getting hotter as +she continued to speak, "you shall have no rest from me, neither moat +nor stone walls shall keep me out." She was thinking at that moment of +the secret passage by which she fancied she might get into the Tower, if +at this time she did not succeed; it was a wild and girlish scheme, and +whether practicable or not, she had no time to think. As she uttered +these last words, Salmon rose slowly from his seat, pushed his chair +from behind him and stepped back, a livid paleness covering his +features whilst he exclaimed: "Are you in life? or are you a terrible +vision of my fancy? Jacob,--Rebecca,--do you see it too--Ah! you look +pale, as those who see the dead--is it not so?" + +The terror now expressed in the three countenances, was rapidly +extending to the heart of Tamar. What can all this mean, she thought, +what is there about me that thus appals them: it is their own guilt that +renders them fearful; but why should I fear? now is the moment for +strength of heart, and may heaven grant it to me. Having strength given +her; she again demanded the just due of her guardian. + +"It would be better to give it," muttered Jacob; and Rebecca at the same +time screached out, "In the name of our father Abraham, give her what +she asks, master,--and let her go,--let her go to her father,--to him +that has reared her, and yet disowns her,--let her go to him; or like +the daughters of Moab she will bring a curse on our house." + +"Hold your tongue, you old fool," said Jacob, "what do you know of her, +and of him who was once Laird of Dymock? But, master," he added "pay the +girl what she asks, and I will go down and get back your note, and once +for all we will shut our doors upon these people." + +"But I would know," said Salmon, "I would know whence that girl has +those eyes, which are bright as the bride of Solomon,--as Rachel's," he +added, "they are such as hers." + +"Go to," said Jacob, "what folly is this, tell the money to the girl, +and let her go." + +"Jacob! Jacob!" exclaimed Salmon, "I am ruined, undone, I shall come to +beggary,--five hundred and ninty-four pounds, ten shillings and +sixpence," and the teeth of the old man began to chatter, terror and +dotage and cunning, seeming to be striving within him for the mastery +and altogether depriving him of the power of acting. + +Jacob muttered one or two indistinct imprecations, then approaching the +table himself, he told the gold from the bags with the facility of a +money-changer, whilst Tamar stood calmly watching him; but the serving +man finding the weight too great for her, he exchanged much of the gold, +for Bank of England notes, which he took out of the same trunk, and then +delivering the sum into Tamar's hands; "There young woman, go," he said, +"and never again disturb my master with your presence." + +Whilst this was going on, Salmon had kept his eyes fixed on Tamar, and +once or twice had gasped as if for breath; at length he said, "And you +are Dymock's daughter, damsel, but you are not like your father's +people,--are they not Nazarenes; tell me what was she who bore you?" + +"Beshrew you," exclaimed Jacob, "what is all this to you," and roughly +seizing Tamar by the arm, he drew her out of the room, saying, "you have +all you want, go down to your father, and let us see you no more." + +The young girl almost doubted as she descended the stairs, but that +still she was over-reached, and if so, that Dymock would not perhaps +find it out till it might be too late; she therefore, hearing Jacob +behind her, ran with all her might, and coming to the place where Dymock +stood, she called to him to follow her, and ran directly to Shanty's +shed; Dymock proceeded after her a few yards behind, and Jacob still +farther in the rear, crying "Laird, stop! stop! Mr. Dymock! give us your +release, here is a paper for you to sign." + +Fortunately, Tamar found Shanty alone in his shed, and taking him into +his inner room, she caused him to count and examine the money and thus +was he occupied when Dymock and Jacob came in. Tamar went back to the +outer room of the shed; but Shanty remained within, and when he found +that all was right, Mr. Dymock gave his release. Jacob returned to the +Tower, and old Shanty trotted off to Hexham, to put the money in a place +of security; nor did he fail in his object, so that before he slept, the +Laird had the satisfaction to think that this dirty work was all +completed, and that without his having in the least soiled his own hands +in the process. As to the mystery of Tamar's having been enabled to +effect what he could not do, he soon settled that matter in his own +mind, for, thought he, "if I the Laird of Dymock could never refuse a +favour asked me by this maid of Judah, how could inferior minds be +expected to withstand her influence?"--the poor Laird not considering +that the very inferiority and coarseness of such minds as he attributed +to Salmon and Jacob, would have prevented them from feeling that +influence, which he had found so powerful. But they had felt something, +which certainly belonged to Tamar, and had yielded to that something; +nor could Tamar herself, when she reflected upon that scene in the +Tower, at all comprehend how she had excited such emotions as she +witnessed there; neither could Shanty, nor Mrs. Margaret help her out. + +Again for another month, all went on in its usual routine; all was quiet +at Dymock's Tower, and darning, writing, and hammering, continued to be +the order of the day with Mrs. Margaret, the Laird, and Shanty, whilst +Tamar was all gay and happy in the fulfilment of many active duties, +rising with the lark, and brushing the dew from the frequent herbs which +encompassed her dwelling. It was all summer with her then, nor did she +spoil the present by anticipation of the severities of a wintery day, +for the work of grace was going on with her, and though her natural +temper was lofty and violent, as appeared by her manner to Jacob on the +occasion lately described, yet there was a higher principle imparted, +which rendered these out-breakings every day more rare. + +We have said before, that Mrs. Margaret had a favourite cow, named by +her mistress, Brindle, from the colours of her coat. Tamar had learned +to milk Brindle, and this was always her first work. One morning in the +beginning of August, it happened, or rather, was so ordered by +Providence, that the Laird was constrained through the extreme activity +of his imagination, which had prevented him from sleeping after +midnight, to arise and go down to his study in order to put these +valuable suggestions on paper. It was, however, still so dark when he +descended into his study, that he was compelled to sit down awhile in +his great chair, to await the break of day; and there that happened to +him, which might as well have happened in bed,--that is he fell asleep, +and slept soundly for some hours. All this, however, had not been done +so quietly, but that he had awakened his sister and Tamar, who slept in +the adjoining room; the consequence of which was, that Tamar got up and +dressed herself, and having ascertained the situation of the Laird, and +informed Mrs. Margaret that all was well in that quarter, she descended +again into the kitchen, and proceeded to open the house-door. The shades +of night were as yet not dispersed, although the morning faintly dawned +on the horizon; but the air was soft, fragrant, and elastic, and as it +filled the chest of Tamar, it seemed to inspire her with that sort of +feeling, which makes young things whirl, and prance, and run, and leap, +and perform all those antics which seem to speak of naught but folly to +all the sober and discreet elders, who have forgotten that they were +ever young. + +Almost intoxicated with this feeling inspired by the morning air, Tamar +bounded from the step of the door, and ran a considerable way, first +along the bottom of the glen, and then in a parallel line on the green +side thereof; suddenly coming to a stand, she looked for Brindle, and +could not at first discern her; a minute afterwards, however, she saw +her at the higher end of the glen, just where it opened on the moor, and +where it had hitherto been protected from the inroads of the sheep, or +other creatures feeding on the common, by a rail and gate. This rail and +gate had wanted a little repair for several weeks, the Laird having +promised to give it that repair; and he was well able so to have done, +having at one time of his life worked several months with the village +carpenter. But the good man had not fulfilled his promise, and it had +only been the evening before that Tamar had tied up the gate with what +came nearest to her hand, namely, certain tendrils of a creeper which +hung thereabouts from the rock that formed the chasm by which the valley +was approached in that direction. These tendrils she had twisted +together so as to form a band, never supposing that Brindle, though a +young and female creature, could possibly be sufficiently capricious to +leave her usual fragrant pasturage, in order to pull and nibble this +withering band. But, however, so it was, as Tamar asserted, for there +when she came up to the place, the band was broken, the gate forced +open, and Brindle walking quietly forward through the narrow gully +towards the moor. + +Tamar being come to the gate, stopped there, and called Brindle, who +knew Tamar as well as she knew her own calf. But the animal had snuffed +the air of liberty which came pouring down the little pass, from the +open moor, and she walked deliberately on with that air which seemed to +say,--"I hear your voice, but I am not coming." + +Tamar was provoked; had it been a human creature who was thus acting she +might perhaps have recollected that it is not good to give way to anger; +as it was, she made no such reflection, but exclaiming in strong terms +against the creature, she began to run, knowing that if Brindle once got +on the moor it would probably cost her many a weary step before she +could get her back again. In measure however, as she quickened her pace, +so did Brindle, and in a few minutes the truant animal had reached the +open moor and began to career away in high style, as if rejoicing in the +trouble she was giving. + +But even on the open moor it was yet very dusk; the dawn was hardly +visible on the summits of the distant hills, and where there were woods +or valleys the blackness was unbroken. + +Tamar stood almost in despair, when she found that the animal had +reached the open ground; but whilst watching how she could get round +her, so as to turn her back, the creature rather slackened her pace, and +began to browze the short grass among the heather. Tamar now slowly +advancing was taking a compass to come towards her head, when she, +perceiving her, turned directly round, and trotted on straightforward to +the knoll, which was at most not half a quarter of a mile from the +dingle; Tamar followed her, but could not reach her till she had pushed +her way in among the trees and bushes, and when Tamar reached the place, +she found her quietly feeding in the green area, surrounded by the +ruins. The light was still very imperfect, and Tamar was standing half +hid by the bushes and huge blocks of granite, doubting whether she +should not leave the cow there whilst she ran back to call the Laird to +assist her, when suddenly she was startled by the sound of voices. She +drew closer behind the block, and remained perfectly still, and ceased +to think of the cow, so great was her amazement to find persons in a +place, generally deserted by the country people, under the impression +that things were there which should not be spoken of. She then also +remembered her adventure with Sappho, and what Mrs. Margaret had told +her of the concealed passage; and now recollecting that secret passage, +she was aware that she stood not very far from the mysterious door-way. + +All these thoughts crowded to her mind, but perfect quiet was needful at +the moment. As the disk of the sun approached the horizon, the light was +rapidly increasing; the dawn in those higher latitudes is however long, +but those who knew the signs of the morning were aware that it would +soon terminate, and that they whose deeds feared the light had no +time to lose. + +Tamar accordingly heard low voices, speaking, as it were in the mouth of +the cavern, and then a voice of one without the cavern--of one as in +the act of departing, saying distinctly, "twelve then at midnight!" The +answer from within did not reach Tamar's ears, at least, she heard only +an indistinct murmur, but the voice without again came clear to her, and +the words were to this effect, "I will not fail; I will take care that +he shall be in no condition to return;" the answer was again lost to +Tamar, and probably some question, but the reply to this question was +clear. "It is his day to go,--the garrison can't live without +provision,--if he don't go to-day, we must skulk another twenty-four +hours,--we must not venture with him, there will be murder!" then +followed several sentences in such broad slang, as Tamar could not +comprehend, though she thought she understood the tendency of these +words, which were mixed with oaths and terms so brutal, that her blood +ran cold in thinking of them; "Caught in his own snare,--he will sink +in his own dyke,--we have him now, pelf and all." After this, Tamar +heard parting steps, and various low rumbling noises as if proceeding +from under ground; then all was still, and no farther sound was heard by +her, but the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the cropping +of the herb by the incisors of Brindle. In the mean time the morning +broke, the light of day was restored, and Tamar creeping gently from her +hiding-place, left Brindle, whilst she ran back to the cottage. + +She had not gone far, before she met the labourer who was accustomed to +assist her in the care of the garden. She told him that the cow had +strayed to the knoll, and that she had seen her enter among the trees; +and he undertook, with his dog, to drive her back to the glen, though, +he said, he would on no account go up on the knoll, but his dog would +drive her down, and he would see her home. + +"And why not go on to the knoll?" said Tamar. The man replied, that the +place was known to be uncanny, and that not only strange noises, but +strange sights had been seen there. + +"Lately?" asked Tamar, "have they been seen and heard lately?" + +The poor man could not assert that they had, and Tamar was not going to +tell him what she had seen and heard. No! this mystery was to be left +for the consideration of Dymock and Shanty, and she was anxious to know +if their thoughts agreed with hers. + +When she arrived at the cottage, and the labourer had brought back +Brindle, and fastened the gate, and Tamar had milked her cow, and done +her usual services, she went to Dymock who was just awake, and brought +him out to breakfast with Mrs. Margaret, "You shall not say any thing +about posterity, and the benefits which you are doing to them by +recording your thoughts, this morning, sir," she said, "but you shall +hear what I have to tell you, and I will not tell you, but in the +presence of Mrs. Margaret." When Dymock heard what Tamar had to say, he +was at first quite amazed, for it seems, that if he had ever heard of +the secret passage he had forgotten it, and Mrs. Margaret had had her +reasons, for not stirring up his recollections; but when he was made +acquainted with this fact, and had put together all that Tamar had +related, he made the same reflections which she had done, and said that +he had no doubt, but that these ruins had been the rendezvous of +vagrants for years, and that there was now a plan to rob Mr. Salmon, +through the means of the secret passage. He went further, for he had no +lack of imagination, and proceeded to conjecture, that it was through +the manoeuvreing of these very vagrants, that the old curmudgeon had +been brought to Dymock's Tower, and following the connexion, he began to +put together the appearance of the young blacksmith, the gipsy who had +left Tamar at Shanty's, her second appearance and rapid disappearance, +the coming of Mr. Salmon, his supposed riches, his strange whim of +shutting himself up, and every other extraordinary circumstance, in a +jumble even more inexplicable and confusing, than any of his previous +speculations upon these events,--and when he had so done he put on his +hat, and declared that he must go forthwith to Shanty. + +"To see," said Tamar, "what he can hammer out of it all, but something +must and ought to be done to put Mr. Salmon on his guard, for otherwise, +assuredly he will be robbed this night." + +"And perhaps murdered," exclaimed Mrs. Margaret; "but go, brother, be +quick, and let us have Shanty's advice." + +"And I," said Tamar, after the Laird was departed, "will go to the +Tower, and if possible get admittance. I will stop the going off +of Jacob." + +Mrs. Margaret expostulated with her, but all her pleadings came to +this,--that she should send a neighbour to watch for Tamar on the side +of the moat, the young girl having assured her kind protectress, that +she had nothing to fear for her, and that as the Laird was proverbially +a procrastinator, he might let half the day pass, before he had settled +what was to be done. + +Poor Mrs. Margaret was all tremor and agitation; at the bottom of her +heart, she did not like to be left in the cottage, so near a gang of +thieves as she felt herself to be; she was not, however, a selfish +character, and after some tears, she kissed Tamar and bade her go, +watching her the whole way through the glen, as if she were parting with +her for years. + +The light step of the young girl, soon brought her to the edge of the +moat, and she arrived, as it was ordered by Providence, at a very +convenient time, for she met Rebecca on the moor, the old woman having +just parted from Jacob, whose figure was still to be seen jogging along +the heath. The first words of Tamar were to entreat Rebecca to call +Jacob back, and when she found that she was speaking to one who chose to +lend a deaf ear, she raised her own voice, but with equal ill success; +turning then again to Rebecca, she saw that she was hastening to the +bridge, on which she followed her, and was standing with her under the +Tower, before the old woman could recollect herself. + +The creature looked yellow with spite, as she addressed the young maiden +with many bitter expressions, asking her what she did there, and bidding +her to be gone. + +"I am come," replied Tamar, "to see your master, and I will see him." + +"It is what you never shall again," replied the dame; "he has never +been himself since he last saw you." + +"How is that?" said Tamar; "What did I do, but press him to act as an +honourable man, but of this I am resolved," she added, "that I will now +see him again," and as she spoke, she proceeded through the postern into +the courts, still passing on towards the principal door of the Tower, +Rebecca following her, and pouring upon her no measured abuse. Tamar, +however, remarked, that the old woman lowered her voice as they advanced +nearer the house, on which she raised her own tones, and said, "I must, +and will see Mr. Salmon, it is a matter of life and death I come +upon;--life and death I repeat, and if you or your master, have any +thing on your minds or consciences, you will do well to hear what I have +to tell you; a few hours hence and it will be too late." + +"In that case," said Rebecca, looking at one angry and terrified, "come +with me, and I will hear you." + +"No," exclaimed Tamar, speaking loud, "I will see your master, my errand +is to him," and at the same instant, the quick eye of the young girl, +observed the face of Salmon peering through a loop-hole, fitted with a +casement, which gave light to a closet near the entrance. Encouraged by +this she spoke again, and still louder than before, saying, "See him I +will, and from me alone, shall he hear the news I am come to tell." The +next minute she heard the casement open, and saw the head of the old man +obtruded from thence, and she heard a querulous, broken voice, asking +what was the matter? Tamar stepped back a few paces, in order that she +might have a clearer view of the speaker, and then looking up, she said, +"I am come Mr. Salmon as a friend, and only as a friend, to warn you of +a danger which threatens you,--hear me, and you may be saved,--but if +you refuse to hear me, I tell you, that you may be a ghastly livid +corpse before the morning." + +"Rebecca, Rebecca!" cried the old man, "Rebecca, I say, speak to her," +and his voice faltered, the accents becoming puling. + +"Hear her not," said the dame, "she is a deceiver, she is come to get +money out of you." + +"And heaven knows," cried Mr. Salmon, "that she is then coming to gather +fruit from a barren tree. Money, indeed! and where am I to find money, +even for her,--though she come in such a guise, as would wring the last +drop of the heart's blood?" + +"Tush!" said Rebecca, "you are rambling and dreaming again;" but the old +man heard her not, he had left the lattice, and in a few seconds he +appeared within the passage. During this interval, Rebecca had not been +quiet, for she had seized the arm of Tamar, and the young girl had +shaken her off with some difficulty, and not without saying, "Your +unwillingness to permit me to speak to your master, old woman, goes +against you, but it shall not avail you, speak to him I will," and the +contest between Tamar and the old woman was still proceeding, when +Salmon appeared in the passage. + +Tamar instantly sprang to meet him, and seeing that his step was feeble +and tottering, she supported him to a chair, in a small parlour which +opened into the passage, and there, standing in the midst of the floor +between him and Rebecca, she told her errand; nor was she interrupted +until she had told all, the old man looking as if her recital had turned +him into stone, and the old woman expressing a degree of terror, which +at least cleared her in Tamar's mind, of the guilt of being connected +with the thieves of the secret passage. + +As soon as the young girl had finished, the old miser broke out in the +most bitter and helpless lamentations. "My jewels!--my silver!--my +moneys!" he exclaimed, "Oh my moneys!--my moneys! Tell me, tell me +damsel, what I can do? Call Jacob. Where is Jacob? Oh, my +moneys!--my jewels!" + +"Peace, good sir! peace!" said Tamar, "we will befriend you, we will +assist you, we will protect you; the Laird is an honourable man, he will +protect you. I have known him long, long,--since I was a baby; and he +would perish before he would wrong any one, or see another wronged." + +"The Laird did you say," asked Salmon, "your father; he is your father +damsel is he not?" + +"I have no other," replied Tamar, "I never knew another. Why do you ask +me?" + +"Because," said Rebecca, "he is doting, and thinks more of other +people's concerns than his own." + +"Has he ever lost a daughter?" asked Tamar. + +"He lost a wife in her youth," answered the old woman, "and he was +almost in his dotage when he married her, and he fancies because you +have black hair, that you resemble her; but there is no more likeness +between you two, than there is between a hooded crow and a raven." + +"There is more though, there is much more though," muttered the old man, +"and Jacob saw it too, and owned that he did." + +"The fool!" repeated Rebecca, "the fool! did I not tell him that he was +feeding your poor mind with follies; tell me, how should this poor girl +be like your wife?" + +The old man shook his head, and answered, "Because, he that made them +both, fashioned them to be so; and Rebecca, I have been thinking that +had my daughter lived, had Jessica lived till now, she would have been +just such a one." + +"Preserve you in your senses, master," exclaimed Rebecca, "such as they +are, they are better than none; but had your daughter lived, she would +have been as unlike this damsel as you ever were to your bright browed +wife. Why you are short and shrivelled, so was your daughter; your +features are sharp, and so were hers; she was ever a poor pining thing, +and when I laid her in her grave beside her mother, it was a corpse to +frighten one; it was well for you, as I ever told you, that she died +as soon." + +"Yet had she lived, I might have had a thing to love," replied the old +man; and then, looking at Tamar, he added, "They tell me you are the +Laird's daughter,--is it so, fair maid?" + +Rebecca again interrupted him. "What folly is this," she said, raising +her voice almost to a shriek, "how know you but that, whilst you are +questioning the damsel, your chests and coffers are in the hands of +robbers; your money, I tell you, is in danger: your gold, your oft-told +gold. You were not wont to be so careless of your gold; up and look +after it. You will be reduced to beg your bread from those you hate; +arise, be strong. Where are your keys? Give them to the damsel; she is +young and active; she will swiftly remove the treasure out of the way. +Can you not trust her? See you not the fair guise in which she comes? +Can you suspect a creature who looks like your wife, like Rachel? Is not +her tale well framed; and are you, or are you not deceived by her fair +seemings? She is the daughter of a beggar, and she knows herself to be +such; and there is no doubt but that she has her ends to answer by +giving this alarm." + +The old man had arisen; he looked hither and thither; he felt for his +keys, which were hanging at his girdle; and then, falling back into his +chair, he uttered one deep groan and became insensible, his whole +complexion turning to a livid paleness. + +"He is dying!" exclaimed Tamar, holding him up in his chair, from which +he would have otherwise fallen. "He is dying, the poor old man is dying; +bring water, anything." + +"He has often been in this way since he came here," replied Rebecca. "We +have thought that he has had a stroke; he is not the man he was a few +months since; and had I known how it would be, it is strange but I would +have found means to hinder his coming." + +"If he were ever so before," said Tamar "why did you work him up, and +talk to him, as you did, about his daughter; but, fetch some water," +she added. + +"I shall not leave him with you," answered Rebecca. + +"Nor shall I abandon him to your tender mercies," replied Tamar, +"whilst he is in this condition. I am not his daughter, it is true,--but +he is a feeble old man, and I will befriend him if I can." + +The old gentleman at this moment fell forward with such weight, that +Tamar ran from behind him, and dropping down on her knees, received his +head on her shoulder, then, putting one arm round him, she was glad to +hear a long, deep sigh, the prelude of his returning to partial +consciousness; and as he opened his eyes, he said,--"Ah, Rachel, is it +you? You have been gone a long time." + +Tamar was at that moment alone with the old man. Rebecca had heard +voices at a distance, and she had run to pull up the bridge. + +"I am not your Rachel, venerable Sir," she said; "but the adopted +daughter of the Laird of Dymock," and she gently laid his head back. + +"Then why do you come to me like her?" said the old man. "That is +wrong, it is very cruel; it is tormenting me before my time. I have not +hurt you, and I will give you more gold if you will not do this again." + +"You rave, Sir," said Tamar. "Who do you take me for?" + +"A dream," he answered. "I have been dreaming again;" and he raised +himself, shook his head, rubbed his hands across his eyes, and looked as +usual; but before he could add another word, Dymock and Shanty entered +the parlour. + +Rebecca had been too late in preventing their crossing the bridge, and +they with some difficulty made the old gentleman understand that if he +had any valuables, they must ascertain whether the place in which they +were kept was any way approachable by the cavern. They also told him +that they had taken means to have the exterior mouth of the cavern upon +the knoll, stopped up, after the gang were in it; that they had +provided a considerable force for this purpose; and that they should +bring in men within the Tower to seize the depredators. Dymock then +requested Tamar to return to Mrs. Margaret, and remain quietly with her; +and when she was gone, the bridge was drawn up, and she went back to +the cottage. + +She had much to tell Mrs. Margaret, and long, very long,--after they had +discussed many times the singular scene between Salmon, Rebecca, and +Tamar, and spoken of what might be the plans of Dymock and Shanty for +securing the Tower,--did the remainder of the day appear to them. +Several times they climbed to the edge of the glen, to observe if aught +was stirring; but all was still as usual. There stood the old Tower in +solemn, silent unconsciousness of what might soon pass within it; and +there was the knoll, looking as green and fresh as it was ever wont +to do. + +At sun-set Tamar and Mrs. Margaret again visited this post of +observation, and again after they had supped at eight o'clock. They then +returned and shut their doors; they made up their fires; and whilst +Tamar plied her needle, Mrs. Margaret told many ancient tales and dismal +predictions of secret murders, corpse-candles, and visions of +second-sight, after which, as midnight approached, they became more +restless and anxious respecting their friends, wondering what they would +do, and expressing their hopes, or their fears, in dark sentences, such +as these:--"We trust no blood may be shed!--if there should be +blood!--if Dymock or poor Shanty should be hurt!" Again, they turned to +form many conjectures, and put many things together:--"Was Mr. Salmon +connected with the gipsies who had brought Tamar to the moor?--Was it +this gang that proposed robbing him?--Was the young blacksmith called +Harefoot connected with the gipsy?--Had he persuaded Salmon to bring +his treasures there, in order that he might pilfer them?--And lastly, +wherefore was Mr. Salmon so affected both times he had seen Tamar?" +Here, indeed, was a subject for conjecture, which lasted some hours, and +beguiled the sense of anxiety. At length the morning began to dawn on +that long night, and Tamar went out to milk Brindle, whose caprices had, +in fact, the day before, been the first mover in all this confusion. +Cows must be milked, even were the master of the family dying; and Tamar +wished to have this task over before any message should come from the +Tower; and scarcely had she returned to the cottage, when the lad who +administered the wind to Shanty's forge, came running with such haste, +that, to use his own words,--"he had no more breath left for speaking +than a broken bellows." + +"For the love of prince Charles," he said, "can you give us any +provender, Mrs. Margaret? It is cold work watching all night, with +neither food nor drink, save one bottle of whiskey among ten of us, and +scarce a dry crust." + +"But what have you done?" asked Tamar. + +"We have nabbed them," replied the boy. "There were four of them, +besides an old woman who was taken in the cave, and they are in the +Tower till we can get the magistrates here, and proper hands to see them +off. They came like rats from under ground. My master had made out where +to expect them, in one of the cellars, behind the great hogshead which +used to be filled at the birth of the heir, and emptied at his coming of +age. So we were ready in the cellar, and nabbed three of them there, and +the other, who was hindmost, and the woman, were taken as they ran out +the other way; and there they are in the strong-hold, that is, the four +men, but the woman is up above; and it is pitiful to hear how she howls +and cries, and calls for the Laird; but he fell asleep as soon as he +knew all was safe, and we have not the heart to disturb him." + +"Well," said Mrs. Margaret, "I am most thankful that all is over without +bloodshed, and my nephew asleep. No wonder, as he has not slept since +twelve in the morning of yesterday." + +"Excepting in his chair," said Tamar. + +"But the provender, mistress," said the young man. + +"Here," replied Tamar; "lift this pail on your head, and take this loaf, +and I will follow with what else I can find." + +"Nay, Tamar," said Mrs. Margaret, "You would not go where there is such +a number of men and no woman, but that old witch Rebecca." + +"I am not afraid of going where my father is," replied Tamar; "but I +must see that woman. I should know her immediately. I am convinced that +she is the very person who brought me to Shanty's shed. She hinted at +some connexion with me. Oh, horrible! may it not be possible that I may +have near relations among these miserable men who are shut up in the +strong-hold of the Tower?" + +As Tamar said these words, she burst into tears, and sunk upon the bosom +of Mrs. Margaret, who, kissing her tenderly, said, "Child of my +affections, of this be assured, that nothing shall separate you from me. +My heart, methinks, clings more and more to you; and oh, my Tamar! that +which I seem most to fear is that you should be claimed by any one who +may have a right to take you from me." + +This was a sort of assurance at that moment requisite to the poor girl; +and such, indeed, was the interest which Mrs. Margaret felt in +ascertaining if this really were the woman who had brought Tamar to +Shanty's, that she put on her hood and cloak, and having filled a basket +from the larder, she locked the cottage door, and went with Tamar to +the Tower. It was barely light when they crossed the moat, for the +bridge was not drawn; and when they entered the inner-court, they found +many of the peasants seated in a circle, dipping portions of the loaf in +Brindle's pail. + +"Welcome! welcome! to your own place, Mrs. Margaret Dymock!" said one of +them, "and here," he added, dipping a cup into the pail, "I drink to the +restoration of the rightful heir and the good old family, and to your +house-keeping, Mrs. Margaret; for things are done now in another style +to what they were in your time." + +A general shout seconded this sentiment, and Mrs. Margaret, curtseying, +and then pluming herself, answered, "I thank you, my friends, and +flatter myself, that had my power been equal to my will, no hungry +person should ever have departed from Dymock's Tower." + +The ladies were then obliged to stand and hear the whole history of the +night's exploit,--told almost in as many ways as there were tongues to +tell it; and whilst these relations were going forward, the sun had +fairly risen above the horizon, and was gilding the jagged battlements +of the Tower. + +Shanty was not with the party in the court, but he suddenly appeared in +the door-way of the Tower. He seemed in haste and high excitement, and +was about to call to any one who would hear him first, when his eye fell +on Tamar and Mrs. Margaret. "Oh, there you are," he said; "I was looking +for one of swift foot to bring you here. Come up this moment; you are +required to be present at the confession of the gipsy wife, who is now +willing to tell all, on condition that we give her her liberty. Whether +this can be allowed or not, we doubt; though she did not make herself +busy with the rest, but was caught as she tried to escape by +the knoll." + +"Oh! spare her, if possible," said Tamar, "or let her escape, if you can +do nothing else to save her; I beseech you spare her!" Shanty made no +reply, but led the way to an upper room of the Tower, which had in old +time, when there were any stores to keep, (a case which had not occurred +for some years,) been occupied as a strong-hold for groceries, and other +articles of the same description; and there, besides the prisoner, who +stood sullenly leaning against the wall, with her arms folded, sat +Dymock and Salmon,--the Laird looking all importance, his lips being +compressed and his arms folded,--and old Salmon, being little better in +appearance than a _caput mortuum_, so entirely was the poor creature +overpowered by the rapid changes in the scenes which were enacting +before him. + +Shanty had met Rebecca running down the stairs as he was bringing up +Mrs. Margaret, and he had seized her and brought her in, saying, "Now +old lady, as we are coming to a clearance, it might be just as well to +burn out your dross among the rest; or may be," he added, "you may +perhaps answer to the lumps of lime-stone in the furnace, not of much +good in yourself, but of some service to help the smelting of that which +is better,--so come along, old lady; my mind misgives me, that you have +had more to do in making up this queer affair than you would have it +supposed." The more Rebecca resisted, the more determined was Shanty; +neither did he quit his hold of the old woman, until the whole party had +entered the room, the door being shut, and his back set against it, +where he kept his place, like a bar of iron in a stanchion. + +Chairs had been set for Mrs. Margaret and Tamar, and when they were +seated Dymock informed the prisoner that she might speak. Tamar had +instantly recognized her; so had Shanty; and both were violently +agitated, especially the former, when she began to speak. We will not +give her story exactly in her own words; for she used many terms, which, +from the mixture of gipsy slang and broad Border dialect, would not be +generally understood; but, being translated, her narrative stood as +follows:-- + +She was, it seems, of gipsy blood, and had no fixed habitation, but many +hiding places, one of which was the cavern or passage connected with +Dymock's Tower. Another of her haunts was Norwood Common, which, every +one knows, is near London, and there was a sort of head-quarters of the +gang, though, as was their custom, they seldom committed depredations +near their quarters. She said, that, one day being on the common, she +came in front of an old, black and white house, (which was taken down +not many years afterwards;) in the front thereof was a garden, and a +green lawn carefully trimmed, and in that garden on a seat sat an old +lady, a tall and comely dame, she said, and she was playing with a +little child, who might have been a year and-a-half old. The gipsy, it +seems, had asked charity through the open iron railing of the garden; +and the lady had risen and approached the railing, bringing the child +with her, and putting the money into the infant's hand to pass it +through the railing. The vagrant had then observed the dress and +ornaments of the child, that she had a necklace of coral, clasped with +some sparkling stone, golden clasps in her shoes, much rich lace about +her cap, and above all, golden bracelets of curious workmanship on +her wrists. + +"She had not," said Rebecca; "she never wore those ornaments excepting +on festival days." + +The vagrant took no notice of this remark of Rebecca's; but Shanty gave +the old servant a piercing look, whilst all others present, with the +exception of Salmon, felt almost fainting with impatience; but Salmon's +mind seemed for the moment in such a state of obtuseness, as disabled +him from catching hold of the link which was leading to that which was +to interest him as much as, or even more than, any one present. The +gipsy went on to say, that her cupidity was so much excited by these +ornaments, that she fixed her eye immediately on the family, and +resolved, if possible, to get possession of the child. She first +inquired respecting the family, and learned, that the house was occupied +by a widow lady, who had with her an only daughter, a married woman; +that the child she had seen belonged to that daughter; and that the +husband was abroad, and was a Jew, supposed to be immensely rich. + +"I knew it," said Dymock, turning round and snapping his fingers; "I +hammered it out, Master Shanty, sooner than you did; I knew the +physiognomy of a daughter of Zion at the very first glance; you, too, +must never talk again of your penetration, Aunt Margaret," and the good +man actually danced about the room; but Shanty on one side, and Aunt +Margaret on the other, seized him by an arm, and forced him again upon +his chair, entreating him to be still; whilst Salmon roused himself in +his seat, shook off, or tried to shake off his confusion, and fixed his +eyes stedfastly on the vagrant. + +The woman then went on to describe the means by which she had got a sort +of footing in this house; how she first discovered the back-door, and +under what pretences she invited the servants to enter into a sort of +concert with her for their mutual emolument, they bartering hare-skins, +kitchen grease, cold meat, &c., for lace, tapes, thread, ballads, and +other small matters. + +"The thieves?" cried Salmon; but no one noticed him. + +"There were only two servants in the house," said the gipsy; "there +might be others, but I saw them not, and one of those now stands here;" +and she fixed her eagle eye on Rebecca; "the other is Jacob." + +"Jacob and Rebecca!" exclaimed Salmon; "it was my house, then, that you +were robbing, and my servants whom you were tampering with." + +"Go on," said Dymock to the vagrant, whose story then proceeded to this +effect:-- + +She had visited the offices of this house several times; when, coming +one evening by appointment of the servants, with some view to bartering +the master's goods with her own wares, she found the family in terrible +alarm, she had come as she said, just at the crisis in which a soul had +parted, and it was the soul of that same old lady who had been playing +with the infant on the grass-plot. + +Rebecca was wailing and groaning in the kitchen, for she needed help to +streak the corpse, and the family had lived so close and solitary, that +she knew of no one at hand to whom to apply, and she feared that the +dead would become stark and cold, before she could find help; Jacob was +not within, he had gone to London, to fetch a Doctor of their own creed, +and was not likely to be back for some time. + +"And why? said I," continued the vagrant, "why, said I, should I not do +for this service as well as another? for many and many had been the +corpse which I had streaked; so she accepted my offer, and took me up to +the chamber of death, and I streaked the body, and a noble corpse it +was. The dame had been a comely one, as tall as that lady," pointing to +Dymock's aunt, "and not unlike her." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Margaret, smiling, "I understand it now;" but +Dymock bade her be silent, and the vagrant went on. + +"So," said she, "when I had streaked the body, I said to Rebecca we +must have a silver plate, for pewter will not answer the purpose." + +"What for?" said she. + +"'To fill with salt,' I answered, 'and set upon the breast.' + +"So she fetched me a silver plate half filled with salt, and I laid it +on the corpse; 'and now,' I said, 'we must have rue and marjoram, run +down and get me some;' and then I frightened her, poor fool as she was, +by telling her that by the limpness of the hand of the corpse, I augured +another death very soon in the house." + +"When I told this to Rebecca, the creature was so frightened, that away +she ran, leaving me in the room with the body. Swift as thought," +continued the woman, "I caught the silver dish, and was running down +stairs,--it was gloaming--when I saw a door open opposite the chamber of +death, and there, in the glimmering, I saw the child of the family +asleep in a little crib. She had on her usual dress, with the ornaments +I spoke of, and seemed to have fallen asleep before her time, as she was +not undressed. I caught her up, asleep as she was, and the next moment I +was out in the yard, and across the court, and through the back-door, +and away over the common, and to where I knew that none would follow me, +but they of my people, who would help my flight." + +"And the child with you," said Salmon, "did you take the child?" + +"More I will not tell," added the woman; "no, nor more shall any +tortures force from me, unless you bind yourselves not to prosecute +me,--unless you promise me my liberty." + +"I have told you," said the Laird, "that if you tell every thing you +shall be free,--do you question my truth?" + +"No, Dymock," said the vagrant; "I know you to be a man of truth, and +in that dependence you shall hear all." + +"I stripped the child of her gaudery, I wrapped her in rags, and I slung +her on my back; but I did her no harm, and many a weary mile I bore her, +till I came to the moor; and then, because she was a burden, and because +the brand on her shoulder would assuredly identify her, if suspicion +fell on me for having stolen her, I left her in the old blacksmith's +shed, and there she found a better father than you would have made her; +for what are you but a wicked Jew, with a heart as hard as the gold +you love." + +The fixed, and almost stone-like attitude in which the old man stood for +some moments after his understanding had admitted the information given +by the vagrant, so drew the attention of all present, that there was not +a sound heard in the room, every one apprehending that the next moment +they should see him drop down dead, nor did any one know what was best +to do next; but this moment of terror was terminated by the old man's +sinking on his knees, clasping his hands, and lifting his eyes, and +breaking out in a short but solemn act of thanksgiving, and then turning +his head without rising, as it were looking for his daughter, she sprang +toward him, and threw her arms about him, whilst he still knelt. It +would be difficult to describe the scene which followed: Dymock began to +caper and exult, Mrs. Margaret to weep, Rebecca to utter imprecations, +and Shanty to sing and whistle, as he was wont to do when hammering in +his shed, and the vagrant to dare the old Jewess to deny any thing which +she had said. When Dymock had assisted Tamar to lift her father into the +chair, and when the old man had wept plentifully, he was again anxious +to examine the case more closely; and a discussion followed, in which +many things were explained and cleared up on both sides, though it was +found necessary for this end, to promise Rebecca that she should be +forgiven, and no vengeance taken upon her, if she should confess her +part of the history. This discussion lasted long, and the substance of +what was then opened to Tamar and her paternal friends was this:--Mr. +Salmon was, it seems, a Polish Jew, extremely rich, and evidently very +parsimonious; he had had mercantile concerns in London, and had there +married, when nearly fifty years of age, a beautiful young Jewess, whose +mother he had greatly benefitted, when in the most deplorable +circumstances. With this lady he had gone abroad, and it was very +evident that he had been a severe and jealous husband. She had brought +him a daughter soon after her marriage. This child was born in Poland, +Rebecca was her nurse; but Mrs. Salmon, falling into bad health +immediately after the birth of the child, she implored her husband to +permit her to return to England, and to her mother. Salmon saw that she +was not happy with him; and the strange suspicion seized him, as there +was little tie between him and his wife, that in case his own child +died, she might palm another upon him,--to prevent which, he branded the +babe with the figure of a palm branch, and sent her home, with Rebecca +and Jacob, who were both Jews, to watch her; though there was no need, +as Rachel was a simple, harmless creature. She was also in very bad +health when she reached England, and scarcely survived her mother three +days, and during that time hardly asked for her child; and the artful +servants had contrived to make their master believe that the baby had +proved a sickly deformed creature, and had died, and been buried in the +coffin with its mother. + +Salmon was in Poland when all these horrors occurred, and there Jacob +and Rebecca found him; and having now no other object, he devoted +himself entirely to amassing riches, passing from one state of +covetousness to another, till at length he began to fall into the dotage +of avarice, which consists in laying up money for the sake of laying up, +and delighting in the view of hoards of gold and precious things. With +this madness in his mind, he turned much of his property into jewels, +and returning to England, he began to look about for a safe place +wherein he might deposit his treasures. But, as a Jew, he could not +possess land; he therefore passed the form of naturalization, and whilst +looking about for a situation in which he might dwell in safety, his +character and circumstances became in part known to the gipsies, (who, +amongst other thieves, always have their eyes on those who are supposed +to carry valuables about them,) and the man called Harefoot, formed the +plan of getting him and his treasures into Dymock's Tower. This Harefoot +was the nephew of the woman who had brought Tamar to Shanty's; and the +old miser, being tempted by the moat, and other circumstances of the +place, fell into the snare which had been thus skillfully laid for him. +It was not till after Salmon had come to the Tower, that the connection +between Salmon and Tamar was discovered by the old woman; and it was at +this time that she contrived to meet Tamar, and to convey the notion to +her, that she was of a gipsy family; fearing lest she should, by any +means, be led to an explanation with Salmon, before her nephew and his +gang had made sure of the treasure. Harefoot had supposed that he and +his gang were the only persons who knew of the secret passage; and the +reason why they had not made the attempt of robbing Salmon by that +passage sooner, was simply this, that Harefoot, having been detected in +some small offence in some distant county, had been confined several +weeks in a house of correction, from which he had not been set free +many days before he came to the moor, and took upon himself the conduct +of the plot for robbing Salmon. + +What Jacob and Rebecca's plans were did not appear, or wherefore they +had not only fallen in with, but promoted the settlement of their master +in the Tower; but that their object was a selfish one cannot be doubted. + +Had other confirmation been wanting, after the mark on Tamar's shoulder +had been acknowledged, the vagrant added it, by producing a clasp of one +armlet, which she had retained, and carried about with her in a leathern +bag, amongst sundry other heterogeneous relics; and she accounted for +having preserved it, from the fear she had of exposing a cypher wrought +on a precious stone, which might, she thought, lead to detection. + +A dreadful hue and cry in the court below, soon after this disturbed the +conference. All seemed confusion and uproar; Dymock and Shanty rushed +down stairs, and aunt Margaret and Tamar ran out to the window in the +nearest passage; there they learnt that the prisoners had broken the +bars of their dungeon, swam the moat, and fled; and the ladies could see +the peasants in pursuit, scouring over the moor, whilst those they were +pursuing were scarcely visible. + +"I am glad of it," said Tamar, "I should rejoice in their escape, they +will trouble us no more; and oh, my dear mother, I would not, that one +sad heart, should now mix itself with our joyful ones!" + +Mrs. Margaret and Tamar stood at the window till they saw the pursuers +turning back to the castle, some of them not being sorry in their +hearts, at the escape of the rogues, but the most remarkable part of the +story was, that whilst they had all been thus engaged, the woman had +also made off, and, though probably not in company with her, that most +excellent and faithful creature Rebecca, neither of whom were ever +heard of again. + +And now none were left, but those who hoped to live and die in each +other's company, but these were soon joined by the magistrates and legal +powers, who had been summoned from the nearest town, together with +people from all quarters, who flocked to hear and learn what was going +forward; and here was an opportunity not to be lost by Dymock and +Shanty, of telling the wonderful tale, and old Salmon having been +recruited with some small nourishment, administered by Mrs. Margaret, +presented his daughter to the whole assembly, and being admonished by +Shanty, placed in her hands before them, the deed of transfer of the +lands and castle of Dymock, which in fact to him, was but a drop in the +ocean of his wealth. + +As she received this deed, she fell on one knee, and kissed her +venerable father's hand, after which he raised and embraced her, +paternal affection and paternal pride acting like the genial warmth of +the sun, in thawing the frost of his heart and frame. She had whispered +something whilst he kissed her, and as his answer had been favourable, +she turned to Dymock, and now bending on both knees, she placed the deed +in his hands, her sweet face at the same time being all moist with +gushing tears, falling upon her adopted father's hand. + +Shanty in his apron and unshorn chin, explained to those about, what had +been done; for they, that is the Laird, Aunt Margaret, Salmon, and +Tamar, were standing on the elevated platform, at the door of the Tower: +and then arose such shouts and acclamations from one and all, as made +the whole castle ring again, and one voice in particular arose above the +rest, crying, "Our Laird has got his own again, and blessing be on her +who gave it him." + +"Rather bless Him," cried Shanty, "who has thus brought order out of +confussion, to Him be the glory given in every present happiness, as in +all that we are assured of in the future." + +As there were no means of regaling those present at that time, and as +Mr. Salmon was then too confused to do that which he ought to have done, +in rewarding those who had defended him, most of them being poor people, +they were dismissed with an invitation to a future meeting at the Tower; +two or three gentlemen, friends of Dymock, only being left. Much +consultation then ensued, whilst Mrs. Margaret bestirred herself, to +procure female assistance, and to provide the best meal, which could be +had at a short notice. + +During this conference with the Laird and his friends, all of whom were +honourable men, Mr. Salmon was induced to consent to have his +treasures, his bonds, his notes and bills, consigned to such keeping as +was judged most safe; neither, could these matters be settled, without a +journey to town, in which Dymock accompanied him, together with a legal +friend of the latter of known respectability. We do not enter into the +particulars of this journey, but merely say, that Mr. Salmon in the joy, +and we may add, thankfulness of recovering his child, not only permitted +himself to be advised, but whilst in town made his will, by which, he +left all he possessed to his daughter, and this being concluded to the +satisfaction of all concerned, he returned to Dymock's Tower, laden with +presents for Mrs. Margaret. + +Neither were Shanty's services overlooked; the cottage and land +appertaining thereunto, were to be his for life, free from rent and +dues, together with twenty pounds a year, in consideration of his +never-varying kindness to Tamar. + +The old man wept, when told of what was done for him, and himself went +the next day to Morpeth, to bring from thence a sister, nearly as old as +himself, who was living there in hard service. + +And here the memorandum from which this story is derived, becomes less +particular in the details. + +It speaks of Mr. Salmon after the various exertions he had made, (these +exertions having been as it was supposed succeeded by a stroke,) sinking +almost immediately into a state nearly childish, during which, however, +it was a very great delight to Tamar, to perceive in the very midst of +this intellectual ruin an awakening to things spiritual; so that it +would seem, as if the things hidden from him in the days of human +prudence and wisdom, were now made manifest to him, in the period of +almost second childishness. + +Tamar had been enabled to imbibe the purest Christian principles, in +her early youth, for which, humanly speaking, she owed much to Shanty, +and she now with the assistance of the kind old man, laboured +incessantly, to bring her father to the Messiah of the Christians, as +the only hope and rest of his soul; and she had reason before her father +died, to hope that her labours had not been without fruit. As to worldly +pelf, she had it in rich abundance, but she could have little personal +enjoyment of it whilst shut up with her aged father in Dymock's Tower, +yet she had exquisite delight in humouring therewith, the fancies of +Dymock, and administering to the more sober and benevolent plans of Mrs. +Margaret; for this lady's principal delight was, to assist the needy, +and her only earthly or worldly caprice, that of restoring the Tower and +its environs, and furnishing, to what she conceived had been its state, +in the, perhaps, imaginary days of the exaltation of the Dymocks. + +A splendid feast in the halls of Dymock's Tower, is also spoken of, as +having taken place, soon after the return of the Laird from London, from +which, not a creature dwelling on the moor was absent, when Salmon +directed Tamar to reward those persons who had assisted him in his +greatest need, and when Mrs. Margaret added numbers of coats and +garments to those that were destitute. Dymock in his joy of heart, +caused the plough to be brought forward, and fixed upon a table in the +hall, for every one to see that day, Mrs. Margaret having been obliged +to acknowledge, that it was this same plough, which had turned up the +vein of gold, in which all present were rejoicing. + +With the notice of this feast the history terminates, and here the +writer concludes with a single sentiment,--that although a work of +kindness wrought in the fear of God, as imparted by the Lord, the +Spirit--seldom produces such a manifest reward, as it did in the case +of Mrs. Margaret and her nephew, for the race is not always to the +swift, nor the burthen to the strong, yet, even under this present +imperfect dispensation, there is a peace above all price, accompanying +every act, which draws a creature out of self, to administer to the +necessities of others, whenever these acts are performed in faith, and +with a continual reference to the pleasure of God, and without view to +heaping up merits, which is a principle entirely adverse to anything +like a correct knowledge of salvation by the Lord the Saviour. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shanty the Blacksmith; A Tale of Other +Times, by Mrs. Sherwood [AKA: Mrs. Mary Martha Sherwood] + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12315 *** diff --git a/12315-h/12315-h.htm b/12315-h/12315-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..983f884 --- /dev/null +++ b/12315-h/12315-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2970 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta name="generator" content= +"HTML Tidy for Windows (vers 1st February 2004), see www.w3.org"> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= +"text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Shanty the Blacksmith, by +Mrs. Sherwood.</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + blockquote {text-align: justify; + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%;} + IMG { + BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; + BORDER-TOP: 0px; + BORDER-LEFT: 0px; + BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px } + .ctr { TEXT-ALIGN: center } + .rgt { float: right; + font-size: 10pt; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: -5%; + margin-right: 0%; + TEXT-ALIGN: center } + .lft { float: left; + font-size: 10pt; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 0%; + TEXT-ALIGN: center } + .par { float: left; + font-size: 10pt; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 0%; + TEXT-ALIGN: center } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12315 ***</div> + +<br> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/frontice.jpg" width="50%" alt= +""><br> +<b>Tamar always took in his coffee & Toast.</b></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h1>SHANTY</h1> +<h3>THE</h3> +<h1>BLACKSMITH;</h1> +<h2>A TALE OF OTHER TIMES</h2> +<h3>BY MRS. SHERWOOD.</h3> +<br> +<h4>1852.</h4> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h1>SHANTY</h1> +<h3>THE</h3> +<h1>BLACKSMITH.</h1> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<p>It was during the last century, and before the spirit of +revolution had effected any change in the manners of our +forefathers, that the events took place, which are about to be +recorded in this little volume.</p> +<p>At that period there existed in the wild border country, which +lies between England and Scotland, an ancient castle, of which only +one tower, a few chambers in the main building, certain offices +enclosed in high buttressed walls, and sundry out-houses hanging as +it were on those walls, yet remained. This castle had once been +encircled by a moat which had been suffered to dry itself up, +though still the little stream which used to fill it when the dams +were in repair, murmured and meandered at the bottom of the hollow, +and fed the roots of many a water plant and many a tree whose +nature delights in dank and swampy soils. The verdure, however, +which encircled this ancient edifice, added greatly to the beauty, +when seen over the extent of waste and wild in which it stood. +There can be no doubt but that the ancient possessors of this +castle, which, from the single remaining barrier, and the name of +the family, was called Dymock's tower, had been no other than +strong and dangerous free-booters, living on the plunder of the +neighbouring kingdom of Scotland. Every one knows that a vast +extent of land, waste or at best but rudely cultivated, had once +belonged to the Lords of Dymock; but within a few years this family +had fallen from affluence, and were at length so much reduced, that +the present possessor could hardly support himself in any thing +like the state in which he deemed it necessary for his father's son +to live. Mr. Dymock was nearly thirty years of age, at the time our +history commences; he had been brought up by an indolent father, +and an aunt in whom no great trusts had been vested, until he +entered his teens, at which time he was sent to Edinburgh to attend +the classes in the college; and there, being a quick and clever +young man, though without any foundation of early discipline, or +good teaching, and without much plain judgment or common sense, he +distinguished himself as a sort of genius.</p> +<p>One of the most common defects in the minds of those who are not +early subjected to regular discipline is, that they have no +perseverance; they begin one thing, and another thing, but never +carry anything on to any purpose, and this was exactly the case +with Mr. Dymock. Whilst he was in Edinburgh he had thought that he +would become an author; some injudicious persons told him that he +might succeed in that way, and he began several poems, and two +plays, and he wrote parts of several treatises on Mathematics, and +Physics, and Natural History; the very titles of these works sound +clever, but they were never finished. Dymock was nearly thirty when +his father died; and when he came to reside in the tower, his mind +turned altogether to a new object, and that was cultivating the +ground, and the wild commons and wastes all around him: and if he +had set to work in a rational way he might have done something, but +before he began the work he must needs invent a plough, which was +to do wonderful things, and, accordingly, he set to work, not only +to invent this plough, but to make it himself, or rather to put it +together himself, with the help of a carpenter and blacksmith in +the neighbourhood. But before we introduce the old blacksmith, who +is a very principal person in our story, we must describe the way +in which Mr. Dymock lived in his tower.</p> +<p>His aunt, Mrs. Margaret Dymock, was his housekeeper, and so +careful had she always been, for she had kept house for her +brother, the late laird, that the neighbours said she had +half-starved herself, in order to keep up some little show of old +hospitality. In truth, the poor lady was marvellously thin, and as +sallow and gaunt as she was thin. Some old lady who had stood for +her at the font, in the reign of Charles the Second, had, at her +death, left her all her clothes, and these had been sent to +Dymock's tower in several large chests. Mrs. Margaret was +accordingly provided for, for life, with the addition of a little +homespun linen, and stockings of her own knitting; but, as she held +it a mighty piece of extravagance to alter a handsome dress, she +wore her godmother's clothes in the fashion in which she found +them, and prided herself not a little in having silks for every +season of the year. Large hoops were worn in those days, and long +ruffles, and sacks short and long, and stomachers, and hoods, and +sundry other conceits, now never thought of; but Mrs. Margaret +thought that all these things had a genteel appearance, and showed +that those who bought them and those who inherited them had not +come of nothing.</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret, however, never put any of these fine things on, +till she had performed her household duties, looked into every hole +and corner in the offices, overlooked the stores, visited the +larder, scullery and hen-yard, weighed what her three maids had +spun the day before, skimmed the milk with her own hands, gathered +up the candle ends, and cut the cabbage for the brose; all which +being done, and the servants' dinner seen to, and it must be +confessed, it was seldom that they had a very sumptuous regale, she +dressed herself as a lady should be dressed, and sate down to her +darning, which was her principal work, in the oval window in the +chief room in the castle. Darning, we say, was her principal work, +because there was scarcely an article in the house which she did +not darn occasionally, from the floor-cloth to her own best laces, +and, as money was seldom forthcoming for renewing any of the finer +articles in the house capable of being darned, no one can say what +would have been the consequence, if Mrs. Margaret had been divested +of this darning propensity.</p> +<p>How the old lady subsisted herself is hardly known, for it often +happened that the dinner she contrived for her nephew, was barely +sufficient for him, and although on these occasions she always +managed to seem to be eating, yet had Mr. Dymock had his eyes about +him, he could not but have seen that she must often have risen from +the table, after having known little more than the odour of the +viands. Nothing, however, which has been said of Mrs. Margaret +Dymock goes against that which might be said with truth, that there +was a fund of kindness in the heart of the venerable spinster, +though it was sometimes choked up and counteracted by her desire to +make a greater appearance than the family means would allow.</p> +<p>Besides the three maids in the kitchen, there were a man and a +boy without doors, two or three lean cows, a flock of sheep which +were half starved on the moor, a great dog, and sundry pigs and +fowls living at large about the tower; and, to crown our +description, it must be added, that all the domestic arrangements +which were beyond the sphere of Mrs. Margaret were as ill managed +as those within her sphere were capitally well conducted; however, +as Mr. Dymock said to her one day when she ventured to expostulate +with him on this subject, "Only have a little patience, my good +aunt, when I have completed what I am now about, for instance my +plough, you will see how I will arrange every thing. I cannot +suffer these petty attentions and petty reforms to occupy me just +now; what I intend to do will be done in a large way; I mean not +only to repair but to restore the castle, to throw the whole of my +lands to the north into a sheep-walk, to plant the higher points, +and to convert the south lands into arable. But my first object is +the plough, and that must be attended to, before everything else; +the wood-work is all complete, but a little alteration must be made +in the coulter, and after all, I apprehend I must do it myself, as +old Shanty is as stupid as his own hammer."</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret hinted that every man had not the ingenuity of her +nephew; adding, however, that old Shanty was as worthy and +God-fearing a man as any on the moor.</p> +<p>"I do not deny it," replied Mr. Dymock, "but what has worth and +God-fearing to do with my plough. I have been trying in vain to +make him understand what I want done, and am come to the resolution +of going myself, taking off my coat, and working with him; I should +make a better blacksmith in a week, than he has in forty +years."</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret lifted up her hands and eyes, and then fetching a +deep sigh, "That I should have lived to hear that," she exclaimed; +"the last representative of the house of Dymock proposing to work +at a blacksmith's forge!"</p> +<p>"And why not? Mrs. Margaret," replied the nephew, "does a +gentleman lower himself when he works merely for recreation, and +not for sordid pelf; you have heard of Peter the Great?"</p> +<p>"Bless me, nephew," replied the spinster, bridling, "where do +you think my ears have been all my life, if I never heard of Peter +the Great!"</p> +<p>"You know then, that he worked with his own hands at a +blacksmith's forge," returned the nephew.</p> +<p>"I know no such thing," said Mrs. Margaret, "and if the Romans +say so, I account it only another of their many lies; and I wonder +they are not ashamed to invent tales so derogotary to the honour of +him they call their head!"</p> +<p>"Pshaw!" said the laird; "I am not speaking of the Pope, but of +the Czar of all the Russias!"</p> +<p>"Well! well! Dymock;" returned Mrs. Margaret, "I only wish that +I could persuade you from committing this derogation. However, if +you must needs work with Shanty, let me beg you to put on one of +your old shirts; for the sparks will be sure to fly, and there will +be no end of darning the small burns."</p> +<p>"Be assured aunt," said Mr. Dymock, "that I shall do nothing by +halves; if I work with Shanty, I shall put on a leathern apron, and +tuck up my sleeves."</p> +<p>"All this does not suit my notions," replied Mrs. Margaret: but +her nephew had risen to leave her, and there was an end to the +argument.</p> +<p>As Mr. Dymock had told his aunt; so he did: he went to Shanty's +forge, he dressed himself like the old master himself, and set +fairly to work, to learn the mysteries of the trade; mysteries +which, however, as far as Shanty knew them, were not very deep.</p> +<br> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/illus015.jpg" width="50%" alt= +""><br> +<b>He went to Shantys Forge.</b></p> +<br> +<p>There has not often been a more ill-arranged and unsettled mind +than that of Mr. Dymock; his delight was in anything new, and for a +few days he would pursue this novelty with such eagerness, that +during the time he seemed to forget every thing else. It was a +delicate job, and yet one requiring strength which was needed for +the plough. Shanty had told the laird at once, that it was beyond +his own skill or strength, seeing that he was old and feeble, "and +as to your doing it, sir," he said, "who cannot yet shape a +horse-shoe! you must serve longer than a week, before you get that +much knowledge of the craft; there is no royal way to learning, and +even for the making of a horse-shoe a 'prenticeship must be served, +and I mistake me very much if you don't tire before seven days +service are over, let alone as many years."</p> +<p>But, Mr. Dymock had as yet served only two days, when one +evening a young man, a dark, athletic, bold-looking youth, entered +the blacksmith's shed. It was an evening in autumn, and the shed +was far from any house; Dymock's tower was the nearest, and the sun +was already so low that the old keep with its many mouldering +walls, and out-buildings, was seen from the shed, standing in high +relief against the golden sky. As the young man entered, looking +boldly about him, Shanty asked him what he wanted.</p> +<p>"I want a horse-shoe," he replied.</p> +<p>"A horse-shoe!" returned the blacksmith, "and where's your +horse?"</p> +<p>"I has no other horse than Adam's mare," he replied; "I rides no +other, but I want a horse-shoe."</p> +<p>"You are a pretty fellow," returned Shanty "to want a +horse-shoe, and to have never a horse to wear him."</p> +<p>"Did you never hear of no other use for a horse-shoe, besides +protecting a horse's hoof?" replied the youth.</p> +<p>"I have," returned the blacksmith, "I have heard fools say, that +neither witch nor warlock can cross a threshold that has a +horse-shoe nailed over it. But mind I tell you, it must be a cast +shoe."</p> +<p>"Well" said the young man, "suppose that I am plagued with one +of them witches; and suppose that I should have bethought me of the +horse-shoe, what would you think of me then? What may that be which +you are now shaping; why may it not serve my turn as well as +another? so let me have it, and you shall have its worth down on +the nail."</p> +<p>"Did not I tell you," said Shanty, sullenly, "that it must be a +cast shoe that must keep off a witch; every fool allows that."</p> +<p>"Well," said the young man, looking about him, "have you never a +cast shoe?"</p> +<p>"No," replied Shanty, "I have none here fit for your turn."</p> +<p>"I am not particular," returned the young man, "about the shoe +being an old one; there is as much virtue, to my thinking, in a new +one; so let me have that you are about."</p> +<p>"You shall have none of my handiworks, I tell you," said Shanty, +decidedly, "for none of your heathenish fancies and follies. The +time was when I lent myself to these sort of follies, but, thank my +God, I have learned to cast away, aye, and to condemn such +degrading thoughts as these. Believe me, young man, that if God is +on your side, neither witch nor warlock, or worse than either, +could ever hurt you."</p> +<p>"Well," said the young man, "if you will not make me one, will +you let me make one for myself?"</p> +<p>"Are you a smith?" said Mr. Dymock, before Shanty could +reply.</p> +<p>"Am I a smith?" answered the young man; "I promise you, I should +think little of myself if I was not as much above him, (pointing to +Shanty, who was hammering at his horse-shoe, with his back towards +him,) as the sun is brighter than the stars."</p> +<p>Shanty took no notice of this piece of insolence; but Mr. Dymock +having asked the stranger a few more questions, proceeded to show +him the job he wanted done to his plough, and from one thing to +another, the young man undertook to accomplish it in a few hours, +if the master of the shed would permit. Shanty did by no means seem +pleased, and yet could not refuse to oblige Mr. Dymock; he, +however, remarked, that if the coulter was destroyed, it was no +odds to him. The young stranger, however, soon made it appear that +he was no mean hand at the work of a blacksmith; he had not only +strength, but skill and ingenuity, and in a short time had so +deeply engaged the attention of Dymock by his suggestions of +improvements to this same plough, that the young laird saw none but +him, and allowed the evening to close in, and the darkness of night +to cover the heath, whilst still engaged in talking to the +stranger, and hearkening to his ingenious comments on the machinery +of the plough.</p> +<p>In the meantime, although the sun had set in golden glory, dark +and dense clouds had covered the heavens, the wind had risen and +whistled dismally over the moor, and a shower of mingled rain and +sleet blew into the shed, one side of which was open to the air. It +was in the midst of this shower, that a tall gaunt female, covered +with a ragged cloak, and having one child slung on her back, and +another much older in her hand, presented herself at the door of +the shed, and speaking in a broad northern dialect, asked +permission to shelter herself and her bairns, for a little space in +the corner of the hut. Neither Dymock nor the young man paid her +any regard, or seemed to see her, but Shanty made her welcome, and +pointing to a bench which was within the glow of the fire of the +forge, though out of harm's way of sparks or strokes, the woman +came in, and having with the expertness of long use, slung the +child from her back into her arms, she sate down, laying the little +one across her knee, whilst the eldest of the two children dropped +on the bare earth with which the shed was floored, and began +nibbling a huge crust which the mother put into his hand.</p> +<p>In the meantime, work went on as before the woman had come in, +nor was a word spoken, till Shanty, looking up from the horse-shoe +which he was hammering, remarked in his own mind, that he wondered +that the little one stretched on the woman's knee, was not awakened +and frightened by the noise of the forge; but there the creature +lies, he thought, as if it had neither sense or hearing. When this +strange thought suggested itself, the old man dropped his hammer, +and fixing his eye on the infant, he seemed to ask himself these +questions,--What, if the child should be dead? would a living +child, drop as that did from the back of the woman on her lap, like +a lump of clay, nor move, nor utter a moan, when thrown across its +mother's lap? Urged then by anxiety, he left his anvil, approached +the woman, and stood awhile gazing at the child, though unable for +some minutes to satisfy himself, or to put away the horrible fear +that he might perchance be looking at a body without life. Mr. +Dymock was acting the part of bellows-blower, in order to assist +some work which the young stranger was carrying on in the fire. The +lad who generally performed this service for Shanty, had got +permission for a few hours, to visit his mother over the Border, +Mr. Dymock having told him in all kindness that he would blow for +him if needs must. But the fitful light--the alternate glow and +comparative darkness which accompanied and kept time with the +motion of the bellows, made it almost impossible for the old man to +satisfy himself concerning his horrible imagination. He saw that +the infant who lay so still on the woman's lap, was as much as two +years of age; that, like the woman, it had dark hair, and that its +complexion was olive; and thus he was put out in his first notion, +that the child might perchance be a stolen one. But the bellows had +filled and exhausted themselves many times before his mind was set +at rest with regard to his first fearful thought; at length, +however, the child moved its arm, and uttered a low moan, though +without rousing itself from its sleep; on which Shanty, being +satisfied, turned back to his block and his horse-shoe, and another +half-hour or more passed, during which the tempest subsided, the +clouds broke and began to disappear, and the stars to come forth +one by one, pointing out the direction of the heavens to the +experienced eye of the night-walking traveller. The woman observing +this, arose, and taking the sleeping babe in her arms whilst the +other child clung to her cloak, she thanked the blacksmith for the +convenience of the shelter which he had given her; when he, with +the courtesy of one who, though poor and lowly, had been admitted +to high conference with his Redeemer, invited her to stay +longer--all night if she pleased,--regretting only that he had +nothing to offer her but a bed of straw, and a sup of sowens for +the little ones.</p> +<p>"For which," she replied, "I thank you; what can any one give +more than what he has. But time is precious to me, this night I +must be over the Border; mind me, however, I shall remember you, +and mayhap may call again." So saying, she passed out of the shed, +almost as much disregarded by Dymock in her going out, as she had +been in coming in.</p> +<p>And now, for another hour, the strokes of the hammers of old +Shanty and the young stranger might have been heard far over the +moor in the stillness of the night, for the wind had entirely died +away, and the fitful glare of the forge, still shone as a beacon +over the heath. At length, however, the job which the stranger had +undertaken was finished, and Dymock, having given him a silver +piece, the only one in his pocket, the young man took his leave, +saying as he went out, and whilst he tossed the silver in his +hand,--"Well, if I have not got what I came for, I have got that +which is as good, and in return for your civility, old gentleman," +he added, addressing Shanty, "I give you a piece of advice; nail +the horse-shoe, which you would not spare to me, over your own +door, for I tell you, that you are in no small danger of being +over-reached by the very warlock, who has haunted my steps for many +a day."</p> +<p>So saying, he went gaily, and with quick step, out of the shed, +and his figure soon disappeared in a ravine or hollow of the +moor.</p> +<p>In the mean time, Dymock and Shanty stood at the door. The +former being full of excitement, respecting the wonderful sagacity +of the singular stranger, and the other being impatient to see the +master off, as he wanted to shut up his shed, and to retire to the +little chamber within, which served him for sleeping apartment, +kitchen, and store-room, not to say study, for our worthy Shanty +never slept without studying the Holy Word of God.</p> +<p>But whilst these two were standing, as we said, at the door, +suddenly, a low moan reached their ears, as coming from their left, +where the roof of the shed being lengthened out, afforded shelter +for any carts, or even, on occasion, waggons, which might be +brought there, for such repairs as Shanty could give them. At that +time, there was only one single cart in the shed, and the cry +seemed to come from the direction of this cart. Dymock and Shanty +were both startled at the cry, and stood in silence for a minute or +more, to ascertain if it were repeated. Another low moan presently +ensued, and then a full outcry, as of a terrified child. Dymock and +Shanty looked at each other, and Shanty said, "It is the beggar +woman. She is still skulking about, I will be bound; hark!" he +added, "listen! she will be stilling the child, she's got under the +cart." But the child continued to screech, and there was neither +threat nor blandishment used to still the cries.</p> +<p>Dymock seemed to be so thoroughly astounded, that he could not +stir, but Shanty going in, presently returned with a lighted +lanthorn, and an iron crow-bar in his hand; "and now," he said, +"Mr. Dymock, we shall see to this noise," and they both turned into +the out-building, expecting to have to encounter the tall beggar, +and with her perhaps, a gang of vagrants. They, however, saw only +the infant of two years' old, who had lain like a thing dead on the +woman's lap, though not dead, as Shanty had feared, but stupified +with hollands, the very breath of the baby smelling of the spirit +when Dymock lifted it out of the cart and brought it into the +interior shed. Shanty did not return, till he had investigated +every hole and corner of his domain, with the crow-bar in one hand, +and the lanthorn in the other.</p> +<p>The baby had ceased to cry, when brought into the shed, and +feeling itself in the arms of a fellow-creature, had yielded to the +influence of the liquor, and had fallen again into a dead sleep, +dropping back on the bosom of Mr. Dymock.</p> +<p>"They are all off," said Shanty, as he entered the house, "and +have left us this present. We have had need, as that young rogue +said, of the horse-shoe over our door. We have been over-reached +for once; that little one is stolen goods, be sure, Mr. +Dymock,--some great man's child for aught we know,--the wicked +woman will not call again very soon, as she promised, and what are +we to do with the child? Had my poor wife been living, it might +have done, but she is better off! What can I do with it?"</p> +<p>"I must take it up to the Tower," said Mr. Dymock, "and see if +my aunt Margaret will take to it, and if she will not, why, then +there are charity schools, and poor-houses to be had recourse to; +yet I don't fear her kind heart."</p> +<p>"Nor I neither, Mr. Dymock," said Shanty, and the old man drew +near to the child, and holding up his lanthorn to the sleeping +baby, he said, "What like is it? Gipsy, or Jew? one or the other; +those features, if they were washed, might not disgrace Sarah or +Rachel."</p> +<p>"The mouth and the form of the face are Grecian," said Dymock, +"but the bust is oriental."</p> +<p>Shanty looked hard at his patron, as trying to understand what +he meant by <i>oriental</i> and <i>Grecian;</i> and then repeated +his question, "Gipsy or Jew, Mr. Dymock? for I am sure the little +creature is not of our northern breed."</p> +<p>"We shall see by and bye," said Dymock, "the question is, what +is to be done now? I am afraid that aunt Margaret will look prim +and stately if I carry the little one up to the Tower; however, I +see not what else to do. Who is afraid? But put your fire out, +Shanty, and come with us. You shall carry the bantling, and I will +take the lanthorn. Mayhap, aunt Margaret may think this arrangement +the more genteel of the two. So let it be."</p> +<p>And it was so; old Shanty turned into child-keeper, and the +Laird into lanthorn-carrier, and the party directed their steps +towards the Tower, and much talk had they by the way.</p> +<p>Now, as we have said before, there was a fund of kindness in the +heart of Mrs. Margaret Dymock, which kindness is often more +consistent than some people suppose, with attention to economy, +especially when that economy is needful; and moreover, she had +lately lost a favourite cat, which had been, as she said, quite a +daughter to her. Therefore the place of pet happened to be vacant +just at that time, which was much in favour of the forlorn child's +interests. Dymock had taken Shanty with him into the parlour, in +which Mrs. Margaret sat at her darning; and he had suggested to the +old man, that he might just as well tell the story himself for his +aunt's information, and account for the presence of the infant; +and, in his own words, Mrs. Margaret took all very well, and even +did not hint that if her nephew had been in his own parlour, +instead of being in a place where vagrants were sheltered, he would +at all events have been out of this scrape. But the little one had +awoke, and had begun to weep, and the old lady's heart was touched, +so she called one of the maids, and told her to feed the babe and +put it to sleep; after which, having ordered that Shanty should be +regaled with the bladebone of a shoulder of mutton, she withdrew to +her room to think what was next to be done.</p> +<p>The result of Mrs. Margaret's thoughts were, that come what +might, the child must be taken care of for a few days, and must be +washed and clothed; and, as the worthy lady had ever had the habit +of laying by, in certain chests and boxes piled on each other in +her large bed-room, all the old garments of the family not judged +fitting for the wear of cottagers, she had nothing more to do than, +by the removal of half-a-dozen trunks, to get at a deal box, which +contained the frocks, and robes, and other garments which her +nephew had discarded when he put on jacket and trousers. From these +she selected one of the smallest suits, and they might have been +seen airing at the kitchen fire by six o'clock that morning. Hot +water and soap were next put in requisition, and as soon as the +baby awoke, she was submitted to such an operation by the kitchen +fire, as it would appear she had not experienced for a long time. +The little creature was terribly frightened when soused in the +water, and screeched in a pitiful manner; the tears running from +her eyes, and the whole of her small person being in a violent +tremor. The maids, however, made a thorough job of it, and scoured +the foundling from head to foot. At length Mrs. Margaret, who sat +by, directing the storm, with a sheet across her lap and towels in +her hand, pronounced the ablution as being complete, and the babe +was lifted from the tub, held a moment to drip, and then set on the +lap of the lady, and now the babe seemed to find instant relief. +The little creature was no sooner placed on Mrs. Margaret's knee, +than, by some strange and unknown association, she seemed to think +that she had found an old friend,--some faintly remembered nurse or +mother,--whom she had met again in Mrs. Dymock, and quivering with +delight, she sprang on her feet on the lady's lap, and grasped her +neck in her arms, pressing her little ruby lips upon her cheek; and +on one of the maids approaching again with some of her clothes, she +strained her arms more closely round Mrs. Margaret, and perfectly +danced on her lap with terror lest she should be taken away from +her.</p> +<p>"Lord help the innocent babe!" said the old lady, "what is come +to her?" and Mrs. Margaret's eyes were full of tears; but the good +lady then soothed and carressed the babe, and instructed her to sit +down on her knees, whilst she directed the servant to assist in +dressing her. But no, no, it would not do; no one was to touch her +but Mrs. Margaret; and the old lady, drawing herself up, at length +said,--"Well, Janet, we must give way, I suppose; it seems that I +am to be the favourite; there is something in my physiognomy which +has taken the child's fancy; come, hand me the clothes, I must try +my skill in dressing this capricious little dame." Mrs. Margaret +was evidently pleased by the poor orphan's preference, and whilst +she was dressing the infant, there was time to discover that the +little child was a perfect beauty in her way; the form of her face +being oval, the features exquisite, the eyes soft, yet sparkling, +and the lips delicately formed. The hair, of raven black, was +clustered and curling, and the head set on the shoulders in a way +worthy of the daughters of kings; but the servants pointed out on +the arm of the infant, a peculiar mark which was not natural, but +which had evidently been burnt therein. One said it was a fan, and +another a feather; but Mrs. Margaret augured vast things from it, +pronouncing that the child surely belonged to some great person, +and that no one could say what might be the consequence of kindness +shown to such a child.</p> +<p>As soon as Mr. Dymock came down into the breakfast-room, Mrs. +Margaret came swimming in with the child in her arms, exclaiming, +"A pretty piece of work you have done for me, nephew! I am under a +fine servitude now;" and she primmed up her mouth, but her eye +laughed,--"little Miss here, chooses to be waited on by me, and me +only; and here I am, with nothing to do but to attend on my +lady."</p> +<p>"Little Miss," said Mr. Dymock, "what little Miss? who have you +got there?"</p> +<p>"Neither more nor less," replied Mrs. Margaret, "than your +foundling."</p> +<p>"Impossible!" said Mr. Dymock: "Why, what have you done to +her?"</p> +<p>"Merely washed, combed, and dressed her," said Mrs. Margaret; +"give me credit, nephew, and tell me what I have brought out by my +diligence."</p> +<p>"You have brought out a brilliant from an unfinished stone," +exclaimed Mr. Dymock; "that is a beautiful child; I shall have +extreme delight in making as much of that fine mind, as you have +done with that beautiful exterior."</p> +<p>"Then you do not think of putting her in a foundling hospital or +a workhouse, nephew, as you proposed last night?" said Mrs. +Margaret, with a smile.</p> +<p>"It would be a folly," replied the nephew, "to degrade such a +creature as that;" and he attempted to kiss the baby; but, swift as +thought, she had turned her face away, and was clinging to Mrs. +Margaret.</p> +<p>The old lady primmed up again with much complacency, "Did I not +tell you, nephew, how it was," she said, "nothing will do but Aunt +Margaret. Well, I suppose I must give her my poor pussy's corner in +my bed. But now her back is turned to you, Dymock, observe the +singular mark on her shoulder, and tell me what it is?"</p> +<p>Mr. Dymock saw this mark with amazement:--He saw that it was no +natural mark; and at length, though not till after he had examined +it many times, he made it out, or fancied he had done so, to be a +branch of a palm tree. From the first he had made up his mind that +this was a Jewish child; and, following the idea of the palm-tree, +and tracing the word in a Hebrew lexicon,--for he was a Hebrew +scholar, though not a deep one,--he found that Tamar was the Hebrew +for a palm tree. "And Tamar it shall be," he said; "this maid of +Judah, this daughter of Zion shall be called Tamar;" and he carried +his point, although Mrs. Margaret made many objections, saying it +was not a Christian name, and therefore not proper for a child who +was to be brought up as a Christian. However, as Mr. Dymock had +given up his whim of learning the business of a smith since the +adventure which has been so fully related, and had forgotten the +proposed experiment of turning up the whole moor round the Tower +with his new-fangled plough,--that plough having ceased to be an +object of desire to him as soon as it was completed,--she thought +it best to give way to this whim of giving the child so strange a +name, and actually stood herself at the font, as principal sponsor +for little Tamar.</p> +<p>Thus, the orphan was provided with a happy home; nor, as Mrs. +Margaret said, did she ever miss the child's little bite and sup. +After a few days, the babe would condescend to leave Mrs. Margaret, +when required to go to the servants. She would even, when directed +so to do, steal across the floor, and accept a seat on Mr. Dymock's +knee, and gradually she got very fond of him. Nor was her affection +unrequited; he had formed a theory about her,--and it was not a +selfish theory, for he never expected to gain anything by her,--but +he believed that she was of noble but unfortunate Jewish parentage, +and he built this theory on the singular grace and beauty of her +person. At all events, he never doubted but that she was a Jewess; +and he talked of it, and thought of it, till he was entirely +convinced that it was so, and had convinced his aunt also, and +established the persuasion in the minds of most persons about +him.</p> +<p>If Mr. Dymock was not a genius, he had all the weaknesses +commonly attributed to genius, and, in consequence, was as useless +a being as ever cumbered the ground; yet, he was generally loved, +and no one loved him more than Tamar did, after she had got over +her first baby fear of him. But Mrs. Margaret, who had no +pretensions to genius, was the real benefactor of this child, and +as far as the lady was concerned in bringing her up, performed the +part of a truly affectionate mother. Her first effort was made to +bring the will of the child, which was a lofty one, under +subjection to her own; and the next, to give her habits of industry +and self-denial. She told her that whatever she might hear +respecting her supposed parentage, she was merely a child without +pretentions, and protected from motives of love, and of love only; +that her protectors were poor, and ever likely to remain so, and +that what God required of her, was that when able, she should +assist them as they had assisted her in helpless infancy. As to +religion, Mrs. Margaret taught her what she herself knew and +believed; but her views were dark and incomplete, she saw not half +as much of the great mystery of salvation, as had been revealed to +Shanty in his hut; yet, the desire of doing right in the sight of +God, had been imparted to her, and this desire was a fixed +principle, and did not appear to be affected by her want of +knowledge. As to forms, Mrs. Margaret had her own, and she was very +attentive to them, but she had very small opportunity of public +worship, as there was no church within some miles of the Tower. In +the meantime, whilst the old lady went plodding on in her own quiet +way, teaching the little girl all she knew herself, Mr. Dymock was +planning great things by way of instruction for Tamar. He was to +teach her to read her native language, as he called the Hebrew, and +to give her various accomplishments, for he had dipped into +innumerable branches, not only of the sciences, but of the arts; +and as he happened to have met with a mind in Tamar which was as +rapid as his own, though far more plodding and persevering, the +style of teaching which he gave her, produced far richer fruit than +could possibly have been expected. But as Rome was not built in a +day, neither must it be supposed that good Mrs. Margaret had not +many a laborious, if not weary hour before her part of the care +necessary to the well-rearing of the child, was so complete that +the worthy woman might sit down and expect a small return; for, as +she was wont to say, the child could not be made, for years after +she could hold a needle, to understand that the threads should not +be pulled as tight in darning as in hem stitch, and this, she would +say, was unaccountable, considering how docile the child was in +other matters; and, what was worst of all, was this,--that the +little girl, who was as wild and fleet, when set at liberty, as a +gazelle of the mountains, added not unseldom to the necessity of +darning, until Mrs. Margaret bethought herself of a homespun dress +in which Tamar was permitted to run and career during all hours of +recreation in the morning, provided she would sit quietly with the +old lady in an afternoon, dressed like a pretty miss, in the +venerable silks and muslins which were cut down for her use when no +longer capable of being worn by Mrs. Margaret. By this arrangement +Tamar gained health during one part of the day, and a due and +proper behaviour at another; and, as her attachment to Mrs. +Margaret continued to grow with her growth, many and sweet to +memory in after-life were the hours she spent in childhood, seated +on a stool at the lady's feet, whilst she received lessons of +needlework, and heard the many tales which the old lady had to +relate. Mrs. Margaret having led a life without adventures, had +made up their deficiency by being a most graphic recorder of the +histories of others; Scheherazade herself was not a more amusing +story-teller; and if the Arabian Princess had recourse to genii, +talismans, and monsters, to adorn her narratives, neither was Mrs. +Dymock without her marvellous apparatus; for she had her ghosts, +her good people, her dwarfs, and dreadful visions of second sight, +wherewith to embellish her histories. There was a piety too, a +reference in all she said to the pleasure and will of a reconciled +God, which added great charms to her narratives, and rendered them +peculiarly interesting to the little girl. Whilst Tamar was under +her seventh year, she never rambled beyond the moat alone; but +being seven years old, and without fear, she extended her +excursions, and not unseldom ran as far as Shanty's shed.</p> +<p>The old man had always taken credit to him self for the part he +had had in the prosperity of the little girl, and Mrs. Margaret did +not fail to tell her how she had first come to the Tower in +Shanty's arms; on these occasions the child used to say,--"then I +must love him, must not I ma'am?" And being told she must, she did +so, that is, she encouraged the feeling; and on a Sunday when he +was washed and had his best coat on, she used to climb upon his +knees, for she always asked leave to visit him on that day if he +did not come up to the Tower, as he often did, to ask for her, and +being on his knees she used to repeat to him what she had been +learning during the week.</p> +<p>He was very much pleased, when she first read a chapter in the +Bible, and then it was that he first opened out to her some of his +ideas on religion; which were much clearer and brighter than either +Mrs. Margaret's or her nephew's. How this poor and solitary old man +had obtained these notions does not appear; he could not have told +the process himself, though, as he afterwards told Tamar, all the +rest he knew, had seemed to come to him, through the clearing and +manifestation of one passage of Scripture, and this passage was +COL. iii. 11. "But Christ is all."</p> +<p>"This passage," said the old man, "stuck by me for many days. I +was made to turn it about and about, in my own mind, and to hammer +it every way, till at length, I was made to receive it, in its +fulness. Christ I became persuaded, is not all to one sort of men, +and not all to another sort, nor all at one time of a man's life, +and not all at another; nor all in one circumstance of need, and +not all in another; nor all to the saints and not all to the +sinner; nor all in the hour of joy, and not all in the hour of +retribution; being ready and able to supply one want, and unwilling +to supply another. For," as he would add, "does a man want +righteousness? there it is laid for him in Christ; does he want +merit? there is the treasure full and brimming over; does he want +rest and peace? they are also provided for him; does he want faith? +there also is faith prepared for him; but the times and the +seasons, these are not given to him to know; and, if confusion and +every evil work now prevail, Christ being all, he will bring order +out of confusion, when the fulness of the time shall come.</p> +<p>"And so," continued the old man, "when it was given me to see +and accept this one passage first, in its completeness, all other +parts of Scripture seemed to fall at once into their places; and +the prophecies; the beautiful prophecies of future peace and joy to +the earth, of the destruction of death and of hell, all opened out +to me, as being hidden and shut up in Christ,--for Christ is all; +and as I desired the treasure, so I was drawn more and more towards +Him who keeps the treasure, and all this," he would add, "was done +for me, through no deserts or deservings of my own; for till this +light was vouchsafed me, I was as other unregenerate men, living +only to myself, and for myself; and more than this," he would say, +"were it the Divine will to withdraw the light, I should turn again +to be dead and hard, as iron on the cold anvil." In this way, +Shanty often used to talk to Mrs. Margaret, and after a while to +Tamar; but the old lady for many years remained incapable of +entering so entirely as he could wish, into his views of the +sufficiency of the Redeemer. She could not give up entirely her +notions of the need of some works, not as evidences of the +salvation of an individual, but as means of ensuring that +salvation, and accordingly she never met with Shanty for many +years, without hinting at this discrepancy in their opinions, which +hints seldom failed of bringing forward an argument.</p> +<p>When Tamar was about nine years old, Mr. Dymock gave her a dog. +Of this creature she was very fond, and always accustomed it to +accompany her in her excursions around the Tower. There was on the +moor, not many hundred paces from the Tower, a heap of blocks of +granite, some of which bore evidence of having been cut with a +chisel; but these were almost entirely grown over with saxifrages +and other wild plants.</p> +<p>The country people seldom resorted to this place, because they +accounted it uncanny, and Mrs. Margaret had several wild tales to +tell about it, which greatly interested Tamar. She said, that in +the times of papal power, there had been a monastery there, and in +that place a covenanter had been murdered; hence, it had been +pulled down to the ground, and all the unholy timbers and symbols +of idolatry burnt; "and still," she added, "to this day, uncanny +objects are seen in that place, and wailings as of souls in woe +have also been heard coming from thence; and I myself have heard +them. Nay, so short a time ago as the night or two before you, +Tamar, were brought a baby to this house, a light was seen there, +and unearthly voices heard as coming from thence."</p> +<p>Of course after this, it could not be thought that Tamar should +approach this place quite alone, though she often desired to do so; +had not Mrs. Margaret told her these stories, she probably might +never have had this desire, but there is a principle in human +nature, which hankers after the thing forbidden; hence, as St. Paul +says, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." We are not defending +human nature, which is indefensible, but merely stating facts. +Tamar had much desire to visit this mysterious place; and so it +happened one day, when she had her dog with her, and the sun was +shining, and all about her bright and gay, that she climbed up the +little green knoll, and pushing her way through many brambles, +furze bushes, and dwarf shrubs, she found herself in the centre of +the huge heaps of stones and rubbish, of which she had hitherto +seen only the summits, from the windows of the Tower.</p> +<p>But being arrived there, she came to a stand, to look about her, +when her dog, to whom Dymock had given the poetical name of Sappho, +began to prick up her ears, and snuff as if she scented something +more than ordinary, and the next minute, she dashed forward, made +her way through certain bushes, and disappeared. Tamar called +aloud; a hollow echo re-sounded her voice, but no dog +appeared;--again she called,--again she heard the echo, and again +she was silent; but she was by no means a timid child; she had been +too much accustomed to be alone,--too much used to explore old +corners, of which there were multitudes about the Tower, occupied +only by owls and bats. She therefore went forward to the place +where Sappho had disappeared, and forcing aside the shrubs, she saw +before her a low, arched door-way, which, had she understood +architecture, she would have known, from the carvings about the +posts and lintel, to have been Norman.</p> +<p>She was surprised, indeed, but thinking only of her dog, she +called again, and was perfectly amazed at the long, hollow, and +deep sound, of the reverberation. She stood still again, holding +the bushes aside, and was aware of a rush of damp vapour, blowing +in her face.</p> +<p>Sappho, she called again, and the next minute heard an impatient +bark, or yelp, from the animal, and another sound, low, deep and +muttering, which she could not comprehend.</p> +<p>She was now getting much alarmed and dropping the boughs, took +to flight, and she had scarcely cleared the rubbish, when Sappho +came scouring after her, jumping upon her as if glad to see her +again. She patted her head, saying "My poor Sappho, what have you +seen in that dark place? I wish you had a tongue to tell me."</p> +<p>Tamar immediately returned to the Tower, and hastened to tell +her adventure to Mrs. Margaret.</p> +<p>"Oh!" said the old lady, "is it so? that reminds me of what I +heard my father say, many and many is the year gone by, that there +was an old tradition of a secret passage underground from the +Monastery to the Tower; but he never knew where the passage came +into the Tower. But be it which way it might, it must needs have +passed under the moat."</p> +<p>"How strange!" said Tamar; "but when that passage was made, it +could not have been secret; many people must have known it, and I +wonder, then, how it could have been so entirely forgotten."</p> +<p>"Who shall say how things were done in those days," said Mrs. +Margaret; "those times long past, when things uncanny had more +power than they have now? But it is not good to talk of such +things," added the lady; "and now, Tamar, let that which you have +seen to-day never again be mentioned by you; for, as sure as the +master should hear of it, he would be for looking into the cavern, +and, Heaven knows what he might stir up, if he were to disturb such +things as might be found there. I only wish that that the mischief +may not be already done!"</p> +<p>But no mischief did occur, at least for a long time, from this +mysterious quarter. Tamar did not again visit the place; and in a +short time thought no more of the matter.</p> +<p>The happy days of childhood were passing away with Tamar, and +sorrow was coming on her patrons, from a quarter which poor Mrs. +Margaret had long darkly anticipated; but whilst these heavy clouds +were hanging over the house of Dymock, a few, though not very +important events intervened.</p> +<p>Mr. Dymock, by fits and snatches, had given such lessons to +Tamar as had enabled her to proceed, by her own exertions, in +several branches of knowledge quite out of the sphere of Mrs. +Margaret.</p> +<p>Amongst these was the history of the Jews, carried on in +connection between the New and Old Testament, and afterwards in +Christian times, and to these he added certain crude views of +prophecy; for he was resolved that Tamar was a Jewess, and he had +talked himself into the belief that she was of some distinguished +family.</p> +<p>It is no difficult matter to impress young persons with ideas of +their own importance; and none are more liable to receive such +impressions, than those who, like Tamar, are in the dark respecting +their origin.</p> +<p>The point on which Mr. Dymock failed in his interpretations of +prophecy, is not unfrequently mistaken, even in this more +enlightened age. He never considered or understood, that all +prophecy is delivered in figurative language; every prophecy in the +Old Testament having first a literal and incomplete fulfilment, the +complete and spiritual fulfilment being future. He did not see that +the Jews, according to the flesh, were types of the Spiritual +Israel; that David was the emblem of the Saviour; and that the +universal kingdom promised to the seed of David, was no other than +the kingdom of Christ, into which all the children of God will be +gathered together as into one fold under one Shepherd. Not seeing +this, he anticipated a period of earthly triumph for the Jews, such +as an ambitious, worldly man might anticipate with delight; and he +so filled the mind of his young pupil with these notions of the +superiority of her race, that it is a miracle that he did not +utterly ruin her. As it was, she counted herself greatly superior +to all about her, and was much hurt and offended when old Shanty +represented the simple truth to her, telling her, that even were +she the lineal descendant of Solomon himself, she could have no +other privilege than that of the lowest Gentile who has obtained a +new birth-right in the Saviour of mankind; "for," said he, "under +the Gospel dispensation there is no difference between the Jew and +the Greek,--the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon +him," Rom. x. 12.</p> +<p>It did not, however, suit Tamar to adopt these truths at the +present time; and as Shanty could not succeed with her, he took the +liberty of speaking to Mr. Dymock on the subject.</p> +<p>"Why do you fill the young girl's mind, Dymock," said he, "with +such fancies as you do? But, leaving her alone, let us speak of the +Jews in general. They that wish them well should not fill them up +with notions of a birth-right which they have forfeited, and thus +confirm them in the very same pride which led them to crucify the +Lord of Glory. What is a Jew more than another man? for he is not a +Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is +outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and +circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the +letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." Rom. ii. 28, +29.</p> +<p>Mr. Dymock would not listen to honest Shanty on this subject, +much as he respected him; and, indeed, the poor Laird was at this +time deeply oppressed with other matters.</p> +<p>He had, in his various speculations, so entirely neglected his +own affairs for some years past, that poverty, nay actual penury, +was staring in his face. He had formerly mortgaged, by little and +little, most of his lands, and nothing now remained to make money +of, but the Castle itself and a few acres around it, with the +exception only of a cottage and a small field, hitherto occupied by +a labourer, which lay in a kind of hollow on the side of the knoll, +where the entrance of the secret cavern was. This cottage was as +remote from Dymock's Tower in one way, as Shanty's shed was in +another; although the three dwellings formed together a sort of +equilateral triangle. Mr. Dymock long suspected that this labourer +had done his share to waste his substance; and once or twice it had +occurred to him, that if he left the Castle he might retire to the +cottage. But yet, to part with the Castle, could he find a +purchaser, would, he feared, be death to Mrs. Margaret, and how +would Tamar bear it?--this glorious Maid of Judah, as he was wont +to call her,--this palm tree of Zion, this daughter of David,--the +very fine person, and very superior air of Tamar having confirmed +him in the impression of her noble birth. It was whilst these heavy +thoughts respecting what must be done in the management of his +affairs dwelt on his mind, that the same man who had finished the +unfortunate plough appeared again in Shanty's shed.</p> +<p>The old man recognized him immediately, although fourteen years +had much changed his appearance, and he at once charged him with +having had some concern with the woman who left the child.</p> +<p>The well-acted astonishment of the vagrant, for such he was, +silenced Shanty, though it did not convince him that he was +mistaken in his conjecture. However, the old man, changing his mode +of attack, and regretting that he had put the stranger on his guard +by giving him so home a thrust, pretended to be convinced, and +entered into easy conversation with him; amongst other things +asking him if perchance he knew of any one who wanted to purchase +an estate?</p> +<p>"Aye!" said the vagrant, to whom as we small have the pleasure +of introducing him again, we think it may be well to give the name +of Harefoot,--"Aye! old gentleman, and might one ask where this +estate of yours may be?"</p> +<p>"It is of no consequence," replied Shanty, "I answer no +questions, as not being empowered so to do. At all events, however, +the estate is not far from hence, and it is a magnificent place, I +promise you, More's the pity, that those who have owned it for some +hundreds of years, should be compelled to part with it."</p> +<p>Other matters were then introduced, and Shanty endeavoured to +wind about Harefoot, but with little success; for, deep as he +thought himself, he had one deeper to deal with. In truth, poor +Shanty was but a babe in cunning, and the vagrant departed, without +having dropped a single hint which could be taken hold of +respecting Tamar. In the meantime troubles were pressing upon poor +Dymock, the interest of moneys lent on the motgage was not +forthcoming, and the Laird having no better friend (and as to a +sincerer he needed none,) than poor Shanty, used from day to day to +go down to the shed, to open his heart to the old man.</p> +<p>Shanty had long advised his patron to tell his situation to Mrs. +Margaret, and to advertise the sale of the castle, but Dymock's +pride had not yet so far submitted itself, as to enable him to make +so public a confession of the downfall of the family, as an +advertisement would do.</p> +<p>"I cannot open my heart to my aunt, Shanty," he said, "she, poor +creature, has devoted her whole life to keeping up the dignity of +the house; how, then, will she bear to see the whole labour of her +life annihilated?"</p> +<p>"The sooner she knows of what is coming the better," returned +Shanty, "if she is not prepared, the blow when it comes, will go +nigh utterly to overpower her," and the old man proposed to go +himself, to open the matter to her.</p> +<p>"You shall, Shanty, you shall," said the Laird, "but wait a +little, wait a little, we may hear of a purchaser for the castle, +and when such a one is found, then you shall speak to my aunt."</p> +<p>"But first," said Shanty, "let me prepare your adopted one, let +me open the matter to her; she is of an age, in which she ought to +think and act no longer as a child; it is now fourteen years since +I carried her up in my arms to Dymock's Tower, and though the young +girl is too much filled up with pride, yet I fear not but that she +is a jewel, which will shine brighter, when rubbed under the wheel +of adversity; allowing what I hope, that there is a jewel under +that crust of pride."</p> +<p>"Pride!" repeated Dymock, flying off into the region of romance, +"and if a daughter of Zion, a shoot from the Cedar of Lebanon, is +not to carry her head high, who is to do so? the fate of her race +may indeed follow her, and she may be brought down, to sit in the +dust, but still even in the dust, she may yet boast her glorious +origin."</p> +<p>Shanty raised his hands and eyes, "Lord help you! Dymock," he +said, "but you are clean demented. I verily believe, that the child +is nothing mere than the offspring of a begging gipsy, and that if +her mother had been hanged, she would only have met with her +deserts."</p> +<p>Discussions of this kind were constantly taking place between +Shanty and Dymock, and it was in the very midst of one these +arguments, that the rare appearance of a hired chaise,--a job and +pair, as Shanty called it, appeared coming over the moor, directly +to the shed, and so quick was the approach, that the Laird and the +blacksmith had by no means finished their conjectures respecting +this phenomenon, before the equipage came to a stand, in the front +of the hut.</p> +<p>As the carriage stopped, a spare, sallow, severe looking old +gentlemen, put his head out of the window, and calling to the post +boy, in a sharp, querulous tone, asked if he were quite sure that +he was right?</p> +<p>"Not sure that this is old Shanty's hut; Shanty of Dymock's +Moor," replied the post-boy, in a broad Northern accent; "ask me if +I don't know my own mother's son, though she never had but one +bairn."</p> +<p>Dymock and Shanty no sooner heard the voice of the boy, than +they both recognized him, and stepping forward, they went up to the +carriage and offered to assist the old gentleman to alight; he +received their civilities with very little courtesy. However, he +got out of the carriage, and giving himself a shake, and a sort of +twist, which caused the lappets of his coat to expand, like the +fan-tail of a pigeon, he asked, if the place was Dymock's Moor, and +if the old man he saw before him, was one called Shanty of the +Moor? The blacksmith declared himself to be that same person, "and +this gentlemen," he added, pointing to Dymock, whose every day +dress, by the bye, did not savor much of the Laird, "This gentleman +is Dymock himself."</p> +<p>"Ah, is it so," said the stranger, "my business then is with +him, show me where I can converse with him."</p> +<p>"I have no parlour to offer you," said Shanty; "to my shed, +however, such as it is, I make you welcome."</p> +<p>No gracious notice was taken by the stranger of the offer, but +without preamble or ceremony, he told his errand to Mr. Dymock. "I +hear," he said, "that you wish to sell your Tower, and the lands +which surround it; if after looking at it, and finding that it +suits me, you will agree to let me have it, I will pay you down in +moneys, to the just and due amount of the value thereof, but first +I must see it."</p> +<p>"It stands there, Sir," said Shanty, seeing that Mr. Dymock's +heart was too full to permit him to speak; "it stands there, Sir, +and is as noble an object as my eye ever fell upon. The Tower," +continued the old man, "at this minute, lies directly under the +only dark cloud now in the heavens; nevertheless, a slanting ray +from the westering sun now falls on its highest turret; look on, +Sir, and say wherever have you seen a grander object?"</p> +<p>The old gentleman uttered an impatient pish, and said, "Old man, +your travels must needs have lain in small compass, if you think +much of yon heap of stones and rubbish." The Laird's choler was +rising, and he would infallibly have told the stranger to have +walked himself off, if Shanty had not pulled him by the sleeve, +and, stepping before the stranger, said something in a soothing +way, which should enhance the dignity of the Tower and encourage +the pretended purchaser.</p> +<p>"I must see it, I must see it," returned the old gentleman, "not +as now mixed up with the clouds, but I must examine it, see its +capabilities, and know precisely what it is worth, and how it can +be secured to me and my heirs for ever."</p> +<p>It was warm work which poor Shanty now had to do; between the +irritated seller and the testy buyer, he had never been in a hotter +place before his own forge, and there was wind enough stirring in +all reason, without help of bellows, for the Laird puffed and +groaned and uttered half sentences, and wished himself dead, on one +side of the old blacksmith, whilst the stranger went on as calmly, +coolly, and deliberately, with his bargain, on the other side, as +if he were dealing with creatures utterly without feeling. Shanty +turned first to one, and then to another; nodding and winking to +Dymock to keep quiet on one side, whilst he continued to vaunt the +merits of the purchase on the other.</p> +<p>At length, on a somewhat more than usually testy remark of the +stranger reaching the ears of the Laird, he burst by Shanty and had +already uttered these words, "Let me hear no more of this, I am a +gentleman, and abominate the paltry consideration of pounds, +shillings, and pence;" when Shanty forcibly seizing his arm, turned +him fairly round, whispering, "Go, and for the sake of common +sense, hold your tongue, leave the matter to me, let me bargain for +you; go and tell Mrs. Margaret that we are coming, and make what +tale you will to her, to explain our unceremonious visit; you had +better have told her all before."</p> +<p>The Laird informed Shanty that there was no need of going up to +the Tower to inform his aunt, as she and Tamar were gone that day +over the border to visit a friend; but added he, "I take your +offer, Shanty, make the bargain for me if you can, and I shall not +appear till I am wanted to sign and seal," and away marched the +Laird nor was he forthcoming again for some hours.</p> +<p>After he was gone, Shanty begged leave to have a few minutes +given him for washing his hands and face and making himself decent, +and then walked up with the testy old gentlemen to the castle. +Little as Shanty knew of the great and grand world, yet his heart +misgave him, lest the ruinous state of the castle, (although the +Tower itself stood in its ancient and undilapidated strength,) +should so entirely disgust the stranger that he should at once +renounce all ideas of the purchase; he was therefore much pleased +when the old gentleman, having gone grumbling and muttering into +every room and every outhouse, crying, it is naught! it is naught! +as buyers generally do, bade Shanty tell the Laird that he was +going to the nearest town, that he should be there till the +business was settled, that he would give the fair valuation for the +estate, and that the payment should be prompt.</p> +<p>Shanty was, indeed astonished; he was all amazement, nor did he +recover himself, till he saw the old gentleman walk away, and get +into his carriage which was waiting on the other side of the moat, +it not being particularly convenient, on account of the total +deficiency of anything like a bridge or passable road? to bring a +carriage larger than a wheel-barrow up to the castle.</p> +<p>Dymock returned to the shed, when he, from some place of +observation on the moor, saw that the carriage had reached the high +road, and there, having been told all that had passed, the poor +gentleman (who, by the bye, was not half pleased with the idea of +the honours of Dymock falling into the hands of such a purchaser,) +informed Shanty that he must prepare to go with him the next day to +Hexham, where the stranger had appointed to meet him.</p> +<p>"I go with you!" exclaimed Shanty, "was ever so strange a +conceit."</p> +<p>"I shall be fleeced, shorn, ruined," implied Mr. Dymock, "if I +go to make a bargain, without a grain of common sense in my +company."</p> +<p>"True," returned Shanty, "your worship is right; but how are we +to go? I have plenty of horse-shoes by me, but neither you, nor I +Laird, I fear could find any four legs to wear them."</p> +<p>"We must e'en walk then," said Dymock, "nay, I would gladly +carry you on my back, rather than descend to the meanness of +driving a bargain with a testy old fellow like that; by the bye, +Shanty, what does he call himself?"</p> +<p>"Salmon," replied Shanty, "and I mistake if he has not a touch +of the foreigner on his tongue."</p> +<p>"You will accompany me, then Shanty," said the Laird.</p> +<p>"I will," he replied, "if this evening you will open the +business out to Mrs. Margaret."</p> +<p>"It cannot be Shanty," replied Dymock chuckling, "for she does +not expect to be back over the border till to-morrow, and when +to-morrow is over and we know what we are about, then you shall +tell her all."</p> +<p>"Dymock," said Shanty, "you are hard upon me, when you have a +morsel to swallow that is too tough for you, you put it into my +mouth; but," added the old man kindly, "there is not much that I +would refuse to do for your father's son."</p> +<p>The sun had not yet risen over the moor, when Dymock and Shanty, +both arrayed in their best, set off for Hexham, where they found +the crabbed old gentlemen, still in the humour of making the +purchase, though he abused the place in language at once rude and +petulant; his offer, however, was, as Shanty compelled Dymock to +see, a very fair one, though the more sensible and wary blacksmith +could not persuade his friend to beware of trusting anything to the +honour of Mr. Salmon.</p> +<p>Dymock's estate had been deeply mortgaged, the sale was made +subject to the mortgages, and the purchaser was bound to pay the +mortgagee the mortgage moneys, after which there was small surplus +coming to poor Dymock. This small surplus was, however, paid down +on the signing of the papers; still, however, there was an +additional payment to take place soon after possession.</p> +<p>This payment was, it was supposed, to be for fixtures and other +articles, which were to be left on the premises, and it was not to +be asked till Mr. Salmon had been resident a few weeks. The amount +was between five and six hundred pounds, and was in fact all that +Dymock would have to depend upon besides his cottage, his field, a +right of shooting on the moor, and fishing in a lake which belonged +to the estate, and about twenty pounds a year which appertained to +Mrs. Margaret, from which it was supposed she had made some +savings.</p> +<p>Shanty had succeeded in forcing the Laird to listen to the +dictates of prudence, and to act with sufficient caution, till it +came to what he called the dirty part of the work, to wit, the +valuation of small articles, and then was the blood of the Dymocks +all up; nor would he hear of requiring a bond for the payment of +this last sum, such a document, in fact, as should bind the +purchaser down to payment without dispute. He contented himself +only with such a note from the old man as ought he asserted to be +quite sufficient, and it was utterly useless for Shanty to +expostulate. The Laird had got on his high horse and was prancing +and capering beyond all the controul of his honest friend, whilst +Mr. Salmon, no doubt, laughed in his sleeve, and only lamented that +he had not known Dymock better from the first, for in that case he +would have used his cunning to have obtained a better bargain of +the castle and lands. It was not one nor two visits to Hexham which +completed these arrangements; however Mr. Dymock, after the first +visit, no longer refused to permit Shanty to open out every thing +to his aunt, and to prepare her to descend into a cottage, on an +income of forty or fifty pounds a year.</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret bore the information better than Shanty had +expected; she had long anticipated some such blow, and her piety +enabled her to bear it with cheerfulness. "I now," she said, "know +the worst, and I see not wherefore, though I am a Dymock, I should +not be happy in a cottage, I am only sorry for Tamar; poor Tamar! +what will become of her?"</p> +<p>"Oh mother! dear mother!" said Tamar weeping, "why are you sorry +for me, cannot I go with you? surely you would not part from me;" +and she fell weeping on Mrs. Margaret's bosom.</p> +<p>"Never before! oh, never before," cried Mrs. Margaret, "did I +feel my poverty as I do now."</p> +<p>"Mother dear! oh mother dear! had I thousands of pounds, I would +devote them all to you, and to my dear protector."</p> +<p>"God helping you, or God working in you Tamar," said Shanty, +rubbing his rough hand across his eyes, "but never boast of what +you will do, dear child; boasting does not suit the condition of +humanity."</p> +<p>"Oh! that I could now find my father," she replied, "and if I +could find him a rich man, what a comfort it would be; what would I +give now," she added, "to find a rich father!"</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret kissed her child, and wept with her, calling her a +dear, affectionate, grateful creature; but Shanty made no remark +respecting Tamar's gratitude; he had it in his mind to speak to her +when alone, and he very soon found the opportunity he wished.</p> +<p>It was on the next Sunday that he met Tamar walking on the moor, +and it was then that he thus addressed her, "I was sorry damsel," +he said, "to hear you speak as you did to Mrs. Margaret the other +day, making a profession of what you would do for her if you were +rich, and yet never offering her that which you have to give +her."</p> +<p>"What have I to give her?" asked Tamar.</p> +<p>"Much," replied the old man; "much, very much. You have +strength, and activity, and affection to give her. With forty +pounds a-year, a house, and a little field, which is all your +adopted parents will have, can they, think you, keep a servant? +Will not the very closest care be necessary, and should not one who +is young, and faithful, and attached, rejoice to serve her +benefactors at such time as this, and to render their fall as easy +as possible; and where, I ask you, Tamar, should they find such +service as you can render them?"</p> +<p>They were walking side by side, the old man and the beautiful +girl, among the heather of the moor; and he was looking up kindly +and animatedly to her,--for he was a remarkably short, thick-set +man,--but she was looking down on the ground, whilst a bitter +struggle was passing in her mind. She had been filled up by her +guardian with wild fancies of her own greatness, which was +hereafter to be made manifest; and it would have been too strong +for unaided nature, to bring herself to submit to such drudgeries +as duty seemed now to require of her; her bright-brown cheek was +flushed with the inward contest, and her bosom seemed to be almost +swelled to suffocation. But the assistance required was not +withheld in the hour of need, and Shanty was soon made aware of the +change of feelings which was suddenly imparted to the orphan by the +change of the expression of her countenance; the tears had already +filled her eyes, when she turned to her old friend, and thanked him +for his reproof, expressing her conviction, that his advice was +that of a true Christian, and begging him always to tell her, in +like manner, when he saw that she was going wrong. A more general +discussion on the subject of true religion then followed, and +Shanty assured Tamar, that all high notions of self, whether of +birth, talents, or riches, were unpleasing in the sight of God, and +utterly inconsistent with that view of salvation by Christ, which +is independent of all human merit. Such was the nature of the +lessons given by the old man to Tamar. His language was, however, +broad, and full of north-country phrases, so much so, as to have +rendered them inexplicable to one who had not been accustomed to +the Border dialect. From that day, however, through the divine +mercy, the heart of Tamar was given to the duties which she saw +before her, and all her activity was presently put into +requisition; for Mr. Salmon had given notice, that he should take +possession of Dymock's Tower as soon as it could be got ready for +him, and he also sent persons to make the preparations which he +required. These preparations were of a most singular nature; his +object appeared neither to be the beautifying of the old place, or +even the rendering it more comfortable, for he neither sent new +furniture, nor ordered the restoration of any of the dilapidated +chambers or courts. But he ordered the moat to be repaired, so that +it could be filled and kept full, and he directed that a light +draw-bridge should also be erected. The walls of the inner courts +were also to be put to rights, and new gates added. There was a +great laugh in the country respecting this unknown humourist; and +some said he was preparing for a siege, and others going to set up +for a modern Rob Roy, and Castle-Dymock was to be his +head-quarters.</p> +<p>The greater part of the furniture, and all the fixtures, were to +be paid for by the money for which the Laird had Mr. Salmon's +memorandum; and they who knew their condition, said that the things +had been brought to a good market, as little of the furniture would +have been worth the carriage across the moor. Nothing at present, +therefore, remained for the aunt and the nephew to do, but to +remove to the cottage as soon as it should be ready to receive +them.</p> +<p>This humble habitation was situated in a small nook or vale of +the moor called Heatherdale. A little fresh-water spring ran +through it, coming in at the higher end of the valley, and going +out through a natural cleft in a block of granite at the other end. +There were many tall trees scattered on the banks within the dell; +and the place was so sheltered, that many a plant would flourish in +the garden on the south side of the house, which could hardly be +kept alive in any other situation in the country.</p> +<p>The cottage was an old, black, timbered and thatched edifice, +and had four rooms of considerable dimensions, two above and two +below, with a porch in the front, overgrown with briony and another +hardy creeper. As soon as this tenement was vacated, and the +Laird's intention of inhabiting it known, the ancient tenants of +the family all manifested their affection by using their several +crafts in repairing the cottage, and setting the house to +rights,--one mended the thatch, another repaired the wood-work, a +third white-washed the walls, another mended the paling, and old +Shanty did any little job in his way which might be required.</p> +<p>The labours of love never hang long on hand, and though the old +tenant had gone out only at Lady-day, the hawthorn had scarcely +blossomed when the affectionate people pronounced the work +complete.</p> +<p>Poor Dymock had become very restless when he saw the changes +which were going on at the Tower; but when there was no longer an +excuse to be found for delaying the removal, he gave way +altogether, or rather, we should say, made a cut and run, and went +off to botanize the lakes in Westmoreland, with a knapsack on his +back, and a guinea in his pocket.</p> +<p>Before he went, however, he had opened his heart to his daughter +Tamar, saying, "I now take leave, dear child, of the life of a +gentleman; henceforward I must content myself with the corner of a +kitchen ingle; and this, truly, is a berth," he added, "too good +for a cumberer of the ground, such as I am." He said this as he +passed through the gate of the court, giving his adopted one time +only to snatch his hand and kiss it, and he was gone beyond her +hearing before she could relieve her heart with a burst of tears. +After a while, however, she dried them up, and began to busy her +mind in thinking what she could do to render the cottage +comfortable for her beloved guardian; and having at length formed +her plan, she ran to Mrs. Margaret, and asked her permission to +take the arrangement of their new house.</p> +<p>"Let me," said she, "see all the things put in their places; you +and I, dear aunt Margaret, will have to ourselves a kitchen as neat +as a palace, and we will make a study of the inner room for Mr. +Dymock."</p> +<p>"What!" said the old lady, "and give up our parlour?"</p> +<p>"Dear mother," replied the young girl carelessly, "if there is +to be no maid but poor Tamar, why should not the kitchen be the +happiest place, for her own dear mother? You shall have your chair +in the corner, between the window and the fire-place, and your +little work-table by it, and then you can direct me without moving +from your needle. Oh! dear, aunt Margaret," she added, "I am +beginning to think that we shall be happier in the cottage, than we +have been in the Castle; we shall have fewer cares, and shall have +a pleasure in putting our small means to the best. Do not the +scatterings of the flock, aunt Margaret, make us as warm hose as +the prime of the fleece?"</p> +<p>"That may be doubted child," replied the old lady with a smile, +"but go young creature, take your way; I believe ere yet you have +done, that you, with your sunny smile, will cheat me into +contentment before I know what I am about; but mind, my lovely +one," she added, "I will tell you how it is. I have been led to see +how God in his displeasure,--displeasure, I say, on account of the +pride of ancestry and station, which I have hitherto persisted in +cherishing,--how God, I repeat, in his displeasure has remembered +mercy, and, in taking away that which is worthless, has left me +that which is most precious, even you my bright one."</p> +<p>The old lady then kissed Tamar, and gave her the permission she +required, to arrange the cottage according to her own fancy. When +the day of removal actually arrived, being the day after the Laird +had walked himself off, the neighbours, with Shanty at their head, +came to assist.</p> +<p>Tamar had determined upon having the room within the kitchen, +for her beloved father by adoption; a village artist having +understood her pious wish, had stained the walls of light grey, and +painted the frame of the casement window of the same colour. Tamar +had prepared a curtain of some light drapery for the window; a +well-darned carpet covered the floor, the Laird's bookcases +occupied one entire end of the room opposite the window, the wonted +table of the old study at the Tower was placed in the centre of the +floor, and was covered with its usual cloth, a somewhat tarnished +baize, with a border worked in crewels by Mrs. Margaret in days +gone by. In the centre of this table the inkstand was placed, and +on the opposite wall, a venerable time-piece, asserted, with what +truth we presume not to say, to be nearly as old as the clock sent +by Haroun Al Raschid to the emperor Charlemagne. A few high-backed +chairs, certain strange chimney ornaments, and other little matters +dear to the Laird, finished the furniture of this room, and Tamar +perfectly laughed with joy, when, having seen all done, she became +aware that this small apartment was in fact more comfortable than +the cold, wide, many-drafted study in the Tower.</p> +<p>Those who were with her caught the merry infection and laughed +too, and Shanty said, "But dear one, whilst you thus rejoice in +your own contrivances, have you not a word of praise to give to +Him, who has spread such glories as no human skill could create, +beyond yon little window?" The old man then opened the casement, +and showed the sweet and peaceful scene which there presented +itself; for the cottage was enclosed in a small dell, the green +sides of which seemed to shut out all the world, enclosing within +their narrow limits, a running brook, and hives of bees, and many +fragrant flowers.</p> +<p>Tamar was equally successful, and equally well pleased with her +arrangements in other parts of the cottage; the kitchen opened on +one side to a little flower garden, on the other to the small yard, +where Mrs. Margaret intended to keep her poultry, and the whole +domain was encompassed by the small green field, which made up the +extent of the dell, and was the only bit of land left to the +representative of the house of Dymock. But Mrs. Margaret had +reckoned that the land would keep a little favourite cow, and with +this object Tamar had taken great pains to learn to milk.</p> +<p>When all was ready, Mrs. Margaret with many tears took leave of +Dymock's Tower; she had not seen the process of preparation in the +cottage, and was therefore perfectly astonished when she entered +the house. Tamar received her with tears of tenderness, and the +worthy lady having examined all the arrangements, blessed her +adopted one, and confessed that they had all in that place that man +really required. Neither did she or Tamar find that they had more +to do than was agreeable; if they had no servants to wait upon +them, they had no servants to disarrange their house. They had +engaged an old cottager on the moor to give them an hour's work +every evening, and for this they paid him with a stoup of milk, or +some other small product of their dairy; money they had not to +spare, and this he knew,--nor did he require any; he would have +given his aid to the fallen family for nothing, had it been asked +of him.</p> +<p>In wild and thinly peopled countries, there is more of +neighbourly affection,--more of private kindness and sympathy than +in crowded cities. Man is a finite creature; he cannot take into +his heart many objects at once, and such, indeed, is the narrowness +of his comprehension, that he cannot even conceive how the love of +an infinite being can be generally exercised through creation. It +is from this incapacity that religious people, at least too many of +them, labour so sedulously as they do to instil the notion of the +particularity of the work of salvation, making it almost to appear, +that the Almighty Father brings beings into existence, merely to +make them miserable,--but we are wandering from our story.</p> +<p>Aunt Margaret and Tamar had been at the cottage a fortnight +before Dymock returned; Tamar saw him first coming down the glen, +looking wearied, dispirited and shabby.</p> +<p>She ran out to meet her adopted father, and sprang into his +arms; his eyes were filled with tears, and her bright smiles caused +those eyes to overflow.</p> +<p>She took his hand, she brought him in, she set him a chair, and +Mrs. Margaret kissing him, said "Come Dymock brighten up, and thank +your God for a happy home."</p> +<p>Dymock sighed, Tamar took his heavy knapsack from him, and +placed before him bread and butter, and cheese, and a stoup of +excellent beer.</p> +<p>"Eat, dear father," she said, "and then you shall go to bed, +(for it was late in the evening,) and to-morrow you will see what a +sweet place this is;" but poor Dymock could not rally that night. +Tamar had always slept with Mrs. Margaret, and the best room of the +two above stairs had been prepared for Dymock, Mrs. Margaret having +found a place under the rafters for her innumerable boxes.</p> +<p>The poor Laird slept well, and when he awoke the sun was shining +into his room, and aunt Margaret had arranged his clean clothes at +the foot of his bed; he arose in better spirits, and dressing +himself, he went down; he found Tamar in the kitchen, and she, +without speaking, took his hand and led him to his study.</p> +<p>The poor gentleman could not bear this: he saw the sacrifice his +aunt had made for him, and the exertions also which Tamar must have +made to produce this result, and he fairly wept; but this burst of +agitation being over, he embraced his adopted child, and expressed +his earnest hope that henceforward he might be enabled to live more +closely with his God.</p> +<p>But the mind of Dymock was not a well balanced one; he could not +live without a scheme, and he had scarcely been two days in the +cottage, when he re-aimed at the ideas which he had formerly +indulged of becoming an author, and of obtaining both fame and +money by his writings. Mrs. Margaret was fretted when she was made +aware of this plan, and sent Tamar to Shanty, to ask him to talk +him out of the fancy, and to persuade him to adopt some employment, +if it were only digging in his garden, which might bring in +something; but Shanty sent Tamar back to Mrs. Margaret to tell her +that she ought to be thankful that there was anything found which +would keep the Laird easy and quiet, and out of the way of spending +the little which he had left. Poor Dymock, therefore, was not +disturbed in his attempts at authorship, and there he used to sit +in his study with slip-shod feet, an embroidered dressing gown, +which Mrs. Margaret had quilted from an old curtain, and a sort of +turban twisted about his head, paying no manner of attention to +hours or seasons. As Mrs. Margaret only allowed him certain inches +of candle, he could not sit up all night as geniuses ought to be +permitted to do; but then he would arise with the lark and set to +work, before any of the labourers on the moor were in motion. In +vain did Mrs. Margaret complain and expostulate; she even in her +trouble sent Tamar again to Shanty to request him to plead with the +Laird, and beg him to allow himself to enjoy his regular rest; but +in this case when she required Shanty's aid, she had reckoned +without her host.</p> +<p>"Go back to Mrs. Margaret, damsel," he said, "go and tell the +lady that as long as she can keep the Laird from work by candle +light, so long no harm is done, and if instead of murmuring at this +early rising, fair child, you will take example by him, and leave +your bed at the same time that your hear him go down, you will do +well. He that lies in bed gives a daily opportunity to his +servants, if he has any to serve him, to do mischief before he is +up, and she that rises with the sun and goes straight forward, like +an arrow in its course, in the path of her duties, shall find fewer +thorns and more roses in that path, than those who indulge in ease. +Through divine mercy," continued the old man, "our own exertions +are not needed for the assurance of our salvation, but sloth and +carelessness tend to penury and misery, in this present life; and +there is no sloth more ruinous to health and property than that of +wasting the precious morning hours in bed."</p> +<p>Tamar was not deaf to the pleadings of Shanty; she began +immediately to rise with the first crowing of the cock, and thus +obtained so much time for her business, that she could then afford +herself some for reading. Mrs. Margaret took also to rise early, so +that instead of breakfasting as formerly at eight o'clock, the +family took that meal at seven; but the Laird often managed to have +such bright and valuable thoughts just at breakfast time, that for +the sake of posterity, as he was wont to say, he could by no means +endanger the loss of them by suffering such a common place +interruption as that of breakfast, such an every day and vulgar +concern. On these occasions Tamar always took in his coffee and +toast, and set it before him, and she generally had the pleasure of +finding that he took what she brought him, though he seldom +appeared to be aware either of her entrance or her exit, Mrs. +Margaret invariably exclaiming when Tamar reported her reception in +the study, "Lord help him! see what it is to be a genius!"</p> +<p>In the meantime, the moat around Dymock's Tower was repaired and +filled up, or was fast filling up; the draw-bridge was in its +place, and the gates and walls restored; and as the neighbours +said, the Tower wanted nothing but men and provisions to enable it +to stand a siege. At length, all being pronounced ready, though no +interior repairing had taken place, the new possessor arrived, +bringing with him two servants, an old man and an old woman, and +many heavy packages, which were stowed in a cart, and lifted out by +himself and his man-servant, whom he called Jacob. This being done, +he and his people were heard of no more, or rather seen no more, +being such close housekeepers, that they admitted no one over the +moat, though the man Jacob, rode to the nearest market every week +on the horse which had dragged the baggage, to bring what was +required, which, it was said, was not much more than was necessary +to keep the bodies and souls of three people together.</p> +<p>Numerous and strange were the speculations made by all people on +the moor upon these new tenants of Dymock's Tower, and Shanty's +shed was a principal scene of these speculations. Various were the +reproaches which were cast on the strangers, and no name was too +bad for them.</p> +<p>"Our old Laird," one remarked, "was worth ten thousand such. As +long as he had a crust, he would divide it with any one that wanted +it. Mark but his behaviour to the poor orphan, who is now become +the finest girl, notwithstanding her dark skin, in all the country +round."</p> +<p>Then followed speculations on the parentage of Tamar, and old +Shanty asserted that he believed her to be nothing more or less +than the daughter of the gipsy hag who had laid her at his door. +Some said she was much to good to be the child of a gipsy; and then +Shanty asserted, that the grace of God could counteract not only +the nature of a child of a vagrant of the worst description, but +even that of such vagrant himself; the Spirit of God being quick +and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.</p> +<p>Shanty was a sort of oracle amongst his simple neighbours, and +what he said was not often disputed to his face; nevertheless, +there was not an individual on the moor who knew Tamar, who did not +believe her to be a princess in disguise or something very +wonderful; and, at the bottom of her heart, poor Tamar still +indulged this same belief, though she did not now, as formerly +express it.</p> +<p>It was in the month of June, very soon after, Mr. Salmon had +arrived at the Tower, and before Dymock, who was a woful +procrastinator, had gone to demand the last payment, that Tamar, +who was extraordinarily light and active, had undertaken to walk to +the next village to procure some necessaries; she had three miles +to go over the moor, nor could she go till after dinner. Her way +lay by Shanty's shed; and Mrs. Margaret admonished her, if anything +detained her, to call on Shanty, and ask him to walk over the +remainder of the moor with her on her return.</p> +<p>When she came down from preparing herself for this walk, all gay +and blooming with youth and health, and having a basket on her arm, +she met Dymock in the little garden.</p> +<p>"Whither away? beautiful Maid of Judah," said the genius. "My +bright-eyed Tamar," he added, "I have been thinking of a poem, and +if I can but express my ideas, it will be the means of lifting up +my family again from the destitution into which it has fallen. My +subject is the restoration of Jerusalem in the latter days, and the +lifting up of the daughters of Zion from the dust. The captives of +Israel now are hewers of wood and carriers of water; but the time +will come when the hands that now wear the manacles of servitude +shall be comely with rows of jewels."</p> +<p>"If no daughter of Judah," replied Tamar, "wears heavier +manacles than I do, dear father, they may bear them with light +hearts;" and, as she passed quickly by her adopted father, she +snatched his hand and kissed it, and soon she disappeared beyond +the boundary of the glen.</p> +<p>Tamar reached the village in so short a time, and did her +errands so quickly, that having some hours of light before her, she +thought she would try another way of return, over a small bridge, +which in fact spanned the very water-course which ran through her +glen; but being arrived at this bridge, to her surprise she found +it broken down. It was only a single plank, and the wood had rotted +and given way. The brook was too wide and deep in that place to +permit her to cross it, and the consequence was, that she must +needs go round more than a mile; and, what added to her +embarrassment, the evening, which had been fine, was beginning to +cloud over, the darkness of the sky hastening the approach of the +dusk. She had now farther to walk than she had when in the village; +and, added to the threatenings of the clouds, there were frequent +flashings of pale lightning, and remote murmurings of thunder. But +Tamar was not easily alarmed; she had been brought up +independently, and already had she recovered the direct path from +the village to Shanty's shed, when suddenly a tall figure of a +female arose, as it were, out of the broom and gorse, and stepped +in the direction in which she was going, walking by her side for a +few paces without speaking a word.</p> +<p>The figure was that of a gipsy, and the garments, as Tamar +glanced fearfully at them as they floated in a line with her steps, +bespoke a variety of wretchedness scarcely consistent with the +proud and elastic march of her who wore them.</p> +<p>Whilst Tamar felt a vague sense of terror stealing over her, the +woman spoke, addressing her without ceremony, saying, "So you have +been driven to come this way at last; have you been so daintily +reared that you cannot wade a burn which has scarcely depth enough +to cover the pebbles in its channel. Look you," she added, raising +her arm, and pointing her finger,--"see you yon rising ground to +the left of those fir trees on the edge of the moor,--from the +summit of that height the sea is visible, and I must, ere many +hours, be upon those waters, in such a bark as you delicately-bred +dames would not confide in on a summer's day on Ulswater Mere."</p> +<p>Whilst the woman spoke, Tamar looked to her and then from her, +but not a word did she utter.</p> +<p>"Do you mind me?" said the gipsy; "I have known you long, aye +very long. You were very small when I brought you to this place. I +did well for you then. Are you grateful?"</p> +<p>Tamar now did turn and look at her, and looked eagerly, and +carefully, and intently on her dark and weather-beaten +countenance.</p> +<p>"Ah!" said the gipsy, whilst a smile of scorn distorted her +lip,--"so you will demean yourself now to look upon me; and you +would like to know what I could tell you?"</p> +<p>"Indeed, indeed, I would!" exclaimed Tamar, all flushed and +trembling. "Oh, in pity, in mercy tell me who I am and who are my +parents?--if they still live; if I have any chance or--hope of +seeing them?"</p> +<p>"One is no more," replied the gipsy. "She from whom I took you +lies in the earth on Norwood Common. I stretched the corpse +myself,--it was a bonny corpse."</p> +<p>Tamar fetched a deep, a very deep sigh. "Does my father live?" +she asked.</p> +<p>"Your father!" repeated the gipsy, with a malignant +laugh,--"your father!"</p> +<p>Tamar became more and more agitated; but excessive feeling made +her appear almost insensible. With great effort she +repeated,--"Does my father live?"</p> +<p>"He does," replied the woman, with a malignant smile, "and shall +I tell you where and how?--shut up, confined in a strong-hold, +caught like a vile animal in a trap. Do you understand me, Tamar? I +think they call you Tamar."</p> +<p>"What!" said the poor girl, gasping for breath, "is my father a +convicted felon?"</p> +<p>"I used no such words," replied the gipsy; "but I told you that +he lies shut up; and he is watched and guarded, too, I tell +you."</p> +<p>"Then he has forfeited his liberty," said Tamar; "he has +committed some dreadful crime. Tell me, Oh! tell me, what is +it?"</p> +<p>The gipsy laughed, and her laugh was a frightful one.</p> +<p>"What!" she said, "are you disappointed?--is the blight come +over you? has the black fog shut out all the bright visions which +the foolish Laird created in your fancy? Go, child!" she said, "go +and tell him what I have told you, and see whether he will continue +to cherish and flatter the offspring of our vagrant race."</p> +<p>"He will," replied Tamar; "but tell me, only tell me, what is +that mark burnt upon my shoulder?"</p> +<p>"Your father branded you," she answered, "as we do all our +children, lest in our many wanderings we should lose sight of our +own, and not know them again; but come," she added, "the night +draws on, darkness is stealing over the welkin; you are for the +shed; there is your pole-star; see you the fitful glare of the +forge?--I am for another direction; fare-you-well."</p> +<p>"Stay, stay," said Tamar, seizing her arm, "Oh, tell me more! +tell me more! My father, if I have a living father, I owe him a +duty,--where is he? Tell me where he is, for the love of heaven +tell me?"</p> +<p>The woman shook her off,--"Go, fool," she said, "you know +enough; or stay," she added, in her turn seizing Tamar's arm,--"if +you like it better, leave those Dymocks and come with me, and you +shall be one with us, and live with us, and eat with us and drink +with us."</p> +<p>"No! no!" said Tamar, with a piercing shriek, disengaging +herself from the gipsy, and running with the swiftness of a hare, +towards the friendly hovel.</p> +<p>Old Shanty was alone, when, all pale and trembling, Tamar +entered the shed, and sunk, half fainting, on the very bench on +which the gipsy had sate on the eventful night in which she had +brought her to the hovel fourteen years before.</p> +<p>Shanty was terrified, for he had a paternal feeling for Tamar; +he ceased immediately from his hammering, and sitting himself by +her on the bench, he rested not until she had told him every thing +which had happened; and when she had done so,--"Tamar," he said, "I +am not surprised; I never thought you any thing else than the child +of a vagrant, nor had you ever any ground for thinking otherwise. +There are many imaginations," added the pious old man, "which +attend our nature, which must be destroyed before we can enter into +that perfect union with the Son, which will render us one with the +Father, and will insure our happiness when God shall be all in all, +and when all that is foretold in prophecy respecting this present +earth shall be completed. Sin," continued the old man, "is neither +more nor less than the non-conformity of the will of the creature +with that of the Creator; and when the will of every child of Adam +is brought into unison with the divine pleasure, then, as far our +race is concerned, there will be an end of sin; and, in particular +cases, Tamar, as regarding individuals in the present and past +days, each one is happy, not as far as he indulges the imaginations +suggested by his own depraved nature, but as far as he is content +to be what his God would have him to be, as indicated by the +circumstances and arrangements of things about him."</p> +<p>It was marvellous (or rather would have been so to a stranger,) +to hear this poor old dusky blacksmith, speaking and reasoning as +he did; but who shall limit or set bounds to the power of the Lord +the Spirit in enlightening the mind, independently as it were, of +human ministry, or at least of any other ministry than that which +teaches and promulgates the mere letter of Scripture?</p> +<p>Tamar's mind was at that time fully prepared to receive all that +Shanty said to her, and, insensibly to themselves, they were +presently led almost to forget the information given by the gipsy, +(which in fact left Tamar just as it had found her,) whilst new +thoughts were opening to them; and the young girl was brought to +see, that in her late anxiety to render the kind friends who had +adopted her, comfortable as to outward circumstances, she had +failed in using her filial influence to draw their attention to +thoughts of religion.</p> +<p>Shanty put on his coat, and walked with her over the rest of the +moor, nor did he leave Heatherdale (where Mrs. Margaret insisted +that he should sup,) until he had opened out to the Laird and his +aunt the whole history of Tamar's rencounter with the gipsy. It was +curious to observe the effect of this story on the minds of the two +auditors. Mrs. Margaret embraced Tamar with tears, saying, +"Methinks I am rejoiced that there is no one likely to claim my +precious one from me;" whilst the Laird exclaimed, "I am not in the +least convinced. The gipsy has no doubt some scheme of her own in +view. She is afraid of being found out, and transported for +child-stealing; but I wish I could see her, to tell her that I no +more believe my palm-tree to have sprung from the briers of the +Egyptian wilderness, than that I am not at this moment the Laird of +Dymock."</p> +<p>"Lord help you, nephew!" said Mrs. Margaret, "if poor dear +Tamar's noble birth has not more substantial foundation than your +lairdship, I believe that she must be content as she is,--the +adopted daughter of a poor spinster, who has nothing to leave +behind her but a few bales of old clothes."</p> +<p>"Contented, my mother," said Tamar, bursting into tears, "could +I be contented if taken from you?"</p> +<p>Thus the affair of the gipsy passed off. The Laird, indeed, +talked of raising the country to catch the randy quean; but all +these resolutions were speedily forgotten, and no result ensued +from this alarm, but that which Almighty power produced from it in +the mind of Tamar, by making her more anxious to draw the minds of +her patrons to religion.</p> +<p>After this, for several weeks things went on much as usual on +Dymock's moor. The inhabitants of the Tower were so still and +quiet, that unless a thin curl of smoke had now and then been seen +rising from the kitchen chimney, all the occupants might have been +supposed to have been in a state of enchantment. Jacob, however, +the dwarfish, deformed serving-man, did cross the moat at +intervals, and came back laden with food; but he was so surly and +short, that it was impossible to get a word of information from +him, respecting that which was going on within the moat. Whilst +Dymock scribbled, his aunt darned, Shanty hammered, and Tamar +formed the delight and comfort of all the three last mentioned +elders. But some settlement was necessarily to be made respecting +Mr. Salmon's last payment, which had run up, with certain fixtures +and old pictures, for which there was no room in the cottage, to +nearly six hundred pounds, and after much pressing and persuading +on the part of Mrs. Margaret, the Laird was at length worked up to +the point of putting on his very best clothes, and going one +morning to the Tower. He had boasted that he would not appear but +as the Laird of Dymock in Dymock castle; therefore, though the +weather was warm, he assumed his only remains of handsome apparel, +viz, a cloak or mantle of blue cloth and with a hat, which was none +of the best shape, on his head, he walked to the edge of the moat, +and there stood awhile calling aloud.</p> +<p>At length Jacob appeared on the other side, and knowing the +Laird, he turned the bridge, over which Dymock walked with sullen +pride.</p> +<p>"I would see your master, where is he?" said the Laird, as soon +as he got into the court.</p> +<p>The eye of the dwarf directed that of Dymock to the window of a +small room in a higher part of the keep, and the Laird, without +waiting further permission, walked forward into the Tower.</p> +<p>It gave him pain to see all the old and well remembered objects +again; but it also gave him pleasure to find everything in its +place as he had left it--even the very dust on the mouldings and +cornices, which had remained undisturbed through the reign of Mrs. +Margaret, from the absolute impossibility of reaching the lofty +site of these depositions, was still there. Not an article of new +furniture was added, while the old furniture looked more miserable +and scanty, on account of some of the best pieces having been taken +out to fill the cottage.</p> +<p>Dymock walked through the old circular hall, the ground-floor of +the Tower, and went up the stairs to the room where Mrs. Margaret +used to sit and darn in solitary state; there was the oriel window, +which hanging over the moat, commanded a glorious view on three +sides. Dymock walked up to this window, and stood in the oriel, +endeavouring, if possible, to understand what the feelings of his +ancestors might have been, when they could look from thence, and +call all the lands their own as far as the border, without counting +many broader and fairer fields, in the southern direction.</p> +<p>Whilst waiting there in deep and melancholy mood, suddenly his +eye fell on the airy figure of Tamar standing on the opposite side +of the moat, and looking up to him; as soon as she caught his eye, +she kissed her hand and waved it to him, and well he could +comprehend the sparkling smile which accompanied this motion, +though he was too far off to see it. "And art thou not fair Maid of +Judah," said the affectionate genius, "worth to me all the broad +lands of my fathers? Could they purchase for me such love as thine? +Art thou not the little ewe lamb of the poor man?--but none shall +ever have thee from me my daughter, but one entirely worthy of +thee?"</p> +<p>Scarcely had Dymock returned the courtesy of Tamar, before +Jacob, who had run to the top of the Tower before him, came to tell +him that his master was ready to see him, and Dymock, who needed no +guide, soon found himself at the head of several more rounds of +stairs, which got narrower as they ascended,--and in front of a +narrow door well studded with knobs of iron. Within this door was a +room, which in time past had been used for security, either for +prisoners, treasures, or other purposes,--tradition said not +what,--but it still had every requisite of strength, the narrow +windows being provided with stauncheons of iron, and the walls +covered with strong wainscotting, in one side of which were sliding +pannels opening into a closet. The secret of these pannels was +known only to Dymock, and he, when he sold the castle, had revealed +it to Mr. Salmon, vaunting the great service of which this secret +closet, had been, in keeping plate and other valuables, though he +acknowledged, poor man, that he had never made any great use of +this mysterious conservatory.</p> +<p>It seems that Mr. Salmon had appropriated this same room to his +especial use; his bed, which in the French taste was covered with a +tent-like tester, occupied one nook, and the curtains, as well as +the floor-cloth, were of very rich, but tarnished and threadbare +materials. Several ponderous tomes in vellum emblazoned with gold, +were placed on a ledge of the wall near the bed; a square table, a +trunk strongly clamped with brass, and an old fashioned easy chair, +completed the furniture.</p> +<p>And now for the first time Dymock saw Mr. Salmon in his +deshabille. The old gentleman had laid aside his coat, probably +that it might be spared unnecessary wear and tear; he wore a claret +coloured waistcoat with large flaps, on which were apparent certain +tarnished remains of embroidery; his lower extremities, as far as +the knees, were encased in a texture the colour of which had once +been pepper and salt, and from the knee downwards he wore a pair of +home-manufactured, grey worsted stockings, which proved that his +housekeeper was by no means inferior to Mrs. Margaret in her +darning talents, though we must do the Laird's aunt the justice to +assert, that she never darned stockings with more than three +different colours.</p> +<p>His slippers, both sole and upper part, had evidently at one +time formed a covering of a floor, though what the original pattern +and colours had been, could not now be made out. With all this +quaintness of attire, the old man had the general appearance of +neatness and cleanliness, and had it not been for the expression of +his countenance, would have been far from ill-looking.</p> +<p>He received Dymock with a sort of quiet civility, not unlike +that which a cat assumes when she is aware of a mouse, and yet does +not perceive that the moment is come to pounce upon it. Dymock drew +near to the table, and accosted Mr. Salmon with his usual +courteous, yet careless manner, and having apologized for coming at +all on such an errand, wishing that there was no such thing as +money in the world, he presented the inconclusive and inefficient +memorandum, which the old gentleman had given him, "trusting, as he +said, that it would be no inconvenience for him to pay what he +conceived would be a mere trifle to him."</p> +<p>Mr. Salmon had, it seems, forgotten to ask Dymock to sit down; +indeed, there was no chair in the room but that occupied by his own +person; however, he took his own note from the Laird's hands, and +having examined it, he said, "But Mr. Dymock, there are +conditions,--the memorandum is conditional, and I understand +thereby, that I undertake to pay such and such moneys for such and +such articles."</p> +<p>"Well Sir, and have you not these articles in possession?" asked +Dymock; have I removed a single item, which I told you on the +honour of a gentleman should be yours on such and such conditions, +and did you not tell me that you would pay me a certain sum, on +entering into possession of these articles?"</p> +<p>"What I did say, Sir," replied the old man, "is one thing; or +rather what you choose to assert that I did say, and what is +written here is another thing."</p> +<p>"Sir!" replied Dymock, "Sir! do you give me the lie?--direct or +indirect, I will not bear it; I, a son of the house of Dymock, to +be thus bearded in my own Tower, to be told that what I choose to +assert may not be true; that I am, in fact, a deceiver,--a +sharper,--one that would prevaricate for sordid pelf!" What more +the worthy man added, our history does not say, but that he added +much cannot be disputed, and that he poured forth in high and +honourable indignation, many sentiments which would have done +credit both to the gentleman and the Christian.</p> +<br> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/illus124.jpg" width="50%" alt= +""></p> +<br> +<p>In the meantime the old man had drawn a huge bunch of keys from +his pocket, and had deliberately opened the trunk before mentioned, +at the top of which were sundry yellow canvass bags of specie; he +next fitted a pair of spectacles on his nose, and then raising the +cover of the table, he drew out a drawer containing a pair of +scales, and began to weigh his guineas, as if to make a show of +that of which he had none,--honesty; and the Laird having spent his +indignation, was become quiet, and stood looking on, in a somewhat +indolent and slouching attitude, making no question but that his +honourable reasonings had prevailed, and that Mr. Salmon was about, +without further hesitation, to pay him the five hundred and +ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and sixpence, which were his +just due.</p> +<p>Whilst Salmon went on with this process of weighing, which he +did with perfect <i>sang-froid</i>, he began to mutter, "Five +hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and six-pence; too +much, too much by half, for worm-eaten bed-steads and chairs, +darned curtains and faded portraits; but Mr. Dymock, to show you +that I am a man of honour, I will pay you at this moment four +hundred pounds in the King's gold, and the remainder, that is, the +one hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and six-pence, +shall be put to arbitration; we will go over each item, you and I, +and a friend of each, and we will examine every article together, +and if it is decided that the things are worth the moneys, well and +good, it shall be so, and I will forthwith pay down the residue, +though not compelled so to do by bond or signature."</p> +<p>Again the hot blood of the Dymocks rose to the brow of the +Laird; by an amazing effort of prudence and presence of mind, +however, he caught up Salmon's note from the table, a motion which +made the old man start, look up, and turn yellow, and then whisking +round on his heel, with an expression of sovereign contempt, the +Laird turned out of the room, exclaiming, "I scorn to address +another word to thee, old deceiver; I shake the dust of thy floor +from my foot; I shall send those to talk with thee, whose business +it is to deal with deceivers;" and thus he quitted the chamber, +drawing the door after him with a force which made every chamber in +the Tower reverberate.</p> +<p>In descending the spiral stairs, he came to a narrow window, +which overlooked the moat, and from thence he saw Tamar lingering +on the other side thereof. He stood a moment and she called to him; +her words were these,--"Have you sped?" in reply to which, +protruding his head through the narrow aperture, he said: "No! the +man's a low and despicable deceiver," adding other terms which were +by no means measured by the rules of prudence or even courtesy; +these words were not, however, lost on Tamar, and by what she then +heard, she was induced to take a measure which had she deliberated +longer thereon, she might not have ventured upon.</p> +<p>Dymock having spent his breath and his indignation through the +window, to the disturbance of sundry bats and daws, which resided +in the roof of the Tower, was become so calm that he made the rest +of his descent in his usually tranquil and sluggish style, and even +before he had crossed the court towards the draw-bridge, he had +made up his mind to get Shanty to settle this knotty business, +feeling that the old blacksmith would have been the proper person +to have done it from the first.</p> +<p>Jacob, the ugly, ill-conditioned serving-man, was waiting to +turn the light bridge, and had Dymock looked upon him, he would +have seen that there was triumph on the features of this deformed +animal, for Jacob was in all his master's secrets; he knew that he +meant to cheat the Laird, and he being Salmon's foster brother, +already counted upon his master's riches as his own. Salmon's +constitution was failing rapidly, and Jacob, therefore, soon hoped +to gather in his golden harvest.</p> +<p>Jacob too, hated every creature about him, and his hatred being +inherited from his parents, was likely to be coeval with his life. +The cause of this hatred will be seen in the sequel; but Jacob had +no sooner turned the bridge and fixed it against the opposite bank, +than Tamar springing from behind a cluster of bushes, jumped +lightly on the boards, and the next moment she was with Dymock and +Jacob on the inner side of the moat, under the tower.</p> +<p>Jacob had started back, as if he had seen a spectre, at the +appearance of the blooming, sparkling Tamar, who came forward +without hat or other head dress, her raven tresses floating in the +breeze.</p> +<p>"Why are you here, my daughter?" said Dymock.</p> +<p>"Do not restrain me, dear father," she answered, "you have not +sped you say, only permit me to try my skill;" and then turning +suddenly to Jacob, she drew herself up, as Dymock would have said, +like a daughter of kings, and added, "show me to your master, I +have business with him; go and tell him that I am here, and that I +would see him."</p> +<p>"And who are you?" asked Jacob, not insolently as was his wont, +but as if under the impression of some kind of awe; "who shall I +say you are?"</p> +<p>Dymock was about to answer; but Tamar placed her hand playfully +on his lips, and took no other notice of the question of the +serving man, but by repeating her command.</p> +<p>"What are you doing,--what do you propose to do, Tamar?" said +the Laird. Tamar was fully aware that she had power to cause her +patron at any time, to yield to her caprices; and she now used this +power, as women know so well how to effect these things--not by +reason--or persuasion, but by those playful manoeuvrings, which +used in an evil cause have wrought the ruin of many a more +steadfast character than Dymock.</p> +<p>"I have a thought dear father," she said, "a wish, a fancy, a +mere whim, and you shall not oppose me: only remain where you are; +keep guard upon the bridge, I shall not be absent long, only tell +me how it has happened that your errand here has failed, and you," +she added, addressing Jacob, "go to your master and tell him I am +here."</p> +<p>"Why do you stand?" she added, stamping her little foot with +impatience; "why do you not obey me?" and her dark eyes flashed and +sparkled, "go and tell your master that I wish to see him."</p> +<p>"And who must I tell him that you are?" he asked.</p> +<p>"My name has been mentioned in your presence," she replied, "and +if you did not hear it the fault is your own; it will not be told +again."</p> +<p>"Are you the daughter of this gentleman?" asked Jacob.</p> +<p>"You have heard what he called me," she answered, "go and +deliver my message."</p> +<p>Whilst Jacob was gone, for go he did, at the young girl's +bidding, Dymock told Tamar all that had taken place in Mr. Salmon's +room, and Tamar confessed her wish to be permitted to speak to the +old gentleman herself. Dymock was glad that any one should +undertake this business, provided he could be relieved from it, and +he promised Tamar that he would stand by the bridge and watch for +her till her return.</p> +<p>"Then I will myself go up to the Tower and demand admission:" so +saying, she ran from Dymock, coursed rapidly through the various +courts, and swift as the wind ascended the stairs, meeting no one +in her way. She found the door of Salmon's chamber ajar, and +pushing it open, she entered, and stood before Salmon, Jacob, and +Rebecca (the old woman before mentioned as having come with Mr. +Salmon to the Tower;) these three were all deep in consultation, +Mr. Salmon being still seated where the Laird had left him.</p> +<p>As Tamar burst upon them in all the light of youth; of beauty, +and of conscious rectitude in the cause for which she came, the +three remained fixed as statues, Jacob and Rebecca in shrinking +attitudes, their eyes set fearfully upon her, their faces gathering +paleness as they gazed; whilst Salmon flushed to the brow, his eyes +distended and his mouth half open.</p> +<p>The young girl advanced near to the centre of the room and +casting a glance around her, in which might be read an expression +of contempt quite free from fear, she said, "I am come by authority +to receive the just dues of the late possessor of this place, and I +require the sum to be told into my hand, and this I require in the +name of Him who rules on high, and who will assuredly take +cognizance of any act of fraud used towards a good and honourable +man."</p> +<p>"And who? and who?" said Salmon, his teeth actually chattering +"who are you? and whence come you?"</p> +<p>"I come from the Laird of Dymock," she answered, "and in his +name I demand his rights!"</p> +<p>"You, you," said Salmon, "you are his daughter?"</p> +<p>"That remains to be told," replied Tamar, "what or who I am, is +nothing to you, nor to you, nor you," she added, looking at Jacob +and Rebecca, her eye being arrested for a minute on each, by the +singular expression which passed over their countenances. "Give me +the Laird's dues and you shall hear no more from me," she said, +"never again will I come to trouble your dulness; but, if you deny +it to me, you shall never rest from me;--no, no, I will haunt you +day and night," and getting hotter as she continued to speak, "you +shall have no rest from me, neither moat nor stone walls shall keep +me out." She was thinking at that moment of the secret passage by +which she fancied she might get into the Tower, if at this time she +did not succeed; it was a wild and girlish scheme, and whether +practicable or not, she had no time to think. As she uttered these +last words, Salmon rose slowly from his seat, pushed his chair from +behind him and stepped back, a livid paleness covering his features +whilst he exclaimed: "Are you in life? or are you a terrible vision +of my fancy? Jacob,--Rebecca,--do you see it too--Ah! you look +pale, as those who see the dead--is it not so?"</p> +<p>The terror now expressed in the three countenances, was rapidly +extending to the heart of Tamar. What can all this mean, she +thought, what is there about me that thus appals them: it is their +own guilt that renders them fearful; but why should I fear? now is +the moment for strength of heart, and may heaven grant it to me. +Having strength given her; she again demanded the just due of her +guardian.</p> +<p>"It would be better to give it," muttered Jacob; and Rebecca at +the same time screached out, "In the name of our father Abraham, +give her what she asks, master,--and let her go,--let her go to her +father,--to him that has reared her, and yet disowns her,--let her +go to him; or like the daughters of Moab she will bring a curse on +our house."</p> +<p>"Hold your tongue, you old fool," said Jacob, "what do you know +of her, and of him who was once Laird of Dymock? But, master," he +added "pay the girl what she asks, and I will go down and get back +your note, and once for all we will shut our doors upon these +people."</p> +<p>"But I would know," said Salmon, "I would know whence that girl +has those eyes, which are bright as the bride of Solomon,--as +Rachel's," he added, "they are such as hers."</p> +<p>"Go to," said Jacob, "what folly is this, tell the money to the +girl, and let her go."</p> +<p>"Jacob! Jacob!" exclaimed Salmon, "I am ruined, undone, I shall +come to beggary,--five hundred and ninty-four pounds, ten shillings +and sixpence," and the teeth of the old man began to chatter, +terror and dotage and cunning, seeming to be striving within him +for the mastery and altogether depriving him of the power of +acting.</p> +<p>Jacob muttered one or two indistinct imprecations, then +approaching the table himself, he told the gold from the bags with +the facility of a money-changer, whilst Tamar stood calmly watching +him; but the serving man finding the weight too great for her, he +exchanged much of the gold, for Bank of England notes, which he +took out of the same trunk, and then delivering the sum into +Tamar's hands; "There young woman, go," he said, "and never again +disturb my master with your presence."</p> +<p>Whilst this was going on, Salmon had kept his eyes fixed on +Tamar, and once or twice had gasped as if for breath; at length he +said, "And you are Dymock's daughter, damsel, but you are not like +your father's people,--are they not Nazarenes; tell me what was she +who bore you?"</p> +<p>"Beshrew you," exclaimed Jacob, "what is all this to you," and +roughly seizing Tamar by the arm, he drew her out of the room, +saying, "you have all you want, go down to your father, and let us +see you no more."</p> +<p>The young girl almost doubted as she descended the stairs, but +that still she was over-reached, and if so, that Dymock would not +perhaps find it out till it might be too late; she therefore, +hearing Jacob behind her, ran with all her might, and coming to the +place where Dymock stood, she called to him to follow her, and ran +directly to Shanty's shed; Dymock proceeded after her a few yards +behind, and Jacob still farther in the rear, crying "Laird, stop! +stop! Mr. Dymock! give us your release, here is a paper for you to +sign."</p> +<p>Fortunately, Tamar found Shanty alone in his shed, and taking +him into his inner room, she caused him to count and examine the +money and thus was he occupied when Dymock and Jacob came in. Tamar +went back to the outer room of the shed; but Shanty remained +within, and when he found that all was right, Mr. Dymock gave his +release. Jacob returned to the Tower, and old Shanty trotted off to +Hexham, to put the money in a place of security; nor did he fail in +his object, so that before he slept, the Laird had the satisfaction +to think that this dirty work was all completed, and that without +his having in the least soiled his own hands in the process. As to +the mystery of Tamar's having been enabled to effect what he could +not do, he soon settled that matter in his own mind, for, thought +he, "if I the Laird of Dymock could never refuse a favour asked me +by this maid of Judah, how could inferior minds be expected to +withstand her influence?"--the poor Laird not considering that the +very inferiority and coarseness of such minds as he attributed to +Salmon and Jacob, would have prevented them from feeling that +influence, which he had found so powerful. But they had felt +something, which certainly belonged to Tamar, and had yielded to +that something; nor could Tamar herself, when she reflected upon +that scene in the Tower, at all comprehend how she had excited such +emotions as she witnessed there; neither could Shanty, nor Mrs. +Margaret help her out.</p> +<p>Again for another month, all went on in its usual routine; all +was quiet at Dymock's Tower, and darning, writing, and hammering, +continued to be the order of the day with Mrs. Margaret, the Laird, +and Shanty, whilst Tamar was all gay and happy in the fulfilment of +many active duties, rising with the lark, and brushing the dew from +the frequent herbs which encompassed her dwelling. It was all +summer with her then, nor did she spoil the present by anticipation +of the severities of a wintery day, for the work of grace was going +on with her, and though her natural temper was lofty and violent, +as appeared by her manner to Jacob on the occasion lately +described, yet there was a higher principle imparted, which +rendered these out-breakings every day more rare.</p> +<p>We have said before, that Mrs. Margaret had a favourite cow, +named by her mistress, Brindle, from the colours of her coat. Tamar +had learned to milk Brindle, and this was always her first work. +One morning in the beginning of August, it happened, or rather, was +so ordered by Providence, that the Laird was constrained through +the extreme activity of his imagination, which had prevented him +from sleeping after midnight, to arise and go down to his study in +order to put these valuable suggestions on paper. It was, however, +still so dark when he descended into his study, that he was +compelled to sit down awhile in his great chair, to await the break +of day; and there that happened to him, which might as well have +happened in bed,--that is he fell asleep, and slept soundly for +some hours. All this, however, had not been done so quietly, but +that he had awakened his sister and Tamar, who slept in the +adjoining room; the consequence of which was, that Tamar got up and +dressed herself, and having ascertained the situation of the Laird, +and informed Mrs. Margaret that all was well in that quarter, she +descended again into the kitchen, and proceeded to open the +house-door. The shades of night were as yet not dispersed, although +the morning faintly dawned on the horizon; but the air was soft, +fragrant, and elastic, and as it filled the chest of Tamar, it +seemed to inspire her with that sort of feeling, which makes young +things whirl, and prance, and run, and leap, and perform all those +antics which seem to speak of naught but folly to all the sober and +discreet elders, who have forgotten that they were ever young.</p> +<p>Almost intoxicated with this feeling inspired by the morning +air, Tamar bounded from the step of the door, and ran a +considerable way, first along the bottom of the glen, and then in a +parallel line on the green side thereof; suddenly coming to a +stand, she looked for Brindle, and could not at first discern her; +a minute afterwards, however, she saw her at the higher end of the +glen, just where it opened on the moor, and where it had hitherto +been protected from the inroads of the sheep, or other creatures +feeding on the common, by a rail and gate. This rail and gate had +wanted a little repair for several weeks, the Laird having promised +to give it that repair; and he was well able so to have done, +having at one time of his life worked several months with the +village carpenter. But the good man had not fulfilled his promise, +and it had only been the evening before that Tamar had tied up the +gate with what came nearest to her hand, namely, certain tendrils +of a creeper which hung thereabouts from the rock that formed the +chasm by which the valley was approached in that direction. These +tendrils she had twisted together so as to form a band, never +supposing that Brindle, though a young and female creature, could +possibly be sufficiently capricious to leave her usual fragrant +pasturage, in order to pull and nibble this withering band. But, +however, so it was, as Tamar asserted, for there when she came up +to the place, the band was broken, the gate forced open, and +Brindle walking quietly forward through the narrow gully towards +the moor.</p> +<p>Tamar being come to the gate, stopped there, and called Brindle, +who knew Tamar as well as she knew her own calf. But the animal had +snuffed the air of liberty which came pouring down the little pass, +from the open moor, and she walked deliberately on with that air +which seemed to say,--"I hear your voice, but I am not coming."</p> +<p>Tamar was provoked; had it been a human creature who was thus +acting she might perhaps have recollected that it is not good to +give way to anger; as it was, she made no such reflection, but +exclaiming in strong terms against the creature, she began to run, +knowing that if Brindle once got on the moor it would probably cost +her many a weary step before she could get her back again. In +measure however, as she quickened her pace, so did Brindle, and in +a few minutes the truant animal had reached the open moor and began +to career away in high style, as if rejoicing in the trouble she +was giving.</p> +<p>But even on the open moor it was yet very dusk; the dawn was +hardly visible on the summits of the distant hills, and where there +were woods or valleys the blackness was unbroken.</p> +<p>Tamar stood almost in despair, when she found that the animal +had reached the open ground; but whilst watching how she could get +round her, so as to turn her back, the creature rather slackened +her pace, and began to browze the short grass among the heather. +Tamar now slowly advancing was taking a compass to come towards her +head, when she, perceiving her, turned directly round, and trotted +on straightforward to the knoll, which was at most not half a +quarter of a mile from the dingle; Tamar followed her, but could +not reach her till she had pushed her way in among the trees and +bushes, and when Tamar reached the place, she found her quietly +feeding in the green area, surrounded by the ruins. The light was +still very imperfect, and Tamar was standing half hid by the bushes +and huge blocks of granite, doubting whether she should not leave +the cow there whilst she ran back to call the Laird to assist her, +when suddenly she was startled by the sound of voices. She drew +closer behind the block, and remained perfectly still, and ceased +to think of the cow, so great was her amazement to find persons in +a place, generally deserted by the country people, under the +impression that things were there which should not be spoken of. +She then also remembered her adventure with Sappho, and what Mrs. +Margaret had told her of the concealed passage; and now +recollecting that secret passage, she was aware that she stood not +very far from the mysterious door-way.</p> +<p>All these thoughts crowded to her mind, but perfect quiet was +needful at the moment. As the disk of the sun approached the +horizon, the light was rapidly increasing; the dawn in those higher +latitudes is however long, but those who knew the signs of the +morning were aware that it would soon terminate, and that they +whose deeds feared the light had no time to lose.</p> +<p>Tamar accordingly heard low voices, speaking, as it were in the +mouth of the cavern, and then a voice of one without the cavern--of +one as in the act of departing, saying distinctly, "twelve then at +midnight!" The answer from within did not reach Tamar's ears, at +least, she heard only an indistinct murmur, but the voice without +again came clear to her, and the words were to this effect, "I will +not fail; I will take care that he shall be in no condition to +return;" the answer was again lost to Tamar, and probably some +question, but the reply to this question was clear. "It is his day +to go,--the garrison can't live without provision,--if he don't go +to-day, we must skulk another twenty-four hours,--we must not +venture with him, there will be murder!" then followed several +sentences in such broad slang, as Tamar could not comprehend, +though she thought she understood the tendency of these words, +which were mixed with oaths and terms so brutal, that her blood ran +cold in thinking of them; "Caught in his own snare,--he will sink +in his own dyke,--we have him now, pelf and all." After this, Tamar +heard parting steps, and various low rumbling noises as if +proceeding from under ground; then all was still, and no farther +sound was heard by her, but the rustling of leaves, the chirping of +birds, and the cropping of the herb by the incisors of Brindle. In +the mean time the morning broke, the light of day was restored, and +Tamar creeping gently from her hiding-place, left Brindle, whilst +she ran back to the cottage.</p> +<p>She had not gone far, before she met the labourer who was +accustomed to assist her in the care of the garden. She told him +that the cow had strayed to the knoll, and that she had seen her +enter among the trees; and he undertook, with his dog, to drive her +back to the glen, though, he said, he would on no account go up on +the knoll, but his dog would drive her down, and he would see her +home.</p> +<p>"And why not go on to the knoll?" said Tamar. The man replied, +that the place was known to be uncanny, and that not only strange +noises, but strange sights had been seen there.</p> +<p>"Lately?" asked Tamar, "have they been seen and heard +lately?"</p> +<p>The poor man could not assert that they had, and Tamar was not +going to tell him what she had seen and heard. No! this mystery was +to be left for the consideration of Dymock and Shanty, and she was +anxious to know if their thoughts agreed with hers.</p> +<p>When she arrived at the cottage, and the labourer had brought +back Brindle, and fastened the gate, and Tamar had milked her cow, +and done her usual services, she went to Dymock who was just awake, +and brought him out to breakfast with Mrs. Margaret, "You shall not +say any thing about posterity, and the benefits which you are doing +to them by recording your thoughts, this morning, sir," she said, +"but you shall hear what I have to tell you, and I will not tell +you, but in the presence of Mrs. Margaret." When Dymock heard what +Tamar had to say, he was at first quite amazed, for it seems, that +if he had ever heard of the secret passage he had forgotten it, and +Mrs. Margaret had had her reasons, for not stirring up his +recollections; but when he was made acquainted with this fact, and +had put together all that Tamar had related, he made the same +reflections which she had done, and said that he had no doubt, but +that these ruins had been the rendezvous of vagrants for years, and +that there was now a plan to rob Mr. Salmon, through the means of +the secret passage. He went further, for he had no lack of +imagination, and proceeded to conjecture, that it was through the +manoeuvreing of these very vagrants, that the old curmudgeon had +been brought to Dymock's Tower, and following the connexion, he +began to put together the appearance of the young blacksmith, the +gipsy who had left Tamar at Shanty's, her second appearance and +rapid disappearance, the coming of Mr. Salmon, his supposed riches, +his strange whim of shutting himself up, and every other +extraordinary circumstance, in a jumble even more inexplicable and +confusing, than any of his previous speculations upon these +events,--and when he had so done he put on his hat, and declared +that he must go forthwith to Shanty.</p> +<p>"To see," said Tamar, "what he can hammer out of it all, but +something must and ought to be done to put Mr. Salmon on his guard, +for otherwise, assuredly he will be robbed this night."</p> +<p>"And perhaps murdered," exclaimed Mrs. Margaret; "but go, +brother, be quick, and let us have Shanty's advice."</p> +<p>"And I," said Tamar, after the Laird was departed, "will go to +the Tower, and if possible get admittance. I will stop the going +off of Jacob."</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret expostulated with her, but all her pleadings came +to this,--that she should send a neighbour to watch for Tamar on +the side of the moat, the young girl having assured her kind +protectress, that she had nothing to fear for her, and that as the +Laird was proverbially a procrastinator, he might let half the day +pass, before he had settled what was to be done.</p> +<p>Poor Mrs. Margaret was all tremor and agitation; at the bottom +of her heart, she did not like to be left in the cottage, so near a +gang of thieves as she felt herself to be; she was not, however, a +selfish character, and after some tears, she kissed Tamar and bade +her go, watching her the whole way through the glen, as if she were +parting with her for years.</p> +<p>The light step of the young girl, soon brought her to the edge +of the moat, and she arrived, as it was ordered by Providence, at a +very convenient time, for she met Rebecca on the moor, the old +woman having just parted from Jacob, whose figure was still to be +seen jogging along the heath. The first words of Tamar were to +entreat Rebecca to call Jacob back, and when she found that she was +speaking to one who chose to lend a deaf ear, she raised her own +voice, but with equal ill success; turning then again to Rebecca, +she saw that she was hastening to the bridge, on which she followed +her, and was standing with her under the Tower, before the old +woman could recollect herself.</p> +<p>The creature looked yellow with spite, as she addressed the +young maiden with many bitter expressions, asking her what she did +there, and bidding her to be gone.</p> +<p>"I am come," replied Tamar, "to see your master, and I will see +him."</p> +<p>"It is what you never shall again," replied the dame; "he has +never been himself since he last saw you."</p> +<p>"How is that?" said Tamar; "What did I do, but press him to act +as an honourable man, but of this I am resolved," she added, "that +I will now see him again," and as she spoke, she proceeded through +the postern into the courts, still passing on towards the principal +door of the Tower, Rebecca following her, and pouring upon her no +measured abuse. Tamar, however, remarked, that the old woman +lowered her voice as they advanced nearer the house, on which she +raised her own tones, and said, "I must, and will see Mr. Salmon, +it is a matter of life and death I come upon;--life and death I +repeat, and if you or your master, have any thing on your minds or +consciences, you will do well to hear what I have to tell you; a +few hours hence and it will be too late."</p> +<p>"In that case," said Rebecca, looking at one angry and +terrified, "come with me, and I will hear you."</p> +<p>"No," exclaimed Tamar, speaking loud, "I will see your master, +my errand is to him," and at the same instant, the quick eye of the +young girl, observed the face of Salmon peering through a +loop-hole, fitted with a casement, which gave light to a closet +near the entrance. Encouraged by this she spoke again, and still +louder than before, saying, "See him I will, and from me alone, +shall he hear the news I am come to tell." The next minute she +heard the casement open, and saw the head of the old man obtruded +from thence, and she heard a querulous, broken voice, asking what +was the matter? Tamar stepped back a few paces, in order that she +might have a clearer view of the speaker, and then looking up, she +said, "I am come Mr. Salmon as a friend, and only as a friend, to +warn you of a danger which threatens you,--hear me, and you may be +saved,--but if you refuse to hear me, I tell you, that you may be a +ghastly livid corpse before the morning."</p> +<p>"Rebecca, Rebecca!" cried the old man, "Rebecca, I say, speak to +her," and his voice faltered, the accents becoming puling.</p> +<p>"Hear her not," said the dame, "she is a deceiver, she is come +to get money out of you."</p> +<p>"And heaven knows," cried Mr. Salmon, "that she is then coming +to gather fruit from a barren tree. Money, indeed! and where am I +to find money, even for her,--though she come in such a guise, as +would wring the last drop of the heart's blood?"</p> +<p>"Tush!" said Rebecca, "you are rambling and dreaming again;" but +the old man heard her not, he had left the lattice, and in a few +seconds he appeared within the passage. During this interval, +Rebecca had not been quiet, for she had seized the arm of Tamar, +and the young girl had shaken her off with some difficulty, and not +without saying, "Your unwillingness to permit me to speak to your +master, old woman, goes against you, but it shall not avail you, +speak to him I will," and the contest between Tamar and the old +woman was still proceeding, when Salmon appeared in the +passage.</p> +<p>Tamar instantly sprang to meet him, and seeing that his step was +feeble and tottering, she supported him to a chair, in a small +parlour which opened into the passage, and there, standing in the +midst of the floor between him and Rebecca, she told her errand; +nor was she interrupted until she had told all, the old man looking +as if her recital had turned him into stone, and the old woman +expressing a degree of terror, which at least cleared her in +Tamar's mind, of the guilt of being connected with the thieves of +the secret passage.</p> +<p>As soon as the young girl had finished, the old miser broke out +in the most bitter and helpless lamentations. "My jewels!--my +silver!--my moneys!" he exclaimed, "Oh my moneys!--my moneys! Tell +me, tell me damsel, what I can do? Call Jacob. Where is Jacob? Oh, +my moneys!--my jewels!"</p> +<p>"Peace, good sir! peace!" said Tamar, "we will befriend you, we +will assist you, we will protect you; the Laird is an honourable +man, he will protect you. I have known him long, long,--since I was +a baby; and he would perish before he would wrong any one, or see +another wronged."</p> +<p>"The Laird did you say," asked Salmon, "your father; he is your +father damsel is he not?"</p> +<p>"I have no other," replied Tamar, "I never knew another. Why do +you ask me?"</p> +<p>"Because," said Rebecca, "he is doting, and thinks more of other +people's concerns than his own."</p> +<p>"Has he ever lost a daughter?" asked Tamar.</p> +<p>"He lost a wife in her youth," answered the old woman, "and he +was almost in his dotage when he married her, and he fancies +because you have black hair, that you resemble her; but there is no +more likeness between you two, than there is between a hooded crow +and a raven."</p> +<p>"There is more though, there is much more though," muttered the +old man, "and Jacob saw it too, and owned that he did."</p> +<p>"The fool!" repeated Rebecca, "the fool! did I not tell him that +he was feeding your poor mind with follies; tell me, how should +this poor girl be like your wife?"</p> +<p>The old man shook his head, and answered, "Because, he that made +them both, fashioned them to be so; and Rebecca, I have been +thinking that had my daughter lived, had Jessica lived till now, +she would have been just such a one."</p> +<p>"Preserve you in your senses, master," exclaimed Rebecca, "such +as they are, they are better than none; but had your daughter +lived, she would have been as unlike this damsel as you ever were +to your bright browed wife. Why you are short and shrivelled, so +was your daughter; your features are sharp, and so were hers; she +was ever a poor pining thing, and when I laid her in her grave +beside her mother, it was a corpse to frighten one; it was well for +you, as I ever told you, that she died as soon."</p> +<p>"Yet had she lived, I might have had a thing to love," replied +the old man; and then, looking at Tamar, he added, "They tell me +you are the Laird's daughter,--is it so, fair maid?"</p> +<p>Rebecca again interrupted him. "What folly is this," she said, +raising her voice almost to a shriek, "how know you but that, +whilst you are questioning the damsel, your chests and coffers are +in the hands of robbers; your money, I tell you, is in danger: your +gold, your oft-told gold. You were not wont to be so careless of +your gold; up and look after it. You will be reduced to beg your +bread from those you hate; arise, be strong. Where are your keys? +Give them to the damsel; she is young and active; she will swiftly +remove the treasure out of the way. Can you not trust her? See you +not the fair guise in which she comes? Can you suspect a creature +who looks like your wife, like Rachel? Is not her tale well framed; +and are you, or are you not deceived by her fair seemings? She is +the daughter of a beggar, and she knows herself to be such; and +there is no doubt but that she has her ends to answer by giving +this alarm."</p> +<p>The old man had arisen; he looked hither and thither; he felt +for his keys, which were hanging at his girdle; and then, falling +back into his chair, he uttered one deep groan and became +insensible, his whole complexion turning to a livid paleness.</p> +<p>"He is dying!" exclaimed Tamar, holding him up in his chair, +from which he would have otherwise fallen. "He is dying, the poor +old man is dying; bring water, anything."</p> +<p>"He has often been in this way since he came here," replied +Rebecca. "We have thought that he has had a stroke; he is not the +man he was a few months since; and had I known how it would be, it +is strange but I would have found means to hinder his coming."</p> +<p>"If he were ever so before," said Tamar "why did you work him +up, and talk to him, as you did, about his daughter; but, fetch +some water," she added.</p> +<p>"I shall not leave him with you," answered Rebecca.</p> +<p>"Nor shall I abandon him to your tender mercies," replied Tamar, +"whilst he is in this condition. I am not his daughter, it is +true,--but he is a feeble old man, and I will befriend him if I +can."</p> +<p>The old gentleman at this moment fell forward with such weight, +that Tamar ran from behind him, and dropping down on her knees, +received his head on her shoulder, then, putting one arm round him, +she was glad to hear a long, deep sigh, the prelude of his +returning to partial consciousness; and as he opened his eyes, he +said,--"Ah, Rachel, is it you? You have been gone a long time."</p> +<p>Tamar was at that moment alone with the old man. Rebecca had +heard voices at a distance, and she had run to pull up the +bridge.</p> +<p>"I am not your Rachel, venerable Sir," she said; "but the +adopted daughter of the Laird of Dymock," and she gently laid his +head back.</p> +<p>"Then why do you come to me like her?" said the old man. "That +is wrong, it is very cruel; it is tormenting me before my time. I +have not hurt you, and I will give you more gold if you will not do +this again."</p> +<p>"You rave, Sir," said Tamar. "Who do you take me for?"</p> +<p>"A dream," he answered. "I have been dreaming again;" and he +raised himself, shook his head, rubbed his hands across his eyes, +and looked as usual; but before he could add another word, Dymock +and Shanty entered the parlour.</p> +<p>Rebecca had been too late in preventing their crossing the +bridge, and they with some difficulty made the old gentleman +understand that if he had any valuables, they must ascertain +whether the place in which they were kept was any way approachable +by the cavern. They also told him that they had taken means to have +the exterior mouth of the cavern upon the knoll, stopped up, after +the gang were in it; that they had provided a considerable force +for this purpose; and that they should bring in men within the +Tower to seize the depredators. Dymock then requested Tamar to +return to Mrs. Margaret, and remain quietly with her; and when she +was gone, the bridge was drawn up, and she went back to the +cottage.</p> +<p>She had much to tell Mrs. Margaret, and long, very long,--after +they had discussed many times the singular scene between Salmon, +Rebecca, and Tamar, and spoken of what might be the plans of Dymock +and Shanty for securing the Tower,--did the remainder of the day +appear to them. Several times they climbed to the edge of the glen, +to observe if aught was stirring; but all was still as usual. There +stood the old Tower in solemn, silent unconsciousness of what might +soon pass within it; and there was the knoll, looking as green and +fresh as it was ever wont to do.</p> +<p>At sun-set Tamar and Mrs. Margaret again visited this post of +observation, and again after they had supped at eight o'clock. They +then returned and shut their doors; they made up their fires; and +whilst Tamar plied her needle, Mrs. Margaret told many ancient +tales and dismal predictions of secret murders, corpse-candles, and +visions of second-sight, after which, as midnight approached, they +became more restless and anxious respecting their friends, +wondering what they would do, and expressing their hopes, or their +fears, in dark sentences, such as these:--"We trust no blood may be +shed!--if there should be blood!--if Dymock or poor Shanty should +be hurt!" Again, they turned to form many conjectures, and put many +things together:--"Was Mr. Salmon connected with the gipsies who +had brought Tamar to the moor?--Was it this gang that proposed +robbing him?--Was the young blacksmith called Harefoot connected +with the gipsy?--Had he persuaded Salmon to bring his treasures +there, in order that he might pilfer them?--And lastly, wherefore +was Mr. Salmon so affected both times he had seen Tamar?" Here, +indeed, was a subject for conjecture, which lasted some hours, and +beguiled the sense of anxiety. At length the morning began to dawn +on that long night, and Tamar went out to milk Brindle, whose +caprices had, in fact, the day before, been the first mover in all +this confusion. Cows must be milked, even were the master of the +family dying; and Tamar wished to have this task over before any +message should come from the Tower; and scarcely had she returned +to the cottage, when the lad who administered the wind to Shanty's +forge, came running with such haste, that, to use his own +words,--"he had no more breath left for speaking than a broken +bellows."</p> +<p>"For the love of prince Charles," he said, "can you give us any +provender, Mrs. Margaret? It is cold work watching all night, with +neither food nor drink, save one bottle of whiskey among ten of us, +and scarce a dry crust."</p> +<p>"But what have you done?" asked Tamar.</p> +<p>"We have nabbed them," replied the boy. "There were four of +them, besides an old woman who was taken in the cave, and they are +in the Tower till we can get the magistrates here, and proper hands +to see them off. They came like rats from under ground. My master +had made out where to expect them, in one of the cellars, behind +the great hogshead which used to be filled at the birth of the +heir, and emptied at his coming of age. So we were ready in the +cellar, and nabbed three of them there, and the other, who was +hindmost, and the woman, were taken as they ran out the other way; +and there they are in the strong-hold, that is, the four men, but +the woman is up above; and it is pitiful to hear how she howls and +cries, and calls for the Laird; but he fell asleep as soon as he +knew all was safe, and we have not the heart to disturb him."</p> +<p>"Well," said Mrs. Margaret, "I am most thankful that all is over +without bloodshed, and my nephew asleep. No wonder, as he has not +slept since twelve in the morning of yesterday."</p> +<p>"Excepting in his chair," said Tamar.</p> +<p>"But the provender, mistress," said the young man.</p> +<p>"Here," replied Tamar; "lift this pail on your head, and take +this loaf, and I will follow with what else I can find."</p> +<p>"Nay, Tamar," said Mrs. Margaret, "You would not go where there +is such a number of men and no woman, but that old witch +Rebecca."</p> +<p>"I am not afraid of going where my father is," replied Tamar; +"but I must see that woman. I should know her immediately. I am +convinced that she is the very person who brought me to Shanty's +shed. She hinted at some connexion with me. Oh, horrible! may it +not be possible that I may have near relations among these +miserable men who are shut up in the strong-hold of the Tower?"</p> +<p>As Tamar said these words, she burst into tears, and sunk upon +the bosom of Mrs. Margaret, who, kissing her tenderly, said, "Child +of my affections, of this be assured, that nothing shall separate +you from me. My heart, methinks, clings more and more to you; and +oh, my Tamar! that which I seem most to fear is that you should be +claimed by any one who may have a right to take you from me."</p> +<p>This was a sort of assurance at that moment requisite to the +poor girl; and such, indeed, was the interest which Mrs. Margaret +felt in ascertaining if this really were the woman who had brought +Tamar to Shanty's, that she put on her hood and cloak, and having +filled a basket from the larder, she locked the cottage door, and +went with Tamar to the Tower. It was barely light when they crossed +the moat, for the bridge was not drawn; and when they entered the +inner-court, they found many of the peasants seated in a circle, +dipping portions of the loaf in Brindle's pail.</p> +<p>"Welcome! welcome! to your own place, Mrs. Margaret Dymock!" +said one of them, "and here," he added, dipping a cup into the +pail, "I drink to the restoration of the rightful heir and the good +old family, and to your house-keeping, Mrs. Margaret; for things +are done now in another style to what they were in your time."</p> +<p>A general shout seconded this sentiment, and Mrs. Margaret, +curtseying, and then pluming herself, answered, "I thank you, my +friends, and flatter myself, that had my power been equal to my +will, no hungry person should ever have departed from Dymock's +Tower."</p> +<p>The ladies were then obliged to stand and hear the whole history +of the night's exploit,--told almost in as many ways as there were +tongues to tell it; and whilst these relations were going forward, +the sun had fairly risen above the horizon, and was gilding the +jagged battlements of the Tower.</p> +<p>Shanty was not with the party in the court, but he suddenly +appeared in the door-way of the Tower. He seemed in haste and high +excitement, and was about to call to any one who would hear him +first, when his eye fell on Tamar and Mrs. Margaret. "Oh, there you +are," he said; "I was looking for one of swift foot to bring you +here. Come up this moment; you are required to be present at the +confession of the gipsy wife, who is now willing to tell all, on +condition that we give her her liberty. Whether this can be allowed +or not, we doubt; though she did not make herself busy with the +rest, but was caught as she tried to escape by the knoll."</p> +<p>"Oh! spare her, if possible," said Tamar, "or let her escape, if +you can do nothing else to save her; I beseech you spare her!" +Shanty made no reply, but led the way to an upper room of the +Tower, which had in old time, when there were any stores to keep, +(a case which had not occurred for some years,) been occupied as a +strong-hold for groceries, and other articles of the same +description; and there, besides the prisoner, who stood sullenly +leaning against the wall, with her arms folded, sat Dymock and +Salmon,--the Laird looking all importance, his lips being +compressed and his arms folded,--and old Salmon, being little +better in appearance than a <i>caput mortuum</i>, so entirely was +the poor creature overpowered by the rapid changes in the scenes +which were enacting before him.</p> +<p>Shanty had met Rebecca running down the stairs as he was +bringing up Mrs. Margaret, and he had seized her and brought her +in, saying, "Now old lady, as we are coming to a clearance, it +might be just as well to burn out your dross among the rest; or may +be," he added, "you may perhaps answer to the lumps of lime-stone +in the furnace, not of much good in yourself, but of some service +to help the smelting of that which is better,--so come along, old +lady; my mind misgives me, that you have had more to do in making +up this queer affair than you would have it supposed." The more +Rebecca resisted, the more determined was Shanty; neither did he +quit his hold of the old woman, until the whole party had entered +the room, the door being shut, and his back set against it, where +he kept his place, like a bar of iron in a stanchion.</p> +<p>Chairs had been set for Mrs. Margaret and Tamar, and when they +were seated Dymock informed the prisoner that she might speak. +Tamar had instantly recognized her; so had Shanty; and both were +violently agitated, especially the former, when she began to speak. +We will not give her story exactly in her own words; for she used +many terms, which, from the mixture of gipsy slang and broad Border +dialect, would not be generally understood; but, being translated, +her narrative stood as follows:--</p> +<p>She was, it seems, of gipsy blood, and had no fixed habitation, +but many hiding places, one of which was the cavern or passage +connected with Dymock's Tower. Another of her haunts was Norwood +Common, which, every one knows, is near London, and there was a +sort of head-quarters of the gang, though, as was their custom, +they seldom committed depredations near their quarters. She said, +that, one day being on the common, she came in front of an old, +black and white house, (which was taken down not many years +afterwards;) in the front thereof was a garden, and a green lawn +carefully trimmed, and in that garden on a seat sat an old lady, a +tall and comely dame, she said, and she was playing with a little +child, who might have been a year and-a-half old. The gipsy, it +seems, had asked charity through the open iron railing of the +garden; and the lady had risen and approached the railing, bringing +the child with her, and putting the money into the infant's hand to +pass it through the railing. The vagrant had then observed the +dress and ornaments of the child, that she had a necklace of coral, +clasped with some sparkling stone, golden clasps in her shoes, much +rich lace about her cap, and above all, golden bracelets of curious +workmanship on her wrists.</p> +<p>"She had not," said Rebecca; "she never wore those ornaments +excepting on festival days."</p> +<p>The vagrant took no notice of this remark of Rebecca's; but +Shanty gave the old servant a piercing look, whilst all others +present, with the exception of Salmon, felt almost fainting with +impatience; but Salmon's mind seemed for the moment in such a state +of obtuseness, as disabled him from catching hold of the link which +was leading to that which was to interest him as much as, or even +more than, any one present. The gipsy went on to say, that her +cupidity was so much excited by these ornaments, that she fixed her +eye immediately on the family, and resolved, if possible, to get +possession of the child. She first inquired respecting the family, +and learned, that the house was occupied by a widow lady, who had +with her an only daughter, a married woman; that the child she had +seen belonged to that daughter; and that the husband was abroad, +and was a Jew, supposed to be immensely rich.</p> +<p>"I knew it," said Dymock, turning round and snapping his +fingers; "I hammered it out, Master Shanty, sooner than you did; I +knew the physiognomy of a daughter of Zion at the very first +glance; you, too, must never talk again of your penetration, Aunt +Margaret," and the good man actually danced about the room; but +Shanty on one side, and Aunt Margaret on the other, seized him by +an arm, and forced him again upon his chair, entreating him to be +still; whilst Salmon roused himself in his seat, shook off, or +tried to shake off his confusion, and fixed his eyes stedfastly on +the vagrant.</p> +<p>The woman then went on to describe the means by which she had +got a sort of footing in this house; how she first discovered the +back-door, and under what pretences she invited the servants to +enter into a sort of concert with her for their mutual emolument, +they bartering hare-skins, kitchen grease, cold meat, &c., for +lace, tapes, thread, ballads, and other small matters.</p> +<p>"The thieves?" cried Salmon; but no one noticed him.</p> +<p>"There were only two servants in the house," said the gipsy; +"there might be others, but I saw them not, and one of those now +stands here;" and she fixed her eagle eye on Rebecca; "the other is +Jacob."</p> +<p>"Jacob and Rebecca!" exclaimed Salmon; "it was my house, then, +that you were robbing, and my servants whom you were tampering +with."</p> +<p>"Go on," said Dymock to the vagrant, whose story then proceeded +to this effect:--</p> +<p>She had visited the offices of this house several times; when, +coming one evening by appointment of the servants, with some view +to bartering the master's goods with her own wares, she found the +family in terrible alarm, she had come as she said, just at the +crisis in which a soul had parted, and it was the soul of that same +old lady who had been playing with the infant on the +grass-plot.</p> +<p>Rebecca was wailing and groaning in the kitchen, for she needed +help to streak the corpse, and the family had lived so close and +solitary, that she knew of no one at hand to whom to apply, and she +feared that the dead would become stark and cold, before she could +find help; Jacob was not within, he had gone to London, to fetch a +Doctor of their own creed, and was not likely to be back for some +time.</p> +<p>"And why? said I," continued the vagrant, "why, said I, should I +not do for this service as well as another? for many and many had +been the corpse which I had streaked; so she accepted my offer, and +took me up to the chamber of death, and I streaked the body, and a +noble corpse it was. The dame had been a comely one, as tall as +that lady," pointing to Dymock's aunt, "and not unlike her."</p> +<p>"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Margaret, smiling, "I understand it now;" +but Dymock bade her be silent, and the vagrant went on.</p> +<p>"So," said she, "when I had streaked the body, I said to Rebecca +we must have a silver plate, for pewter will not answer the +purpose."</p> +<p>"What for?" said she.</p> +<p>"'To fill with salt,' I answered, 'and set upon the breast.'</p> +<p>"So she fetched me a silver plate half filled with salt, and I +laid it on the corpse; 'and now,' I said, 'we must have rue and +marjoram, run down and get me some;' and then I frightened her, +poor fool as she was, by telling her that by the limpness of the +hand of the corpse, I augured another death very soon in the +house."</p> +<p>"When I told this to Rebecca, the creature was so frightened, +that away she ran, leaving me in the room with the body. Swift as +thought," continued the woman, "I caught the silver dish, and was +running down stairs,--it was gloaming--when I saw a door open +opposite the chamber of death, and there, in the glimmering, I saw +the child of the family asleep in a little crib. She had on her +usual dress, with the ornaments I spoke of, and seemed to have +fallen asleep before her time, as she was not undressed. I caught +her up, asleep as she was, and the next moment I was out in the +yard, and across the court, and through the back-door, and away +over the common, and to where I knew that none would follow me, but +they of my people, who would help my flight."</p> +<p>"And the child with you," said Salmon, "did you take the +child?"</p> +<p>"More I will not tell," added the woman; "no, nor more shall any +tortures force from me, unless you bind yourselves not to prosecute +me,--unless you promise me my liberty."</p> +<p>"I have told you," said the Laird, "that if you tell every thing +you shall be free,--do you question my truth?"</p> +<p>"No, Dymock," said the vagrant; "I know you to be a man of +truth, and in that dependence you shall hear all."</p> +<p>"I stripped the child of her gaudery, I wrapped her in rags, and +I slung her on my back; but I did her no harm, and many a weary +mile I bore her, till I came to the moor; and then, because she was +a burden, and because the brand on her shoulder would assuredly +identify her, if suspicion fell on me for having stolen her, I left +her in the old blacksmith's shed, and there she found a better +father than you would have made her; for what are you but a wicked +Jew, with a heart as hard as the gold you love."</p> +<p>The fixed, and almost stone-like attitude in which the old man +stood for some moments after his understanding had admitted the +information given by the vagrant, so drew the attention of all +present, that there was not a sound heard in the room, every one +apprehending that the next moment they should see him drop down +dead, nor did any one know what was best to do next; but this +moment of terror was terminated by the old man's sinking on his +knees, clasping his hands, and lifting his eyes, and breaking out +in a short but solemn act of thanksgiving, and then turning his +head without rising, as it were looking for his daughter, she +sprang toward him, and threw her arms about him, whilst he still +knelt. It would be difficult to describe the scene which followed: +Dymock began to caper and exult, Mrs. Margaret to weep, Rebecca to +utter imprecations, and Shanty to sing and whistle, as he was wont +to do when hammering in his shed, and the vagrant to dare the old +Jewess to deny any thing which she had said. When Dymock had +assisted Tamar to lift her father into the chair, and when the old +man had wept plentifully, he was again anxious to examine the case +more closely; and a discussion followed, in which many things were +explained and cleared up on both sides, though it was found +necessary for this end, to promise Rebecca that she should be +forgiven, and no vengeance taken upon her, if she should confess +her part of the history. This discussion lasted long, and the +substance of what was then opened to Tamar and her paternal friends +was this:--Mr. Salmon was, it seems, a Polish Jew, extremely rich, +and evidently very parsimonious; he had had mercantile concerns in +London, and had there married, when nearly fifty years of age, a +beautiful young Jewess, whose mother he had greatly benefitted, +when in the most deplorable circumstances. With this lady he had +gone abroad, and it was very evident that he had been a severe and +jealous husband. She had brought him a daughter soon after her +marriage. This child was born in Poland, Rebecca was her nurse; but +Mrs. Salmon, falling into bad health immediately after the birth of +the child, she implored her husband to permit her to return to +England, and to her mother. Salmon saw that she was not happy with +him; and the strange suspicion seized him, as there was little tie +between him and his wife, that in case his own child died, she +might palm another upon him,--to prevent which, he branded the babe +with the figure of a palm branch, and sent her home, with Rebecca +and Jacob, who were both Jews, to watch her; though there was no +need, as Rachel was a simple, harmless creature. She was also in +very bad health when she reached England, and scarcely survived her +mother three days, and during that time hardly asked for her child; +and the artful servants had contrived to make their master believe +that the baby had proved a sickly deformed creature, and had died, +and been buried in the coffin with its mother.</p> +<p>Salmon was in Poland when all these horrors occurred, and there +Jacob and Rebecca found him; and having now no other object, he +devoted himself entirely to amassing riches, passing from one state +of covetousness to another, till at length he began to fall into +the dotage of avarice, which consists in laying up money for the +sake of laying up, and delighting in the view of hoards of gold and +precious things. With this madness in his mind, he turned much of +his property into jewels, and returning to England, he began to +look about for a safe place wherein he might deposit his treasures. +But, as a Jew, he could not possess land; he therefore passed the +form of naturalization, and whilst looking about for a situation in +which he might dwell in safety, his character and circumstances +became in part known to the gipsies, (who, amongst other thieves, +always have their eyes on those who are supposed to carry valuables +about them,) and the man called Harefoot, formed the plan of +getting him and his treasures into Dymock's Tower. This Harefoot +was the nephew of the woman who had brought Tamar to Shanty's; and +the old miser, being tempted by the moat, and other circumstances +of the place, fell into the snare which had been thus skillfully +laid for him. It was not till after Salmon had come to the Tower, +that the connection between Salmon and Tamar was discovered by the +old woman; and it was at this time that she contrived to meet +Tamar, and to convey the notion to her, that she was of a gipsy +family; fearing lest she should, by any means, be led to an +explanation with Salmon, before her nephew and his gang had made +sure of the treasure. Harefoot had supposed that he and his gang +were the only persons who knew of the secret passage; and the +reason why they had not made the attempt of robbing Salmon by that +passage sooner, was simply this, that Harefoot, having been +detected in some small offence in some distant county, had been +confined several weeks in a house of correction, from which he had +not been set free many days before he came to the moor, and took +upon himself the conduct of the plot for robbing Salmon.</p> +<p>What Jacob and Rebecca's plans were did not appear, or wherefore +they had not only fallen in with, but promoted the settlement of +their master in the Tower; but that their object was a selfish one +cannot be doubted.</p> +<p>Had other confirmation been wanting, after the mark on Tamar's +shoulder had been acknowledged, the vagrant added it, by producing +a clasp of one armlet, which she had retained, and carried about +with her in a leathern bag, amongst sundry other heterogeneous +relics; and she accounted for having preserved it, from the fear +she had of exposing a cypher wrought on a precious stone, which +might, she thought, lead to detection.</p> +<p>A dreadful hue and cry in the court below, soon after this +disturbed the conference. All seemed confusion and uproar; Dymock +and Shanty rushed down stairs, and aunt Margaret and Tamar ran out +to the window in the nearest passage; there they learnt that the +prisoners had broken the bars of their dungeon, swam the moat, and +fled; and the ladies could see the peasants in pursuit, scouring +over the moor, whilst those they were pursuing were scarcely +visible.</p> +<p>"I am glad of it," said Tamar, "I should rejoice in their +escape, they will trouble us no more; and oh, my dear mother, I +would not, that one sad heart, should now mix itself with our +joyful ones!"</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret and Tamar stood at the window till they saw the +pursuers turning back to the castle, some of them not being sorry +in their hearts, at the escape of the rogues, but the most +remarkable part of the story was, that whilst they had all been +thus engaged, the woman had also made off, and, though probably not +in company with her, that most excellent and faithful creature +Rebecca, neither of whom were ever heard of again.</p> +<p>And now none were left, but those who hoped to live and die in +each other's company, but these were soon joined by the magistrates +and legal powers, who had been summoned from the nearest town, +together with people from all quarters, who flocked to hear and +learn what was going forward; and here was an opportunity not to be +lost by Dymock and Shanty, of telling the wonderful tale, and old +Salmon having been recruited with some small nourishment, +administered by Mrs. Margaret, presented his daughter to the whole +assembly, and being admonished by Shanty, placed in her hands +before them, the deed of transfer of the lands and castle of +Dymock, which in fact to him, was but a drop in the ocean of his +wealth.</p> +<p>As she received this deed, she fell on one knee, and kissed her +venerable father's hand, after which he raised and embraced her, +paternal affection and paternal pride acting like the genial warmth +of the sun, in thawing the frost of his heart and frame. She had +whispered something whilst he kissed her, and as his answer had +been favourable, she turned to Dymock, and now bending on both +knees, she placed the deed in his hands, her sweet face at the same +time being all moist with gushing tears, falling upon her adopted +father's hand.</p> +<p>Shanty in his apron and unshorn chin, explained to those about, +what had been done; for they, that is the Laird, Aunt Margaret, +Salmon, and Tamar, were standing on the elevated platform, at the +door of the Tower: and then arose such shouts and acclamations from +one and all, as made the whole castle ring again, and one voice in +particular arose above the rest, crying, "Our Laird has got his own +again, and blessing be on her who gave it him."</p> +<p>"Rather bless Him," cried Shanty, "who has thus brought order +out of confussion, to Him be the glory given in every present +happiness, as in all that we are assured of in the future."</p> +<p>As there were no means of regaling those present at that time, +and as Mr. Salmon was then too confused to do that which he ought +to have done, in rewarding those who had defended him, most of them +being poor people, they were dismissed with an invitation to a +future meeting at the Tower; two or three gentlemen, friends of +Dymock, only being left. Much consultation then ensued, whilst Mrs. +Margaret bestirred herself, to procure female assistance, and to +provide the best meal, which could be had at a short notice.</p> +<p>During this conference with the Laird and his friends, all of +whom were honourable men, Mr. Salmon was induced to consent to have +his treasures, his bonds, his notes and bills, consigned to such +keeping as was judged most safe; neither, could these matters be +settled, without a journey to town, in which Dymock accompanied +him, together with a legal friend of the latter of known +respectability. We do not enter into the particulars of this +journey, but merely say, that Mr. Salmon in the joy, and we may +add, thankfulness of recovering his child, not only permitted +himself to be advised, but whilst in town made his will, by which, +he left all he possessed to his daughter, and this being concluded +to the satisfaction of all concerned, he returned to Dymock's +Tower, laden with presents for Mrs. Margaret.</p> +<p>Neither were Shanty's services overlooked; the cottage and land +appertaining thereunto, were to be his for life, free from rent and +dues, together with twenty pounds a year, in consideration of his +never-varying kindness to Tamar.</p> +<p>The old man wept, when told of what was done for him, and +himself went the next day to Morpeth, to bring from thence a +sister, nearly as old as himself, who was living there in hard +service.</p> +<p>And here the memorandum from which this story is derived, +becomes less particular in the details.</p> +<p>It speaks of Mr. Salmon after the various exertions he had made, +(these exertions having been as it was supposed succeeded by a +stroke,) sinking almost immediately into a state nearly childish, +during which, however, it was a very great delight to Tamar, to +perceive in the very midst of this intellectual ruin an awakening +to things spiritual; so that it would seem, as if the things hidden +from him in the days of human prudence and wisdom, were now made +manifest to him, in the period of almost second childishness.</p> +<p>Tamar had been enabled to imbibe the purest Christian +principles, in her early youth, for which, humanly speaking, she +owed much to Shanty, and she now with the assistance of the kind +old man, laboured incessantly, to bring her father to the Messiah +of the Christians, as the only hope and rest of his soul; and she +had reason before her father died, to hope that her labours had not +been without fruit. As to worldly pelf, she had it in rich +abundance, but she could have little personal enjoyment of it +whilst shut up with her aged father in Dymock's Tower, yet she had +exquisite delight in humouring therewith, the fancies of Dymock, +and administering to the more sober and benevolent plans of Mrs. +Margaret; for this lady's principal delight was, to assist the +needy, and her only earthly or worldly caprice, that of restoring +the Tower and its environs, and furnishing, to what she conceived +had been its state, in the, perhaps, imaginary days of the +exaltation of the Dymocks.</p> +<p>A splendid feast in the halls of Dymock's Tower, is also spoken +of, as having taken place, soon after the return of the Laird from +London, from which, not a creature dwelling on the moor was absent, +when Salmon directed Tamar to reward those persons who had assisted +him in his greatest need, and when Mrs. Margaret added numbers of +coats and garments to those that were destitute. Dymock in his joy +of heart, caused the plough to be brought forward, and fixed upon a +table in the hall, for every one to see that day, Mrs. Margaret +having been obliged to acknowledge, that it was this same plough, +which had turned up the vein of gold, in which all present were +rejoicing.</p> +<p>With the notice of this feast the history terminates, and here +the writer concludes with a single sentiment,--that although a work +of kindness wrought in the fear of God, as imparted by the Lord, +the Spirit--seldom produces such a manifest reward, as it did in +the case of Mrs. Margaret and her nephew, for the race is not +always to the swift, nor the burthen to the strong, yet, even under +this present imperfect dispensation, there is a peace above all +price, accompanying every act, which draws a creature out of self, +to administer to the necessities of others, whenever these acts are +performed in faith, and with a continual reference to the pleasure +of God, and without view to heaping up merits, which is a principle +entirely adverse to anything like a correct knowledge of salvation +by the Lord the Saviour.</p> +<br> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12315 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/12315-h/images/frontice.jpg b/12315-h/images/frontice.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1491940 --- /dev/null +++ b/12315-h/images/frontice.jpg diff --git a/12315-h/images/illus015.jpg b/12315-h/images/illus015.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8fb3c1d --- /dev/null +++ b/12315-h/images/illus015.jpg diff --git a/12315-h/images/illus124.jpg b/12315-h/images/illus124.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0f1aa8 --- /dev/null +++ b/12315-h/images/illus124.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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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: Shanty the Blacksmith; A Tale of Other Times + +Author: Mrs. Sherwood [AKA: Mrs. Mary Martha Sherwood] + +Release Date: May 10, 2004 [EBook #12315] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHANTY THE BLACKSMITH *** + + + + +Produced by Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + +<br> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/frontice.jpg" width="50%" alt= +""><br> +<b>Tamar always took in his coffee & Toast.</b></p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h1>SHANTY</h1> +<h3>THE</h3> +<h1>BLACKSMITH;</h1> +<h2>A TALE OF OTHER TIMES</h2> +<h3>BY MRS. SHERWOOD.</h3> +<br> +<h4>1852.</h4> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h1>SHANTY</h1> +<h3>THE</h3> +<h1>BLACKSMITH.</h1> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<p>It was during the last century, and before the spirit of +revolution had effected any change in the manners of our +forefathers, that the events took place, which are about to be +recorded in this little volume.</p> +<p>At that period there existed in the wild border country, which +lies between England and Scotland, an ancient castle, of which only +one tower, a few chambers in the main building, certain offices +enclosed in high buttressed walls, and sundry out-houses hanging as +it were on those walls, yet remained. This castle had once been +encircled by a moat which had been suffered to dry itself up, +though still the little stream which used to fill it when the dams +were in repair, murmured and meandered at the bottom of the hollow, +and fed the roots of many a water plant and many a tree whose +nature delights in dank and swampy soils. The verdure, however, +which encircled this ancient edifice, added greatly to the beauty, +when seen over the extent of waste and wild in which it stood. +There can be no doubt but that the ancient possessors of this +castle, which, from the single remaining barrier, and the name of +the family, was called Dymock's tower, had been no other than +strong and dangerous free-booters, living on the plunder of the +neighbouring kingdom of Scotland. Every one knows that a vast +extent of land, waste or at best but rudely cultivated, had once +belonged to the Lords of Dymock; but within a few years this family +had fallen from affluence, and were at length so much reduced, that +the present possessor could hardly support himself in any thing +like the state in which he deemed it necessary for his father's son +to live. Mr. Dymock was nearly thirty years of age, at the time our +history commences; he had been brought up by an indolent father, +and an aunt in whom no great trusts had been vested, until he +entered his teens, at which time he was sent to Edinburgh to attend +the classes in the college; and there, being a quick and clever +young man, though without any foundation of early discipline, or +good teaching, and without much plain judgment or common sense, he +distinguished himself as a sort of genius.</p> +<p>One of the most common defects in the minds of those who are not +early subjected to regular discipline is, that they have no +perseverance; they begin one thing, and another thing, but never +carry anything on to any purpose, and this was exactly the case +with Mr. Dymock. Whilst he was in Edinburgh he had thought that he +would become an author; some injudicious persons told him that he +might succeed in that way, and he began several poems, and two +plays, and he wrote parts of several treatises on Mathematics, and +Physics, and Natural History; the very titles of these works sound +clever, but they were never finished. Dymock was nearly thirty when +his father died; and when he came to reside in the tower, his mind +turned altogether to a new object, and that was cultivating the +ground, and the wild commons and wastes all around him: and if he +had set to work in a rational way he might have done something, but +before he began the work he must needs invent a plough, which was +to do wonderful things, and, accordingly, he set to work, not only +to invent this plough, but to make it himself, or rather to put it +together himself, with the help of a carpenter and blacksmith in +the neighbourhood. But before we introduce the old blacksmith, who +is a very principal person in our story, we must describe the way +in which Mr. Dymock lived in his tower.</p> +<p>His aunt, Mrs. Margaret Dymock, was his housekeeper, and so +careful had she always been, for she had kept house for her +brother, the late laird, that the neighbours said she had +half-starved herself, in order to keep up some little show of old +hospitality. In truth, the poor lady was marvellously thin, and as +sallow and gaunt as she was thin. Some old lady who had stood for +her at the font, in the reign of Charles the Second, had, at her +death, left her all her clothes, and these had been sent to +Dymock's tower in several large chests. Mrs. Margaret was +accordingly provided for, for life, with the addition of a little +homespun linen, and stockings of her own knitting; but, as she held +it a mighty piece of extravagance to alter a handsome dress, she +wore her godmother's clothes in the fashion in which she found +them, and prided herself not a little in having silks for every +season of the year. Large hoops were worn in those days, and long +ruffles, and sacks short and long, and stomachers, and hoods, and +sundry other conceits, now never thought of; but Mrs. Margaret +thought that all these things had a genteel appearance, and showed +that those who bought them and those who inherited them had not +come of nothing.</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret, however, never put any of these fine things on, +till she had performed her household duties, looked into every hole +and corner in the offices, overlooked the stores, visited the +larder, scullery and hen-yard, weighed what her three maids had +spun the day before, skimmed the milk with her own hands, gathered +up the candle ends, and cut the cabbage for the brose; all which +being done, and the servants' dinner seen to, and it must be +confessed, it was seldom that they had a very sumptuous regale, she +dressed herself as a lady should be dressed, and sate down to her +darning, which was her principal work, in the oval window in the +chief room in the castle. Darning, we say, was her principal work, +because there was scarcely an article in the house which she did +not darn occasionally, from the floor-cloth to her own best laces, +and, as money was seldom forthcoming for renewing any of the finer +articles in the house capable of being darned, no one can say what +would have been the consequence, if Mrs. Margaret had been divested +of this darning propensity.</p> +<p>How the old lady subsisted herself is hardly known, for it often +happened that the dinner she contrived for her nephew, was barely +sufficient for him, and although on these occasions she always +managed to seem to be eating, yet had Mr. Dymock had his eyes about +him, he could not but have seen that she must often have risen from +the table, after having known little more than the odour of the +viands. Nothing, however, which has been said of Mrs. Margaret +Dymock goes against that which might be said with truth, that there +was a fund of kindness in the heart of the venerable spinster, +though it was sometimes choked up and counteracted by her desire to +make a greater appearance than the family means would allow.</p> +<p>Besides the three maids in the kitchen, there were a man and a +boy without doors, two or three lean cows, a flock of sheep which +were half starved on the moor, a great dog, and sundry pigs and +fowls living at large about the tower; and, to crown our +description, it must be added, that all the domestic arrangements +which were beyond the sphere of Mrs. Margaret were as ill managed +as those within her sphere were capitally well conducted; however, +as Mr. Dymock said to her one day when she ventured to expostulate +with him on this subject, "Only have a little patience, my good +aunt, when I have completed what I am now about, for instance my +plough, you will see how I will arrange every thing. I cannot +suffer these petty attentions and petty reforms to occupy me just +now; what I intend to do will be done in a large way; I mean not +only to repair but to restore the castle, to throw the whole of my +lands to the north into a sheep-walk, to plant the higher points, +and to convert the south lands into arable. But my first object is +the plough, and that must be attended to, before everything else; +the wood-work is all complete, but a little alteration must be made +in the coulter, and after all, I apprehend I must do it myself, as +old Shanty is as stupid as his own hammer."</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret hinted that every man had not the ingenuity of her +nephew; adding, however, that old Shanty was as worthy and +God-fearing a man as any on the moor.</p> +<p>"I do not deny it," replied Mr. Dymock, "but what has worth and +God-fearing to do with my plough. I have been trying in vain to +make him understand what I want done, and am come to the resolution +of going myself, taking off my coat, and working with him; I should +make a better blacksmith in a week, than he has in forty +years."</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret lifted up her hands and eyes, and then fetching a +deep sigh, "That I should have lived to hear that," she exclaimed; +"the last representative of the house of Dymock proposing to work +at a blacksmith's forge!"</p> +<p>"And why not? Mrs. Margaret," replied the nephew, "does a +gentleman lower himself when he works merely for recreation, and +not for sordid pelf; you have heard of Peter the Great?"</p> +<p>"Bless me, nephew," replied the spinster, bridling, "where do +you think my ears have been all my life, if I never heard of Peter +the Great!"</p> +<p>"You know then, that he worked with his own hands at a +blacksmith's forge," returned the nephew.</p> +<p>"I know no such thing," said Mrs. Margaret, "and if the Romans +say so, I account it only another of their many lies; and I wonder +they are not ashamed to invent tales so derogotary to the honour of +him they call their head!"</p> +<p>"Pshaw!" said the laird; "I am not speaking of the Pope, but of +the Czar of all the Russias!"</p> +<p>"Well! well! Dymock;" returned Mrs. Margaret, "I only wish that +I could persuade you from committing this derogation. However, if +you must needs work with Shanty, let me beg you to put on one of +your old shirts; for the sparks will be sure to fly, and there will +be no end of darning the small burns."</p> +<p>"Be assured aunt," said Mr. Dymock, "that I shall do nothing by +halves; if I work with Shanty, I shall put on a leathern apron, and +tuck up my sleeves."</p> +<p>"All this does not suit my notions," replied Mrs. Margaret: but +her nephew had risen to leave her, and there was an end to the +argument.</p> +<p>As Mr. Dymock had told his aunt; so he did: he went to Shanty's +forge, he dressed himself like the old master himself, and set +fairly to work, to learn the mysteries of the trade; mysteries +which, however, as far as Shanty knew them, were not very deep.</p> +<br> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/illus015.jpg" width="50%" alt= +""><br> +<b>He went to Shantys Forge.</b></p> +<br> +<p>There has not often been a more ill-arranged and unsettled mind +than that of Mr. Dymock; his delight was in anything new, and for a +few days he would pursue this novelty with such eagerness, that +during the time he seemed to forget every thing else. It was a +delicate job, and yet one requiring strength which was needed for +the plough. Shanty had told the laird at once, that it was beyond +his own skill or strength, seeing that he was old and feeble, "and +as to your doing it, sir," he said, "who cannot yet shape a +horse-shoe! you must serve longer than a week, before you get that +much knowledge of the craft; there is no royal way to learning, and +even for the making of a horse-shoe a 'prenticeship must be served, +and I mistake me very much if you don't tire before seven days +service are over, let alone as many years."</p> +<p>But, Mr. Dymock had as yet served only two days, when one +evening a young man, a dark, athletic, bold-looking youth, entered +the blacksmith's shed. It was an evening in autumn, and the shed +was far from any house; Dymock's tower was the nearest, and the sun +was already so low that the old keep with its many mouldering +walls, and out-buildings, was seen from the shed, standing in high +relief against the golden sky. As the young man entered, looking +boldly about him, Shanty asked him what he wanted.</p> +<p>"I want a horse-shoe," he replied.</p> +<p>"A horse-shoe!" returned the blacksmith, "and where's your +horse?"</p> +<p>"I has no other horse than Adam's mare," he replied; "I rides no +other, but I want a horse-shoe."</p> +<p>"You are a pretty fellow," returned Shanty "to want a +horse-shoe, and to have never a horse to wear him."</p> +<p>"Did you never hear of no other use for a horse-shoe, besides +protecting a horse's hoof?" replied the youth.</p> +<p>"I have," returned the blacksmith, "I have heard fools say, that +neither witch nor warlock can cross a threshold that has a +horse-shoe nailed over it. But mind I tell you, it must be a cast +shoe."</p> +<p>"Well" said the young man, "suppose that I am plagued with one +of them witches; and suppose that I should have bethought me of the +horse-shoe, what would you think of me then? What may that be which +you are now shaping; why may it not serve my turn as well as +another? so let me have it, and you shall have its worth down on +the nail."</p> +<p>"Did not I tell you," said Shanty, sullenly, "that it must be a +cast shoe that must keep off a witch; every fool allows that."</p> +<p>"Well," said the young man, looking about him, "have you never a +cast shoe?"</p> +<p>"No," replied Shanty, "I have none here fit for your turn."</p> +<p>"I am not particular," returned the young man, "about the shoe +being an old one; there is as much virtue, to my thinking, in a new +one; so let me have that you are about."</p> +<p>"You shall have none of my handiworks, I tell you," said Shanty, +decidedly, "for none of your heathenish fancies and follies. The +time was when I lent myself to these sort of follies, but, thank my +God, I have learned to cast away, aye, and to condemn such +degrading thoughts as these. Believe me, young man, that if God is +on your side, neither witch nor warlock, or worse than either, +could ever hurt you."</p> +<p>"Well," said the young man, "if you will not make me one, will +you let me make one for myself?"</p> +<p>"Are you a smith?" said Mr. Dymock, before Shanty could +reply.</p> +<p>"Am I a smith?" answered the young man; "I promise you, I should +think little of myself if I was not as much above him, (pointing to +Shanty, who was hammering at his horse-shoe, with his back towards +him,) as the sun is brighter than the stars."</p> +<p>Shanty took no notice of this piece of insolence; but Mr. Dymock +having asked the stranger a few more questions, proceeded to show +him the job he wanted done to his plough, and from one thing to +another, the young man undertook to accomplish it in a few hours, +if the master of the shed would permit. Shanty did by no means seem +pleased, and yet could not refuse to oblige Mr. Dymock; he, +however, remarked, that if the coulter was destroyed, it was no +odds to him. The young stranger, however, soon made it appear that +he was no mean hand at the work of a blacksmith; he had not only +strength, but skill and ingenuity, and in a short time had so +deeply engaged the attention of Dymock by his suggestions of +improvements to this same plough, that the young laird saw none but +him, and allowed the evening to close in, and the darkness of night +to cover the heath, whilst still engaged in talking to the +stranger, and hearkening to his ingenious comments on the machinery +of the plough.</p> +<p>In the meantime, although the sun had set in golden glory, dark +and dense clouds had covered the heavens, the wind had risen and +whistled dismally over the moor, and a shower of mingled rain and +sleet blew into the shed, one side of which was open to the air. It +was in the midst of this shower, that a tall gaunt female, covered +with a ragged cloak, and having one child slung on her back, and +another much older in her hand, presented herself at the door of +the shed, and speaking in a broad northern dialect, asked +permission to shelter herself and her bairns, for a little space in +the corner of the hut. Neither Dymock nor the young man paid her +any regard, or seemed to see her, but Shanty made her welcome, and +pointing to a bench which was within the glow of the fire of the +forge, though out of harm's way of sparks or strokes, the woman +came in, and having with the expertness of long use, slung the +child from her back into her arms, she sate down, laying the little +one across her knee, whilst the eldest of the two children dropped +on the bare earth with which the shed was floored, and began +nibbling a huge crust which the mother put into his hand.</p> +<p>In the meantime, work went on as before the woman had come in, +nor was a word spoken, till Shanty, looking up from the horse-shoe +which he was hammering, remarked in his own mind, that he wondered +that the little one stretched on the woman's knee, was not awakened +and frightened by the noise of the forge; but there the creature +lies, he thought, as if it had neither sense or hearing. When this +strange thought suggested itself, the old man dropped his hammer, +and fixing his eye on the infant, he seemed to ask himself these +questions,--What, if the child should be dead? would a living +child, drop as that did from the back of the woman on her lap, like +a lump of clay, nor move, nor utter a moan, when thrown across its +mother's lap? Urged then by anxiety, he left his anvil, approached +the woman, and stood awhile gazing at the child, though unable for +some minutes to satisfy himself, or to put away the horrible fear +that he might perchance be looking at a body without life. Mr. +Dymock was acting the part of bellows-blower, in order to assist +some work which the young stranger was carrying on in the fire. The +lad who generally performed this service for Shanty, had got +permission for a few hours, to visit his mother over the Border, +Mr. Dymock having told him in all kindness that he would blow for +him if needs must. But the fitful light--the alternate glow and +comparative darkness which accompanied and kept time with the +motion of the bellows, made it almost impossible for the old man to +satisfy himself concerning his horrible imagination. He saw that +the infant who lay so still on the woman's lap, was as much as two +years of age; that, like the woman, it had dark hair, and that its +complexion was olive; and thus he was put out in his first notion, +that the child might perchance be a stolen one. But the bellows had +filled and exhausted themselves many times before his mind was set +at rest with regard to his first fearful thought; at length, +however, the child moved its arm, and uttered a low moan, though +without rousing itself from its sleep; on which Shanty, being +satisfied, turned back to his block and his horse-shoe, and another +half-hour or more passed, during which the tempest subsided, the +clouds broke and began to disappear, and the stars to come forth +one by one, pointing out the direction of the heavens to the +experienced eye of the night-walking traveller. The woman observing +this, arose, and taking the sleeping babe in her arms whilst the +other child clung to her cloak, she thanked the blacksmith for the +convenience of the shelter which he had given her; when he, with +the courtesy of one who, though poor and lowly, had been admitted +to high conference with his Redeemer, invited her to stay +longer--all night if she pleased,--regretting only that he had +nothing to offer her but a bed of straw, and a sup of sowens for +the little ones.</p> +<p>"For which," she replied, "I thank you; what can any one give +more than what he has. But time is precious to me, this night I +must be over the Border; mind me, however, I shall remember you, +and mayhap may call again." So saying, she passed out of the shed, +almost as much disregarded by Dymock in her going out, as she had +been in coming in.</p> +<p>And now, for another hour, the strokes of the hammers of old +Shanty and the young stranger might have been heard far over the +moor in the stillness of the night, for the wind had entirely died +away, and the fitful glare of the forge, still shone as a beacon +over the heath. At length, however, the job which the stranger had +undertaken was finished, and Dymock, having given him a silver +piece, the only one in his pocket, the young man took his leave, +saying as he went out, and whilst he tossed the silver in his +hand,--"Well, if I have not got what I came for, I have got that +which is as good, and in return for your civility, old gentleman," +he added, addressing Shanty, "I give you a piece of advice; nail +the horse-shoe, which you would not spare to me, over your own +door, for I tell you, that you are in no small danger of being +over-reached by the very warlock, who has haunted my steps for many +a day."</p> +<p>So saying, he went gaily, and with quick step, out of the shed, +and his figure soon disappeared in a ravine or hollow of the +moor.</p> +<p>In the mean time, Dymock and Shanty stood at the door. The +former being full of excitement, respecting the wonderful sagacity +of the singular stranger, and the other being impatient to see the +master off, as he wanted to shut up his shed, and to retire to the +little chamber within, which served him for sleeping apartment, +kitchen, and store-room, not to say study, for our worthy Shanty +never slept without studying the Holy Word of God.</p> +<p>But whilst these two were standing, as we said, at the door, +suddenly, a low moan reached their ears, as coming from their left, +where the roof of the shed being lengthened out, afforded shelter +for any carts, or even, on occasion, waggons, which might be +brought there, for such repairs as Shanty could give them. At that +time, there was only one single cart in the shed, and the cry +seemed to come from the direction of this cart. Dymock and Shanty +were both startled at the cry, and stood in silence for a minute or +more, to ascertain if it were repeated. Another low moan presently +ensued, and then a full outcry, as of a terrified child. Dymock and +Shanty looked at each other, and Shanty said, "It is the beggar +woman. She is still skulking about, I will be bound; hark!" he +added, "listen! she will be stilling the child, she's got under the +cart." But the child continued to screech, and there was neither +threat nor blandishment used to still the cries.</p> +<p>Dymock seemed to be so thoroughly astounded, that he could not +stir, but Shanty going in, presently returned with a lighted +lanthorn, and an iron crow-bar in his hand; "and now," he said, +"Mr. Dymock, we shall see to this noise," and they both turned into +the out-building, expecting to have to encounter the tall beggar, +and with her perhaps, a gang of vagrants. They, however, saw only +the infant of two years' old, who had lain like a thing dead on the +woman's lap, though not dead, as Shanty had feared, but stupified +with hollands, the very breath of the baby smelling of the spirit +when Dymock lifted it out of the cart and brought it into the +interior shed. Shanty did not return, till he had investigated +every hole and corner of his domain, with the crow-bar in one hand, +and the lanthorn in the other.</p> +<p>The baby had ceased to cry, when brought into the shed, and +feeling itself in the arms of a fellow-creature, had yielded to the +influence of the liquor, and had fallen again into a dead sleep, +dropping back on the bosom of Mr. Dymock.</p> +<p>"They are all off," said Shanty, as he entered the house, "and +have left us this present. We have had need, as that young rogue +said, of the horse-shoe over our door. We have been over-reached +for once; that little one is stolen goods, be sure, Mr. +Dymock,--some great man's child for aught we know,--the wicked +woman will not call again very soon, as she promised, and what are +we to do with the child? Had my poor wife been living, it might +have done, but she is better off! What can I do with it?"</p> +<p>"I must take it up to the Tower," said Mr. Dymock, "and see if +my aunt Margaret will take to it, and if she will not, why, then +there are charity schools, and poor-houses to be had recourse to; +yet I don't fear her kind heart."</p> +<p>"Nor I neither, Mr. Dymock," said Shanty, and the old man drew +near to the child, and holding up his lanthorn to the sleeping +baby, he said, "What like is it? Gipsy, or Jew? one or the other; +those features, if they were washed, might not disgrace Sarah or +Rachel."</p> +<p>"The mouth and the form of the face are Grecian," said Dymock, +"but the bust is oriental."</p> +<p>Shanty looked hard at his patron, as trying to understand what +he meant by <i>oriental</i> and <i>Grecian;</i> and then repeated +his question, "Gipsy or Jew, Mr. Dymock? for I am sure the little +creature is not of our northern breed."</p> +<p>"We shall see by and bye," said Dymock, "the question is, what +is to be done now? I am afraid that aunt Margaret will look prim +and stately if I carry the little one up to the Tower; however, I +see not what else to do. Who is afraid? But put your fire out, +Shanty, and come with us. You shall carry the bantling, and I will +take the lanthorn. Mayhap, aunt Margaret may think this arrangement +the more genteel of the two. So let it be."</p> +<p>And it was so; old Shanty turned into child-keeper, and the +Laird into lanthorn-carrier, and the party directed their steps +towards the Tower, and much talk had they by the way.</p> +<p>Now, as we have said before, there was a fund of kindness in the +heart of Mrs. Margaret Dymock, which kindness is often more +consistent than some people suppose, with attention to economy, +especially when that economy is needful; and moreover, she had +lately lost a favourite cat, which had been, as she said, quite a +daughter to her. Therefore the place of pet happened to be vacant +just at that time, which was much in favour of the forlorn child's +interests. Dymock had taken Shanty with him into the parlour, in +which Mrs. Margaret sat at her darning; and he had suggested to the +old man, that he might just as well tell the story himself for his +aunt's information, and account for the presence of the infant; +and, in his own words, Mrs. Margaret took all very well, and even +did not hint that if her nephew had been in his own parlour, +instead of being in a place where vagrants were sheltered, he would +at all events have been out of this scrape. But the little one had +awoke, and had begun to weep, and the old lady's heart was touched, +so she called one of the maids, and told her to feed the babe and +put it to sleep; after which, having ordered that Shanty should be +regaled with the bladebone of a shoulder of mutton, she withdrew to +her room to think what was next to be done.</p> +<p>The result of Mrs. Margaret's thoughts were, that come what +might, the child must be taken care of for a few days, and must be +washed and clothed; and, as the worthy lady had ever had the habit +of laying by, in certain chests and boxes piled on each other in +her large bed-room, all the old garments of the family not judged +fitting for the wear of cottagers, she had nothing more to do than, +by the removal of half-a-dozen trunks, to get at a deal box, which +contained the frocks, and robes, and other garments which her +nephew had discarded when he put on jacket and trousers. From these +she selected one of the smallest suits, and they might have been +seen airing at the kitchen fire by six o'clock that morning. Hot +water and soap were next put in requisition, and as soon as the +baby awoke, she was submitted to such an operation by the kitchen +fire, as it would appear she had not experienced for a long time. +The little creature was terribly frightened when soused in the +water, and screeched in a pitiful manner; the tears running from +her eyes, and the whole of her small person being in a violent +tremor. The maids, however, made a thorough job of it, and scoured +the foundling from head to foot. At length Mrs. Margaret, who sat +by, directing the storm, with a sheet across her lap and towels in +her hand, pronounced the ablution as being complete, and the babe +was lifted from the tub, held a moment to drip, and then set on the +lap of the lady, and now the babe seemed to find instant relief. +The little creature was no sooner placed on Mrs. Margaret's knee, +than, by some strange and unknown association, she seemed to think +that she had found an old friend,--some faintly remembered nurse or +mother,--whom she had met again in Mrs. Dymock, and quivering with +delight, she sprang on her feet on the lady's lap, and grasped her +neck in her arms, pressing her little ruby lips upon her cheek; and +on one of the maids approaching again with some of her clothes, she +strained her arms more closely round Mrs. Margaret, and perfectly +danced on her lap with terror lest she should be taken away from +her.</p> +<p>"Lord help the innocent babe!" said the old lady, "what is come +to her?" and Mrs. Margaret's eyes were full of tears; but the good +lady then soothed and carressed the babe, and instructed her to sit +down on her knees, whilst she directed the servant to assist in +dressing her. But no, no, it would not do; no one was to touch her +but Mrs. Margaret; and the old lady, drawing herself up, at length +said,--"Well, Janet, we must give way, I suppose; it seems that I +am to be the favourite; there is something in my physiognomy which +has taken the child's fancy; come, hand me the clothes, I must try +my skill in dressing this capricious little dame." Mrs. Margaret +was evidently pleased by the poor orphan's preference, and whilst +she was dressing the infant, there was time to discover that the +little child was a perfect beauty in her way; the form of her face +being oval, the features exquisite, the eyes soft, yet sparkling, +and the lips delicately formed. The hair, of raven black, was +clustered and curling, and the head set on the shoulders in a way +worthy of the daughters of kings; but the servants pointed out on +the arm of the infant, a peculiar mark which was not natural, but +which had evidently been burnt therein. One said it was a fan, and +another a feather; but Mrs. Margaret augured vast things from it, +pronouncing that the child surely belonged to some great person, +and that no one could say what might be the consequence of kindness +shown to such a child.</p> +<p>As soon as Mr. Dymock came down into the breakfast-room, Mrs. +Margaret came swimming in with the child in her arms, exclaiming, +"A pretty piece of work you have done for me, nephew! I am under a +fine servitude now;" and she primmed up her mouth, but her eye +laughed,--"little Miss here, chooses to be waited on by me, and me +only; and here I am, with nothing to do but to attend on my +lady."</p> +<p>"Little Miss," said Mr. Dymock, "what little Miss? who have you +got there?"</p> +<p>"Neither more nor less," replied Mrs. Margaret, "than your +foundling."</p> +<p>"Impossible!" said Mr. Dymock: "Why, what have you done to +her?"</p> +<p>"Merely washed, combed, and dressed her," said Mrs. Margaret; +"give me credit, nephew, and tell me what I have brought out by my +diligence."</p> +<p>"You have brought out a brilliant from an unfinished stone," +exclaimed Mr. Dymock; "that is a beautiful child; I shall have +extreme delight in making as much of that fine mind, as you have +done with that beautiful exterior."</p> +<p>"Then you do not think of putting her in a foundling hospital or +a workhouse, nephew, as you proposed last night?" said Mrs. +Margaret, with a smile.</p> +<p>"It would be a folly," replied the nephew, "to degrade such a +creature as that;" and he attempted to kiss the baby; but, swift as +thought, she had turned her face away, and was clinging to Mrs. +Margaret.</p> +<p>The old lady primmed up again with much complacency, "Did I not +tell you, nephew, how it was," she said, "nothing will do but Aunt +Margaret. Well, I suppose I must give her my poor pussy's corner in +my bed. But now her back is turned to you, Dymock, observe the +singular mark on her shoulder, and tell me what it is?"</p> +<p>Mr. Dymock saw this mark with amazement:--He saw that it was no +natural mark; and at length, though not till after he had examined +it many times, he made it out, or fancied he had done so, to be a +branch of a palm tree. From the first he had made up his mind that +this was a Jewish child; and, following the idea of the palm-tree, +and tracing the word in a Hebrew lexicon,--for he was a Hebrew +scholar, though not a deep one,--he found that Tamar was the Hebrew +for a palm tree. "And Tamar it shall be," he said; "this maid of +Judah, this daughter of Zion shall be called Tamar;" and he carried +his point, although Mrs. Margaret made many objections, saying it +was not a Christian name, and therefore not proper for a child who +was to be brought up as a Christian. However, as Mr. Dymock had +given up his whim of learning the business of a smith since the +adventure which has been so fully related, and had forgotten the +proposed experiment of turning up the whole moor round the Tower +with his new-fangled plough,--that plough having ceased to be an +object of desire to him as soon as it was completed,--she thought +it best to give way to this whim of giving the child so strange a +name, and actually stood herself at the font, as principal sponsor +for little Tamar.</p> +<p>Thus, the orphan was provided with a happy home; nor, as Mrs. +Margaret said, did she ever miss the child's little bite and sup. +After a few days, the babe would condescend to leave Mrs. Margaret, +when required to go to the servants. She would even, when directed +so to do, steal across the floor, and accept a seat on Mr. Dymock's +knee, and gradually she got very fond of him. Nor was her affection +unrequited; he had formed a theory about her,--and it was not a +selfish theory, for he never expected to gain anything by her,--but +he believed that she was of noble but unfortunate Jewish parentage, +and he built this theory on the singular grace and beauty of her +person. At all events, he never doubted but that she was a Jewess; +and he talked of it, and thought of it, till he was entirely +convinced that it was so, and had convinced his aunt also, and +established the persuasion in the minds of most persons about +him.</p> +<p>If Mr. Dymock was not a genius, he had all the weaknesses +commonly attributed to genius, and, in consequence, was as useless +a being as ever cumbered the ground; yet, he was generally loved, +and no one loved him more than Tamar did, after she had got over +her first baby fear of him. But Mrs. Margaret, who had no +pretensions to genius, was the real benefactor of this child, and +as far as the lady was concerned in bringing her up, performed the +part of a truly affectionate mother. Her first effort was made to +bring the will of the child, which was a lofty one, under +subjection to her own; and the next, to give her habits of industry +and self-denial. She told her that whatever she might hear +respecting her supposed parentage, she was merely a child without +pretentions, and protected from motives of love, and of love only; +that her protectors were poor, and ever likely to remain so, and +that what God required of her, was that when able, she should +assist them as they had assisted her in helpless infancy. As to +religion, Mrs. Margaret taught her what she herself knew and +believed; but her views were dark and incomplete, she saw not half +as much of the great mystery of salvation, as had been revealed to +Shanty in his hut; yet, the desire of doing right in the sight of +God, had been imparted to her, and this desire was a fixed +principle, and did not appear to be affected by her want of +knowledge. As to forms, Mrs. Margaret had her own, and she was very +attentive to them, but she had very small opportunity of public +worship, as there was no church within some miles of the Tower. In +the meantime, whilst the old lady went plodding on in her own quiet +way, teaching the little girl all she knew herself, Mr. Dymock was +planning great things by way of instruction for Tamar. He was to +teach her to read her native language, as he called the Hebrew, and +to give her various accomplishments, for he had dipped into +innumerable branches, not only of the sciences, but of the arts; +and as he happened to have met with a mind in Tamar which was as +rapid as his own, though far more plodding and persevering, the +style of teaching which he gave her, produced far richer fruit than +could possibly have been expected. But as Rome was not built in a +day, neither must it be supposed that good Mrs. Margaret had not +many a laborious, if not weary hour before her part of the care +necessary to the well-rearing of the child, was so complete that +the worthy woman might sit down and expect a small return; for, as +she was wont to say, the child could not be made, for years after +she could hold a needle, to understand that the threads should not +be pulled as tight in darning as in hem stitch, and this, she would +say, was unaccountable, considering how docile the child was in +other matters; and, what was worst of all, was this,--that the +little girl, who was as wild and fleet, when set at liberty, as a +gazelle of the mountains, added not unseldom to the necessity of +darning, until Mrs. Margaret bethought herself of a homespun dress +in which Tamar was permitted to run and career during all hours of +recreation in the morning, provided she would sit quietly with the +old lady in an afternoon, dressed like a pretty miss, in the +venerable silks and muslins which were cut down for her use when no +longer capable of being worn by Mrs. Margaret. By this arrangement +Tamar gained health during one part of the day, and a due and +proper behaviour at another; and, as her attachment to Mrs. +Margaret continued to grow with her growth, many and sweet to +memory in after-life were the hours she spent in childhood, seated +on a stool at the lady's feet, whilst she received lessons of +needlework, and heard the many tales which the old lady had to +relate. Mrs. Margaret having led a life without adventures, had +made up their deficiency by being a most graphic recorder of the +histories of others; Scheherazade herself was not a more amusing +story-teller; and if the Arabian Princess had recourse to genii, +talismans, and monsters, to adorn her narratives, neither was Mrs. +Dymock without her marvellous apparatus; for she had her ghosts, +her good people, her dwarfs, and dreadful visions of second sight, +wherewith to embellish her histories. There was a piety too, a +reference in all she said to the pleasure and will of a reconciled +God, which added great charms to her narratives, and rendered them +peculiarly interesting to the little girl. Whilst Tamar was under +her seventh year, she never rambled beyond the moat alone; but +being seven years old, and without fear, she extended her +excursions, and not unseldom ran as far as Shanty's shed.</p> +<p>The old man had always taken credit to him self for the part he +had had in the prosperity of the little girl, and Mrs. Margaret did +not fail to tell her how she had first come to the Tower in +Shanty's arms; on these occasions the child used to say,--"then I +must love him, must not I ma'am?" And being told she must, she did +so, that is, she encouraged the feeling; and on a Sunday when he +was washed and had his best coat on, she used to climb upon his +knees, for she always asked leave to visit him on that day if he +did not come up to the Tower, as he often did, to ask for her, and +being on his knees she used to repeat to him what she had been +learning during the week.</p> +<p>He was very much pleased, when she first read a chapter in the +Bible, and then it was that he first opened out to her some of his +ideas on religion; which were much clearer and brighter than either +Mrs. Margaret's or her nephew's. How this poor and solitary old man +had obtained these notions does not appear; he could not have told +the process himself, though, as he afterwards told Tamar, all the +rest he knew, had seemed to come to him, through the clearing and +manifestation of one passage of Scripture, and this passage was +COL. iii. 11. "But Christ is all."</p> +<p>"This passage," said the old man, "stuck by me for many days. I +was made to turn it about and about, in my own mind, and to hammer +it every way, till at length, I was made to receive it, in its +fulness. Christ I became persuaded, is not all to one sort of men, +and not all to another sort, nor all at one time of a man's life, +and not all at another; nor all in one circumstance of need, and +not all in another; nor all to the saints and not all to the +sinner; nor all in the hour of joy, and not all in the hour of +retribution; being ready and able to supply one want, and unwilling +to supply another. For," as he would add, "does a man want +righteousness? there it is laid for him in Christ; does he want +merit? there is the treasure full and brimming over; does he want +rest and peace? they are also provided for him; does he want faith? +there also is faith prepared for him; but the times and the +seasons, these are not given to him to know; and, if confusion and +every evil work now prevail, Christ being all, he will bring order +out of confusion, when the fulness of the time shall come.</p> +<p>"And so," continued the old man, "when it was given me to see +and accept this one passage first, in its completeness, all other +parts of Scripture seemed to fall at once into their places; and +the prophecies; the beautiful prophecies of future peace and joy to +the earth, of the destruction of death and of hell, all opened out +to me, as being hidden and shut up in Christ,--for Christ is all; +and as I desired the treasure, so I was drawn more and more towards +Him who keeps the treasure, and all this," he would add, "was done +for me, through no deserts or deservings of my own; for till this +light was vouchsafed me, I was as other unregenerate men, living +only to myself, and for myself; and more than this," he would say, +"were it the Divine will to withdraw the light, I should turn again +to be dead and hard, as iron on the cold anvil." In this way, +Shanty often used to talk to Mrs. Margaret, and after a while to +Tamar; but the old lady for many years remained incapable of +entering so entirely as he could wish, into his views of the +sufficiency of the Redeemer. She could not give up entirely her +notions of the need of some works, not as evidences of the +salvation of an individual, but as means of ensuring that +salvation, and accordingly she never met with Shanty for many +years, without hinting at this discrepancy in their opinions, which +hints seldom failed of bringing forward an argument.</p> +<p>When Tamar was about nine years old, Mr. Dymock gave her a dog. +Of this creature she was very fond, and always accustomed it to +accompany her in her excursions around the Tower. There was on the +moor, not many hundred paces from the Tower, a heap of blocks of +granite, some of which bore evidence of having been cut with a +chisel; but these were almost entirely grown over with saxifrages +and other wild plants.</p> +<p>The country people seldom resorted to this place, because they +accounted it uncanny, and Mrs. Margaret had several wild tales to +tell about it, which greatly interested Tamar. She said, that in +the times of papal power, there had been a monastery there, and in +that place a covenanter had been murdered; hence, it had been +pulled down to the ground, and all the unholy timbers and symbols +of idolatry burnt; "and still," she added, "to this day, uncanny +objects are seen in that place, and wailings as of souls in woe +have also been heard coming from thence; and I myself have heard +them. Nay, so short a time ago as the night or two before you, +Tamar, were brought a baby to this house, a light was seen there, +and unearthly voices heard as coming from thence."</p> +<p>Of course after this, it could not be thought that Tamar should +approach this place quite alone, though she often desired to do so; +had not Mrs. Margaret told her these stories, she probably might +never have had this desire, but there is a principle in human +nature, which hankers after the thing forbidden; hence, as St. Paul +says, "By the law is the knowledge of sin." We are not defending +human nature, which is indefensible, but merely stating facts. +Tamar had much desire to visit this mysterious place; and so it +happened one day, when she had her dog with her, and the sun was +shining, and all about her bright and gay, that she climbed up the +little green knoll, and pushing her way through many brambles, +furze bushes, and dwarf shrubs, she found herself in the centre of +the huge heaps of stones and rubbish, of which she had hitherto +seen only the summits, from the windows of the Tower.</p> +<p>But being arrived there, she came to a stand, to look about her, +when her dog, to whom Dymock had given the poetical name of Sappho, +began to prick up her ears, and snuff as if she scented something +more than ordinary, and the next minute, she dashed forward, made +her way through certain bushes, and disappeared. Tamar called +aloud; a hollow echo re-sounded her voice, but no dog +appeared;--again she called,--again she heard the echo, and again +she was silent; but she was by no means a timid child; she had been +too much accustomed to be alone,--too much used to explore old +corners, of which there were multitudes about the Tower, occupied +only by owls and bats. She therefore went forward to the place +where Sappho had disappeared, and forcing aside the shrubs, she saw +before her a low, arched door-way, which, had she understood +architecture, she would have known, from the carvings about the +posts and lintel, to have been Norman.</p> +<p>She was surprised, indeed, but thinking only of her dog, she +called again, and was perfectly amazed at the long, hollow, and +deep sound, of the reverberation. She stood still again, holding +the bushes aside, and was aware of a rush of damp vapour, blowing +in her face.</p> +<p>Sappho, she called again, and the next minute heard an impatient +bark, or yelp, from the animal, and another sound, low, deep and +muttering, which she could not comprehend.</p> +<p>She was now getting much alarmed and dropping the boughs, took +to flight, and she had scarcely cleared the rubbish, when Sappho +came scouring after her, jumping upon her as if glad to see her +again. She patted her head, saying "My poor Sappho, what have you +seen in that dark place? I wish you had a tongue to tell me."</p> +<p>Tamar immediately returned to the Tower, and hastened to tell +her adventure to Mrs. Margaret.</p> +<p>"Oh!" said the old lady, "is it so? that reminds me of what I +heard my father say, many and many is the year gone by, that there +was an old tradition of a secret passage underground from the +Monastery to the Tower; but he never knew where the passage came +into the Tower. But be it which way it might, it must needs have +passed under the moat."</p> +<p>"How strange!" said Tamar; "but when that passage was made, it +could not have been secret; many people must have known it, and I +wonder, then, how it could have been so entirely forgotten."</p> +<p>"Who shall say how things were done in those days," said Mrs. +Margaret; "those times long past, when things uncanny had more +power than they have now? But it is not good to talk of such +things," added the lady; "and now, Tamar, let that which you have +seen to-day never again be mentioned by you; for, as sure as the +master should hear of it, he would be for looking into the cavern, +and, Heaven knows what he might stir up, if he were to disturb such +things as might be found there. I only wish that that the mischief +may not be already done!"</p> +<p>But no mischief did occur, at least for a long time, from this +mysterious quarter. Tamar did not again visit the place; and in a +short time thought no more of the matter.</p> +<p>The happy days of childhood were passing away with Tamar, and +sorrow was coming on her patrons, from a quarter which poor Mrs. +Margaret had long darkly anticipated; but whilst these heavy clouds +were hanging over the house of Dymock, a few, though not very +important events intervened.</p> +<p>Mr. Dymock, by fits and snatches, had given such lessons to +Tamar as had enabled her to proceed, by her own exertions, in +several branches of knowledge quite out of the sphere of Mrs. +Margaret.</p> +<p>Amongst these was the history of the Jews, carried on in +connection between the New and Old Testament, and afterwards in +Christian times, and to these he added certain crude views of +prophecy; for he was resolved that Tamar was a Jewess, and he had +talked himself into the belief that she was of some distinguished +family.</p> +<p>It is no difficult matter to impress young persons with ideas of +their own importance; and none are more liable to receive such +impressions, than those who, like Tamar, are in the dark respecting +their origin.</p> +<p>The point on which Mr. Dymock failed in his interpretations of +prophecy, is not unfrequently mistaken, even in this more +enlightened age. He never considered or understood, that all +prophecy is delivered in figurative language; every prophecy in the +Old Testament having first a literal and incomplete fulfilment, the +complete and spiritual fulfilment being future. He did not see that +the Jews, according to the flesh, were types of the Spiritual +Israel; that David was the emblem of the Saviour; and that the +universal kingdom promised to the seed of David, was no other than +the kingdom of Christ, into which all the children of God will be +gathered together as into one fold under one Shepherd. Not seeing +this, he anticipated a period of earthly triumph for the Jews, such +as an ambitious, worldly man might anticipate with delight; and he +so filled the mind of his young pupil with these notions of the +superiority of her race, that it is a miracle that he did not +utterly ruin her. As it was, she counted herself greatly superior +to all about her, and was much hurt and offended when old Shanty +represented the simple truth to her, telling her, that even were +she the lineal descendant of Solomon himself, she could have no +other privilege than that of the lowest Gentile who has obtained a +new birth-right in the Saviour of mankind; "for," said he, "under +the Gospel dispensation there is no difference between the Jew and +the Greek,--the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon +him," Rom. x. 12.</p> +<p>It did not, however, suit Tamar to adopt these truths at the +present time; and as Shanty could not succeed with her, he took the +liberty of speaking to Mr. Dymock on the subject.</p> +<p>"Why do you fill the young girl's mind, Dymock," said he, "with +such fancies as you do? But, leaving her alone, let us speak of the +Jews in general. They that wish them well should not fill them up +with notions of a birth-right which they have forfeited, and thus +confirm them in the very same pride which led them to crucify the +Lord of Glory. What is a Jew more than another man? for he is not a +Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is +outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and +circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the +letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." Rom. ii. 28, +29.</p> +<p>Mr. Dymock would not listen to honest Shanty on this subject, +much as he respected him; and, indeed, the poor Laird was at this +time deeply oppressed with other matters.</p> +<p>He had, in his various speculations, so entirely neglected his +own affairs for some years past, that poverty, nay actual penury, +was staring in his face. He had formerly mortgaged, by little and +little, most of his lands, and nothing now remained to make money +of, but the Castle itself and a few acres around it, with the +exception only of a cottage and a small field, hitherto occupied by +a labourer, which lay in a kind of hollow on the side of the knoll, +where the entrance of the secret cavern was. This cottage was as +remote from Dymock's Tower in one way, as Shanty's shed was in +another; although the three dwellings formed together a sort of +equilateral triangle. Mr. Dymock long suspected that this labourer +had done his share to waste his substance; and once or twice it had +occurred to him, that if he left the Castle he might retire to the +cottage. But yet, to part with the Castle, could he find a +purchaser, would, he feared, be death to Mrs. Margaret, and how +would Tamar bear it?--this glorious Maid of Judah, as he was wont +to call her,--this palm tree of Zion, this daughter of David,--the +very fine person, and very superior air of Tamar having confirmed +him in the impression of her noble birth. It was whilst these heavy +thoughts respecting what must be done in the management of his +affairs dwelt on his mind, that the same man who had finished the +unfortunate plough appeared again in Shanty's shed.</p> +<p>The old man recognized him immediately, although fourteen years +had much changed his appearance, and he at once charged him with +having had some concern with the woman who left the child.</p> +<p>The well-acted astonishment of the vagrant, for such he was, +silenced Shanty, though it did not convince him that he was +mistaken in his conjecture. However, the old man, changing his mode +of attack, and regretting that he had put the stranger on his guard +by giving him so home a thrust, pretended to be convinced, and +entered into easy conversation with him; amongst other things +asking him if perchance he knew of any one who wanted to purchase +an estate?</p> +<p>"Aye!" said the vagrant, to whom as we small have the pleasure +of introducing him again, we think it may be well to give the name +of Harefoot,--"Aye! old gentleman, and might one ask where this +estate of yours may be?"</p> +<p>"It is of no consequence," replied Shanty, "I answer no +questions, as not being empowered so to do. At all events, however, +the estate is not far from hence, and it is a magnificent place, I +promise you, More's the pity, that those who have owned it for some +hundreds of years, should be compelled to part with it."</p> +<p>Other matters were then introduced, and Shanty endeavoured to +wind about Harefoot, but with little success; for, deep as he +thought himself, he had one deeper to deal with. In truth, poor +Shanty was but a babe in cunning, and the vagrant departed, without +having dropped a single hint which could be taken hold of +respecting Tamar. In the meantime troubles were pressing upon poor +Dymock, the interest of moneys lent on the motgage was not +forthcoming, and the Laird having no better friend (and as to a +sincerer he needed none,) than poor Shanty, used from day to day to +go down to the shed, to open his heart to the old man.</p> +<p>Shanty had long advised his patron to tell his situation to Mrs. +Margaret, and to advertise the sale of the castle, but Dymock's +pride had not yet so far submitted itself, as to enable him to make +so public a confession of the downfall of the family, as an +advertisement would do.</p> +<p>"I cannot open my heart to my aunt, Shanty," he said, "she, poor +creature, has devoted her whole life to keeping up the dignity of +the house; how, then, will she bear to see the whole labour of her +life annihilated?"</p> +<p>"The sooner she knows of what is coming the better," returned +Shanty, "if she is not prepared, the blow when it comes, will go +nigh utterly to overpower her," and the old man proposed to go +himself, to open the matter to her.</p> +<p>"You shall, Shanty, you shall," said the Laird, "but wait a +little, wait a little, we may hear of a purchaser for the castle, +and when such a one is found, then you shall speak to my aunt."</p> +<p>"But first," said Shanty, "let me prepare your adopted one, let +me open the matter to her; she is of an age, in which she ought to +think and act no longer as a child; it is now fourteen years since +I carried her up in my arms to Dymock's Tower, and though the young +girl is too much filled up with pride, yet I fear not but that she +is a jewel, which will shine brighter, when rubbed under the wheel +of adversity; allowing what I hope, that there is a jewel under +that crust of pride."</p> +<p>"Pride!" repeated Dymock, flying off into the region of romance, +"and if a daughter of Zion, a shoot from the Cedar of Lebanon, is +not to carry her head high, who is to do so? the fate of her race +may indeed follow her, and she may be brought down, to sit in the +dust, but still even in the dust, she may yet boast her glorious +origin."</p> +<p>Shanty raised his hands and eyes, "Lord help you! Dymock," he +said, "but you are clean demented. I verily believe, that the child +is nothing mere than the offspring of a begging gipsy, and that if +her mother had been hanged, she would only have met with her +deserts."</p> +<p>Discussions of this kind were constantly taking place between +Shanty and Dymock, and it was in the very midst of one these +arguments, that the rare appearance of a hired chaise,--a job and +pair, as Shanty called it, appeared coming over the moor, directly +to the shed, and so quick was the approach, that the Laird and the +blacksmith had by no means finished their conjectures respecting +this phenomenon, before the equipage came to a stand, in the front +of the hut.</p> +<p>As the carriage stopped, a spare, sallow, severe looking old +gentlemen, put his head out of the window, and calling to the post +boy, in a sharp, querulous tone, asked if he were quite sure that +he was right?</p> +<p>"Not sure that this is old Shanty's hut; Shanty of Dymock's +Moor," replied the post-boy, in a broad Northern accent; "ask me if +I don't know my own mother's son, though she never had but one +bairn."</p> +<p>Dymock and Shanty no sooner heard the voice of the boy, than +they both recognized him, and stepping forward, they went up to the +carriage and offered to assist the old gentleman to alight; he +received their civilities with very little courtesy. However, he +got out of the carriage, and giving himself a shake, and a sort of +twist, which caused the lappets of his coat to expand, like the +fan-tail of a pigeon, he asked, if the place was Dymock's Moor, and +if the old man he saw before him, was one called Shanty of the +Moor? The blacksmith declared himself to be that same person, "and +this gentlemen," he added, pointing to Dymock, whose every day +dress, by the bye, did not savor much of the Laird, "This gentleman +is Dymock himself."</p> +<p>"Ah, is it so," said the stranger, "my business then is with +him, show me where I can converse with him."</p> +<p>"I have no parlour to offer you," said Shanty; "to my shed, +however, such as it is, I make you welcome."</p> +<p>No gracious notice was taken by the stranger of the offer, but +without preamble or ceremony, he told his errand to Mr. Dymock. "I +hear," he said, "that you wish to sell your Tower, and the lands +which surround it; if after looking at it, and finding that it +suits me, you will agree to let me have it, I will pay you down in +moneys, to the just and due amount of the value thereof, but first +I must see it."</p> +<p>"It stands there, Sir," said Shanty, seeing that Mr. Dymock's +heart was too full to permit him to speak; "it stands there, Sir, +and is as noble an object as my eye ever fell upon. The Tower," +continued the old man, "at this minute, lies directly under the +only dark cloud now in the heavens; nevertheless, a slanting ray +from the westering sun now falls on its highest turret; look on, +Sir, and say wherever have you seen a grander object?"</p> +<p>The old gentleman uttered an impatient pish, and said, "Old man, +your travels must needs have lain in small compass, if you think +much of yon heap of stones and rubbish." The Laird's choler was +rising, and he would infallibly have told the stranger to have +walked himself off, if Shanty had not pulled him by the sleeve, +and, stepping before the stranger, said something in a soothing +way, which should enhance the dignity of the Tower and encourage +the pretended purchaser.</p> +<p>"I must see it, I must see it," returned the old gentleman, "not +as now mixed up with the clouds, but I must examine it, see its +capabilities, and know precisely what it is worth, and how it can +be secured to me and my heirs for ever."</p> +<p>It was warm work which poor Shanty now had to do; between the +irritated seller and the testy buyer, he had never been in a hotter +place before his own forge, and there was wind enough stirring in +all reason, without help of bellows, for the Laird puffed and +groaned and uttered half sentences, and wished himself dead, on one +side of the old blacksmith, whilst the stranger went on as calmly, +coolly, and deliberately, with his bargain, on the other side, as +if he were dealing with creatures utterly without feeling. Shanty +turned first to one, and then to another; nodding and winking to +Dymock to keep quiet on one side, whilst he continued to vaunt the +merits of the purchase on the other.</p> +<p>At length, on a somewhat more than usually testy remark of the +stranger reaching the ears of the Laird, he burst by Shanty and had +already uttered these words, "Let me hear no more of this, I am a +gentleman, and abominate the paltry consideration of pounds, +shillings, and pence;" when Shanty forcibly seizing his arm, turned +him fairly round, whispering, "Go, and for the sake of common +sense, hold your tongue, leave the matter to me, let me bargain for +you; go and tell Mrs. Margaret that we are coming, and make what +tale you will to her, to explain our unceremonious visit; you had +better have told her all before."</p> +<p>The Laird informed Shanty that there was no need of going up to +the Tower to inform his aunt, as she and Tamar were gone that day +over the border to visit a friend; but added he, "I take your +offer, Shanty, make the bargain for me if you can, and I shall not +appear till I am wanted to sign and seal," and away marched the +Laird nor was he forthcoming again for some hours.</p> +<p>After he was gone, Shanty begged leave to have a few minutes +given him for washing his hands and face and making himself decent, +and then walked up with the testy old gentlemen to the castle. +Little as Shanty knew of the great and grand world, yet his heart +misgave him, lest the ruinous state of the castle, (although the +Tower itself stood in its ancient and undilapidated strength,) +should so entirely disgust the stranger that he should at once +renounce all ideas of the purchase; he was therefore much pleased +when the old gentleman, having gone grumbling and muttering into +every room and every outhouse, crying, it is naught! it is naught! +as buyers generally do, bade Shanty tell the Laird that he was +going to the nearest town, that he should be there till the +business was settled, that he would give the fair valuation for the +estate, and that the payment should be prompt.</p> +<p>Shanty was, indeed astonished; he was all amazement, nor did he +recover himself, till he saw the old gentleman walk away, and get +into his carriage which was waiting on the other side of the moat, +it not being particularly convenient, on account of the total +deficiency of anything like a bridge or passable road? to bring a +carriage larger than a wheel-barrow up to the castle.</p> +<p>Dymock returned to the shed, when he, from some place of +observation on the moor, saw that the carriage had reached the high +road, and there, having been told all that had passed, the poor +gentleman (who, by the bye, was not half pleased with the idea of +the honours of Dymock falling into the hands of such a purchaser,) +informed Shanty that he must prepare to go with him the next day to +Hexham, where the stranger had appointed to meet him.</p> +<p>"I go with you!" exclaimed Shanty, "was ever so strange a +conceit."</p> +<p>"I shall be fleeced, shorn, ruined," implied Mr. Dymock, "if I +go to make a bargain, without a grain of common sense in my +company."</p> +<p>"True," returned Shanty, "your worship is right; but how are we +to go? I have plenty of horse-shoes by me, but neither you, nor I +Laird, I fear could find any four legs to wear them."</p> +<p>"We must e'en walk then," said Dymock, "nay, I would gladly +carry you on my back, rather than descend to the meanness of +driving a bargain with a testy old fellow like that; by the bye, +Shanty, what does he call himself?"</p> +<p>"Salmon," replied Shanty, "and I mistake if he has not a touch +of the foreigner on his tongue."</p> +<p>"You will accompany me, then Shanty," said the Laird.</p> +<p>"I will," he replied, "if this evening you will open the +business out to Mrs. Margaret."</p> +<p>"It cannot be Shanty," replied Dymock chuckling, "for she does +not expect to be back over the border till to-morrow, and when +to-morrow is over and we know what we are about, then you shall +tell her all."</p> +<p>"Dymock," said Shanty, "you are hard upon me, when you have a +morsel to swallow that is too tough for you, you put it into my +mouth; but," added the old man kindly, "there is not much that I +would refuse to do for your father's son."</p> +<p>The sun had not yet risen over the moor, when Dymock and Shanty, +both arrayed in their best, set off for Hexham, where they found +the crabbed old gentlemen, still in the humour of making the +purchase, though he abused the place in language at once rude and +petulant; his offer, however, was, as Shanty compelled Dymock to +see, a very fair one, though the more sensible and wary blacksmith +could not persuade his friend to beware of trusting anything to the +honour of Mr. Salmon.</p> +<p>Dymock's estate had been deeply mortgaged, the sale was made +subject to the mortgages, and the purchaser was bound to pay the +mortgagee the mortgage moneys, after which there was small surplus +coming to poor Dymock. This small surplus was, however, paid down +on the signing of the papers; still, however, there was an +additional payment to take place soon after possession.</p> +<p>This payment was, it was supposed, to be for fixtures and other +articles, which were to be left on the premises, and it was not to +be asked till Mr. Salmon had been resident a few weeks. The amount +was between five and six hundred pounds, and was in fact all that +Dymock would have to depend upon besides his cottage, his field, a +right of shooting on the moor, and fishing in a lake which belonged +to the estate, and about twenty pounds a year which appertained to +Mrs. Margaret, from which it was supposed she had made some +savings.</p> +<p>Shanty had succeeded in forcing the Laird to listen to the +dictates of prudence, and to act with sufficient caution, till it +came to what he called the dirty part of the work, to wit, the +valuation of small articles, and then was the blood of the Dymocks +all up; nor would he hear of requiring a bond for the payment of +this last sum, such a document, in fact, as should bind the +purchaser down to payment without dispute. He contented himself +only with such a note from the old man as ought he asserted to be +quite sufficient, and it was utterly useless for Shanty to +expostulate. The Laird had got on his high horse and was prancing +and capering beyond all the controul of his honest friend, whilst +Mr. Salmon, no doubt, laughed in his sleeve, and only lamented that +he had not known Dymock better from the first, for in that case he +would have used his cunning to have obtained a better bargain of +the castle and lands. It was not one nor two visits to Hexham which +completed these arrangements; however Mr. Dymock, after the first +visit, no longer refused to permit Shanty to open out every thing +to his aunt, and to prepare her to descend into a cottage, on an +income of forty or fifty pounds a year.</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret bore the information better than Shanty had +expected; she had long anticipated some such blow, and her piety +enabled her to bear it with cheerfulness. "I now," she said, "know +the worst, and I see not wherefore, though I am a Dymock, I should +not be happy in a cottage, I am only sorry for Tamar; poor Tamar! +what will become of her?"</p> +<p>"Oh mother! dear mother!" said Tamar weeping, "why are you sorry +for me, cannot I go with you? surely you would not part from me;" +and she fell weeping on Mrs. Margaret's bosom.</p> +<p>"Never before! oh, never before," cried Mrs. Margaret, "did I +feel my poverty as I do now."</p> +<p>"Mother dear! oh mother dear! had I thousands of pounds, I would +devote them all to you, and to my dear protector."</p> +<p>"God helping you, or God working in you Tamar," said Shanty, +rubbing his rough hand across his eyes, "but never boast of what +you will do, dear child; boasting does not suit the condition of +humanity."</p> +<p>"Oh! that I could now find my father," she replied, "and if I +could find him a rich man, what a comfort it would be; what would I +give now," she added, "to find a rich father!"</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret kissed her child, and wept with her, calling her a +dear, affectionate, grateful creature; but Shanty made no remark +respecting Tamar's gratitude; he had it in his mind to speak to her +when alone, and he very soon found the opportunity he wished.</p> +<p>It was on the next Sunday that he met Tamar walking on the moor, +and it was then that he thus addressed her, "I was sorry damsel," +he said, "to hear you speak as you did to Mrs. Margaret the other +day, making a profession of what you would do for her if you were +rich, and yet never offering her that which you have to give +her."</p> +<p>"What have I to give her?" asked Tamar.</p> +<p>"Much," replied the old man; "much, very much. You have +strength, and activity, and affection to give her. With forty +pounds a-year, a house, and a little field, which is all your +adopted parents will have, can they, think you, keep a servant? +Will not the very closest care be necessary, and should not one who +is young, and faithful, and attached, rejoice to serve her +benefactors at such time as this, and to render their fall as easy +as possible; and where, I ask you, Tamar, should they find such +service as you can render them?"</p> +<p>They were walking side by side, the old man and the beautiful +girl, among the heather of the moor; and he was looking up kindly +and animatedly to her,--for he was a remarkably short, thick-set +man,--but she was looking down on the ground, whilst a bitter +struggle was passing in her mind. She had been filled up by her +guardian with wild fancies of her own greatness, which was +hereafter to be made manifest; and it would have been too strong +for unaided nature, to bring herself to submit to such drudgeries +as duty seemed now to require of her; her bright-brown cheek was +flushed with the inward contest, and her bosom seemed to be almost +swelled to suffocation. But the assistance required was not +withheld in the hour of need, and Shanty was soon made aware of the +change of feelings which was suddenly imparted to the orphan by the +change of the expression of her countenance; the tears had already +filled her eyes, when she turned to her old friend, and thanked him +for his reproof, expressing her conviction, that his advice was +that of a true Christian, and begging him always to tell her, in +like manner, when he saw that she was going wrong. A more general +discussion on the subject of true religion then followed, and +Shanty assured Tamar, that all high notions of self, whether of +birth, talents, or riches, were unpleasing in the sight of God, and +utterly inconsistent with that view of salvation by Christ, which +is independent of all human merit. Such was the nature of the +lessons given by the old man to Tamar. His language was, however, +broad, and full of north-country phrases, so much so, as to have +rendered them inexplicable to one who had not been accustomed to +the Border dialect. From that day, however, through the divine +mercy, the heart of Tamar was given to the duties which she saw +before her, and all her activity was presently put into +requisition; for Mr. Salmon had given notice, that he should take +possession of Dymock's Tower as soon as it could be got ready for +him, and he also sent persons to make the preparations which he +required. These preparations were of a most singular nature; his +object appeared neither to be the beautifying of the old place, or +even the rendering it more comfortable, for he neither sent new +furniture, nor ordered the restoration of any of the dilapidated +chambers or courts. But he ordered the moat to be repaired, so that +it could be filled and kept full, and he directed that a light +draw-bridge should also be erected. The walls of the inner courts +were also to be put to rights, and new gates added. There was a +great laugh in the country respecting this unknown humourist; and +some said he was preparing for a siege, and others going to set up +for a modern Rob Roy, and Castle-Dymock was to be his +head-quarters.</p> +<p>The greater part of the furniture, and all the fixtures, were to +be paid for by the money for which the Laird had Mr. Salmon's +memorandum; and they who knew their condition, said that the things +had been brought to a good market, as little of the furniture would +have been worth the carriage across the moor. Nothing at present, +therefore, remained for the aunt and the nephew to do, but to +remove to the cottage as soon as it should be ready to receive +them.</p> +<p>This humble habitation was situated in a small nook or vale of +the moor called Heatherdale. A little fresh-water spring ran +through it, coming in at the higher end of the valley, and going +out through a natural cleft in a block of granite at the other end. +There were many tall trees scattered on the banks within the dell; +and the place was so sheltered, that many a plant would flourish in +the garden on the south side of the house, which could hardly be +kept alive in any other situation in the country.</p> +<p>The cottage was an old, black, timbered and thatched edifice, +and had four rooms of considerable dimensions, two above and two +below, with a porch in the front, overgrown with briony and another +hardy creeper. As soon as this tenement was vacated, and the +Laird's intention of inhabiting it known, the ancient tenants of +the family all manifested their affection by using their several +crafts in repairing the cottage, and setting the house to +rights,--one mended the thatch, another repaired the wood-work, a +third white-washed the walls, another mended the paling, and old +Shanty did any little job in his way which might be required.</p> +<p>The labours of love never hang long on hand, and though the old +tenant had gone out only at Lady-day, the hawthorn had scarcely +blossomed when the affectionate people pronounced the work +complete.</p> +<p>Poor Dymock had become very restless when he saw the changes +which were going on at the Tower; but when there was no longer an +excuse to be found for delaying the removal, he gave way +altogether, or rather, we should say, made a cut and run, and went +off to botanize the lakes in Westmoreland, with a knapsack on his +back, and a guinea in his pocket.</p> +<p>Before he went, however, he had opened his heart to his daughter +Tamar, saying, "I now take leave, dear child, of the life of a +gentleman; henceforward I must content myself with the corner of a +kitchen ingle; and this, truly, is a berth," he added, "too good +for a cumberer of the ground, such as I am." He said this as he +passed through the gate of the court, giving his adopted one time +only to snatch his hand and kiss it, and he was gone beyond her +hearing before she could relieve her heart with a burst of tears. +After a while, however, she dried them up, and began to busy her +mind in thinking what she could do to render the cottage +comfortable for her beloved guardian; and having at length formed +her plan, she ran to Mrs. Margaret, and asked her permission to +take the arrangement of their new house.</p> +<p>"Let me," said she, "see all the things put in their places; you +and I, dear aunt Margaret, will have to ourselves a kitchen as neat +as a palace, and we will make a study of the inner room for Mr. +Dymock."</p> +<p>"What!" said the old lady, "and give up our parlour?"</p> +<p>"Dear mother," replied the young girl carelessly, "if there is +to be no maid but poor Tamar, why should not the kitchen be the +happiest place, for her own dear mother? You shall have your chair +in the corner, between the window and the fire-place, and your +little work-table by it, and then you can direct me without moving +from your needle. Oh! dear, aunt Margaret," she added, "I am +beginning to think that we shall be happier in the cottage, than we +have been in the Castle; we shall have fewer cares, and shall have +a pleasure in putting our small means to the best. Do not the +scatterings of the flock, aunt Margaret, make us as warm hose as +the prime of the fleece?"</p> +<p>"That may be doubted child," replied the old lady with a smile, +"but go young creature, take your way; I believe ere yet you have +done, that you, with your sunny smile, will cheat me into +contentment before I know what I am about; but mind, my lovely +one," she added, "I will tell you how it is. I have been led to see +how God in his displeasure,--displeasure, I say, on account of the +pride of ancestry and station, which I have hitherto persisted in +cherishing,--how God, I repeat, in his displeasure has remembered +mercy, and, in taking away that which is worthless, has left me +that which is most precious, even you my bright one."</p> +<p>The old lady then kissed Tamar, and gave her the permission she +required, to arrange the cottage according to her own fancy. When +the day of removal actually arrived, being the day after the Laird +had walked himself off, the neighbours, with Shanty at their head, +came to assist.</p> +<p>Tamar had determined upon having the room within the kitchen, +for her beloved father by adoption; a village artist having +understood her pious wish, had stained the walls of light grey, and +painted the frame of the casement window of the same colour. Tamar +had prepared a curtain of some light drapery for the window; a +well-darned carpet covered the floor, the Laird's bookcases +occupied one entire end of the room opposite the window, the wonted +table of the old study at the Tower was placed in the centre of the +floor, and was covered with its usual cloth, a somewhat tarnished +baize, with a border worked in crewels by Mrs. Margaret in days +gone by. In the centre of this table the inkstand was placed, and +on the opposite wall, a venerable time-piece, asserted, with what +truth we presume not to say, to be nearly as old as the clock sent +by Haroun Al Raschid to the emperor Charlemagne. A few high-backed +chairs, certain strange chimney ornaments, and other little matters +dear to the Laird, finished the furniture of this room, and Tamar +perfectly laughed with joy, when, having seen all done, she became +aware that this small apartment was in fact more comfortable than +the cold, wide, many-drafted study in the Tower.</p> +<p>Those who were with her caught the merry infection and laughed +too, and Shanty said, "But dear one, whilst you thus rejoice in +your own contrivances, have you not a word of praise to give to +Him, who has spread such glories as no human skill could create, +beyond yon little window?" The old man then opened the casement, +and showed the sweet and peaceful scene which there presented +itself; for the cottage was enclosed in a small dell, the green +sides of which seemed to shut out all the world, enclosing within +their narrow limits, a running brook, and hives of bees, and many +fragrant flowers.</p> +<p>Tamar was equally successful, and equally well pleased with her +arrangements in other parts of the cottage; the kitchen opened on +one side to a little flower garden, on the other to the small yard, +where Mrs. Margaret intended to keep her poultry, and the whole +domain was encompassed by the small green field, which made up the +extent of the dell, and was the only bit of land left to the +representative of the house of Dymock. But Mrs. Margaret had +reckoned that the land would keep a little favourite cow, and with +this object Tamar had taken great pains to learn to milk.</p> +<p>When all was ready, Mrs. Margaret with many tears took leave of +Dymock's Tower; she had not seen the process of preparation in the +cottage, and was therefore perfectly astonished when she entered +the house. Tamar received her with tears of tenderness, and the +worthy lady having examined all the arrangements, blessed her +adopted one, and confessed that they had all in that place that man +really required. Neither did she or Tamar find that they had more +to do than was agreeable; if they had no servants to wait upon +them, they had no servants to disarrange their house. They had +engaged an old cottager on the moor to give them an hour's work +every evening, and for this they paid him with a stoup of milk, or +some other small product of their dairy; money they had not to +spare, and this he knew,--nor did he require any; he would have +given his aid to the fallen family for nothing, had it been asked +of him.</p> +<p>In wild and thinly peopled countries, there is more of +neighbourly affection,--more of private kindness and sympathy than +in crowded cities. Man is a finite creature; he cannot take into +his heart many objects at once, and such, indeed, is the narrowness +of his comprehension, that he cannot even conceive how the love of +an infinite being can be generally exercised through creation. It +is from this incapacity that religious people, at least too many of +them, labour so sedulously as they do to instil the notion of the +particularity of the work of salvation, making it almost to appear, +that the Almighty Father brings beings into existence, merely to +make them miserable,--but we are wandering from our story.</p> +<p>Aunt Margaret and Tamar had been at the cottage a fortnight +before Dymock returned; Tamar saw him first coming down the glen, +looking wearied, dispirited and shabby.</p> +<p>She ran out to meet her adopted father, and sprang into his +arms; his eyes were filled with tears, and her bright smiles caused +those eyes to overflow.</p> +<p>She took his hand, she brought him in, she set him a chair, and +Mrs. Margaret kissing him, said "Come Dymock brighten up, and thank +your God for a happy home."</p> +<p>Dymock sighed, Tamar took his heavy knapsack from him, and +placed before him bread and butter, and cheese, and a stoup of +excellent beer.</p> +<p>"Eat, dear father," she said, "and then you shall go to bed, +(for it was late in the evening,) and to-morrow you will see what a +sweet place this is;" but poor Dymock could not rally that night. +Tamar had always slept with Mrs. Margaret, and the best room of the +two above stairs had been prepared for Dymock, Mrs. Margaret having +found a place under the rafters for her innumerable boxes.</p> +<p>The poor Laird slept well, and when he awoke the sun was shining +into his room, and aunt Margaret had arranged his clean clothes at +the foot of his bed; he arose in better spirits, and dressing +himself, he went down; he found Tamar in the kitchen, and she, +without speaking, took his hand and led him to his study.</p> +<p>The poor gentleman could not bear this: he saw the sacrifice his +aunt had made for him, and the exertions also which Tamar must have +made to produce this result, and he fairly wept; but this burst of +agitation being over, he embraced his adopted child, and expressed +his earnest hope that henceforward he might be enabled to live more +closely with his God.</p> +<p>But the mind of Dymock was not a well balanced one; he could not +live without a scheme, and he had scarcely been two days in the +cottage, when he re-aimed at the ideas which he had formerly +indulged of becoming an author, and of obtaining both fame and +money by his writings. Mrs. Margaret was fretted when she was made +aware of this plan, and sent Tamar to Shanty, to ask him to talk +him out of the fancy, and to persuade him to adopt some employment, +if it were only digging in his garden, which might bring in +something; but Shanty sent Tamar back to Mrs. Margaret to tell her +that she ought to be thankful that there was anything found which +would keep the Laird easy and quiet, and out of the way of spending +the little which he had left. Poor Dymock, therefore, was not +disturbed in his attempts at authorship, and there he used to sit +in his study with slip-shod feet, an embroidered dressing gown, +which Mrs. Margaret had quilted from an old curtain, and a sort of +turban twisted about his head, paying no manner of attention to +hours or seasons. As Mrs. Margaret only allowed him certain inches +of candle, he could not sit up all night as geniuses ought to be +permitted to do; but then he would arise with the lark and set to +work, before any of the labourers on the moor were in motion. In +vain did Mrs. Margaret complain and expostulate; she even in her +trouble sent Tamar again to Shanty to request him to plead with the +Laird, and beg him to allow himself to enjoy his regular rest; but +in this case when she required Shanty's aid, she had reckoned +without her host.</p> +<p>"Go back to Mrs. Margaret, damsel," he said, "go and tell the +lady that as long as she can keep the Laird from work by candle +light, so long no harm is done, and if instead of murmuring at this +early rising, fair child, you will take example by him, and leave +your bed at the same time that your hear him go down, you will do +well. He that lies in bed gives a daily opportunity to his +servants, if he has any to serve him, to do mischief before he is +up, and she that rises with the sun and goes straight forward, like +an arrow in its course, in the path of her duties, shall find fewer +thorns and more roses in that path, than those who indulge in ease. +Through divine mercy," continued the old man, "our own exertions +are not needed for the assurance of our salvation, but sloth and +carelessness tend to penury and misery, in this present life; and +there is no sloth more ruinous to health and property than that of +wasting the precious morning hours in bed."</p> +<p>Tamar was not deaf to the pleadings of Shanty; she began +immediately to rise with the first crowing of the cock, and thus +obtained so much time for her business, that she could then afford +herself some for reading. Mrs. Margaret took also to rise early, so +that instead of breakfasting as formerly at eight o'clock, the +family took that meal at seven; but the Laird often managed to have +such bright and valuable thoughts just at breakfast time, that for +the sake of posterity, as he was wont to say, he could by no means +endanger the loss of them by suffering such a common place +interruption as that of breakfast, such an every day and vulgar +concern. On these occasions Tamar always took in his coffee and +toast, and set it before him, and she generally had the pleasure of +finding that he took what she brought him, though he seldom +appeared to be aware either of her entrance or her exit, Mrs. +Margaret invariably exclaiming when Tamar reported her reception in +the study, "Lord help him! see what it is to be a genius!"</p> +<p>In the meantime, the moat around Dymock's Tower was repaired and +filled up, or was fast filling up; the draw-bridge was in its +place, and the gates and walls restored; and as the neighbours +said, the Tower wanted nothing but men and provisions to enable it +to stand a siege. At length, all being pronounced ready, though no +interior repairing had taken place, the new possessor arrived, +bringing with him two servants, an old man and an old woman, and +many heavy packages, which were stowed in a cart, and lifted out by +himself and his man-servant, whom he called Jacob. This being done, +he and his people were heard of no more, or rather seen no more, +being such close housekeepers, that they admitted no one over the +moat, though the man Jacob, rode to the nearest market every week +on the horse which had dragged the baggage, to bring what was +required, which, it was said, was not much more than was necessary +to keep the bodies and souls of three people together.</p> +<p>Numerous and strange were the speculations made by all people on +the moor upon these new tenants of Dymock's Tower, and Shanty's +shed was a principal scene of these speculations. Various were the +reproaches which were cast on the strangers, and no name was too +bad for them.</p> +<p>"Our old Laird," one remarked, "was worth ten thousand such. As +long as he had a crust, he would divide it with any one that wanted +it. Mark but his behaviour to the poor orphan, who is now become +the finest girl, notwithstanding her dark skin, in all the country +round."</p> +<p>Then followed speculations on the parentage of Tamar, and old +Shanty asserted that he believed her to be nothing more or less +than the daughter of the gipsy hag who had laid her at his door. +Some said she was much to good to be the child of a gipsy; and then +Shanty asserted, that the grace of God could counteract not only +the nature of a child of a vagrant of the worst description, but +even that of such vagrant himself; the Spirit of God being quick +and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.</p> +<p>Shanty was a sort of oracle amongst his simple neighbours, and +what he said was not often disputed to his face; nevertheless, +there was not an individual on the moor who knew Tamar, who did not +believe her to be a princess in disguise or something very +wonderful; and, at the bottom of her heart, poor Tamar still +indulged this same belief, though she did not now, as formerly +express it.</p> +<p>It was in the month of June, very soon after, Mr. Salmon had +arrived at the Tower, and before Dymock, who was a woful +procrastinator, had gone to demand the last payment, that Tamar, +who was extraordinarily light and active, had undertaken to walk to +the next village to procure some necessaries; she had three miles +to go over the moor, nor could she go till after dinner. Her way +lay by Shanty's shed; and Mrs. Margaret admonished her, if anything +detained her, to call on Shanty, and ask him to walk over the +remainder of the moor with her on her return.</p> +<p>When she came down from preparing herself for this walk, all gay +and blooming with youth and health, and having a basket on her arm, +she met Dymock in the little garden.</p> +<p>"Whither away? beautiful Maid of Judah," said the genius. "My +bright-eyed Tamar," he added, "I have been thinking of a poem, and +if I can but express my ideas, it will be the means of lifting up +my family again from the destitution into which it has fallen. My +subject is the restoration of Jerusalem in the latter days, and the +lifting up of the daughters of Zion from the dust. The captives of +Israel now are hewers of wood and carriers of water; but the time +will come when the hands that now wear the manacles of servitude +shall be comely with rows of jewels."</p> +<p>"If no daughter of Judah," replied Tamar, "wears heavier +manacles than I do, dear father, they may bear them with light +hearts;" and, as she passed quickly by her adopted father, she +snatched his hand and kissed it, and soon she disappeared beyond +the boundary of the glen.</p> +<p>Tamar reached the village in so short a time, and did her +errands so quickly, that having some hours of light before her, she +thought she would try another way of return, over a small bridge, +which in fact spanned the very water-course which ran through her +glen; but being arrived at this bridge, to her surprise she found +it broken down. It was only a single plank, and the wood had rotted +and given way. The brook was too wide and deep in that place to +permit her to cross it, and the consequence was, that she must +needs go round more than a mile; and, what added to her +embarrassment, the evening, which had been fine, was beginning to +cloud over, the darkness of the sky hastening the approach of the +dusk. She had now farther to walk than she had when in the village; +and, added to the threatenings of the clouds, there were frequent +flashings of pale lightning, and remote murmurings of thunder. But +Tamar was not easily alarmed; she had been brought up +independently, and already had she recovered the direct path from +the village to Shanty's shed, when suddenly a tall figure of a +female arose, as it were, out of the broom and gorse, and stepped +in the direction in which she was going, walking by her side for a +few paces without speaking a word.</p> +<p>The figure was that of a gipsy, and the garments, as Tamar +glanced fearfully at them as they floated in a line with her steps, +bespoke a variety of wretchedness scarcely consistent with the +proud and elastic march of her who wore them.</p> +<p>Whilst Tamar felt a vague sense of terror stealing over her, the +woman spoke, addressing her without ceremony, saying, "So you have +been driven to come this way at last; have you been so daintily +reared that you cannot wade a burn which has scarcely depth enough +to cover the pebbles in its channel. Look you," she added, raising +her arm, and pointing her finger,--"see you yon rising ground to +the left of those fir trees on the edge of the moor,--from the +summit of that height the sea is visible, and I must, ere many +hours, be upon those waters, in such a bark as you delicately-bred +dames would not confide in on a summer's day on Ulswater Mere."</p> +<p>Whilst the woman spoke, Tamar looked to her and then from her, +but not a word did she utter.</p> +<p>"Do you mind me?" said the gipsy; "I have known you long, aye +very long. You were very small when I brought you to this place. I +did well for you then. Are you grateful?"</p> +<p>Tamar now did turn and look at her, and looked eagerly, and +carefully, and intently on her dark and weather-beaten +countenance.</p> +<p>"Ah!" said the gipsy, whilst a smile of scorn distorted her +lip,--"so you will demean yourself now to look upon me; and you +would like to know what I could tell you?"</p> +<p>"Indeed, indeed, I would!" exclaimed Tamar, all flushed and +trembling. "Oh, in pity, in mercy tell me who I am and who are my +parents?--if they still live; if I have any chance or--hope of +seeing them?"</p> +<p>"One is no more," replied the gipsy. "She from whom I took you +lies in the earth on Norwood Common. I stretched the corpse +myself,--it was a bonny corpse."</p> +<p>Tamar fetched a deep, a very deep sigh. "Does my father live?" +she asked.</p> +<p>"Your father!" repeated the gipsy, with a malignant +laugh,--"your father!"</p> +<p>Tamar became more and more agitated; but excessive feeling made +her appear almost insensible. With great effort she +repeated,--"Does my father live?"</p> +<p>"He does," replied the woman, with a malignant smile, "and shall +I tell you where and how?--shut up, confined in a strong-hold, +caught like a vile animal in a trap. Do you understand me, Tamar? I +think they call you Tamar."</p> +<p>"What!" said the poor girl, gasping for breath, "is my father a +convicted felon?"</p> +<p>"I used no such words," replied the gipsy; "but I told you that +he lies shut up; and he is watched and guarded, too, I tell +you."</p> +<p>"Then he has forfeited his liberty," said Tamar; "he has +committed some dreadful crime. Tell me, Oh! tell me, what is +it?"</p> +<p>The gipsy laughed, and her laugh was a frightful one.</p> +<p>"What!" she said, "are you disappointed?--is the blight come +over you? has the black fog shut out all the bright visions which +the foolish Laird created in your fancy? Go, child!" she said, "go +and tell him what I have told you, and see whether he will continue +to cherish and flatter the offspring of our vagrant race."</p> +<p>"He will," replied Tamar; "but tell me, only tell me, what is +that mark burnt upon my shoulder?"</p> +<p>"Your father branded you," she answered, "as we do all our +children, lest in our many wanderings we should lose sight of our +own, and not know them again; but come," she added, "the night +draws on, darkness is stealing over the welkin; you are for the +shed; there is your pole-star; see you the fitful glare of the +forge?--I am for another direction; fare-you-well."</p> +<p>"Stay, stay," said Tamar, seizing her arm, "Oh, tell me more! +tell me more! My father, if I have a living father, I owe him a +duty,--where is he? Tell me where he is, for the love of heaven +tell me?"</p> +<p>The woman shook her off,--"Go, fool," she said, "you know +enough; or stay," she added, in her turn seizing Tamar's arm,--"if +you like it better, leave those Dymocks and come with me, and you +shall be one with us, and live with us, and eat with us and drink +with us."</p> +<p>"No! no!" said Tamar, with a piercing shriek, disengaging +herself from the gipsy, and running with the swiftness of a hare, +towards the friendly hovel.</p> +<p>Old Shanty was alone, when, all pale and trembling, Tamar +entered the shed, and sunk, half fainting, on the very bench on +which the gipsy had sate on the eventful night in which she had +brought her to the hovel fourteen years before.</p> +<p>Shanty was terrified, for he had a paternal feeling for Tamar; +he ceased immediately from his hammering, and sitting himself by +her on the bench, he rested not until she had told him every thing +which had happened; and when she had done so,--"Tamar," he said, "I +am not surprised; I never thought you any thing else than the child +of a vagrant, nor had you ever any ground for thinking otherwise. +There are many imaginations," added the pious old man, "which +attend our nature, which must be destroyed before we can enter into +that perfect union with the Son, which will render us one with the +Father, and will insure our happiness when God shall be all in all, +and when all that is foretold in prophecy respecting this present +earth shall be completed. Sin," continued the old man, "is neither +more nor less than the non-conformity of the will of the creature +with that of the Creator; and when the will of every child of Adam +is brought into unison with the divine pleasure, then, as far our +race is concerned, there will be an end of sin; and, in particular +cases, Tamar, as regarding individuals in the present and past +days, each one is happy, not as far as he indulges the imaginations +suggested by his own depraved nature, but as far as he is content +to be what his God would have him to be, as indicated by the +circumstances and arrangements of things about him."</p> +<p>It was marvellous (or rather would have been so to a stranger,) +to hear this poor old dusky blacksmith, speaking and reasoning as +he did; but who shall limit or set bounds to the power of the Lord +the Spirit in enlightening the mind, independently as it were, of +human ministry, or at least of any other ministry than that which +teaches and promulgates the mere letter of Scripture?</p> +<p>Tamar's mind was at that time fully prepared to receive all that +Shanty said to her, and, insensibly to themselves, they were +presently led almost to forget the information given by the gipsy, +(which in fact left Tamar just as it had found her,) whilst new +thoughts were opening to them; and the young girl was brought to +see, that in her late anxiety to render the kind friends who had +adopted her, comfortable as to outward circumstances, she had +failed in using her filial influence to draw their attention to +thoughts of religion.</p> +<p>Shanty put on his coat, and walked with her over the rest of the +moor, nor did he leave Heatherdale (where Mrs. Margaret insisted +that he should sup,) until he had opened out to the Laird and his +aunt the whole history of Tamar's rencounter with the gipsy. It was +curious to observe the effect of this story on the minds of the two +auditors. Mrs. Margaret embraced Tamar with tears, saying, +"Methinks I am rejoiced that there is no one likely to claim my +precious one from me;" whilst the Laird exclaimed, "I am not in the +least convinced. The gipsy has no doubt some scheme of her own in +view. She is afraid of being found out, and transported for +child-stealing; but I wish I could see her, to tell her that I no +more believe my palm-tree to have sprung from the briers of the +Egyptian wilderness, than that I am not at this moment the Laird of +Dymock."</p> +<p>"Lord help you, nephew!" said Mrs. Margaret, "if poor dear +Tamar's noble birth has not more substantial foundation than your +lairdship, I believe that she must be content as she is,--the +adopted daughter of a poor spinster, who has nothing to leave +behind her but a few bales of old clothes."</p> +<p>"Contented, my mother," said Tamar, bursting into tears, "could +I be contented if taken from you?"</p> +<p>Thus the affair of the gipsy passed off. The Laird, indeed, +talked of raising the country to catch the randy quean; but all +these resolutions were speedily forgotten, and no result ensued +from this alarm, but that which Almighty power produced from it in +the mind of Tamar, by making her more anxious to draw the minds of +her patrons to religion.</p> +<p>After this, for several weeks things went on much as usual on +Dymock's moor. The inhabitants of the Tower were so still and +quiet, that unless a thin curl of smoke had now and then been seen +rising from the kitchen chimney, all the occupants might have been +supposed to have been in a state of enchantment. Jacob, however, +the dwarfish, deformed serving-man, did cross the moat at +intervals, and came back laden with food; but he was so surly and +short, that it was impossible to get a word of information from +him, respecting that which was going on within the moat. Whilst +Dymock scribbled, his aunt darned, Shanty hammered, and Tamar +formed the delight and comfort of all the three last mentioned +elders. But some settlement was necessarily to be made respecting +Mr. Salmon's last payment, which had run up, with certain fixtures +and old pictures, for which there was no room in the cottage, to +nearly six hundred pounds, and after much pressing and persuading +on the part of Mrs. Margaret, the Laird was at length worked up to +the point of putting on his very best clothes, and going one +morning to the Tower. He had boasted that he would not appear but +as the Laird of Dymock in Dymock castle; therefore, though the +weather was warm, he assumed his only remains of handsome apparel, +viz, a cloak or mantle of blue cloth and with a hat, which was none +of the best shape, on his head, he walked to the edge of the moat, +and there stood awhile calling aloud.</p> +<p>At length Jacob appeared on the other side, and knowing the +Laird, he turned the bridge, over which Dymock walked with sullen +pride.</p> +<p>"I would see your master, where is he?" said the Laird, as soon +as he got into the court.</p> +<p>The eye of the dwarf directed that of Dymock to the window of a +small room in a higher part of the keep, and the Laird, without +waiting further permission, walked forward into the Tower.</p> +<p>It gave him pain to see all the old and well remembered objects +again; but it also gave him pleasure to find everything in its +place as he had left it--even the very dust on the mouldings and +cornices, which had remained undisturbed through the reign of Mrs. +Margaret, from the absolute impossibility of reaching the lofty +site of these depositions, was still there. Not an article of new +furniture was added, while the old furniture looked more miserable +and scanty, on account of some of the best pieces having been taken +out to fill the cottage.</p> +<p>Dymock walked through the old circular hall, the ground-floor of +the Tower, and went up the stairs to the room where Mrs. Margaret +used to sit and darn in solitary state; there was the oriel window, +which hanging over the moat, commanded a glorious view on three +sides. Dymock walked up to this window, and stood in the oriel, +endeavouring, if possible, to understand what the feelings of his +ancestors might have been, when they could look from thence, and +call all the lands their own as far as the border, without counting +many broader and fairer fields, in the southern direction.</p> +<p>Whilst waiting there in deep and melancholy mood, suddenly his +eye fell on the airy figure of Tamar standing on the opposite side +of the moat, and looking up to him; as soon as she caught his eye, +she kissed her hand and waved it to him, and well he could +comprehend the sparkling smile which accompanied this motion, +though he was too far off to see it. "And art thou not fair Maid of +Judah," said the affectionate genius, "worth to me all the broad +lands of my fathers? Could they purchase for me such love as thine? +Art thou not the little ewe lamb of the poor man?--but none shall +ever have thee from me my daughter, but one entirely worthy of +thee?"</p> +<p>Scarcely had Dymock returned the courtesy of Tamar, before +Jacob, who had run to the top of the Tower before him, came to tell +him that his master was ready to see him, and Dymock, who needed no +guide, soon found himself at the head of several more rounds of +stairs, which got narrower as they ascended,--and in front of a +narrow door well studded with knobs of iron. Within this door was a +room, which in time past had been used for security, either for +prisoners, treasures, or other purposes,--tradition said not +what,--but it still had every requisite of strength, the narrow +windows being provided with stauncheons of iron, and the walls +covered with strong wainscotting, in one side of which were sliding +pannels opening into a closet. The secret of these pannels was +known only to Dymock, and he, when he sold the castle, had revealed +it to Mr. Salmon, vaunting the great service of which this secret +closet, had been, in keeping plate and other valuables, though he +acknowledged, poor man, that he had never made any great use of +this mysterious conservatory.</p> +<p>It seems that Mr. Salmon had appropriated this same room to his +especial use; his bed, which in the French taste was covered with a +tent-like tester, occupied one nook, and the curtains, as well as +the floor-cloth, were of very rich, but tarnished and threadbare +materials. Several ponderous tomes in vellum emblazoned with gold, +were placed on a ledge of the wall near the bed; a square table, a +trunk strongly clamped with brass, and an old fashioned easy chair, +completed the furniture.</p> +<p>And now for the first time Dymock saw Mr. Salmon in his +deshabille. The old gentleman had laid aside his coat, probably +that it might be spared unnecessary wear and tear; he wore a claret +coloured waistcoat with large flaps, on which were apparent certain +tarnished remains of embroidery; his lower extremities, as far as +the knees, were encased in a texture the colour of which had once +been pepper and salt, and from the knee downwards he wore a pair of +home-manufactured, grey worsted stockings, which proved that his +housekeeper was by no means inferior to Mrs. Margaret in her +darning talents, though we must do the Laird's aunt the justice to +assert, that she never darned stockings with more than three +different colours.</p> +<p>His slippers, both sole and upper part, had evidently at one +time formed a covering of a floor, though what the original pattern +and colours had been, could not now be made out. With all this +quaintness of attire, the old man had the general appearance of +neatness and cleanliness, and had it not been for the expression of +his countenance, would have been far from ill-looking.</p> +<p>He received Dymock with a sort of quiet civility, not unlike +that which a cat assumes when she is aware of a mouse, and yet does +not perceive that the moment is come to pounce upon it. Dymock drew +near to the table, and accosted Mr. Salmon with his usual +courteous, yet careless manner, and having apologized for coming at +all on such an errand, wishing that there was no such thing as +money in the world, he presented the inconclusive and inefficient +memorandum, which the old gentleman had given him, "trusting, as he +said, that it would be no inconvenience for him to pay what he +conceived would be a mere trifle to him."</p> +<p>Mr. Salmon had, it seems, forgotten to ask Dymock to sit down; +indeed, there was no chair in the room but that occupied by his own +person; however, he took his own note from the Laird's hands, and +having examined it, he said, "But Mr. Dymock, there are +conditions,--the memorandum is conditional, and I understand +thereby, that I undertake to pay such and such moneys for such and +such articles."</p> +<p>"Well Sir, and have you not these articles in possession?" asked +Dymock; have I removed a single item, which I told you on the +honour of a gentleman should be yours on such and such conditions, +and did you not tell me that you would pay me a certain sum, on +entering into possession of these articles?"</p> +<p>"What I did say, Sir," replied the old man, "is one thing; or +rather what you choose to assert that I did say, and what is +written here is another thing."</p> +<p>"Sir!" replied Dymock, "Sir! do you give me the lie?--direct or +indirect, I will not bear it; I, a son of the house of Dymock, to +be thus bearded in my own Tower, to be told that what I choose to +assert may not be true; that I am, in fact, a deceiver,--a +sharper,--one that would prevaricate for sordid pelf!" What more +the worthy man added, our history does not say, but that he added +much cannot be disputed, and that he poured forth in high and +honourable indignation, many sentiments which would have done +credit both to the gentleman and the Christian.</p> +<br> +<p class="ctr"><img src="images/illus124.jpg" width="50%" alt= +""></p> +<br> +<p>In the meantime the old man had drawn a huge bunch of keys from +his pocket, and had deliberately opened the trunk before mentioned, +at the top of which were sundry yellow canvass bags of specie; he +next fitted a pair of spectacles on his nose, and then raising the +cover of the table, he drew out a drawer containing a pair of +scales, and began to weigh his guineas, as if to make a show of +that of which he had none,--honesty; and the Laird having spent his +indignation, was become quiet, and stood looking on, in a somewhat +indolent and slouching attitude, making no question but that his +honourable reasonings had prevailed, and that Mr. Salmon was about, +without further hesitation, to pay him the five hundred and +ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and sixpence, which were his +just due.</p> +<p>Whilst Salmon went on with this process of weighing, which he +did with perfect <i>sang-froid</i>, he began to mutter, "Five +hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and six-pence; too +much, too much by half, for worm-eaten bed-steads and chairs, +darned curtains and faded portraits; but Mr. Dymock, to show you +that I am a man of honour, I will pay you at this moment four +hundred pounds in the King's gold, and the remainder, that is, the +one hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and six-pence, +shall be put to arbitration; we will go over each item, you and I, +and a friend of each, and we will examine every article together, +and if it is decided that the things are worth the moneys, well and +good, it shall be so, and I will forthwith pay down the residue, +though not compelled so to do by bond or signature."</p> +<p>Again the hot blood of the Dymocks rose to the brow of the +Laird; by an amazing effort of prudence and presence of mind, +however, he caught up Salmon's note from the table, a motion which +made the old man start, look up, and turn yellow, and then whisking +round on his heel, with an expression of sovereign contempt, the +Laird turned out of the room, exclaiming, "I scorn to address +another word to thee, old deceiver; I shake the dust of thy floor +from my foot; I shall send those to talk with thee, whose business +it is to deal with deceivers;" and thus he quitted the chamber, +drawing the door after him with a force which made every chamber in +the Tower reverberate.</p> +<p>In descending the spiral stairs, he came to a narrow window, +which overlooked the moat, and from thence he saw Tamar lingering +on the other side thereof. He stood a moment and she called to him; +her words were these,--"Have you sped?" in reply to which, +protruding his head through the narrow aperture, he said: "No! the +man's a low and despicable deceiver," adding other terms which were +by no means measured by the rules of prudence or even courtesy; +these words were not, however, lost on Tamar, and by what she then +heard, she was induced to take a measure which had she deliberated +longer thereon, she might not have ventured upon.</p> +<p>Dymock having spent his breath and his indignation through the +window, to the disturbance of sundry bats and daws, which resided +in the roof of the Tower, was become so calm that he made the rest +of his descent in his usually tranquil and sluggish style, and even +before he had crossed the court towards the draw-bridge, he had +made up his mind to get Shanty to settle this knotty business, +feeling that the old blacksmith would have been the proper person +to have done it from the first.</p> +<p>Jacob, the ugly, ill-conditioned serving-man, was waiting to +turn the light bridge, and had Dymock looked upon him, he would +have seen that there was triumph on the features of this deformed +animal, for Jacob was in all his master's secrets; he knew that he +meant to cheat the Laird, and he being Salmon's foster brother, +already counted upon his master's riches as his own. Salmon's +constitution was failing rapidly, and Jacob, therefore, soon hoped +to gather in his golden harvest.</p> +<p>Jacob too, hated every creature about him, and his hatred being +inherited from his parents, was likely to be coeval with his life. +The cause of this hatred will be seen in the sequel; but Jacob had +no sooner turned the bridge and fixed it against the opposite bank, +than Tamar springing from behind a cluster of bushes, jumped +lightly on the boards, and the next moment she was with Dymock and +Jacob on the inner side of the moat, under the tower.</p> +<p>Jacob had started back, as if he had seen a spectre, at the +appearance of the blooming, sparkling Tamar, who came forward +without hat or other head dress, her raven tresses floating in the +breeze.</p> +<p>"Why are you here, my daughter?" said Dymock.</p> +<p>"Do not restrain me, dear father," she answered, "you have not +sped you say, only permit me to try my skill;" and then turning +suddenly to Jacob, she drew herself up, as Dymock would have said, +like a daughter of kings, and added, "show me to your master, I +have business with him; go and tell him that I am here, and that I +would see him."</p> +<p>"And who are you?" asked Jacob, not insolently as was his wont, +but as if under the impression of some kind of awe; "who shall I +say you are?"</p> +<p>Dymock was about to answer; but Tamar placed her hand playfully +on his lips, and took no other notice of the question of the +serving man, but by repeating her command.</p> +<p>"What are you doing,--what do you propose to do, Tamar?" said +the Laird. Tamar was fully aware that she had power to cause her +patron at any time, to yield to her caprices; and she now used this +power, as women know so well how to effect these things--not by +reason--or persuasion, but by those playful manoeuvrings, which +used in an evil cause have wrought the ruin of many a more +steadfast character than Dymock.</p> +<p>"I have a thought dear father," she said, "a wish, a fancy, a +mere whim, and you shall not oppose me: only remain where you are; +keep guard upon the bridge, I shall not be absent long, only tell +me how it has happened that your errand here has failed, and you," +she added, addressing Jacob, "go to your master and tell him I am +here."</p> +<p>"Why do you stand?" she added, stamping her little foot with +impatience; "why do you not obey me?" and her dark eyes flashed and +sparkled, "go and tell your master that I wish to see him."</p> +<p>"And who must I tell him that you are?" he asked.</p> +<p>"My name has been mentioned in your presence," she replied, "and +if you did not hear it the fault is your own; it will not be told +again."</p> +<p>"Are you the daughter of this gentleman?" asked Jacob.</p> +<p>"You have heard what he called me," she answered, "go and +deliver my message."</p> +<p>Whilst Jacob was gone, for go he did, at the young girl's +bidding, Dymock told Tamar all that had taken place in Mr. Salmon's +room, and Tamar confessed her wish to be permitted to speak to the +old gentleman herself. Dymock was glad that any one should +undertake this business, provided he could be relieved from it, and +he promised Tamar that he would stand by the bridge and watch for +her till her return.</p> +<p>"Then I will myself go up to the Tower and demand admission:" so +saying, she ran from Dymock, coursed rapidly through the various +courts, and swift as the wind ascended the stairs, meeting no one +in her way. She found the door of Salmon's chamber ajar, and +pushing it open, she entered, and stood before Salmon, Jacob, and +Rebecca (the old woman before mentioned as having come with Mr. +Salmon to the Tower;) these three were all deep in consultation, +Mr. Salmon being still seated where the Laird had left him.</p> +<p>As Tamar burst upon them in all the light of youth; of beauty, +and of conscious rectitude in the cause for which she came, the +three remained fixed as statues, Jacob and Rebecca in shrinking +attitudes, their eyes set fearfully upon her, their faces gathering +paleness as they gazed; whilst Salmon flushed to the brow, his eyes +distended and his mouth half open.</p> +<p>The young girl advanced near to the centre of the room and +casting a glance around her, in which might be read an expression +of contempt quite free from fear, she said, "I am come by authority +to receive the just dues of the late possessor of this place, and I +require the sum to be told into my hand, and this I require in the +name of Him who rules on high, and who will assuredly take +cognizance of any act of fraud used towards a good and honourable +man."</p> +<p>"And who? and who?" said Salmon, his teeth actually chattering +"who are you? and whence come you?"</p> +<p>"I come from the Laird of Dymock," she answered, "and in his +name I demand his rights!"</p> +<p>"You, you," said Salmon, "you are his daughter?"</p> +<p>"That remains to be told," replied Tamar, "what or who I am, is +nothing to you, nor to you, nor you," she added, looking at Jacob +and Rebecca, her eye being arrested for a minute on each, by the +singular expression which passed over their countenances. "Give me +the Laird's dues and you shall hear no more from me," she said, +"never again will I come to trouble your dulness; but, if you deny +it to me, you shall never rest from me;--no, no, I will haunt you +day and night," and getting hotter as she continued to speak, "you +shall have no rest from me, neither moat nor stone walls shall keep +me out." She was thinking at that moment of the secret passage by +which she fancied she might get into the Tower, if at this time she +did not succeed; it was a wild and girlish scheme, and whether +practicable or not, she had no time to think. As she uttered these +last words, Salmon rose slowly from his seat, pushed his chair from +behind him and stepped back, a livid paleness covering his features +whilst he exclaimed: "Are you in life? or are you a terrible vision +of my fancy? Jacob,--Rebecca,--do you see it too--Ah! you look +pale, as those who see the dead--is it not so?"</p> +<p>The terror now expressed in the three countenances, was rapidly +extending to the heart of Tamar. What can all this mean, she +thought, what is there about me that thus appals them: it is their +own guilt that renders them fearful; but why should I fear? now is +the moment for strength of heart, and may heaven grant it to me. +Having strength given her; she again demanded the just due of her +guardian.</p> +<p>"It would be better to give it," muttered Jacob; and Rebecca at +the same time screached out, "In the name of our father Abraham, +give her what she asks, master,--and let her go,--let her go to her +father,--to him that has reared her, and yet disowns her,--let her +go to him; or like the daughters of Moab she will bring a curse on +our house."</p> +<p>"Hold your tongue, you old fool," said Jacob, "what do you know +of her, and of him who was once Laird of Dymock? But, master," he +added "pay the girl what she asks, and I will go down and get back +your note, and once for all we will shut our doors upon these +people."</p> +<p>"But I would know," said Salmon, "I would know whence that girl +has those eyes, which are bright as the bride of Solomon,--as +Rachel's," he added, "they are such as hers."</p> +<p>"Go to," said Jacob, "what folly is this, tell the money to the +girl, and let her go."</p> +<p>"Jacob! Jacob!" exclaimed Salmon, "I am ruined, undone, I shall +come to beggary,--five hundred and ninty-four pounds, ten shillings +and sixpence," and the teeth of the old man began to chatter, +terror and dotage and cunning, seeming to be striving within him +for the mastery and altogether depriving him of the power of +acting.</p> +<p>Jacob muttered one or two indistinct imprecations, then +approaching the table himself, he told the gold from the bags with +the facility of a money-changer, whilst Tamar stood calmly watching +him; but the serving man finding the weight too great for her, he +exchanged much of the gold, for Bank of England notes, which he +took out of the same trunk, and then delivering the sum into +Tamar's hands; "There young woman, go," he said, "and never again +disturb my master with your presence."</p> +<p>Whilst this was going on, Salmon had kept his eyes fixed on +Tamar, and once or twice had gasped as if for breath; at length he +said, "And you are Dymock's daughter, damsel, but you are not like +your father's people,--are they not Nazarenes; tell me what was she +who bore you?"</p> +<p>"Beshrew you," exclaimed Jacob, "what is all this to you," and +roughly seizing Tamar by the arm, he drew her out of the room, +saying, "you have all you want, go down to your father, and let us +see you no more."</p> +<p>The young girl almost doubted as she descended the stairs, but +that still she was over-reached, and if so, that Dymock would not +perhaps find it out till it might be too late; she therefore, +hearing Jacob behind her, ran with all her might, and coming to the +place where Dymock stood, she called to him to follow her, and ran +directly to Shanty's shed; Dymock proceeded after her a few yards +behind, and Jacob still farther in the rear, crying "Laird, stop! +stop! Mr. Dymock! give us your release, here is a paper for you to +sign."</p> +<p>Fortunately, Tamar found Shanty alone in his shed, and taking +him into his inner room, she caused him to count and examine the +money and thus was he occupied when Dymock and Jacob came in. Tamar +went back to the outer room of the shed; but Shanty remained +within, and when he found that all was right, Mr. Dymock gave his +release. Jacob returned to the Tower, and old Shanty trotted off to +Hexham, to put the money in a place of security; nor did he fail in +his object, so that before he slept, the Laird had the satisfaction +to think that this dirty work was all completed, and that without +his having in the least soiled his own hands in the process. As to +the mystery of Tamar's having been enabled to effect what he could +not do, he soon settled that matter in his own mind, for, thought +he, "if I the Laird of Dymock could never refuse a favour asked me +by this maid of Judah, how could inferior minds be expected to +withstand her influence?"--the poor Laird not considering that the +very inferiority and coarseness of such minds as he attributed to +Salmon and Jacob, would have prevented them from feeling that +influence, which he had found so powerful. But they had felt +something, which certainly belonged to Tamar, and had yielded to +that something; nor could Tamar herself, when she reflected upon +that scene in the Tower, at all comprehend how she had excited such +emotions as she witnessed there; neither could Shanty, nor Mrs. +Margaret help her out.</p> +<p>Again for another month, all went on in its usual routine; all +was quiet at Dymock's Tower, and darning, writing, and hammering, +continued to be the order of the day with Mrs. Margaret, the Laird, +and Shanty, whilst Tamar was all gay and happy in the fulfilment of +many active duties, rising with the lark, and brushing the dew from +the frequent herbs which encompassed her dwelling. It was all +summer with her then, nor did she spoil the present by anticipation +of the severities of a wintery day, for the work of grace was going +on with her, and though her natural temper was lofty and violent, +as appeared by her manner to Jacob on the occasion lately +described, yet there was a higher principle imparted, which +rendered these out-breakings every day more rare.</p> +<p>We have said before, that Mrs. Margaret had a favourite cow, +named by her mistress, Brindle, from the colours of her coat. Tamar +had learned to milk Brindle, and this was always her first work. +One morning in the beginning of August, it happened, or rather, was +so ordered by Providence, that the Laird was constrained through +the extreme activity of his imagination, which had prevented him +from sleeping after midnight, to arise and go down to his study in +order to put these valuable suggestions on paper. It was, however, +still so dark when he descended into his study, that he was +compelled to sit down awhile in his great chair, to await the break +of day; and there that happened to him, which might as well have +happened in bed,--that is he fell asleep, and slept soundly for +some hours. All this, however, had not been done so quietly, but +that he had awakened his sister and Tamar, who slept in the +adjoining room; the consequence of which was, that Tamar got up and +dressed herself, and having ascertained the situation of the Laird, +and informed Mrs. Margaret that all was well in that quarter, she +descended again into the kitchen, and proceeded to open the +house-door. The shades of night were as yet not dispersed, although +the morning faintly dawned on the horizon; but the air was soft, +fragrant, and elastic, and as it filled the chest of Tamar, it +seemed to inspire her with that sort of feeling, which makes young +things whirl, and prance, and run, and leap, and perform all those +antics which seem to speak of naught but folly to all the sober and +discreet elders, who have forgotten that they were ever young.</p> +<p>Almost intoxicated with this feeling inspired by the morning +air, Tamar bounded from the step of the door, and ran a +considerable way, first along the bottom of the glen, and then in a +parallel line on the green side thereof; suddenly coming to a +stand, she looked for Brindle, and could not at first discern her; +a minute afterwards, however, she saw her at the higher end of the +glen, just where it opened on the moor, and where it had hitherto +been protected from the inroads of the sheep, or other creatures +feeding on the common, by a rail and gate. This rail and gate had +wanted a little repair for several weeks, the Laird having promised +to give it that repair; and he was well able so to have done, +having at one time of his life worked several months with the +village carpenter. But the good man had not fulfilled his promise, +and it had only been the evening before that Tamar had tied up the +gate with what came nearest to her hand, namely, certain tendrils +of a creeper which hung thereabouts from the rock that formed the +chasm by which the valley was approached in that direction. These +tendrils she had twisted together so as to form a band, never +supposing that Brindle, though a young and female creature, could +possibly be sufficiently capricious to leave her usual fragrant +pasturage, in order to pull and nibble this withering band. But, +however, so it was, as Tamar asserted, for there when she came up +to the place, the band was broken, the gate forced open, and +Brindle walking quietly forward through the narrow gully towards +the moor.</p> +<p>Tamar being come to the gate, stopped there, and called Brindle, +who knew Tamar as well as she knew her own calf. But the animal had +snuffed the air of liberty which came pouring down the little pass, +from the open moor, and she walked deliberately on with that air +which seemed to say,--"I hear your voice, but I am not coming."</p> +<p>Tamar was provoked; had it been a human creature who was thus +acting she might perhaps have recollected that it is not good to +give way to anger; as it was, she made no such reflection, but +exclaiming in strong terms against the creature, she began to run, +knowing that if Brindle once got on the moor it would probably cost +her many a weary step before she could get her back again. In +measure however, as she quickened her pace, so did Brindle, and in +a few minutes the truant animal had reached the open moor and began +to career away in high style, as if rejoicing in the trouble she +was giving.</p> +<p>But even on the open moor it was yet very dusk; the dawn was +hardly visible on the summits of the distant hills, and where there +were woods or valleys the blackness was unbroken.</p> +<p>Tamar stood almost in despair, when she found that the animal +had reached the open ground; but whilst watching how she could get +round her, so as to turn her back, the creature rather slackened +her pace, and began to browze the short grass among the heather. +Tamar now slowly advancing was taking a compass to come towards her +head, when she, perceiving her, turned directly round, and trotted +on straightforward to the knoll, which was at most not half a +quarter of a mile from the dingle; Tamar followed her, but could +not reach her till she had pushed her way in among the trees and +bushes, and when Tamar reached the place, she found her quietly +feeding in the green area, surrounded by the ruins. The light was +still very imperfect, and Tamar was standing half hid by the bushes +and huge blocks of granite, doubting whether she should not leave +the cow there whilst she ran back to call the Laird to assist her, +when suddenly she was startled by the sound of voices. She drew +closer behind the block, and remained perfectly still, and ceased +to think of the cow, so great was her amazement to find persons in +a place, generally deserted by the country people, under the +impression that things were there which should not be spoken of. +She then also remembered her adventure with Sappho, and what Mrs. +Margaret had told her of the concealed passage; and now +recollecting that secret passage, she was aware that she stood not +very far from the mysterious door-way.</p> +<p>All these thoughts crowded to her mind, but perfect quiet was +needful at the moment. As the disk of the sun approached the +horizon, the light was rapidly increasing; the dawn in those higher +latitudes is however long, but those who knew the signs of the +morning were aware that it would soon terminate, and that they +whose deeds feared the light had no time to lose.</p> +<p>Tamar accordingly heard low voices, speaking, as it were in the +mouth of the cavern, and then a voice of one without the cavern--of +one as in the act of departing, saying distinctly, "twelve then at +midnight!" The answer from within did not reach Tamar's ears, at +least, she heard only an indistinct murmur, but the voice without +again came clear to her, and the words were to this effect, "I will +not fail; I will take care that he shall be in no condition to +return;" the answer was again lost to Tamar, and probably some +question, but the reply to this question was clear. "It is his day +to go,--the garrison can't live without provision,--if he don't go +to-day, we must skulk another twenty-four hours,--we must not +venture with him, there will be murder!" then followed several +sentences in such broad slang, as Tamar could not comprehend, +though she thought she understood the tendency of these words, +which were mixed with oaths and terms so brutal, that her blood ran +cold in thinking of them; "Caught in his own snare,--he will sink +in his own dyke,--we have him now, pelf and all." After this, Tamar +heard parting steps, and various low rumbling noises as if +proceeding from under ground; then all was still, and no farther +sound was heard by her, but the rustling of leaves, the chirping of +birds, and the cropping of the herb by the incisors of Brindle. In +the mean time the morning broke, the light of day was restored, and +Tamar creeping gently from her hiding-place, left Brindle, whilst +she ran back to the cottage.</p> +<p>She had not gone far, before she met the labourer who was +accustomed to assist her in the care of the garden. She told him +that the cow had strayed to the knoll, and that she had seen her +enter among the trees; and he undertook, with his dog, to drive her +back to the glen, though, he said, he would on no account go up on +the knoll, but his dog would drive her down, and he would see her +home.</p> +<p>"And why not go on to the knoll?" said Tamar. The man replied, +that the place was known to be uncanny, and that not only strange +noises, but strange sights had been seen there.</p> +<p>"Lately?" asked Tamar, "have they been seen and heard +lately?"</p> +<p>The poor man could not assert that they had, and Tamar was not +going to tell him what she had seen and heard. No! this mystery was +to be left for the consideration of Dymock and Shanty, and she was +anxious to know if their thoughts agreed with hers.</p> +<p>When she arrived at the cottage, and the labourer had brought +back Brindle, and fastened the gate, and Tamar had milked her cow, +and done her usual services, she went to Dymock who was just awake, +and brought him out to breakfast with Mrs. Margaret, "You shall not +say any thing about posterity, and the benefits which you are doing +to them by recording your thoughts, this morning, sir," she said, +"but you shall hear what I have to tell you, and I will not tell +you, but in the presence of Mrs. Margaret." When Dymock heard what +Tamar had to say, he was at first quite amazed, for it seems, that +if he had ever heard of the secret passage he had forgotten it, and +Mrs. Margaret had had her reasons, for not stirring up his +recollections; but when he was made acquainted with this fact, and +had put together all that Tamar had related, he made the same +reflections which she had done, and said that he had no doubt, but +that these ruins had been the rendezvous of vagrants for years, and +that there was now a plan to rob Mr. Salmon, through the means of +the secret passage. He went further, for he had no lack of +imagination, and proceeded to conjecture, that it was through the +manoeuvreing of these very vagrants, that the old curmudgeon had +been brought to Dymock's Tower, and following the connexion, he +began to put together the appearance of the young blacksmith, the +gipsy who had left Tamar at Shanty's, her second appearance and +rapid disappearance, the coming of Mr. Salmon, his supposed riches, +his strange whim of shutting himself up, and every other +extraordinary circumstance, in a jumble even more inexplicable and +confusing, than any of his previous speculations upon these +events,--and when he had so done he put on his hat, and declared +that he must go forthwith to Shanty.</p> +<p>"To see," said Tamar, "what he can hammer out of it all, but +something must and ought to be done to put Mr. Salmon on his guard, +for otherwise, assuredly he will be robbed this night."</p> +<p>"And perhaps murdered," exclaimed Mrs. Margaret; "but go, +brother, be quick, and let us have Shanty's advice."</p> +<p>"And I," said Tamar, after the Laird was departed, "will go to +the Tower, and if possible get admittance. I will stop the going +off of Jacob."</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret expostulated with her, but all her pleadings came +to this,--that she should send a neighbour to watch for Tamar on +the side of the moat, the young girl having assured her kind +protectress, that she had nothing to fear for her, and that as the +Laird was proverbially a procrastinator, he might let half the day +pass, before he had settled what was to be done.</p> +<p>Poor Mrs. Margaret was all tremor and agitation; at the bottom +of her heart, she did not like to be left in the cottage, so near a +gang of thieves as she felt herself to be; she was not, however, a +selfish character, and after some tears, she kissed Tamar and bade +her go, watching her the whole way through the glen, as if she were +parting with her for years.</p> +<p>The light step of the young girl, soon brought her to the edge +of the moat, and she arrived, as it was ordered by Providence, at a +very convenient time, for she met Rebecca on the moor, the old +woman having just parted from Jacob, whose figure was still to be +seen jogging along the heath. The first words of Tamar were to +entreat Rebecca to call Jacob back, and when she found that she was +speaking to one who chose to lend a deaf ear, she raised her own +voice, but with equal ill success; turning then again to Rebecca, +she saw that she was hastening to the bridge, on which she followed +her, and was standing with her under the Tower, before the old +woman could recollect herself.</p> +<p>The creature looked yellow with spite, as she addressed the +young maiden with many bitter expressions, asking her what she did +there, and bidding her to be gone.</p> +<p>"I am come," replied Tamar, "to see your master, and I will see +him."</p> +<p>"It is what you never shall again," replied the dame; "he has +never been himself since he last saw you."</p> +<p>"How is that?" said Tamar; "What did I do, but press him to act +as an honourable man, but of this I am resolved," she added, "that +I will now see him again," and as she spoke, she proceeded through +the postern into the courts, still passing on towards the principal +door of the Tower, Rebecca following her, and pouring upon her no +measured abuse. Tamar, however, remarked, that the old woman +lowered her voice as they advanced nearer the house, on which she +raised her own tones, and said, "I must, and will see Mr. Salmon, +it is a matter of life and death I come upon;--life and death I +repeat, and if you or your master, have any thing on your minds or +consciences, you will do well to hear what I have to tell you; a +few hours hence and it will be too late."</p> +<p>"In that case," said Rebecca, looking at one angry and +terrified, "come with me, and I will hear you."</p> +<p>"No," exclaimed Tamar, speaking loud, "I will see your master, +my errand is to him," and at the same instant, the quick eye of the +young girl, observed the face of Salmon peering through a +loop-hole, fitted with a casement, which gave light to a closet +near the entrance. Encouraged by this she spoke again, and still +louder than before, saying, "See him I will, and from me alone, +shall he hear the news I am come to tell." The next minute she +heard the casement open, and saw the head of the old man obtruded +from thence, and she heard a querulous, broken voice, asking what +was the matter? Tamar stepped back a few paces, in order that she +might have a clearer view of the speaker, and then looking up, she +said, "I am come Mr. Salmon as a friend, and only as a friend, to +warn you of a danger which threatens you,--hear me, and you may be +saved,--but if you refuse to hear me, I tell you, that you may be a +ghastly livid corpse before the morning."</p> +<p>"Rebecca, Rebecca!" cried the old man, "Rebecca, I say, speak to +her," and his voice faltered, the accents becoming puling.</p> +<p>"Hear her not," said the dame, "she is a deceiver, she is come +to get money out of you."</p> +<p>"And heaven knows," cried Mr. Salmon, "that she is then coming +to gather fruit from a barren tree. Money, indeed! and where am I +to find money, even for her,--though she come in such a guise, as +would wring the last drop of the heart's blood?"</p> +<p>"Tush!" said Rebecca, "you are rambling and dreaming again;" but +the old man heard her not, he had left the lattice, and in a few +seconds he appeared within the passage. During this interval, +Rebecca had not been quiet, for she had seized the arm of Tamar, +and the young girl had shaken her off with some difficulty, and not +without saying, "Your unwillingness to permit me to speak to your +master, old woman, goes against you, but it shall not avail you, +speak to him I will," and the contest between Tamar and the old +woman was still proceeding, when Salmon appeared in the +passage.</p> +<p>Tamar instantly sprang to meet him, and seeing that his step was +feeble and tottering, she supported him to a chair, in a small +parlour which opened into the passage, and there, standing in the +midst of the floor between him and Rebecca, she told her errand; +nor was she interrupted until she had told all, the old man looking +as if her recital had turned him into stone, and the old woman +expressing a degree of terror, which at least cleared her in +Tamar's mind, of the guilt of being connected with the thieves of +the secret passage.</p> +<p>As soon as the young girl had finished, the old miser broke out +in the most bitter and helpless lamentations. "My jewels!--my +silver!--my moneys!" he exclaimed, "Oh my moneys!--my moneys! Tell +me, tell me damsel, what I can do? Call Jacob. Where is Jacob? Oh, +my moneys!--my jewels!"</p> +<p>"Peace, good sir! peace!" said Tamar, "we will befriend you, we +will assist you, we will protect you; the Laird is an honourable +man, he will protect you. I have known him long, long,--since I was +a baby; and he would perish before he would wrong any one, or see +another wronged."</p> +<p>"The Laird did you say," asked Salmon, "your father; he is your +father damsel is he not?"</p> +<p>"I have no other," replied Tamar, "I never knew another. Why do +you ask me?"</p> +<p>"Because," said Rebecca, "he is doting, and thinks more of other +people's concerns than his own."</p> +<p>"Has he ever lost a daughter?" asked Tamar.</p> +<p>"He lost a wife in her youth," answered the old woman, "and he +was almost in his dotage when he married her, and he fancies +because you have black hair, that you resemble her; but there is no +more likeness between you two, than there is between a hooded crow +and a raven."</p> +<p>"There is more though, there is much more though," muttered the +old man, "and Jacob saw it too, and owned that he did."</p> +<p>"The fool!" repeated Rebecca, "the fool! did I not tell him that +he was feeding your poor mind with follies; tell me, how should +this poor girl be like your wife?"</p> +<p>The old man shook his head, and answered, "Because, he that made +them both, fashioned them to be so; and Rebecca, I have been +thinking that had my daughter lived, had Jessica lived till now, +she would have been just such a one."</p> +<p>"Preserve you in your senses, master," exclaimed Rebecca, "such +as they are, they are better than none; but had your daughter +lived, she would have been as unlike this damsel as you ever were +to your bright browed wife. Why you are short and shrivelled, so +was your daughter; your features are sharp, and so were hers; she +was ever a poor pining thing, and when I laid her in her grave +beside her mother, it was a corpse to frighten one; it was well for +you, as I ever told you, that she died as soon."</p> +<p>"Yet had she lived, I might have had a thing to love," replied +the old man; and then, looking at Tamar, he added, "They tell me +you are the Laird's daughter,--is it so, fair maid?"</p> +<p>Rebecca again interrupted him. "What folly is this," she said, +raising her voice almost to a shriek, "how know you but that, +whilst you are questioning the damsel, your chests and coffers are +in the hands of robbers; your money, I tell you, is in danger: your +gold, your oft-told gold. You were not wont to be so careless of +your gold; up and look after it. You will be reduced to beg your +bread from those you hate; arise, be strong. Where are your keys? +Give them to the damsel; she is young and active; she will swiftly +remove the treasure out of the way. Can you not trust her? See you +not the fair guise in which she comes? Can you suspect a creature +who looks like your wife, like Rachel? Is not her tale well framed; +and are you, or are you not deceived by her fair seemings? She is +the daughter of a beggar, and she knows herself to be such; and +there is no doubt but that she has her ends to answer by giving +this alarm."</p> +<p>The old man had arisen; he looked hither and thither; he felt +for his keys, which were hanging at his girdle; and then, falling +back into his chair, he uttered one deep groan and became +insensible, his whole complexion turning to a livid paleness.</p> +<p>"He is dying!" exclaimed Tamar, holding him up in his chair, +from which he would have otherwise fallen. "He is dying, the poor +old man is dying; bring water, anything."</p> +<p>"He has often been in this way since he came here," replied +Rebecca. "We have thought that he has had a stroke; he is not the +man he was a few months since; and had I known how it would be, it +is strange but I would have found means to hinder his coming."</p> +<p>"If he were ever so before," said Tamar "why did you work him +up, and talk to him, as you did, about his daughter; but, fetch +some water," she added.</p> +<p>"I shall not leave him with you," answered Rebecca.</p> +<p>"Nor shall I abandon him to your tender mercies," replied Tamar, +"whilst he is in this condition. I am not his daughter, it is +true,--but he is a feeble old man, and I will befriend him if I +can."</p> +<p>The old gentleman at this moment fell forward with such weight, +that Tamar ran from behind him, and dropping down on her knees, +received his head on her shoulder, then, putting one arm round him, +she was glad to hear a long, deep sigh, the prelude of his +returning to partial consciousness; and as he opened his eyes, he +said,--"Ah, Rachel, is it you? You have been gone a long time."</p> +<p>Tamar was at that moment alone with the old man. Rebecca had +heard voices at a distance, and she had run to pull up the +bridge.</p> +<p>"I am not your Rachel, venerable Sir," she said; "but the +adopted daughter of the Laird of Dymock," and she gently laid his +head back.</p> +<p>"Then why do you come to me like her?" said the old man. "That +is wrong, it is very cruel; it is tormenting me before my time. I +have not hurt you, and I will give you more gold if you will not do +this again."</p> +<p>"You rave, Sir," said Tamar. "Who do you take me for?"</p> +<p>"A dream," he answered. "I have been dreaming again;" and he +raised himself, shook his head, rubbed his hands across his eyes, +and looked as usual; but before he could add another word, Dymock +and Shanty entered the parlour.</p> +<p>Rebecca had been too late in preventing their crossing the +bridge, and they with some difficulty made the old gentleman +understand that if he had any valuables, they must ascertain +whether the place in which they were kept was any way approachable +by the cavern. They also told him that they had taken means to have +the exterior mouth of the cavern upon the knoll, stopped up, after +the gang were in it; that they had provided a considerable force +for this purpose; and that they should bring in men within the +Tower to seize the depredators. Dymock then requested Tamar to +return to Mrs. Margaret, and remain quietly with her; and when she +was gone, the bridge was drawn up, and she went back to the +cottage.</p> +<p>She had much to tell Mrs. Margaret, and long, very long,--after +they had discussed many times the singular scene between Salmon, +Rebecca, and Tamar, and spoken of what might be the plans of Dymock +and Shanty for securing the Tower,--did the remainder of the day +appear to them. Several times they climbed to the edge of the glen, +to observe if aught was stirring; but all was still as usual. There +stood the old Tower in solemn, silent unconsciousness of what might +soon pass within it; and there was the knoll, looking as green and +fresh as it was ever wont to do.</p> +<p>At sun-set Tamar and Mrs. Margaret again visited this post of +observation, and again after they had supped at eight o'clock. They +then returned and shut their doors; they made up their fires; and +whilst Tamar plied her needle, Mrs. Margaret told many ancient +tales and dismal predictions of secret murders, corpse-candles, and +visions of second-sight, after which, as midnight approached, they +became more restless and anxious respecting their friends, +wondering what they would do, and expressing their hopes, or their +fears, in dark sentences, such as these:--"We trust no blood may be +shed!--if there should be blood!--if Dymock or poor Shanty should +be hurt!" Again, they turned to form many conjectures, and put many +things together:--"Was Mr. Salmon connected with the gipsies who +had brought Tamar to the moor?--Was it this gang that proposed +robbing him?--Was the young blacksmith called Harefoot connected +with the gipsy?--Had he persuaded Salmon to bring his treasures +there, in order that he might pilfer them?--And lastly, wherefore +was Mr. Salmon so affected both times he had seen Tamar?" Here, +indeed, was a subject for conjecture, which lasted some hours, and +beguiled the sense of anxiety. At length the morning began to dawn +on that long night, and Tamar went out to milk Brindle, whose +caprices had, in fact, the day before, been the first mover in all +this confusion. Cows must be milked, even were the master of the +family dying; and Tamar wished to have this task over before any +message should come from the Tower; and scarcely had she returned +to the cottage, when the lad who administered the wind to Shanty's +forge, came running with such haste, that, to use his own +words,--"he had no more breath left for speaking than a broken +bellows."</p> +<p>"For the love of prince Charles," he said, "can you give us any +provender, Mrs. Margaret? It is cold work watching all night, with +neither food nor drink, save one bottle of whiskey among ten of us, +and scarce a dry crust."</p> +<p>"But what have you done?" asked Tamar.</p> +<p>"We have nabbed them," replied the boy. "There were four of +them, besides an old woman who was taken in the cave, and they are +in the Tower till we can get the magistrates here, and proper hands +to see them off. They came like rats from under ground. My master +had made out where to expect them, in one of the cellars, behind +the great hogshead which used to be filled at the birth of the +heir, and emptied at his coming of age. So we were ready in the +cellar, and nabbed three of them there, and the other, who was +hindmost, and the woman, were taken as they ran out the other way; +and there they are in the strong-hold, that is, the four men, but +the woman is up above; and it is pitiful to hear how she howls and +cries, and calls for the Laird; but he fell asleep as soon as he +knew all was safe, and we have not the heart to disturb him."</p> +<p>"Well," said Mrs. Margaret, "I am most thankful that all is over +without bloodshed, and my nephew asleep. No wonder, as he has not +slept since twelve in the morning of yesterday."</p> +<p>"Excepting in his chair," said Tamar.</p> +<p>"But the provender, mistress," said the young man.</p> +<p>"Here," replied Tamar; "lift this pail on your head, and take +this loaf, and I will follow with what else I can find."</p> +<p>"Nay, Tamar," said Mrs. Margaret, "You would not go where there +is such a number of men and no woman, but that old witch +Rebecca."</p> +<p>"I am not afraid of going where my father is," replied Tamar; +"but I must see that woman. I should know her immediately. I am +convinced that she is the very person who brought me to Shanty's +shed. She hinted at some connexion with me. Oh, horrible! may it +not be possible that I may have near relations among these +miserable men who are shut up in the strong-hold of the Tower?"</p> +<p>As Tamar said these words, she burst into tears, and sunk upon +the bosom of Mrs. Margaret, who, kissing her tenderly, said, "Child +of my affections, of this be assured, that nothing shall separate +you from me. My heart, methinks, clings more and more to you; and +oh, my Tamar! that which I seem most to fear is that you should be +claimed by any one who may have a right to take you from me."</p> +<p>This was a sort of assurance at that moment requisite to the +poor girl; and such, indeed, was the interest which Mrs. Margaret +felt in ascertaining if this really were the woman who had brought +Tamar to Shanty's, that she put on her hood and cloak, and having +filled a basket from the larder, she locked the cottage door, and +went with Tamar to the Tower. It was barely light when they crossed +the moat, for the bridge was not drawn; and when they entered the +inner-court, they found many of the peasants seated in a circle, +dipping portions of the loaf in Brindle's pail.</p> +<p>"Welcome! welcome! to your own place, Mrs. Margaret Dymock!" +said one of them, "and here," he added, dipping a cup into the +pail, "I drink to the restoration of the rightful heir and the good +old family, and to your house-keeping, Mrs. Margaret; for things +are done now in another style to what they were in your time."</p> +<p>A general shout seconded this sentiment, and Mrs. Margaret, +curtseying, and then pluming herself, answered, "I thank you, my +friends, and flatter myself, that had my power been equal to my +will, no hungry person should ever have departed from Dymock's +Tower."</p> +<p>The ladies were then obliged to stand and hear the whole history +of the night's exploit,--told almost in as many ways as there were +tongues to tell it; and whilst these relations were going forward, +the sun had fairly risen above the horizon, and was gilding the +jagged battlements of the Tower.</p> +<p>Shanty was not with the party in the court, but he suddenly +appeared in the door-way of the Tower. He seemed in haste and high +excitement, and was about to call to any one who would hear him +first, when his eye fell on Tamar and Mrs. Margaret. "Oh, there you +are," he said; "I was looking for one of swift foot to bring you +here. Come up this moment; you are required to be present at the +confession of the gipsy wife, who is now willing to tell all, on +condition that we give her her liberty. Whether this can be allowed +or not, we doubt; though she did not make herself busy with the +rest, but was caught as she tried to escape by the knoll."</p> +<p>"Oh! spare her, if possible," said Tamar, "or let her escape, if +you can do nothing else to save her; I beseech you spare her!" +Shanty made no reply, but led the way to an upper room of the +Tower, which had in old time, when there were any stores to keep, +(a case which had not occurred for some years,) been occupied as a +strong-hold for groceries, and other articles of the same +description; and there, besides the prisoner, who stood sullenly +leaning against the wall, with her arms folded, sat Dymock and +Salmon,--the Laird looking all importance, his lips being +compressed and his arms folded,--and old Salmon, being little +better in appearance than a <i>caput mortuum</i>, so entirely was +the poor creature overpowered by the rapid changes in the scenes +which were enacting before him.</p> +<p>Shanty had met Rebecca running down the stairs as he was +bringing up Mrs. Margaret, and he had seized her and brought her +in, saying, "Now old lady, as we are coming to a clearance, it +might be just as well to burn out your dross among the rest; or may +be," he added, "you may perhaps answer to the lumps of lime-stone +in the furnace, not of much good in yourself, but of some service +to help the smelting of that which is better,--so come along, old +lady; my mind misgives me, that you have had more to do in making +up this queer affair than you would have it supposed." The more +Rebecca resisted, the more determined was Shanty; neither did he +quit his hold of the old woman, until the whole party had entered +the room, the door being shut, and his back set against it, where +he kept his place, like a bar of iron in a stanchion.</p> +<p>Chairs had been set for Mrs. Margaret and Tamar, and when they +were seated Dymock informed the prisoner that she might speak. +Tamar had instantly recognized her; so had Shanty; and both were +violently agitated, especially the former, when she began to speak. +We will not give her story exactly in her own words; for she used +many terms, which, from the mixture of gipsy slang and broad Border +dialect, would not be generally understood; but, being translated, +her narrative stood as follows:--</p> +<p>She was, it seems, of gipsy blood, and had no fixed habitation, +but many hiding places, one of which was the cavern or passage +connected with Dymock's Tower. Another of her haunts was Norwood +Common, which, every one knows, is near London, and there was a +sort of head-quarters of the gang, though, as was their custom, +they seldom committed depredations near their quarters. She said, +that, one day being on the common, she came in front of an old, +black and white house, (which was taken down not many years +afterwards;) in the front thereof was a garden, and a green lawn +carefully trimmed, and in that garden on a seat sat an old lady, a +tall and comely dame, she said, and she was playing with a little +child, who might have been a year and-a-half old. The gipsy, it +seems, had asked charity through the open iron railing of the +garden; and the lady had risen and approached the railing, bringing +the child with her, and putting the money into the infant's hand to +pass it through the railing. The vagrant had then observed the +dress and ornaments of the child, that she had a necklace of coral, +clasped with some sparkling stone, golden clasps in her shoes, much +rich lace about her cap, and above all, golden bracelets of curious +workmanship on her wrists.</p> +<p>"She had not," said Rebecca; "she never wore those ornaments +excepting on festival days."</p> +<p>The vagrant took no notice of this remark of Rebecca's; but +Shanty gave the old servant a piercing look, whilst all others +present, with the exception of Salmon, felt almost fainting with +impatience; but Salmon's mind seemed for the moment in such a state +of obtuseness, as disabled him from catching hold of the link which +was leading to that which was to interest him as much as, or even +more than, any one present. The gipsy went on to say, that her +cupidity was so much excited by these ornaments, that she fixed her +eye immediately on the family, and resolved, if possible, to get +possession of the child. She first inquired respecting the family, +and learned, that the house was occupied by a widow lady, who had +with her an only daughter, a married woman; that the child she had +seen belonged to that daughter; and that the husband was abroad, +and was a Jew, supposed to be immensely rich.</p> +<p>"I knew it," said Dymock, turning round and snapping his +fingers; "I hammered it out, Master Shanty, sooner than you did; I +knew the physiognomy of a daughter of Zion at the very first +glance; you, too, must never talk again of your penetration, Aunt +Margaret," and the good man actually danced about the room; but +Shanty on one side, and Aunt Margaret on the other, seized him by +an arm, and forced him again upon his chair, entreating him to be +still; whilst Salmon roused himself in his seat, shook off, or +tried to shake off his confusion, and fixed his eyes stedfastly on +the vagrant.</p> +<p>The woman then went on to describe the means by which she had +got a sort of footing in this house; how she first discovered the +back-door, and under what pretences she invited the servants to +enter into a sort of concert with her for their mutual emolument, +they bartering hare-skins, kitchen grease, cold meat, &c., for +lace, tapes, thread, ballads, and other small matters.</p> +<p>"The thieves?" cried Salmon; but no one noticed him.</p> +<p>"There were only two servants in the house," said the gipsy; +"there might be others, but I saw them not, and one of those now +stands here;" and she fixed her eagle eye on Rebecca; "the other is +Jacob."</p> +<p>"Jacob and Rebecca!" exclaimed Salmon; "it was my house, then, +that you were robbing, and my servants whom you were tampering +with."</p> +<p>"Go on," said Dymock to the vagrant, whose story then proceeded +to this effect:--</p> +<p>She had visited the offices of this house several times; when, +coming one evening by appointment of the servants, with some view +to bartering the master's goods with her own wares, she found the +family in terrible alarm, she had come as she said, just at the +crisis in which a soul had parted, and it was the soul of that same +old lady who had been playing with the infant on the +grass-plot.</p> +<p>Rebecca was wailing and groaning in the kitchen, for she needed +help to streak the corpse, and the family had lived so close and +solitary, that she knew of no one at hand to whom to apply, and she +feared that the dead would become stark and cold, before she could +find help; Jacob was not within, he had gone to London, to fetch a +Doctor of their own creed, and was not likely to be back for some +time.</p> +<p>"And why? said I," continued the vagrant, "why, said I, should I +not do for this service as well as another? for many and many had +been the corpse which I had streaked; so she accepted my offer, and +took me up to the chamber of death, and I streaked the body, and a +noble corpse it was. The dame had been a comely one, as tall as +that lady," pointing to Dymock's aunt, "and not unlike her."</p> +<p>"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Margaret, smiling, "I understand it now;" +but Dymock bade her be silent, and the vagrant went on.</p> +<p>"So," said she, "when I had streaked the body, I said to Rebecca +we must have a silver plate, for pewter will not answer the +purpose."</p> +<p>"What for?" said she.</p> +<p>"'To fill with salt,' I answered, 'and set upon the breast.'</p> +<p>"So she fetched me a silver plate half filled with salt, and I +laid it on the corpse; 'and now,' I said, 'we must have rue and +marjoram, run down and get me some;' and then I frightened her, +poor fool as she was, by telling her that by the limpness of the +hand of the corpse, I augured another death very soon in the +house."</p> +<p>"When I told this to Rebecca, the creature was so frightened, +that away she ran, leaving me in the room with the body. Swift as +thought," continued the woman, "I caught the silver dish, and was +running down stairs,--it was gloaming--when I saw a door open +opposite the chamber of death, and there, in the glimmering, I saw +the child of the family asleep in a little crib. She had on her +usual dress, with the ornaments I spoke of, and seemed to have +fallen asleep before her time, as she was not undressed. I caught +her up, asleep as she was, and the next moment I was out in the +yard, and across the court, and through the back-door, and away +over the common, and to where I knew that none would follow me, but +they of my people, who would help my flight."</p> +<p>"And the child with you," said Salmon, "did you take the +child?"</p> +<p>"More I will not tell," added the woman; "no, nor more shall any +tortures force from me, unless you bind yourselves not to prosecute +me,--unless you promise me my liberty."</p> +<p>"I have told you," said the Laird, "that if you tell every thing +you shall be free,--do you question my truth?"</p> +<p>"No, Dymock," said the vagrant; "I know you to be a man of +truth, and in that dependence you shall hear all."</p> +<p>"I stripped the child of her gaudery, I wrapped her in rags, and +I slung her on my back; but I did her no harm, and many a weary +mile I bore her, till I came to the moor; and then, because she was +a burden, and because the brand on her shoulder would assuredly +identify her, if suspicion fell on me for having stolen her, I left +her in the old blacksmith's shed, and there she found a better +father than you would have made her; for what are you but a wicked +Jew, with a heart as hard as the gold you love."</p> +<p>The fixed, and almost stone-like attitude in which the old man +stood for some moments after his understanding had admitted the +information given by the vagrant, so drew the attention of all +present, that there was not a sound heard in the room, every one +apprehending that the next moment they should see him drop down +dead, nor did any one know what was best to do next; but this +moment of terror was terminated by the old man's sinking on his +knees, clasping his hands, and lifting his eyes, and breaking out +in a short but solemn act of thanksgiving, and then turning his +head without rising, as it were looking for his daughter, she +sprang toward him, and threw her arms about him, whilst he still +knelt. It would be difficult to describe the scene which followed: +Dymock began to caper and exult, Mrs. Margaret to weep, Rebecca to +utter imprecations, and Shanty to sing and whistle, as he was wont +to do when hammering in his shed, and the vagrant to dare the old +Jewess to deny any thing which she had said. When Dymock had +assisted Tamar to lift her father into the chair, and when the old +man had wept plentifully, he was again anxious to examine the case +more closely; and a discussion followed, in which many things were +explained and cleared up on both sides, though it was found +necessary for this end, to promise Rebecca that she should be +forgiven, and no vengeance taken upon her, if she should confess +her part of the history. This discussion lasted long, and the +substance of what was then opened to Tamar and her paternal friends +was this:--Mr. Salmon was, it seems, a Polish Jew, extremely rich, +and evidently very parsimonious; he had had mercantile concerns in +London, and had there married, when nearly fifty years of age, a +beautiful young Jewess, whose mother he had greatly benefitted, +when in the most deplorable circumstances. With this lady he had +gone abroad, and it was very evident that he had been a severe and +jealous husband. She had brought him a daughter soon after her +marriage. This child was born in Poland, Rebecca was her nurse; but +Mrs. Salmon, falling into bad health immediately after the birth of +the child, she implored her husband to permit her to return to +England, and to her mother. Salmon saw that she was not happy with +him; and the strange suspicion seized him, as there was little tie +between him and his wife, that in case his own child died, she +might palm another upon him,--to prevent which, he branded the babe +with the figure of a palm branch, and sent her home, with Rebecca +and Jacob, who were both Jews, to watch her; though there was no +need, as Rachel was a simple, harmless creature. She was also in +very bad health when she reached England, and scarcely survived her +mother three days, and during that time hardly asked for her child; +and the artful servants had contrived to make their master believe +that the baby had proved a sickly deformed creature, and had died, +and been buried in the coffin with its mother.</p> +<p>Salmon was in Poland when all these horrors occurred, and there +Jacob and Rebecca found him; and having now no other object, he +devoted himself entirely to amassing riches, passing from one state +of covetousness to another, till at length he began to fall into +the dotage of avarice, which consists in laying up money for the +sake of laying up, and delighting in the view of hoards of gold and +precious things. With this madness in his mind, he turned much of +his property into jewels, and returning to England, he began to +look about for a safe place wherein he might deposit his treasures. +But, as a Jew, he could not possess land; he therefore passed the +form of naturalization, and whilst looking about for a situation in +which he might dwell in safety, his character and circumstances +became in part known to the gipsies, (who, amongst other thieves, +always have their eyes on those who are supposed to carry valuables +about them,) and the man called Harefoot, formed the plan of +getting him and his treasures into Dymock's Tower. This Harefoot +was the nephew of the woman who had brought Tamar to Shanty's; and +the old miser, being tempted by the moat, and other circumstances +of the place, fell into the snare which had been thus skillfully +laid for him. It was not till after Salmon had come to the Tower, +that the connection between Salmon and Tamar was discovered by the +old woman; and it was at this time that she contrived to meet +Tamar, and to convey the notion to her, that she was of a gipsy +family; fearing lest she should, by any means, be led to an +explanation with Salmon, before her nephew and his gang had made +sure of the treasure. Harefoot had supposed that he and his gang +were the only persons who knew of the secret passage; and the +reason why they had not made the attempt of robbing Salmon by that +passage sooner, was simply this, that Harefoot, having been +detected in some small offence in some distant county, had been +confined several weeks in a house of correction, from which he had +not been set free many days before he came to the moor, and took +upon himself the conduct of the plot for robbing Salmon.</p> +<p>What Jacob and Rebecca's plans were did not appear, or wherefore +they had not only fallen in with, but promoted the settlement of +their master in the Tower; but that their object was a selfish one +cannot be doubted.</p> +<p>Had other confirmation been wanting, after the mark on Tamar's +shoulder had been acknowledged, the vagrant added it, by producing +a clasp of one armlet, which she had retained, and carried about +with her in a leathern bag, amongst sundry other heterogeneous +relics; and she accounted for having preserved it, from the fear +she had of exposing a cypher wrought on a precious stone, which +might, she thought, lead to detection.</p> +<p>A dreadful hue and cry in the court below, soon after this +disturbed the conference. All seemed confusion and uproar; Dymock +and Shanty rushed down stairs, and aunt Margaret and Tamar ran out +to the window in the nearest passage; there they learnt that the +prisoners had broken the bars of their dungeon, swam the moat, and +fled; and the ladies could see the peasants in pursuit, scouring +over the moor, whilst those they were pursuing were scarcely +visible.</p> +<p>"I am glad of it," said Tamar, "I should rejoice in their +escape, they will trouble us no more; and oh, my dear mother, I +would not, that one sad heart, should now mix itself with our +joyful ones!"</p> +<p>Mrs. Margaret and Tamar stood at the window till they saw the +pursuers turning back to the castle, some of them not being sorry +in their hearts, at the escape of the rogues, but the most +remarkable part of the story was, that whilst they had all been +thus engaged, the woman had also made off, and, though probably not +in company with her, that most excellent and faithful creature +Rebecca, neither of whom were ever heard of again.</p> +<p>And now none were left, but those who hoped to live and die in +each other's company, but these were soon joined by the magistrates +and legal powers, who had been summoned from the nearest town, +together with people from all quarters, who flocked to hear and +learn what was going forward; and here was an opportunity not to be +lost by Dymock and Shanty, of telling the wonderful tale, and old +Salmon having been recruited with some small nourishment, +administered by Mrs. Margaret, presented his daughter to the whole +assembly, and being admonished by Shanty, placed in her hands +before them, the deed of transfer of the lands and castle of +Dymock, which in fact to him, was but a drop in the ocean of his +wealth.</p> +<p>As she received this deed, she fell on one knee, and kissed her +venerable father's hand, after which he raised and embraced her, +paternal affection and paternal pride acting like the genial warmth +of the sun, in thawing the frost of his heart and frame. She had +whispered something whilst he kissed her, and as his answer had +been favourable, she turned to Dymock, and now bending on both +knees, she placed the deed in his hands, her sweet face at the same +time being all moist with gushing tears, falling upon her adopted +father's hand.</p> +<p>Shanty in his apron and unshorn chin, explained to those about, +what had been done; for they, that is the Laird, Aunt Margaret, +Salmon, and Tamar, were standing on the elevated platform, at the +door of the Tower: and then arose such shouts and acclamations from +one and all, as made the whole castle ring again, and one voice in +particular arose above the rest, crying, "Our Laird has got his own +again, and blessing be on her who gave it him."</p> +<p>"Rather bless Him," cried Shanty, "who has thus brought order +out of confussion, to Him be the glory given in every present +happiness, as in all that we are assured of in the future."</p> +<p>As there were no means of regaling those present at that time, +and as Mr. Salmon was then too confused to do that which he ought +to have done, in rewarding those who had defended him, most of them +being poor people, they were dismissed with an invitation to a +future meeting at the Tower; two or three gentlemen, friends of +Dymock, only being left. Much consultation then ensued, whilst Mrs. +Margaret bestirred herself, to procure female assistance, and to +provide the best meal, which could be had at a short notice.</p> +<p>During this conference with the Laird and his friends, all of +whom were honourable men, Mr. Salmon was induced to consent to have +his treasures, his bonds, his notes and bills, consigned to such +keeping as was judged most safe; neither, could these matters be +settled, without a journey to town, in which Dymock accompanied +him, together with a legal friend of the latter of known +respectability. We do not enter into the particulars of this +journey, but merely say, that Mr. Salmon in the joy, and we may +add, thankfulness of recovering his child, not only permitted +himself to be advised, but whilst in town made his will, by which, +he left all he possessed to his daughter, and this being concluded +to the satisfaction of all concerned, he returned to Dymock's +Tower, laden with presents for Mrs. Margaret.</p> +<p>Neither were Shanty's services overlooked; the cottage and land +appertaining thereunto, were to be his for life, free from rent and +dues, together with twenty pounds a year, in consideration of his +never-varying kindness to Tamar.</p> +<p>The old man wept, when told of what was done for him, and +himself went the next day to Morpeth, to bring from thence a +sister, nearly as old as himself, who was living there in hard +service.</p> +<p>And here the memorandum from which this story is derived, +becomes less particular in the details.</p> +<p>It speaks of Mr. Salmon after the various exertions he had made, +(these exertions having been as it was supposed succeeded by a +stroke,) sinking almost immediately into a state nearly childish, +during which, however, it was a very great delight to Tamar, to +perceive in the very midst of this intellectual ruin an awakening +to things spiritual; so that it would seem, as if the things hidden +from him in the days of human prudence and wisdom, were now made +manifest to him, in the period of almost second childishness.</p> +<p>Tamar had been enabled to imbibe the purest Christian +principles, in her early youth, for which, humanly speaking, she +owed much to Shanty, and she now with the assistance of the kind +old man, laboured incessantly, to bring her father to the Messiah +of the Christians, as the only hope and rest of his soul; and she +had reason before her father died, to hope that her labours had not +been without fruit. As to worldly pelf, she had it in rich +abundance, but she could have little personal enjoyment of it +whilst shut up with her aged father in Dymock's Tower, yet she had +exquisite delight in humouring therewith, the fancies of Dymock, +and administering to the more sober and benevolent plans of Mrs. +Margaret; for this lady's principal delight was, to assist the +needy, and her only earthly or worldly caprice, that of restoring +the Tower and its environs, and furnishing, to what she conceived +had been its state, in the, perhaps, imaginary days of the +exaltation of the Dymocks.</p> +<p>A splendid feast in the halls of Dymock's Tower, is also spoken +of, as having taken place, soon after the return of the Laird from +London, from which, not a creature dwelling on the moor was absent, +when Salmon directed Tamar to reward those persons who had assisted +him in his greatest need, and when Mrs. Margaret added numbers of +coats and garments to those that were destitute. Dymock in his joy +of heart, caused the plough to be brought forward, and fixed upon a +table in the hall, for every one to see that day, Mrs. Margaret +having been obliged to acknowledge, that it was this same plough, +which had turned up the vein of gold, in which all present were +rejoicing.</p> +<p>With the notice of this feast the history terminates, and here +the writer concludes with a single sentiment,--that although a work +of kindness wrought in the fear of God, as imparted by the Lord, +the Spirit--seldom produces such a manifest reward, as it did in +the case of Mrs. Margaret and her nephew, for the race is not +always to the swift, nor the burthen to the strong, yet, even under +this present imperfect dispensation, there is a peace above all +price, accompanying every act, which draws a creature out of self, +to administer to the necessities of others, whenever these acts are +performed in faith, and with a continual reference to the pleasure +of God, and without view to heaping up merits, which is a principle +entirely adverse to anything like a correct knowledge of salvation +by the Lord the Saviour.</p> +<br> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shanty the Blacksmith; A Tale of Other +Times, by Mrs. Sherwood [AKA: Mrs. Mary Martha Sherwood] + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHANTY THE BLACKSMITH *** + +***** This file should be named 12315-h.htm or 12315-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/3/1/12315/ + +Produced by Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + +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. 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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: Shanty the Blacksmith; A Tale of Other Times + +Author: Mrs. Sherwood [AKA: Mrs. Mary Martha Sherwood] + +Release Date: May 10, 2004 [EBook #12315] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHANTY THE BLACKSMITH *** + + + + +Produced by Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + + + + +SHANTY + +THE + +BLACKSMITH; + +A TALE OF OTHER TIMES + +BY MRS. SHERWOOD. + + +1852. + + + +SHANTY + +THE + +BLACKSMITH. + + * * * * * + +It was during the last century, and before the spirit of revolution had +effected any change in the manners of our forefathers, that the events +took place, which are about to be recorded in this little volume. + +At that period there existed in the wild border country, which lies +between England and Scotland, an ancient castle, of which only one +tower, a few chambers in the main building, certain offices enclosed in +high buttressed walls, and sundry out-houses hanging as it were on +those walls, yet remained. This castle had once been encircled by a moat +which had been suffered to dry itself up, though still the little stream +which used to fill it when the dams were in repair, murmured and +meandered at the bottom of the hollow, and fed the roots of many a water +plant and many a tree whose nature delights in dank and swampy soils. +The verdure, however, which encircled this ancient edifice, added +greatly to the beauty, when seen over the extent of waste and wild in +which it stood. There can be no doubt but that the ancient possessors of +this castle, which, from the single remaining barrier, and the name of +the family, was called Dymock's tower, had been no other than strong and +dangerous free-booters, living on the plunder of the neighbouring +kingdom of Scotland. Every one knows that a vast extent of land, waste +or at best but rudely cultivated, had once belonged to the Lords of +Dymock; but within a few years this family had fallen from affluence, +and were at length so much reduced, that the present possessor could +hardly support himself in any thing like the state in which he deemed it +necessary for his father's son to live. Mr. Dymock was nearly thirty +years of age, at the time our history commences; he had been brought up +by an indolent father, and an aunt in whom no great trusts had been +vested, until he entered his teens, at which time he was sent to +Edinburgh to attend the classes in the college; and there, being a quick +and clever young man, though without any foundation of early discipline, +or good teaching, and without much plain judgment or common sense, he +distinguished himself as a sort of genius. + +One of the most common defects in the minds of those who are not early +subjected to regular discipline is, that they have no perseverance; they +begin one thing, and another thing, but never carry anything on to any +purpose, and this was exactly the case with Mr. Dymock. Whilst he was in +Edinburgh he had thought that he would become an author; some +injudicious persons told him that he might succeed in that way, and he +began several poems, and two plays, and he wrote parts of several +treatises on Mathematics, and Physics, and Natural History; the very +titles of these works sound clever, but they were never finished. Dymock +was nearly thirty when his father died; and when he came to reside in +the tower, his mind turned altogether to a new object, and that was +cultivating the ground, and the wild commons and wastes all around him: +and if he had set to work in a rational way he might have done +something, but before he began the work he must needs invent a plough, +which was to do wonderful things, and, accordingly, he set to work, not +only to invent this plough, but to make it himself, or rather to put it +together himself, with the help of a carpenter and blacksmith in the +neighbourhood. But before we introduce the old blacksmith, who is a very +principal person in our story, we must describe the way in which Mr. +Dymock lived in his tower. + +His aunt, Mrs. Margaret Dymock, was his housekeeper, and so careful had +she always been, for she had kept house for her brother, the late laird, +that the neighbours said she had half-starved herself, in order to keep +up some little show of old hospitality. In truth, the poor lady was +marvellously thin, and as sallow and gaunt as she was thin. Some old +lady who had stood for her at the font, in the reign of Charles the +Second, had, at her death, left her all her clothes, and these had been +sent to Dymock's tower in several large chests. Mrs. Margaret was +accordingly provided for, for life, with the addition of a little +homespun linen, and stockings of her own knitting; but, as she held it +a mighty piece of extravagance to alter a handsome dress, she wore her +godmother's clothes in the fashion in which she found them, and prided +herself not a little in having silks for every season of the year. Large +hoops were worn in those days, and long ruffles, and sacks short and +long, and stomachers, and hoods, and sundry other conceits, now never +thought of; but Mrs. Margaret thought that all these things had a +genteel appearance, and showed that those who bought them and those who +inherited them had not come of nothing. + +Mrs. Margaret, however, never put any of these fine things on, till she +had performed her household duties, looked into every hole and corner in +the offices, overlooked the stores, visited the larder, scullery and +hen-yard, weighed what her three maids had spun the day before, skimmed +the milk with her own hands, gathered up the candle ends, and cut the +cabbage for the brose; all which being done, and the servants' dinner +seen to, and it must be confessed, it was seldom that they had a very +sumptuous regale, she dressed herself as a lady should be dressed, and +sate down to her darning, which was her principal work, in the oval +window in the chief room in the castle. Darning, we say, was her +principal work, because there was scarcely an article in the house which +she did not darn occasionally, from the floor-cloth to her own best +laces, and, as money was seldom forthcoming for renewing any of the +finer articles in the house capable of being darned, no one can say what +would have been the consequence, if Mrs. Margaret had been divested of +this darning propensity. + +How the old lady subsisted herself is hardly known, for it often +happened that the dinner she contrived for her nephew, was barely +sufficient for him, and although on these occasions she always managed +to seem to be eating, yet had Mr. Dymock had his eyes about him, he +could not but have seen that she must often have risen from the table, +after having known little more than the odour of the viands. Nothing, +however, which has been said of Mrs. Margaret Dymock goes against that +which might be said with truth, that there was a fund of kindness in the +heart of the venerable spinster, though it was sometimes choked up and +counteracted by her desire to make a greater appearance than the family +means would allow. + +Besides the three maids in the kitchen, there were a man and a boy +without doors, two or three lean cows, a flock of sheep which were half +starved on the moor, a great dog, and sundry pigs and fowls living at +large about the tower; and, to crown our description, it must be added, +that all the domestic arrangements which were beyond the sphere of Mrs. +Margaret were as ill managed as those within her sphere were capitally +well conducted; however, as Mr. Dymock said to her one day when she +ventured to expostulate with him on this subject, "Only have a little +patience, my good aunt, when I have completed what I am now about, for +instance my plough, you will see how I will arrange every thing. I +cannot suffer these petty attentions and petty reforms to occupy me just +now; what I intend to do will be done in a large way; I mean not only to +repair but to restore the castle, to throw the whole of my lands to the +north into a sheep-walk, to plant the higher points, and to convert the +south lands into arable. But my first object is the plough, and that +must be attended to, before everything else; the wood-work is all +complete, but a little alteration must be made in the coulter, and after +all, I apprehend I must do it myself, as old Shanty is as stupid as his +own hammer." + +Mrs. Margaret hinted that every man had not the ingenuity of her +nephew; adding, however, that old Shanty was as worthy and God-fearing a +man as any on the moor. + +"I do not deny it," replied Mr. Dymock, "but what has worth and +God-fearing to do with my plough. I have been trying in vain to make him +understand what I want done, and am come to the resolution of going +myself, taking off my coat, and working with him; I should make a better +blacksmith in a week, than he has in forty years." + +Mrs. Margaret lifted up her hands and eyes, and then fetching a deep +sigh, "That I should have lived to hear that," she exclaimed; "the last +representative of the house of Dymock proposing to work at a +blacksmith's forge!" + +"And why not? Mrs. Margaret," replied the nephew, "does a gentleman +lower himself when he works merely for recreation, and not for sordid +pelf; you have heard of Peter the Great?" + +"Bless me, nephew," replied the spinster, bridling, "where do you think +my ears have been all my life, if I never heard of Peter the Great!" + +"You know then, that he worked with his own hands at a blacksmith's +forge," returned the nephew. + +"I know no such thing," said Mrs. Margaret, "and if the Romans say so, I +account it only another of their many lies; and I wonder they are not +ashamed to invent tales so derogotary to the honour of him they call +their head!" + +"Pshaw!" said the laird; "I am not speaking of the Pope, but of the Czar +of all the Russias!" + +"Well! well! Dymock;" returned Mrs. Margaret, "I only wish that I could +persuade you from committing this derogation. However, if you must needs +work with Shanty, let me beg you to put on one of your old shirts; for +the sparks will be sure to fly, and there will be no end of darning the +small burns." + +"Be assured aunt," said Mr. Dymock, "that I shall do nothing by halves; +if I work with Shanty, I shall put on a leathern apron, and tuck up +my sleeves." + +"All this does not suit my notions," replied Mrs. Margaret: but her +nephew had risen to leave her, and there was an end to the argument. + +As Mr. Dymock had told his aunt; so he did: he went to Shanty's forge, +he dressed himself like the old master himself, and set fairly to work, +to learn the mysteries of the trade; mysteries which, however, as far as +Shanty knew them, were not very deep. + +[Illustration: He went to Shantys Forge _See Page 14_] + +There has not often been a more ill-arranged and unsettled mind than +that of Mr. Dymock; his delight was in anything new, and for a few days +he would pursue this novelty with such eagerness, that during the time +he seemed to forget every thing else. It was a delicate job, and yet one +requiring strength which was needed for the plough. Shanty had told +the laird at once, that it was beyond his own skill or strength, seeing +that he was old and feeble, "and as to your doing it, sir," he said, +"who cannot yet shape a horse-shoe! you must serve longer than a week, +before you get that much knowledge of the craft; there is no royal way +to learning, and even for the making of a horse-shoe a 'prenticeship +must be served, and I mistake me very much if you don't tire before +seven days service are over, let alone as many years." + +But, Mr. Dymock had as yet served only two days, when one evening a +young man, a dark, athletic, bold-looking youth, entered the +blacksmith's shed. It was an evening in autumn, and the shed was far +from any house; Dymock's tower was the nearest, and the sun was already +so low that the old keep with its many mouldering walls, and +out-buildings, was seen from the shed, standing in high relief against +the golden sky. As the young man entered, looking boldly about him, +Shanty asked him what he wanted. + +"I want a horse-shoe," he replied. + +"A horse-shoe!" returned the blacksmith, "and where's your horse?" + +"I has no other horse than Adam's mare," he replied; "I rides no other, +but I want a horse-shoe." + +"You are a pretty fellow," returned Shanty "to want a horse-shoe, and to +have never a horse to wear him." + +"Did you never hear of no other use for a horse-shoe, besides protecting +a horse's hoof?" replied the youth. + +"I have," returned the blacksmith, "I have heard fools say, that neither +witch nor warlock can cross a threshold that has a horse-shoe nailed +over it. But mind I tell you, it must be a cast shoe." + +"Well" said the young man, "suppose that I am plagued with one of them +witches; and suppose that I should have bethought me of the horse-shoe, +what would you think of me then? What may that be which you are now +shaping; why may it not serve my turn as well as another? so let me have +it, and you shall have its worth down on the nail." + +"Did not I tell you," said Shanty, sullenly, "that it must be a cast +shoe that must keep off a witch; every fool allows that." + +"Well," said the young man, looking about him, "have you never a cast +shoe?" + +"No," replied Shanty, "I have none here fit for your turn." + +"I am not particular," returned the young man, "about the shoe being an +old one; there is as much virtue, to my thinking, in a new one; so let +me have that you are about." + +"You shall have none of my handiworks, I tell you," said Shanty, +decidedly, "for none of your heathenish fancies and follies. The time +was when I lent myself to these sort of follies, but, thank my God, I +have learned to cast away, aye, and to condemn such degrading thoughts +as these. Believe me, young man, that if God is on your side, neither +witch nor warlock, or worse than either, could ever hurt you." + +"Well," said the young man, "if you will not make me one, will you let +me make one for myself?" + +"Are you a smith?" said Mr. Dymock, before Shanty could reply. + +"Am I a smith?" answered the young man; "I promise you, I should think +little of myself if I was not as much above him, (pointing to Shanty, +who was hammering at his horse-shoe, with his back towards him,) as the +sun is brighter than the stars." + +Shanty took no notice of this piece of insolence; but Mr. Dymock having +asked the stranger a few more questions, proceeded to show him the job +he wanted done to his plough, and from one thing to another, the young +man undertook to accomplish it in a few hours, if the master of the shed +would permit. Shanty did by no means seem pleased, and yet could not +refuse to oblige Mr. Dymock; he, however, remarked, that if the coulter +was destroyed, it was no odds to him. The young stranger, however, soon +made it appear that he was no mean hand at the work of a blacksmith; he +had not only strength, but skill and ingenuity, and in a short time had +so deeply engaged the attention of Dymock by his suggestions of +improvements to this same plough, that the young laird saw none but him, +and allowed the evening to close in, and the darkness of night to cover +the heath, whilst still engaged in talking to the stranger, and +hearkening to his ingenious comments on the machinery of the plough. + +In the meantime, although the sun had set in golden glory, dark and +dense clouds had covered the heavens, the wind had risen and whistled +dismally over the moor, and a shower of mingled rain and sleet blew into +the shed, one side of which was open to the air. It was in the midst of +this shower, that a tall gaunt female, covered with a ragged cloak, and +having one child slung on her back, and another much older in her hand, +presented herself at the door of the shed, and speaking in a broad +northern dialect, asked permission to shelter herself and her bairns, +for a little space in the corner of the hut. Neither Dymock nor the +young man paid her any regard, or seemed to see her, but Shanty made her +welcome, and pointing to a bench which was within the glow of the fire +of the forge, though out of harm's way of sparks or strokes, the woman +came in, and having with the expertness of long use, slung the child +from her back into her arms, she sate down, laying the little one across +her knee, whilst the eldest of the two children dropped on the bare +earth with which the shed was floored, and began nibbling a huge crust +which the mother put into his hand. + +In the meantime, work went on as before the woman had come in, nor was a +word spoken, till Shanty, looking up from the horse-shoe which he was +hammering, remarked in his own mind, that he wondered that the little +one stretched on the woman's knee, was not awakened and frightened by +the noise of the forge; but there the creature lies, he thought, as if +it had neither sense or hearing. When this strange thought suggested +itself, the old man dropped his hammer, and fixing his eye on the +infant, he seemed to ask himself these questions,--What, if the child +should be dead? would a living child, drop as that did from the back of +the woman on her lap, like a lump of clay, nor move, nor utter a moan, +when thrown across its mother's lap? Urged then by anxiety, he left his +anvil, approached the woman, and stood awhile gazing at the child, +though unable for some minutes to satisfy himself, or to put away the +horrible fear that he might perchance be looking at a body without life. +Mr. Dymock was acting the part of bellows-blower, in order to assist +some work which the young stranger was carrying on in the fire. The lad +who generally performed this service for Shanty, had got permission for +a few hours, to visit his mother over the Border, Mr. Dymock having told +him in all kindness that he would blow for him if needs must. But the +fitful light--the alternate glow and comparative darkness which +accompanied and kept time with the motion of the bellows, made it almost +impossible for the old man to satisfy himself concerning his horrible +imagination. He saw that the infant who lay so still on the woman's lap, +was as much as two years of age; that, like the woman, it had dark hair, +and that its complexion was olive; and thus he was put out in his first +notion, that the child might perchance be a stolen one. But the bellows +had filled and exhausted themselves many times before his mind was set +at rest with regard to his first fearful thought; at length, however, +the child moved its arm, and uttered a low moan, though without rousing +itself from its sleep; on which Shanty, being satisfied, turned back to +his block and his horse-shoe, and another half-hour or more passed, +during which the tempest subsided, the clouds broke and began to +disappear, and the stars to come forth one by one, pointing out the +direction of the heavens to the experienced eye of the night-walking +traveller. The woman observing this, arose, and taking the sleeping babe +in her arms whilst the other child clung to her cloak, she thanked the +blacksmith for the convenience of the shelter which he had given her; +when he, with the courtesy of one who, though poor and lowly, had been +admitted to high conference with his Redeemer, invited her to stay +longer--all night if she pleased,--regretting only that he had nothing +to offer her but a bed of straw, and a sup of sowens for the +little ones. + +"For which," she replied, "I thank you; what can any one give more than +what he has. But time is precious to me, this night I must be over the +Border; mind me, however, I shall remember you, and mayhap may call +again." So saying, she passed out of the shed, almost as much +disregarded by Dymock in her going out, as she had been in coming in. + +And now, for another hour, the strokes of the hammers of old Shanty and +the young stranger might have been heard far over the moor in the +stillness of the night, for the wind had entirely died away, and the +fitful glare of the forge, still shone as a beacon over the heath. At +length, however, the job which the stranger had undertaken was finished, +and Dymock, having given him a silver piece, the only one in his pocket, +the young man took his leave, saying as he went out, and whilst he +tossed the silver in his hand,--"Well, if I have not got what I came +for, I have got that which is as good, and in return for your civility, +old gentleman," he added, addressing Shanty, "I give you a piece of +advice; nail the horse-shoe, which you would not spare to me, over your +own door, for I tell you, that you are in no small danger of being +over-reached by the very warlock, who has haunted my steps for many +a day." + +So saying, he went gaily, and with quick step, out of the shed, and his +figure soon disappeared in a ravine or hollow of the moor. + +In the mean time, Dymock and Shanty stood at the door. The former being +full of excitement, respecting the wonderful sagacity of the singular +stranger, and the other being impatient to see the master off, as he +wanted to shut up his shed, and to retire to the little chamber within, +which served him for sleeping apartment, kitchen, and store-room, not to +say study, for our worthy Shanty never slept without studying the Holy +Word of God. + +But whilst these two were standing, as we said, at the door, suddenly, a +low moan reached their ears, as coming from their left, where the roof +of the shed being lengthened out, afforded shelter for any carts, or +even, on occasion, waggons, which might be brought there, for such +repairs as Shanty could give them. At that time, there was only one +single cart in the shed, and the cry seemed to come from the direction +of this cart. Dymock and Shanty were both startled at the cry, and +stood in silence for a minute or more, to ascertain if it were repeated. +Another low moan presently ensued, and then a full outcry, as of a +terrified child. Dymock and Shanty looked at each other, and Shanty +said, "It is the beggar woman. She is still skulking about, I will be +bound; hark!" he added, "listen! she will be stilling the child, she's +got under the cart." But the child continued to screech, and there was +neither threat nor blandishment used to still the cries. + +Dymock seemed to be so thoroughly astounded, that he could not stir, but +Shanty going in, presently returned with a lighted lanthorn, and an iron +crow-bar in his hand; "and now," he said, "Mr. Dymock, we shall see to +this noise," and they both turned into the out-building, expecting to +have to encounter the tall beggar, and with her perhaps, a gang of +vagrants. They, however, saw only the infant of two years' old, who had +lain like a thing dead on the woman's lap, though not dead, as Shanty +had feared, but stupified with hollands, the very breath of the baby +smelling of the spirit when Dymock lifted it out of the cart and brought +it into the interior shed. Shanty did not return, till he had +investigated every hole and corner of his domain, with the crow-bar in +one hand, and the lanthorn in the other. + +The baby had ceased to cry, when brought into the shed, and feeling +itself in the arms of a fellow-creature, had yielded to the influence of +the liquor, and had fallen again into a dead sleep, dropping back on the +bosom of Mr. Dymock. + +"They are all off," said Shanty, as he entered the house, "and have left +us this present. We have had need, as that young rogue said, of the +horse-shoe over our door. We have been over-reached for once; that +little one is stolen goods, be sure, Mr. Dymock,--some great man's +child for aught we know,--the wicked woman will not call again very +soon, as she promised, and what are we to do with the child? Had my poor +wife been living, it might have done, but she is better off! What can I +do with it?" + +"I must take it up to the Tower," said Mr. Dymock, "and see if my aunt +Margaret will take to it, and if she will not, why, then there are +charity schools, and poor-houses to be had recourse to; yet I don't fear +her kind heart." + +"Nor I neither, Mr. Dymock," said Shanty, and the old man drew near to +the child, and holding up his lanthorn to the sleeping baby, he said, +"What like is it? Gipsy, or Jew? one or the other; those features, if +they were washed, might not disgrace Sarah or Rachel." + +"The mouth and the form of the face are Grecian," said Dymock, "but the +bust is oriental." + +Shanty looked hard at his patron, as trying to understand what he meant +by _oriental_ and _Grecian;_ and then repeated his question, "Gipsy or +Jew, Mr. Dymock? for I am sure the little creature is not of our +northern breed." + +"We shall see by and bye," said Dymock, "the question is, what is to be +done now? I am afraid that aunt Margaret will look prim and stately if I +carry the little one up to the Tower; however, I see not what else to +do. Who is afraid? But put your fire out, Shanty, and come with us. You +shall carry the bantling, and I will take the lanthorn. Mayhap, aunt +Margaret may think this arrangement the more genteel of the two. So +let it be." + +And it was so; old Shanty turned into child-keeper, and the Laird into +lanthorn-carrier, and the party directed their steps towards the Tower, +and much talk had they by the way. + +Now, as we have said before, there was a fund of kindness in the heart +of Mrs. Margaret Dymock, which kindness is often more consistent than +some people suppose, with attention to economy, especially when that +economy is needful; and moreover, she had lately lost a favourite cat, +which had been, as she said, quite a daughter to her. Therefore the +place of pet happened to be vacant just at that time, which was much in +favour of the forlorn child's interests. Dymock had taken Shanty with +him into the parlour, in which Mrs. Margaret sat at her darning; and he +had suggested to the old man, that he might just as well tell the story +himself for his aunt's information, and account for the presence of the +infant; and, in his own words, Mrs. Margaret took all very well, and +even did not hint that if her nephew had been in his own parlour, +instead of being in a place where vagrants were sheltered, he would at +all events have been out of this scrape. But the little one had awoke, +and had begun to weep, and the old lady's heart was touched, so she +called one of the maids, and told her to feed the babe and put it to +sleep; after which, having ordered that Shanty should be regaled with +the bladebone of a shoulder of mutton, she withdrew to her room to think +what was next to be done. + +The result of Mrs. Margaret's thoughts were, that come what might, the +child must be taken care of for a few days, and must be washed and +clothed; and, as the worthy lady had ever had the habit of laying by, in +certain chests and boxes piled on each other in her large bed-room, all +the old garments of the family not judged fitting for the wear of +cottagers, she had nothing more to do than, by the removal of +half-a-dozen trunks, to get at a deal box, which contained the frocks, +and robes, and other garments which her nephew had discarded when he put +on jacket and trousers. From these she selected one of the smallest +suits, and they might have been seen airing at the kitchen fire by six +o'clock that morning. Hot water and soap were next put in requisition, +and as soon as the baby awoke, she was submitted to such an operation by +the kitchen fire, as it would appear she had not experienced for a long +time. The little creature was terribly frightened when soused in the +water, and screeched in a pitiful manner; the tears running from her +eyes, and the whole of her small person being in a violent tremor. The +maids, however, made a thorough job of it, and scoured the foundling +from head to foot. At length Mrs. Margaret, who sat by, directing the +storm, with a sheet across her lap and towels in her hand, pronounced +the ablution as being complete, and the babe was lifted from the tub, +held a moment to drip, and then set on the lap of the lady, and now the +babe seemed to find instant relief. The little creature was no sooner +placed on Mrs. Margaret's knee, than, by some strange and unknown +association, she seemed to think that she had found an old +friend,--some faintly remembered nurse or mother,--whom she had met +again in Mrs. Dymock, and quivering with delight, she sprang on her feet +on the lady's lap, and grasped her neck in her arms, pressing her little +ruby lips upon her cheek; and on one of the maids approaching again with +some of her clothes, she strained her arms more closely round Mrs. +Margaret, and perfectly danced on her lap with terror lest she should be +taken away from her. + +"Lord help the innocent babe!" said the old lady, "what is come to her?" +and Mrs. Margaret's eyes were full of tears; but the good lady then +soothed and carressed the babe, and instructed her to sit down on her +knees, whilst she directed the servant to assist in dressing her. But +no, no, it would not do; no one was to touch her but Mrs. Margaret; and +the old lady, drawing herself up, at length said,--"Well, Janet, we must +give way, I suppose; it seems that I am to be the favourite; there is +something in my physiognomy which has taken the child's fancy; come, +hand me the clothes, I must try my skill in dressing this capricious +little dame." Mrs. Margaret was evidently pleased by the poor orphan's +preference, and whilst she was dressing the infant, there was time to +discover that the little child was a perfect beauty in her way; the form +of her face being oval, the features exquisite, the eyes soft, yet +sparkling, and the lips delicately formed. The hair, of raven black, was +clustered and curling, and the head set on the shoulders in a way worthy +of the daughters of kings; but the servants pointed out on the arm of +the infant, a peculiar mark which was not natural, but which had +evidently been burnt therein. One said it was a fan, and another a +feather; but Mrs. Margaret augured vast things from it, pronouncing that +the child surely belonged to some great person, and that no one could +say what might be the consequence of kindness shown to such a child. + +As soon as Mr. Dymock came down into the breakfast-room, Mrs. Margaret +came swimming in with the child in her arms, exclaiming, "A pretty piece +of work you have done for me, nephew! I am under a fine servitude now;" +and she primmed up her mouth, but her eye laughed,--"little Miss here, +chooses to be waited on by me, and me only; and here I am, with nothing +to do but to attend on my lady." + +"Little Miss," said Mr. Dymock, "what little Miss? who have you got +there?" + +"Neither more nor less," replied Mrs. Margaret, "than your foundling." + +"Impossible!" said Mr. Dymock: "Why, what have you done to her?" + +"Merely washed, combed, and dressed her," said Mrs. Margaret; "give me +credit, nephew, and tell me what I have brought out by my diligence." + +"You have brought out a brilliant from an unfinished stone," exclaimed +Mr. Dymock; "that is a beautiful child; I shall have extreme delight in +making as much of that fine mind, as you have done with that beautiful +exterior." + +"Then you do not think of putting her in a foundling hospital or a +workhouse, nephew, as you proposed last night?" said Mrs. Margaret, +with a smile. + +"It would be a folly," replied the nephew, "to degrade such a creature +as that;" and he attempted to kiss the baby; but, swift as thought, she +had turned her face away, and was clinging to Mrs. Margaret. + +The old lady primmed up again with much complacency, "Did I not tell +you, nephew, how it was," she said, "nothing will do but Aunt Margaret. +Well, I suppose I must give her my poor pussy's corner in my bed. But +now her back is turned to you, Dymock, observe the singular mark on her +shoulder, and tell me what it is?" + +Mr. Dymock saw this mark with amazement:--He saw that it was no natural +mark; and at length, though not till after he had examined it many +times, he made it out, or fancied he had done so, to be a branch of a +palm tree. From the first he had made up his mind that this was a Jewish +child; and, following the idea of the palm-tree, and tracing the word in +a Hebrew lexicon,--for he was a Hebrew scholar, though not a deep +one,--he found that Tamar was the Hebrew for a palm tree. "And Tamar it +shall be," he said; "this maid of Judah, this daughter of Zion shall be +called Tamar;" and he carried his point, although Mrs. Margaret made +many objections, saying it was not a Christian name, and therefore not +proper for a child who was to be brought up as a Christian. However, as +Mr. Dymock had given up his whim of learning the business of a smith +since the adventure which has been so fully related, and had forgotten +the proposed experiment of turning up the whole moor round the Tower +with his new-fangled plough,--that plough having ceased to be an object +of desire to him as soon as it was completed,--she thought it best to +give way to this whim of giving the child so strange a name, and +actually stood herself at the font, as principal sponsor for +little Tamar. + +Thus, the orphan was provided with a happy home; nor, as Mrs. Margaret +said, did she ever miss the child's little bite and sup. After a few +days, the babe would condescend to leave Mrs. Margaret, when required to +go to the servants. She would even, when directed so to do, steal across +the floor, and accept a seat on Mr. Dymock's knee, and gradually she got +very fond of him. Nor was her affection unrequited; he had formed a +theory about her,--and it was not a selfish theory, for he never +expected to gain anything by her,--but he believed that she was of noble +but unfortunate Jewish parentage, and he built this theory on the +singular grace and beauty of her person. At all events, he never doubted +but that she was a Jewess; and he talked of it, and thought of it, till +he was entirely convinced that it was so, and had convinced his aunt +also, and established the persuasion in the minds of most persons +about him. + +If Mr. Dymock was not a genius, he had all the weaknesses commonly +attributed to genius, and, in consequence, was as useless a being as +ever cumbered the ground; yet, he was generally loved, and no one loved +him more than Tamar did, after she had got over her first baby fear of +him. But Mrs. Margaret, who had no pretensions to genius, was the real +benefactor of this child, and as far as the lady was concerned in +bringing her up, performed the part of a truly affectionate mother. Her +first effort was made to bring the will of the child, which was a lofty +one, under subjection to her own; and the next, to give her habits of +industry and self-denial. She told her that whatever she might hear +respecting her supposed parentage, she was merely a child without +pretentions, and protected from motives of love, and of love only; that +her protectors were poor, and ever likely to remain so, and that what +God required of her, was that when able, she should assist them as they +had assisted her in helpless infancy. As to religion, Mrs. Margaret +taught her what she herself knew and believed; but her views were dark +and incomplete, she saw not half as much of the great mystery of +salvation, as had been revealed to Shanty in his hut; yet, the desire of +doing right in the sight of God, had been imparted to her, and this +desire was a fixed principle, and did not appear to be affected by her +want of knowledge. As to forms, Mrs. Margaret had her own, and she was +very attentive to them, but she had very small opportunity of public +worship, as there was no church within some miles of the Tower. In the +meantime, whilst the old lady went plodding on in her own quiet way, +teaching the little girl all she knew herself, Mr. Dymock was planning +great things by way of instruction for Tamar. He was to teach her to +read her native language, as he called the Hebrew, and to give her +various accomplishments, for he had dipped into innumerable branches, +not only of the sciences, but of the arts; and as he happened to have +met with a mind in Tamar which was as rapid as his own, though far more +plodding and persevering, the style of teaching which he gave her, +produced far richer fruit than could possibly have been expected. But as +Rome was not built in a day, neither must it be supposed that good Mrs. +Margaret had not many a laborious, if not weary hour before her part of +the care necessary to the well-rearing of the child, was so complete +that the worthy woman might sit down and expect a small return; for, as +she was wont to say, the child could not be made, for years after she +could hold a needle, to understand that the threads should not be pulled +as tight in darning as in hem stitch, and this, she would say, was +unaccountable, considering how docile the child was in other matters; +and, what was worst of all, was this,--that the little girl, who was as +wild and fleet, when set at liberty, as a gazelle of the mountains, +added not unseldom to the necessity of darning, until Mrs. Margaret +bethought herself of a homespun dress in which Tamar was permitted to +run and career during all hours of recreation in the morning, provided +she would sit quietly with the old lady in an afternoon, dressed like a +pretty miss, in the venerable silks and muslins which were cut down for +her use when no longer capable of being worn by Mrs. Margaret. By this +arrangement Tamar gained health during one part of the day, and a due +and proper behaviour at another; and, as her attachment to Mrs. Margaret +continued to grow with her growth, many and sweet to memory in +after-life were the hours she spent in childhood, seated on a stool at +the lady's feet, whilst she received lessons of needlework, and heard +the many tales which the old lady had to relate. Mrs. Margaret having +led a life without adventures, had made up their deficiency by being a +most graphic recorder of the histories of others; Scheherazade herself +was not a more amusing story-teller; and if the Arabian Princess had +recourse to genii, talismans, and monsters, to adorn her narratives, +neither was Mrs. Dymock without her marvellous apparatus; for she had +her ghosts, her good people, her dwarfs, and dreadful visions of second +sight, wherewith to embellish her histories. There was a piety too, a +reference in all she said to the pleasure and will of a reconciled God, +which added great charms to her narratives, and rendered them peculiarly +interesting to the little girl. Whilst Tamar was under her seventh year, +she never rambled beyond the moat alone; but being seven years old, and +without fear, she extended her excursions, and not unseldom ran as far +as Shanty's shed. + +The old man had always taken credit to him self for the part he had had +in the prosperity of the little girl, and Mrs. Margaret did not fail to +tell her how she had first come to the Tower in Shanty's arms; on these +occasions the child used to say,--"then I must love him, must not I +ma'am?" And being told she must, she did so, that is, she encouraged the +feeling; and on a Sunday when he was washed and had his best coat on, +she used to climb upon his knees, for she always asked leave to visit +him on that day if he did not come up to the Tower, as he often did, to +ask for her, and being on his knees she used to repeat to him what she +had been learning during the week. + +He was very much pleased, when she first read a chapter in the Bible, +and then it was that he first opened out to her some of his ideas on +religion; which were much clearer and brighter than either Mrs. +Margaret's or her nephew's. How this poor and solitary old man had +obtained these notions does not appear; he could not have told the +process himself, though, as he afterwards told Tamar, all the rest he +knew, had seemed to come to him, through the clearing and manifestation +of one passage of Scripture, and this passage was COL. iii. 11. "But +Christ is all." + +"This passage," said the old man, "stuck by me for many days. I was made +to turn it about and about, in my own mind, and to hammer it every way, +till at length, I was made to receive it, in its fulness. Christ I +became persuaded, is not all to one sort of men, and not all to another +sort, nor all at one time of a man's life, and not all at another; nor +all in one circumstance of need, and not all in another; nor all to the +saints and not all to the sinner; nor all in the hour of joy, and not +all in the hour of retribution; being ready and able to supply one want, +and unwilling to supply another. For," as he would add, "does a man want +righteousness? there it is laid for him in Christ; does he want merit? +there is the treasure full and brimming over; does he want rest and +peace? they are also provided for him; does he want faith? there also is +faith prepared for him; but the times and the seasons, these are not +given to him to know; and, if confusion and every evil work now prevail, +Christ being all, he will bring order out of confusion, when the fulness +of the time shall come. + +"And so," continued the old man, "when it was given me to see and +accept this one passage first, in its completeness, all other parts of +Scripture seemed to fall at once into their places; and the prophecies; +the beautiful prophecies of future peace and joy to the earth, of the +destruction of death and of hell, all opened out to me, as being hidden +and shut up in Christ,--for Christ is all; and as I desired the +treasure, so I was drawn more and more towards Him who keeps the +treasure, and all this," he would add, "was done for me, through no +deserts or deservings of my own; for till this light was vouchsafed me, +I was as other unregenerate men, living only to myself, and for myself; +and more than this," he would say, "were it the Divine will to withdraw +the light, I should turn again to be dead and hard, as iron on the cold +anvil." In this way, Shanty often used to talk to Mrs. Margaret, and +after a while to Tamar; but the old lady for many years remained +incapable of entering so entirely as he could wish, into his views of +the sufficiency of the Redeemer. She could not give up entirely her +notions of the need of some works, not as evidences of the salvation of +an individual, but as means of ensuring that salvation, and accordingly +she never met with Shanty for many years, without hinting at this +discrepancy in their opinions, which hints seldom failed of bringing +forward an argument. + +When Tamar was about nine years old, Mr. Dymock gave her a dog. Of this +creature she was very fond, and always accustomed it to accompany her in +her excursions around the Tower. There was on the moor, not many hundred +paces from the Tower, a heap of blocks of granite, some of which bore +evidence of having been cut with a chisel; but these were almost +entirely grown over with saxifrages and other wild plants. + +The country people seldom resorted to this place, because they +accounted it uncanny, and Mrs. Margaret had several wild tales to tell +about it, which greatly interested Tamar. She said, that in the times of +papal power, there had been a monastery there, and in that place a +covenanter had been murdered; hence, it had been pulled down to the +ground, and all the unholy timbers and symbols of idolatry burnt; "and +still," she added, "to this day, uncanny objects are seen in that place, +and wailings as of souls in woe have also been heard coming from thence; +and I myself have heard them. Nay, so short a time ago as the night or +two before you, Tamar, were brought a baby to this house, a light was +seen there, and unearthly voices heard as coming from thence." + +Of course after this, it could not be thought that Tamar should approach +this place quite alone, though she often desired to do so; had not Mrs. +Margaret told her these stories, she probably might never have had this +desire, but there is a principle in human nature, which hankers after +the thing forbidden; hence, as St. Paul says, "By the law is the +knowledge of sin." We are not defending human nature, which is +indefensible, but merely stating facts. Tamar had much desire to visit +this mysterious place; and so it happened one day, when she had her dog +with her, and the sun was shining, and all about her bright and gay, +that she climbed up the little green knoll, and pushing her way through +many brambles, furze bushes, and dwarf shrubs, she found herself in the +centre of the huge heaps of stones and rubbish, of which she had +hitherto seen only the summits, from the windows of the Tower. + +But being arrived there, she came to a stand, to look about her, when +her dog, to whom Dymock had given the poetical name of Sappho, began to +prick up her ears, and snuff as if she scented something more than +ordinary, and the next minute, she dashed forward, made her way through +certain bushes, and disappeared. Tamar called aloud; a hollow echo +re-sounded her voice, but no dog appeared;--again she called,--again she +heard the echo, and again she was silent; but she was by no means a +timid child; she had been too much accustomed to be alone,--too much +used to explore old corners, of which there were multitudes about the +Tower, occupied only by owls and bats. She therefore went forward to the +place where Sappho had disappeared, and forcing aside the shrubs, she +saw before her a low, arched door-way, which, had she understood +architecture, she would have known, from the carvings about the posts +and lintel, to have been Norman. + +She was surprised, indeed, but thinking only of her dog, she called +again, and was perfectly amazed at the long, hollow, and deep sound, of +the reverberation. She stood still again, holding the bushes aside, and +was aware of a rush of damp vapour, blowing in her face. + +Sappho, she called again, and the next minute heard an impatient bark, +or yelp, from the animal, and another sound, low, deep and muttering, +which she could not comprehend. + +She was now getting much alarmed and dropping the boughs, took to +flight, and she had scarcely cleared the rubbish, when Sappho came +scouring after her, jumping upon her as if glad to see her again. She +patted her head, saying "My poor Sappho, what have you seen in that dark +place? I wish you had a tongue to tell me." + +Tamar immediately returned to the Tower, and hastened to tell her +adventure to Mrs. Margaret. + +"Oh!" said the old lady, "is it so? that reminds me of what I heard my +father say, many and many is the year gone by, that there was an old +tradition of a secret passage underground from the Monastery to the +Tower; but he never knew where the passage came into the Tower. But be +it which way it might, it must needs have passed under the moat." + +"How strange!" said Tamar; "but when that passage was made, it could not +have been secret; many people must have known it, and I wonder, then, +how it could have been so entirely forgotten." + +"Who shall say how things were done in those days," said Mrs. Margaret; +"those times long past, when things uncanny had more power than they +have now? But it is not good to talk of such things," added the lady; +"and now, Tamar, let that which you have seen to-day never again be +mentioned by you; for, as sure as the master should hear of it, he would +be for looking into the cavern, and, Heaven knows what he might stir up, +if he were to disturb such things as might be found there. I only wish +that that the mischief may not be already done!" + +But no mischief did occur, at least for a long time, from this +mysterious quarter. Tamar did not again visit the place; and in a short +time thought no more of the matter. + +The happy days of childhood were passing away with Tamar, and sorrow was +coming on her patrons, from a quarter which poor Mrs. Margaret had long +darkly anticipated; but whilst these heavy clouds were hanging over the +house of Dymock, a few, though not very important events intervened. + +Mr. Dymock, by fits and snatches, had given such lessons to Tamar as had +enabled her to proceed, by her own exertions, in several branches of +knowledge quite out of the sphere of Mrs. Margaret. + +Amongst these was the history of the Jews, carried on in connection +between the New and Old Testament, and afterwards in Christian times, +and to these he added certain crude views of prophecy; for he was +resolved that Tamar was a Jewess, and he had talked himself into the +belief that she was of some distinguished family. + +It is no difficult matter to impress young persons with ideas of their +own importance; and none are more liable to receive such impressions, +than those who, like Tamar, are in the dark respecting their origin. + +The point on which Mr. Dymock failed in his interpretations of prophecy, +is not unfrequently mistaken, even in this more enlightened age. He +never considered or understood, that all prophecy is delivered in +figurative language; every prophecy in the Old Testament having first a +literal and incomplete fulfilment, the complete and spiritual fulfilment +being future. He did not see that the Jews, according to the flesh, were +types of the Spiritual Israel; that David was the emblem of the +Saviour; and that the universal kingdom promised to the seed of David, +was no other than the kingdom of Christ, into which all the children of +God will be gathered together as into one fold under one Shepherd. Not +seeing this, he anticipated a period of earthly triumph for the Jews, +such as an ambitious, worldly man might anticipate with delight; and he +so filled the mind of his young pupil with these notions of the +superiority of her race, that it is a miracle that he did not utterly +ruin her. As it was, she counted herself greatly superior to all about +her, and was much hurt and offended when old Shanty represented the +simple truth to her, telling her, that even were she the lineal +descendant of Solomon himself, she could have no other privilege than +that of the lowest Gentile who has obtained a new birth-right in the +Saviour of mankind; "for," said he, "under the Gospel dispensation +there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek,--the same Lord +over all, is rich unto all that call upon him," Rom. x. 12. + +It did not, however, suit Tamar to adopt these truths at the present +time; and as Shanty could not succeed with her, he took the liberty of +speaking to Mr. Dymock on the subject. + +"Why do you fill the young girl's mind, Dymock," said he, "with such +fancies as you do? But, leaving her alone, let us speak of the Jews in +general. They that wish them well should not fill them up with notions +of a birth-right which they have forfeited, and thus confirm them in the +very same pride which led them to crucify the Lord of Glory. What is a +Jew more than another man? for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; +neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; but he is a +Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the +spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." +Rom. ii. 28, 29. + +Mr. Dymock would not listen to honest Shanty on this subject, much as he +respected him; and, indeed, the poor Laird was at this time deeply +oppressed with other matters. + +He had, in his various speculations, so entirely neglected his own +affairs for some years past, that poverty, nay actual penury, was +staring in his face. He had formerly mortgaged, by little and little, +most of his lands, and nothing now remained to make money of, but the +Castle itself and a few acres around it, with the exception only of a +cottage and a small field, hitherto occupied by a labourer, which lay in +a kind of hollow on the side of the knoll, where the entrance of the +secret cavern was. This cottage was as remote from Dymock's Tower in one +way, as Shanty's shed was in another; although the three dwellings +formed together a sort of equilateral triangle. Mr. Dymock long +suspected that this labourer had done his share to waste his substance; +and once or twice it had occurred to him, that if he left the Castle he +might retire to the cottage. But yet, to part with the Castle, could he +find a purchaser, would, he feared, be death to Mrs. Margaret, and how +would Tamar bear it?--this glorious Maid of Judah, as he was wont to +call her,--this palm tree of Zion, this daughter of David,--the very +fine person, and very superior air of Tamar having confirmed him in the +impression of her noble birth. It was whilst these heavy thoughts +respecting what must be done in the management of his affairs dwelt on +his mind, that the same man who had finished the unfortunate plough +appeared again in Shanty's shed. + +The old man recognized him immediately, although fourteen years had much +changed his appearance, and he at once charged him with having had some +concern with the woman who left the child. + +The well-acted astonishment of the vagrant, for such he was, silenced +Shanty, though it did not convince him that he was mistaken in his +conjecture. However, the old man, changing his mode of attack, and +regretting that he had put the stranger on his guard by giving him so +home a thrust, pretended to be convinced, and entered into easy +conversation with him; amongst other things asking him if perchance he +knew of any one who wanted to purchase an estate? + +"Aye!" said the vagrant, to whom as we small have the pleasure of +introducing him again, we think it may be well to give the name of +Harefoot,--"Aye! old gentleman, and might one ask where this estate of +yours may be?" + +"It is of no consequence," replied Shanty, "I answer no questions, as +not being empowered so to do. At all events, however, the estate is not +far from hence, and it is a magnificent place, I promise you, More's the +pity, that those who have owned it for some hundreds of years, should be +compelled to part with it." + +Other matters were then introduced, and Shanty endeavoured to wind about +Harefoot, but with little success; for, deep as he thought himself, he +had one deeper to deal with. In truth, poor Shanty was but a babe in +cunning, and the vagrant departed, without having dropped a single hint +which could be taken hold of respecting Tamar. In the meantime troubles +were pressing upon poor Dymock, the interest of moneys lent on the +motgage was not forthcoming, and the Laird having no better friend (and +as to a sincerer he needed none,) than poor Shanty, used from day to day +to go down to the shed, to open his heart to the old man. + +Shanty had long advised his patron to tell his situation to Mrs. +Margaret, and to advertise the sale of the castle, but Dymock's pride +had not yet so far submitted itself, as to enable him to make so public +a confession of the downfall of the family, as an advertisement +would do. + +"I cannot open my heart to my aunt, Shanty," he said, "she, poor +creature, has devoted her whole life to keeping up the dignity of the +house; how, then, will she bear to see the whole labour of her life +annihilated?" + +"The sooner she knows of what is coming the better," returned Shanty, +"if she is not prepared, the blow when it comes, will go nigh utterly to +overpower her," and the old man proposed to go himself, to open the +matter to her. + +"You shall, Shanty, you shall," said the Laird, "but wait a little, wait +a little, we may hear of a purchaser for the castle, and when such a one +is found, then you shall speak to my aunt." + +"But first," said Shanty, "let me prepare your adopted one, let me open +the matter to her; she is of an age, in which she ought to think and act +no longer as a child; it is now fourteen years since I carried her up in +my arms to Dymock's Tower, and though the young girl is too much filled +up with pride, yet I fear not but that she is a jewel, which will shine +brighter, when rubbed under the wheel of adversity; allowing what I +hope, that there is a jewel under that crust of pride." + +"Pride!" repeated Dymock, flying off into the region of romance, "and if +a daughter of Zion, a shoot from the Cedar of Lebanon, is not to carry +her head high, who is to do so? the fate of her race may indeed follow +her, and she may be brought down, to sit in the dust, but still even in +the dust, she may yet boast her glorious origin." + +Shanty raised his hands and eyes, "Lord help you! Dymock," he said, "but +you are clean demented. I verily believe, that the child is nothing +mere than the offspring of a begging gipsy, and that if her mother had +been hanged, she would only have met with her deserts." + +Discussions of this kind were constantly taking place between Shanty and +Dymock, and it was in the very midst of one these arguments, that the +rare appearance of a hired chaise,--a job and pair, as Shanty called it, +appeared coming over the moor, directly to the shed, and so quick was +the approach, that the Laird and the blacksmith had by no means finished +their conjectures respecting this phenomenon, before the equipage came +to a stand, in the front of the hut. + +As the carriage stopped, a spare, sallow, severe looking old gentlemen, +put his head out of the window, and calling to the post boy, in a sharp, +querulous tone, asked if he were quite sure that he was right? + +"Not sure that this is old Shanty's hut; Shanty of Dymock's Moor," +replied the post-boy, in a broad Northern accent; "ask me if I don't +know my own mother's son, though she never had but one bairn." + +Dymock and Shanty no sooner heard the voice of the boy, than they both +recognized him, and stepping forward, they went up to the carriage and +offered to assist the old gentleman to alight; he received their +civilities with very little courtesy. However, he got out of the +carriage, and giving himself a shake, and a sort of twist, which caused +the lappets of his coat to expand, like the fan-tail of a pigeon, he +asked, if the place was Dymock's Moor, and if the old man he saw before +him, was one called Shanty of the Moor? The blacksmith declared himself +to be that same person, "and this gentlemen," he added, pointing to +Dymock, whose every day dress, by the bye, did not savor much of the +Laird, "This gentleman is Dymock himself." + +"Ah, is it so," said the stranger, "my business then is with him, show +me where I can converse with him." + +"I have no parlour to offer you," said Shanty; "to my shed, however, +such as it is, I make you welcome." + +No gracious notice was taken by the stranger of the offer, but without +preamble or ceremony, he told his errand to Mr. Dymock. "I hear," he +said, "that you wish to sell your Tower, and the lands which surround +it; if after looking at it, and finding that it suits me, you will agree +to let me have it, I will pay you down in moneys, to the just and due +amount of the value thereof, but first I must see it." + +"It stands there, Sir," said Shanty, seeing that Mr. Dymock's heart was +too full to permit him to speak; "it stands there, Sir, and is as noble +an object as my eye ever fell upon. The Tower," continued the old man, +"at this minute, lies directly under the only dark cloud now in the +heavens; nevertheless, a slanting ray from the westering sun now falls +on its highest turret; look on, Sir, and say wherever have you seen a +grander object?" + +The old gentleman uttered an impatient pish, and said, "Old man, your +travels must needs have lain in small compass, if you think much of yon +heap of stones and rubbish." The Laird's choler was rising, and he would +infallibly have told the stranger to have walked himself off, if Shanty +had not pulled him by the sleeve, and, stepping before the stranger, +said something in a soothing way, which should enhance the dignity of +the Tower and encourage the pretended purchaser. + +"I must see it, I must see it," returned the old gentleman, "not as now +mixed up with the clouds, but I must examine it, see its capabilities, +and know precisely what it is worth, and how it can be secured to me and +my heirs for ever." + +It was warm work which poor Shanty now had to do; between the irritated +seller and the testy buyer, he had never been in a hotter place before +his own forge, and there was wind enough stirring in all reason, without +help of bellows, for the Laird puffed and groaned and uttered half +sentences, and wished himself dead, on one side of the old blacksmith, +whilst the stranger went on as calmly, coolly, and deliberately, with +his bargain, on the other side, as if he were dealing with creatures +utterly without feeling. Shanty turned first to one, and then to +another; nodding and winking to Dymock to keep quiet on one side, whilst +he continued to vaunt the merits of the purchase on the other. + +At length, on a somewhat more than usually testy remark of the stranger +reaching the ears of the Laird, he burst by Shanty and had already +uttered these words, "Let me hear no more of this, I am a gentleman, and +abominate the paltry consideration of pounds, shillings, and pence;" +when Shanty forcibly seizing his arm, turned him fairly round, +whispering, "Go, and for the sake of common sense, hold your tongue, +leave the matter to me, let me bargain for you; go and tell Mrs. +Margaret that we are coming, and make what tale you will to her, to +explain our unceremonious visit; you had better have told her +all before." + +The Laird informed Shanty that there was no need of going up to the +Tower to inform his aunt, as she and Tamar were gone that day over the +border to visit a friend; but added he, "I take your offer, Shanty, make +the bargain for me if you can, and I shall not appear till I am wanted +to sign and seal," and away marched the Laird nor was he forthcoming +again for some hours. + +After he was gone, Shanty begged leave to have a few minutes given him +for washing his hands and face and making himself decent, and then +walked up with the testy old gentlemen to the castle. Little as Shanty +knew of the great and grand world, yet his heart misgave him, lest the +ruinous state of the castle, (although the Tower itself stood in its +ancient and undilapidated strength,) should so entirely disgust the +stranger that he should at once renounce all ideas of the purchase; he +was therefore much pleased when the old gentleman, having gone grumbling +and muttering into every room and every outhouse, crying, it is naught! +it is naught! as buyers generally do, bade Shanty tell the Laird that he +was going to the nearest town, that he should be there till the business +was settled, that he would give the fair valuation for the estate, and +that the payment should be prompt. + +Shanty was, indeed astonished; he was all amazement, nor did he recover +himself, till he saw the old gentleman walk away, and get into his +carriage which was waiting on the other side of the moat, it not being +particularly convenient, on account of the total deficiency of anything +like a bridge or passable road? to bring a carriage larger than a +wheel-barrow up to the castle. + +Dymock returned to the shed, when he, from some place of observation on +the moor, saw that the carriage had reached the high road, and there, +having been told all that had passed, the poor gentleman (who, by the +bye, was not half pleased with the idea of the honours of Dymock falling +into the hands of such a purchaser,) informed Shanty that he must +prepare to go with him the next day to Hexham, where the stranger had +appointed to meet him. + +"I go with you!" exclaimed Shanty, "was ever so strange a conceit." + +"I shall be fleeced, shorn, ruined," implied Mr. Dymock, "if I go to +make a bargain, without a grain of common sense in my company." + +"True," returned Shanty, "your worship is right; but how are we to go? I +have plenty of horse-shoes by me, but neither you, nor I Laird, I fear +could find any four legs to wear them." + +"We must e'en walk then," said Dymock, "nay, I would gladly carry you on +my back, rather than descend to the meanness of driving a bargain with a +testy old fellow like that; by the bye, Shanty, what does he +call himself?" + +"Salmon," replied Shanty, "and I mistake if he has not a touch of the +foreigner on his tongue." + +"You will accompany me, then Shanty," said the Laird. + +"I will," he replied, "if this evening you will open the business out to +Mrs. Margaret." + +"It cannot be Shanty," replied Dymock chuckling, "for she does not +expect to be back over the border till to-morrow, and when to-morrow is +over and we know what we are about, then you shall tell her all." + +"Dymock," said Shanty, "you are hard upon me, when you have a morsel to +swallow that is too tough for you, you put it into my mouth; but," added +the old man kindly, "there is not much that I would refuse to do for +your father's son." + +The sun had not yet risen over the moor, when Dymock and Shanty, both +arrayed in their best, set off for Hexham, where they found the crabbed +old gentlemen, still in the humour of making the purchase, though he +abused the place in language at once rude and petulant; his offer, +however, was, as Shanty compelled Dymock to see, a very fair one, though +the more sensible and wary blacksmith could not persuade his friend to +beware of trusting anything to the honour of Mr. Salmon. + +Dymock's estate had been deeply mortgaged, the sale was made subject to +the mortgages, and the purchaser was bound to pay the mortgagee the +mortgage moneys, after which there was small surplus coming to poor +Dymock. This small surplus was, however, paid down on the signing of the +papers; still, however, there was an additional payment to take place +soon after possession. + +This payment was, it was supposed, to be for fixtures and other +articles, which were to be left on the premises, and it was not to be +asked till Mr. Salmon had been resident a few weeks. The amount was +between five and six hundred pounds, and was in fact all that Dymock +would have to depend upon besides his cottage, his field, a right of +shooting on the moor, and fishing in a lake which belonged to the +estate, and about twenty pounds a year which appertained to Mrs. +Margaret, from which it was supposed she had made some savings. + +Shanty had succeeded in forcing the Laird to listen to the dictates of +prudence, and to act with sufficient caution, till it came to what he +called the dirty part of the work, to wit, the valuation of small +articles, and then was the blood of the Dymocks all up; nor would he +hear of requiring a bond for the payment of this last sum, such a +document, in fact, as should bind the purchaser down to payment without +dispute. He contented himself only with such a note from the old man as +ought he asserted to be quite sufficient, and it was utterly useless for +Shanty to expostulate. The Laird had got on his high horse and was +prancing and capering beyond all the controul of his honest friend, +whilst Mr. Salmon, no doubt, laughed in his sleeve, and only lamented +that he had not known Dymock better from the first, for in that case he +would have used his cunning to have obtained a better bargain of the +castle and lands. It was not one nor two visits to Hexham which +completed these arrangements; however Mr. Dymock, after the first +visit, no longer refused to permit Shanty to open out every thing to his +aunt, and to prepare her to descend into a cottage, on an income of +forty or fifty pounds a year. + +Mrs. Margaret bore the information better than Shanty had expected; she +had long anticipated some such blow, and her piety enabled her to bear +it with cheerfulness. "I now," she said, "know the worst, and I see not +wherefore, though I am a Dymock, I should not be happy in a cottage, I +am only sorry for Tamar; poor Tamar! what will become of her?" + +"Oh mother! dear mother!" said Tamar weeping, "why are you sorry for me, +cannot I go with you? surely you would not part from me;" and she fell +weeping on Mrs. Margaret's bosom. + +"Never before! oh, never before," cried Mrs. Margaret, "did I feel my +poverty as I do now." + +"Mother dear! oh mother dear! had I thousands of pounds, I would devote +them all to you, and to my dear protector." + +"God helping you, or God working in you Tamar," said Shanty, rubbing his +rough hand across his eyes, "but never boast of what you will do, dear +child; boasting does not suit the condition of humanity." + +"Oh! that I could now find my father," she replied, "and if I could find +him a rich man, what a comfort it would be; what would I give now," she +added, "to find a rich father!" + +Mrs. Margaret kissed her child, and wept with her, calling her a dear, +affectionate, grateful creature; but Shanty made no remark respecting +Tamar's gratitude; he had it in his mind to speak to her when alone, and +he very soon found the opportunity he wished. + +It was on the next Sunday that he met Tamar walking on the moor, and it +was then that he thus addressed her, "I was sorry damsel," he said, "to +hear you speak as you did to Mrs. Margaret the other day, making a +profession of what you would do for her if you were rich, and yet never +offering her that which you have to give her." + +"What have I to give her?" asked Tamar. + +"Much," replied the old man; "much, very much. You have strength, and +activity, and affection to give her. With forty pounds a-year, a house, +and a little field, which is all your adopted parents will have, can +they, think you, keep a servant? Will not the very closest care be +necessary, and should not one who is young, and faithful, and attached, +rejoice to serve her benefactors at such time as this, and to render +their fall as easy as possible; and where, I ask you, Tamar, should they +find such service as you can render them?" + +They were walking side by side, the old man and the beautiful girl, +among the heather of the moor; and he was looking up kindly and +animatedly to her,--for he was a remarkably short, thick-set man,--but +she was looking down on the ground, whilst a bitter struggle was passing +in her mind. She had been filled up by her guardian with wild fancies of +her own greatness, which was hereafter to be made manifest; and it would +have been too strong for unaided nature, to bring herself to submit to +such drudgeries as duty seemed now to require of her; her bright-brown +cheek was flushed with the inward contest, and her bosom seemed to be +almost swelled to suffocation. But the assistance required was not +withheld in the hour of need, and Shanty was soon made aware of the +change of feelings which was suddenly imparted to the orphan by the +change of the expression of her countenance; the tears had already +filled her eyes, when she turned to her old friend, and thanked him for +his reproof, expressing her conviction, that his advice was that of a +true Christian, and begging him always to tell her, in like manner, +when he saw that she was going wrong. A more general discussion on the +subject of true religion then followed, and Shanty assured Tamar, that +all high notions of self, whether of birth, talents, or riches, were +unpleasing in the sight of God, and utterly inconsistent with that view +of salvation by Christ, which is independent of all human merit. Such +was the nature of the lessons given by the old man to Tamar. His +language was, however, broad, and full of north-country phrases, so much +so, as to have rendered them inexplicable to one who had not been +accustomed to the Border dialect. From that day, however, through the +divine mercy, the heart of Tamar was given to the duties which she saw +before her, and all her activity was presently put into requisition; for +Mr. Salmon had given notice, that he should take possession of Dymock's +Tower as soon as it could be got ready for him, and he also sent persons +to make the preparations which he required. These preparations were of +a most singular nature; his object appeared neither to be the +beautifying of the old place, or even the rendering it more comfortable, +for he neither sent new furniture, nor ordered the restoration of any of +the dilapidated chambers or courts. But he ordered the moat to be +repaired, so that it could be filled and kept full, and he directed that +a light draw-bridge should also be erected. The walls of the inner +courts were also to be put to rights, and new gates added. There was a +great laugh in the country respecting this unknown humourist; and some +said he was preparing for a siege, and others going to set up for a +modern Rob Roy, and Castle-Dymock was to be his head-quarters. + +The greater part of the furniture, and all the fixtures, were to be paid +for by the money for which the Laird had Mr. Salmon's memorandum; and +they who knew their condition, said that the things had been brought to +a good market, as little of the furniture would have been worth the +carriage across the moor. Nothing at present, therefore, remained for +the aunt and the nephew to do, but to remove to the cottage as soon as +it should be ready to receive them. + +This humble habitation was situated in a small nook or vale of the moor +called Heatherdale. A little fresh-water spring ran through it, coming +in at the higher end of the valley, and going out through a natural +cleft in a block of granite at the other end. There were many tall trees +scattered on the banks within the dell; and the place was so sheltered, +that many a plant would flourish in the garden on the south side of the +house, which could hardly be kept alive in any other situation in +the country. + +The cottage was an old, black, timbered and thatched edifice, and had +four rooms of considerable dimensions, two above and two below, with a +porch in the front, overgrown with briony and another hardy creeper. As +soon as this tenement was vacated, and the Laird's intention of +inhabiting it known, the ancient tenants of the family all manifested +their affection by using their several crafts in repairing the cottage, +and setting the house to rights,--one mended the thatch, another +repaired the wood-work, a third white-washed the walls, another mended +the paling, and old Shanty did any little job in his way which might +be required. + +The labours of love never hang long on hand, and though the old tenant +had gone out only at Lady-day, the hawthorn had scarcely blossomed when +the affectionate people pronounced the work complete. + +Poor Dymock had become very restless when he saw the changes which were +going on at the Tower; but when there was no longer an excuse to be +found for delaying the removal, he gave way altogether, or rather, we +should say, made a cut and run, and went off to botanize the lakes in +Westmoreland, with a knapsack on his back, and a guinea in his pocket. + +Before he went, however, he had opened his heart to his daughter Tamar, +saying, "I now take leave, dear child, of the life of a gentleman; +henceforward I must content myself with the corner of a kitchen ingle; +and this, truly, is a berth," he added, "too good for a cumberer of the +ground, such as I am." He said this as he passed through the gate of the +court, giving his adopted one time only to snatch his hand and kiss it, +and he was gone beyond her hearing before she could relieve her heart +with a burst of tears. After a while, however, she dried them up, and +began to busy her mind in thinking what she could do to render the +cottage comfortable for her beloved guardian; and having at length +formed her plan, she ran to Mrs. Margaret, and asked her permission to +take the arrangement of their new house. + +"Let me," said she, "see all the things put in their places; you and I, +dear aunt Margaret, will have to ourselves a kitchen as neat as a +palace, and we will make a study of the inner room for Mr. Dymock." + +"What!" said the old lady, "and give up our parlour?" + +"Dear mother," replied the young girl carelessly, "if there is to be no +maid but poor Tamar, why should not the kitchen be the happiest place, +for her own dear mother? You shall have your chair in the corner, +between the window and the fire-place, and your little work-table by it, +and then you can direct me without moving from your needle. Oh! dear, +aunt Margaret," she added, "I am beginning to think that we shall be +happier in the cottage, than we have been in the Castle; we shall have +fewer cares, and shall have a pleasure in putting our small means to +the best. Do not the scatterings of the flock, aunt Margaret, make us as +warm hose as the prime of the fleece?" + +"That may be doubted child," replied the old lady with a smile, "but go +young creature, take your way; I believe ere yet you have done, that +you, with your sunny smile, will cheat me into contentment before +I know what I am about; but mind, my lovely one," she added, "I +will tell you how it is. I have been led to see how God in his +displeasure,--displeasure, I say, on account of the pride of ancestry +and station, which I have hitherto persisted in cherishing,--how God, I +repeat, in his displeasure has remembered mercy, and, in taking away +that which is worthless, has left me that which is most precious, even +you my bright one." + +The old lady then kissed Tamar, and gave her the permission she +required, to arrange the cottage according to her own fancy. When the +day of removal actually arrived, being the day after the Laird had +walked himself off, the neighbours, with Shanty at their head, came +to assist. + +Tamar had determined upon having the room within the kitchen, for her +beloved father by adoption; a village artist having understood her pious +wish, had stained the walls of light grey, and painted the frame of the +casement window of the same colour. Tamar had prepared a curtain of some +light drapery for the window; a well-darned carpet covered the floor, +the Laird's bookcases occupied one entire end of the room opposite the +window, the wonted table of the old study at the Tower was placed in the +centre of the floor, and was covered with its usual cloth, a somewhat +tarnished baize, with a border worked in crewels by Mrs. Margaret in +days gone by. In the centre of this table the inkstand was placed, and +on the opposite wall, a venerable time-piece, asserted, with what truth +we presume not to say, to be nearly as old as the clock sent by Haroun +Al Raschid to the emperor Charlemagne. A few high-backed chairs, certain +strange chimney ornaments, and other little matters dear to the Laird, +finished the furniture of this room, and Tamar perfectly laughed with +joy, when, having seen all done, she became aware that this small +apartment was in fact more comfortable than the cold, wide, many-drafted +study in the Tower. + +Those who were with her caught the merry infection and laughed too, and +Shanty said, "But dear one, whilst you thus rejoice in your own +contrivances, have you not a word of praise to give to Him, who has +spread such glories as no human skill could create, beyond yon little +window?" The old man then opened the casement, and showed the sweet and +peaceful scene which there presented itself; for the cottage was +enclosed in a small dell, the green sides of which seemed to shut out +all the world, enclosing within their narrow limits, a running brook, +and hives of bees, and many fragrant flowers. + +Tamar was equally successful, and equally well pleased with her +arrangements in other parts of the cottage; the kitchen opened on one +side to a little flower garden, on the other to the small yard, where +Mrs. Margaret intended to keep her poultry, and the whole domain was +encompassed by the small green field, which made up the extent of the +dell, and was the only bit of land left to the representative of the +house of Dymock. But Mrs. Margaret had reckoned that the land would keep +a little favourite cow, and with this object Tamar had taken great pains +to learn to milk. + +When all was ready, Mrs. Margaret with many tears took leave of Dymock's +Tower; she had not seen the process of preparation in the cottage, and +was therefore perfectly astonished when she entered the house. Tamar +received her with tears of tenderness, and the worthy lady having +examined all the arrangements, blessed her adopted one, and confessed +that they had all in that place that man really required. Neither did +she or Tamar find that they had more to do than was agreeable; if they +had no servants to wait upon them, they had no servants to disarrange +their house. They had engaged an old cottager on the moor to give them +an hour's work every evening, and for this they paid him with a stoup of +milk, or some other small product of their dairy; money they had not to +spare, and this he knew,--nor did he require any; he would have given +his aid to the fallen family for nothing, had it been asked of him. + +In wild and thinly peopled countries, there is more of neighbourly +affection,--more of private kindness and sympathy than in crowded +cities. Man is a finite creature; he cannot take into his heart many +objects at once, and such, indeed, is the narrowness of his +comprehension, that he cannot even conceive how the love of an infinite +being can be generally exercised through creation. It is from this +incapacity that religious people, at least too many of them, labour so +sedulously as they do to instil the notion of the particularity of the +work of salvation, making it almost to appear, that the Almighty Father +brings beings into existence, merely to make them miserable,--but we are +wandering from our story. + +Aunt Margaret and Tamar had been at the cottage a fortnight before +Dymock returned; Tamar saw him first coming down the glen, looking +wearied, dispirited and shabby. + +She ran out to meet her adopted father, and sprang into his arms; his +eyes were filled with tears, and her bright smiles caused those eyes +to overflow. + +She took his hand, she brought him in, she set him a chair, and Mrs. +Margaret kissing him, said "Come Dymock brighten up, and thank your God +for a happy home." + +Dymock sighed, Tamar took his heavy knapsack from him, and placed before +him bread and butter, and cheese, and a stoup of excellent beer. + +"Eat, dear father," she said, "and then you shall go to bed, (for it was +late in the evening,) and to-morrow you will see what a sweet place this +is;" but poor Dymock could not rally that night. Tamar had always slept +with Mrs. Margaret, and the best room of the two above stairs had been +prepared for Dymock, Mrs. Margaret having found a place under the +rafters for her innumerable boxes. + +The poor Laird slept well, and when he awoke the sun was shining into +his room, and aunt Margaret had arranged his clean clothes at the foot +of his bed; he arose in better spirits, and dressing himself, he went +down; he found Tamar in the kitchen, and she, without speaking, took his +hand and led him to his study. + +The poor gentleman could not bear this: he saw the sacrifice his aunt +had made for him, and the exertions also which Tamar must have made to +produce this result, and he fairly wept; but this burst of agitation +being over, he embraced his adopted child, and expressed his earnest +hope that henceforward he might be enabled to live more closely with +his God. + +But the mind of Dymock was not a well balanced one; he could not live +without a scheme, and he had scarcely been two days in the cottage, when +he re-aimed at the ideas which he had formerly indulged of becoming an +author, and of obtaining both fame and money by his writings. Mrs. +Margaret was fretted when she was made aware of this plan, and sent +Tamar to Shanty, to ask him to talk him out of the fancy, and to +persuade him to adopt some employment, if it were only digging in his +garden, which might bring in something; but Shanty sent Tamar back to +Mrs. Margaret to tell her that she ought to be thankful that there was +anything found which would keep the Laird easy and quiet, and out of the +way of spending the little which he had left. Poor Dymock, therefore, +was not disturbed in his attempts at authorship, and there he used to +sit in his study with slip-shod feet, an embroidered dressing gown, +which Mrs. Margaret had quilted from an old curtain, and a sort of +turban twisted about his head, paying no manner of attention to hours or +seasons. As Mrs. Margaret only allowed him certain inches of candle, he +could not sit up all night as geniuses ought to be permitted to do; but +then he would arise with the lark and set to work, before any of the +labourers on the moor were in motion. In vain did Mrs. Margaret complain +and expostulate; she even in her trouble sent Tamar again to Shanty to +request him to plead with the Laird, and beg him to allow himself to +enjoy his regular rest; but in this case when she required Shanty's aid, +she had reckoned without her host. + +"Go back to Mrs. Margaret, damsel," he said, "go and tell the lady that +as long as she can keep the Laird from work by candle light, so long no +harm is done, and if instead of murmuring at this early rising, fair +child, you will take example by him, and leave your bed at the same time +that your hear him go down, you will do well. He that lies in bed gives +a daily opportunity to his servants, if he has any to serve him, to do +mischief before he is up, and she that rises with the sun and goes +straight forward, like an arrow in its course, in the path of her +duties, shall find fewer thorns and more roses in that path, than those +who indulge in ease. Through divine mercy," continued the old man, "our +own exertions are not needed for the assurance of our salvation, but +sloth and carelessness tend to penury and misery, in this present life; +and there is no sloth more ruinous to health and property than that of +wasting the precious morning hours in bed." + +Tamar was not deaf to the pleadings of Shanty; she began immediately to +rise with the first crowing of the cock, and thus obtained so much time +for her business, that she could then afford herself some for reading. +Mrs. Margaret took also to rise early, so that instead of breakfasting +as formerly at eight o'clock, the family took that meal at seven; but +the Laird often managed to have such bright and valuable thoughts just +at breakfast time, that for the sake of posterity, as he was wont to +say, he could by no means endanger the loss of them by suffering such a +common place interruption as that of breakfast, such an every day and +vulgar concern. On these occasions Tamar always took in his coffee and +toast, and set it before him, and she generally had the pleasure of +finding that he took what she brought him, though he seldom appeared to +be aware either of her entrance or her exit, Mrs. Margaret invariably +exclaiming when Tamar reported her reception in the study, "Lord help +him! see what it is to be a genius!" + +In the meantime, the moat around Dymock's Tower was repaired and filled +up, or was fast filling up; the draw-bridge was in its place, and the +gates and walls restored; and as the neighbours said, the Tower wanted +nothing but men and provisions to enable it to stand a siege. At length, +all being pronounced ready, though no interior repairing had taken +place, the new possessor arrived, bringing with him two servants, an old +man and an old woman, and many heavy packages, which were stowed in a +cart, and lifted out by himself and his man-servant, whom he called +Jacob. This being done, he and his people were heard of no more, or +rather seen no more, being such close housekeepers, that they admitted +no one over the moat, though the man Jacob, rode to the nearest market +every week on the horse which had dragged the baggage, to bring what was +required, which, it was said, was not much more than was necessary to +keep the bodies and souls of three people together. + +Numerous and strange were the speculations made by all people on the +moor upon these new tenants of Dymock's Tower, and Shanty's shed was a +principal scene of these speculations. Various were the reproaches which +were cast on the strangers, and no name was too bad for them. + +"Our old Laird," one remarked, "was worth ten thousand such. As long as +he had a crust, he would divide it with any one that wanted it. Mark but +his behaviour to the poor orphan, who is now become the finest girl, +notwithstanding her dark skin, in all the country round." + +Then followed speculations on the parentage of Tamar, and old Shanty +asserted that he believed her to be nothing more or less than the +daughter of the gipsy hag who had laid her at his door. Some said she +was much to good to be the child of a gipsy; and then Shanty asserted, +that the grace of God could counteract not only the nature of a child of +a vagrant of the worst description, but even that of such vagrant +himself; the Spirit of God being quick and powerful, and sharper than a +two-edged sword. + +Shanty was a sort of oracle amongst his simple neighbours, and what he +said was not often disputed to his face; nevertheless, there was not an +individual on the moor who knew Tamar, who did not believe her to be a +princess in disguise or something very wonderful; and, at the bottom of +her heart, poor Tamar still indulged this same belief, though she did +not now, as formerly express it. + +It was in the month of June, very soon after, Mr. Salmon had arrived at +the Tower, and before Dymock, who was a woful procrastinator, had gone +to demand the last payment, that Tamar, who was extraordinarily light +and active, had undertaken to walk to the next village to procure some +necessaries; she had three miles to go over the moor, nor could she go +till after dinner. Her way lay by Shanty's shed; and Mrs. Margaret +admonished her, if anything detained her, to call on Shanty, and ask him +to walk over the remainder of the moor with her on her return. + +When she came down from preparing herself for this walk, all gay and +blooming with youth and health, and having a basket on her arm, she met +Dymock in the little garden. + +"Whither away? beautiful Maid of Judah," said the genius. "My +bright-eyed Tamar," he added, "I have been thinking of a poem, and if I +can but express my ideas, it will be the means of lifting up my family +again from the destitution into which it has fallen. My subject is the +restoration of Jerusalem in the latter days, and the lifting up of the +daughters of Zion from the dust. The captives of Israel now are hewers +of wood and carriers of water; but the time will come when the hands +that now wear the manacles of servitude shall be comely with rows +of jewels." + +"If no daughter of Judah," replied Tamar, "wears heavier manacles than I +do, dear father, they may bear them with light hearts;" and, as she +passed quickly by her adopted father, she snatched his hand and kissed +it, and soon she disappeared beyond the boundary of the glen. + +Tamar reached the village in so short a time, and did her errands so +quickly, that having some hours of light before her, she thought she +would try another way of return, over a small bridge, which in fact +spanned the very water-course which ran through her glen; but being +arrived at this bridge, to her surprise she found it broken down. It +was only a single plank, and the wood had rotted and given way. The +brook was too wide and deep in that place to permit her to cross it, and +the consequence was, that she must needs go round more than a mile; and, +what added to her embarrassment, the evening, which had been fine, was +beginning to cloud over, the darkness of the sky hastening the approach +of the dusk. She had now farther to walk than she had when in the +village; and, added to the threatenings of the clouds, there were +frequent flashings of pale lightning, and remote murmurings of thunder. +But Tamar was not easily alarmed; she had been brought up independently, +and already had she recovered the direct path from the village to +Shanty's shed, when suddenly a tall figure of a female arose, as it +were, out of the broom and gorse, and stepped in the direction in which +she was going, walking by her side for a few paces without speaking +a word. + +The figure was that of a gipsy, and the garments, as Tamar glanced +fearfully at them as they floated in a line with her steps, bespoke a +variety of wretchedness scarcely consistent with the proud and elastic +march of her who wore them. + +Whilst Tamar felt a vague sense of terror stealing over her, the woman +spoke, addressing her without ceremony, saying, "So you have been driven +to come this way at last; have you been so daintily reared that you +cannot wade a burn which has scarcely depth enough to cover the pebbles +in its channel. Look you," she added, raising her arm, and pointing her +finger,--"see you yon rising ground to the left of those fir trees on +the edge of the moor,--from the summit of that height the sea is +visible, and I must, ere many hours, be upon those waters, in such a +bark as you delicately-bred dames would not confide in on a summer's +day on Ulswater Mere." + +Whilst the woman spoke, Tamar looked to her and then from her, but not a +word did she utter. + +"Do you mind me?" said the gipsy; "I have known you long, aye very long. +You were very small when I brought you to this place. I did well for you +then. Are you grateful?" + +Tamar now did turn and look at her, and looked eagerly, and carefully, +and intently on her dark and weather-beaten countenance. + +"Ah!" said the gipsy, whilst a smile of scorn distorted her lip,--"so +you will demean yourself now to look upon me; and you would like to know +what I could tell you?" + +"Indeed, indeed, I would!" exclaimed Tamar, all flushed and trembling. +"Oh, in pity, in mercy tell me who I am and who are my parents?--if +they still live; if I have any chance or--hope of seeing them?" + +"One is no more," replied the gipsy. "She from whom I took you lies in +the earth on Norwood Common. I stretched the corpse myself,--it was a +bonny corpse." + +Tamar fetched a deep, a very deep sigh. "Does my father live?" she +asked. + +"Your father!" repeated the gipsy, with a malignant laugh,--"your +father!" + +Tamar became more and more agitated; but excessive feeling made her +appear almost insensible. With great effort she repeated,--"Does my +father live?" + +"He does," replied the woman, with a malignant smile, "and shall I tell +you where and how?--shut up, confined in a strong-hold, caught like a +vile animal in a trap. Do you understand me, Tamar? I think they call +you Tamar." + +"What!" said the poor girl, gasping for breath, "is my father a +convicted felon?" + +"I used no such words," replied the gipsy; "but I told you that he lies +shut up; and he is watched and guarded, too, I tell you." + +"Then he has forfeited his liberty," said Tamar; "he has committed some +dreadful crime. Tell me, Oh! tell me, what is it?" + +The gipsy laughed, and her laugh was a frightful one. + +"What!" she said, "are you disappointed?--is the blight come over you? +has the black fog shut out all the bright visions which the foolish +Laird created in your fancy? Go, child!" she said, "go and tell him what +I have told you, and see whether he will continue to cherish and flatter +the offspring of our vagrant race." + +"He will," replied Tamar; "but tell me, only tell me, what is that mark +burnt upon my shoulder?" + +"Your father branded you," she answered, "as we do all our children, +lest in our many wanderings we should lose sight of our own, and not +know them again; but come," she added, "the night draws on, darkness is +stealing over the welkin; you are for the shed; there is your pole-star; +see you the fitful glare of the forge?--I am for another direction; +fare-you-well." + +"Stay, stay," said Tamar, seizing her arm, "Oh, tell me more! tell me +more! My father, if I have a living father, I owe him a duty,--where is +he? Tell me where he is, for the love of heaven tell me?" + +The woman shook her off,--"Go, fool," she said, "you know enough; or +stay," she added, in her turn seizing Tamar's arm,--"if you like it +better, leave those Dymocks and come with me, and you shall be one with +us, and live with us, and eat with us and drink with us." + +"No! no!" said Tamar, with a piercing shriek, disengaging herself from +the gipsy, and running with the swiftness of a hare, towards the +friendly hovel. + +Old Shanty was alone, when, all pale and trembling, Tamar entered the +shed, and sunk, half fainting, on the very bench on which the gipsy had +sate on the eventful night in which she had brought her to the hovel +fourteen years before. + +Shanty was terrified, for he had a paternal feeling for Tamar; he ceased +immediately from his hammering, and sitting himself by her on the bench, +he rested not until she had told him every thing which had happened; and +when she had done so,--"Tamar," he said, "I am not surprised; I never +thought you any thing else than the child of a vagrant, nor had you ever +any ground for thinking otherwise. There are many imaginations," added +the pious old man, "which attend our nature, which must be destroyed +before we can enter into that perfect union with the Son, which will +render us one with the Father, and will insure our happiness when God +shall be all in all, and when all that is foretold in prophecy +respecting this present earth shall be completed. Sin," continued the +old man, "is neither more nor less than the non-conformity of the will +of the creature with that of the Creator; and when the will of every +child of Adam is brought into unison with the divine pleasure, then, as +far our race is concerned, there will be an end of sin; and, in +particular cases, Tamar, as regarding individuals in the present and +past days, each one is happy, not as far as he indulges the imaginations +suggested by his own depraved nature, but as far as he is content to be +what his God would have him to be, as indicated by the circumstances and +arrangements of things about him." + +It was marvellous (or rather would have been so to a stranger,) to hear +this poor old dusky blacksmith, speaking and reasoning as he did; but +who shall limit or set bounds to the power of the Lord the Spirit in +enlightening the mind, independently as it were, of human ministry, or +at least of any other ministry than that which teaches and promulgates +the mere letter of Scripture? + +Tamar's mind was at that time fully prepared to receive all that Shanty +said to her, and, insensibly to themselves, they were presently led +almost to forget the information given by the gipsy, (which in fact left +Tamar just as it had found her,) whilst new thoughts were opening to +them; and the young girl was brought to see, that in her late anxiety to +render the kind friends who had adopted her, comfortable as to outward +circumstances, she had failed in using her filial influence to draw +their attention to thoughts of religion. + +Shanty put on his coat, and walked with her over the rest of the moor, +nor did he leave Heatherdale (where Mrs. Margaret insisted that he +should sup,) until he had opened out to the Laird and his aunt the whole +history of Tamar's rencounter with the gipsy. It was curious to observe +the effect of this story on the minds of the two auditors. Mrs. Margaret +embraced Tamar with tears, saying, "Methinks I am rejoiced that there is +no one likely to claim my precious one from me;" whilst the Laird +exclaimed, "I am not in the least convinced. The gipsy has no doubt some +scheme of her own in view. She is afraid of being found out, and +transported for child-stealing; but I wish I could see her, to tell her +that I no more believe my palm-tree to have sprung from the briers of +the Egyptian wilderness, than that I am not at this moment the Laird +of Dymock." + +"Lord help you, nephew!" said Mrs. Margaret, "if poor dear Tamar's +noble birth has not more substantial foundation than your lairdship, I +believe that she must be content as she is,--the adopted daughter of a +poor spinster, who has nothing to leave behind her but a few bales of +old clothes." + +"Contented, my mother," said Tamar, bursting into tears, "could I be +contented if taken from you?" + +Thus the affair of the gipsy passed off. The Laird, indeed, talked of +raising the country to catch the randy quean; but all these resolutions +were speedily forgotten, and no result ensued from this alarm, but that +which Almighty power produced from it in the mind of Tamar, by making +her more anxious to draw the minds of her patrons to religion. + +After this, for several weeks things went on much as usual on Dymock's +moor. The inhabitants of the Tower were so still and quiet, that unless +a thin curl of smoke had now and then been seen rising from the kitchen +chimney, all the occupants might have been supposed to have been in a +state of enchantment. Jacob, however, the dwarfish, deformed +serving-man, did cross the moat at intervals, and came back laden with +food; but he was so surly and short, that it was impossible to get a +word of information from him, respecting that which was going on within +the moat. Whilst Dymock scribbled, his aunt darned, Shanty hammered, and +Tamar formed the delight and comfort of all the three last mentioned +elders. But some settlement was necessarily to be made respecting Mr. +Salmon's last payment, which had run up, with certain fixtures and old +pictures, for which there was no room in the cottage, to nearly six +hundred pounds, and after much pressing and persuading on the part of +Mrs. Margaret, the Laird was at length worked up to the point of +putting on his very best clothes, and going one morning to the Tower. +He had boasted that he would not appear but as the Laird of Dymock in +Dymock castle; therefore, though the weather was warm, he assumed his +only remains of handsome apparel, viz, a cloak or mantle of blue cloth +and with a hat, which was none of the best shape, on his head, he walked +to the edge of the moat, and there stood awhile calling aloud. + +At length Jacob appeared on the other side, and knowing the Laird, he +turned the bridge, over which Dymock walked with sullen pride. + +"I would see your master, where is he?" said the Laird, as soon as he +got into the court. + +The eye of the dwarf directed that of Dymock to the window of a small +room in a higher part of the keep, and the Laird, without waiting +further permission, walked forward into the Tower. + +It gave him pain to see all the old and well remembered objects again; +but it also gave him pleasure to find everything in its place as he had +left it--even the very dust on the mouldings and cornices, which had +remained undisturbed through the reign of Mrs. Margaret, from the +absolute impossibility of reaching the lofty site of these depositions, +was still there. Not an article of new furniture was added, while the +old furniture looked more miserable and scanty, on account of some of +the best pieces having been taken out to fill the cottage. + +Dymock walked through the old circular hall, the ground-floor of the +Tower, and went up the stairs to the room where Mrs. Margaret used to +sit and darn in solitary state; there was the oriel window, which +hanging over the moat, commanded a glorious view on three sides. Dymock +walked up to this window, and stood in the oriel, endeavouring, if +possible, to understand what the feelings of his ancestors might have +been, when they could look from thence, and call all the lands their +own as far as the border, without counting many broader and fairer +fields, in the southern direction. + +Whilst waiting there in deep and melancholy mood, suddenly his eye fell +on the airy figure of Tamar standing on the opposite side of the moat, +and looking up to him; as soon as she caught his eye, she kissed her +hand and waved it to him, and well he could comprehend the sparkling +smile which accompanied this motion, though he was too far off to see +it. "And art thou not fair Maid of Judah," said the affectionate genius, +"worth to me all the broad lands of my fathers? Could they purchase for +me such love as thine? Art thou not the little ewe lamb of the poor +man?--but none shall ever have thee from me my daughter, but one +entirely worthy of thee?" + +Scarcely had Dymock returned the courtesy of Tamar, before Jacob, who +had run to the top of the Tower before him, came to tell him that his +master was ready to see him, and Dymock, who needed no guide, soon found +himself at the head of several more rounds of stairs, which got narrower +as they ascended,--and in front of a narrow door well studded with knobs +of iron. Within this door was a room, which in time past had been used +for security, either for prisoners, treasures, or other +purposes,--tradition said not what,--but it still had every requisite of +strength, the narrow windows being provided with stauncheons of iron, +and the walls covered with strong wainscotting, in one side of which +were sliding pannels opening into a closet. The secret of these pannels +was known only to Dymock, and he, when he sold the castle, had revealed +it to Mr. Salmon, vaunting the great service of which this secret +closet, had been, in keeping plate and other valuables, though he +acknowledged, poor man, that he had never made any great use of this +mysterious conservatory. + +It seems that Mr. Salmon had appropriated this same room to his especial +use; his bed, which in the French taste was covered with a tent-like +tester, occupied one nook, and the curtains, as well as the floor-cloth, +were of very rich, but tarnished and threadbare materials. Several +ponderous tomes in vellum emblazoned with gold, were placed on a ledge +of the wall near the bed; a square table, a trunk strongly clamped with +brass, and an old fashioned easy chair, completed the furniture. + +And now for the first time Dymock saw Mr. Salmon in his deshabille. The +old gentleman had laid aside his coat, probably that it might be spared +unnecessary wear and tear; he wore a claret coloured waistcoat with +large flaps, on which were apparent certain tarnished remains of +embroidery; his lower extremities, as far as the knees, were encased in +a texture the colour of which had once been pepper and salt, and from +the knee downwards he wore a pair of home-manufactured, grey worsted +stockings, which proved that his housekeeper was by no means inferior to +Mrs. Margaret in her darning talents, though we must do the Laird's aunt +the justice to assert, that she never darned stockings with more than +three different colours. + +His slippers, both sole and upper part, had evidently at one time formed +a covering of a floor, though what the original pattern and colours had +been, could not now be made out. With all this quaintness of attire, the +old man had the general appearance of neatness and cleanliness, and had +it not been for the expression of his countenance, would have been far +from ill-looking. + +He received Dymock with a sort of quiet civility, not unlike that which +a cat assumes when she is aware of a mouse, and yet does not perceive +that the moment is come to pounce upon it. Dymock drew near to the +table, and accosted Mr. Salmon with his usual courteous, yet careless +manner, and having apologized for coming at all on such an errand, +wishing that there was no such thing as money in the world, he presented +the inconclusive and inefficient memorandum, which the old gentleman had +given him, "trusting, as he said, that it would be no inconvenience for +him to pay what he conceived would be a mere trifle to him." + +Mr. Salmon had, it seems, forgotten to ask Dymock to sit down; indeed, +there was no chair in the room but that occupied by his own person; +however, he took his own note from the Laird's hands, and having +examined it, he said, "But Mr. Dymock, there are conditions,--the +memorandum is conditional, and I understand thereby, that I undertake to +pay such and such moneys for such and such articles." + +"Well Sir, and have you not these articles in possession?" asked +Dymock; have I removed a single item, which I told you on the honour of +a gentleman should be yours on such and such conditions, and did you not +tell me that you would pay me a certain sum, on entering into possession +of these articles?" + +"What I did say, Sir," replied the old man, "is one thing; or rather +what you choose to assert that I did say, and what is written here is +another thing." + +"Sir!" replied Dymock, "Sir! do you give me the lie?--direct or +indirect, I will not bear it; I, a son of the house of Dymock, to be +thus bearded in my own Tower, to be told that what I choose to assert +may not be true; that I am, in fact, a deceiver,--a sharper,--one that +would prevaricate for sordid pelf!" What more the worthy man added, our +history does not say, but that he added much cannot be disputed, and +that he poured forth in high and honourable indignation, many +sentiments which would have done credit both to the gentleman and the +Christian. + +[Illustration: See Page 123] + +In the meantime the old man had drawn a huge bunch of keys from his +pocket, and had deliberately opened the trunk before mentioned, at the +top of which were sundry yellow canvass bags of specie; he next fitted a +pair of spectacles on his nose, and then raising the cover of the table, +he drew out a drawer containing a pair of scales, and began to weigh his +guineas, as if to make a show of that of which he had none,--honesty; +and the Laird having spent his indignation, was become quiet, and stood +looking on, in a somewhat indolent and slouching attitude, making no +question but that his honourable reasonings had prevailed, and that Mr. +Salmon was about, without further hesitation, to pay him the five +hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and sixpence, which were +his just due. + +Whilst Salmon went on with this process of weighing, which he did with +perfect _sang-froid_, he began to mutter, "Five hundred and ninety-four +pounds, ten shillings, and six-pence; too much, too much by half, for +worm-eaten bed-steads and chairs, darned curtains and faded portraits; +but Mr. Dymock, to show you that I am a man of honour, I will pay you at +this moment four hundred pounds in the King's gold, and the remainder, +that is, the one hundred and ninety-four pounds, ten shillings, and +six-pence, shall be put to arbitration; we will go over each item, you +and I, and a friend of each, and we will examine every article together, +and if it is decided that the things are worth the moneys, well and +good, it shall be so, and I will forthwith pay down the residue, though +not compelled so to do by bond or signature." + +Again the hot blood of the Dymocks rose to the brow of the Laird; by an +amazing effort of prudence and presence of mind, however, he caught up +Salmon's note from the table, a motion which made the old man start, +look up, and turn yellow, and then whisking round on his heel, with an +expression of sovereign contempt, the Laird turned out of the room, +exclaiming, "I scorn to address another word to thee, old deceiver; I +shake the dust of thy floor from my foot; I shall send those to talk +with thee, whose business it is to deal with deceivers;" and thus he +quitted the chamber, drawing the door after him with a force which made +every chamber in the Tower reverberate. + +In descending the spiral stairs, he came to a narrow window, which +overlooked the moat, and from thence he saw Tamar lingering on the other +side thereof. He stood a moment and she called to him; her words were +these,--"Have you sped?" in reply to which, protruding his head through +the narrow aperture, he said: "No! the man's a low and despicable +deceiver," adding other terms which were by no means measured by the +rules of prudence or even courtesy; these words were not, however, lost +on Tamar, and by what she then heard, she was induced to take a measure +which had she deliberated longer thereon, she might not have +ventured upon. + +Dymock having spent his breath and his indignation through the window, +to the disturbance of sundry bats and daws, which resided in the roof of +the Tower, was become so calm that he made the rest of his descent in +his usually tranquil and sluggish style, and even before he had crossed +the court towards the draw-bridge, he had made up his mind to get Shanty +to settle this knotty business, feeling that the old blacksmith would +have been the proper person to have done it from the first. + +Jacob, the ugly, ill-conditioned serving-man, was waiting to turn the +light bridge, and had Dymock looked upon him, he would have seen that +there was triumph on the features of this deformed animal, for Jacob was +in all his master's secrets; he knew that he meant to cheat the Laird, +and he being Salmon's foster brother, already counted upon his master's +riches as his own. Salmon's constitution was failing rapidly, and Jacob, +therefore, soon hoped to gather in his golden harvest. + +Jacob too, hated every creature about him, and his hatred being +inherited from his parents, was likely to be coeval with his life. The +cause of this hatred will be seen in the sequel; but Jacob had no sooner +turned the bridge and fixed it against the opposite bank, than Tamar +springing from behind a cluster of bushes, jumped lightly on the boards, +and the next moment she was with Dymock and Jacob on the inner side of +the moat, under the tower. + +Jacob had started back, as if he had seen a spectre, at the appearance +of the blooming, sparkling Tamar, who came forward without hat or other +head dress, her raven tresses floating in the breeze. + +"Why are you here, my daughter?" said Dymock. + +"Do not restrain me, dear father," she answered, "you have not sped you +say, only permit me to try my skill;" and then turning suddenly to +Jacob, she drew herself up, as Dymock would have said, like a daughter +of kings, and added, "show me to your master, I have business with him; +go and tell him that I am here, and that I would see him." + +"And who are you?" asked Jacob, not insolently as was his wont, but as +if under the impression of some kind of awe; "who shall I say you are?" + +Dymock was about to answer; but Tamar placed her hand playfully on his +lips, and took no other notice of the question of the serving man, but +by repeating her command. + +"What are you doing,--what do you propose to do, Tamar?" said the Laird. +Tamar was fully aware that she had power to cause her patron at any +time, to yield to her caprices; and she now used this power, as women +know so well how to effect these things--not by reason--or persuasion, +but by those playful manoeuvrings, which used in an evil cause have +wrought the ruin of many a more steadfast character than Dymock. + +"I have a thought dear father," she said, "a wish, a fancy, a mere whim, +and you shall not oppose me: only remain where you are; keep guard upon +the bridge, I shall not be absent long, only tell me how it has happened +that your errand here has failed, and you," she added, addressing Jacob, +"go to your master and tell him I am here." + +"Why do you stand?" she added, stamping her little foot with +impatience; "why do you not obey me?" and her dark eyes flashed and +sparkled, "go and tell your master that I wish to see him." + +"And who must I tell him that you are?" he asked. + +"My name has been mentioned in your presence," she replied, "and if you +did not hear it the fault is your own; it will not be told again." + +"Are you the daughter of this gentleman?" asked Jacob. + +"You have heard what he called me," she answered, "go and deliver my +message." + +Whilst Jacob was gone, for go he did, at the young girl's bidding, +Dymock told Tamar all that had taken place in Mr. Salmon's room, and +Tamar confessed her wish to be permitted to speak to the old gentleman +herself. Dymock was glad that any one should undertake this business, +provided he could be relieved from it, and he promised Tamar that he +would stand by the bridge and watch for her till her return. + +"Then I will myself go up to the Tower and demand admission:" so saying, +she ran from Dymock, coursed rapidly through the various courts, and +swift as the wind ascended the stairs, meeting no one in her way. She +found the door of Salmon's chamber ajar, and pushing it open, she +entered, and stood before Salmon, Jacob, and Rebecca (the old woman +before mentioned as having come with Mr. Salmon to the Tower;) these +three were all deep in consultation, Mr. Salmon being still seated where +the Laird had left him. + +As Tamar burst upon them in all the light of youth; of beauty, and of +conscious rectitude in the cause for which she came, the three remained +fixed as statues, Jacob and Rebecca in shrinking attitudes, their eyes +set fearfully upon her, their faces gathering paleness as they gazed; +whilst Salmon flushed to the brow, his eyes distended and his mouth +half open. + +The young girl advanced near to the centre of the room and casting a +glance around her, in which might be read an expression of contempt +quite free from fear, she said, "I am come by authority to receive the +just dues of the late possessor of this place, and I require the sum to +be told into my hand, and this I require in the name of Him who rules on +high, and who will assuredly take cognizance of any act of fraud used +towards a good and honourable man." + +"And who? and who?" said Salmon, his teeth actually chattering "who are +you? and whence come you?" + +"I come from the Laird of Dymock," she answered, "and in his name I +demand his rights!" + +"You, you," said Salmon, "you are his daughter?" + +"That remains to be told," replied Tamar, "what or who I am, is nothing +to you, nor to you, nor you," she added, looking at Jacob and Rebecca, +her eye being arrested for a minute on each, by the singular expression +which passed over their countenances. "Give me the Laird's dues and you +shall hear no more from me," she said, "never again will I come to +trouble your dulness; but, if you deny it to me, you shall never rest +from me;--no, no, I will haunt you day and night," and getting hotter as +she continued to speak, "you shall have no rest from me, neither moat +nor stone walls shall keep me out." She was thinking at that moment of +the secret passage by which she fancied she might get into the Tower, if +at this time she did not succeed; it was a wild and girlish scheme, and +whether practicable or not, she had no time to think. As she uttered +these last words, Salmon rose slowly from his seat, pushed his chair +from behind him and stepped back, a livid paleness covering his +features whilst he exclaimed: "Are you in life? or are you a terrible +vision of my fancy? Jacob,--Rebecca,--do you see it too--Ah! you look +pale, as those who see the dead--is it not so?" + +The terror now expressed in the three countenances, was rapidly +extending to the heart of Tamar. What can all this mean, she thought, +what is there about me that thus appals them: it is their own guilt that +renders them fearful; but why should I fear? now is the moment for +strength of heart, and may heaven grant it to me. Having strength given +her; she again demanded the just due of her guardian. + +"It would be better to give it," muttered Jacob; and Rebecca at the same +time screached out, "In the name of our father Abraham, give her what +she asks, master,--and let her go,--let her go to her father,--to him +that has reared her, and yet disowns her,--let her go to him; or like +the daughters of Moab she will bring a curse on our house." + +"Hold your tongue, you old fool," said Jacob, "what do you know of her, +and of him who was once Laird of Dymock? But, master," he added "pay the +girl what she asks, and I will go down and get back your note, and once +for all we will shut our doors upon these people." + +"But I would know," said Salmon, "I would know whence that girl has +those eyes, which are bright as the bride of Solomon,--as Rachel's," he +added, "they are such as hers." + +"Go to," said Jacob, "what folly is this, tell the money to the girl, +and let her go." + +"Jacob! Jacob!" exclaimed Salmon, "I am ruined, undone, I shall come to +beggary,--five hundred and ninty-four pounds, ten shillings and +sixpence," and the teeth of the old man began to chatter, terror and +dotage and cunning, seeming to be striving within him for the mastery +and altogether depriving him of the power of acting. + +Jacob muttered one or two indistinct imprecations, then approaching the +table himself, he told the gold from the bags with the facility of a +money-changer, whilst Tamar stood calmly watching him; but the serving +man finding the weight too great for her, he exchanged much of the gold, +for Bank of England notes, which he took out of the same trunk, and then +delivering the sum into Tamar's hands; "There young woman, go," he said, +"and never again disturb my master with your presence." + +Whilst this was going on, Salmon had kept his eyes fixed on Tamar, and +once or twice had gasped as if for breath; at length he said, "And you +are Dymock's daughter, damsel, but you are not like your father's +people,--are they not Nazarenes; tell me what was she who bore you?" + +"Beshrew you," exclaimed Jacob, "what is all this to you," and roughly +seizing Tamar by the arm, he drew her out of the room, saying, "you have +all you want, go down to your father, and let us see you no more." + +The young girl almost doubted as she descended the stairs, but that +still she was over-reached, and if so, that Dymock would not perhaps +find it out till it might be too late; she therefore, hearing Jacob +behind her, ran with all her might, and coming to the place where Dymock +stood, she called to him to follow her, and ran directly to Shanty's +shed; Dymock proceeded after her a few yards behind, and Jacob still +farther in the rear, crying "Laird, stop! stop! Mr. Dymock! give us your +release, here is a paper for you to sign." + +Fortunately, Tamar found Shanty alone in his shed, and taking him into +his inner room, she caused him to count and examine the money and thus +was he occupied when Dymock and Jacob came in. Tamar went back to the +outer room of the shed; but Shanty remained within, and when he found +that all was right, Mr. Dymock gave his release. Jacob returned to the +Tower, and old Shanty trotted off to Hexham, to put the money in a place +of security; nor did he fail in his object, so that before he slept, the +Laird had the satisfaction to think that this dirty work was all +completed, and that without his having in the least soiled his own hands +in the process. As to the mystery of Tamar's having been enabled to +effect what he could not do, he soon settled that matter in his own +mind, for, thought he, "if I the Laird of Dymock could never refuse a +favour asked me by this maid of Judah, how could inferior minds be +expected to withstand her influence?"--the poor Laird not considering +that the very inferiority and coarseness of such minds as he attributed +to Salmon and Jacob, would have prevented them from feeling that +influence, which he had found so powerful. But they had felt something, +which certainly belonged to Tamar, and had yielded to that something; +nor could Tamar herself, when she reflected upon that scene in the +Tower, at all comprehend how she had excited such emotions as she +witnessed there; neither could Shanty, nor Mrs. Margaret help her out. + +Again for another month, all went on in its usual routine; all was quiet +at Dymock's Tower, and darning, writing, and hammering, continued to be +the order of the day with Mrs. Margaret, the Laird, and Shanty, whilst +Tamar was all gay and happy in the fulfilment of many active duties, +rising with the lark, and brushing the dew from the frequent herbs which +encompassed her dwelling. It was all summer with her then, nor did she +spoil the present by anticipation of the severities of a wintery day, +for the work of grace was going on with her, and though her natural +temper was lofty and violent, as appeared by her manner to Jacob on the +occasion lately described, yet there was a higher principle imparted, +which rendered these out-breakings every day more rare. + +We have said before, that Mrs. Margaret had a favourite cow, named by +her mistress, Brindle, from the colours of her coat. Tamar had learned +to milk Brindle, and this was always her first work. One morning in the +beginning of August, it happened, or rather, was so ordered by +Providence, that the Laird was constrained through the extreme activity +of his imagination, which had prevented him from sleeping after +midnight, to arise and go down to his study in order to put these +valuable suggestions on paper. It was, however, still so dark when he +descended into his study, that he was compelled to sit down awhile in +his great chair, to await the break of day; and there that happened to +him, which might as well have happened in bed,--that is he fell asleep, +and slept soundly for some hours. All this, however, had not been done +so quietly, but that he had awakened his sister and Tamar, who slept in +the adjoining room; the consequence of which was, that Tamar got up and +dressed herself, and having ascertained the situation of the Laird, and +informed Mrs. Margaret that all was well in that quarter, she descended +again into the kitchen, and proceeded to open the house-door. The shades +of night were as yet not dispersed, although the morning faintly dawned +on the horizon; but the air was soft, fragrant, and elastic, and as it +filled the chest of Tamar, it seemed to inspire her with that sort of +feeling, which makes young things whirl, and prance, and run, and leap, +and perform all those antics which seem to speak of naught but folly to +all the sober and discreet elders, who have forgotten that they were +ever young. + +Almost intoxicated with this feeling inspired by the morning air, Tamar +bounded from the step of the door, and ran a considerable way, first +along the bottom of the glen, and then in a parallel line on the green +side thereof; suddenly coming to a stand, she looked for Brindle, and +could not at first discern her; a minute afterwards, however, she saw +her at the higher end of the glen, just where it opened on the moor, and +where it had hitherto been protected from the inroads of the sheep, or +other creatures feeding on the common, by a rail and gate. This rail and +gate had wanted a little repair for several weeks, the Laird having +promised to give it that repair; and he was well able so to have done, +having at one time of his life worked several months with the village +carpenter. But the good man had not fulfilled his promise, and it had +only been the evening before that Tamar had tied up the gate with what +came nearest to her hand, namely, certain tendrils of a creeper which +hung thereabouts from the rock that formed the chasm by which the valley +was approached in that direction. These tendrils she had twisted +together so as to form a band, never supposing that Brindle, though a +young and female creature, could possibly be sufficiently capricious to +leave her usual fragrant pasturage, in order to pull and nibble this +withering band. But, however, so it was, as Tamar asserted, for there +when she came up to the place, the band was broken, the gate forced +open, and Brindle walking quietly forward through the narrow gully +towards the moor. + +Tamar being come to the gate, stopped there, and called Brindle, who +knew Tamar as well as she knew her own calf. But the animal had snuffed +the air of liberty which came pouring down the little pass, from the +open moor, and she walked deliberately on with that air which seemed to +say,--"I hear your voice, but I am not coming." + +Tamar was provoked; had it been a human creature who was thus acting she +might perhaps have recollected that it is not good to give way to anger; +as it was, she made no such reflection, but exclaiming in strong terms +against the creature, she began to run, knowing that if Brindle once got +on the moor it would probably cost her many a weary step before she +could get her back again. In measure however, as she quickened her pace, +so did Brindle, and in a few minutes the truant animal had reached the +open moor and began to career away in high style, as if rejoicing in the +trouble she was giving. + +But even on the open moor it was yet very dusk; the dawn was hardly +visible on the summits of the distant hills, and where there were woods +or valleys the blackness was unbroken. + +Tamar stood almost in despair, when she found that the animal had +reached the open ground; but whilst watching how she could get round +her, so as to turn her back, the creature rather slackened her pace, and +began to browze the short grass among the heather. Tamar now slowly +advancing was taking a compass to come towards her head, when she, +perceiving her, turned directly round, and trotted on straightforward to +the knoll, which was at most not half a quarter of a mile from the +dingle; Tamar followed her, but could not reach her till she had pushed +her way in among the trees and bushes, and when Tamar reached the place, +she found her quietly feeding in the green area, surrounded by the +ruins. The light was still very imperfect, and Tamar was standing half +hid by the bushes and huge blocks of granite, doubting whether she +should not leave the cow there whilst she ran back to call the Laird to +assist her, when suddenly she was startled by the sound of voices. She +drew closer behind the block, and remained perfectly still, and ceased +to think of the cow, so great was her amazement to find persons in a +place, generally deserted by the country people, under the impression +that things were there which should not be spoken of. She then also +remembered her adventure with Sappho, and what Mrs. Margaret had told +her of the concealed passage; and now recollecting that secret passage, +she was aware that she stood not very far from the mysterious door-way. + +All these thoughts crowded to her mind, but perfect quiet was needful at +the moment. As the disk of the sun approached the horizon, the light was +rapidly increasing; the dawn in those higher latitudes is however long, +but those who knew the signs of the morning were aware that it would +soon terminate, and that they whose deeds feared the light had no +time to lose. + +Tamar accordingly heard low voices, speaking, as it were in the mouth of +the cavern, and then a voice of one without the cavern--of one as in +the act of departing, saying distinctly, "twelve then at midnight!" The +answer from within did not reach Tamar's ears, at least, she heard only +an indistinct murmur, but the voice without again came clear to her, and +the words were to this effect, "I will not fail; I will take care that +he shall be in no condition to return;" the answer was again lost to +Tamar, and probably some question, but the reply to this question was +clear. "It is his day to go,--the garrison can't live without +provision,--if he don't go to-day, we must skulk another twenty-four +hours,--we must not venture with him, there will be murder!" then +followed several sentences in such broad slang, as Tamar could not +comprehend, though she thought she understood the tendency of these +words, which were mixed with oaths and terms so brutal, that her blood +ran cold in thinking of them; "Caught in his own snare,--he will sink +in his own dyke,--we have him now, pelf and all." After this, Tamar +heard parting steps, and various low rumbling noises as if proceeding +from under ground; then all was still, and no farther sound was heard by +her, but the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the cropping +of the herb by the incisors of Brindle. In the mean time the morning +broke, the light of day was restored, and Tamar creeping gently from her +hiding-place, left Brindle, whilst she ran back to the cottage. + +She had not gone far, before she met the labourer who was accustomed to +assist her in the care of the garden. She told him that the cow had +strayed to the knoll, and that she had seen her enter among the trees; +and he undertook, with his dog, to drive her back to the glen, though, +he said, he would on no account go up on the knoll, but his dog would +drive her down, and he would see her home. + +"And why not go on to the knoll?" said Tamar. The man replied, that the +place was known to be uncanny, and that not only strange noises, but +strange sights had been seen there. + +"Lately?" asked Tamar, "have they been seen and heard lately?" + +The poor man could not assert that they had, and Tamar was not going to +tell him what she had seen and heard. No! this mystery was to be left +for the consideration of Dymock and Shanty, and she was anxious to know +if their thoughts agreed with hers. + +When she arrived at the cottage, and the labourer had brought back +Brindle, and fastened the gate, and Tamar had milked her cow, and done +her usual services, she went to Dymock who was just awake, and brought +him out to breakfast with Mrs. Margaret, "You shall not say any thing +about posterity, and the benefits which you are doing to them by +recording your thoughts, this morning, sir," she said, "but you shall +hear what I have to tell you, and I will not tell you, but in the +presence of Mrs. Margaret." When Dymock heard what Tamar had to say, he +was at first quite amazed, for it seems, that if he had ever heard of +the secret passage he had forgotten it, and Mrs. Margaret had had her +reasons, for not stirring up his recollections; but when he was made +acquainted with this fact, and had put together all that Tamar had +related, he made the same reflections which she had done, and said that +he had no doubt, but that these ruins had been the rendezvous of +vagrants for years, and that there was now a plan to rob Mr. Salmon, +through the means of the secret passage. He went further, for he had no +lack of imagination, and proceeded to conjecture, that it was through +the manoeuvreing of these very vagrants, that the old curmudgeon had +been brought to Dymock's Tower, and following the connexion, he began to +put together the appearance of the young blacksmith, the gipsy who had +left Tamar at Shanty's, her second appearance and rapid disappearance, +the coming of Mr. Salmon, his supposed riches, his strange whim of +shutting himself up, and every other extraordinary circumstance, in a +jumble even more inexplicable and confusing, than any of his previous +speculations upon these events,--and when he had so done he put on his +hat, and declared that he must go forthwith to Shanty. + +"To see," said Tamar, "what he can hammer out of it all, but something +must and ought to be done to put Mr. Salmon on his guard, for otherwise, +assuredly he will be robbed this night." + +"And perhaps murdered," exclaimed Mrs. Margaret; "but go, brother, be +quick, and let us have Shanty's advice." + +"And I," said Tamar, after the Laird was departed, "will go to the +Tower, and if possible get admittance. I will stop the going off +of Jacob." + +Mrs. Margaret expostulated with her, but all her pleadings came to +this,--that she should send a neighbour to watch for Tamar on the side +of the moat, the young girl having assured her kind protectress, that +she had nothing to fear for her, and that as the Laird was proverbially +a procrastinator, he might let half the day pass, before he had settled +what was to be done. + +Poor Mrs. Margaret was all tremor and agitation; at the bottom of her +heart, she did not like to be left in the cottage, so near a gang of +thieves as she felt herself to be; she was not, however, a selfish +character, and after some tears, she kissed Tamar and bade her go, +watching her the whole way through the glen, as if she were parting with +her for years. + +The light step of the young girl, soon brought her to the edge of the +moat, and she arrived, as it was ordered by Providence, at a very +convenient time, for she met Rebecca on the moor, the old woman having +just parted from Jacob, whose figure was still to be seen jogging along +the heath. The first words of Tamar were to entreat Rebecca to call +Jacob back, and when she found that she was speaking to one who chose to +lend a deaf ear, she raised her own voice, but with equal ill success; +turning then again to Rebecca, she saw that she was hastening to the +bridge, on which she followed her, and was standing with her under the +Tower, before the old woman could recollect herself. + +The creature looked yellow with spite, as she addressed the young maiden +with many bitter expressions, asking her what she did there, and bidding +her to be gone. + +"I am come," replied Tamar, "to see your master, and I will see him." + +"It is what you never shall again," replied the dame; "he has never +been himself since he last saw you." + +"How is that?" said Tamar; "What did I do, but press him to act as an +honourable man, but of this I am resolved," she added, "that I will now +see him again," and as she spoke, she proceeded through the postern into +the courts, still passing on towards the principal door of the Tower, +Rebecca following her, and pouring upon her no measured abuse. Tamar, +however, remarked, that the old woman lowered her voice as they advanced +nearer the house, on which she raised her own tones, and said, "I must, +and will see Mr. Salmon, it is a matter of life and death I come +upon;--life and death I repeat, and if you or your master, have any +thing on your minds or consciences, you will do well to hear what I have +to tell you; a few hours hence and it will be too late." + +"In that case," said Rebecca, looking at one angry and terrified, "come +with me, and I will hear you." + +"No," exclaimed Tamar, speaking loud, "I will see your master, my errand +is to him," and at the same instant, the quick eye of the young girl, +observed the face of Salmon peering through a loop-hole, fitted with a +casement, which gave light to a closet near the entrance. Encouraged by +this she spoke again, and still louder than before, saying, "See him I +will, and from me alone, shall he hear the news I am come to tell." The +next minute she heard the casement open, and saw the head of the old man +obtruded from thence, and she heard a querulous, broken voice, asking +what was the matter? Tamar stepped back a few paces, in order that she +might have a clearer view of the speaker, and then looking up, she said, +"I am come Mr. Salmon as a friend, and only as a friend, to warn you of +a danger which threatens you,--hear me, and you may be saved,--but if +you refuse to hear me, I tell you, that you may be a ghastly livid +corpse before the morning." + +"Rebecca, Rebecca!" cried the old man, "Rebecca, I say, speak to her," +and his voice faltered, the accents becoming puling. + +"Hear her not," said the dame, "she is a deceiver, she is come to get +money out of you." + +"And heaven knows," cried Mr. Salmon, "that she is then coming to gather +fruit from a barren tree. Money, indeed! and where am I to find money, +even for her,--though she come in such a guise, as would wring the last +drop of the heart's blood?" + +"Tush!" said Rebecca, "you are rambling and dreaming again;" but the old +man heard her not, he had left the lattice, and in a few seconds he +appeared within the passage. During this interval, Rebecca had not been +quiet, for she had seized the arm of Tamar, and the young girl had +shaken her off with some difficulty, and not without saying, "Your +unwillingness to permit me to speak to your master, old woman, goes +against you, but it shall not avail you, speak to him I will," and the +contest between Tamar and the old woman was still proceeding, when +Salmon appeared in the passage. + +Tamar instantly sprang to meet him, and seeing that his step was feeble +and tottering, she supported him to a chair, in a small parlour which +opened into the passage, and there, standing in the midst of the floor +between him and Rebecca, she told her errand; nor was she interrupted +until she had told all, the old man looking as if her recital had turned +him into stone, and the old woman expressing a degree of terror, which +at least cleared her in Tamar's mind, of the guilt of being connected +with the thieves of the secret passage. + +As soon as the young girl had finished, the old miser broke out in the +most bitter and helpless lamentations. "My jewels!--my silver!--my +moneys!" he exclaimed, "Oh my moneys!--my moneys! Tell me, tell me +damsel, what I can do? Call Jacob. Where is Jacob? Oh, my +moneys!--my jewels!" + +"Peace, good sir! peace!" said Tamar, "we will befriend you, we will +assist you, we will protect you; the Laird is an honourable man, he will +protect you. I have known him long, long,--since I was a baby; and he +would perish before he would wrong any one, or see another wronged." + +"The Laird did you say," asked Salmon, "your father; he is your father +damsel is he not?" + +"I have no other," replied Tamar, "I never knew another. Why do you ask +me?" + +"Because," said Rebecca, "he is doting, and thinks more of other +people's concerns than his own." + +"Has he ever lost a daughter?" asked Tamar. + +"He lost a wife in her youth," answered the old woman, "and he was +almost in his dotage when he married her, and he fancies because you +have black hair, that you resemble her; but there is no more likeness +between you two, than there is between a hooded crow and a raven." + +"There is more though, there is much more though," muttered the old man, +"and Jacob saw it too, and owned that he did." + +"The fool!" repeated Rebecca, "the fool! did I not tell him that he was +feeding your poor mind with follies; tell me, how should this poor girl +be like your wife?" + +The old man shook his head, and answered, "Because, he that made them +both, fashioned them to be so; and Rebecca, I have been thinking that +had my daughter lived, had Jessica lived till now, she would have been +just such a one." + +"Preserve you in your senses, master," exclaimed Rebecca, "such as they +are, they are better than none; but had your daughter lived, she would +have been as unlike this damsel as you ever were to your bright browed +wife. Why you are short and shrivelled, so was your daughter; your +features are sharp, and so were hers; she was ever a poor pining thing, +and when I laid her in her grave beside her mother, it was a corpse to +frighten one; it was well for you, as I ever told you, that she died +as soon." + +"Yet had she lived, I might have had a thing to love," replied the old +man; and then, looking at Tamar, he added, "They tell me you are the +Laird's daughter,--is it so, fair maid?" + +Rebecca again interrupted him. "What folly is this," she said, raising +her voice almost to a shriek, "how know you but that, whilst you are +questioning the damsel, your chests and coffers are in the hands of +robbers; your money, I tell you, is in danger: your gold, your oft-told +gold. You were not wont to be so careless of your gold; up and look +after it. You will be reduced to beg your bread from those you hate; +arise, be strong. Where are your keys? Give them to the damsel; she is +young and active; she will swiftly remove the treasure out of the way. +Can you not trust her? See you not the fair guise in which she comes? +Can you suspect a creature who looks like your wife, like Rachel? Is not +her tale well framed; and are you, or are you not deceived by her fair +seemings? She is the daughter of a beggar, and she knows herself to be +such; and there is no doubt but that she has her ends to answer by +giving this alarm." + +The old man had arisen; he looked hither and thither; he felt for his +keys, which were hanging at his girdle; and then, falling back into his +chair, he uttered one deep groan and became insensible, his whole +complexion turning to a livid paleness. + +"He is dying!" exclaimed Tamar, holding him up in his chair, from which +he would have otherwise fallen. "He is dying, the poor old man is dying; +bring water, anything." + +"He has often been in this way since he came here," replied Rebecca. "We +have thought that he has had a stroke; he is not the man he was a few +months since; and had I known how it would be, it is strange but I would +have found means to hinder his coming." + +"If he were ever so before," said Tamar "why did you work him up, and +talk to him, as you did, about his daughter; but, fetch some water," +she added. + +"I shall not leave him with you," answered Rebecca. + +"Nor shall I abandon him to your tender mercies," replied Tamar, +"whilst he is in this condition. I am not his daughter, it is true,--but +he is a feeble old man, and I will befriend him if I can." + +The old gentleman at this moment fell forward with such weight, that +Tamar ran from behind him, and dropping down on her knees, received his +head on her shoulder, then, putting one arm round him, she was glad to +hear a long, deep sigh, the prelude of his returning to partial +consciousness; and as he opened his eyes, he said,--"Ah, Rachel, is it +you? You have been gone a long time." + +Tamar was at that moment alone with the old man. Rebecca had heard +voices at a distance, and she had run to pull up the bridge. + +"I am not your Rachel, venerable Sir," she said; "but the adopted +daughter of the Laird of Dymock," and she gently laid his head back. + +"Then why do you come to me like her?" said the old man. "That is +wrong, it is very cruel; it is tormenting me before my time. I have not +hurt you, and I will give you more gold if you will not do this again." + +"You rave, Sir," said Tamar. "Who do you take me for?" + +"A dream," he answered. "I have been dreaming again;" and he raised +himself, shook his head, rubbed his hands across his eyes, and looked as +usual; but before he could add another word, Dymock and Shanty entered +the parlour. + +Rebecca had been too late in preventing their crossing the bridge, and +they with some difficulty made the old gentleman understand that if he +had any valuables, they must ascertain whether the place in which they +were kept was any way approachable by the cavern. They also told him +that they had taken means to have the exterior mouth of the cavern upon +the knoll, stopped up, after the gang were in it; that they had +provided a considerable force for this purpose; and that they should +bring in men within the Tower to seize the depredators. Dymock then +requested Tamar to return to Mrs. Margaret, and remain quietly with her; +and when she was gone, the bridge was drawn up, and she went back to +the cottage. + +She had much to tell Mrs. Margaret, and long, very long,--after they had +discussed many times the singular scene between Salmon, Rebecca, and +Tamar, and spoken of what might be the plans of Dymock and Shanty for +securing the Tower,--did the remainder of the day appear to them. +Several times they climbed to the edge of the glen, to observe if aught +was stirring; but all was still as usual. There stood the old Tower in +solemn, silent unconsciousness of what might soon pass within it; and +there was the knoll, looking as green and fresh as it was ever wont +to do. + +At sun-set Tamar and Mrs. Margaret again visited this post of +observation, and again after they had supped at eight o'clock. They then +returned and shut their doors; they made up their fires; and whilst +Tamar plied her needle, Mrs. Margaret told many ancient tales and dismal +predictions of secret murders, corpse-candles, and visions of +second-sight, after which, as midnight approached, they became more +restless and anxious respecting their friends, wondering what they would +do, and expressing their hopes, or their fears, in dark sentences, such +as these:--"We trust no blood may be shed!--if there should be +blood!--if Dymock or poor Shanty should be hurt!" Again, they turned to +form many conjectures, and put many things together:--"Was Mr. Salmon +connected with the gipsies who had brought Tamar to the moor?--Was it +this gang that proposed robbing him?--Was the young blacksmith called +Harefoot connected with the gipsy?--Had he persuaded Salmon to bring +his treasures there, in order that he might pilfer them?--And lastly, +wherefore was Mr. Salmon so affected both times he had seen Tamar?" +Here, indeed, was a subject for conjecture, which lasted some hours, and +beguiled the sense of anxiety. At length the morning began to dawn on +that long night, and Tamar went out to milk Brindle, whose caprices had, +in fact, the day before, been the first mover in all this confusion. +Cows must be milked, even were the master of the family dying; and Tamar +wished to have this task over before any message should come from the +Tower; and scarcely had she returned to the cottage, when the lad who +administered the wind to Shanty's forge, came running with such haste, +that, to use his own words,--"he had no more breath left for speaking +than a broken bellows." + +"For the love of prince Charles," he said, "can you give us any +provender, Mrs. Margaret? It is cold work watching all night, with +neither food nor drink, save one bottle of whiskey among ten of us, and +scarce a dry crust." + +"But what have you done?" asked Tamar. + +"We have nabbed them," replied the boy. "There were four of them, +besides an old woman who was taken in the cave, and they are in the +Tower till we can get the magistrates here, and proper hands to see them +off. They came like rats from under ground. My master had made out where +to expect them, in one of the cellars, behind the great hogshead which +used to be filled at the birth of the heir, and emptied at his coming of +age. So we were ready in the cellar, and nabbed three of them there, and +the other, who was hindmost, and the woman, were taken as they ran out +the other way; and there they are in the strong-hold, that is, the four +men, but the woman is up above; and it is pitiful to hear how she howls +and cries, and calls for the Laird; but he fell asleep as soon as he +knew all was safe, and we have not the heart to disturb him." + +"Well," said Mrs. Margaret, "I am most thankful that all is over without +bloodshed, and my nephew asleep. No wonder, as he has not slept since +twelve in the morning of yesterday." + +"Excepting in his chair," said Tamar. + +"But the provender, mistress," said the young man. + +"Here," replied Tamar; "lift this pail on your head, and take this loaf, +and I will follow with what else I can find." + +"Nay, Tamar," said Mrs. Margaret, "You would not go where there is such +a number of men and no woman, but that old witch Rebecca." + +"I am not afraid of going where my father is," replied Tamar; "but I +must see that woman. I should know her immediately. I am convinced that +she is the very person who brought me to Shanty's shed. She hinted at +some connexion with me. Oh, horrible! may it not be possible that I may +have near relations among these miserable men who are shut up in the +strong-hold of the Tower?" + +As Tamar said these words, she burst into tears, and sunk upon the bosom +of Mrs. Margaret, who, kissing her tenderly, said, "Child of my +affections, of this be assured, that nothing shall separate you from me. +My heart, methinks, clings more and more to you; and oh, my Tamar! that +which I seem most to fear is that you should be claimed by any one who +may have a right to take you from me." + +This was a sort of assurance at that moment requisite to the poor girl; +and such, indeed, was the interest which Mrs. Margaret felt in +ascertaining if this really were the woman who had brought Tamar to +Shanty's, that she put on her hood and cloak, and having filled a basket +from the larder, she locked the cottage door, and went with Tamar to +the Tower. It was barely light when they crossed the moat, for the +bridge was not drawn; and when they entered the inner-court, they found +many of the peasants seated in a circle, dipping portions of the loaf in +Brindle's pail. + +"Welcome! welcome! to your own place, Mrs. Margaret Dymock!" said one of +them, "and here," he added, dipping a cup into the pail, "I drink to the +restoration of the rightful heir and the good old family, and to your +house-keeping, Mrs. Margaret; for things are done now in another style +to what they were in your time." + +A general shout seconded this sentiment, and Mrs. Margaret, curtseying, +and then pluming herself, answered, "I thank you, my friends, and +flatter myself, that had my power been equal to my will, no hungry +person should ever have departed from Dymock's Tower." + +The ladies were then obliged to stand and hear the whole history of the +night's exploit,--told almost in as many ways as there were tongues to +tell it; and whilst these relations were going forward, the sun had +fairly risen above the horizon, and was gilding the jagged battlements +of the Tower. + +Shanty was not with the party in the court, but he suddenly appeared in +the door-way of the Tower. He seemed in haste and high excitement, and +was about to call to any one who would hear him first, when his eye fell +on Tamar and Mrs. Margaret. "Oh, there you are," he said; "I was looking +for one of swift foot to bring you here. Come up this moment; you are +required to be present at the confession of the gipsy wife, who is now +willing to tell all, on condition that we give her her liberty. Whether +this can be allowed or not, we doubt; though she did not make herself +busy with the rest, but was caught as she tried to escape by +the knoll." + +"Oh! spare her, if possible," said Tamar, "or let her escape, if you can +do nothing else to save her; I beseech you spare her!" Shanty made no +reply, but led the way to an upper room of the Tower, which had in old +time, when there were any stores to keep, (a case which had not occurred +for some years,) been occupied as a strong-hold for groceries, and other +articles of the same description; and there, besides the prisoner, who +stood sullenly leaning against the wall, with her arms folded, sat +Dymock and Salmon,--the Laird looking all importance, his lips being +compressed and his arms folded,--and old Salmon, being little better in +appearance than a _caput mortuum_, so entirely was the poor creature +overpowered by the rapid changes in the scenes which were enacting +before him. + +Shanty had met Rebecca running down the stairs as he was bringing up +Mrs. Margaret, and he had seized her and brought her in, saying, "Now +old lady, as we are coming to a clearance, it might be just as well to +burn out your dross among the rest; or may be," he added, "you may +perhaps answer to the lumps of lime-stone in the furnace, not of much +good in yourself, but of some service to help the smelting of that which +is better,--so come along, old lady; my mind misgives me, that you have +had more to do in making up this queer affair than you would have it +supposed." The more Rebecca resisted, the more determined was Shanty; +neither did he quit his hold of the old woman, until the whole party had +entered the room, the door being shut, and his back set against it, +where he kept his place, like a bar of iron in a stanchion. + +Chairs had been set for Mrs. Margaret and Tamar, and when they were +seated Dymock informed the prisoner that she might speak. Tamar had +instantly recognized her; so had Shanty; and both were violently +agitated, especially the former, when she began to speak. We will not +give her story exactly in her own words; for she used many terms, which, +from the mixture of gipsy slang and broad Border dialect, would not be +generally understood; but, being translated, her narrative stood as +follows:-- + +She was, it seems, of gipsy blood, and had no fixed habitation, but many +hiding places, one of which was the cavern or passage connected with +Dymock's Tower. Another of her haunts was Norwood Common, which, every +one knows, is near London, and there was a sort of head-quarters of the +gang, though, as was their custom, they seldom committed depredations +near their quarters. She said, that, one day being on the common, she +came in front of an old, black and white house, (which was taken down +not many years afterwards;) in the front thereof was a garden, and a +green lawn carefully trimmed, and in that garden on a seat sat an old +lady, a tall and comely dame, she said, and she was playing with a +little child, who might have been a year and-a-half old. The gipsy, it +seems, had asked charity through the open iron railing of the garden; +and the lady had risen and approached the railing, bringing the child +with her, and putting the money into the infant's hand to pass it +through the railing. The vagrant had then observed the dress and +ornaments of the child, that she had a necklace of coral, clasped with +some sparkling stone, golden clasps in her shoes, much rich lace about +her cap, and above all, golden bracelets of curious workmanship on +her wrists. + +"She had not," said Rebecca; "she never wore those ornaments excepting +on festival days." + +The vagrant took no notice of this remark of Rebecca's; but Shanty gave +the old servant a piercing look, whilst all others present, with the +exception of Salmon, felt almost fainting with impatience; but Salmon's +mind seemed for the moment in such a state of obtuseness, as disabled +him from catching hold of the link which was leading to that which was +to interest him as much as, or even more than, any one present. The +gipsy went on to say, that her cupidity was so much excited by these +ornaments, that she fixed her eye immediately on the family, and +resolved, if possible, to get possession of the child. She first +inquired respecting the family, and learned, that the house was occupied +by a widow lady, who had with her an only daughter, a married woman; +that the child she had seen belonged to that daughter; and that the +husband was abroad, and was a Jew, supposed to be immensely rich. + +"I knew it," said Dymock, turning round and snapping his fingers; "I +hammered it out, Master Shanty, sooner than you did; I knew the +physiognomy of a daughter of Zion at the very first glance; you, too, +must never talk again of your penetration, Aunt Margaret," and the good +man actually danced about the room; but Shanty on one side, and Aunt +Margaret on the other, seized him by an arm, and forced him again upon +his chair, entreating him to be still; whilst Salmon roused himself in +his seat, shook off, or tried to shake off his confusion, and fixed his +eyes stedfastly on the vagrant. + +The woman then went on to describe the means by which she had got a sort +of footing in this house; how she first discovered the back-door, and +under what pretences she invited the servants to enter into a sort of +concert with her for their mutual emolument, they bartering hare-skins, +kitchen grease, cold meat, &c., for lace, tapes, thread, ballads, and +other small matters. + +"The thieves?" cried Salmon; but no one noticed him. + +"There were only two servants in the house," said the gipsy; "there +might be others, but I saw them not, and one of those now stands here;" +and she fixed her eagle eye on Rebecca; "the other is Jacob." + +"Jacob and Rebecca!" exclaimed Salmon; "it was my house, then, that you +were robbing, and my servants whom you were tampering with." + +"Go on," said Dymock to the vagrant, whose story then proceeded to this +effect:-- + +She had visited the offices of this house several times; when, coming +one evening by appointment of the servants, with some view to bartering +the master's goods with her own wares, she found the family in terrible +alarm, she had come as she said, just at the crisis in which a soul had +parted, and it was the soul of that same old lady who had been playing +with the infant on the grass-plot. + +Rebecca was wailing and groaning in the kitchen, for she needed help to +streak the corpse, and the family had lived so close and solitary, that +she knew of no one at hand to whom to apply, and she feared that the +dead would become stark and cold, before she could find help; Jacob was +not within, he had gone to London, to fetch a Doctor of their own creed, +and was not likely to be back for some time. + +"And why? said I," continued the vagrant, "why, said I, should I not do +for this service as well as another? for many and many had been the +corpse which I had streaked; so she accepted my offer, and took me up to +the chamber of death, and I streaked the body, and a noble corpse it +was. The dame had been a comely one, as tall as that lady," pointing to +Dymock's aunt, "and not unlike her." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Margaret, smiling, "I understand it now;" but +Dymock bade her be silent, and the vagrant went on. + +"So," said she, "when I had streaked the body, I said to Rebecca we +must have a silver plate, for pewter will not answer the purpose." + +"What for?" said she. + +"'To fill with salt,' I answered, 'and set upon the breast.' + +"So she fetched me a silver plate half filled with salt, and I laid it +on the corpse; 'and now,' I said, 'we must have rue and marjoram, run +down and get me some;' and then I frightened her, poor fool as she was, +by telling her that by the limpness of the hand of the corpse, I augured +another death very soon in the house." + +"When I told this to Rebecca, the creature was so frightened, that away +she ran, leaving me in the room with the body. Swift as thought," +continued the woman, "I caught the silver dish, and was running down +stairs,--it was gloaming--when I saw a door open opposite the chamber of +death, and there, in the glimmering, I saw the child of the family +asleep in a little crib. She had on her usual dress, with the ornaments +I spoke of, and seemed to have fallen asleep before her time, as she was +not undressed. I caught her up, asleep as she was, and the next moment I +was out in the yard, and across the court, and through the back-door, +and away over the common, and to where I knew that none would follow me, +but they of my people, who would help my flight." + +"And the child with you," said Salmon, "did you take the child?" + +"More I will not tell," added the woman; "no, nor more shall any +tortures force from me, unless you bind yourselves not to prosecute +me,--unless you promise me my liberty." + +"I have told you," said the Laird, "that if you tell every thing you +shall be free,--do you question my truth?" + +"No, Dymock," said the vagrant; "I know you to be a man of truth, and +in that dependence you shall hear all." + +"I stripped the child of her gaudery, I wrapped her in rags, and I slung +her on my back; but I did her no harm, and many a weary mile I bore her, +till I came to the moor; and then, because she was a burden, and because +the brand on her shoulder would assuredly identify her, if suspicion +fell on me for having stolen her, I left her in the old blacksmith's +shed, and there she found a better father than you would have made her; +for what are you but a wicked Jew, with a heart as hard as the gold +you love." + +The fixed, and almost stone-like attitude in which the old man stood for +some moments after his understanding had admitted the information given +by the vagrant, so drew the attention of all present, that there was not +a sound heard in the room, every one apprehending that the next moment +they should see him drop down dead, nor did any one know what was best +to do next; but this moment of terror was terminated by the old man's +sinking on his knees, clasping his hands, and lifting his eyes, and +breaking out in a short but solemn act of thanksgiving, and then turning +his head without rising, as it were looking for his daughter, she sprang +toward him, and threw her arms about him, whilst he still knelt. It +would be difficult to describe the scene which followed: Dymock began to +caper and exult, Mrs. Margaret to weep, Rebecca to utter imprecations, +and Shanty to sing and whistle, as he was wont to do when hammering in +his shed, and the vagrant to dare the old Jewess to deny any thing which +she had said. When Dymock had assisted Tamar to lift her father into the +chair, and when the old man had wept plentifully, he was again anxious +to examine the case more closely; and a discussion followed, in which +many things were explained and cleared up on both sides, though it was +found necessary for this end, to promise Rebecca that she should be +forgiven, and no vengeance taken upon her, if she should confess her +part of the history. This discussion lasted long, and the substance of +what was then opened to Tamar and her paternal friends was this:--Mr. +Salmon was, it seems, a Polish Jew, extremely rich, and evidently very +parsimonious; he had had mercantile concerns in London, and had there +married, when nearly fifty years of age, a beautiful young Jewess, whose +mother he had greatly benefitted, when in the most deplorable +circumstances. With this lady he had gone abroad, and it was very +evident that he had been a severe and jealous husband. She had brought +him a daughter soon after her marriage. This child was born in Poland, +Rebecca was her nurse; but Mrs. Salmon, falling into bad health +immediately after the birth of the child, she implored her husband to +permit her to return to England, and to her mother. Salmon saw that she +was not happy with him; and the strange suspicion seized him, as there +was little tie between him and his wife, that in case his own child +died, she might palm another upon him,--to prevent which, he branded the +babe with the figure of a palm branch, and sent her home, with Rebecca +and Jacob, who were both Jews, to watch her; though there was no need, +as Rachel was a simple, harmless creature. She was also in very bad +health when she reached England, and scarcely survived her mother three +days, and during that time hardly asked for her child; and the artful +servants had contrived to make their master believe that the baby had +proved a sickly deformed creature, and had died, and been buried in the +coffin with its mother. + +Salmon was in Poland when all these horrors occurred, and there Jacob +and Rebecca found him; and having now no other object, he devoted +himself entirely to amassing riches, passing from one state of +covetousness to another, till at length he began to fall into the dotage +of avarice, which consists in laying up money for the sake of laying up, +and delighting in the view of hoards of gold and precious things. With +this madness in his mind, he turned much of his property into jewels, +and returning to England, he began to look about for a safe place +wherein he might deposit his treasures. But, as a Jew, he could not +possess land; he therefore passed the form of naturalization, and whilst +looking about for a situation in which he might dwell in safety, his +character and circumstances became in part known to the gipsies, (who, +amongst other thieves, always have their eyes on those who are supposed +to carry valuables about them,) and the man called Harefoot, formed the +plan of getting him and his treasures into Dymock's Tower. This Harefoot +was the nephew of the woman who had brought Tamar to Shanty's; and the +old miser, being tempted by the moat, and other circumstances of the +place, fell into the snare which had been thus skillfully laid for him. +It was not till after Salmon had come to the Tower, that the connection +between Salmon and Tamar was discovered by the old woman; and it was at +this time that she contrived to meet Tamar, and to convey the notion to +her, that she was of a gipsy family; fearing lest she should, by any +means, be led to an explanation with Salmon, before her nephew and his +gang had made sure of the treasure. Harefoot had supposed that he and +his gang were the only persons who knew of the secret passage; and the +reason why they had not made the attempt of robbing Salmon by that +passage sooner, was simply this, that Harefoot, having been detected in +some small offence in some distant county, had been confined several +weeks in a house of correction, from which he had not been set free +many days before he came to the moor, and took upon himself the conduct +of the plot for robbing Salmon. + +What Jacob and Rebecca's plans were did not appear, or wherefore they +had not only fallen in with, but promoted the settlement of their master +in the Tower; but that their object was a selfish one cannot be doubted. + +Had other confirmation been wanting, after the mark on Tamar's shoulder +had been acknowledged, the vagrant added it, by producing a clasp of one +armlet, which she had retained, and carried about with her in a leathern +bag, amongst sundry other heterogeneous relics; and she accounted for +having preserved it, from the fear she had of exposing a cypher wrought +on a precious stone, which might, she thought, lead to detection. + +A dreadful hue and cry in the court below, soon after this disturbed the +conference. All seemed confusion and uproar; Dymock and Shanty rushed +down stairs, and aunt Margaret and Tamar ran out to the window in the +nearest passage; there they learnt that the prisoners had broken the +bars of their dungeon, swam the moat, and fled; and the ladies could see +the peasants in pursuit, scouring over the moor, whilst those they were +pursuing were scarcely visible. + +"I am glad of it," said Tamar, "I should rejoice in their escape, they +will trouble us no more; and oh, my dear mother, I would not, that one +sad heart, should now mix itself with our joyful ones!" + +Mrs. Margaret and Tamar stood at the window till they saw the pursuers +turning back to the castle, some of them not being sorry in their +hearts, at the escape of the rogues, but the most remarkable part of the +story was, that whilst they had all been thus engaged, the woman had +also made off, and, though probably not in company with her, that most +excellent and faithful creature Rebecca, neither of whom were ever +heard of again. + +And now none were left, but those who hoped to live and die in each +other's company, but these were soon joined by the magistrates and legal +powers, who had been summoned from the nearest town, together with +people from all quarters, who flocked to hear and learn what was going +forward; and here was an opportunity not to be lost by Dymock and +Shanty, of telling the wonderful tale, and old Salmon having been +recruited with some small nourishment, administered by Mrs. Margaret, +presented his daughter to the whole assembly, and being admonished by +Shanty, placed in her hands before them, the deed of transfer of the +lands and castle of Dymock, which in fact to him, was but a drop in the +ocean of his wealth. + +As she received this deed, she fell on one knee, and kissed her +venerable father's hand, after which he raised and embraced her, +paternal affection and paternal pride acting like the genial warmth of +the sun, in thawing the frost of his heart and frame. She had whispered +something whilst he kissed her, and as his answer had been favourable, +she turned to Dymock, and now bending on both knees, she placed the deed +in his hands, her sweet face at the same time being all moist with +gushing tears, falling upon her adopted father's hand. + +Shanty in his apron and unshorn chin, explained to those about, what had +been done; for they, that is the Laird, Aunt Margaret, Salmon, and +Tamar, were standing on the elevated platform, at the door of the Tower: +and then arose such shouts and acclamations from one and all, as made +the whole castle ring again, and one voice in particular arose above the +rest, crying, "Our Laird has got his own again, and blessing be on her +who gave it him." + +"Rather bless Him," cried Shanty, "who has thus brought order out of +confussion, to Him be the glory given in every present happiness, as in +all that we are assured of in the future." + +As there were no means of regaling those present at that time, and as +Mr. Salmon was then too confused to do that which he ought to have done, +in rewarding those who had defended him, most of them being poor people, +they were dismissed with an invitation to a future meeting at the Tower; +two or three gentlemen, friends of Dymock, only being left. Much +consultation then ensued, whilst Mrs. Margaret bestirred herself, to +procure female assistance, and to provide the best meal, which could be +had at a short notice. + +During this conference with the Laird and his friends, all of whom were +honourable men, Mr. Salmon was induced to consent to have his +treasures, his bonds, his notes and bills, consigned to such keeping as +was judged most safe; neither, could these matters be settled, without a +journey to town, in which Dymock accompanied him, together with a legal +friend of the latter of known respectability. We do not enter into the +particulars of this journey, but merely say, that Mr. Salmon in the joy, +and we may add, thankfulness of recovering his child, not only permitted +himself to be advised, but whilst in town made his will, by which, he +left all he possessed to his daughter, and this being concluded to the +satisfaction of all concerned, he returned to Dymock's Tower, laden with +presents for Mrs. Margaret. + +Neither were Shanty's services overlooked; the cottage and land +appertaining thereunto, were to be his for life, free from rent and +dues, together with twenty pounds a year, in consideration of his +never-varying kindness to Tamar. + +The old man wept, when told of what was done for him, and himself went +the next day to Morpeth, to bring from thence a sister, nearly as old as +himself, who was living there in hard service. + +And here the memorandum from which this story is derived, becomes less +particular in the details. + +It speaks of Mr. Salmon after the various exertions he had made, (these +exertions having been as it was supposed succeeded by a stroke,) sinking +almost immediately into a state nearly childish, during which, however, +it was a very great delight to Tamar, to perceive in the very midst of +this intellectual ruin an awakening to things spiritual; so that it +would seem, as if the things hidden from him in the days of human +prudence and wisdom, were now made manifest to him, in the period of +almost second childishness. + +Tamar had been enabled to imbibe the purest Christian principles, in +her early youth, for which, humanly speaking, she owed much to Shanty, +and she now with the assistance of the kind old man, laboured +incessantly, to bring her father to the Messiah of the Christians, as +the only hope and rest of his soul; and she had reason before her father +died, to hope that her labours had not been without fruit. As to worldly +pelf, she had it in rich abundance, but she could have little personal +enjoyment of it whilst shut up with her aged father in Dymock's Tower, +yet she had exquisite delight in humouring therewith, the fancies of +Dymock, and administering to the more sober and benevolent plans of Mrs. +Margaret; for this lady's principal delight was, to assist the needy, +and her only earthly or worldly caprice, that of restoring the Tower and +its environs, and furnishing, to what she conceived had been its state, +in the, perhaps, imaginary days of the exaltation of the Dymocks. + +A splendid feast in the halls of Dymock's Tower, is also spoken of, as +having taken place, soon after the return of the Laird from London, from +which, not a creature dwelling on the moor was absent, when Salmon +directed Tamar to reward those persons who had assisted him in his +greatest need, and when Mrs. Margaret added numbers of coats and +garments to those that were destitute. Dymock in his joy of heart, +caused the plough to be brought forward, and fixed upon a table in the +hall, for every one to see that day, Mrs. Margaret having been obliged +to acknowledge, that it was this same plough, which had turned up the +vein of gold, in which all present were rejoicing. + +With the notice of this feast the history terminates, and here the +writer concludes with a single sentiment,--that although a work of +kindness wrought in the fear of God, as imparted by the Lord, the +Spirit--seldom produces such a manifest reward, as it did in the case +of Mrs. Margaret and her nephew, for the race is not always to the +swift, nor the burthen to the strong, yet, even under this present +imperfect dispensation, there is a peace above all price, accompanying +every act, which draws a creature out of self, to administer to the +necessities of others, whenever these acts are performed in faith, and +with a continual reference to the pleasure of God, and without view to +heaping up merits, which is a principle entirely adverse to anything +like a correct knowledge of salvation by the Lord the Saviour. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shanty the Blacksmith; A Tale of Other +Times, by Mrs. Sherwood [AKA: Mrs. Mary Martha Sherwood] + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHANTY THE BLACKSMITH *** + +***** This file should be named 12315.txt or 12315.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/3/1/12315/ + +Produced by Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + +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. 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